Sisters

 

Make-up

Audrey decided that she wanted to put on some make-up today.  She told Mommy she put on some blue eye shadow and lip gloss.  Mommy thought she looked very pretty.  Daddy was not too pleased…he said it made her look like she was 16!  Audrey turned 7 back in March.  She is definitely growing up although she is a little young for make-up yet. 

Fun Scarf

Katelyn got a multi-colored scarf for Christmas that she just loves.  She was twirling and dancing around the living area with it.  Mommy asked to take some pictures of her.  She must have been in a good mood because she said it was okay.  It is really dark in our apartment so Mommy was glad these turned out as well as they did.  Katelyn is just the cutest little girl.  Mommy adores her!

Strings Bash

On Monday, the  school had a joint strings concert with all the elementary, middle school, and high school orchestra kids.  Joseph played the cello with 2 other boys from the other elementary school campus.  He only got to play in the finale so he wasn’t that happy with the concert overall.  He also didn’t really want to go since the kids all had off from school that day.  Joseph thought it was grossly unfair that he had to attend a rehearsal and play in the concert on his day off!  Mommy wanted him to participate since it was a good opportunity to hear what the more advanced strings students were playing. Plus, there just aren’t that many cultural events that take place in Jakarta.   He was in a better mood once we stopped for KFC on the way home. 

Two Front Teeth

Joseph lost one of his front teeth about a week ago.  Today at dinner he lost the other one.  He is losing his baby teeth later than most of the other kids his age, but that’s okay.  The permanent ones are already coming in. You can see them peeking out through the gums. He won’t be toothless for long.

Pool

Katelyn is starting to feel more comfortable in the pool.  She is willing to venture out into the deeper water without her floaties and she will actually swim around a little.  Audrey is like a fish and loves being in the water. Joseph only likes to get in the pool if there are other kids to play with.  He won’t swim just for the sake of swimming.  Funny how all the kids are so different.

On a different note, Mommy really likes taking picture of her kids. It’s nice when they are cooperative.  Most of the time they prefer not to have a camera in their faces.  Who can blame them?  Anyways, Daddy bought Mommy a new camera!

The kiddos better watch out!  Katelyn was in a good mood when we were at the pool the other day and let me snap a few pics.  Mommy is in love with her new camera!  The first picture is only slightly cropped to remove a swimmer that was to the right of Katelyn.  The second picture is cropped to show just her face and the amount of detail that is still there is amazing!   Mommy gave up on doing a Project 365 this year, but she is hoping to post lots of fun pictures of the kids this year.

Recent Photos

 

It has been awhile since I posted recent photos of the kids.  This last weekend we were able to go to Puncak for a few days.  We had a great time and I was able to take lots of pictures.  The kids were even semi-cooperative.  Usually they don’t like for me to take pictures of them.

Christmas Party

SLB sponsored a Christmas party for kids on Saturday morning.  It was held at a playground in Kemang.  The kids had a lot of fun and Santa even made an appearance!  It had been awhile since Mommy dug out her digital camera and took pictures.  Mommy decided that the party might be a good opportunity to get some nice pictures of the kids.

   

 

 

 

Meeting the Teacher

Katelyn will be starting school on Monday.  Yesterday we went to the school so she could meet the teacher and see her classroom.  We got there a little early so we went to the school library and checked out a few books.  Katelyn looked at the books while we were waiting.  When it was our turn to meet the teacher, she was a little shy at first.  The teacher and her aides all know Audrey since she was in that class.  Katelyn warmed up a bit during the meeting.  She wrote her name for the teacher.  She also went and did some painting and played with play dough while Mommy met with her teacher.  Mommy is probably as nervous as Katelyn is about starting school.  It will definitely be a change for  both of us.  So, come Monday, Katelyn will be off to school with Joseph and Audrey.  She will ride the bus there with Joseph and Audrey and then she will come home before lunchtime.  Mommy and Daddy hope she will enjoy school and have a good year. 

First Day of School

Joseph and Audrey headed back to school today. Mommy made onion pancakes for breakfast. The kids love them. Mommy thought we were doing pretty good on time but the bus was already downstairs waiting. Mommy tried to snap a few pics but Audrey was not feeling very cooperative.

Joseph and Audrey were pretty happy when they got home. They said they had a good first day at school.

Cello Performance

Below is a video of Joseph’s most recent cello performance at the all school assembly. He was so brave to play in front of all the students and their parents. The cellists started the musical performance. Joseph’s friend Matthew went first. Joseph was second on the program. He did a really good job. The head of the Music Temple program (the company that is contracted to teach music at the school) said that he was really impressed with the improvement that Joseph had made this semester in playing the cello. Joseph does like to play the cello, but like with most kids, getting him to practice can often be quite an ordeal. Joseph said that he would like to continue to play cello next term so that was good to hear.

Budding Artist

Mommy wanted to do some painting this morning. Nunu wanted to paint too so Mommy set her up with a canvas, brushes, and acrylic paint.  She took her painting very seriously.  Nunu probably sat and painted for 30 minutes to an hour.  Mommy took some fun pictures of her as she painted.

Eight Years Old!

Joseph turned 8 recently.  Mommy can hardly believe that so much time has gone by.  The little guy is not so little anymore.  Joseph is super active.  He always wants to be doing something.  He loves to play soccer, basketball, and ping pong. Recently he has asked to start playing badminton too.  Joseph also loves to read and spends a lot of time at the school library.  His favorite computer game is Minecraft, and he likes to play it whenever he has the chance.  Joseph started playing the cello last term.  He is making good progress and seems to enjoy music quite a bit. Joseph is also very interested in photography.  He has been actively participating in a Project 365 with Mommy.  He asked for a digital camera for his birthday.  Mommy and Daddy bought him his own camera so that he can take lots of pictures!

Now that he is old enough to be baptized, Joseph decided that he wanted to wait to be baptized in the summer so that extended family could be there for the occasion. We are all looking forward to his baptism this summer.

On Joseph’s actual birthday, he went to his friend’s birthday party so his party was scheduled for today.  Joseph asked for a Lego theme party.  He loves Lego!  We had a great time playing games, racing Lego cars, playing soccer, and eating pizza and cake.  Joseph said he had a great time at his party.  Mommy is glad.

Audrey is 6!

Mommy can’t believe that Audrey is 6 years old!  It is amazing how quickly time flies.  Audrey is as silly and spunky as ever.  We love our little Audrey girl. 

 

Soccer Game

Joseph’s team played another Jakarta International School team this morning.  Sadly, the PEL Team lost the game.  The final score was 3-2.  The teams were fairly evenly matched in terms of skill.  Several of the kids on the other team were physically larger than all the kids on Joseph’s team.  Also, the other team seemed to play a bit “dirty.”  There were several instances where the other team should have been penalized but were not.  The Indonesian referees are not very assertive.  I think Joseph’s team could have won the game but a couple of their key players seemed like they were not having a good day.  The goalie especially was off his groove.  He is a really good player and an amazing goalie, but he was totally off his game today.  Overall, it was still a really exciting game to watch.  I also got to grab some fun pictures.

 

 

 

I asked Joseph about this incident where the kid was deliberately trying to trip him.  Joseph said everything was okay…he just “jumped” over his foot…lol.

 

 

 

Joseph was pretty tired toward the end of the third quarter.  Coach let him sit out for a few minutes and then he went back in and finished the game.