Distracting Billy and Emily

I love hanging out with my niece and nephew but sometimes my sister and I want some downtime or quiet time to talk.  That's when we whoop out the laptop and let them watch some kid's shows.  My sister and her husband don't have a TV in their house, so when given the opportunity to watch a show on the laptop, my niece and nephew quickly and eagerly climb onto the couch and get quiet.

Sunny Love

I'm having a bit of a mental block when it comes to drawing lately so I tried to get things flowing by sketching a photo I took of my niece last weekend when she walked my pug.  She desperately wanted to hold onto the leash as she's been really obsessed with my pug recently.  It's so cute!  But of course as soon as her brother ran past her chasing after a soccer ball, she dropped that leash and chased after him in a fit of giggles.  Uh, I don't think I'll trust her with any dog walking duties just yet.

Day at the Beach with Billy and Emily

Upon my niece's direction, here is a drawing of Billy and Emily having a fun day at the beach.

Happy New Year!

This is based off of a request by my nephew after we did our Korean traditional bowing to elders this new years.  He asked that I do a drawing of Sunny and bunny in their hamboks and about to bow.  Happy New Year!

Family Photo with Billy and Emily

Upon my niece's direction, here is a drawing of Billy and Emily with their parents, taking a family photo together.  And the cackling aunts are giggling in the corner.

Christmas with Billy and Emily

Billy and Emily had a great Christmas this year!  The highlight for Billy was the set of toy drums he received (not great for the rest of the family and our hearing), and the highlight for Emily was a Dorothy from Wizard of Oz costume, complete with a toy dog Toto.

Human Billy and Emily with Sunny

This is an old one I did when I was first starting to draw again.  My niece and nephew (human versions of Billy and Emily) wanted to watch me a draw a picture and directed me to draw them with Sunny in rain boots.  And so I did.  It's a bit sloppy because I did it real quickly.

Dancing Pugs (Billy & Emily)

Billy and Emily started ballet classes recently.  They LOVE it.  Although most of it is just dancing around with streamers, hopping around with bunny ears, and waving fake flowers in the air.  I fully support that.  Lessons for young pups should be all about fun!  Here's Billy and Emily preparing for their dance class.

City Slickers Gone Apple Picking

Buzzing, bustling, big bumblebee,
Please do not think of stinging me.
Filthy, flitting, frustrating fly,
Please do not try to come buzz by.
I thought I'd try apple picking,
Instead arms and legs were kicking.
It's not like Blueberries for Sal,
I'm not a bug and nature gal.
I'll wait until it's time to go,
Now get this beetle off my toe!

I went apple picking with my niece and nephew this past long weekend and it started off great but quickly devolved as they started to get anxious over the bees, flies, and gnats. They were also getting tired from trekking up and down the hills.  So my sister sped through and gathered a huge bag while I stayed by the road with my niece and nephew, and guarded them from the flying bugs.  I just did a quick and silly rhyme and drawing for fun.  I also wanted to try out some markers.  They're fine for small stuff but for the background I should've left it white or painted it with watercolors.  And my new pen's ink totally smudges and bleeds.  Argh.

Introducing Billy & Emily

I wanted to have a series of illustrations about my niece and nephew and since I know pugs best, I decided to make them lil baby pugs.  Names were also changed for privacy.

I'll be posting about their mischief and adventures in the form of Billy and Emily.  I'll try to remember to do something to distinguish between these and my usual drawings about my pug and her bunny.  So many pugs, so little time...

Baby Got Camelbak!

I have several Camelbak bottles with the bite valves.  My niece and nephew loved mine so much that they now have their own kiddie versions.  But for some reason even though they have their own identical bottles (with cool fish and shark designs too!) they still clamor to drink from mine.  They will hydrate themselves like nobody's business with my bottle so I let them drink from it as they pass it back and forth sucking out of that bite straw.  By the end of the day I am parched and my Camelbak straw is covered in spit and food particles.  Sigh.

Why I Can't Move To Another State

True story - one day I went with my sister to pick up my niece and nephew from their day care.  We opened the door and all the kids stared at us in surprise.  Then my nephew popped up from the kid crowd, pointed at me, and shouted, "THAT'S MY AUNT!!"  My nephew and niece then came running at me, with my nephew leaping into my arms and my niece clutching onto my leg.  I felt like a rock star.  Seriously, that's pretty much what happens with rock stars and their fans.

Generation Tech

My almost 4 year-old niece and nephew were fascinated by my phone and how you can pinch zoom with the touch screen.  They quickly picked up on it and try to pinch zoom on any electronic equipment with pictures.  Now anytime I show them pictures on my camera their little grubby fingers immediately reach out to pinch zoom and get confused and distraught when it won't work.  I'm sure by the time they're 10 they'll be schooling me with the new technology and I'll be the confused and distraught one.