Topher is 5! (and a day short of a month...)

man my blogging skills have been terrible this year! but somehow i managed to blog twice in april (three if i get this up in the next few days). but i didn't blog about my kids birthdays' until a month after the fact. better late than never right???

so, without further ado- let's do Topher's fifth year rundown:

 

 

 

Name: Christopher Joseph Sunjae Watson

Height: 41 inches (good for most rides at Disneyland! unfortunately that includes Tower of Terror)

Weight: 36 lbs

(that puts him at the 10th percentile for both height and weight... apparently Topher is favoring his Ham genes as opposed to his Watson ones... for now...)

 

Favorite Things To Do: Building Legos, playing with Legos, looking at Legos, reading Lego instruction manuals, watching Star Wars, and talking about how much he didn't like going on The Tower of Terror at Disneyland (separate post..)

 

Favorite Foods: Grilled cheese sandwiches, Mc Donalds hamburgers, soups, chicken pot pie, korean spicy pork, candy, warm drinks (especially apple cider)

 

Hilarious/Terrible moment recently: During March Madness (college basketball for those who truly don't know or care about sports) we had the tv on to random games quite a bit. Topher was sitting in the living room playing with hid Legos and then he looks up at the tv and says: "Look mom! Those girls are playing basketball! Why are they doing that? Only boys play basketball..."

That's right folks- my son is already a chauvinistic pig.

At least he's easy on the eyes.

(Don't worry, I am trying to teach him about women's rights. I will have him fixed up and ready to be married in the next twenty years.)

 

On Topher's birthday he got to go to school- which is fine cause he likes school. AND he brought in donut holes (munchkins) from one of his favorite eateries- Dunkin Donuts!

Then we had lunch at home- chicken pot pie :) (the microwavable variety. thanks Marie Callendar!)

And then we went to the mall to meet one of my friend's who lives way up north, and we had cookies, cupcakes, and coffee. It was wonderful!

Then we came home and left Mia with a babysitter, and then we waited for Chris to get home from work (which was a miracle from the Lord himself) and we went to Mc Donalds with Topher's bffs/cousins Gabe and Corban and Robert and Lindsay.

And THEN we met Topher's twin, Barb, and Jerry and their housemate/our dogsitter Mariesa, at the movie theater to watch the Croods.

An EXCELLENT day if I do say so myself.

 

Here are some pics of Topher on his birthday and throughout the year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lily is 6! (plus a month and a week...)

Name: Lily Jaye Nara Watson

Height: 44.25 inches

Weight: 40 lbs
(which puts her at about the 25th percentile for height and weight)

Favorite Things To Do: color, go to school, hang out with family and friends, read, watch tv/movies, ride her scooter and bike, run around like a crazy person, make everyone laugh

Favorite Shows: Doc Mc Stuffins, Lalaloopsy, pretty much anything on Nickelodeon

Favorite Foods: kalbi, cereal, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, carrots with ranch (never carrots with no ranch), strawberries and mangos

Favorite Disney Princess: Belle from Beauty and the beast ("because she has brown hair just like me!" she is obviously gravitating more to the Watson in her as opposed to the Ham by not mentioning "Mulan"...)

Dislikes: peanut butter (to the point that she has told people she is allergic to it. liar!), warm drinks (will tolerate hot chocolate if there are marshmallows present), shopping (chris couldn't be happier), when chris goes to work (every night we talk about our least favorite thing that happened that day and EVERY DAY it is that chris goes to work.)

So, that's my Lilster in a nutshell. She wakes up every morning with a ridiculous smile on her face and is ready for the day! Lately she has been waking up and getting herself dressed before coming upstairs- and her outfits are always a delight to my heart. The temptation to ask her to change is really great on some days, but I am trying really hard to let her find her own personal style (which is kinda hard since i buy all of her clothes...) The best thing that she does though is she layers a tank top under her dresses- she wants to be modest!!! There are so many things that she does that make Chris and I melt with pride, and that's pretty high on our list!

Lily is pretty much the best big sister in the universe. She cannot go to Dunkin Donuts or the Dollar Store without getting something for Topher too. She loves Mia so much and is just waiting until they can share a room- estrogen extravaganza!

This year we had the distinct pleasure of celebrating Lily's sixth birthday in California with the Malloys. We had a wonderful breakfast of cereal (her fave) and then we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and had the best time!!!! We saw penguins, jelly fish, sardines, so many things. Funny side note- if you've seen "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"- you know that it's a movie that takes place in Swallow Falls, the sardine capitol of the world. Jeehon was talking about how the auqarium is in an old sardine canning factory and when we were driving there and taking our sweet time, Lily said: "Are we at Swallow Falls yet?" So stinkin cute and funny. After the aquarium we went back to the house, then went to Chuck E Cheeses. Great time had by all. Then we came back home and had Lily and Topher's joint family birthday part at Chuck E Cheeses AGAIN. It's great to be six!

Here are some great pics of Lily from this year- but beware- there are lots of precious dimples that will make you melt:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

monterey

on march 17th we loaded up into our Cadillac and we drove to Monterey to go see the malloys.

the drive took about 10 hours...

we saw nature at it's finest

 

we went to the most incredible aquarium in the universe (twice!)

we went to the wharf and ate delicious seafood

and cotton candy!

we launched rockets

snuggled

snuggled at santa cruz beach

rode the rides at the santa cruz beach

played in the sand at the beach

went to a lot of parks

 

 

and then we drove back home

 

I almost didn't come back people. Monterey was so beautiful, the water, the magically chilly spring weather, my family hanging out, relaxing, and playing so nicely (chris and jeehon only got into two fist fights. jeehon won both times.)

 

 

 

 

twice and done

I've been looking at my progress this year, in terms of blogging, and it's sad. I am averaging two posts a month. just two. it's not like things aren't happening. things are HAPPENING. too fast perhaps. but that's why I blog- to catch some of the action before it fades into a distant memory.

my precious and ridiculous Lily turned 6 last week. two hands people. fortunately not two full hands. but two hands nonetheless, as my friend Cindy pointed out to me earlier today. and then my sweet boy Topher is turning 5 tomorrow. man, march is so busy. and to boot, we are going to celebrate tomorrow by going to watch The Croons with Topher's birthday twin- Barb. it's gonna be a great day. it's gonna be a busy day. but it's gonna be a busy day.

so, I should probably get some sleep cause it's already almost midnight, but I wanted to check in and let you know (grandpa, grandma, steph, michelle) that we are still alive!

we went to Monterey last week to visit the malloys and had such an incredibly incredible time. that's a whole post on it's own. then I have to remind myself of what we did for lily's b-day in another post. and then I will have to post about topher's half-decade celebration. AND I am reading a book and I am almost finished and it is altering my brain, so that is something I should share, cause it's not often that I read so I really need to chronicle those momentous occasions as well. all in due time.

hope you are all doing great and getting ready to celebrate the magnificence of Easter.

from my morning devotion yesterday:

"Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were  a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebeliion, crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed."
Isaiah 53:4-5 nlt

maurice's journey

we have a new member in our family.

well, he's not that new. he's been around since november 8th of last year.

lots of you have seen him around, and he is growing much faster than our kids.

that's right. maurice is chris' beard.

 

we, no, i decided to give it a name because it is big and crazy enough to warrant one. it eats as much, if not more than the kids do, so it's a part of our family.

i chose maurice cause chris has a distate for the french and i feel similarly towards maurice. but i don't hate him. i could just live without him. maurice. not chris.

 

i get lots of questions about maurice, so i thought i would give him his own blog post today and give you some frequent Q&A regarding him:

 

-Q: why is chris growing maurice?

A: because he can.

but, i need to remind my husband that

"Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial." 1 Cor 6:12

 

-Q: does chris have to grow maurice for work?

A: no.

BUT

the other day he bought some couches off of craigslist, and the house he went to happened to be occupied by people who had a history of narcotic abuse. we know this because the lady looked at chris, shared that her husband was going to be down in a second but was upstairs throwing up. chris asked her what her husband was on, and she said anti-depressants, but he used to be on everything. chris made a comment that made it sound like he was a drug abuser too, and she said: "yeah, i got that vibe from you."

score!

kinda...

 

Q: when is chris going to shave again?

A: november 8th, 2013.

the last time a razor touched his face was on the same day in 2012 and he said he wanted to grow his beard for  a year. now, come november 8th, chris will shave

BUT he might just shave a bit and have a goatee WHICH happens to be my favorite look on him

BUT he says he is not planning on trimming the goatee, it will just be as long as the beard gets but be a goatee. i don't think that's going to be a better option... we'll see

 

Q: is chris going to donate maurice to Locks of Love?

A: people who have lost their hair due to chemo have already suffered enough.

why on earth would we make them suffer more by having to wear maurice on their head????

that would be the definition of cruel and unusual punishment.

 

here are pictures of maurice's journey thus far:

 

December 11, 2012

January 21, 2013

March 3, 2013

 

stay tuned. cause there will be more. oh yes, there will be plenty plenty more.

ergo

ergo. not argo. i haven't seen that movie yet, and let's be real- it's not a romantic comedy so i probably won't watch it unless chris decides he wants to watch it one day when it shows up as an option in a redbox.

anyway, this morning, i was reading mark chapter 6 and i was struck with many crazy verses and some thoughts (which at 6:30am, doesn't normally happen.)

the first one was this: "And he could do no mighty works there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief." (6:5-6a. ESV)

but the first time i read it, i read it in the NLT and it said "And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief."

chapter 6 of mark should be called 'a few miracles dispite unbelief' whereas the chapter before would then be called 'much faith = many miracles!'. chapter 5 has the story of Jesus raising the little girl from the dead, but while on his way to raise her, the bleeding lady touches him and is healed:

"And he said to her, daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in me, springing from faith in God) has restored you to health. Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed from your (distressing bodily) disease." (5:34 Amplified)

it's amazing what faith can do, ergo the opposite is true too- it's amazing what a lack of faith won't allow the Lord to do. God is all powerful, i absolutely believe this. but how often do we prevent the Lord from being Master of our lives and our situations- no matter how big or small? i often see the Lord at work in my life- especially when he saves me from impending doom from my bad choices, but how many times have i missed what he has done? especially when things are going well.

in this lenten season, i am feeling so refreshed because of my early morning times with the Lord. i haven't done this in... my whole career as a mother?... i don't know. a long time. i make all these excuses of being too tired, but it's better to sleep less and have the Lord guiding my day as opposed to sleeping  plenty and being solely in charge of mine, and my 3 kids', days.

my days haven't magically gotten better or easier. i have raised my voice and lost my temper. but i've done it LESS! and each morning gives me more hope and wisdom for the day. as i said in my first post of the year- but am finally puting into practice is more of Him ergo less of me.

the children

lily is at school everyday, and topher is only gone on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays, which gives topher, mia and i a lot of time together.

for the most part- we eat together. mia sometimes naps, and then topher and i have warm drink time together. that boy is after my own heart. chris and i have been drikning a lot of apple cider lately (it's like starbucks' cause we have the cinnamon dolce syrup. it is perfection in a bottle!) but topher LOVES apple cider too, so during the day i drink with topher, and at night i drink with chris. some might say i have a drinking problem.

 

anyhoo, topher is at a very interesting stage in life. he is usually very affectionate or very aggressive. it's pretty crazy. sometimes i look at him and i think he belongs in a mental institute. but i know he looks at me sometimes and thinks the exact same thing.

 

mia is also at a very interesting stage in life too. she is usually very crazy or just mildly crazy. and it's pretty crazy. watching her 'play' makes my faith grow cause i can basically see angels hovering around her, making sure she doesn't end up with a concussion every day.

it's a miracle.

 

here are mia and topher hanging out together. they are so stinking awesome. looking at pictures of them makes me forget how crazy they are.

love them!

 

then there's my sweet and ridiculous lily.

 

as you may have already guessed- she too is at a very interesting  stage in life as well. she is generous, sweet, and loving, and then the next minute she is a dramatic diva.

example- i lost my wallet the other day at target. i was really freaking out about it because i had A LOT of cash in there (for once!) and the cash wasn't mine (that explains it). so i was frantic about getting it back, and as i was driving back to target lily kept saying to me: "it's ok mom. you can have all the money in my piggy bank!"

i almost started bawling. she is so sweet.

but then the next day at the mall, we were hanging out at the mall with my mom, and i let the kids go on a ride, hang out at the pet store, play in the play area, and my mom gave them money to go on the big carousel. it was a blast! i had mentioned getting a cookie in the food court, but they took the paradise bakery away! so no cookie could be bought nor consumed. as we were leaving, lily said: "why aren't we having any cookies?" i told her the reason why and then she looked at me and said: "why did you even bring us out here? this is the worst day EVER!"

and i almost made her start bawling with my death glare.

it was not sweet.

not sweet at all.

 

oh to be 5!

 

at least she looks sweet:

so. that's life with the watson kids these days. great times. crazy times. great times.