May 2014 – The Ma Family

This month brought many outdoor activities for us. I’ve been excited to see our garden continue to bloom and Grace grow so much. Timothy’s sentences are getting longer and more varied everyday in both languages. The sounds of pitter-pattering feet, toddler chatter and laughter, and baby coos and laughs fill our home and delight us daily. Mother’s Day was especially sweet this year as we dedicated Grace with our church family and enjoyed a nice brunch afterwards. We realize we’re in a sweet spot of convenience with eating out as a family now since Timothy eats most table foods with us and Grace’s meals are always ready to go. 😉

Andrew wrapped up his time at Amazon this month, and took an extended long weekend with us before starting at Groupon. We look forward to visiting him at the new office in the International District soon for lunch dates. Timothy will definitely miss visiting all the dogs around Amazon when he discovers that Papa’s new workplace doesn’t have dogs-a-plenty. I’m happy for Andrew in this great management opportunity and look forward to him settling into his role there.

Our flowers are beautiful this spring, giving extra good reason for us to be outside exploring and taking them in. Some helpful birds or bees brought deep purple and white irises as elegant additions to our garden. The pink peonies have grown in yield and are as gorgeous as ever this year. We’ve been enjoying picnics on our front lawn and at the nearby parks. Timothy asks to picnic outside and continues to enjoy playing with the kids in our neighborhood. The baby bunnies in our yard are also fascinating to him – they’re so fast compared to Stewie rabbit who hops around leisurely…or maybe it’s his old age. 😉

Summer is just around the corner – yay!

He loves to lean his face in to hers

Our happy growing girl

Bumbo entertainment

Me, too!

Thursdays are exciting around here

“Let me pet you, baby bunny…”

Splash pad fun

Shooting water is such a thrill

Grace hanging out while brother runs around

Hello little dog!

Of course frogs are for climbing

That was fun!

3 months old!

Jamming just like us

Snuggles with Snuffles

A Happy Mother’s Day!

Dedication Sunday for Grace

Ready for puddles

Focused on his craft

Fishing at the water table

Timothy got to ride a forklift!

Sister’s not always sure about the hugs

Still lots of sweet hand-holding

Dressed for work with Papa

Probably the cutest badge-wearer at Amazon that day

Such chums

Playing it safe outside the pool

Abigail and the baby sisters

Family outing to a farm

Visiting animals worked up our appetities!

Post-Bookworms mini cupcake and balloon

Vibrant peony from our garden

I can’t positively ID these, but we enjoy them!

Our purple rhodies

Tummy time

We love this smile so much

This past month gave us some good time to be on our own as a foursome. We enjoyed a fun week with Andrew home after Grampa Ma left, and I’ve been learning the ropes of caring for two at home by myself recently after many weeks with help. Meals, nap management, laundry, cleaning and lots of play/reading time fill my days and I find them passing much more quickly and enjoyably than I did during Timothy’s early months. Amazing what some experience and adjusted expectations does. 😉

Some of Grace’s best expressions and “conversations” are towards her brother, and he is so cute with her. I’m so blessed to get to watch them grow in their interactions with each other everyday, and am pleasantly surprised at how much attention and care Timothy shows Grace. He asks often to see her, hug her, hold her hand, sit next to her, give her (wet) kisses and lay next to her. Grace is proving to be even more mellow than her brother thus far, and is sleeping pretty well already, so we’re quite grateful for that! She continues to be a great sport and makes us all gush with her happy expressions, frequent “talking”, and playfulness already.

To my delight, Timothy has been super affectionate with me lately and I love this season of our relationship. He demonstrates more understanding of rules, relationships, and even differences between Chinese and English; switching languages in appropriate situations. He refers to himself almost exclusively in the third-person so we’re working on that, although it occurred to me that he learned to do it from me! Oops – it’s so hard for me to kick this habit even though he’s learned all our titles and his own names. We’re also working on using other words for agreement since the only word Timothy has used to mean “yes” for months now is “sí”…but hasn’t taken to any other Spanish words I’ve tried to teach him; funny little guy. Adjusting to our new normal also means that any outings I get to take with only one of the children feels like a bit of a treat and turns into a little Mama date time. Timothy seems to appreciate these outings even though he is often eager to get home and see his baby sister.

Spring has brought rains and lovely blooms our way, along with some sunny afternoons to enjoy outdoors. Our fruit trees, tulips, lilacs, and rhododendrons have been in full bloom and it’s especially satisfying that Timothy points them out and enjoys them this year. We’re continuously thankful for where we live and it’s been fun to see the neighborhood kids engage Timothy when they’re out playing as he tosses balls to them and learns to catch. He is also intent on watching buses, trucks, diggers, cement mixers and Waste Management vehicles at work, recreating scenes at home with toys lately. Timothy’s imagination is starting to show and it’s amusing to see his sense of humor continue to emerge as well. Toddler and baby giggles are such music to our ears.

We celebrated Easter with our church family and some very dear friends. As we teach Timothy about our hope in Christ and the power of His resurrection, it’s been humbling for me to also show him how much I need to hear and receive that truth on a regular basis – that I’m a selfish sinner who needs forgiveness and daily (hourly!) help from my Savior. What a beautiful picture it has been to see Timothy begin to understand reconciliation when he apologizes or when I ask for forgiveness. To me, those are some of the most meaningful hugs and kisses we exchange. This has indeed been a tiring and trying season of transition and growth, but I’m also grateful that I get to grow so much and serve the Lord through caring for our family. April was a fast month for us and it’s hard to believe that summer is just around the corner already next month!