just us.

our 2011

I've seen quite a few people do this today, so I figured...why not?

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I just remembered my goals for 2011.  Out of the 6, only 2 didn't get met.  The boat is doing the same thing at my house that it did at my parents' house...sit there and act as storage.  I'm hoping Mike will have more time and opportunities to take it on its maiden voyage this coming year.  We are still a family of 3, but we're hoping to change that next year.

Overall, we had a good 2011.  Keira turned 2 and started preschool, and is in the process of potty training and wearing "big girl underwear".  She had her first ear infection, and has broadened her choice of foods (thanks to school!!)  She has also become quite the little diva and putting us through the terrible toddler stage.  She loves her Disney Princesses, and has perfected the art of picking her nose.

Mike is still managing to keep busy at work, and just recently switched back to a 9-80 work schedule.  He didn't get to do much fishing this year (much to his dismay), but has fixed more sprinklers than he cares to deal with in the last year.  He is still quite the handyman around the house and may have even earned such the reputation amongst our neighbors.  According to them, he never sits still and always seems to be fixing something on his days off.

I am finally settling into a groove at work, having changed the schedule rotation to allow for more time at home.  Being crafty has fallen to the wayside over the year, and I failed at maintaining my 2011 Project Life (I'm thinking of trying again in 2012, but using a different format).  I'd like to travel somewhere new next year, possibly Alaska or Oregon, and maybe get a little more seasoned in the baking department.  The thought of a new family member is also on the brain.

Thank you for being good to us, 2011, and we welcome 2012 with open arms.  Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

our 2011 Holiday cards. simple and homemade.  I like.

making snow in the family room.

new kicks for the girl.  Foofa!

spaghetti for dinner.  if you know Keira, the fact that she is eating the sauce and the pasta together is something major.

Christmas Eve Eve dinner.  The guys cooked.  and it was good.

Keira and her cousin Matthew.  future prom dates perhaps?

Keira and Santa Steve.  She actually wanted to sit on Santa's lap and told him what she wanted for Christmas.  Our girl keeps surprising us!

playing piano with Grandpa Ko.

one of her gifts: a Disney Princess hoodie set.  The look on her face was priceless.  She LOVED it.

Christmas morning.  Her loot from Santa.

the loot.  Last year it was a Kai Lan holiday, this year Disney Princess.  She got lots of other princess things, like toys and an eating set and underwear.  She definitely got into tearing off the wrapping paper and seemed truly happy with everything that she got.  Seeing the joy of Christmas on her face is truly one to remember.

Merry Christmas from the Lieus!!

so very proud

this is the face of a big girl.  a big girl that I am so proud of.

after missing school the last two days due to diarrhea and vomit, I decided she was probably well enough to go to school.

so I get a phone call from her teacher around 12 noon, that she cried on and off for the morning and after coming in from the morning playground session, she started crying that her ear hurt.

light bulb goes off in my head...ear infection?

I kick into worried mama mode, and made her a same day appointment to see a doctor.  I almost ran out of the house right away to pick her up from school, but the teacher and I agreed that they would call me if she didn't go to sleep (they just finished lunch and usually nap right afterwards).  She didn't eat much at lunch, which is what I expected.

I also looked up signs and symptoms of an ear infection (thank you babycenter and webmd) and she seemed to have some of them.  An ear infection can usually follow a cold, and be characterized by vomiting and diarrhea.  I figured, for the peace of my own mind, I'll just take her in.  Having to shell out a copay (which I didn't...thanks to double coverage) is better than having a sick child on my hands.

She napped for only 40 minutes and woke up screaming, according to her teachers.  By the time I got there, she looked a pitiful mess.

She wasn't too happy to be seeing a doctor either, but I told her it was to make sure her ears weren't broken.  Because God forbid, we need to use tape to stick them back on.

yes, that's how we reason with a 2 year old in our house.

she cried while having her weight and height taken, but could still answer the nurse when asked princess or Minnie sticker.  go figure.

She fought the ear exam, but it pretty much confirmed an ear infection.  Her left ear was impacted with ear wax (we will be tackling that tonight), the nurse practitioner describing it as "sandy", while her right ear was clearly red and inflamed.  She was pretty sure if we cleaned the left ear out, she would find more of the same.

We walked out with a prescription in hand, and my next worry was how were we going to get her to take it.  She isn't our poster child when it comes to taking medications, so I knew we were going to have a battle on our hands.

Boy, was I wrong.

I let her dip her finger into the cap of the medication bottle so she could taste the antibiotic.  And hot dog!!  She liked it!  Smells like candy, and I'm darn sure it tastes like it too.  Somehow I had to get 8 milliliters of it down her throat, and doing it the finger dip way was not going to cut it.  So she chose to drink it from the dosing cup and voila!  One dose down, 19 more to go.

The little snarky girl said to me five minutes later...I'm still sick, can I have more?

Amoxicillin, all I can say is...thank you for being good to me AND my girl :)

December?! Really?!

since the girl is still asleep, might as well post...right?

speaking of the girl, she is on day 5 of some viral bug going around.  it all started on Friday with a few vomiting episodes and then 3 days of oozing diarrhea.  She has a nice cough probably due to post-nasal drip, and really hasn't been eating much but drinking like a fish.  I hope she is on the upswing of this sickness, it's really the sickest she has ever been.

our tree is up, and has been since thanksgiving weekend.  this picture here depicts the aftermath of a leaking tree base.  we checked and watered for a whole week before discovering the leak, which lead to the unwrapping of several presents including one for Mike that he didn't know about and a playdoh set for Keira.  We subsequently let her play with it, since she does so at school, but have now decided we are going to hide until she is older.  Playdoh + carpet + toddler not understanding that she needs to keep it IN the tray = not a good thing.

our December family photo. I can't believe I managed to do this for a whole 12 months.

We were lucky enough to get a visit from our friends Fiona and Eric.  Little N has grown so much and come so far since we last saw her in July.  and big E is such a ham herself.

Oli and Keira.  Up to no good.

30% off holiday ornaments at the Disney Store + a mama shopping kid-free = 3 princess ornaments for the princess lover at home.  Belle and Snow White currently grace the tree, and I'm waiting for another "special occasion" to give her Rapunzel.  Or Tangled as she calls her.

Holiday gift exchange between Oli and Keira. oh, can you FEEL the excitement?  Linda and I have both learned a lesson: if we want the kids to behave and eat their lunch, do the exchange AFTER lunch, not before.  This is also the day the vomiting started (sorry LB).

an hour or so worth of manual labor by the homeowners (yes, I helped too!) led to....

this!!

Mike is beyond himself when it came to holiday decor.  This is our first house that we could actually do something to, so we went out with a bang.  I just hope our neighbors don't think it's tacky.  Either they really do like what we've done or they are just being nice.

pancakes for breakfast on Sunday.

holiday card making by the family.  Mike cut and I sewed.  And we let Keira "help" too.

so that's that from our neck of the woods.  Christmas sort of snuck up pretty quick.  It seems that once Halloween comes to town, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's are right behind.