Bye Bye Binky

Kaden is a pretty even tempered child... but he also loves his binky and froggy to sooth him when he's sad, upset or tired. We have loved that he took to the pacifier... but now that he's getting to be a big boy we think it's time to wean him off the pacifier.

We got him this book called: bye bye binky and have been reading it to him for a few months now. Every time he sees a balloon he says "bye bye ti ti" (that's what he calls his binky). We are trying ease him into the idea of saying bye to his binky.

This morning Joel noticed that he seemed super attached to his pacifier so he thought better now then later... and cut a slit into the pacifier. Kaden went to put it in his mouth when he got into the car and said: "uh oh dadda... ti ti broken... new one?" That's when Joel said that's the only one. And Kaden was pretty confused and distraught at the idea of his pacifier being broken. Kaden kept asking people to fix his binky and each of us told him we couldn't. He got a little cranky on the way home from my doctor's appointment and throughout dinner out. He was distracted enough through the evening he didn't really think about it... until bed time.

Of course it was just me (lisa) and Kaden at home alone together. And I prayed my way through the bed time routine. We got a longer bath time... played with some puzzles... calmed down with some dim lights and sound machine noise... we read some books-the bye bye binky book was read several times... (with his name inserted instead of the main character's name) and the cutest/saddest part was as I was reading the book to him he kept glancing over to his pacifier which we carefully put next to all his cars... he asked me to fix his ti ti and I said I couldn't... and we talked about him being a big boy and not needing it any more. He does take only one bottle before bed...so, I think that soothed him enough to fall asleep. He actually went to bed a lot faster than he normally does... but he was also on a shortage of a nap since his binky was broken in the afternoon. We will see what the middle of the night holds... or tomorrow will hold. Kaden's track record has been that the first day of attempting anything "new" has gone well... it's the second day he has a harder time with. We are praying that he's just ready and able to self-soothe. It was actually kinda sad that he didn't even really want his froggy... I think the two go together. Our little guy isn't so little any more. Here's a picture of his first night without his pacifier....

Happy Anniversary!

Joel and I celebrated our sixth anniversary on June 12! This was what we did on our anniversary: We ate and hung out with family! :) Sounds like what we did on our wedding day! :)

1. We had breakfast at a place called Saw Mill Cafe in Mill Creek Plaza

2. We got donuts at Frosts

3. We watched the USA vs Britain soccer/football game at Mulkiteo Lodge with all the cousins

4. We had Tran family dinner at a yummy Korean restaurant

Happy Anniversary to the bestest husband ever! I don't know what I would do without your love, your grace, your patience, your giving heart, your humor.... your cooking! :)

It's been such an amazing six years... I can't believe we have actually been married that long... it feels like we were walking down the aisle at North Seattle Alliance Church yesterday. May we grow old and senile together... may we laugh every day together... may we center our marriage on the love of Jesus daily. To sixty plus years together... love you!

Congrats LORI!!!

This weekend we jaunted up to Seattle for a weekend full of festivities. Lori, my younger sister, graduated from the University of Washington Bothell with a degree from the school of Community Psychology. She is the last of three kids to attend the UW. We are huskies through and through! :) Lori is 8 years younger than me (lisa) and there has been a special bond since the day she came home from the hospital. I was quite the older sister... being that much older, I was sometimes more the mother figure since my parents worked a lot. I know I wasn't the best older sister... but she was a delightful baby... kid... teen and now adult.

We are so proud of the beautiful, talented, loving person Lori is... she loves God and desires to serve him in all she does. She is probably landing in Spain as we write. The day after graduation she jumped on a plane and is spending the next six weeks with the C&MA through Global Ventures. You can follow her blog, hopefully she will have time to update regularly.

Anyways... Lori... thanks for being such a wonderful Auntie to Kaden. He loves you soooo much! Thank you for being an awesome sister to the rest of us... and I know mom and dad are very thankful and proud of you too.

May you experience God's love and grace more abundantly... may you serve people with compassion... may you desire to live and love like Jesus.... may you hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit guide you... may you always remember that you are surrounded by family and friends that care deeply for you and may your faith grow through this awesome experience in Spain....and in this next part of your journey. Blessings Lori... we love you!

Bye Bye Co Kris

Bye Bye Co Kris... it's been a fun journey... It has been a fun three plus years of lots of eating, laughing, missing all things Hawaiian together... congrats on finishing up at Concordia... we will miss ya staying over at the To-Banker abode during breaks and long weekends.
Thanks for loving on Kaden... and watching your guys' love/hate relationship... he really loves ya and will miss seeing you on a regular basis. It's been fun to watch how you guys play together... it's crazy that you have been around since before he was born.
May you experience God's goodness in your daily life, may you live in Jesus' grace and spread it... may you teach students how to love and respect each other and that you will show them Jesus' love through your actions.

We will come visit you on the island or where ever your journey takes you... as long as it's warm and has good food! hahaha!!! Blessings friend. Aloha.

Happy Birthday Chlo-Chlo!

Our niece, Chloe, turned ONE! We headed on an adventure to Seattle to celebrate with her! Too bad she was cutting her first teeth and had a pretty high temperature and wasn't in the best of partying moods. But she was still adorable and all she wanted to do was cuddle! So, being one of the best aunties I got to just hold her so my bro and sis in law could hang with their friends.

It's always so sad to see a baby not themselves. We wanted to see her interact with people who loved her and showered her with presents... we wanted to see her eat her cake and play with her new toys. She was totally out of it for party #1 on Saturday and felt more up for playing and celebrating for party #2 on Sunday. Here's some shots of Kaden and Chloe playing with each other before all the partying commenced. And another fun birthday pics of the beautiful princess!!! We wish we lived closer to be able to be in her day to day life. We love you Chlo-Chlo!

Carnival Excitement!

Carnival season is in full bloom in the To household. If you didn't know, Joel's parents have a food cart and sell bento, teriyaki, egg-rolls, all that kinda yumminess! They have been doing it since Joel was 8. The To family are experts in all things cooking and all knowing in the carnival world. They can recite acts they have seen day in and day out at the county fair. They can tell you who owns which booths, which to eat at and what to stay away from. They trade and barter food like their lives depended on it. I (lisa) was lucky enough to marry into this wonderful family. I actually think it's fun to work at the fair...but again, I didn't have to do it since I was 8. It's a lot of hard work and long hours.This week Joel is helping his parents at the Rose Festival. It's their first year there... and you know what comes along with the Rose Festival in Portland is RAIN!!! Yep...it's the joke of the city that it ALWAYS rains for the major events of the festival. So... my brave husband is working in the rain... and the hard work is much harder when there is not a lot of people at the carnival and muddy working conditions.

The To-Banker (plus Kristina) family decided to go down to opening night at the waterfront village to support the family and see Grandma and Daddy. (and for some yummy dinner). We decided to take the Choo Choo MAX down there so we wouldn't have to find parking and pay. BEST IDEA of the week! Kaden loved every minute of being on the light rail. He waved at every other MAX passing by... he said BYE BYE every time we pulled out of the stop... he was adorable.

So, we got down there and walked around a bit, ate some dinner, walked around and awed at the rides that were going FAST FAST! And then walked around a bit downtown looking for some coffee to warm ourselves up...but didn't see any in close radius. So, we got back on the Choo Choo MAX. Kaden was kinda sad cause we passed the MAX station and didn't get on... he moped for a block until we said we were going to get on the MAX and he got a bounce in his step again!

Spring is in the air...

Spring is in the air here in Portland... it's been on and off the last few weeks. The rain has come and made all things green in the rose city! Kaden is fully equipped now... he got some mud boots, a trowel, a ho, a wheel barrow and the latest addition to the gardening/yard work equipment is a LAWN MOWER! Yep... with the bubble feature and all! (Although, all four wheels must be touching the ground at once for the bubbles to blow, and on not even grass.... it's kinda a manufacturing FAIL.) Anyways... he's constantly saying "ZACH MOW MOW" "KADEN MOW MOW"... very cute! He loves getting his hands dirty and grass in his hair (and I found some in his diaper... weird, I know.) The garden is growing and the lawn is mowed. It's going to be a good fruitful crop this year! (Mostly thanks to our housemates, cause Joel and I maybe contribute 10% of our time and energy).