April 2015 part 1

Usually April is the start of uncomfortably hot weather here. This year, though, we had storms so frequently that April was quite pleasant.

Franklin has mastered the art of reading to multiple children at once.

Apparently George the teddy bear was wearing a tutu that day.

I took a selfie of Ana asleep in my arms. These special moments, a million a day, don't get documented sometime. And they are wonderful, and they happen. And I don't want to forget.

We celebrated the 100th day of school with 100 shaped pancakes. I remember this was a super chaotic morning and I was amazed I got the pancakes made.

Ana just chillaxing.

One day there was a very loose tooth...

...and the next day it was gone.

I got a Pinterest party in a package! Such a sweet gifts... So I got working on my crafts.

And I finished putting this part of the quilt together. I then bought fabric for the back and old saris for the middle and my house helper will hand sew the pieces together.

Ana got a very sweet gift from Nani Di.

It all started out that she wanted a green smoothie Popsicle like her siblings...

And it got very messy.

And I sewed a bag that had long been on my "someday" list... I found the pattern on Pinterest.

Another good month. :)

March 2015 part 2

In March we ordered some new furniture! We finally got a table that fits our family, and we got a cabinet for our dishes.

Each rest day my quilt got bigger.

We got the tricycle out. We thought Ana would have fun trying it. Instead, Abe was so thrilled to see it again, that Ana hardly got a chance to try it.

After hearing about open heart surgery for grandpa Russ, Ellie thought she'd try it out on play- doh.

Abe used the play doh to learn how to spell his name...

And his sisters' names.

We ordered bunk beds for our big kids.

And the quilt got bigger.

We decided to do an art lesson with play doh.

Primary colors.

Primary colors and secondary colors.

And Ana was really impressed with it all.

A friend came over a few times a week.

And the quilt got even bigger.

Ana's hair made it into pig tails.

His is what our chaotic house looked like while Franklin re did some wiring, I made pasta, and the kids played around us.

Ellie took over the living room for school each day.

And she tried to come up with creative ways to remember how to spell sight words.

Lots of good memories from March.

March 2015 Part 1

One of the main reasons I have fallen so far behind on blogging is that my old system (having all the pictures on one computer and an easy way to upload them to the blog) doesn't exist anymore. We now have photos from my ipad, my phone, Franklin's phone, and Franklin's nice camera. So, I'm trying to find a new system for getting my photos onto the blog. 

This post has pictures from Franklin's camera from March 2015.

There was a Master Class/Recital for Varendra. Franklin helped set up for it.

Apparently, he also went out for tea.

And while he was transporting the items from the center to the performance location, the boys had fun with Franklin's camera. :)

The master class went well. As always, my brownies were a hit. :)

And there was an extremely cute member of the audience.

February 2015 Part 2

February in Bangladesh is a month of very pleasant weather. So, on our family rest days, we took full advantage of the weather and went on outings together. One of our favorite places in town is the zoo, not for the animals, but mostly for the playgrounds at the far end of the park. 

We also pass pretty flowers, so stopped to take photos.

We taught Ana how to use the slides.

The kids love pushing each other on merry-go-rounds.

Daddy helps Ana play.

How did Ellie end up already being such a big girl?

She learned how to knit. (In the front, around the back, through the window, off jumps Jack!)

Ellie read books to Ana on the roof.

I enjoyed a quiet moment with my green smoothie and my planner that I created from various printables available for free on the internet.

On our rest days, if we didn't go to the zoo, we went to RUET, a nearby University that has a big park area. We didn't go until the end of February, though, because at the beginning of the year there was a lot of political tension that turned into violence. Neighbors warned us that a student extremist group on the campus might cause trouble. Things calmed down, and we went and had fun again.

Ana and I watched the activities around us.