On the trampoline

Our recent play date was at our friends' house where all the kids enjoyed the trampoline in their back yard.  Lucia watched with fascination from the window while the bigger kids jumped, and couldn't wait for her turn!  "More, more" she kept signing to me.. not that you can tell from the expression on her face in these pictures.

This week's art class

Our focus was on the family, so we created a house and all the people who fit into that house (pocket!).  As usual, it was Mommy cutting and pasting, with little girl adding the creative scrawls, dots and color.

All of us in the house

Outside of the house

You can guess who is who!

New perm

Troy teased me the other day, saying I was good Korean since I had managed to get my insurance company to pay for my new perm.  That really was a good one!  For those of you who haven't seen the progression from buzz cut to awkward mullet to over-priced perm.... here are some photos of my latest hairdo.

Almost FREE pizza

The other night, we ventured to a chain pizza buffet place which offered $1.99 per person buffet, with kids under age three for free.  Though not really our favorite pizza place, the price lured us into the doors.  We stood in line a mere five or ten minutes and enjoyed chatting with the senior citizens behind us (there were a BUNCH of them there).  The staff proved very friendly, the food plentiful and the seating decent and clean for a busy night.  Our girl who doesn't eat vast quantities of anything, ate two whole pieces of cheese pizza by herself plus a brownie for supper!  By the end, her cheeks were flushed with the warmth of the pizzeria, her belly full and stuck out, and her smile huge as she watched lots of kids wandering around the place filling their plates full.

In line, charming the grandmas behind us

Second cheese pizza

The fabulous duo

Words, words, words

Fiiiiinally, after waiting for months, our girl started spouting new words daily this past week or two.  Yes, I had been reassured by the pediatrician, by Troy, by the grandmas, by my sisters-in-law, by my dear friend the linguistics professor, and just about everyone else that I didn't need to worry about her expressive language since her comprehension seemed fine. But I'm a mom first and foremost.  So my primary job is to worry.  My main only role in life is to worry.  You can imagine my relief when the properly-used words came tumbling out of her mouth -- "apple, mouth, cheese, owl, Bible, light, more, coat, go, baby, ah-pa (Korean for daddy), um-ma (Korean for mommy), draw, boots, nose, eyes, hae-ba (Korean for do it)" etc.  She already knew "hi, mommy, mama, daddy, dada, duck, car, truck, cracker, no, yeah, koh (Korean for nose) plus a handful of signs.  This morning, we learned the downside of encouraging her speech when she wanted to talk during the reverent, quiet service.  

Psssst... come look at this

is what Troy whispered loudly to me the other night as we were in kitchen.  I was cleaning up the dishes, and he had been playing with our girl when she ran around the house to the living room, carrying her Bible.  Troy surreptitiously watched from the dining room as she climbed up on the red chair.  She opened her Bible and started talking  around her pacifier (no, she wasn't supposed to have it in but she found it!) as if she were in meeting.  So cute!  She must have seen Daddy after a minute or so, as she mentioned for him to join her on the red chair.  I ran to grab my phone or camera but the truly special moment passed too quickly.