Drumming With Daddy

One night Young was singing with the kids after dinner and started drumming his fingers on the table. Timo started trying to do the same, soon followed by Cameron. I love how they were trying to use their two fingers...just like daddy...

Drumming With Daddy from Sara ko on Vimeo.

Nap Time and Imaginations

I never really know what I'm gonna find when I open the kids' door after "nap time". It's a seemingly unending party in there everyday. I try to kept them in their room at least an hour for quiet time (which is anything but), if not long if they are playing well together. Most days aren't too bad, a few tug-a-war over toys or a bonk of the head on bed rails, but for the most part, they go into this imaginary world for two hours. One day it's bug catching...
The very popular dumping of all the toys out of their bins...they needed the bins to load all their stuffed animals in them to make a train...like the animals in The Little Engine That Could.
Another day it's "let's take off all our clothes and draw on the doodle board" or "we're going swimming on the pillows so we didn't need clothes." (let's take all our clothes off is a very common occurance)
Almost all days consist of taking every piece of bedding off their beds...then maybe falling alseep...on the bed or on floor but on all the bedding.

Sometimes we make it all the way through nap time without sleeping but just can't make it through afternoon snack!
The funny thing is, they will come in and out of their rooms about 10 times over the course of nap time, asking for more milk, potty, is nap time over, etc. But when I go in and tell them nap is over and it's time to clean, they will stay in their rooms another hour just playing/cleaning. So our nap time is stretched out to about 3 hours each day. Plus, they are in bed by 7pm, not a peep from them, asleep in 5 mins...I'm kinda liking this no nap anymore!!

(Even as I write this I can hear them in their room going hiking in the forest, looking for spiders!)

The SF Zoo

Last Wednesday was the first Wednesday of the month which meant free day at the SF Zoo which means the Ko clan was there! Typically we barely see any animals when we go, simply because we head straight for the train, then the merry-go-round, pet the goats in the petting zoo, have lunch at the picnic tables by the playground and then spend the rest of the time playing there. It's been our MO basically every time we go, so this time I decided we would actually see some animals...go figure, huh?

Timo was asking about the train from the time we got out of the car. I cleverly told him there was a new path to get to the train...a path that went by the giraffes, penguins, monkeys, polar bears and a hippo! I even gave him a map of the zoo and showed him how to get there...via my way. And yes, we saw a few animals but sadly, the SF Zoo isn't the best zoo. I felt bad for most of them...they just looked so bored. But I do have to say that the giraffes and zebras looked super impressive. What amazing animals God created!
Giraffe ears. Timo couldn't quite get in the middle...
The new hippo looked especially sad in his little tiny pool of water. We watch him for a long time and it never moved...just raised it's head up and down out of the water...
After an hour of Timo asking "where's the train?", we abandoned my remaining animal trek and headed to the train...my little boy does love his trains.
We met up with our friend Mila at the prairie dogs...three big ones popping up! We are bummed that she started preschool this week, so last week was our last little play date with her. Have fun at school Mila!
Then we spent some time at the insect house being spiders and butterflies!

It was starting to get pretty windy outside so I knew our time was short. We all had a little picnic lunch and per Cameron and Mila's request, we played the remaining time on the playground. Cameron spent most of her time at the swings. She still likes the baby swings because she can go much higher and be a little more reckless in the seat...my little girl does love to swing!

Timo doesn't like the swings...never has. But he does love to follow all the older boys around at the playground and try to be just like them. So there was the group of three older boys (5-6years) swinging while Timo just watched. Then I noticed he had slowly moved into a swing of his own and was asking me to push! Of course, one tiny little push and he got scared and had to come out, but at least he tried...I managed to snap a picture of the quick, but monumental moment.

Yay for free days, swings and trying something new!

Muddy Madness

We had about four straight days of hot weather and we were outside every single day. One of the favorite places to play was the mud hole the kids created. Over the course of four day, constant digging and filling with water, the mud hole became pretty impressive...by a 3 year old's standards. Each day they would play in the mornings, go straight to the bath before lunch, head back out after "nap time" and the straight back to the bath tub before dinner...ah the life of a kid!!

Team work!

Could anything be better as a kid? Playing with mud has to be up there in the top 5...behind birthday parties and Christmas...oh, and running around naked!

A boy, his mud and his dump truck! Love it!!

Little Farm

On our hottest day last week we took a little field trip out to Berkeley to the Little Farm in Tilden Park. I think we need to go to farms more often...when I told Cameron we were going to see cows and horses, she asked if the horses were going to be pretend horses...

Our friends Caleb, Evan and Sammy came with us! Now the last time we went to the Little Farm, we were the only ones without celery and lettuce to feed the animals...I guess only insiders know to bring it. Well, this time we were prepared and had plenty of both veggies for the cows, pigs and rooster!

Timo really enjoyed feeding all the animals, especially the cows. He did accidentally get in the way of one little boy feeding and got a big cow lick on his head...ICKY! I asked him afterwards if he was OK and he said "mommy, I don't like the cow to lick my head. Tell the cow not to do that again." OK Timo, Mommy will tell the cow not to lick your head again!
Cameron was too scared to actually feed the animals but she carried a stalk of celery for looks...just so everyone thought she was one of the cool kids...
This rooster just sat up on the fence and pecked the food right out of the kids' hands. Caleb and Timo had the best time watching it reach down and grab.
Then we went inside to the little nature museum they have with all kind of tunnels, boardwalks, bridges and cool exhibits. We looked into microscopes, checked out different bugs of the region and rode the mountain lion!

We tried to walk the nature trail down to the lake (1/4 of a mile) but the kids kept getting distracted with sticks, rocks, and tossing them into the little rivers we passed. After 30 mins we decided to turn back and climb rocks on the playground...
It must have been the combination of hot temperatures and farm life....this was the only nap they took all week! This was the best part of the day for me!!

Spring Planting

We finally got some good, hot weather last week so I could get out and get some yard work and planting done. I love that the children are old enough to actually "help"! Of course that only lasted a little while and then they were off creating a mud mess of their own...

Practicing with their watering can was a must...need to get ready for the big ones!

This year I planted jasmine and honeysuckle to hopefully climb up our back fence. Timo was helping water the new plants as well as my new rosemary bush (my other one died when I sprayed it with clover killer...note to self). I also added bark chips to what I call my "southern corner". It's azaleas, gardenias and creeping myrtles. None have ever bloomed, it doesn't get hot enough in SF, but I love the idea of having flowers around that I grew up with.


Then the fun began! The kids started this serious mud hole...oh boy did we need baths after our afternoon of playing! You can tell from the feet...a good time was had by all!!

It was so much fun getting outside after so many weeks of rain. We had a picnic lunch and smoothies to finish off our day...then straight up for baths before naps. Yay for spring weather!!

Jesus Answers Prayer!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phillipians 4:6

These words can be so deep and profound...yet so simple in the mind and heart of a child...

Cameron had gotten into this cycle of waking in the middle of the night, usually around 2:30am, crying and asking, "Mommy, can you hold me a little bit?" After about four nights I was growing a little weary of this new habit...the night she woke up three times asking to be held a little bit, I decided it needed to stop. So the next night, as we were getting into bed, I held her in my arms and started talking to her about not waking up. I told her she was a big girl and big girls sleep all the way through the night without waking up. I went on about having good dreams and there was no need to wake up crying. The she looked at me with her big doe eyes and asked, for the very first time, "Mommy, can you pray for me?" My immediate respone was "of course I can, I would love to. What would you like Mommy to pray about?" And with a quiet little voice, she said "pray that I would be happy while I sleep and not cry." Oh, melt my heart!! So with pools of tears in my eyes, I prayed with her, thanking Jesus for Cameron's spirit and asking Him to give her good dreams of puppy dogs, ice cream, rainbows and lots of stuffed animals. We prayed that she would sleep all way until the next morning....and she did.

I wasn't until later, after putting her to bed, I grasp the magnitude of what just happened. Cameron believes in God and knows He answers prayers...these are very real truths in her life. When faced with something difficult, she knew who to turn to...not Mommy, not Daddy, but Jesus. Wow, how great is our God!

Book Worms

Timo and Cameron have turned into little book worms over the past few months. They have always loved to be read to but lately all they want to do is "read" the books themselves. I'm sure it's all part of the imagination section of their brain that got instantly turned on when they turned 3!

They know most of the books by heart so they will sit and read the story as it was read to them. Occasionally they will make up the story, depending on what they see in the pictures...either way, almost every page begins with "once upon a time..."

reading from Sara ko on Vimeo.

The Little Engine That Could is one of Timo's favorites...here his is reading, asking each engine if they can help until they find the Little Engine that could.

Untitled from Sara ko on Vimeo.