Catching up...see below for the added month of November & December...

Haha...looks like I'm the one that needs to come back here more often to catch up and update. I will, I will or I'm just gonna just play catch-up & update simultaneously. We'll see ;)

December days...

December always seem so short to me, maybe because of the Christmas holiday and the rushing about of all the family & church get-togethers, shopping & other seasonal activities. And I love every moment of it!

Devin had his school Christmas program on the 10th and he was so thrilled to be part of it. He'd practice singing bits & pieces of the songs he needed to sing at home weeks before the program. Then Serena would always wanted to sing along but does not know the words...so she would just imitate Devin. It was just too funny to watch them when they play together so nicely.

The Elementary class Program-Can you find Devin?

A closer look...

One of the songs they sang was "Bundled Up" so they wore their winter gears to sing the song...so cute!

Serena had the most fun, clapping & singing on the sideline.

Devin walking off the stage & giving us a high-five on his way back to his class.

On the 18th, we left for Florida to visit & spend Christmas with Andrew's mom. We stayed in Florida for about 10 days. It was unseasonably cold in Florida this December but we did everything the kids wanted to do: zoo, Kennedy Space Center, Alligator Farm, Disney, playground, play in pool(yes, Andrew went into the pool with the kids even though it was cold, they didn't last too long)& some days we just relaxed. Everywhere we went, we were pretty much bundled up except for a day here & there, where we had on a hoodie or a lighter jacket. Every night Devin was responsible to put a log in the fireplace at Grandma's and sometimes we would even put two!

All in all, we had a WONDERFUL time, especially with Andrew's mom.

Serena feeding the giraffes for the first time.

Riding the zoo train.

KSC-when we went, the launch of the Endeavor was delayed so we got to see the shuttle still at the launch pad.

Devin refused to put on long sleeves or long pants. And did not want his jacket.

"This is Florida, it's not supposed to be cold!", he had claimed over & over through out our trip.

Beach day!

Digging in the sand...

Burying themselves in the sand...

Taking a break from digging...

Grandma & Devin

The night before Christmas.

The kids woke up at the crack of dawn...6am!

WOW WOW WOW!

Alligator farm-we all took turn holding an baby alligator (with its mouth clamped shut) except for Andrew's mom. So different from the last time when we went, I think Devin was 3 or almost 4, he ran to the opposite side of the room when the handler came toward us with the baby alligator. This time, he held all the insects & reptiles...even Serena! The kids loved it.

Holding & touching a snake...

Serena's turn...

Serena holding a scorpion

Devin's turn

Quality time-Relaxing with Grandma

November days...

November is such a month where my mind goes into supercharged mode. Since I know once November sets in, the holiday seasons officially begins! And I always like customizing our Christmas cards, meaning I literally design them, print them & cut them to size myself. And of course i would need a decent picture of us. I had to plan that ahead on top of the Christmas shopping. One great thing for this year is that we received a gift card from our friends-Alek & Aneta, to Sears Portrait Studios. So the picture taking is taken care of, in my mind. Ha-wouldn't you know it-a couple of days before our appointment, Serena decided to give Devin a haircut! And the following Monday was Devin's school picture day. I was basically speechless when Devin happily showed me the clumps of hair. Thankfully, the pictures all came out pretty good.

And this year, Andrew's mom decided to fly up east for Thanksgiving. I think it's always a little special when you can celebrate holidays together with the family, especially when not everyone gets to see each other that often. Andrew's brother Mike & his wife Susan hosted the Thanksgiving dinner at their beautiful and spacious new home. But what did I forget?! to take pictures! I guess I was just having too fun to remember to take pictures? It really was a great family time together.

Devin's bald spot thanks to Serena. And of course she cut her own hair 2 days later after I told her not to cut Devin's hair again.

Brother & sister pose#1 from the Sears portrait.

Brother & sister pose#2 from the Sears portrait.

Devin!

Serena!

Family pose#1 from the Sears portrait.

Brother & sister pose#2 from the Sears portrait.

October Days

For the month of October, we fell into a schedule of: Devin going to school, come home, snack homework then playground or TV depending on the weather. While Devin is in school & Andrew at work, Serena & I go to the library, run errands, playground or playdates on the days when she doesn't have her class. I know she enjoys going to the classes because she would asks to go to school even on her days off.

With a set routine, I always welcome the interruptions of school trips because I get to go with Devin's class as a chaperone. His class trip was to a farm nearby. His whole class loved it. And to see all these city kids running around trying to catch a chicken was just hilarious! Devin pretty much did everything there except riding the pony and milking the cow (he said it's too messy for him, lol). Riding on the school bus with his class was what I had anticipated to be: 14 kids, loud & louder. The funny thing was they all were pretty quiet on the way back. They were TIRED.

Sitting on the bench, waiting patiently for the whole class to get off from the bus.

Getting feed from their farm guide...

Feeding the chickens...

On the hayride with his friends, Amara on the left & Michelle on the right...they were under my watch on this trip.

Checking out the pigs...

Llamas...when Devin was small & learning his words, he thought "llama" was "mama"-it was so funny when he would point to a picture of a llama & then at me!

Picking out a perfect pumpkin to bring home from a sea of pumpkins!

After lunch & hanging out...

Getting ready to go home...

I didn't think of this at the moment but it was my first time to a farm just like Devin & I have forgotten to take a picture of myself with the farm. Oh well, next time...maybe.

In the middle of the month, we went to our annual excursion: apple picking. Devin enjoys it and he always tries to find the best apple from each tree. As for Serena, she was picking weeds from the ground. When we asked her to pick apples, she was picking them off the ground, the bruised & wormy ones. It was such a beautiful day, we stayed till the orchard was about to close.

Devin picking an perfect apple from this tree.

And Serena picking a perfect weed from the ground.

A beautiful fall day!

Beautiful sunshine!

Another perfect one!

Pony ride for Serena...

...maze for Devin.

At the end of the month, of course, Halloween. For the first 3 years of Devin's life, we didn't have a costume for him. But we did let him go trick or treat with his little friends to get candies when he was two & three. We just weren't sure how to handle this day since we certainly don't want our children to think it's ok to get dressed up as scary as possible to frighten others. For Devin's 4th year, we let him wear his astronaut suit, (which he wears whenever he wanted to on other days) to go "candy collecting" with his friends. And this year, still unsure how to handle Halloween, we asked our Pastors since they have 4 kids of their own. The Pastors recommended "Redeeming Halloween", (a book put out by A Focus on the Family a few years ago) and let us decide what to do with Halloween. After reading the book & talking to our Pastors, we felt better about letting our kids dressed up (with our approval of their costumes) & go "candy collecting".

Serena as a black cat at her school's party. Next to her are her friends Orion as Thomas & Olivia as Cinderella.

See her little tail sticking out from underneath her shirt?

Serena liked face-painting so much, she asked me to paint her face again the following day. This time as a butterfly.

On our way to the kids' party at our co-op complex.

Devin & Serena's friends...they were adorable!