Blog of Chang

Watching Shamu!

2011-10-16T07:31:00.001-07:00

San Diego and the USS Midway

2011-10-14T16:29:00.003-07:00

Daddy finished his last class - and his second bachelor's degree!! Not only that, but it was our fall break at the same time. To celebrate it all, we went to San Diego...and took Nanny and Papa with us! Papa and Nanny left on Friday morning...and took Elijah with them. I (Josiah) was star student of the week, so I got to take a special treat in to school on Friday afternoon. Daddy and Mommy brought in otter pops and then we left school after snack time. We drove with them and met Papa and Nanny in San Diego.

On Saturday we went to SeaWorld! It was so fun to see all of our favorite shows...including Shamu Rocks!! We were SO tired on Sunday from our long day at SeaWorld. We went to see the USS Midway that morning. The USS Midway is a big aircraft carrier that was actually used in the wars. It has tons of planes on it and we got to see all parts of it and how sailors lived on it. Here we are in the hangar. This is Eljiah and Daddy in the cockpit of a plane:Elijah trying to get himself buckled in to a pilot's seat:
Elijah listening to the tour:

Wow - a big jet! I wonder if this one is like the ones that fly over our house?

Filling in our test answers so we can earn our honorary pilot wings:

We found seats in the ready room!

The workers wear all different colors on the deck so that they know what each other's jobs are. It's too loud for them to talk out there when the jets are flying around.

That's a lot of buttons!

Jonathan thinks it stinks in here...Mommy thinks someone with a lot of cologne was in there before us...

Oh no! We got thrown in the brig!

We had a great trip to San Diego. Unfortunately we were all sick during fall break. Hopefully we'll get to do some fun things next week when we have early dismissal at school for three days. We really want to go to San Diego again. Maybe you can help convince Daddy and Mommy to take us one more time this year...

Another Busy Weekend

2011-10-14T16:22:00.002-07:00

It seems to be a pattern that we have BUSY weekends around here. On this particular one, Mommy decided to cut my bangs...They weren't too bad, but I can't wait for Miss Diana to be ready to cut my hair again! Daddy was off work because he was supposed to be doing his final project for school. He took some time to go with me and Mommy to get my two year old pictures taken.
When we got done with pictures we went out to eat for lunch. Daddy and Mommy liked it a lot! I was just hungry. :)

When Mommy picked up my brothers from school, Josiah had Clifford!! We got to spend an entire weekend with Clifford! Here is Clifford at the post office with us:

We went to Macayo's for dinner and brought Clifford there, too:

Clifford likes margaritas. I'm not sure why he got to try it but I didn't.

Clifford went to soccer with Josiah. He got to play goalie!

On Sunday it was Papa's birthday, so Clifford got to go to the birthday party, too!

We had a great weekend. I wonder if Daddy got his project done in between all those activities?!

Papa's Super Power

2011-10-14T16:16:00.003-07:00

On Tuesdays I get to go spend the morning with Papa while Mommy goes to volunteer at my brothers' school. One Tuesday Mommy came back to find this:If you can't tell...I'm face the other way from the camera. Mommy was impressed and mystified at how Papa did that...he is one talented guy!

Take My Picture, Mommy!

2011-10-14T16:15:00.001-07:00

When Mommy and I go out I always want her to take my picture. Sometimes she complies, and this time she not only did it, but is posting my cuteness for you!

Terrific Two?!

2011-10-14T16:11:00.003-07:00

Today I turned two!!! Here is the first thing that happened when Mommy brought me downstairs on my birthday morning:The saying is "Terrific Twos," right?!

Monkey Party!

2011-10-14T16:09:00.002-07:00

On my birthday I got to have a monkey party! I got to sit at the big boy table with my brothers since I'm 2 now! Here we are eating:This is a picture of some of the people who were at my party:
Here are the monkey cake pops ready to be served!

Presents for Me?!?

2011-10-14T16:02:00.003-07:00

After we ate there was a HUGE stack of presents on the table...all for me! I was so excited when I started to open them! My brothers were excited, too!Then Cousin Andrew got in on the fun!
I got the hang of it pretty fast.

And I got bored with it eventually. Thankfully my brothers were more excited than I was.

I got a scooter from Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sharon! I started out riding it sitting down...

But figured out quickly to make it go standing up!

One of my other favorite gifts was a light saber just like my brothers have!

Cake Time!

2011-10-14T15:54:00.003-07:00

I got my own cupcake with a #2 candle on it!I blew out the candle all by myself, too!

Say Cheese, Please

2011-10-14T15:50:00.004-07:00

Well the day ended on a good note! I had a great birthday, and was so happy...and it may have had something to do with all the sugar I had. :) At the end of the day Mommy wanted to get a picture of me. I don't think she remembered what it is like to try to get a picture of a well-sugared two-year-old, though.

And then, of course, my brothers just had to be in the picture, too...

This is as cute as it gets, Mommy!

Monkey Cake Pops

2011-10-14T15:48:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Miss Chrissy for some cake pop tips and for a box to hold them. Mommy finished my monkey cake pops the day before my party. I can't wait to eat them!

Friday Fun!!

2011-10-14T15:45:00.002-07:00

On Fridays Mommy and I got to play with our friends Miss Chrissy and Morgan. Morgan and I play SO well together. Here we are 'sharing' her car. She was being a little bashful, but as you can see by my face I just adore her!My brothers had their first fundraising project for school. One of the incentives was that if they got a bunch of postcards sent out they would get a ninja duck and splatter egg. Here they are with their ninja ducks...Thanks to our friends and family!!

Helping Mommy

2011-10-14T15:42:00.002-07:00

Have I mentioned that I love to help Mommy? I like to help in the kitchen, doing the laundry, cleaning, and anything else she'll let me do! On this particular day we got to make brownies for our friend Miss Diana. Here I am getting ready:Don't worry - Mommy washed the spoon before we made the brownies. :) Here I am testing the batter. I wouldn't want anything but the best for Miss Diana!

Once again, I approve!

A Saturday in September

2011-10-14T15:37:00.002-07:00

Saturdays are busy days, and this particular one was no exception! First we had soccer. Mommy didn't take any pictures during practice, but I (Jonathan) made sure we didn't get out of the parking lot without proof we were there. Then we had Isaac's birthday party! He turned 5 like us! Here is Elijah and the other younger siblings decorating their pots:
Here we are - all the big boys!!

We had fun with Isaac and Nolan at the party! We had to leave because there was so much going on, though. Daddy had lots of school work and Mommy was meeting Miss Heather later in the afternoon. She and Miss Heather got their toe nails painted. Mommy came home with Hawkeye toes! We love our busy Saturdays!

Test Run

2011-10-14T15:35:00.001-07:00

My birthday is coming up soon, and I decided that I want to have a monkey themed party. Mommy decided to try her hand at cake pops, but thought she should do a test run before the big day. I was not at all upset about that idea! Here I am being a good little tester for Mommy:

Yes, I approve!

Spoiled?!

2011-10-13T16:01:00.002-07:00

Daddy and Mommy sometimes throw around the word "spoiled" in our house. We don't think that is accurate at all. Here are a couple of pictures that Mommy took that she thought was funny and a little incriminating...

This is our train table...and a few trains...

Daddy and Mommy always want us to put our hats away. Here is the pile of hats on the banister from just three little boys!

House of Chang Happenings...

2011-10-13T15:57:00.002-07:00

Here are just a couple of pictures of what we do on a typical day in September. Since brothers are at school every day, Mommy and I get to do all sorts of fun things together. One is that we've been going out to breakfast because Chick-Fil-A is having a free breakfast month. One of the things they are giving out is orange juice...which I LOVE!Another thing we've started doing is buying feeder fish for our big fish to eat. One day Daddy got some medium sized fish, and Rex REALLY liked them. They were almost too big for him to eat, but Mommy got a picture of him enjoying his catch of the day...

Happy Belated Anniversary!

2011-10-13T15:54:00.001-07:00

Well, it's now September and Daddy and Mommy finally got to celebrate their anniversary. They were supposed to go out the Friday after their anniversary, but Josiah got sick. Apparently school was a little too much for him that first week! Anyway, they re-scheduled and went out while Aunt Mary watched us. It was a win-win...we would like to suggest that Mommy and Daddy take us next time, though, since their dessert looked amazing!

Happy 8th Anniversary Daddy and Mommy!

Soccer Again!

2011-10-13T15:52:00.002-07:00

Not only did school start, but we got to start soccer again with Coach Josh! We had taken his soccer class before, but we liked it so much we did it again! We love playing soccer and practicing our moves. Thanks, Coach Josh!

First Day of School!!!

2011-10-13T15:46:00.003-07:00

Well, it finally arrived...our first day of school!!! We were SO excited!! Mommy took all sorts of pictures, of course. Here we are eating breakfast...Jonathan before the start of the school day:
Josiah is ready to go!

We're ready, Mom!

A picture with Daddy:

And one with Mommy:

Putting our stuff away when we got into class:

Jonathan found his seat:

Josiah found his seat, too!

Mrs. Sullivan had a little care package for Mommy, too...

Can you see us waiting in line for Mommy to pick us up?? We had a great first day!!

Twas the Thursday Before Kindergarten

2011-10-13T15:43:00.003-07:00

One of the things we got to do before kindergarten was go and meet our teacher and see our classroom. Daddy and Mommy helped us to find our seats and we sat down and practiced being kindergartners!

I-O-W-A!!!

2011-10-13T15:41:00.002-07:00

We got a package in the mail from Nana Connie and Papa Tom today!! It was a set of new Iowa shirts for us and some Iowa stuff for Mommy! We LOVE that they keep us in our Iowa gear. Thanks Tom and Connie!!!

Here we are all wearing our new shirts. As you can see from this picture (and some others on here), Jonathan has started to really like to pose for his photo ops. :)

But Mommy...

2011-10-13T15:36:00.002-07:00

So I wrote about how I have bad hair sometimes when I wake up. One day Mommy decided to 'help' me with my hair. I thought it was funny, but Mommy..."I'm NOT a GIRL!"Here I am riding a skateboard Elijah-style! :)

Potty Training?

2011-10-11T16:42:00.001-07:00

I have started potty training. Not really all the time, but I will go on the potty when Mommy or Daddy put me on it. One night I decided to grab a book when Mommy was ready to put me on the potty. This is what happened:

So Long, Farewell...

2011-10-11T16:40:00.002-07:00

Our friends had to leave much sooner than we would've liked. Before they left they got a few more pictures with us:

After they left we were sad, but then Mommy took us swimming at Miss Barb's pool! Swimming makes lots of things better. :)

I Need a Hero

2011-10-11T16:33:00.003-07:00

This summer we had another family visit us...this time one of Daddy's friends and his family. They have two girls who are older and a boy who is just a little older than Jonathan and Josiah. We had so much fun with them. Believe it or not, their daddy took more pictures than our mommy! Here are some pictures of us having fun together. Mostly we wore our super hero capes that Mommy had brought for us from her Mommy trip to CA!

Even Chloe got in on the action!

Elijah was so happy...until Mommy said he had to take a nap. Then there were instant tears. Really...instant!

And let's not forget the drool and snot...

Superheroes playing MarioKart!

Our friends were meeting some others in the evening, and Josiah was SO tired after they left that this is how Mommy found him:

Fish!

2011-10-11T16:30:00.002-07:00

Our friend Miss Becky moved away this summer, but she left something for us! She had gotten a fish tank and they weren't able to move the fish, so Daddy got them for us! We are now the owners of a big fish tank filled with a black shark, two bala sharks, an angelfish, a dino fish, a catfish, a plecostomus, and an algae eater. There were two algae eaters (we call them allergy eaters), but one mysteriously disappeared. Thanks, Miss Becky!!

Swimming with Miss Paige

2011-10-11T16:28:00.002-07:00

This summer we got to do swimming lessons with Miss Paige! She taught us freestyle and backstroke, and started us on breaststroke. It was fun to swim with her and we learned so much!! Thanks, Miss Paige!Elijah just sat on the edge and watched. Well, that's what he was supposed to do. He actually ran around, threw his hat in the water, and got in trouble a lot. :)

Haboob!

2011-10-11T16:25:00.001-07:00

This summer we had a LOT of dust storms. We learned that the name for these ginormous storms is 'haboob.' Technically that's what they are called in a different part of the world, but they decided to call the dust storms here the same thing. Mommy was supposed to be going to a meeting one night and found herself looking straight into one. She turned around and waited for the worst of it to pass. Like always, she took pictures first. :)

Mommy Vacation?!

2011-10-11T16:20:00.002-07:00

Well, we didn't think that mommies got vacations, but apparently they do. This particular weekend in July Mommy went with three of her friends to California without us. Can you believe it?! They went to Six Flags Magic Mountain and rode on all sorts of roller coasters. She had lots of fun but we're sure she missed us terribly. Here are some of the pictures she took of the roller coasters:

This one she rode on lifted you up like you were flying the whole time! She was a little scared before she got on, but ended up liking that one the best of all!

There were two great things about Mommy going on vacation. First, we got to spend the whole weekend with Daddy! Second, she brought us back presents!!!

Birthday Sundaes and Fun!

2011-10-11T16:18:00.001-07:00

This year lots of people gave us stuff that we could get later. One of those things was having ice cream sundaes with Grandpa Andy and Grandma Jan. We went to their house and had sundaes with all sorts of toppings! Then we went outside and played in their yard. It was a fun evening with our 'other' grandparents! Thanks!!!

A Little More Birthday...

2011-10-11T16:15:00.001-07:00

One of Daddy and Mommy's gifts to us for our birthday was to take us to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Arizona Broadway Theatre. It was so fun to see people acting it out on stage. Thanks to Mommy and Daddy and to our friends Miss Kelly and Emily for watching Elijah so we could go to the show!

Summer Santa Birthday Bash!

2011-10-11T15:26:00.004-07:00

Since our birthday was on a weekday, our party was the weekend after. We invited all of our preschool friends...and they all came! It was so fun to have our friends together again!

Here is Elijah before the party...with yet another bad hair day!

We put up our little pool, slip and slide, and Miss Cory let us borrow a pool. It was literally the hottest day of the summer, and we had SO many people in our little house! The kids all had fun playing in the water while the adults sweated it out under a canopy that Miss Jeni let us borrow:

Josiah tried to get Mommy wet:

After eating we got to open our presents! We got so much stuff from our friends...Thanks, Friends!

Elijah drinking his water:

Funny cousin Andrew!

Lilly and Elly!

Evie:

Gracey:

Natalie:

Caitlin:

Cael:

Josiah giving Natalie a sticker:

We had so much fun at our party...even though it was so hot! We love our friends and hope we get to see them lots after we go to kindergarten.

Merry Birthday!

2011-10-11T15:17:00.004-07:00

Yea!! We turned 5 this year!!! Here we are having our birthday breakfast - chocolate chip pancakes!We decided way back at Christmas that our fifth birthday would be our Santa Claus birthday. We stayed with our choice, so here is our birthday cake that Mommy made for us:
Papa and Nanny brought over a big bucket for our birthday party. We think the best use of it is to play in!

I (Josiah) wish it was full of water to dunk my brother in!

Waiting to open our presents:

Thanks to the Texas Changs!

Thanks, Aunt Mary!

Above you can see one of our gifts is that Daddy and Mommy are taking us to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a real theatre! Another present from them was Transformers!! We've been asking for those for a LONG time!

Here we are with our birthday cake!

And blowing out our candles...five for each of us!

Funny Hair!

2011-10-11T15:15:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I wake up with the FUNNIEST hair styles. Thanks to having a camera on her phone, Mommy likes to take pictures of it and post them on-line. Thanks, Mom. Here is one of those pictures:And the bath that got rid of that funny hair:

Three Boys in a...

2011-10-11T15:14:00.001-07:00

Pool! On one of my last days of swimming Miss Heather had my brothers get in and swim with me. Here is one of her pictures of the three of us swimming together:

There's More to San Diego?!

2011-10-11T15:06:00.002-07:00

Since we have seen lots of SeaWorld, Daddy and Mommy decided that we could see what else was in San Diego. We went to Balboa Park and went to one of the museums.

Here we are in front of the big fountain:Here we are with DINOSAURS!!
There was a HUGE shark hanging from the ceiling!

One of the exhibits had a boat to climb in:

And a slide to feel what it would be like to be a penguin!

After we were done at the museum we went to the beach! We love playing in the sand (well, Jonathan and I do...Elijah not so much).

San Diego is now one of our very favorite places to go! We hope you get to go theer someday, too!

Sea World, Day 2!

2011-10-11T14:55:00.003-07:00

The first day we got to San Diego it was in the afternoon so we only went to a couple of shows. But the SECOND day we got to go for the WHOLE day!!

We started out by taking a picture with the cool car at the entrance:This is still one of Elijah's favorite parts - the sea lions:
Here are all five of us waiting for Josiah's favorite show...the dolphin show!

At the beginning of Blue Horizons (the dolphin show) Marina comes out...

Then part way through the angry birds come out:

Here is Marina again:

One of the things we got to do is see the polar bears...who were awake!

well, kind of...

This time Jonathan decided to go on the SeaWorld version of the tea cups with Mommy:

At the end of the day we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory to eat. They put us in the corner in a BED! What a cool way to eat!

San Diego, Again!!

2011-10-11T14:47:00.004-07:00

In June just before our birthday we got to go back to San Diego. What did we do there? Go to SeaWorld, of course!

Here we are waiting for the Shamu show to start:

Here are some cool pictures that Daddy and Mommy got of the Shamu show:

During the summer they do different shows. One of them is Cirque de la Mer. They have acrobats and all sorts of cool things. We weren't sure that we really like it, but Daddy and Mommy thought it was really neat!

Here are Elijah and Mommy waiting for Shamu Rocks to start! Daddy and Mommy let us stay up LATE to watch the show. It was so much fun!! We LOVED it!

Elijah, on the other hand, couldn't quite make it through the whole show. :)

ISR Test Day

2011-10-11T14:43:00.002-07:00

My test day for swimming finally came! I was a bit confused as to why I had to get dressed all up in winter clothes for swimming.I really didn't like swimming in my clothes, but I did just what Miss Heather told me to do:
It's really hard to kick your legs with sweat pants and shoes on!

Floating, however, was a little easier...

Mommy and Daddy were SO proud of me for swimming in my clothes. I didn't really like it, but am glad that I did it anyway!

Mommy and Me (x3)

2011-10-11T14:41:00.001-07:00

JonathanJosiah
Elijah

Happy Haircut Day!

2011-10-11T14:38:00.002-07:00

I got my first haircut at a salon in June! It was so fun to go and have Miss Diana cut my hair. I was a good boy, and as you can see, I loved the outcome!We got to eat watermelon outside...I love my fruit!
Daddy set up our slip-n-slide for us. My brothers got their swim trunks on, but I decided to keep my clothes on while I got my feet wet. :)

Yes to VBS!

2011-10-11T14:34:00.002-07:00

This summer we got to go to VBS at Mr. Kaylob's church! We LOVED it! We played games, sang songs, and met lots of new friends.

These pictures are of us playing some of the games outside. Mommy came and helped out every day and Daddy came a couple of nights, too! The best part was that I (Josiah) met a sweet girl named Riley. I told Mommy later that she is my girlfriend. I'm going to get married when I'm 19 and I keep trying to convince my Mommy to take me to a store to buy a ring for the girl I'm going to marry. Anyway, VBS is SO fun, and we hope that we get to go back again. Until the next one, our friend Miss Michelle got us the music from this one and we try to get Mommy to play it in the car all the time! :)

Nap Time?!

2011-10-11T14:32:00.002-07:00

We are still having play dates with our friends Isaac and Anna, Nolan and Reagan. Here is a picture of one this summer where we all decided to lay down and take naps in the middle of our play time. Or did we?!

I Can Float!

2011-10-11T14:30:00.001-07:00

This summer we did our ISR swimming lessons again! My brothers were done really quickly, but I got to stay and swim with Miss Heather for more time. Here are a couple of pictures of me floating and getting the bar.

Pearly Whites!

2011-10-05T14:35:00.002-07:00

The end of May brought our 6 month dental check-ups. We are still a little unsure of the dentist and the cleaning, but we both did a great job!

Here is Josiah waiting to get his teeth cleaned. He did great, except that he had one small cavity. He had to go back another day to have that fixed. He was so brave and handled it like a pro!Here I am waiting to get my teeth cleaned. I look a little scared, but I was so brave and didn't cry at all this time! :)

Bird is the Word?

2011-10-05T14:34:00.001-07:00

We were at the zoo and saw this. We're not sure what kind of bird it is. Hmmm...

Parade Time!

2011-10-05T14:30:00.002-07:00

On Memorial Day Daddy and Mommy took us to a parade! We really like parades. We waved to all the people, got candy, and necklaces. Plus, our friends Isaac and Anna met us there. It was a great day!

Happy Birthday, Sebastian!

2011-10-05T14:27:00.001-07:00

Even though school was out, we got to see our friends at Sebastian's birthday party! It was so much fun! We got to get balloons, tattoos, and dance. We love birthday parties!

Hmmm...

2011-10-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

I think it's time for a hair cut.

Another Mommy Date!

2011-10-05T14:23:00.003-07:00

Mommy went to get her hair done, and I (Jonathan) wanted to go along. I sat and played games and drew pictures while Mommy got her hair done. It was a LONG process. She got it dyed, dyed again, and then cut. Whew! Now she has PURPLE in her hair! Afterward, we went to Paradise Bakery. It was a great Mommy Date!

Daddy and Mommy have an app on their phone where they can put our favorite characters in a picture with us. This is one that I created. :)

First Last Day of School!

2011-10-05T14:18:00.002-07:00

This was our first ever last day of school. :) On our way out of the house Josiah slammed my fingers in the bathroom door. I cried all the way to school. Josiah got over it much quicker than I did.At the beginning of the year we were all shy around each other. By the end we all were ending up in each other's cars while our mommies talked. On the last day, everyone was in our car!
As an end of the year treat, Mommy, Miss Cory, and Miss Dawn took us all to McDonald's to have ice cream. We love the last day of school!!!

Wrapped Around Our Little Fingers...

2011-10-05T14:13:00.002-07:00

We love to go to Nanny and Papa's house! Nanny lets us help with lots of stuff, and feeds us all sorts of good things. Here we are getting ready to help her with making lunch:I (Elijah) LOVED my dessert at lunch! Can you guess what it is??
Chocolate ice cream!

Then we took a walk with Papa. We started out with me in the wagon and my big brothers riding their big wheels. This is how we ended up:

We love you, Papa and Nanny!!

Our First Graduation!

2011-10-05T14:07:00.002-07:00

In the middle of May we had our very first graduation ceremony ever. Mommy and Daddy hope that it is the first of many in our lives (we don't know why we'd need any more - this one was GREAT!).

Here is the cake that Miss Cory had:Our class got up and did the Pledge of Allegiance (we're still getting our right and left figured out). We also got to do some songs and other things we prepared for our parents!
Miss Cory talked about each of us and gave us awards. I (Josiah) got the award for being the Most Improved student in our class!

Here is Jonathan getting his award!

Here I am with Miss Cory:

This is Miss Cory and Jonathan:

We had a fun time and were sad to have to leave. We love Miss Cory and have learned SO much with her! Unfortunately, we don't get to go back to her class next year. Thanks so much, Miss Cory!! We love you!!

Heroes, Jumper Cables, and YouTube

2011-10-05T14:02:00.002-07:00

The next to last day of preschool Mommy got us in the van to go and it wouldn't start. She tried to make it go, but nothing. She was supposed to have lunch with Pretty Susan that day, so she called her to see if she could help us. Pretty Susan borrowed some jumper cables and brought Charity along. Charity watched a YouTube video on the way over. Mommy had called Miss Cory to tell her we were going to be late, and Miss Jeni came to pick us up and take us to preschool. It was quite an ordeal! Of course, Mommy had to take some pictures. :)

Here is Miss Charity standing behind the cars with the jumper cables:Silly Miss Charity!
We usually eat lunch at school, but since we were running late we ate outside by the garage.

That day Miss Susan, Miss Charity, and Miss Jeni became our new heroes! Thanks!!!

Sick Day :(

2011-10-05T13:58:00.002-07:00

While Mommy was having fun with brothers and taking pictures, I (Josiah) was with Daddy at urgent care. I felt so sad and sick. I was coughing, so when we got there they made me wear a mask. It had Mickey Mouse on it, but I still didn't really like it. Here is the picture that we sent to Mommy and brothers showing me and the mask:When we got home I was SO tired. Most of the time when I'm sick I will still play a little. This time was different, though. I was so sad and sick that I just fell asleep in Mommy's arms. I took a whole nap that way. Thankfully I felt better pretty quickly and was back to normal. I hope I don't get sick like that again! Though I like cuddling with Mommy, being sick is no fun.

May Mischief

2011-10-05T13:53:00.002-07:00

Life just wouldn't be fun without a little mischief and creativity. Here are some fun pictures of us:

Josiah as a Hawkeye-Santa-SuperWhy Monkey ShirtJonathan as a Santa Hawkeye Triangle Player
Me (Elijah) chillin' in the car:

Mommy and Jonathan:

Mommy, Jonathan, and me!

Are You Sleeping...

2011-10-04T15:57:00.002-07:00

Josiah apparently has had some long afternoons. Mommy has caught him a couple of times and like a good mommy would, took pictures. :)

Oh Happy Day!

2011-10-04T15:55:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that I kind of like the days that my brothers go to school. Mommy and I run errands, have lunch, and just get to hang out. Sometimes Mommy takes me to the park, too. Here is one of our fun afternoons!

Just chillin' out in the back seat looking cool...Swinging!

2+4+2+3=Chaos!

2011-10-04T15:47:00.002-07:00

Mommy's friend Miss Jesseca (http://twoplusfourequalsfamily.blogspot.com) and her family came to visit us for a couple of days! It was SO MUCH FUN to have everyone together! We finally got to meet Miss Jesseca's kids...and we LOVE them. :) We don't know if either Mommy or Miss Jesseca got a picture of all the kids together. We were having way too much fun to worry about picture taking. We love you Miss Jesseca's family!!!

Happy Easter!

2011-10-04T15:42:00.002-07:00

This year we were all so excited about Easter! The night before Easter we made resurrection cookies. We put ingredients in that were for different things about Easter, and then put them in the oven. When we got up in the morning, the cookies were baked and the middles were empty - just like the empty tomb when Jesus wasn't there anymore! It was so cool!

Not only did we find the cookies, we got Easter baskets and lots of Easter eggs!Josiah coming down the stairs on Easter morning:
Jonathan found some eggs!

Elijah found some eggs!

We got movies in our Easter basket!

Do the Robot

2011-10-04T15:40:00.001-07:00

I like to say that I'm creative. Here I am finding a creative way to play with one of my toys. It's actually a shape house that Uncle Tom and Aunt Lynette gave to my brothers when they were babies. I have decided that it is better used as part of my robot costume! :)

A Horse is a Horse...

2011-10-04T15:35:00.003-07:00

One of our absolute favorite field trips with our preschool was horse back riding! We got to go to a farm and ride horses, brush, pet, and feed them! It was so much fun! Papa went along with us, and he led us around the ring on the horses. Here we are waiting for our turns:Jonathan went first:
I (Josiah) went next - note the backwards helmet:

Then we got to ride together!

Here we are brushing a horse:

We love our school, and love Miss Cory. Thanks for another fun field trip!

SeaWorld...or See World?!

2011-10-04T15:26:00.003-07:00

One of the things we got to do this April was go to San Diego! It is one of our absolute favorite places now! Daddy and Mommy took us to SeaWorld. Here we are getting ready to go in:Elijah LOVED watching the sea lions. I think he would've stayed there all day if we would've let him. We finally told him we had to see other parts of SeaWorld, and he started crying. Luckily, there are lots of other fun things for us to see there!

This was the sea lion and otter show. It was lots of fun!

Here we are with Mommy in between seeing shows and animals:

This was a HUGE fish in one of the aquariums there. It looks like it wants to eat Daddy!

Here is the beluga whale. This one kept following us and coming right up to the glass. It was so neat!

And here we are on the beach. We liked the beach and the ocean a lot, but Elijah wasn't so fond of it. He stayed up by the blanket with Mommy.

Josiah's favorite part of SeaWorld is the dolphin show. When we came back he told everybody about the show - how the girl comes out, the doors close, and her dress comes off! Then she goes and swims with the dolphins, the macaw comes out, then the angry birds chase the other birds away. In the end the girl swims with the dolphins and all the flags come out. Daddy and Mommy usually clarify the story for him...we're not sure why it would need any clarification, though. :)

April Afternoon

2011-10-04T15:17:00.002-07:00

When my brothers go off to school my mommy and I like to go out to lunch. On this particular day we went to lunch with Miss Heather, who decided to help me accessorize:

One of the things my brothers like to do is get all our toys out to play with. Here they are playing Santa Claus and getting ready to deliver all the gifts. I think Santa's elf may need a little help...

Now and Then...

2011-10-04T15:12:00.003-07:00

At the beginning of April Daddy and Mommy took us back to the park where the trains are. We had so much fun there. Here is a picture of the last time Elijah was on the train with Mommy:

And then this year with Mommy:Here we are on one of the rides:
Me (Josiah) on the train:

Jonathan and Daddy sat WAAAAAAY at the back!

Sunday, Busy Sunday!

2011-10-04T14:01:00.002-07:00

Our Sundays in April were filled to the brim. On this particular day we had soccer:Our cousin Elly's birthday party:
Counting our toes:

Making cute faces with Mommy:

What a great day!

Just Another "Normal" Day

2011-10-04T13:59:00.003-07:00

Well, on this normal day at the House of Chang, Elijah discovered markers:SuperWhy and Joey Logano were spotted taking a stroll through our neighborhood:

Playin' Around

2011-10-04T13:52:00.002-07:00

The weather in March is SO nice here! One day we went to see Great Grandma before she left to go back to her house. Here are some pictures of us playing at the playground:

Here I am running around in the sand...

One of the neighbor kids came around in his police car. I was the first of my brothers to get in and go for a ride! It was so much fun...and Mommy hopes it is the only time I will be riding in a police car (unless I'm a police officer when I grow up). :)

Here are my brothers on the slide:

And me on the slide!
Josiah riding in the police car:

Jonathan gets a turn:

Whose Birthday?!

2011-10-01T16:16:00.002-07:00

On Daddy and Aunt Mary's birthday we got to go on ANOTHER train ride! There is a place not too far away that has a bunch of model trains and you get to ride different paths. It was such a great treat for us and fun way to celebrate their birthday!

Here we are waiting to go on our first ride:Almost ready to go:

Daddy and Eljiah:

Me and Jonathan driving:

Getting ready to go again:

Elijah really enjoyed the ride:

All three of us:

Happy ?? Birthday, Daddy!

2011-10-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

Daddy's birthday is in March, so of course we had a party! Here are a couple of pictures from his party this year. We don't know how old he is, but apparently it doesn't matter, because he's happy. :)

Spring Training!

2011-10-01T16:08:00.001-07:00

One thing we love about living here is that there are Spring Training games all month long in March. This one we went to with Aunt Mary. It was a very fun game...even if it wasn't Aunt Mary's team playing. :) Here we are with the baseball diamond in the background:

A Day Out with Thomas!!!!

2011-10-01T16:02:00.004-07:00

This weekend Daddy and Mommy surprised us with an adventure! We packed up our suitcases, went to church, and then went on a LONG drive. We got to stay overnight in a hotel which was far away from our house. In the morning we got up and when we got to where we were going, we found this:We were all SO EXCITED to get to see Thomas!

We even got to ride in one of Thomas' coaches! We helped Thomas by cheering for him and made it across a rickety bridge and through a dark tunnel. It was so much fun!

Here is a picture of us with the conductor:

And here is all three of us with Thomas!

There were all sorts of fun things for us to do. Our favorite was riding on the little train:

Thanks so much Daddy and Mommy for an awesome surprise!!!

Sunday Stuff

2011-10-01T15:58:00.003-07:00

Sunday morning was when we had our soccer practice. Here we are with Coach Josh:Elijah thought he should be in on the action, so he shared our water:

Me (Jonathan) being goalie for Josiah:

Later that night we went to Papa and Nanny's and Elijah got his first hair cut!

He wasn't so thrilled about it, though...

How many grandmas does it take...

The final product!

March Madness!

2011-10-01T15:56:00.003-07:00

We don't know what it's like where you live, but in March it was warm enough for us to have a water fight! Mommy actually took a lot more pictures of it, but here are a couple of good ones to give you the gist of what it was like:

Cheese?!

2011-10-01T15:46:00.005-07:00

March started out with the normal goofiness that happens when we're around. :) Here are some pictures of us being goofy with Papa, Nanny, and Great Grandma! We love having Great Grandma around and are so glad that she comes to visit!

Here is Papa making funny faces for us while we take pictures:

Me (Elijah) with Great Grandma:

Me, my brothers, and Great Grandma. Some of us weren't being as cooperative with getting our picture taken as others...

Here are the three of us with Papa and Nanny:

Now it's our turn to take pictures!

Papa and Nanny reading to me:

I even got in on the fun and started taking pictures, too!

Here are my brothers taking pictures of me and Mommy:

NASCAR!

2011-09-25T16:45:00.009-07:00

At the end of February Daddy won tickets for him and Mommy to go to the NASCAR race in Phoenix. They had never gone before, but they thought it would be a fun adventure. Well, not only did Daddy win tickets to get in, he won a pace car ride! So Mommy got to go down on the track and ride around in a pace car. Here are the pictures from their adventure!

This is Victory Lane, where the winner of the race goes to get the trophy:

Here is Mommy's view from the pit. Daddy is in the stands watching:

Here is the car that Mommy got to ride in:

Mommy was in the backseat, but could see the spedometer. She took this picture as the driver was slowing down...

Turn 4!

This is a picture of the cars in the garages before the race:

Jonathan and my cars (The Home Depot and Target) were side-by-side in the garages!

Miss Paula and her sister Miss Amanda with one of the Sprint girls.

The number 18 is Elijah's car:

Daddy with his headset on getting ready to watch the race!

There's the Target car in the line - waiting to race:

The cars went so fast the camera couldn't get a clear picture!

The Target car stopped right in front of Daddy and Mommy when they had to stop the race to clear the track:

The #24 car won, but stalled out while trying to make smoke and do donuts, so he had to be pushed to Victory Lane.

The end results:

Thanks so much to Aunt Mary for watching us so Mommy and Daddy could go to the race! We hope someday they'll take us, too!

February Fun!

2011-09-25T16:37:00.005-07:00

Here are some fun pictures of us from February. We're a lot behind on posting on our blog, so we're trying to catch up, starting with the beginning of the year!

To start off, here is Elijah, just chillin' and trying to not get into trouble. :)And here he is with Mommy: Oops - that part about not getting into trouble didn't last long! Yep - he found the cabinets in the bathroom and pulled as much out as he could. If you ask him, he was just thirsty and wanted the cup. :)

We definitely weren't getting into trouble at the same time, though. We were just being creative with the post-it notes that we got for Christmas. For a while we decided to leave little 'love notes' all over the house for Mommy and Daddy.

And here is Baby E again. He likes meal times...mostly to make messes!

And funny faces...

And here I (Josiah) am...

And who could ever forget Jonathan?!

In February some of Nanny and Papa's friends came to visit. They have visited a few times, but we didn't really remember them. This is Myrl and Linda and they are so much fun...probably because they are grandparents, too!

Soccer Stop!

2011-09-24T16:08:00.005-07:00

We got to sign up for soccer this year! Unfortunately, Josiah was sick on this day of practice. So the pictures are all of me (Jonathan) learning to play soccer! The first day we just learned how to stop the ball and how to dribble. In the picture above you can see me stopping the ball.

This picture is me sitting and listening to Coach Josh as we are finishing up our practice. Soccer is so much fun...even in the cold!

2011-01-10T21:07:00.003-07:00

We're thankful for...

Jonathan (4 years): Jesus and God, church, Mom and Dad, turtles

Josiah (4 years): The aquarium, eating at restaurants, preschool, the new Christmas train

Elijah (1 year): "Mama," "Dada," milk, food, more, and the blue blanket

Our three boys said it all! We are so thankful for them and for all the ways we have been blessed over the last year. We are thankful for you, our friends and family. We pray your Christmas is as blessed as ours!

Mark & Jen

Jonathan, Josiah, and Elijah

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

~2 Corinthians 9:15

Play Time!

2011-01-10T21:00:00.002-07:00

We were so tired after all the Christmas activities, but were ready to go after a good night's sleep. Daddy and Mommy put together Elijah's sand table and took our new scooters outside. We may even get to the rest of our toys before next Christmas. :)

Elijah having fun with the sand table: The bike fits, but I think that helmet is a little too big...
Wait...whose table is that?!

Riding our new scooters!

Christmas Morning 2010

2011-01-10T20:53:00.003-07:00

Christmas this year was so much fun! We woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa had come and eaten the snack we left for him! We had a fun day with all of our family and celebrating Jesus' birth. Daddy and Mommy got us new train engines...
A new round house to go with the trains we already have...

And a new train table!!

Elijah wasn't quite sure about presents, so Daddy had to help him a little.

Santa put new trains in our stockings, too!

Oh my!

A Very Chang Christmas

2011-01-10T20:43:00.003-07:00

Late Christmas morning we went to Aunt Mary's to have Christmas lunch and celebrate Christmas with Aunt Mary, A-ma, and A-Kong. We had gifts for them, and they had gifts for us, too! After we opened our gifts we got to eat a special Christmas lunch prepared by A-ma and Aunt Mary. Then we got to play with our new toys all afternoon. What a fun time to get to spend with our family!

Christmas, Part 4

2011-01-10T20:34:00.002-07:00

That's right, on Christmas night we had another Christmas celebration. We went to Uncle Larry's and had another yummy meal with family and friends. Afterward we gave and received even more gifts. We had a wonderful Christmas this year with all of our family and friends and are thankful for everyone! We are so blessed and so loved!

Christmas Is...

2011-01-10T20:30:00.002-07:00

Jesus' birthday! Every year we get to make a birthday cake for Jesus, because Christmas is the day we celebrate Him. Mommy let us pick out what kind of cake and then we got to help her mix and bake it. When it was all cooled she helped us decorate it. I wanted to decorate, but Josiah didn't. So here I am putting on the sprinkles:

Here is my finished product!

I wonder how many candles we'll have to put on His cake?

The Night Before Christmas...

2011-01-10T20:22:00.002-07:00

And we already got spoiled rotten! On Christmas Eve we got to go to big church with Daddy, Mommy, Nanny, and Papa. Then we had a yummy dinner with them and some more of our family and friends. Afterward we got to open presents from Nanny, Papa, and Aunt Debbie.

One of the gifts I (Jonathan) got was an ornament with a picture in it. When I opened it I said, 'Who is in the picture? Is it me or Josiah?' Elijah wasn't much for opening presents, but he liked everything that we opened!

Here we are amongst a pile of gifts and wrappings!

You can't really tell from this picture, but it is a cash register and food toys from Aunt Debbie. It is obvious that it has been a big hit in our house with ALL of us from the start!

Dear Santa

2011-01-10T20:17:00.002-07:00

You may not remember, but last year there was quite a debate over what to leave for Santa on Christmas Eve. We settled on one orange and a glass of water. This year we talked it over again and came up with this: Mommy asked if we wanted to leave a note, so that is what we came up with. We hope Santa liked it!

Grandparents Day

2011-01-10T20:11:00.002-07:00

Well, it wasn't actually Grandparents Day, but it was a day that we were with all four of our grandparents! Mommy and Nanny had more Christmas baking to do, so we all went to Nanny and Papa's house. It was so much fun to have all our grandparents together. We decided since we had pictures in their back yard with Mommy and Daddy, we also wanted pictures with A-ma and A-Kong. Mommy thinks we just liked climbing up on the fountain. Here is our picture: While Mommy and Nanny baked, we played outside with our new bubble machines:

Elijah isn't big enough to use the machines, but he loves the bubbles!

He also loves playing around the fountain as much as we do!

Fun Times

2011-01-10T20:06:00.002-07:00

In December Grandpa and Grandma Chang (A-kong and A-ma) came to visit! While they were here they took us all to the playground in our neighborhood. We played on the swings and slides and just loved being outside!

This fall I (Elijah) decided that I like wearing hats. I found this Santa hat and put it on every chance that I get! Here I am riding my rocking horse and wearing my Santa hat.

Preschool Christmas

2011-01-10T19:57:00.002-07:00

This year Christmas seemed to last for a long time! We had our Christmas sing at church at the beginning of December. Then we had our preschool Christmas party in the middle of December! We practiced our songs for a long time and then got to sing them for our parents at our party. Here we are singing 'Jingle Bells.' Then we all sat down and decorated cookies:

That big pile of crumbs is from Elijah running up to the table and grabbing cookies by the handful. He was NOT very helpful. After all the cookies were decorated we got to taste them and then take some of them home.

When we were finished we still had cookies left - on purpose! The next day we went to home where there were lots of Grandpas and Gradmas and we sang our songs for them. Then we served each one of them cookies and juice. It was so much fun!

Is This Iowa?

2011-01-10T19:51:00.005-07:00

The weather finally cooled down and we are back to the park for our playdates again! We met our friend Isaac and his sister Anna (and their mommy, of course) at the park one afternoon. We didn't plan it, but the three of us all chose our Iowa shirts to wear that day! So even though we weren't in Iowa, a corner of the park looked like it might be. :)

And because our younger siblings didn't want to be left out, they wore matching messy faces:

Swing, Swing, Swing

2011-01-10T19:46:00.002-07:00

Mommy quickly discovered how much I LOVE to swing! I giggled and screamed while she pushed me, and then cried and cried when she tried to take me out of the swing to stop. I really hope we get to go back to the playground and swing really soon!!

Josiah took a turn pushing me...

And then Jonathan took a turn, too!

Still-Not-A-Surprise Party

2011-01-10T19:40:00.002-07:00

At the beginning of December we once again attended the Surprise Party! It is becoming a tradition for us to go and see the hot air balloons all lit up and the tree-lighting ceremony. They did a count-down to the lighting of the trees and then they blew up all the hot air balloons at once. There were bands playing and a carnival, too!

Elijah Jonathan
Josiah

The hot air balloon glow

Here we are with Daddy - and the new stick lights he bought for us!

Cookie Time!!!

2011-01-10T19:33:00.004-07:00

This year we got to do one of our favorite Christmas traditions with Aunt Debbie and Nanny. Mommy made up a bunch of Christmas cookies, we got to help cut them out and then we all decorated them together. It was so much fun and they turned out so beautiful and so yummy!

Here is Jonathan decorating: Josiah decorating:
All of us working together:

Hey Seymour - those aren't for you!

We tried to put Elijah down for a nap, but he wanted to help out with the decorating. Here he is with Aunt Debbie helping decorate:

The finished product:

(Young) Man Cave

2011-01-10T19:29:00.002-07:00

One thing that hasn't changed is that we love playing in the cupboards in Nanny's kitchen. Elijah has just discovered the joy of playing in there, too. Here we are playing all together! And we are playing 'bunk beds' with Elijah on top and Jonathan on the bottom.

The Kids

2011-01-10T19:27:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving was so special with Aunt Debbie being back! We even got a picture of Nanny and Papa's 'kids' all together.

Family Picture, Take 53

2011-01-10T19:23:00.002-07:00

At Thanksgiving this year, Aunt Debbie got to come home! It was so fun to see her! On Thanksgiving we tried to get a family picture with all of us looking. It took quite a few tries, but we eventually got some pictures that were worth sharing. Here is a sampling of the process...

Fun Fridays

2011-01-10T19:19:00.002-07:00

We started having Fun Friday play dates with some of our friends from church. We like making new friends and are so excited to see them every week! Here is one of our first play dates with our new friends. As you can see, we all had a good time! This was, apparently, one of the first cooler days in the Valley of the Sun. :) Mommy didn't realize until it was too late that my brother and I had on pants that were way too short! We didn't mind - we were just happy to play with our new friends!

Running Errands with Nanny

2011-01-10T16:16:00.002-07:00

One morning Mommy and Nanny decided to run some errands together. Jonathan decided to stay home with Papa and have a Papa Day. Elijah and I decided to go with Nanny and Mommy. It was so much fun! Our errands took a while and we got hungry, so I convinced Mommy that we should eat at Olive Garden. It was the right choice! Here we are at the restaurant. Can you tell that we enjoyed our lunch?!

Big Boy Seat!

2011-01-10T16:07:00.003-07:00

Now I'm getting so big that Daddy is letting me use my brothers' big boy car seat! During the transition to the new seat, Daddy brought one inside so that I could give it a test run. I LOVE it!! It's so much fun to sit in it and see all the cool things I can do... I can put on my hat.

And sit and look cute.

And look cute without my hat.
Look - there are my toes!

I caught them!