Merry Christmas from the Chans

Love,
the Chans

Happy Halloween!

Sam is two

Our baby is TWO today! At eighteen months, Sam turned from being super-clingy to mom to an independent tough tiger, and has never really looked back.

We love his thunder thighs, emotional personality, full belly, and determination to keep up with his brothers. He may be our most social child yet, and can definitely be bought with food. The terrible two's have fully arrived, and he keeps us on our toes with his biting and pinching.

Sammy, you will forever be our baby. Happy birthday to our joy!

The tetherball story

I often worry about Noah, probably because he is our firstborn and because he is wired a certain way. But this is a story I want to remember about him.

Since Noah started first grade, every day at recess and lunch, he heads straight to the tetherball court. From what I gather, he almost never wins. In fact, the other kids sometimes choose to "go easy" on him. And yet, none of this seems to bother him much. He knows he isn't great, but he comes home so excited to tell me, "I almost won today mom! I was so close. I'm getting better mom!" When other kids lose, they move on to something else. Not Noah. And when we share our favorite highlight at the end of each day, he often says tetherball.

I watched him from afar the other day, laughing and jumping around with such abandon and excitement on the playground. You could tell he was enjoying the game of tetherball with such childish delight. I wonder, could I face life the way he faces tetherball?

Noah's depiction of the tetherball court he wants to install if we ever had a backyard 

House tour - First floor

New floors in the living room 

 

I was going to tidy up the toy room first, but this is how it looks 95% of the time anyway...When we first moved in, this was not quite where I expected our family to end up. But it has absolutely been a great home. I appreciate the efficient layout. We have used every square inch and have welcomed many friends into our space. It is a well-lived home!

This stage in life

We often get comments when we're out in public on how we manage with three boys. I think I've concluded we do not actually do more, we just tolerate more. More noise, more mess, more fighting, more energy.

Now that Sam is nearing two, the three of them are increasingly running like a pack. When they are not fighting, they play well together, caught up in their own games and make-believe. It is a fun and exhausting stage in life!

 

Bedtime stories

 

A summer to remember

When I first set out thinking about our summer, I wanted it to be full of adventure, exploration, and enjoying summer days with my kids in a way that I couldn't have in the past while working in an office.

Not every day was great, but it was a great summer.

Random Wednesday night block party hosted by our town

Someone planning this event thought it would be fun to allow kids to paint the bulldozer

Morning at Happy Hollow with friends 

Morning art camp for Noah 

Another fun Lego camp for Noah 

Big find of the summer, Children's Creativity Museum in the heart of SF 

 

 

Making our own claymation film, so cool! 

 

Made some epic music videos 

Making slime

Impromptu trip to SF to visit an old college friend, Dave. It was a fun morning in the Mission district... until I realized I had left the key to the club on my steering wheel at home. Thankfully Dave made some calls and these locksmiths (after politely asking us to exit the car) are literally sawing the club off, sparks and all! 

And then there was swimming. Which almost deserves a post on its own. I love swimming and have been dreaming of pool time with my kids, but was not quite sure how I would handle all three on my own. We started off slow, but by the end of the summer we were hitting the public pool, and then our own pool, almost every other afternoon. That Sam thinks he is a fish in the water even though he really can't swim. It was the perfect summer activity for us.

A summer for the books!

First day of 3's Preschool

Then it was Max's first day at a new preschool. He is loving it so far!

First Day of First Grade

One of these days I will attempt to document our summer, but for now, this little man is growing up quickly and we are so proud of him.

Seeing the kindergarteners and their teary-eyed parents reminded me of just how much Noah has grown in independence, responsibility, and confidence. I'm excited for all that he will learn this year. Off he goes!