jenny – Page 2 – The Ma Family

A June of celebrations

Timothy turned 2 this month and it was such a joy to seem him understand and be excited about celebrating this year. I love hearing him sing “Happy Birthday”. He anticipates getting to eat cake at any celebration now. =) He had a lot of fun with his little friends over for cake and some fun. It was a nice week of celebrating for him with cupcakes three times – on his actual birthday, for celebrating with his toddler group classmates a few days after, and at his birthday party with friends that weekend. I hope he doesn’t expect so much cake every year, although it was actually fun to do some cake-baking this time for me. It’s funny how having children helps me enjoy things I used to avoid, like baking. 😉 The little guy continues to learn new vocabulary at a quick clip and build more complex sentences. He can now even distinguish between his left and right in both languages! I’m suprised since I get mixed up on that pretty often. He’s so eager to explore outside, throw balls (or really anything), ride his bike, and pull wagons in the nice weather.

We enjoyed a quiet Father’s Day together. It’s been an amazing blessing to watch Andrew’s involvement and intentionality with his son and daughter. Grace’s sweet gushing smiles with her Papa make me cry; they’re just too precious. It’s beautiful to see her affection for Andrew already and I love when she holds on to him tightly with her dimply little hands. I pray that she gets a deep sense of a father’s protective and empowering love as she grows up in our family. Timothy asks often about when Papa is coming home to play with him, and talks so much about their activities together nowadays. He pretends to drive to work with a backpack, just like Andrew. He loves telling me what things he’s doing just like Papa or with Papa. He’s still very much a mama’s boy for now; it’ll be (bitter)sweet to watch him grow into an all-about-Papa stage later.

Andrew and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and enjoyed a nice night out with some delicious sushi. It’s odd how it doesn’t seem like we’ve been married for half a decade(!), but it feels like we’ve had our children for a long time! I’m thankful for the gracious, clever, industrious, gifted, faithful, sacrificial and generous man Andrew is, and look forward to many more years with him as my husband and partner in life. It’s been an incredible journey so far and I look forward to building a legacy together. I pray that I will grow as a wife to be more of what he needs and wants, by God’s grace and strength. Here’s to the next 55 years! =)

Now 4 months old, baby Grace continues to be an immense blessing to our family. We love snuggling her delicate little face and making her giggle and coo at us. She loves watching Timothy be run around and their little sibling “conversations” are very cute. She is a champ at occupying herself with her cute little hands is getting good at grabbing toys to nosh on lately. Grace also enjoys watching her brother’s charming dance moves and basketball dunks. Her happy smiles and easygoing disposition brightens our days so much. However our hearts have also been heavier since learning that Grace needs surgery soon for a condition she has that won’t heal by itself. =( We’re thankful for the experienced and excellent doctors who will be caring for her, though. It’s so sad to me that our baby girl needs surgery at such a young age, but we’re trusting Jesus will continue to take care of her and help us rely more on Him in this health challenge for our family.

Summer is in full swing here and it’s been so nice! We’re enjoying nearby splash pads on the increasingly warm days and the many farmers markets that take place throughout the week nearby. It’s so fun to point out the amazing creation God has made and see Timothy take it all in with his penchant for learning and ability to express himself. Grace seems to enjoy the outdoors quite a bit too and while she’s a great sleeper at home, she’s also quite a trooper when we take the occasional nap on-the-go. I look forward to outdoor concerts and more summer activities in the coming weeks!

Chowing down on a play date

Timothy’s 1st big Trophy cupcake to celebrate 2!

Fun at Juanita beach

Big cupcake #2…a few bangs may have been singed – oops!

Timothy sharing jellybeans with buddies

The baby sisters getting their party on.

They had more fun partying than their faces indicate here 😉

Pre-Father’s Day photo with the toddlers

Water table fun at home

Endless H2O amusement

Love

her

adorable

little

face!

So glad we have water activites nearby

Big boy on his balance bike

Wheee!

Biking like Papa

4 months old

Dimple sighting

Helping baby sister up the stairs

Playing hard at a birthday party

He worked up an appetite

Is there something on my face?

Grace chilling with other baby girls

Gorgeous anniversary bouquet of peonies

Grace loves her Papa

Squishy sibling love

Getting a little mobile

Two teething kids?

Fascinated by the glass art at the farmers market

Can’t get enough of her many expressions

A new favorite food – crepes by Andrew!

Bubbles for baby girl

Some of our lilies in full bloom

Timothy’s 2nd Birthday Letter

Well, this post is a day late, but I’m glad you enjoyed your birthday yesterday. You got to eat Trophy cupcakes, get balloons, and have the birthday song sung to you numerous times at your request. It’s fun to see you understand a bit more about birthdays now. =)

You couldn't wait to dig in! — You couldn’t wait to dig in!

Happy 2nd birthday to you, Timothy! What a year it’s been for you and our family! You’ve become such a big boy and bring so many smiles to people everywhere we go together. Papa and Mama are so encouraged by how much you’ve grown and we’re excited to continue to discover more about how God made you.

Some of this year’s development in review: you starting walking consistenly at about 15 1/2 months, recounting memories to us at 17 months, playing imaginatively at 19 months, and speaking consistently with short sentences at about 22 months. In between was so much vocabulary development and signs to us that you’re just growing up and becoming more independent. You’ve definitely entered an age of deep persistence and it’s forcing Mama to grow in patience, that’s for sure!

You met your baby sister Grace at 20 months and have taken well to being her big brother. Your smiles and giggles with her are such a joy to witness and we love how you are always looking for opportunities to hold hands with and hug her. You often give her toys, stuffed animals, books and instruments to play with even though she can’t quite fully engage in those activities yet. It’s special to see your affection and care grow for Grace everyday as she becomes more aware of our home and family. You two are becoming cute playmates for each other.

You speak mostly Cantonese right now and appear to show a fairly good understanding of differences between English and Chinese and even switch languages in the appropriate contexts. I love hearing you string together sentences with all the words you’ve learned. Although that’s bound to change as you get older and master English, it’s so cool right now to watch you think and process the world in Cantonese. I’m already nearing my limit with how much more I can teach you, but I hope you’re able to retain a lot of it in the years to come. You already use a lot of English for words like dump truck, digger, bulldozer, backhoe loader, hummingbird, ladybug and numerous other vocabulary that Mama just doesn’t have in Chinese. 😉 Loud noises and some strangers scare you, but you’ve been brave and don’t usually cry when you’re scared. You’ve also been letting us know when you’re happy or sad, like something, and love pointing out that Grace is happy when she’s smiling.

In addition to your interest in all vehicles , you love basketball so much right now. You often excitedly point out squirrels, bunnies, birds, dogs, planes, helicopters, WM trucks, construction vehicles and other automobiles on the road. I treasure so many of the sweet things you do like dance and clap in the morning when you see me, blow kisses at the end of video calls with family, sing silly tunes, give me lots of big hugs and kisses, snuggle with Grace, and pet my hair. I’m sorry I don’t sit and play with you nearly as often as you ask me, but no chores or meals would get done if I did! It’s nice to see you discovering the world and play independently so well. I love hearing your little voice ask me to sit on the carpet and read with you, play instruments, sing to you, and play toys with you. We like to see you jam with the guitars and enjoy music so much right now. I love that you ask for specific songs and encourage us to play music more and sing as a family. Some of your current favorite songs are the “ABC song”, “Isn’t He Wonderful” (in English and Cantonese), I’m a Little Teapot (in Cantonese), “The Wonderful Cross”, and a song I made up to go with a bedtime book. It’s exciting that you’re starting to sing along more and do motions, too! You’re at such an adorable age (though Papa and I have said that almost all your life now!) and we enjoy you so much.

You quietly observe when outside our home, and it appears as shyness sometimes, but I’m not quite sure if you’re truly shy yet. It’s taken you most of the year to warm up and be more outgoing at Toddler Group, but you really enjoy it now. You’re no longer as bold with dogs, but you still love to see and pet them when they’re calm. Animals are kind of a mixed bag; you enjoy seeing them and being near them, but want to move on pretty quickly and don’t like when they make loud noises. You’ve also been pointing out animals and objects on your and Grace’s clothes, even telling us often which clothes you want to wear because of your affinity for fire trucks, construction vehicles, all kinds of bears. After being introduced to some new sweets this year, your favorite foods now include cookies, cake, baklava, muffins, pies and brownies. You still love fruits of all kinds and I’m especially looking forward to this year’s farmers market bounty with you!

Your relationship with Papa has evolved and I’ve enjoyed seeing you understand more about how he loves and cares for you. It’s so cute how you’ve been so eager for him to come home nowadays. It’s been touching to watch you grow in your affection for your father recently. It’ll be neat to see you two have more adventures together this year. I love that you have grown to look even more like your Papa, and I look forward to more matching outfits in the years to come. 😉

What - I don't get to eat the whole cake?! — What – I don’t get to eat the whole cake?!

I’m encouraged by your soft heart to receive instruction as we work through discipline so far. Papa and I are learning as we try to guide your heart towards obedience and understanding of our authority over and love for you. You help me see how much I need Jesus’ perfection and forgiveness as well when I see how sensitive and observant you are. I’m so thankful I get to read and teach the Bible to you because I’m learning more about the gospel and God’s great love for us as I grow in motherhood. It’s neat to hear you start to communicate your feelings and concerns to me, and I look forward to learning more about what goes on in your head this year. It’s sweet that when we pray, you like to mention so much of what and whom you’re thankful for recently. We pray that you continue to love books and grow to love reading, especially the Bible, and that you would grow in wisdom even at this young age.

We’re excited to see what this year holds for you, and are so blessed God gave you to us to care for as our firstborn son. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our family, Timothy. We love you so much, little guy!

April showers, Easter, and flowers

This past month gave us some good time to be on our own as a foursome. We enjoyed a fun week with Andrew home after Grampa Ma left, and I’ve been learning the ropes of caring for two at home by myself recently after many weeks with help. Meals, nap management, laundry, cleaning and lots of play/reading time fill my days and I find them passing much more quickly and enjoyably than I did during Timothy’s early months. Amazing what some experience and adjusted expectations does. 😉

Some of Grace’s best expressions and “conversations” are towards her brother, and he is so cute with her. I’m so blessed to get to watch them grow in their interactions with each other everyday, and am pleasantly surprised at how much attention and care Timothy shows Grace. He asks often to see her, hug her, hold her hand, sit next to her, give her (wet) kisses and lay next to her. Grace is proving to be even more mellow than her brother thus far, and is sleeping pretty well already, so we’re quite grateful for that! She continues to be a great sport and makes us all gush with her happy expressions, frequent “talking”, and playfulness already.

To my delight, Timothy has been super affectionate with me lately and I love this season of our relationship. He demonstrates more understanding of rules, relationships, and even differences between Chinese and English; switching languages in appropriate situations. He refers to himself almost exclusively in the third-person so we’re working on that, although it occurred to me that he learned to do it from me! Oops – it’s so hard for me to kick this habit even though he’s learned all our titles and his own names. We’re also working on using other words for agreement since the only word Timothy has used to mean “yes” for months now is “sí”…but hasn’t taken to any other Spanish words I’ve tried to teach him; funny little guy. Adjusting to our new normal also means that any outings I get to take with only one of the children feels like a bit of a treat and turns into a little Mama date time. Timothy seems to appreciate these outings even though he is often eager to get home and see his baby sister.

Spring has brought rains and lovely blooms our way, along with some sunny afternoons to enjoy outdoors. Our fruit trees, tulips, lilacs, and rhododendrons have been in full bloom and it’s especially satisfying that Timothy points them out and enjoys them this year. We’re continuously thankful for where we live and it’s been fun to see the neighborhood kids engage Timothy when they’re out playing as he tosses balls to them and learns to catch. He is also intent on watching buses, trucks, diggers, cement mixers and Waste Management vehicles at work, recreating scenes at home with toys lately. Timothy’s imagination is starting to show and it’s amusing to see his sense of humor continue to emerge as well. Toddler and baby giggles are such music to our ears.

We celebrated Easter with our church family and some very dear friends. As we teach Timothy about our hope in Christ and the power of His resurrection, it’s been humbling for me to also show him how much I need to hear and receive that truth on a regular basis – that I’m a selfish sinner who needs forgiveness and daily (hourly!) help from my Savior. What a beautiful picture it has been to see Timothy begin to understand reconciliation when he apologizes or when I ask for forgiveness. To me, those are some of the most meaningful hugs and kisses we exchange. This has indeed been a tiring and trying season of transition and growth, but I’m also grateful that I get to grow so much and serve the Lord through caring for our family. April was a fast month for us and it’s hard to believe that summer is just around the corner already next month!

Papa, Grampa and Timothy ready for the symphony

Fascinated by instruments

Sliding with Grampa Ma

Such companions already

What’s Grace thinking about?

“Here, play with this ball”

Budding friendship with Sofia

Thanks for visiting, Grampa Ma!

One more “chat” before he left

Outoor instruments at Redmond Town Center

Noisy fun

Of course we need to stop for fluffy dogs

Happy Grace at 2 months old

Girl time

She’s trying to talk a lot

Hello world

He loves sitting with his sister and holding her hand

Construction trucks are currently all the rage with this one

We’re still working on storytime etiquette…

Timothy likes setting up funny photos at times, like this one in their hospital hats – his barely fits him now!

Nice day for his 1st aquarium visit

Mama has her hands full during toddler group circle time some days

Trucks galore in this classroom

Three little sisters hanging out

Sweet Grace face

Thankful for our mellow girl

Hanging out again with brother

Exploring a cool neighborhood park

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

With April and Elian at Easter brunch…

…while Timothy jams with Gabby!

Dainty pose

Mama and her sweet girl

Easter family photo

Stewie rabbit and Timothy about to make a break for it

Kirkland waterfront with the ducks

Swings for us all

Grace is a patient sitter

Timothy’s idea of “playing” with Grace one morning

How does this spray bottle work?

Love these sibling smiles

Life with two under 2 so far

The four of us had a fun March with the remainder of Grandma Ma’s visit and some days on our own before Grampa Ma arrived. What a blessing it’s been to have so much help with the little ones! Grace is growing so quickly that we can barely capture enough of her changing looks on camera. Timothy is still adjusting to having less of Mama’s attention, but he loves doting on his baby sister; often asking to see, touch, kiss, sit with, and hold her. It’s such a pleasure to see him love on Grace and grow to be a bit more independent recently. I get requests for extra snuggling as bumps and scrapes occur more often now that he’s running and exploring vigorously. He seems fine sharing Mama with baby sister Grace so far and it makes our hearts glad. Timothy’s enjoying frequent trips to the park with Grampa Ma during the sunny days in between all the spring rain we’re getting. He’s become quite the climber and animal-sighter! We also started going to Cantonese story times at a local library and we’re enjoying it. I also take it as a learning time for my rudimentary Cantonese! As Timothy’s language develops, I get to hear more of what goes on in his little head and boy, it’s sure a riot sometimes! Timothy especially likes to point out when Grace is awake (it seems to him she’s always sleeping) and calls out people’s flatulence with the help of his very sharp ears. 😛

While it’s hectic on some days to have two very little ones to care for, sometimes my heart feels so full it could burst! Though it wasn’t that long ago, I’d forgotten how precious it is to take in the coos and gurgles of a newborn. Grace’s sweet little sounds and increasing number of expressions melt our hearts. I look forward to the increased sibling interactions between the kids in the months/years to come, and love watching Andrew’s relationships with his son and daughter grow as well. The transition to this stage has been less arduous than I’d expected, but I’m still so grateful for all the help, prayers and encouragement we receive. Since scrapbooking is still not likely in my future, I hope to continue posting regularly here on our family blog so that between here and our hard drives of photos and videos, we can organize our family’s growing trove of memorable times. This post was a bit overdue, so the photo gallery is especially full. 😉

Happy Spring and season of Lent!

Slumbering bears 😉

Big brother and very little sister

Cheesy smiles

Our little blossom

Grace is awake!

Photos are extra challenging now…

He loves holding sister

Our little guy is getting big

Cousin time!

Grandma Ma and granddaughter Ma

3 generations of Ma women

Our family of four

Baby Grace was quite alert here

Timothy LOVES smooching Grace

Silly faces

Play date with Abigail and her new baby sister Sofia

Plumping up quickly

Yay for spring weather!

Coloring with Grandma Ma

1-month photo

Timothy’s 1st apple pie on Pi Day – delish!

Kiddos with Grandma Ma before her return to chilly Toronto

Fun with “Little” Andrew

More smooching

Timothy says smile for photos now – yay!

Sweet happy boy with baby sister

Humoring Mama with a pose

Riding on handmade Nessie from Aunty Sophia

Grace changed so much already at 6 weeks

Soulful little “musician”

Lots of clapping and dancing these days

When did our first baby get so big?

Filling out her newborn clothes

Police motorcycle fun @ RTG Carnival

Hanging with buddy Isaiah

Let’s goooo!

Silly boy wearing Grace’s hairband as a bowtie and Grampa’s watch

Learning from Papa

Rare capture of smiley Grace

Hello fluffy doggy!

Making his way to the slide

Conked out after a lunch date with Papa

Living it up @ Grass Lawn

Welcome Baby Grace Elizabeth Ma

Shortly after our last post on Tuesday, we welcomed the newest little member of our family: Grace Elizabeth Ma (馬恩怡)! She arrived at 5:45PM, weighed in at 5lbs, 13oz and measured 19.5in long. We were blessed with another very successful (and even quicker!) natural birth with Grace and are so grateful for God’s great mercy to us in this whole experience. We both think active labor and delivery felt more calm and smooth than last time even though it happened pretty much as quickly. From the time we entered to the hospital to when we first held our newborn was 40-something minutes, as it was with Timothy! As I was spending the first hours with Grace in my arms, my sense of the Lord’s providence and love on our family was overwhelming, even more so than when we first held Timothy and took in that big change to our family. Children are truly a gift from Him and it’s tragic that many aren’t able to catch a glimpse of the Father’s heart and delight in kids. I’m so humbled to have another little one join our family and take on this additional responsibility with Andrew.

Little Grace and I are doing well with recovery; resting, being nourished and getting to know each other. I look forward to the longer stretches of sleep eventually, but am overall feeling pretty good as I heal and take it easy. Andrew and I are a bit startled to see that Grace looks just like a delicate girl version of her big brother, right down to the double hair swirls on the back of her head. She’s been a bit more mellow than Timothy as a newborn, which we also appreciate. I love seeing Andrew snuggling and cooing sweetly with his baby girl so far, too.

Grandma Ma has been and continues to be immensely helpful caring for Timothy and us, our home, and cooking tons for lots of people; not just our household! Timothy loves having her around and it’s been so interesting to note how different his relationship is with her than with either Andrew or me. I was nervous about how Timothy would do this week since he’d never been out of my care for a long period of time and thankfully he’s doing well. He is talking up a storm and learning lots of Cantonese, especially ones associated with food and animals. He enjoys naming all of his grandparents by title in photos or with gifts he’s received. I’m excited for him to be a big part of Grace’s language development, too. It’s been so neat to hear him make associations and be able to show understanding of family connections, although most of it is still quite confusing to him. He’s slowly warming up to his little sister being around and getting used to sharing Mama with her. His tentative hugs and pats for her are pretty cute so far and we look forward to when he enjoys his little sister more.

We appreciate all the support and encouragement we’re getting as we adjust and transition into this new season in our family. =)