Chuseok 2010 - Hanbok Photos

Last week Wednesday, September 22nd was Chuseok.  Chuseok is an important Korean holiday that I would compare to our Thanksgiving.  This new important holiday in our lives happened to fall on my birthday this year.  In honor of Chuseok, we dressed Lauren in her hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) from her first birthday that was given to us from her loving foster mother, Mrs. Shin.  We wanted to get a few photos of Lauren in her hanbok since we did not receive any from her first birthday when she would have worn it in Korea.  Well, best laid plans...Lauren woke up on the wrong side of the bed from nap, was battling a cold, and didn't really want her picture taken that day! So, we have no picture of her smiling in her hanbok.  We might have to try this again some day!  Oh, and in case you are wondering, "why is she holding a pencil?", well, her foster mother told us that Lauren chose the pencil at her first birthday party (Tol/Dol).  The pencil predicts that she will be good scholar.  Here are the results of our first hanbok photo shoot...

   

Home Two Months

Hard to believe that Lauren has now been home for two months and is 15 months old!  She fits wonderfully with our family.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives.  Here is a bit of an update on her, as of late:

Sleep
Lauren is sleeping great now.  She goes to bed around 7:30 PM and wakes around 7:00 AM.  She is sleeping her in crib and is now in her own room by herself.  We put her down awake and she is able to put herself to sleep.  She takes one nap a day for a little over 2 hours.  She loves to cuddle with her pink fuzzy blanket and huge pink teddy bear.   

Eating
Lauren loves to eat almost everything, but she definitely has her preferences.  She loves yogurt, fruit, vegetables, cheese, rice, and noodles.  She is now drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup.  She gave up her bottle easily in early September.  If she doesn't happen to like a food we are giving her, she just throws it off her plate onto the floor and screams for something else.  She knows what she likes!  She is also a super messy eater. 

I love pie!

Play
Lauren adores her big brothers.  She loves to play chase with them around the house.  She enjoys building blocks, music, dancing, putting things in containers (and emptying them), climbing, and most of all, playing outside.  She hates to wear hair bows or clips and will immediately pull them out - its almost like a game to her.

Language
When we first came home, Lauren would mimic our English, but over the past 6 weeks or so she stopped doing that.  She still loves to mimic sounds and facial expressions but isn't saying many English words.  We know she is really just processing all the language changes right now.  She does say mamma (directed to me - mamma is food in Korean but he is now using the English context), dadda, kitty, hi, hello, all done, brothers.  She is also signing a few words that we taught her.  But she understands so much of what we say and loves to tell us stories by babbling non-stop. 

Health
Lauren recently came down with her first cold while at home with us.  Combine the runny nose with her teething, and she isn't always a happy camper lately.  She is getting in her one-year-old molars, and they really seem to be bothering her.  She had her 15-month doctor appointment this past Friday, and it turns out that she has an ear infection!  We didn't realize it because it wasn't a bad one, but the doctor still put her on antibiotics because the weekend was approaching.  Let me tell you, she hates taking her medicine and it's really tough to get her to take it.  We will head back to the doctor in a few weeks to see if the infection has cleared up. 

Personality
Lauren has a big personality.  She loves to make others laugh by making funny sounds or faces, she  is determined to get what she wants and will not be distracted, she loves to cuddle and give kisses, and she has perfected the art of the temper tantrum.  She will crouch down to the ground, scream, then throw herself on the ground while kicking her arms and legs if she doesn't get everything she wants or if we aren't going fast enough to get her what she wants.  It's hard not to laugh at her since she is being very melodramatic about everything lately.  Her temper tantrums are often short lived when she realizes we aren't going to give in, and then she is all smiles again.  Here she is, just seconds into a tantrum about not being able to stand on the table.  As soon as I took the picture, she stopped to look at herself in the camera... and laughed at her picture.  Notice what her shirt says..."First Smile".

Here are a few more photos for your enjoyment:

Lauren and Kyle - Best Lollipop Buddies

I'm so cute!

My first lollipop, and look! A hair bow! (That lasted about 2 minutes.)

    

Fall Soccer

Fall soccer has kicked into full gear for Cameron.  He is really enjoying practices, and most of all, the games.  His team, the Panthers, won their first game but suffered a loss on their second.  He is already counting the days until his next game.  The whole family has been there to cheer him on.  It has been cold, but Kyle and Lauren have been real troopers and love to watch their big brother play.  We are very proud of the great team player that Cameron has become.  He always shows such great enthusiasm for all the players and loves the game.  Plus he has some talented footwork in moving that soccer ball down the field.

 

First Days of School

The start of school arrived on a cold, rainy day, but that did not dampen the spirit of the boys.  Cameron started first grade on Tuesday, September 7th.  This year he goes all day long!  I know I will miss having his smiling face at home but he smiles even bigger when he talks about school.  He loves school. 

Cameron, the First Grader!

Lauren wanted to play in the puddles.

There he goes!

And he's home!

I loved my first day!

Kyle began preschool on Wednesday, September 8th.  He will go twice a week for the mornings.  He, like his brother, couldn't wait for this new adventure.  He confidently walked into class and did wonderful at separating from mommy and Lauren.  Lauren and mommy missed having their funny boy at home with them but he really enjoyed preschool and all it has to offer. 

Preschool, here we come!

Kyle and his book bag.

I had a wonderful day!

Kyle, The Big Four

Can't believe my baby boy, Kyle, is already 4 years old.  Where has the time gone?  We are so blessed to have you as our son.  You are a shining light in our lives.  You fill our home with laughter, great stories, and a sweet smile.  We love you so much.  To mark 4 terrific years we had a few celebrations last weekend. 

Saturday was the family party.  Our guest list included:  Grandma Judy, Grandpa Al, Great Grandma Betty, Uncle Steve, Aunt Angela, Uncle Dan, Tina, Wyatt, and Allyiah.  The kids enjoyed some outdoor playtime while the grownups chatted.  Kyle's birthday menu of choice included pizza, fruit, salad, and ice cream cake.  He loved all his new presents.  Isn't that every kid's favorite part? 

A side note about Lauren:  at the party she met her uncles and aunts for the first time.  She did great and really tried to steal the limelight by dancing, laughing and interacting with everyone.  One thing we noticed is she seems to be a grandpa's girl.  She loved to grab grandpa by the hand and lead him around the house.  It was so cute. 

Lauren with Grandpa Al and Grandma Judy

Fun with Great Grandma Betty

Sunday, we spent the day at the our local community center.  While Lauren napped, daddy took the boys to the indoor play area.  They loved climbing, sliding and running off steam for a couple of hours.  After Lauren's nap we all hit the indoor water park.  Everyone loved the water.  It was a great family day. 

Kyle's actual birthday and the start of school happened to fall on the same day, so daddy took Tuesday off for an extra long weekend.  We started the day with more presents.  Kyle loved all his new cars.  After we got Cameron off to school on the bus (look for another post soon) we played around the house.  That afternoon daddy took Kyle to his first movie in a theatre - Toy Story 3.  He loved it.  Kyle once again wanted pizza for dinner, but at a restaurant.  Once Cameron was home from school we all enjoyed a nice dinner out together (our first as a family of five).  

  

 

Meet the Teachers

This past week we attended two "meet the teacher" nights.  Kyle's was first on Wednesday night.  Since he will be attending preschool at the same location as his older brother, Cameron tagged along with mommy to show him the ropes.  Upon entering the room and being handed a dinosaur finger puppet that he would be able to take home, he was hooked!  We explored the room and talked to his teacher a bit.  Kyle soon declared that preschool would be the best thing ever and that it was going to be so fun to play with all the cool toys.  He can not wait until next week to begin this new adventure. 

Cameron's "meet the teacher" night came on Thursday.  Kyle and mommy went along to help carry all the school supplies he'd need for 1st grade.  We soon located his new classroom and met his new teacher, who Cameron thinks will be wonderful and is really nice.  He was able to pick out his own desk (right up front, of course) and we loaded it with all his school supplies.  He was happy to see that a few of his buddies from kindergarten were going to be in his class.  Mommy was happy to learn that the school hired an additional teacher (so there will be 6 sections of 1st grade now) which will help lower the class sizes to 23 or 24 instead of 29 or 30 students in each classroom.  We weren't able to stay long since we had to run to Cam's soccer practice - which ended up getting rained out anyways.  Cam is very, very excited for school next week and to be able to attend all day.  Mommy, Kyle and Lauren will miss him. 

Last weekend we had a fun water weekend.  Saturday we enjoyed the kiddie pool in the back yard and Sunday we hit the wading pool and playground.  It was a relaxing weekend.  We didn't take too many pictures this past week but here are a few: 

Daddy mowing the lawn with Lauren tagging along for the ride.

Lauren, our little climber (up on the kitchen table). 

  
This coming weekend we will be celebrating Kyle's birthday - he is turning 4!

Here to Stay

Lauren received her permanent resident card in the mail recently.  She is here to stay... 

Reading the fine print!

What a special day!

Hey, check it out!

Yes, its for real!