Ike and Elle had lots of fun with their cousins!

Spending time with aunts and uncles and meeting godparents.

The reason for the trip home was Uncle Kaare's wedding. Isaak was the ring bearer. Here he is with the soon-to-be newlyweds sporting his tux and Addidas tennis shoes (the same shoes all the groomsmen wore) .

The next day he and everyone else enjoyed one last Dairy Queen before boarding a plane to the Land of No Dairy Queens...ie Taiwan

Playing with the Neighbors

Isaak is a very social little boy. Many of the friendships we have formed in our neighborhood have come about because of him "inviting" them to play with him. Really, he just goes up to anyone with his soccer ball or baseball and says, "ball". They just don't seem to be able to resist him. We're glad!

First Father's Day of 2006

This was Andy's first Father's Day of the year (the American Father's Day). He also gets to celebrate Chinese Father's Day on August 8th. The word for the 8-8 (pa-pa) sounds like the Chinese word for father (pa-pa), so that is how Father's Day here came to be on 8-8.

Much of Father's Day was spent outside by (or in) the pool. It helped to keep Isaak and Andy nice and cool. Noelle got to spend a little time outside with the boys, but not too much. She spent most of the day sleeping and avoiding the sun.

Happy Father's Day!

See, I'm Still Bigger

Isaak is happy to report that he is still a foot or so taller than Noelle. She thinks that she'll catch up someday ...who knows.

She's a Sleeper!!!

Elle has decided to drop her late night feeding and we are just fine with that! She is now 12 weeks old, and has decided that she would rather have all her meals when everyone is awake, and then go to bed around the time her brother does (around 8:30pm). Hopefully this new pattern won't get too messed up when we travel to the US for Kris' brother's wedding!

Hangin' out with Dad!

Daddy's little helper

Isaak is getting his tools ready to help Dad around the house. He's thinking that there is still a lot to do....furniture to put together, rooms to paint, lightbulbs to change,......

Home Improvement

We decided to make some changes around the house, so we started with painting the living room. It was Andy's first time painting an interior wall. He did a great job!

Ready for Summer

Noelle is ready for summer in the tropics!

Personalities.....

Hmm....do you think that Ike and Elle are too
young for us to predict who will be the serious
child and who will be the goofy one?

Line 'em up

Isaak is carrying on the Larsen tradition of lining things up. Like his uncles and his father and his father's father, Ike's greatest joy is to see objects aligned perfectly. Soon he will learn the "one eye open" trick and dive into another dimension of lining things up.

Happy Birthday Ike!

Ike turned the big 2 today. Kris made a beautiful cake showcasing Thomas the train. We had dinner with the Kittelsons and some friends came over for cake and ice cream. This was our first trilingual (English, Mandarin, Hakka) birthday party. It makes it a lot harder to eavesdrop.

A Great Investment and a Receding Hairline

Noelle found out she has grown 3 inches and gained 5 lbs the last two months. From the picture, you can see she is outgrowing her hair. At first, she was embarrassed, but we calmed her down by telling her everybody else is doing it.

Ike was the proud recipient of an outdoor bathtub. He wants to go in it even in the rain while fully clothed.

Another Happy Day!

Switch Pitcher Larsen honed his skills today. He was throwing righty and lefty much to dad's amusement. Ike definately has the eye of the tiger.

Mother's Day in Cyonglin

We had a beautiful Mother's Day here in Taiwan! The weather was perfect, so we grilled steaks in the LITTLE yard in front of our house. Actually, there is no grass, so you can't really call it a yard!

We got Ike a bike for his birthday, and decided to give it to him early. He's been stealing the neighbor boys for a few weeks now, so we thought we'd let him ride his own.

Andy made me work as little as possible. I don't think that Noelle liked what he did with her burp rag though. It did work nice as a hat for Andy though.

...and there was much rejoicing!

Uninterupted sleep is good and after 7 weeks and 1 day, we gladly recieved that for which we had been hoping. No (or Elle, as mom prefers) slept through the night last night! 8 hours of pure bliss. Ike also appreciated not having his 4 AM wakeup call. We have talked with our narcoleptic girl and everyone agrees this behavior will continue.

Noelle is enjoying sleeping on her soon to be Auntie Michelle's quilt. She finds it nice and comfy. If you are interested in one, just contact Uncle Kaare.

Land of the Setting Sun

Isaak's Belly Button Greeting

Isaak has taken to greeting his friends, family, and even strangers by showing his belly button to them. Hmmm.....not sure where he picked that one up.

Baptism

Noelle was baptized today during the worship service. Some of the students sang a song for her in Chinese and English. They did a really good job even with the word "countenance." Then we ate a lot at lunch and dinner.

Fun with Grandma & Grandpa

Here are a few pictures from Grandma & Grandpa's visit. Ike is have a blast and we think Noelle is also.

Resurrection Sunday

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Ike and Noelle got all spiffed up for the day. Great Grandma D would have called them "snazzy." I would agree.

Grandma & Grandpa Arrive!

Grandma & Grandpa K arrived last week. That night we had no water. Something always breaks when they come and visit (1 for 1)!

Ike and Noelle are enjoying them because they are nicer than ma and pa.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Today Isaak is sporting his preppy Polo outfit purchased by none other than Grandma Barbara. The shortalls come equiped with 5 handy pockets for all of his cars to be stored in.

Noelle finally stretched out enough to show off her new sweater and blanket set from Grandma Kathy. She used up so much energy stretching out that she fell asleep for the picture.