Why why why

Leina's at a cute stage now.  She's purposely being a goof ball and laughs at everything.  Mentally, she's developing.  She's thinking about how things work.

One example:  Yesterday, we took a walk to the park.  Taisei rode his scooter, Mirei rode a bicycle, and Leina rode her tricycle.  Everytime we crossed a street, I would have to push her to about the middle of the road because of the natural peak in the middle of the road.  Then, as soon as she could, she would start to pedal like mad.  But before we got to the sidewalk on the other side, the tricycle was going too fast and she would ask "nan-de? nan-de?"  (Eng: Why? Why?)  So even though she can't clearly vocalize, she's clearly asking mom "why is the bike speeding up?

Today we watched The Lego Movie and she kept asking about stuff during the movie.  They're specific enough that she's clearly watching and wondering about what's going on.  Anyway, it's kind of neat to see and definitely so cute.

Mirei decided today that she wants her ears pierced.  She was so serious about it that she prayed about it, and reminded up before she went to bed that when she wakes up in the morning, she wants us to take her to get it pierced.  We told her it's going to pierce her ear, make a hole in it, it's going to bleed, etc, but she can't be deterred.  Plus, pain is not something that she has ever worried about.  I'm going to have to see if I can delay this for a while by finding some decent fake earrings.  I think they have decent ones, right?

Mirei has gone crazy with riding her bike and she's gotten good at it.  At first, I was worried that she wouldn't be very fast because she wasn't able to get herself started.  I had to push her.  Also, she wasn't good at turning right - only left.  But she's got it all figured out now and can even use the brakes pretty well. I have hope that we'll be able to all go biking together soon since Leina seems to be a quick learner.  I think I can get her riding within the next year or so.

Our sassy girl (the bigger of the two, anyway):

Taisei's starting to peak at baseball at just the right time - playoffs.  He's been able to whack the ball on the first pitch for the past several games.  Normally a good enough crack that none of the kids can field it and it's an easy double.  Also, we realized that his blue/black Nike glove has been the problem with his fielding.  As soon as we switched back to his old Walmart glove, he can catch everything!  I'm so glad we figured that out.  I was frustrated with why he hasn't been playing defense as well as he had in past seasons.  Here's one of his hits from last Wednesday.

A picture of the Alligators on Diamond Day:

Anyway, everyone's happy.  We should have some more updates soon.

May Update

Now that the sun is back out, it's time for hibernation to end.  Here's an update on the kids.

One day last week, I noticed Leina climbing around on her crib.  I realized that she could climb both in and out.  She must have made the discovery that day.  Late last week, she woke late at night (1:30 am) and wouldn't go back to sleep, so I laid down with her and fell asleep.  She was pretty happy about that and every night since, has begged for the same thing.  Except, instead of screaming and crying in her crib, she climbs out, lays down in bed where she wants me to lay down with her, and then screams and cries.  So she doesn't try to get out, but she climbs out of the crib, and lays down on the bed to wait for me.  She's so proficient now, she can get out of the crib in a matter of seconds.  But luckily, she hasn't figured out the smooth, round doorknobs yet, so she's still stuck in the room... for now.

She's still our quiet girl, but has a strong opinion and stubborn attitude.  Quite different from the older two.  Here she is using the scooter she got from grandpa and grandma.  She's getting better at it.

Taisei got baptized two Saturdays ago!  Here are some pictures below.  Today is the first Fast Sunday since he's been baptized, so we let him go for it.  He complained about being hungry at church (especially hard in our ward since it doesn't start until 1pm).  But he made it all the way to the end, got home, ended the fast, and then had breakfast.  That's no small feat for an 8 year old.  We were proud of him so we let him relax at home for a few minutes.  ;)

Just for our records, Taisei is 51" and 54 pounds, approximately 50% and just below 50%.  Eyesight isn't perfect anymore - about 20/25.  Still not necessary to have glasses yet.  I hope it doesn't get worse.  :|  Interestingly, his left eye is better than his right eye.  He is right eye dominant, however.

Mirei is starting to read now.  Occasionally, she'll read something from a sign or something.  We're still on 3-letter words, like "pot" and "pan", but the other day, she read "yes" from a sign.  Not too bad.  Maybe we'll throw her in an academic preschool like Challenger to see how she likes it.  Oh, Mirei learned to ride a bike recently.  She still will occasionally pedal backwards and engage the brakes, but she's getting comfortable with balance and steering.  Here's hoping we can go on bike rides soon!

From Hiro's birthday party:

Anyway, just a quick one since it's late at night.  G'night!