Slugs, Bugs, and Lullabies

Also known as our new favorite CD! One of my best friends from college recently sent it to Caroline (thanks, Jaclyn!), but I'm pretty sure Katie and I are enjoying it more than she is at this point. I love Andrew Peterson anyway, but it is so fun to listen to these songs because you can totally picture how they must have written themselves in his home.

Katie's favorite song is "Tractor, Tractor" mostly because I think it talks about a carriage going to the ball. What cracks me up though is how on target that song is with 3 year old humor. The stanzas are pretty standard: Tractor harvesting the wheat, Backhoe digging up the dirt, Firetruck zooming down the street, etc. Then after the song is over, Andrew Peterson interrupts Randall Goodgame with his own rendition in which he mixes all the words up: Firetruck going to the ball, Backhoe flying to the moon, etc. Katie was absolutely hysterical. Almost as hysterical as the first time we read Caps for Sale. I love kid humor.

My favorite song is "You can always come home." I was actually first introduced to it through a Veggie Tales video called "The Wizard of Ha's." It's the retelling of the Prodigal Son story through a veggified Wizard of Oz medium (one of their better movies, in my opinion, and I am not a huge Veggie Tales fan). It's a precious song, one that I hope to sing to my kids often, because it is so true. I hope its message stays in their hearts forever.

There once was a man who found him a treasure

Buried out under a tree.

He sold all he had just to own it forever.

The treasure is you, you see.

I love you today, and I love you tomorrow.

I love you as deep as the sea.

I love you in joy, and I love you in sorrow.

You can always come home to me.

There once were some sheep safe on the farm,

And one little lamb got loose.

The shepherd went out and carried it home.

That little lamb is you.

Edamame and Bean Salad with Shrimp and Fresh Salsa

My new summer fave! My mom introduced it to me, but I think my SiL originally found it in Cooking Light. It can be done without shrimp too.

1 cup frozen shelled edamame

1 cup chopped cooked small shrimp

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

3 T chopped red onion

2 t minced jalapeno

1 T chopped fresh cilantro (I used way more than this b/c I love cilantro and needed to use some up)

1 T lime juice

1 T olive oil (extra virgin is best)

1/4 t salt

Cook edamame according to package. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.

Combine edamame, shrimp, beans, tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno. Combine remaining 4 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over edamame mixture and toss gently to combine. Cover and chill.

Caroline

Visitors from the East

This past weekend my dad, stepmom, and grandparents came to visit! It was the first time they had seen Caroline. I think they liked her:

I think they had fun with Katie too:

Sisterly love

These photos are from a few weeks ago when Adam's dad and stepmom were here. I think Caroline was 8 weeks old...now she is 11 weeks!

Neither one looks very sure about the arrangement in this picture, do they? Caroline: "Uh, I'm really not sure I'm comfortable with this."

Caroline: "Yeah, this is what I was afraid might happen." Caroline: "Get me outta here!"

Life in Neverland

I'm pretty sure that there were about two full years of my childhood that I spent pretending I was Wendy from Peter Pan. Just ask my mom.

I now realize my mom's true motives in bequeathing to my daughter my beloved "Wendy dress" as well as bringing Disney's Peter Pan DVD with her when she came to visit in April. Payback, anyone? Katie now lives and breathes Peter Pan. All day, every day, we are chased by the crocodile, running from Captain Hook, flying with Tinkerbell, and cleaning up after the Lost Boys. At first it was sweet and even flattering that my daughter would enjoy the same imaginary world that I had loved as a child. But, if I'm honest, the meltdowns that occur when the Wendy dress has to be removed or when I just want her to be Katie for awhile and not Wendy or Tiger Lily are starting to get a little old. Thankfully, I've had some breaks from Neverland since we've had a number of visitors and they get the privilege of being inducted into Katie's Neverland.

Grandma Sue was the most recent visitor to become a citizen of Neverland. I guess she caught the bug herself given the contents of the package we received yesterday. See for yourself:

Princess Tiger LilyWendy

Gift giving

One of the best parts of Daddy coming home was, of course, the gifts he brought! I am continually amazed at how "gifted" my husband is in purchasing just the right presents.

For me, a Starbucks coffee mug from Beijing with the Great Wall of China on it, stuffed with Chinese Nescafe packets. Former teammates will remember that you must stir it with a pen and enjoy with a package of donettes!

Here are some photos of Katie receiving her gifts:

What's in the bag?

She guessed right...a panda bear!

I think she likes it.

Caroline enjoyed staring at the panda so much though, I think she may co-opt it as soon as she can "take" Katie (which, given her size, may be in about a month).

Hm, what is next?A qipao (pronounced chee-pow)...what Chinese girls wear when they want to be fancy!Did I get the right size?How does it look?

He's home!

Yes, yes, yes! Adam is finally back in the good ol' U.S. of A! I am so happy to have him home.

The travelling buddies

They got the royal treatment when they visited the home of our good friend Lan:

The guys were supposed to stay on campus at our old school for their first few days in-country, but because of the swine flu, no one who had just come from America was allowed to go on campus! Thankfully, Adam got to swing by "Er Shi Yi Shi" on his way to the airport on Sunday. Sadly no one was there since they were all at church, but he still got to walk around and take some shots:

And now that he's back, our camera is back as well, so here are some long overdue photos of the girls: