Looks like Carter is done for the day

Little man growing up

This is one of Carter's first haircuts.



This is Carter's most recent haircut. He even sat in the chair by himself and not on my lap. My baby is growing up.

One year ago...

And yet some things never change

Always good times and fun times at the Yu Family Home

As we enter the holiday season may we not forget all the things that are "free" and yet are priceless

The tree is here

As our Yu family tradition, we set out to go find our Christmas tree
This year, Jenny found a very nice "rounded" one


This year my sisters Alice and Elizabeth and James Shu-Shu came over and we had a lot of fun decorating and hanging out

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Its been a while since our last blog, we've been busy though. Most of the past 2 weeks have been spent getting over various bugs. But Katie and Carter have been spending quality time bonding together, although they still bicker like brothers and sisters usually do from time to time, in general they enjoy playing with one another
Carter's vocabulary has been exploding and its been a treat watching and listening to him develop. His longest sentence is now seven words : "I want to play Wii game please"

Last weekend we hung out a North Hills for a tree lighting

Look whose Two Wheelin

After only 4 hours...

Funny...you start off with 3 wheels(tricycle) then you get 4 wheels (bike with training wheels), then 2 wheels(bicycle), only to go back to 4 wheels(car) ...

Holloween and Proud Daddy Moment

Here are the kiddos
First, the Dark Lord of the Sith

Followed by, the Princess

On a side note, we got an email from Katie's teacher saying that she's befriended the new student and has made such an impression on her that she(the new student) wants to wait for Katie outside of class so that they can go in together(she was a little bit uneasy about going to class). Way to go Katie!

Princess Carter

Can anyone guess who's wig he's wearing? And no...this picture was NOT altered in any shape or form, just a lot of bribing

Wild Weekend

It was a fun filled weekend for the Yu Family

On Saturday we took the kids to Hillridge Farms out in Youngsville. Didn't expect it to be so busy it was. I've always wanted to take Katie panning for gems because I had such fond memories of it as a kid. She had fun looking through the dirt and finding the cool looking gems


At the very end we went to the pumpkin patch to find us some pumpkins to decorate the house with. Carter looked really hard for the pumpkin of his dreams


Today, we went to the State Fair. Here's Carter munching down on his favorite all time food

And Katie bungee jumping again


Carter's first fishing experience...of course was very successful


And finally, a neat picture of the Jo-Ma and Jie-Jie Maddie waaay high above

Crazy Week

Sorry for the lack of updates - this past week was one of the most insane for both Jenny and I. Kids are doing great in school. Carter's drop off has gotten easier and easier. I asked Katie today if she enjoyed school "a lot" or "a little" and she said a lot. She has really been practicing her reading and is starting to move from phonetically reading everything to recognizing common words.

Couple weekends ago we took the kids on a Heart Walk. The weather was great and I think the kids had a good time


Carter's like...how do you work this thing?



But lately, we've just been chillin at home and really enjoying it. And my little man, Carter he is just a plain goof

Katie's Vault

Here is Katie's Vault. She got gold in this event. Go Katie!

Katie's Floor Excercise

Here's Katie's Floor Exercise from her First Gymnastics meet.

She got a bronze on this one and really earned it. She practices everyday all the different elements on her pink gym mat. I am so proud of her!

Katie's First competition

We are here at the competition... I think mommy is the most nerveous!!!

Just like that...

Feeling the Force in Durham

We took the 3 kiddos to the Durham Life and Science Museum. They had a special event going, featuring the special effects found in movies such as Star Wars. So naturally, they had Star Wars characters there. I decided to geek it up with my Yoda shirt along with Carter. Both Katie and Maddie were excited about seeing Princess Leia, while Katie was worried that we might encounter Lord Vader

Here they are climbing the rock wall

One of the most funniest moments ever was after Maddie got her face painted, Carter saw her and then started making his "unh unh unh" sound. We thought he was worried that Maddie was hurt and we kept telling him that Maddie was ok, but he actually wanted his face painted too. We couldn't believe it, I thought he would never sit still, but lo and behold, he did fantastic


To finally top of this blog, I have got to post a picture of me with a Stormtrooper...err, its actually a Sandtrooper

End of Summer

Labor Day usually marks the end of summer. The Neighborhood pool closes, kids are waiting at bus stops in the morning...While we've been in school for two weeks already, this next week will signal the true start of school (Katie will have additional activities such as art, music, and PE) and Carter will have 12 kids in his class. We tried to make it as relaxing as possible, knowing that this will be the only break for everyone in a while. It was our first official "feed the ducks" visit to Shelly Lake as a whole family. The last time I took Katie and Carter we were nearly accosted by a pack of hungry ducks(they were upset we didn't bring any food) so Katie was traumatized for a little bit.

This time, the ducks were friendlier (probably because we had food)


We ran out of bread so quickly as the kids had a ton of fun. I love this outfit on Carter because it gives me hope that he at least "looks" like he can play basketball


Here's Katie dangling her feet, despite me telling her so many times to stay away from the edge. She is 5 turning 6 after all

Schools In

Its been a week since Katie and Carter have started school. Today when I dropped Carter off, there were several kids crying in his class, I thought that I'd be in trouble. As we opened the door to class, he kept saying "no, no, no" but was nonetheless resigned that we were going in anyway. We walked into the class and I directed him to change shoes and hang up his bag , as soon as I could, trying to keep him busy and distracted. He looked at me for a brief moment, trying to decide if he should wail or not, but I guess he thought it might be OK and gave me a hug and kiss and was off doing his work! That's my little man

So we've had a clip of Carter for a while, here's a clip of Katie

Day 3 and Back Home

We made it back home yesterday, safe and sound. Day 3 was another whirlwind of a day. We were able to go to the beach one last time, though Carter was not amused and stayed on momma's lap pretty much the whole time.

I think Katie can be in a Nike or Gatorade commercial, don't you?



Nick and Kelsy visited us since they were in nearby Charleston vacationing as well. The kids were excited to finally see some other adults other than Jenny and me. Here's Carter doing his best Captain Morgan, just kidding. Uncle Nick had just taken his shoe and he didn't want to get his foot dirty

Day 2

Its been raining like crazy down here, so we had to find a indoor activity for the kids. Well, so did every other parent on Hilton Head Island. We headed out to this place, kinda like Monkey Joes back home, but definitely not as fun. But we tried to make the most of it
Carter and I enjoyed a little see-sawing



Then, Katie, Maddie and I went swimming for 3 hours. Whew! We got back and ate dinner quickly so we could join the Campfire. I didn't think Carter would like smores, or any of its components there of, but he loved all of it. You know, there is just something about boys and sticking things in fires

Here's Katie and Maddie showing off their marshmellows, which weren't too badly burnt

Finally, we tried to get all 3 kiddos to pose in front of the campfire. They wanted to stay longer and roast more things, but unfortunately, everything ran out

I guess this

Day 1

We spent most of our day at the beach. When we arrived yesterday it was pouring rain. During breakfast, we were eating outside, we saw a dolphin swim by



But this morning and afternoon it held off long enough for us to enjoy the beach. I took turns taking Maddie and Carter out as deep as I could. The girls had a good time with each other


We even had lunch out at the beach. I did get stung by jellyfish which was the first time ever for me. Not fun at all, but hopefully the kids had fun

By 8 PM though, all the kids were done for the day, hopefully we'll have another fun filled day

We're here at Hilton Head

Happy Birthday and Anniversary Babe!

Unfortunately, the economy has been rough lately, but how about some virtual flowers?


Just kidding. I love you and I hope you have a great day. You have my permission to buy yourself a yummy breakfast

Guess who's two?

Happy Birthday Son, you have just spent your first day as a two year old.

I know you love your mama, but here's proof positive that your old man wasn't always too busy working

2 Years Ago, it all began

I can't believe it has been two years ago since Carter was born. We call him trouble, but he brings such life and happiness into all of our lives. If there is one thing he enjoys, its laughing

This is what we pay the big bucks for

Do you know what this is?

We saw one at home, and Professor Katie proclaims(and correctly, I might add) "That's an earwig!!!!!"


Carter excitedly jumps in to say "buuuuuug!"