The Kee Family

Playing WII

2008-03-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

Erin's idea...she must have seen one too many accidents.

Our Clone Trooper and Tinkerbell

2006-11-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

Of all of the halloween activities, I forgot to post what the kids were this year... what's a clone war without tinkerbell??

We sold the crib!

2006-11-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids having one last hoorah before we break the crib down. We sold it 2 weeks ago on craigslist. Do I feel any sadness leaving the baby phase? Only very fleeting nano-seconds... we're still dealing with meltdowns, tantrums, separation anxiety, toilet training, and other babyish behaviors. =)

Why does Erin seem to fit right in?

2006-11-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of some of the girls at Ryan's birthday party. It struck me as funny that Erin fit right in with the other girls, ages 3-5. No wonder everybody that asks Erin's age is always surprised that she's only 2!

Ryan's 6th Birthday Party

2006-11-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ryan's birthday seemed to come and go in a flash this year, partly because we had so many things happening in October. Between our trip to Disneyland and Halloween, a wedding, 2 other birthday parties, and a baby shower, it was all a blur.

His party was at Airborne Gymnastics. Even though the 2 hours flew by, Ryan had a great time with all of his friends.

Uesegi Farms

2006-11-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

Our other pumpkin patch visit was at Uesugi Farms in Morgan Hill. It was quite impressive, boasting hayrides, 2 cornfield mazes (one for little kids and one haunted), a hill made with 4000 pumpkins, a train ride, a cow tractor ride, and many other attractions that we didn't even have time for. I did not realize that pumpkin patches these days are like mini amusement parks!

Erin especially loved going to the pumpkin patch. For some reason these days (even a month after our last visit), when we tell her that we're going to church and that she is going to 'baby church' and mommy and daddy are going to 'big people' church to get her emotionally ready for the separation, she says that she doesn't like church and that she wants to go to the pumpkin patch. huh?? when did we ever teach her that her choice is church or pumpkin patch???

Pumpkin Patches X 5!

2006-11-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

Over the course of 2 weeks, we visited 2 pumpkin patches multiple times each. Giordano's is near our house and was the field trip choice for Ryan's Kindergarten class.

Disneyland again!

2006-10-06T05:17:00.000-07:00

Here's our 4th and final Disneyland trip on our annual passes this year. In their usual Disney fashion, the Halloween decor was impressive. Overall, we enjoyed this trip the most. Erin was not afraid of all of the rides as she was during our last trip (she cried even boarding Small World) and she was excited to see all of the characters, calling them all by name. Well, she does call all of the princesses Tinkerbell. Ryan has finally gotten over riding Casey Jr. the Train ride 20x (only once this time!). His new favorite was Buzz Lightyear and Monsters, Inc.

The picture below would not seem out of the ordinary after a trip to Disneyland. But to the trained eye and those of you who know Erin, you know that she would not normally be more than 2 inches apart from mom in the presence of strangers. To our surprise, she was totally willing to take a picture standing by herself with her brother and Mickey Mouse. She's smitten!

Another highlight for Ryan was Disney's new Jedi Training Academy. This replaced the Buzz Lightyear show in Tomorrowland. For each training session, about 20-25 kids are selected to train with lightsabers to become Jedi Knights and fight Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Ryan waited through 2 shows and was finally picked in the 3rd show. A lot of parental force was used to make Ryan stand out to be picked!

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Being a soccer mom

2006-10-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

Don't these pictures look like Ryan has played more than 4 soccer games? These are moves from his 4th game. I must say that I'm a little disappointed that he took to soccer so quickly over baseball. I grew up in a baseball family. I was proud to be a mother that could throw (not like a girl) and that I could teach him techniques and strategies in a baseball game. But, soccer? I know nothing about soccer...side-outs, corner kick, huh? All I know is that you need to get the ball into the right goal. Oh well, being a literal soccer mom has a certain kind of appeal too.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Presseeenting...

2006-09-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

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My manager, Joyce, gave a harmonica to the kids. It was an old promotional item, inscripted with an Acuson product back when there was an Acuson entity. The kids found it great fun and put on many shows for us. I love how Erin follows exactly what Ryan does.

Ryan's Soccer Debut

2006-09-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

This video shows a segment of Ryan's 1st soccer game. It is much more exciting to watch than a t-ball game. No wonder my co-workers took days off to watch the World Cup. Soccer seems to be Ryan's preferred sport. He's proactive and gets right in there showing good defensive and offensive skills. Ryan is #2 in white. As you can tell towards the end of the video, Wilson got so excited when Ryan started to make a play, all we get are bouncing grass. I still can't recall what happened.

I Need Divine Design!

2006-07-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

How do I turn my ugly living room that the kids have taken over, into something like the AFTER picture (1st picture is the BEFORE) in this design from Candice Olsen, my favorite designer on HGTV? Can you see my little attempts at doing something to this space...the little topiary, the empty picture frames, and the little lanterns on the fireplace? It's been 3 years and I'm still at a loss as to how to turn this eye sore into a pleasant and functional space. My thing is that it HAS to be functional first, then eye pleasing. It makes no sense to me to put a stack of symmetrical books (that I don't read) on top of each other with a cute little knick-knack on top if it has absolutely no use!

I do love Candice Olsen and every design that she's done on her show. I've watched them all if not multiple times. I've even tried some of her design ideas...like I made a headboard similiar to the AFTER picture in this and I painted our bedroom in damask stripes in sage blue-green, alternating flat and glossy paint.

Of course, I'm too cheap to hire a real designer so I'm coming to anybody out there who can offer your 2 cents. Do I hang something that has the same shape within each of the framed moldings? like square/rectangle frames? or do I go for asymmetrical...like a large circle mirror over the fireplace and a mix of different sized frames on either side? and how do I make it all work together? Help!

Lions, Tigers, and Bears...

2006-07-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

we did see at the kids' 1st visit to SF Zoo...

but I must say that their all time favorite were the lorakeets where you pay $2/person for a feeding stick...

You might say that Erin was a little shocked when one of them decided to land on her head!

Ryan's Spring Program

2006-06-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

Ryan's school, Calvary Chapel Christian School, recently had a Spring Program, which consisted of mostly singing and dance performances. It was hilarious! Some kids participated more than others, especially the ones that discovered how fun the microphones were. In total there were probably about 50 - 60 kids, about 5 classes, each performing 2-3 songs. The entire show lasted no more than 30 minutes, but even that seemed too long for all of the fidgety kids. Most of the songs were well known Christian kids songs. Ryan's class sang about monkeys and other sorts of animals. Can you tell?

One of the classes performed Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. Erin had to jump into the aisle to join in!

Flashback to the early 90's

2006-05-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Since moving back into the home that I grew up in, I have often thought about what happened to my childhood friends since I have not kept in touch with any of them. So, I dug into my old pictures and came up with these 2. Yikes! Look at the hair. I went to school from kindergarten all the way through junior college with 2 of the friends and kindergarten through high school with 1 of them. I recently ran into one of them, once at the YMCA and once at Costco (you're bound to run into somebody at Costco!). It was so good to see her and hear how her and the others are doing.

Life Lessons

2006-05-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ryan has been participating in t-ball and swimming as his current extracurricular activities. Our initial intent and expectation was that he would just learn how to play the sport. Over the course of the season, we have realized that there is much more for all of us to learn such as big life lessons.

Wilson recently worked in the snack shack as one of the parents’ responsibilities for their child to play in the league. During his shift, there were 2 baseball games for the older kids going on and he watched one of the games during his down time. One of the kids made a big error in a play where he should have thrown the ball to 1st base rather than 3rd base, which caused their team to lose. The kid started to cry. At the end of the game, the team did their cheer and congratulated the other team. Then the coach called the team together for a talk. Apparently, the League encourages all of the coaches to try to teach a life lesson at the end of each game. Wilson overheard the coach’s life lesson, shared it with me, and we have been so encouraged by it. The coach shared that we do not cry and mope and dwell in our mistake when we fail to make a play or hit the ball. When you cry, you are showing a sign of selfishness…because your pride has been attacked. The team is counting on you to do your best FOR THE TEAM. He also said that this also applies in life and if there is anything he hopes the kids will take away from the season, it will be this.

Wilson and I were so impressed by the Coach and talked about how we have failed to teach Ryan this important life lesson and to take it one step further as a Christian. Thankfully, we are not too late! Ryan tends to be a perfectionist, where he does not want to play or even try if he knows that he cannot achieve his goal…such as catching the ball. Ryan has cried several times because he either missed the ball and it hit him or he had difficulty doing some other drill. We have yet to teach him that these “failures,” in t-ball, as well as, in life, make us feel bad because we are seeking approval, value, and worth in our achievements rather than knowing that our worth is in Christ and in the Cross. This has definitely been a life lesson for us as well, as we daily find ourselves searching for approval and affirmation from our bosses, our spouse, our parents, and even through our kids.

I'm 2!

2006-04-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

So, what exciting things did we do to celebrate Erin's 2nd birthday? Not too much, I'm afraid. Since she doesn't quite have the concept of birthdays down, I'm trying to get away with very little before the years of extravagant birthday parties will be expected. I feel a little guilty about it but then I'm over it. We did go to the Children's Discovery Museum for a couple of hours, had dinner at McDonald's, then got her a single piece of chocolate cake from Safeway.

When asked how old she is, she excitedly tells us she's 2 with her thumb and her index finger since she can't hold her ring finger down with her thumb yet.

"Reasons you gotta have 'em"

2006-02-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

How did these somewhat unattractive Crocs come into our lives? Anson and Lilian recently gave a pair to Wilson for his birthday, since these shoes are very popular in the medical field. They are super light, comfortable, and washable. Since receiviing them, we've made 3 trips to the Crocs' kiosk at the mall to try on different sizes. Some people say they run big and some say they should fit a little big to allow for swelling and molding to the feet. Throughout the 3 trips, Ryan and Erin also sat in the middle of the mall trying on all of the different colors and combinations. The kids' version are so cute!

Since the introduction of these, we have been hearing about them all over the place. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw were recently on Oprah and somehow, Crocs came up and they mentioned how much they love them!

So, here's our Crocs family...I have yet to be convinced that I need a pair but maybe...

Erin loves them so much, she wears them doing everything. The first thing she wants to do in the morning is to wear her crocs. She took a bath with them and even slept with them!

Cheeeeeese

2006-01-19T12:48:00.002-08:00

Erin's most recent new word is cheese, but she says it in 2 different contexts. The first is anytime she sees a camera, as shown in this video. The second is anytime she wants something and we tell her to say "please." She could be sobbing because she wants something that Ryan has and won't give up. In between sobs, she'll say "cheese." Ryan will give her a puzzled look and walk away. It's really quite funny. Maybe you have to be there. =)

Ryan's losing his 1st baby teeth!

2006-01-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago, we discovered that Ryan's 2 lower front teeth are loose and the adult teeth are cutting through. He's so excited about losing his baby teeth. This was very unexpected for us. Isn't this early? I'm feeling very sad about it. He's going through a rite of passage as he leaves babyhood and becomes a boy. It also makes me feel old because my 1st baby is no longer a baby. Nevertheless, I'm taking full advantage of this opportunity to tell him that once his adult teeth come in, he can't act like a baby anymore...no more whining and complaining and he has to take good care of his little sister. =) He seriously looked at me with big round eyes and said "ok." I'll be posting an update soon.

Wow, it's been 3 months since this post. Even though this is old news, better late than never. Ryan lost his 1st front teeth 2 weeks after this post. The 2nd front tooth was lost at school 3 weeks after this post when one of his classmates elbowed him in the mouth and his tooth fell out into the playground. Ryan's teacher was kind enough to involve the entire class to dig through the tanbark. Unfortunately, it was never found, but it was a good team building exercise!

Erin's Christmas present

2006-01-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Brad and Christine for Erin's christmas present! Erin loves it!

Stroller Saga

2006-01-14T12:36:00.000-08:00

I am confessing to a sickness/addiction that I can happily say is over. Since Amy blogged about her stroller story, I will also publicly share my comments about all of the strollers that I’ve gone through. I must say that this madness started after Erin was born and my search for the best stroller for a 5 year old and a 1 year old began. Until Ryan was 4, we were happily using a Graco Citilite, only 12 lbs, which has been to Disneyland at least 4x, Disney Cruise, New York, and Hawaii. It was simple, light, and easy to use.

Since my search for the perfect stroller for strolling 2 kids around, I have been through a Peg Perego Aria Twin, a double Ditto Jogging Stroller by Dreamer Design, a Maclaren Triumph, a Maclaren Quest, and now finally AND happily a Peg Perego Pliko P3. When you add our 1st 2 strollers, a Snap N’Go and the Graco Citilite, that’s 7 strollers! Ok, I should admit myself to a 12-step program or something.

Ok, here are some quick comments about some of them and what happened to them…
Snap N’Go – gave it to Calissa Wong.
Graco Citilite – sold on Craigslist to someone in Washington who begged me to ship it to her. I was only selling it for $20 and shipping cost another $20. I don’t get it but she begged me.
Peg Perego Aria Twin – was not easy to push around with a 40-lb kid on one side and a 20-lb kid on the other. Sold on craigslist.
Ditto Jogging Stroller – I had ambitious dreams of taking long walks (I won’t lie and say jogging). After Erin was old enough to hold her head up, we ended up going on bike rides with a babyseat on my bike and Ryan riding his bike. Sold on craigslist.
Maclaren Triumph and Quest – love both of them but, for a couple of reasons, was not practical for us. Sold the Triumph on Craigslist this week and in the process of selling the Quest on Craigslist.
Peg Perego Pliko P3 – This works really well for us with Ryan standing in the back. Erin loves her snack tray and its compartments. The adult cup holder needs help but that’s probably the only complaint. We discovered this stroller only after going to San Diego Zoo with the Crawfords and Ryan loved standing in the back of JD.

If I were to do all over again and had 2 young kids, I think I would go for the Peg Perego Tender XL. I found a practically new one for my friend, Sharon, for $150 on Craigslist. It retails around $400-500. For a tandem stroller, it was very easy to push and I like that it has a bar for pushing rather than the 2 separate handles like the P3 because you can’t push with 1 hand with separate handles. I think the older Tender model could fit 2 infant car seats whereas, the newer models cannot. See, why am I even thinking about this?

Side comment – You just gotta love Craigslist! I also went through a similar story on my search for the perfect diaper bags but I think I’ll refrain from admitting total insanity! Last night,Wilson and I counted maybe around 7-8 bags. =P

Test video

2006-01-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

I'm testing this video website (thanks Frank for the tip) since not all sites are mac friendly. This latest video is of the kids bowling on New Year's day with Gung Gung. Gotta love those rails! absolutely no gutter balls.

Legoland with the Crawfords

2005-12-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

In addition to Disneyland, we took a day to go to Legoland with Sharon, Jonathan, and JD. It was so much more relaxing than Disneyland, with no big crowds or long lines. The kids, as well as, the adults enjoyed the Park very much. It was also so great to spend time with our friends, who we don't see very often.

He's MY brother!

2005-12-31T12:08:00.000-08:00

Despite the 3 year age difference, Ryan and JD love to spend time together. Initially, JD and Ryan were affectionately holding hands waiting in line for a ride in Legoland. Then, Erin had to get in and claim her brother back.

They caught air!

2005-12-31T11:31:00.000-08:00

The Chen's came over on Christmas Eve and, as you can tell, the kids were SOOOO excited! Frank sent us these pictures and my first thought was "oh my goodness, how did they get away with this?" we could have sent our friends' son to the ER!

Check out Frank and Fedora's blog to see the

live action video

too!

Dad and his little girl

2005-12-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

Wilson was so proud that he and Erin were matching on Christmas day. He's cheesing hard!

Erin's girly side

2005-12-31T10:04:00.000-08:00

Lately, Erin has has been revealing her girly side. Before, she was perfectly happy playing with her brother's trains and cars. At the Lego Store in Downtown Disney, she was so proud of herself when we put on this little princess cape and crown. She was also ecstatic when she received a pretty pink purse from Uncle Petrie and Auntie Alice.

1st Entry - DISNEYLAND!

2005-12-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

So, what better way to start a blog than with our last trip to Disneyland and Legoland! Even though we came last Christmas, we missed most of the Christmas special festivities. This year, we saw the Christmas parade 3x, Fantasmic, the Fireworks, and SNOW while the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" was playing. For some reason, I really wanted to see the snow. Disney sure knows how to create nostalgia! Ryan and Erin loved it!

New Blog!

2005-12-31T09:28:00.000-08:00

New Year's resolution? BLOG! Yes, we're late in starting this nifty blog. I love reading all of our friends happenings in their lives that I decided to start one of our own. It's much more satisfying and rewarding than scrapbooking since I'm 5 years behind on Ryan's book. Oh, is he 5 already?

I can tell I'm already going through the day thinking in terms of "blog topics."