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Winter Storm Jonas

Winter Storm Jonas hit us hard! The backyard got at least 2 feet of snow, and it's still continuing to snow! Everything is closed down. There are hardly any cars driving on the road! A snow plow got stuck on our street and they had to bring in a front loader to help clear snow. Ironically, because of the blowing winds, there is hardly any snow on top of our car! I looked down the street though, some cars have at least 3 feet of snow on top! The only people who are out are kids playing in the snow, adults shoveling their side walk and people wearing scrubs, on their way to hospital. Just like Mark. One of Mark's peers from medical school is doing a residency in Washington DC, which also got hit by the storm and they said that they were commuting to work on the subway, and every single person on the subway was wearing scrubs! It cracks me up! We are so grateful that Mark can just walk to work. The stress of having to commute by car in this would be a nightmare! The kids and I have had a blast today though! I made a small sledding hill in the back patio and the kids love it! I also get a small thrill from it! Ewin lays down and I let him go halfway down the hill and he just cackles the whole time! Poor Joshua had a tummy ache, so it seems he couldn't enjoy it as much, but he still had fun! He likes making snow angels, loves throwing snow balls and falling in the snow, as long as I'm holding him. He has entered a more cautious phase (finally!) So he was afraid of slipping on ice...which if there is any to slip on, it's beneath a massive layer of snow. At the end of the day he said "Mom, there's bad news. I saw something shiny outside and so that means it was ice. The good news is I saw it and didn't step on it and turned around." Silly boy. We had a fun day!

On another note, Ewin has been trying to say more words! Today he tried so hard to say "more"! With the most concentration I've ever seen him muster, he said "mmmmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmmo!" and then he looked very pleased with himself. I was so proud of him! Then Joshua, who has suddenly become a picky eater in the last month was so sweet at dinner. Here was our exchange after I noticed he hardly ate any salmon.
me: Did you try the salmon, Joshua?
Joshua: Yes, it was good.
me: Can I see you take another bite to see how much you liked it?
Joshua then took a tiny bite, scrunched up his eyes really small with the cutest fake smile I have ever seen and said" mmmmm, delicious!"
I shouldn't be proud of the lie, but my heart swelled up because I knew he was trying to make me feel good! And empathy is a great thing!

Anyhow, here are some random pictures from today, and the past month!

Those red cheeks!

Joshua came in from the snow when he complained about his tummy hurting. I found him like this, face down on the ground. He said he was too puffy and couldn't move!

He probably would have fallen asleep like this! 

Blanket Fort!

Experiment with dad!

Cuddling together! 

Food beard!

This sweet heart! 

Joshua would jump out and say surprise! Ewin would just give us a surprised face!

He could watch that train all day! 

Digging for food! 

It looks like Ewin punched Joshua. It didn't really happen, don't worry

J's Twin!

He's 4!!!!

Newborn

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2

3

4

This kid is 4! What?! 4! Can't be! Well I can't believe it! The disbelief even made me cry! I can't believe that he is growing up so fast! Wasn't he born yesterday? Okay, moving on. J is 4 now! He is a rambunctious, energetic and fun guy! He also has a tender heart. He wants to be everyone's best friend! He goes up to random kids all of the time to ask to play with them! He likes to be silly and likes to make people laugh! He is reading now and loves the independence that it gives him! Sometimes it's to my disadvantage like when we're grocery shopping and J yells "Mom! That aisle said 'cookies and crackers', why are we skipping it!?" He loves Star Wars, especially Chewbacca...which he says it's because they are both hairy...hmm. He loves super heroes still, and talks about them non-stop. He "Hulk-smashes" a lot and does a "running box-head run" (ask me about that sometime if you're curious). He loves his brother and apparently talks about him all of the time in primary. He doesn't necessarily likes to share his toys with E, but it's getting better! J's favorite foods are banana, berry oatmeal and vegetable spaghetti. He likes to cuddle more these days.  J loves to build! Whether it's his train tracks, legos or marble races, he'll do it for hours! He's fun to talk to and loves to learn! He really likes numbers and loves doing science experiments!  He likes to watch the gps anytime we drive anyway and is a little obsessed with maps. Anytime we say a word he doesn't know, he will ask us to explain it to him. He is a non-stop chatter box! And a non-stop mover! He makes life intense...in a good way! We love him!

J's idea

I sometimes call him Harry Potter, because his hair is messy within seconds of being fixed! 

New York City!

We finally made our way up to New York City! We decided to try and see as much as possible instead of trying to stop in at a few places. The kids aren't quite old enough to make paying for tours worth it. We saw the Empire State Building, The Flat Iron Building, Korea Town, Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center/Tree, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Time's Square, Central Park, rode a subway, rode a ferry, saw the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street Bull, Stock Exchange, the World Trade Center Memorial!

After seeing the Empire state building, we decided to venture down a couple blocks to get a better view of the Flatiron building. And after discovering we lost one of Ewin's shoes, which really made me sad, we accidentally found ourselves in Korea Town! 

This Paris Baguette made us so nostalgic! These are everywhere in Korea! After buying some spicy cakes (ddeokboki) next door, we came here and bought a ton of Korean bread! 

One of Joshua favorites! Grant Central Station, which is featured in Lego Marvels, where Hulk and Iron Man fight Abomination. Also, known as "sand" central station!

Chrysler Building

Inside Grand Central Station

Cheese! Lego store!  

Rockefeller Tree!  

Times Square! We saw a mormon.org ad! Pretty cool! 

Central Park

Joshua was inside the bubble! 

Statue of Liberty! 

Kids + Statue of Liberty. I promise they had fun! 

The City

Stock Exchange

Wall Street Bull

Waiting for Pizza!