A lot of things done in rainy days

Rainy days are not my favorite... It has being raining A LOT these last few days -- yikes! But I decided to look on the brighten side, I'm able to get a lot of work done cleaning and organizing the house (6 more days before we leave! ). So! I'm okay with this rainy day (^-^)

...but Luke, on the other hand, is getting bored... staying inside all the time.... as much as I need to work done, we hope we can see a sunny days soon! Sunshine for Luke and weeding for me... yes, I need to do more in the garden before we leave...

First trip to the dump... I mean storage unit

I remember last June we were on Guam packing for moving back to here to the mainland. And this June, we are packing AGAIN... Our first trip to put things in storage was done yesterday. A big thanks to Mark to helping us! I really liked the U-Haul van, so I had to take a few photos. It is my first experience renting a moving van!

This time it was much easier to do packing, because for the first time in many years we are not moving overseas, just a couple of miles away. I can just dump all of our stuff in the boxes and don't have to worry about the weight and how much it will cost to send!!!! hahaha. We are going to rent a van one more time on Tuesday the 23rd of June, just before we leave town. And rest of the summer we are going to have a fun with family in Virginia Beach and in Japan (^-^)

We got a spider (yikes!)

Luke has new wheels. It's a new stroller called the "Mutsy Spider"! We always wanted to get a lightweight stroller and this is perfect for us. At first, we weren't necessarily looking for anything "musty" or "spidery", but Luke seems to be enjoying the smooth ride! We are looking forward to using this on the walking trail in the park.

Besides... it is a whole lot better than our old stroller:

Little picnic

Another beautiful day, so we decided to do little picnic in our yard. I wanted to just relax and read a book or taking a quick nap in the sunshine, but of course Luke never sits still... he is always moving around---crawling, throwing toys, and chewing my shoes.

We are leaving this house pretty soon, moving into new place much closer to the university in Boone. We are exciting about the change, and having a place more of our own, but I'm sure we will miss this beautiful yard and enjoying a little picnic under the warm sunshine.

Sunday afternoon

We had rain almost all week, so it was nice to have beautiful sunny weather today. Paul and Luke were spending time at outside this afternoon, while I was making dinner (^-^) Luke loves to practice standing these days. He is getting much much better!!!!
Luke loves our house cat Suttree. Looks like they were having fun together!
Oh, I would like to mentioned that the T-shirt Luke is wearing, he got it from the hospital when he was born. It says "Special Delivery from Watauga Medical Center". He is nearly 9 months old but still wearing it. Can you believe it?

It's Friday!

Every Friday, we are going to the Children's Playhouse here in Boone. Luke is having more fun there since he started sitting down, crawling, and cruising (^-^) Rebekah (who answers all my mommy questions) and her son Nathan (who shows Luke how to use all the toys!) are always there for us. Today, Rebekah and Nathan showed Luke for so many new toys and fun things do to!

[Luke playing the piano with Rebekah]

[Nathan and Luke with a train set]

[Luke pushing the "Lawnmower"]

When Nathan saw his father mowing the grass, he thought this toy is exactly like his father's lawnmower! Yes, it looks like lawnmower, doesn't it? When Luke started touching Nathan's train, Nathan told Luke "you go mow grass!". So Luke started mowing the grass---hahaha It was so funny!

WOW! Feel's so good...

Today was my first session with my trainer Carla. WOW! It was tough, but feel so good afterward!!! Well, I'm not sure I will feel the same way tomorrow morning, though. I hope I can get up from the bed---hahaha. I have another session tomorrow, can't wait (^v^) Paul also had session (second one), and his muscles are sore already---heeheehee

He is already 9 months!

Today was Luke's 9 months check up. Well, actually he will be 9 months next Saturday (the 13th), but it is close enough! When we are waiting for Dr. Adams, Luke was flirting with the nurse, and then he found his favorite thing to play with -- PAPER!!!

We like Dr. Adams very much. He is very sweet and takes lots of time with us to answer all of our questions. We are very lucky to find a good doctor (^-^)

[Paul, Luke, and Dr. Adams]

Here are the Luke's 9 month development statistics:
Weight: 19 lbs 4.5 oz (8.7 kg)
Height: 27.5 in (69.9 cm)
Head Circumference: 17.4 in (44.2 cm)

We were surprised that he used to be in the 25th percentile for size and weight, but now he is in the 35th percentile! He is growing quickly.

Personal trainer

Paul and I signed up for 8 sessions each with a personal trainer at Appalachian State University. Yes, it's time to get active and think about promoting good health! We are excited about this program. Paul and his trainer "Mark" already had first their session, and Paul told me he was almost throwing up (my first comment to Paul was "Oh my goodness, what did you do?)---hahaha. For me, I just met my trainer "Carla" today, and did body strengthen and strech test, but my body already feels great afterward!!! I can't wait to start exercising on a regular basis (^0^)

Roses

There are couple of rose bushes in the yard. Every time when I took a walk with Luke, I checked each bushed and think about which rose will bloom first. Luke was waiting for me in the yard until I checked all the bushes every time.

I thought this rose bush will bloom first...
BUT... I was wrong, today I checked again and the roses are just like this...
instead, all other rose bushes are blooming already. Red, pink and white!
So now, we are enjoying lovely colors and smells when we take a walk in the yard (^-^)