Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! The boys are sleeping off the excitement of the morning so I thought I'd upload a few pictures from our Easter festivities. Sadly, the Easter Bunny had to hide eggs indoors as Taiwan's rainy season has finally arrived. But we still were able to enjoy a good easter egg hunt and picnic with three other families and two sets of inlaws!

Zoe, Prudence, Henri, Tristyn, Jacie and Ryan

Lin An Tai Ancestral House

Fwd:, a photo by mdelagrange on Flickr.

Hen and I on the grounds of an historical estate right across from the "airplane park."

Quick trip to the beach

Fwd:, a photo by mdelagrange on Flickr.

Last weekend we visited a good restaurant on the beach in Sanzhi. I loved drinking coffee to the sound of the waves crashing and my pancakes were awesome. Even though the weather wasn't great and we got stuck in traffic on our way there I really enjoyed it. Henri loved the sand and running into the water.

Henri at Two

Henri is becoming such a little boy. I guess he has always been a little boy but he just amazes me with what he is capable of and I realize now that I need to sit back a little more and just let him do his thing.

Since his birthday Henri demands daily that I sing happy birthday to him. He also points at the picture in his room of the alphabet so we sing the ABC song, as well. He often demands that I "SING!"

I feel like Henri has become this little dictator who barks one word demands at me all day. I hear "EAT!" and "ATTO!" (water) first thing in the morning. His next request is "DIEGO!" which means he wants to watch Dora and/or Diego as he dines. He favors one episode which is about Dora bringing home a present to her puppy and this episode (to Hen) is called "PUPPY!" so if I try to sneak a different episode on for the sake of my sanity I get to hear "PUPPY!" until I turn it back. When I put him in his stroller he shrieks "WALK!" When I tell him I need to make his lunch or dinner he shrieks "PITA!" (his favorite thing to eat at the moment). He actually added a "Please" after "Pita" once... When I put him in the bath he barks "GUY!" (which is what he calls his little bath toy figurines of little people which I called little guys hence the name). One of the more frustrating demands is when I try to take a picture or video the instant he notices he wants to "SEE!" So if you didn't believe me that he makes his little pushy demands I have proof (see below video entitled "SEE!!).

One of Henri's recent accomplishments include counting (1-6, he repeats after me, loses interest or gets intimated by 7 - the first two-syllable number). He brushes his teeth, washes his face and hands (sort of...), gets his own diapers and throws them away, takes off his shoes and socks which isn't fun for me, pulls his pants down to his ankles publicly and privately (at the park the other day right after sitting in water he stands up and pulls his pants down around his ankles and just stands there in the middle of a bunch of giggling moms). He is great at giving kisses. He's jumping like a pro and still loves dancing. He loves it when I give him a piggy back ride around the house. His favorite book is Pout Pout Fish which he requests every, single time. It's my fault for reading it so theatrically... now I'm paying for my enthusiasm. He loves having his hands full - at the store he insisted on walking around with a small ball in one hand and his coat in the other - and he tried to leave the house with three blankets in hand the other day.

What I love about Hen is he just seems to have a positive outlook on life. He finds so many random things hilarious. So we have lots of laughter at home. So as difficult as the "terrible two's" are, so far, Henri evens out the annoying battles with just being his sweet, loving, funny little self.

See!!!!

Naked See! a video by mdelagrange on Flickr.

Henri's Birthday Fiesta Pics

Here's Henri chewing on his cheek, again...

Hen and his best bud, Jacie

Tristyn!

Nick, Kat and Ryan



Fee and Mel

Yian and Elizabeth

Lauren, Matina and Andrew

Bree, Greg and Jaime

Georgia, Joie, Paris and Brad

Getting ready to destroy the pinata

Everyone gets a string... then pull!

Candy!

We took video instead of pictures of the birthday song... but here Henri has commandeered a fork and ate his cupcake like a little gentleman (with no help!).

Towards the end of the evening Henri decided to take off his shoes and wear 1 sparkly shoe belonging to a little girl named Riley...

Perks for being sick

At the pharmacy, a photo by mdelagrange on Flickr.

Here's hen enjoying a coin machine ride at the pharmacy next door to the doctor's office. Notice his lack of pants... Right before our appointment he sat in water at the park. Also notice his two stickers on his chest... Ahem... Badges of honor from being such a big boy at the doctors office.

Happy Birthday to Hen!

Here's the video of the Happy Birthday song at Hen's party taken yesterday. After the song ends you can see Henri signing for "more!" I'll post more pictures of the party soon...

Playing in dirt

Playing in dirt, a photo by mdelagrange on Flickr.

This was taken a couple weeks ago when the kids discovered the art of playing in the dirt. Jacie has a real knack for getting it all over her face- its quite impressive, actually...

Getting ready for the party

Getting ready for the party, a photo by mdelagrange on Flickr.

Here's Hen helping me stuff the piñata full of candy for his two year birthday fiesta... He's turned into a great little helper... His services go beyond stuffing piñatas and include unloading groceries, fetching diapers and putting his dirty clothes in the hamper (though today I caught him trying to throw his P.J.'s in the trash... So probably need to work on that one).