Why I Already Fear Becoming a Monster-In-Law

Spring is here! And it feels exactly like winter... as well as autumn...

But we love it nonetheless! I showed Jude how to catch bubbles without popping them. He has the time of his life with a fifty cent (not to be mistaken with a "fiddycent") bottle of bubbles, although you can't tell by the photo below because he is trying very hard to resist the urge to pop the bubble with his other hand while I take the pic. I'm a playtime killjoy, I know:

Here are a couple of cute things I've heard Jude say lately:

• "Look at me, Ah-bbah! Look at me Kwang Ah-bbah!"
  
• While sitting on the potty: "Uhm-mah, can you get me a magazine?"

What I find cutest is when we see how much he loves his family through his words. As we were leaving our friends' home last week:

• Kwang: "Jude, should we take Matthew with us and leave Eli with Uncle Charles and Auntie Jean?"
  Jude: "No."
  Kwang: "Why not?"
  Jude: "I want my brother."

And while we were watching Charlotte's Web and Jude laughed at a scene with Dakota Fanning:

• Kwang: "Jude, do you like that girl?"
  Jude: "No." (pausing, thinking, and then pointing at me) "I like that girl."
  Me:

The other week, Kwang's cousin told me she saw a teddy bear in a store that reminded her of Eli.

Unduhwear

The boys had some fun in the sun this weekend...

Jude and Eli loved the pool. It was pretty chilly outside which is why Jude was shivering like crazy and we had to force him to dry off. But for some reason, Eli didn't shiver once. So we could only conclude it was due to his natural insulation:

Today's Easter message spoke of how Jesus rose from the dead in three days, the good news of the gospel. Though far less significant but still good news for our family, in three days Jude was potty trained. A few weeks ago, we bought some briefs for him and although he was excited to sport Thomas the Tank Engine and Lightning McQueen on his little butt, we didn't make a focused effort to train him until last weekend. I had heard from my sister and friends who are more experienced mothers that if he didn't seem ready, it's quicker and easier to wait until he's closer to 3yrs old. So that's what I did. What?! Lisa does something that marks her as a procrastinating mother taking the easy route? Unheard of. I decided to wait until a month before he turned three thinking it may take the entire month. But my sister and friends were right! THREE DAYS. My Jude is a potty-using superstar. I had to take this picture without him knowing. Don't you love the GOLF Magazine toilet reading?

My sister and brother-in-law sent the boys an Easter package of goodies, including a children's book about Easter that we read with Jude over the past few days:

At Jean & Charles' home, Eli tried to shoot some hoops with Matthew but instead learned what home court advantage meant:

Eli didn't like that so much:

The Beginning of the End

I'm extra excited when I get off work at 3pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, because I get to pick Jude up from school. If ever you feel lonely or unpopular, I highly recommend having a kid. In an instant, they can make you feel like the greatest person existing in the whole wide world. Jude is so happy to see me and gives me the warmest welcome. Oftentimes, he wakes up in the morning not wanting to leave our comfy home for school, so I have to force him. I feel so bad. He's a homebody like me. But there hasn't been a time when he's told me afterward that he didn't have a great day at school. Kwang has had to remind me more than once that it's good for Jude socially. Whenever I arrive to pick him up, I don't tell him I'm there and will just observe him playing. It's really cute to watch. He's learned a lot of wonderful things at school. Then again, he's also learned how to shoot me with his imaginary Buzz Lightyear hand laser.

So the week AFTER Jude's school pictures, Kwang decided to cut his hair. I gave him a disappointed look and he told me he actually wanted Jude's hair to be long for school pictures.. obviously one of the things he and I disagree on... like which town is better-- Los Angeles or Chicago? Yes, I would say Chicago. Of course, people say Los Angeles has the nicer weather. But did you know LA folk also experience weather hardships? As I was driving into work one day last week, I heard on the radio that there was currently a "Winter Storm Warning" which was immediately followed by a "with a high today of 70 degrees." Is that as confusing to you as it was to me? Or how about the time the radio informed me that we were under a "Drizzle Watch?" I AM NOT EVEN JOKING.

Anyway, the experiment is finally coming to an end. We've given Jude's hair a partial cut, but we're not sure what to do with it at this point. As bad as it looks now, the fact that it's an improvement from last week is a sign that it was THAT BAD. Poor guy. Does he really deserve to have such silly parents and be the victim of amateur haircuts from a mom whose high school picture reveals a perming wonder and a dad who had longer bangs than his mom?

What's Eli up to these days, you ask? Still not walking. But hey, he can shoot a basketball!