Foto Finish Friday

Not too sure about the "nate".

Not too sure about the giant tortoise, either.

But the huge lizard? Oh yea, I'll pet that!

Birds of a Feather

I am not the type to have "lots" of friends. At every stage of my life thus far, I've had a handful of really good, close friends. In high school, it was Christy. We were nearly inseparable. We were together every spare moment at school, and out of school. We even stranded ourselves together in a snow storm once and spent 3 days of no school at her house!

After high school, when the rhythms of our lives changes, we were separated geographically. She moved north for schooling, I moved south after getting married. Inevitably, we lost touch. Prior to our reconnection 2 years ago, we hadn't seen each other or spoken to each other for 10 years. I often thought of her and wondered where life had taken her, I searched as much as I could. Her family had relocated away from our home town, and I had no idea if her name had changed through marriage (and yes...it had!). Two years ago, through the power of the internet, we were miraculously reconnected. I will never forget that day, catching up on 10 years of time lost between us. It was like only a moment had passed! As I learned of the struggles she and her husband had been through, it sounded all too much like our life challenges. We decided now was the time we were meant to be a support to each other. Turns out, her older son is only a few months younger than Kai! That was the biggest (and happiest) shock of all! We immediately started looking for opportunities to get them together.

As sheer luck our have it, we've now been able to see them 2 times in the past 5 months! What a treat! Our first visit was last fall when we went to Disneyland, and the second was just a few weeks ago after disembarking our cruise ship! We spent a fun day at their house while waiting for our flight home! Let me tell you... our boys could not be better buds. At their first meeting last fall, they hit it right off and were running around together, squealing with delight after only a few seconds! This time was no different. They are so alike in so many ways, it is so fun for them to see each other, and great for Christy and I to know that our very active sons are totally normal! Enjoy the pictures of our day together.

Kai and his buddy Wiley

Holding hands... adorable!

What good is water if you don't get wet??

Me, Christy and their other cutie Ivan.

Foto Finish Friday

Kai with his fancy cruise chocolate milk!

Yes, we are still alive! As I predicted, it's been a fun and exciting last few weeks for us and I've had no time for blogging! Still don't, but taking a few minutes here for ya'll!

So, first... we took Kai on his first cruise! We've been on several and we are absolutely addicted to it! We had a blast on our first family cruise, which also included Joe's Mom (it was her first cruise)! We also had our fare share of tough times, as will happen anytime a 3 year old is involved! We all ended up being sick at some point during the week, and Kai was the first. He woke up sick the day we left our house (1 day before setting sail). So, none of us were feeling 100% and he was definitely feeling out of his element. All said, we made lots of fun family memories and loved having Grandma with us!

When we got home, we learned that our house sale was ready to close! We encountered some last minute problems with my VA loan which we're still trying to sort out, but our buyer (and seller) both wanted to get things going. We closed on the sale of our old house 3 days after we got back, and worked out a rental agreement with our sellers until we can close. We moved to our new house 5 days after we got back from our vacation! Talk about a whirlwind of activity!! We are all loving our new place and neighborhood! Despite this having been a very stressful and stimulating 2 weeks, K is holding up fabulously, sleeping well and in a pretty good mood now that he's well. I was worried this might disrupt his good potty training work, but so far so good!

Hopefully lots of pics to come soon! Vacation pics and new house pics! We're still buried in boxes, and trying not to focus every moment on house stuff.

Looking forward to the forecast of a beautiful weekend, hopefully enjoying our new nice and big backyard!! :-)

Foto Finish Friday

Earlier this week I took K to have his pictures done for his 3rd birthday. As you can tell, we got some great shots! It was probably the best photo session we've had with him, although he still wasn't 100% cooperative. The above shot is one of my favs, so totally "him". After several minutes of coaxing, we had finally gotten him into the perfect pose. The photographer said, "Say... Superman!" and quicker than you can blink he busted out his signature superman move. Luckily, she snapped at the perfect moment (cause it only lasts a millisecond) and caught it on film.

OK, I'll admit...I'm loading the blog with these adorable pictures in hopes of keeping you all happy for a while. I am anticipating a *very* busy and chaotic next 2-3 weeks for us and not sure how much I'll be posting, if any. When I have time to breathe, I will post the details of what's going on. No worries, it's all good stuff.

Here are a few more of my favorites from his photo session. Enjoy!

Growing Boy

Yesterday K had his 3 year doctor visit. He was an absolute angel. He was so cooperative, and did everything the doctor asked him. He even pleasantly entertained himself with the blood pressure cuff the whole time (OK, so he was pretending it was a water gun, but still...). He was deemed perfectly healthy and developing exactly on-track (if not a little ahead of schedule). We have been blessed with a healthy, brilliant, adorable child.

A few stats to catch you up on what's been going on around here:

- official height/ weight was 38.25" tall, and 35.0 lbs (so, 70-80th percentile for both).

- *almost* completely pottying himself for the past few weeks, even at daycare.

- dressing and undressing himself for a while now (and sometimes does both many times within an hour!)

- loves cutting paper, and will work at this for minutes at a time (anyone with toddlers knows this is a huge thing!).

- naps are on the way out. :-(

- sleeping later in the morning (7am) is back in style. :-)

- learning an amazing amount everyday.

- still my silly monkey boy!

As you can tell, Buzz is the current outfit of choice. If we can get him to wear something different, this outfit (which is made complete with Buzz LY swimming trunks) gets put back on the second we get back home. Somehow, I've managed to get it washed a couple times in the past week. He even sleeps in it!

Foto Finish Friday-Mail Time!

K LOVES getting mail! Now that he can read his name, he loves seeing it on the envelope and knowing it all his. A few weeks ago, one of my bloggy friends emailed me to see if Kai and her little guy would like to be pen pals. Of course, I loved the idea and quickly agreed. Earlier this week, Kai got his first piece of mail from his new pen pal. On the same day, he also got his magazine from Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Dave. He was so excited to have "2 mail" with his name on it!

Basking in the glory of 2 pieces of mail.

C'mon Daddy, stop teasing...let's get that package open!

A Birthday surprise! Stickers! M&M's!

He really was more excited than that last picture captured, he just wouldn't cooperate with the camera. He quickly proceeded to unload one page of stickers onto the card envelope. Also note the blue gloves; he had gone for his first dental cleaning earlier that day and they gave him those gloves. He wore them pretty much the rest of the day...

Thanks M&E for the fun package!

Party Weekend!!

We had a big, huge party weekend celebrating our little guy's 3rd birthday, Valentine's and the Lunar New Year (more commonly known as Chinese New Year, but also celebrated in Korea).

Friday (the BIG day), we had a nice, quiet, family afternoon. After hitting C0stco for a hot dog lunch (his choice), we headed home for opening presents, making birthday sundaes, and watching a movie (big treat for him to watch a whole movie at once!)

Saturday was the big party! All the kids had sooo much fun, especially the birthday boy! He was in seventh heaven having all his favorite people helping him celebrate, and even got a little shy when everyone was singing to him.

Sunday, of course, was Valentine's and the Lunar New Year. We laid low pretty much all day; hung out at home after church, then headed to a party at a friends house in the evening celebrating both occasions. Tons of great home made Korean food and yummy Valentine's treats! We all had a great time, and Kai enjoyed playing with all the kids (and all the Star W@rs gear at our friends house!).

It was a great weekend, but by the end we were pretty much all partied out!

Thanks to everyone who helped make Kai's Birthday such a great day for him!!

Now, for a few pictures (trust me, this is only a few... we took about 300 this weekend!)

First act as a 3 year old... chocolate milk and Super Why

(wish I could say this part was different from any other day...)

And now...for possibly the best candle blowing out sequence ever!

I really hope these pictures do it justice.

Blow! #1 is out!

Inhale!

Blow! #2 is out!

Inhale!

Blow! #3 is out!

(Thanks to our new super fast camera for making that sequence possible!)

Foto Finish Friday--Guess who's 3??

Happy Birthday to our sweet, sensitive, loving, brilliant, brave little boy! We love you so very much and can't imagine our lives without you!!

Foto Finish Friday

Selecting pine cone ammo

True joy is throwing leaves at Mommy

Looking for squirrels in the trees

How do you like the outift? Let's just say K has a style all his own, and we are really working hard on not sweating the small stuff...

Foto Finish Friday- New Camera!!

We finally got our new camera *sort of* figured out last weekend. Well, figured out enough to take some pictures (a lot of pictures), and get them downloaded and uploaded. It's a little fancier than our old camera, and takes great photos, but still your average point-and-shoot type situation.

It's got a "sports" mode, and takes great action shots.

Maybe we'll finally get some decent shots of our little guy in action.

These trees were along the freeway,

as we were traveling 65(ish)mph! Not too shabby...

Sadly, a new camera cannot turn a frown upside-down.

(This was totally fake, but he did almost squeeze out a tear!)

**WE ARE FAMILY**

I love, love, love that K is really starting to be aware of his family. Not just Joe and I, but also his extended family (still working on the "two sides" of the family thing). Whenever we discuss a family event, he always has to list everyone who will be there, and if someone is missing, he gets quite concerned. He knows his cousins, and somehow knows they are family, not just friends. He is really getting a sense of what being a family means; that we're all here for each other, care about each other, and help each other.

On the night of our little "date" last week (see picture below), K could not understand why Daddy was not coming with us (he had a meeting after work). When I told him it was just him and Mommy, he asked "Why not Daddy?". When I told him why, he said "But he part of my bamily".

Talk about a heart-breaker.

And from an attachment standpoint... a huge relief!

Foto Finish Friday

The King has spoken:

And he declares:

Chicken nuggets go in carmel sauce...

Apple slices go in ketchup.

(Yes, still without an operational camera. We finally got our new one, but have been too busy this week to try to figure it out. Maybe this weekend...)

Then & Now

(How is it even possible that we have these kinds of photos??)

Then: Easter 2008, 13 months old

Now: Thanksgiving 2009, 33 months old

Less is More

Yes, I am still alive! Yes, we're fine! Sorry I've been a little MIA lately, allow me to explain...

By now, you probably know my stance on New Year's Resolutions. I'm not big on them. I'm all for making goals that benefit yourself or your family. I just think it's a little ridiculous to restrain it to one time of the year. And yes, I understand the theory of making a clean start for a new year. It just sorta brings the expectation that it will probably be broken. I tend to make New Year goals small, attainable, and something that I know will last the whole year or beyond. One year, my resolution was not to buy ANY gift wrapping for one year. I did it! I went an entire year not buying any NEW gift wraps. I used stuff I had, recycled and got creative.

But, I digress...

This year I decided there were a few areas where I could use improvement. So, my goal for this year are to use my free time more efficiently, and more with my husband. I bet you can guess what this means...Yes, less time for blogging and internet socializing. I will still do it, but not as much. I need to focus my precious few hours of free time per day on my hubby, or getting productive stuff done around the house. My other goal is to get rid of the 10 pounds of baby weight I've been carrying around for 2 years (yes, it still comes even when you haven't given birth!). About a year ago, I just resigned that I was a Mom now, and I would have to live with it. Well, I'm not gonna take it anymore! (Also a preemptive strike against some upcoming vacation plans)

So there you have it. I'm accountable to all of you.

And because I don't want to disappoint, possibly the best of our Christmas photos...

Hopefully more pictures soon...maybe even from this year! Our camera died and we're waiting for the new one to come in.

ETA: Proof that I am staying on track...this post took me two days to complete!

Foto Finish Friday- Happy New Year!!

Wow! It's 2010!

I've been a total blogging slacker, but promise to post some Christmas pics soon. Maybe even this weekend! Things have been a little nutty around here!

As we rapidly approach the 3rd birthday, we are seeing our little guy change and develop on a daily basis. This week: changing clothes. He's been awake today for almost 2 hours, and already changed his clothes 3 times! It's so fun to see what he wants to put on next. The above picture is a new outfit he got for Christmas. The second he opened it, he took off his clothes (in the middle of the living room, in front of everyone) and put it on. Shirt, pants, the whole deal. As you can tell, he was so proud of himself!

Foto Finish Friday...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

It's 6:20am on Christmas morning and I can't wait for the little guy to get up! The stockings are hung by the chimney with care,

and it looks like St. Nicholas surely has been here!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We are looking forward to a fun, busy next few days as we visit our families for Christmas. And let's not forget our Family Day celebration tomorrow!! 2 years... can you believe it??

Wishing you all a truly blessed holiday!!

The last thing Kai did before bed last night. He insisted on putting out chocolate milk for Santa, to see if he likes it. I think he did!

ABC's

Seemingly out of nowhere, Kai can now say his ABC's! We've been singing them for a while during hand washing, and I guess somewhere along the line it just stuck. Of course, when I pulled the camera out the cooperation level plummeted, and he wouldn't start from the beginning, but you get the idea! Hopefully you can hear him over the hammering. I guess it's not enough to just sing the song, you have to pound the board at the same time!

We have definitely entered the busy holiday season. That, coupled with having to work a little extra lately, I feel like I've had NO time to blog, much less attend to my Christmas gifts that are in desperate need of getting wrapped! Each night I say I'm going to do it, then somehow it doesn't happen. Pretty soon I'll be out of time!

Today we enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner with my family. More on that later... I'm determined to get some wrapping done tonight!

Foto Finish Friday

Kai's photography debut

Last Saturday we headed to one of our favorite local hangouts to try to get a decent family picture. Although it is a shopping area, it is decorated beautifully for the holidays, so we thought it would make a good background for pictures. The grounds were lovely, however getting our silly monkey to cooperate with a nice smile was another matter entirely. Our friend who's taken pictures for us in the past was busy, so we set out with just us and our tripod. Not too bad, considering... Here are some "out-takes" from our photo session.

Silly boy

Hmm...wonder why it's hard to get a good picture...

could it be because he never stops moving?

Aww...this one would have been perfect...

except for the large ball in the face!

This was one of the best. It very nearly made it onto the card,

but just didn't fit with any of the styles that I liked.

Foto Finish Friday

Cybershop- Help a child

I found out about this yesterday (or perhaps I've always known and forgot).

If you're going to do any shopping on Amazon... for the holidays or any time of the year, enter through this site, and shop as usual. 5-15% of the total of your purchases will go to this wonderful organization. To help me remember, I made a bookmark for my browser, and labeled it "Amazon".

Help a child by shopping... what could be easier?

(ETA: I've added this link to my sidebar for your convenience!)