Danny Versus the Mosquito

Yesterday morning we went for a walk. I noticed too late a mosquito on Danny's face. One mosquito, one bite. After a pretty rough night of sleep this is what we woke up with. As I do not have the same attractive scent as Danny, nor the same reactions, I feel at a loss of what to do. We've had the same fun with fire ants and mosquitos in the past. I know Aunt Mindy also attracts mosquitos and Dad has the same reaction to fire ants. Any ideas to help my bug boy have a little relief??? Do I need to quarantine him the rest of the summer?

Bubbles

Golfing with G-Pops

We had a fantastic visit with Matt's dad last weekend. Danny was so excited to see his G-Pops and had lots of ideas about what they should do. It had been a few months since Danny saw G-Pops, so we weren't sure if he'd remember him or not, but he definitely did. And, Grandpa brought licorice so Danny warmed up really, really quick!

The two had fun eating popsicles while Matt smoked some ribs. Though we had already eaten dinner, the ribs made a nice late night snack! Grandpa was only able to stay about a day and a half on his way to Dallas, but we still made sure to eat as much as we would have if he'd been here a week. Dim sum at Fung's Kitchen, roast duck & quail from Hong Kong market, TX ribs, tortilla casserole, stir fried veggies, homemade salsa and chips, smoothies for breakfast, tapioca drinks, grapes . . . I'm glad I married into a family who loves good food as much as I do!


Danny also loved playing computer games with G-Pops. He helped teach Danny about using a mouse, since we just have touch pads. Danny thought it was pretty cool to have some control.

Though Danny didn't mind test driving cars, I think the highlight for him was going golfing. G-Pops is an avid golfer, so we checked out the new golfing range/mini-golf place on Cypresswood Dr. As Danny had been one time before, he remembered what to do. He's still not ready for a real course, but maybe with some more practice.

If putting doesn't get the ball in the hole, try hammering instead.

Lessons from the experts on proper form.

These water holes are pretty tricky!

Can't . . . quite . . . reach!

Forget the club. This water trap is too fun to pass up!

Thanks for an awesome visit G-Pops! We love you!

New Addition

No, we don't mean baby. Still a few more weeks. Our 96 Corolla has been having a few issues lately, and when we took it in to the shop last week we were told it would cost as much to fix it as it's worth. "Phil" has been a good, faithful car for many years (except when Mindy got in a bad wreck in it during its younger years), but we've known it was nearing its end. With Matt's longer commute, Phil has aged quicker than usual lately and now that we had a mechanic confirming that his time was drawing to an end, we knew it was time to get a new car.

We had fun looking at cars with Matt's dad while he was here this past weekend. The debate - go ahead and get a mini-van now since we'll probably need one in the next few years anyway. OR, get a new reliable, fun commuter car for Matt since he spends so many hours a week driving. We tried out a few Honda Odyssey's and I was quickly sold by the convenient features. Then we test drove the Volkswagen GTI that Matt's had his eye on . . . . it was an easy choice. So we are now the proud owners of a 2008 GTI. I'm convinced we can someday be the proud owners of a mini-van, but I'm OK to wait a while longer.

Danny's commentary on the new car.

Next new addition . . . baby girl arriving in early July.

Little Pieces of Nature

We have now lived in our house 5 years. There are quite a few perks to living just off a major interstate such as 15+ different restaurants within a 2 mile radius, Wal-Mart within walking distance, and a water park only minutes away. However, we do miss things like large beautiful trees, seeing the stars at night (although if you squint enough you might mistake the car dealership lighting as moonlight), and wide open spaces.

Within the past few days we've been especially blessed with our own little pieces of nature though. For Mother's Day Matt and Danny picked out some beautiful orchids at a local nursery. Matt remembered how much I loved last year's orchid. Hopefully we'll be able to keep these ones alive through next Mother's Day.

Unlike the orchid from last year, I'm happy to say I have kept this porch plant alive for several years. Apparently it's no feat because I've gone weeks without watering it and it just won't die. This is my kind of plant. While Danny and I were watering it on Monday though, we found a little friend inside. I'm pretty sure it got scared by the two-year-old hands trying to catch it because we haven't seen the lizard since then. Our FHE lesson Monday night was about God's creations and treating them with a little more love and respect.


And finally, the highlight of my week. While many of my friends have been posting about gardens (I think all of you rock!) this is my minimal flower gardening. Truthfully, I didn't even pot the plants myself. I just picked out 3 hanging plants at our local Home Depot and stuck them up. I have kept them alive though, so maybe that's a start.



A few weeks ago as I was watering the purple flower and noticed a nest inside. I didn't see any eggs at the time, nor did I check up on it any more until this week. And guess what? Our little purple planter is home to a nest of baby birds now!

I have to restrain myself from checking on them all the time. Yesterday I was privileged to watch from the window as daddy bird stood guard on another planter and mama bird swept in to feed her babies. I tried to get some pictures through the window, but they turned out awful. I need Mindy Hong or Terri to come take some pictures for me! I did get these shots outside when I first made the discovery.

So, hooray for our baby birds and our little piece of nature. I'm limiting myself to one visit a day now so I don't scare mama bird too much, but I'll keep you updated as our little ones grow.

Ouch!

Looks like Danny inherited the same allergic reaction and intolerance to bug bites and fire ants that his dad has. Sadly, the day after Matt and I had conversed about this observation, Danny fell into an ant hill at the park. Ouch indeed!

Being kids

Recently the Houston Children's Museum finished some major renovations. We were able to go check it out while Grandma Hong was visiting. It was almost twice as big (and pricier too) with lots of new things to explore and test out. We all had a lot of fun and though Danny was too young to enjoy every exhibit, he still had a blast playing restaurant, exploring the vet clinic, splashing with boats, pushing buttons everywhere, and wandering around amidst the crowds. Clearly, the museum was well designed for Matt who sometimes had more fun than Danny. I'd HIGHLY recommend heading downtown to check out all the new fun stuff at this museum. And remember, Thursday nights are free!

Hooray for cousins

When I first moved in with Anne and Rex 6 years ago, I never imagined I would have a house just down the street. What a blessing it is to have some family only a block away. Especially now with Danny - he has so much fun with his cousins nearby. We are just sad we can't live close to all our cousins! Here's a few recent shots of cousin fun.Brenna, Eli, and Danny after a lunch playdate. It's great to have a sister nearby for last minute babysitting trades and lunch fun!Singing and dancing with Matt. He recently picked up his guitar again (I don't know that I'd heard it since Valentine's Day 2003 when he was trying to win my heart over) and has been playing a lot. I love hearing him practice and the kids love dancing and singing along.Eli has been great big brother practice for Danny. Even though Eli's not really old enough to boss around, Danny has fun being the bigger, older cousin. Although I don't know that Danny will be bigger much long (see first picture). :)

Hooray for cousins. Maybe someday we can live closer to our Hong cousins because we always have lots of fun too. At least there's always EISF.

Really?

Tonight Matt took the crib down in Danny's room and set it up in baby sister's room. We put our baby boy to bed in a big bed. His room looked so much older. Is our little baby really growing up so quickly???

Despite being exhausted tonight, I got really nostalgic and was going through old pictures and videos and found this one. Nothing spectacular, but it just captures 1 year old Danny. I think I'll treasure every moment more with this next baby. . . it really does go so fast.

Eggcellent Easter

This year Danny really got into the egg hunting. Maybe that's why he couldn't smile for any pictures - he was too focused on finding the eggs. We went to a ward playgroup egg hunt at Mercer Arboretum and then we also went to a huge egg hunt at a Lutheran church near our house.

Danny also had fun dying Easter eggs this year. He shares his Grandma Couch's focus and intensity, trying to create the perfect egg. Sadly, he still has a way to go before being able to dye an egg without dying his hands.





Easter Sunday was a wonderful day. There were no meetings, so we were able to spend the whole day as a family. Danny slept late, we found our Easter baskets, we ate monkey bread, sausage, and smoothies for breakfast, and then we got ready for church. I was glad our FHE lessons had paid off when Danny remembered that we were celebrating Jesus. He's still trying to get the word resurrection down . . . maybe by next Easter. It was fun to have him retell us the Easter story with his paper tomb from nursery. My handsome guys! Gotta love the matching blues and khaki.

After church Billings came over for a tasty feast with ham, funeral potatoes, fresh green beans, rolls, and the traditional deviled egg chicks and coconut cake. Yes, the chicks are a little creepy, but they are one of my FAVORITE traditions from when I was a kid. I loved helping my mom make the deviled egg chicks. We were all stuffed beyond belief.
So even though this isn't the best family photo ever, I like it because we used the timer and Danny did a good job hiding his baby sister. You can hardly tell that I'm ready to hatch (well, in 2 more months). Happy, happy Easter!

Danny Missin' Granny

We always love when Grandmas and Grandpas come to visit. Grandma Hong was able to come down during her spring break. Danny had SO much fun with his granny. He got sick shortly after she left and I'm pretty sure it's because he was missing all the extra love and attention she gave him.

One afternoon they made Texas shaped ice cream sandwiches. Danny is helping out by eating the brownie crumbs while Granny does the more intensive labor.

Delicious and oh so messy! Another morning we took a trip to the mall and Danny got to ride the carousel. And the highlight of Granny's visit was flying kites, something we'd never done before. Danny finished filling in a potty chart, so chose a Buzz Light Year kite as a prize. Matt got a Transformer's kite and Granny got a Barbie kite. Apparently they had a successful potty week too. :) The wind was perfect the day after we bought the kites, and all three flew great. Dad had to make a few kite rescues, and before the evening was through Buzz had flown too powerfully. He got stuck on a neighbor's roof that was too high to retrieve. Amazingly, Buzz continued to fly up there for at least an hour! Thanks again for a fun visit Grandma Hong!