Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

This will be our final post of 2008!!! The four videos below are all from December. We hope you enjoy this New Year's gift.

Christmas Surprise

This is Christmas morning with Kayleigh seeing her big gift for the first time.

Zeb the Bee

Zeb trying on the Bee outfit.

Hide and Seek

Zeb playing hide and seek (Peek-a-Boo) with daddy.

Kayleigh and Mommy Reading

Kayleigh wanted mommy to read with her. Here is what happened:

Zeb is 8 Months!

Zeb turned 8 months yesterday. I just can't believe it. He is becoming so interactive these days. I could leave my little Kayleigh alone at this age and she would play quietly not getting into anything. Zeb is so different! If he can get into something he will. I'm having to get used to that! He is starting to say "dada" although I am pretty sure it is not yet directed towards John. He also started sitting up on his own just a few days before Christmas. He doesn't want anything to do with the bumbo now that he can sit up on his own. I guess it is time to break out the high chair again for meal times. Below are some fun pictures for your enjoyment.

Below Kayleigh and her friends Bright and Zion thought that Zeb needed all these toys to play with at once!

Carpet Time Mischief!

Sometimes Kayleigh's carpet time in the morning turns into what she likes to call "bed time". This means that she spends her quiet time playing on my bed. She is starting to like this time that she spends by herself. She often asks for it now. This is very different than when I first started carpet time. She used to hang her toes off the carpet and ask every 3 seconds if she could come out. Now she says "Mom close the door, I'm busy!". The other day I opened the door to my bedroom to tell her she could come out and this is what I saw first.

Then I looked down and saw this!

She had taken out every single toy she owns and had thrown in on the floor! Sometimes her time to herself can turn into a big mess!

Christmas Day!

We had a great Christmas Day. Everyone came to our house and spent most of the day here. We had a late breakfast and then opened presents. We also played some games and watched a movie. It was lots of fun! Kayleigh loved opening all her gifts from her family here! She also helped everyone open their gifts as well.

Josh and Danielle gave her this horse.

We drew names and Danielle had my name. She handmade this Jesse Tree for me! I just love it! It is so special that she did it herself.

Ellie gave Kayleigh and Zeb these signs to put up in their room. She made them herself! They are so cute!

Then there is Zeb who liked eating the paper more than getting the new gift!

Christmas Eve

Tonight we went to Josh and Danielle's house to celebrate Christmas Eve. We had tons of food that we plan to eat tomorrow for leftovers on Christmas day. We ate basically the same thing we had for Thanksgiving. Some of our spread included turkey, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn corn, and tons of great holiday desserts. We spent some time singing Christmas songs and lighting the Christ candle on the advent wreath. I was really excited for Kayleigh to be a part of the singing this year since she loves music so much. Her favorites were Away in the Manger and she requested Jingle Bells! Below is a picture of us snuggling on the couch right before our singing began. Stay tuned for some great Christmas pictures and stories our our morning.

Peek a Boo with Daddy

Zeb loves to sit in his bumbo and look out the window in the mornings. This particular morning he got a hold of the curtains and started trying to pull them down! Then he started putting the curtains in front of his face. He loves to play! He is such a boy. John and can't wait till he can wrestle with him.

Kayleigh and Zeb in the morning

Today, Kayleigh and Zeb both slep late and woke up in great moods. We decided to get a video of them laughing and playing together. A few pictures are also below for your viewing pleasure.

The Simple Things In Life

I like to think that my little Kayleigh is somewhat protected from materialism living in a foreign country and that simple things will make her happy. Don't get me wrong she has a lot of toys but because we have such a small place we really don't have room for a ton of toys. Today Kayleigh and I went to a store together to get a gift for her little friend. This store is called Hearts and Hands and has lots of handcrafted items for sale. They also have some handmade wooden items such as a child's oven, kitchen, and microwave. I wanted Kayleigh to take a look at the small wooden oven to feel her out to see if she would like it. I have been trying to figure out the best gift for her this Christmas. This was her response "Mommy it no work it needs batteries!" Well, there you have it folks I guess we aren't getting her a wooden oven for Christmas she will think it is broken! Just when I thought she would like a very simple wooden oven to play with she would rather have something that needs batteries and makes lots of noise. I think she is going to be like her father in the fact that he loves electronics. She always wants to listen to his IPod!

Twenty Four Hours of Madness!

Recently John and I were trying to decided whether the kids and I would join him on a trip to a nearby city. Traveling with kids is really not that fun so it has to be worth it. We decided that it would be good for us to go because I was feeling like I needed to get away from my normal routine and even if I had the kids at least we would be doing the same thing in a different place. Little did I know what our travel day had in store for me! So on Wednesday morning ( the travel day) Zeb decides to wake up at 5am and did not go to sleep even though I fed him and left him in his bed till 7am. So for his first morning nap I was confident that it would be a long one. Oh no, it was 20 mins! Then the next two naps he took that day were 20 mins and then a 30 min one. I knew that we were doomed for a fussy child on our trip as we left for the airport. Once it was time to board we realized that no one was calling us to get on the plane. John decides to ask one of the people working about our flight. He proceeds to tell John that there will be at least an hour delay. Upon hearing the news I decided it would be best for John to go back out of security and get us some KFC for dinner because I knew Kayleigh would be hungry. When he returns we realize the cashier had forgotten to put Kayleigh's food in the bag. I was just about to be really upset, because I knew she would not eat what John and I had ordered, when she throws up all over the floor! I guess she hadn't planned on eating anyways! The good news was that most of it landed on the floor but there was some on her shirt. Since Kayleigh is two I don't really think about bringing her an extra pair of clothes when we travel but I do bring Zeb some. So we decided to give Zeb's onies a try. I mean it was better than her smelling really bad the whole time. So sure enough we managed to stretch out the onies enough to get it over Kayleigh's body. Normally, in America I would have been somewhat self conscious of the way my child looked with the snap buttons on the bottom just hanging out but in China I somehow thought they wouldn't think this was too weird. This is the part where I would have loved to have an awesome picture of Kayleigh in Zeb's onies but we had put our camera in the the checked luggage. So after this I was beginning to wonder if this trip was worth it. We finally boarded the plane two hours late! He had plans to stay at some friends apartment while they were away to America. I was excited about it because she has three kids which means she would have all the supplies I needed for my little ones. When we arrived we walked into their apartment to realize that it was freezing cold! Their helper had left some windows open and since it was freezing cold outside that meant it was freezing in their house too! We turned on all the heaters but realized the one in the master bedroom wasn't working. So as John and I slept that night we tried to keep our faces buried in the covers so we would be able to feel our noses in the morning. About 3am we start to hear Zeb screaming. I go to check on him only to realize that his heater isn't working either and that he is freezing. So there was nothing to do but put him in the bed with us to keep him warm. It took about two hours to get him to go back to sleep because he was so tired from the day before. Zeb and I finally fell asleep again around 6 and slept to 8! So was my trip worth it after the twenty four hours of madness? I would still say yes. I got to get out of the house and go to a different city. I was able to hang out with some friends and John and I had a great date night out in a city with great western restaurants. However, I never want to have a day like that again!

Zeb is sleeping through the night!

A couple of weeks ago John and I decided that Zeb was just getting up in the middle of the night to eat out of habit instead of hunger. We decided that we were going to let him cry it out. When Kayleigh was little we had to do the same thing and we were up half the night listening to her scream. We decided this time we would just close the door and open it in the morning. We had a great night sleep but this is what Zeb looked like after the first night of crying. He looks a little rough doesn't he? I felt so bad for him but knew it was what he needed. He is now sleeping through the night which makes the whole family happy especially mom!

Thanksgiving Day

For Thanksgiving day we went to the Shelley's house to celebrate. We had a huge feast that included things like green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, mac-n-cheese and rolls. Can you tell that casserole was a theme to our Thanksgiving feast? We had Laura and Matt and her parents over for Thanksgiving as well. Kayleigh was so excited to have her friend Julianna there to play with.

This is the dessert spread.

Kayleigh with Julianna's baby doll. They continued to put her down for a nap and told us not to go in the room where she was sleeping.

Here Kayleigh, Julianna, and I are trying to do a craft. The key word here is "try" it took a lot of us to figure out how to put this little house together.

Here is the whole crowd minus Zeb. He was sleeping. He always seems to miss out on getting his picture taken. I'm sad we don't have any pictures of him on this day.

Zeb's First Solid Foods

On November 12th we started Zeb on solid food. We gave him bananas and he loved them! You can tell by the picture below just how excited he was about them. Starting solids for him was way past due. My little Kayleigh could have cared less when she started her first solid foods but Zeb was more than ready. Milk was just not enough for him any more. The first couple of days the food just poured back out of his mouth but now he has gotten the hang of it.

Picnic at the Park

The Saturday before last we decided to pack up the kids and some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and head to the park. It was a lot of fun. Saturdays are usually our family day. It is always nice to take a break from our normal routine and go have some fun. This park is unique in that it has some rides that you would normally see at a fair. Kayleigh loves any chance to hang out with her friends Bright and Zion and we love to hang out with their parents! We had a great time and even had an audience at times.

This was for the 2008 Olympics. We thought it was quite impressive.

Not quite sure what kind of face I am making there. I think I might have had food in my mouth!

This park is on a lake that you would have to pay me a million dollars to swim in but it makes for a beautiful view!

My Little Carolina Man

My little Carolina man is 6 months old now. He has been around for half a year. He brings so much joy to our lives. One of the things that I prayed for about him before he was born was that he would bring laughter and joy to others. I can already see God has answered my prayer. He makes us laugh everyday. He has so much joy himself that he can't help but pass it on to others. We had our friends give Zeb a Chinese name. His Chinese name is "Yi Le"( pronounced: ee luh). This name comes from Genesis 22:14 where God provides a sacrifice for Abraham in the place of Issac. Abrham calls the place on the mountain "the Lord will provide." Zeb's Chinese name means provision. I thought this was very appropriate because I had prayed for a long time that my next child would be a boy and God provided!

To Cute Not To Post

I know that Halloween is far gone and that November is almost over too but I couldn't resist posting this picture. My mom had given my kids these outfits for Halloween but I never got around to making their picture in them until after Halloween was over. The murder mystery kept me too busy on Halloween to have time to take the picture.

Friday Night T.V. Night

Every Friday night John and I host a t.v. night at our house. Everyone in our community is invited to come watch Amazing Race and Office. It is fun to have people to hang out with and watch American t.v. Below is some of our faithful attenders. It is especially fun for me since I don't get out much as a mom. Being very social, I really like to host people at my house. This is a perfect opportunity for me to have some good times with friends.

Eight Tea Cakes Without One Bite?!

Kayleigh and I read lots of books. There is one in particular that is her favorite. Ellie, one of our friends, gave her a counting book and we read it everyday. She has most of it memorized. One of the lines in it is "eight tea cakes sat without one bite!". Well, this morning during Bible time Kayleigh and I were reciting our memory verses. I asked her what Psalm 1:6 says. This was her reply....."The Lord....eight tea cakes without one bite!". I am pretty sure that isn't what Psalm 1:6 says! I guess she is getting all of the things she has memorized confused in that little brain of hers. She never ceases to amaze me on how much she can retain. However, sometimes it comes out at random times!

Carpet Time

Most every day we have what I like to call "carpet time". This is a time where Kayleigh plays by herself for a while. I had to make it carpet time since Zeb is usually asleep in her room. Unlike most American homes we do not have a lot of carpet. Most of our house is hardwood floors. We do have a small piece of carpet in our living room. The basic rules are that she has to play by herself for a certain amount of time and she is not allowed to leave the carpet area. This time is help me get some things done around the house and I don't have a little two year old under my feet all day! I didn't start carpet time until recently so it is still somewhat of a new concept to her. The first couple times I tried it she basically stood at the edge of the carpet with her toes hanging off. She asked me about every 3 minutes"Mommy I come out now?" However, yesterday she finally decided to take advantage of all of her toys that she has to play with and not just stand there the whole time. I realized that she had gotten really quiet so I thought I would check on her since quiet usually means she is up to something. I found her here:



After a few minutes of watching her she started to quietly say "help me Mommy". She had gotten stuck and couldn't get out. She is quite the character.

Zeb Singing

Yesterday we had Bible time and afterward in the singing time, Zeb wanted to sing along with Kayleigh. Here is a video showing just how it happened!

Murder Among the Mateys!

For Halloween 2008 our friends Josh and Danielle decided to host a murder mystery party. The theme this year was Pirates! We had dinner, played a pirate game and then had to solve a murder. It was really fun to act out the part that we were assigned.We had a blast and it was a great way to spend our Halloween. China is a great place to put on parties like this because you can always find really good and inexpensive costumes!

Captain Redbeard

Captain Redbeard and his first mate Merciless Morgan!

Captain Redbeard and his sister Sharktooth Brandy. I had lived on the high seas all my life!

The Governor and his wife. Notice the awesome skeleton they rented for the party.



The whole gang!

Kayleigh the Pirate

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

Here is a little video of Kayleigh acting like a pirate.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope you all are having a great day. Below are some pictures that will give you a hint on what my next blog will be about. Looks like some pirates have entered the Greene house!

Zeb was mostly interested in eating the hook!

Why are Naps so Important to a Mom?!

Today marks Zeb's 6 months of life. I can't believe he has been in our lives for half a year. It seems like yesterday that he was born. I am writing this blog now in great frustration at all my expectations that haven't been met. For some reason I had the illusion that by the 6th month of Zeb's life he would be sleeping at least one nap at the same time as Kayleigh so I that I could get some time to myself during the day. But oh no! I just put Zeb down only to hear Kayleigh start saying "momma" after only sleeping an hour! Why are naps so important to moms you say? Well, I think mostly it is for our sanity. To have an hour and half or so of just peace and quiet where no one demands our attention or our time. The way I see it I work a 12 hour shift from 7am to 7pm. Although, Zeb thinks I should start around 6:30am. The naps are my lunch break. I have to continue to remind myself that God is good all the time and all the time God is good! If I do know one thing, this is a refining time for me. I had this idea that kid number two wouldn't be such as an adjustment as going from zero kids to one but God had other plans. I am hoping one day that my kids will nap at the same time but mostly that I will look back at this blog and be thankful that I went through this refining time.

Family Reunion Part II

We just received Kayleigh's family reunion t-shirt in the mail so I had this great idea I would take them outside and get some great pictures made. Well, my plan wasn't as successful as I thought. I really couldn't get Kayleigh to look at the camera because she was too distracted by all the kids playing on the play ground. Oh well, Mom this blog was for you. I thought you might like to see them in their t-shirts. Sorry I couldn't get better pictures.

Notice how Kayleigh has her arms crossed right in front of her t-shirt so you can't read it!

Zeb in the Tub

Here is a little video of Zeb in the tub going crazy!

Headbands!

I am trying hard to make up for my lack of blogging this month. I talked to my sister Holly on the phone this morning and she was really on to me about not blogging. She informed that facebook does not keep her updated on her niece and nephew! So Holly this blog is for you. Kayleigh loves to wear my headbands. Most of the time she doesn't like it if i am wearing one. She always wants to take it out. However, she loves to wear mine around the house. Her personality is developing more and more each day. She is starting to perform especially for our friends. Hopefully, soon there will be a blog/video of her singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Also, a random comment. One day about a week ago I was really sick and could do nothing but be on the couch. When mom is sick that means the kids watch lots of videos! That day Kayleigh took this really short nap and woke up crying. Since, I was feeling so bad I just put her on the couch and we watched Veggie Tales the rest of the day. Now, when I put her down for a nap she tells me that if she cries she gets to watch a video. I wasn't trying to reward her for a horrible nap but somehow she got the idea that if she cries when she wakes up, she gets to watch a video. Sorry Kayleigh that isn't going to happen!

Zeb is 5 Months!

I have been meaning to write this post for quite some time now. To give you an indication on how long I have been meaning to write this Zeb will be 6 months in 9 days! Then I will have to do another post on his 6 month mark with nothing to report. The previous post can give you the reasons for my delay. Anyways, Zeb is 5 months old now. His new things are that he already tries to grab things out of Kayleigh's hands. Oh..she has no idea what she is in for. He can't quite coordinate his hands to get the object and well she is just too strong for him right now. In the last two days he has discovered his feet. They seem really interesting to him because when I go get him out of his bed from naps he is in there trying his best to get them to his mouth. I am pretty sure he won't accomplish this for a while since he is a little chunky in the mid section!

Facebook Addiction

Many of you may be wondering why the Greenes have not blogged very much and the grandparents might be getting a little frustrated that there aren't any new pictures of their grandchildren on our blog. Well, I have an excuse. Without me asking him, John decided to sign me up for Facebook. Now that I have figured out how the whole thing works I am addicted. Due to my Facebook addiction my blogging has been put to the side but no more. I'm back and hopefully the next couple of days you will see those cute little faces again.

Sunday Morning Reading Video

This is a follow-up video from the previous post.

Sunday Morning Reading

Most every morning Kayleigh and I have Bible time. We read a story from the Bible, sing a song and go over a scripture verse we are both trying to memorize! On Sundays Bible time usually doesn't happen because we are trying to get everyone ready and out the door to go to our fellowship. I was in the bathroom getting ready and had placed Zeb on the floor so I could keep an eye on him. Next thing I hear is Kayleigh "reading" to Zeb. She had gotten out her Bible and started reading it to him. It was so cute. Zeb actually looked like he was listening. I guess she thought that Zeb needed to start being a part of our Bible time in the mornings.

Daily Routine

Most everyday Kayleigh and I go outside to play. She often asks me "Momma outside yellow slide?" Translation is Momma can we go outside and play. The yellow slide is a reference to a little play ground we have outside of a some slides. Even though she mentions the yellow slide, she hardly wants to go over there any more. I think she is tired of it. So now we have started a new routine. I thought I would give you a play by play in pictures.

First she likes to walk through the parking garage. She calls it the tunnel. I'm not sure why this is so interesting to her but it is. We walk around in there for a while looking at cars etc.

Then on to collecting rocks. I know you might be thinking what rocks?! Well in these tiny grates in the cement are little tiny rocks that we collect. It is the only ones we can find.

Then she walks down this hill.



Then she throws them in this little pond. Pond is a lose term here. Our complex has lots of water fountains and just places filled with water. So that is our daily routine. This has been going on for quite sometime. I am desperately looking for something new to do!

Bowling!!

This afternoon we went bowling with our friends. All week I had been practicing with Kayleigh on how to bowl. She has her own little plastic bowling pens and ball. Our practice times weren't very successful since she would throw the ball over handed and then run up and kick the pins she missed with the ball! When we got to the bowling alley she had a blast. She helped me bowl and she actually got a good enough spin on one of the balls to make it all the way down to knock some pins over! She was really excited. We had a great time and ended our night with some pizza.

Zeb just hung out mostly and drooled while we bowled.

Here we are at the restaurant. Zeb was asleep. He was exhausted from the day.