the park, the usual.

we spend many afternoons at this little park, even though most of the equipment there is way too advanced for our children.  but it's somewhere to go and there is grass... we are thankful for it!

i always climb this little wall so mary wants to try too.  but, obviously, she's a bit young.

uhh, i love him.  he has been so funny and cute lately!  he just realized that he can try to be funny and we'll laugh at him so he's been doing small performances like his big sister.  so cute.

and, in an effort to not forget the little things... yesterday i got him up from a nap and changed his diaper.  as i opened the diaper there was a small puzzle piece right on top of his *uhh, you know*.  not sure how it got in there but we now have an incomplete puzzle at our house!  and just to let you in the real glamour of being a mom, as i went to throw the piece away he rolled over without a diaper and peed all over the floor.  

oh and now he drinks his cups out of the side of his mouth.  always. 

my little baller.

just enjoying life!

first time photographer

this is the first time i've taken photos of someone besides my children.  i actually went to bali this week to be the photographer at a wedding, or to photograph a wedding... or whatever sounds the least professional and the most informal!  it was a very small (family only) wedding and it was my friend's sister getting married.  anyways, since i've never taken pictures of adults i asked a couple here to "model" for me so i could practice.  i had a great time!  here's the practice photos.  and the wedding photos will come later.

what do you see besides the couple in this picture?  the first thing danny noticed was the face in the tree... maybe because we just finished watching the Lord of the Rings series and he's all into finding "ents" in nature.  :)  not really, but we did just watch it and there is a face in this tree.  

thanks, kalyn and tony for modeling!  thanks sarah snape (a real photographer) for helping me always!  i didn't do much with photography the first few months i was here (i was a little busy doing other things... like learning to go grocery shopping or trying to find coffee in a foreign land) but i've really enjoying practicing and learning more these last few weeks.  

mixed emotions

we went to the park and luke was a mixed bag of emotions.  i guess he didn't like being stuck in the middle of the tire swing.  but, it would have been a cute picture.

 happy boy.

and frustrated again.  i know it's sad, but i love his little serious, frustrated face.  his jaw is all crooked and his little teeth show.  his life can be so difficult.  

and mary was pretty happy playing with daddy.

wow, she's having a good time on that swing.

phone pictures...

here are some of my recent cell phone pictures.... a look at daily life for us here in indonesia (though i don't take pictures of the hours and hours of language school that we have every week).  :) 

mary dancing with leslie's beloved clown mask

my boy, l.pierce, dunking

oh, and this is mary singing on stage with the singer at a hotel... it was hilarious!  she sang twinkle twinkle little star for all to hear! 

luke at a mall play place... they have terrible outdoor playgrounds but the indoor ones (that you have to pay for) are great!  :)

mary cutting beans with ibu sri, our babysitter

mary sings

all of the time.  she loves it and she loves her guitar.  here's a video of a recent one.  notice the facial expressions.  :)  the song is 'how great is our God' if you can't tell.  

oh and she's just wearing underwear... also a very common thing around our hot house!

all about bubba: 1.1 years

luke's birthday has come and gone... and though i put up some pictures of him i really want to write about him too.  he is so funny right now, i want to remember the little things.  as i watch him i remember the things mary used to do that i had forgotten until luke started to.  

things we love about luke...

when he laughs really hard he throws his head back

he's still such a little chub 

his attitude; he's a full out lover (wants to cuddle, wants to be held, kisses us) and he's also very clear when he doesn't want something.  if we walk away from him, he looses it!  sometimes he even gets on all fours and slowly 'bangs' his head on the ground.  we always stop him, but we laugh too... it's as if his little life is over because i couldn't pick him up in the middle of kneeding pizza dough.  he's just so emotional.  

he's also emotional about being told no.  if he does something he's not supposed to we say NO sternly... and usually he looks at us, waits a second or two for effect and then starts screaming.  we have to cuddle him and reassure him that we love him, he just can't hit mary or throw his food.  he's just so tender.  

but, he's all boy too!  he LOVES to play with balls.  if he sees one far off he starts grunting and goes after it, even if it isn't ours.  he's also always sweating and always dirty... since birth.  :)

he loves to eat!  he loves avacado, bananas, noodles, mango, bread, oatmeal and he's pretty good about his veggies.  

he loves milk... when he finishs his cup of milk he lets us know... usually by throwing it.  we're working on the throwing thing.  :)

he plays happily in his crib after he wakes up for 30-60 minutes every day.  we bring him toys, he plays and then he lets us know when he wants out.  we're thankful for that time, especially because he's been an early riser most of his life.

he always waves hi and bye to people... which is a real hit here in indonesia! 

i love his big teeth too.  he has these huge front teeth that look a little bit like chiclets and are really far apart.  when he laughs really hard he shows them in all their glory.  hilarious.

things he's recently started doing....

he's started "talking" to us and it's the sweetest 'cu' i've ever heard... he points to something with a look of curiousity and looks at us as if he's telling us a story about it.  love.

he's started getting into things.  he walks around the house, picks something up, brings it into another room or hands it to someone, as if he was asked to go get the tupperware or danny's shirt.  it makes a mess of the house, but i love it!  he usually 'talks' about whatever he's carrying around too, which is maybe why i love it.  he puts the items he finds in and out of baskets or bowl or whatever he can find.  i vividly remember this about mary... i always let her play in our pantry because she loved it and it occupied her for hours.  luke doesn't have a pantry to play in but he still manages to find things all around the house.  

when asked to clap or when he hears music he claps both hands on his belly... not sure if that's because his belly is so big that it's difficult for him to get his hands together or what?!?  

he always wants to eat and if someone else is eating, he comes running. he always begs for mary's food.

he loves to dance!  if i ask him to dance or whenever he hears music, he does a little knee bob, sway and occasional head bob.  so cute.  

he loves his sister!  it is the sweetest thing.  i mean, they definitely have their moments of fighting over a ball when there is another ball that one of them could happily play with 2 feet away... but a lot of the time they are loving each other and laughing.  it's possibly my favorite sound right now... the sound of their laughter together.  mary knows she can make luke laugh and she loves it.  she does things like play with her food or yell at the table and when i ask her to stop her response is, 'but luke like it, mom!'  luke laughs and laughs at her.  he loves her, he watches her, laughs when she's being silly, looks for her when she's hiding, dances when she sings.  

uhh and how could you not love this!?!?  he had a little accident a few weeks ago (i assure you he was fine right after it happened though i was scared for a minute!).  we die laughing every time we look at it!!!  the face and chub are just too much.  

love this.

they love each other... mostly.