Troy + Youngin

The day we stayed in pajamas

2012-02-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

This phenomenon is extremely rare around here but something I dream about doing occasionally. We accomplished it yesterday! Little Miss Drippy and her mama, Ms. Sneezy Drippy, sat around in pajamas ALL DAY long. We felt badly missing our playdate with our friends, but Mama's nose and head couldn't handle being out of the house, besides not spreading this germ being a major factor. We ate when we felt like it, which was pretty much grazing all day. We ate whatever we wanted, which included donuts, girl scout cookies, cheese, crackers, leftover chili, yogurt, soup, milk, toast, eggs and lots of tea (for me). We read all of this weeks' books from the library and plus some of our own board books. We watched the garbage trucks pick up the garbage bins on our street and then found youtube videos of babies laughing at ripping paper, two-year-olds violining, three-year-olds with guitars singing Beatles songs, and all kinds of Pocoyo episodes. We used up nearly an entire box of Puffs Plus and ended up with red noses despite the lotion in the tissue. We took a nice nap, but wayyyy too short for my liking. By mid-afternoon, the bored little girl brought me her play shoes and wandered around the sunroom for awhile. Then, she kept saying "Mommy, Mommy" and then brought me MY shoes. She ran over to the side door and looked outside longingly. I felt so bad for her that I grabbed coats for us and we soaked up some sun and fresh air. Even simply wandering around the driveway was refreshing, and you-know-who didn't want to go back inside despite a non-stop nasal drip. Why do pajama days have to be sick days?! One of these times, I'm going to plan a pajama day when we are totally well. We'll invited our buddies over, too, just to add to the sheer joy of hanging out in the world's most comfortable clothes.

This week's art class -- toy making

2012-02-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Mostly the class involved Mommy running around cutting, glueing and encouraging the little girl to draw and dot on the doll rather than the paper. Her focus remained on the paper as you can see below and blue marker coated her fingers. Nothing like taking your girl to her checkup with marker all over her face and hands! At least the doctor figured out she is active everyday!

Paper is well colored!

You can see how her fingers got smothered!

Doll

It was fun to make!!!!

Sorry, blurred photo of markered-hands

Dolly Derby

2012-02-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

Since she practiced racing in a stroller on Saturday with Daddy, little girl figured she would race around the house with her dolly too on Sunday. The hair-do was designed, created and completely done by her daddy, who is becoming a master up-do arteest!! The latter photos are the "take-down" hair shots.

Mommy, when are you coming home???

2012-02-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Uh, don't try this at home!

SIGH!

Daddy, no more photos!!!

Baby needs a diaper change

2012-02-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

Krispy Kreme Challenge 2012

2012-02-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Troy pushed Lucia in a stroller borrowed from a friend for the race, which involved running 2.5 miles, eating twelve donuts and running back. We thought she would love the crowd as people-watching is one of her favorite interests. She did indeed enjoy the running, apparently waving at everyone for the first half-mile. She also helped Daddy by eating one of the dozen donuts mid-race. Good job, Troy and Lucia!!

"Honk! Honk! Out of our way!" Practicing for the race.

Helping Daddy out by eating a donut

Almost done!

We did it, Daddy! Eating raisins on the way home.

Spring has sprung!

2012-02-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Our flowers are confused with all the warm weather (60s and 70s all week?!). The daffodils popped a few days ago, and the lenten roses and tulips are showing signs of life now. Supposedly it was the 10th warmest January in history.

Happy Anniversary to us!

2012-02-03T11:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary, and our piano was delivered last evening. Troy had been diligently searching craigslist for a piano, although I didn't realize until just a few days ago that his intention was getting me an anniversary gift! We had considered buying one a couple years ago, but this search turned more serious when we realized that our girl loved the pianos at her grandparents' houses over the holidays. Several days ago we looked at one that was priced out of our range, which also disappointed us with stickers on the keys (seriously!). Later that evening, a listing popped up from a woman who was selling her childhood piano. Inexpensively. Really inexpensively. We gobbled down supper, put pajamas on the toddler and drove to see the piano. Good shape for its age, decent sound, and great price, although it definitely needs tuning... but we quickly have learned that every piano needs tuning when it's listed on craigslist. Anyway, this lady and her husband were soooo nice and we almost felt bad taking her piano from her but I think they really were happy to sell it for space. The husband delivered it to our house in his trailer. Does it get any better than that?! Thanks, Troy. The piano is awesome. You were right. (as always :-)

This week's art class

2012-02-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

Amazingly, Lucia held the paintbrush properly, chose her color palette and created this abstract art. Any bidders?????

Can a tiger train a dragon?

2012-02-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hint: 2010 = tiger, 2012 = dragon

Rockin' that look

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

You know what happens when Daddy decides to do the hairstyling!

The January Blizzard

2012-01-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

Since it has been unseasonably warm and pleasant this January, we have had to go look for blizzards. We have occasionally seen the bright sun, in between the rain and thunder storms, but blizzards aren't as readily available. So over the weekend, we walked to our local DQ and enjoyed our version of a blizzard. This post is accompanied by a very huge apology to those who have actually shoveled some snow this winter!!

Yes, we really did eat outside as the temperature was 50 degrees at 7:30 pm.

Trampoline in the 'hood

2012-01-29T22:21:00.002-05:00

On our daily walk around the block recently, I saw our neighbor kids enjoying their trampoline one balmy afternoon. From a distance I could see the two middle school aged children jumping high into the air. I couldn't quite figure out what the boy had going on with his legs. When we passed them, I realized he had his hockey goalie pads strapped to his legs and he was practicing bouncing down in the "W" formation that the goalies like to do. Impressive use of a trampoline!!

On the trampoline

2012-01-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

Words, words, words

2012-01-22T20:44:00.001-05:00

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

2012-01-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

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.

New coloring book

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of reduce, reuse and recycle, our kid colors with crayons in the 2011 PDR, thanks to her dad's ingenuity. There are endless pages which don't seem to rip, and can tolerate a toddler's version of coloring. Maybe she'll absorb some biochemistry along the way.

Um, that's probably daddy's circles but her scribbles

Sorry, sometimes blogger turns photos

Hard at work!

A day in the life of me

2012-01-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, besides a blog, I keep a diary of my days. I've been recording little tidbits of our day, notes of routine boring stuff (like what time she napped and what she ate), and also cute things I want to remember that our daughter said or did (but not necessarily blog). I'm finding the days, weeks, months fly so quickly that I can hardly remember one day to the next unless it's written down.

So here's a little snippet of our day yesterday which started REALLY early (it's not any different from any other mom's life but this is my reality!). Little girl decided at 6:20 that she needed some milk. Sigh. After playing with blocks, throwing her balls back and forth, reading books (baby bear, brown bear and panda bear) the phone rang and I talked with a friend for quite awhile. Since little girl started getting fussy, I bundled her up and we went for a half-hour walk. She fell asleep quickly in her stroller. While she napped, I surfed the web, blogged and made some phone calls to figure out the best place for my mom to get some new glasses. Then I finished reading one point two journals which included CME questions. After munchkin woke up from her nap, some friends came over and we hung out until the weather cleared a little. Then we walked the greenway to a park, met some more friends there and played for more than an hour. The kids all enjoyed playing and this mom enjoyed all the other moms' company. We got back late afternoon and I decided to make bread and banana chocolate chip crumb muffins since the oven was going to be turned on anyway for the stuffed baked potatoes. I whirled the Kitchen Aid mixer a few times, plopped everything together and tried to remember the timing of the different things that needed baking, all the while a toddler roamed the kitchen with random books, pulling random spices and containers out of random places, saying "mommy, mommy." With dinner finally pulled together and devoured, dirty dishes piled into the dishwasher, the last duty of the night remained a bath for the girl. And I didn't even write all the details.

Birthday Surprise!!

2012-01-17T13:00:00.000-05:00

The UPS man stopped at the end of our driveway last night, exited his brown truck with a headlamp on, and walked up to our side door with a HUGE box. Hmmm.... we should have done one of those unpacking videos that people like to shoot, but I didn't think of it until just now.... especially since our little girl was quite excited to help open the box! Anyway, inside this HUGE box from Omaha Steaks was a belated birthday surprise for Troy. A great surprise for the champion meatatarian! And, it's a gift for me, too, since I don't have to cook tonight. Thank you, thank you.

Box contents

ADDENDUM 8pm: The dinner was delicious! I added green beans to the stuffed baked potatoes and filet mignons.

"I like toast and jam..."

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

Despite downing a bowl of oatmeal, some scrambled eggs, and part of a cinnamon roll, Lucia was delighted to share her daddy's toast and jam. Especially the jam.

Saturdad

2012-01-14T13:47:00.002-05:00

Mommy's working today.

1 trip to 2 dumps (first one wouldn't take the old water heater)
+ 1 trip to new library
+ 1 trip to Mommy's work, for lunch/snack
+ 1 pending trip to Lowe's!
+ 1 nap (under way)
-----------
= I can't wait for Mommy to get home.

PS - Despite my attempt to be creative with the title, turns out it already exists, at least in the Urban Dictionary.

Are you ok??

2012-01-13T13:00:00.000-05:00

Guess who came up to me this morning and wanted to put on her hat and gloves? Yes, the same little girl who couldn't stand the hat and gloves a couple weeks ago. Maybe the cold weather is inspiring the change of heart....

The squeaky wheel....

2012-01-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

... gets some results, anyway. Troy happened to notice the subcontracted tree trimmers methodically moving around our neighborhood, chopping down limbs near power lines. Sounds like a good idea, except at a couple of houses up the street, the trees ended up with an L-shaped chunk eaten out of it. After calling the power company, waiting for a human response, then waiting for that man to come out and look at our magnolia, and then waiting for him to call back.... our tree was trimmed this week. The guys happen to come the day Troy worked from home, and they stopped at our door a couple times for him to check their progress. They ended up giving the tree a nice trim. Thankfully. This topic was the major subject at story time yesterday as a couple ladies from our neighborhood asked about our experience with "the tree guys." Ah... the tiny details in life that stir us up....

Story Time

2012-01-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

Thankfully, we are back in the swing of our pre-holiday routine. Story Time was packed this morning (perhaps the gray, drizzly, cold weather helped with attendance). Our girl who loves to do all the rhymes, dances and movements at home spent the whole time just watching all the other kids moving and shaking today. She happily clapped along but her fascination was with the other children. Afterward, while choosing books and sitting at the little table, she was especially mesmerized by twin boys who were running their tired grandma to her wits' end.

Alex Alligator

2012-01-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

This book once belonged to Troy, and now his daughter enjoys the "snap, snap" of the alligator book.

The only weekend photo

2012-01-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

No one was exactly feeling energetic enough to hold a camera, much less look good enough to have a photo taken..... but, here's the one and only photo of two eating toast.

Our girl is definitely feeling better today as she ate her entire dish of scrambled eggs this morning, and asked for more. She also ate a good portion of her oatmeal, and then was hungry again in a couple of hours.

Stomach bug, stomach bug what do you see?

2012-01-08T19:00:00.000-05:00

I see three people running away from me!

The past week started with our little girl battling a cold. Then, she started with the stomach bug which she generously shared with her parents. Troy probably caught the worst of it, with fever, chills, body ache and nausea. Our washer ran multiple loads of laundry in the past few days. Our diet consists of rice porridge, tea, toast, cereal and not much else. Hungry but scared to eat anything of substance (only because we were dumb enough to try it once this weekend!) We thought last night that we had beat this icky virus, but today we're still feeling rough. Unfortunately, that meant we missed meeting up with some Ohio friends who were traveling through town. Sorry about that!!

We have entertained ourselves with reading "baby bear, baby bear what do you see" books OVER and OVER, flipping pop-up books, playing with mega-blocks, scribbling, and even daring to take a few walks. We have been amazed at our little girl's happy disposition even while sick.

Tell me I'm not actually seeing THIS SIGN!

2012-01-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

Our sweet traveler

2012-01-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Little girl KNEW something was going on as I started to pack our suitcases. She was soooo tired since she woke at 6 am, but refused to nap before we left for the airport, refused to nap in the car on the way, refused to nap on the plane until the last five minutes of the flight. She most certainly was not going to miss out on any activity. Despite being so tired, she traveled well and entertained everyone with her little hand wave and "hi." At the end she passed out in my arms and slept on the airport bench while waiting for luggage, then in her car seat (despite a stop at Trader Joe's on the way home) and finally after we arrived home, slept in her bed for a total of two and half hours.

Ya gotsta eat dis!

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Only in the midwest.....

can you get Bob Chinn's seafood,

Cousins' Subs

the best locally-owned donut shop, run by a Cambodian couple (you will never have better donuts!)

Mars Cheese Castle

And, unrelated to food, but an important midwest stop anyway... the cleaners that my parents used to run, aka my summer job, spring break job, weekend job, jail cell (oops, did I say that?! just kidding, Mom and Dad!) Anyway, it did make me happy to see that the store continues to be busy and doing well, especially in this economy.

She's my cousin!

2012-01-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

It is amazing to watch the instant bond between these girls. New Year's Eve consisted of assembling, coloring and playing with the cardboard house.

Resident artist

Tall enough to color the roof

Sliding entrance

Check it out, now!

Hi!

Fishing something out of the chimney

Look at my ow-ie, Sam-chon!

Aww.. it's alright.

More special visits with very special people

2012-01-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

Since Jane happened to be in the area one night, we fortunately met up with her too! We were glad that Lucia was able to meet Auntie Jane who is a very special auntie to many, many children!

Also we attended a special meeting in Wisconsin and Lucia got to meet Uncle Rich. We were excited to see and hear him as he just returned from Ecuador. Coincidentally, Troy ran into his cousin Mary Anne after that meeting... as in they literally bumped into each other! We were happy for a few minutes to catch up. We also met several old friends there and exchanged lots of smiles and hugs. Later that evening, Uncle Tim and Aunt Susan came to the house along with Gomo Halmoni and Halabuhgee. Over a delicious lasagna that Susan whipped up, we enjoyed the fascinating stories of World War II and the Korean War. It's hard to comprehend just what the previous generations (our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents) endured, but we are thankful we can still hear the stories. Those stories need to be recorded!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

We wish everyone a wonderful 2012!

Special visit!

2011-12-31T11:00:00.000-05:00

Fortunately Mary Lou happened to be visiting in Chicagoland while we were there. We met up at Cheesecake Factory with Lala and her children. Marco unfortunately wasn't able to come too. Amazing how much the children have grown up!

The three munchkins

2011-12-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

WOW! I am thrilled to see how the girls love playing together, happy to simply bask in each others' company.

Happy game (not sure what?!)

Awwww....

Group hug with Halabuhgee

Photo essay on how to hug...

Chil'axen

Minzie's creativity

Lion wearing a girls' coat

Water, water everywhere

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

While Lucia Sora and I flew to Chicago, Troy drove home, The next day we were planning to meet up with her cousins at a water park, and Troy discovered a leaking water tank. So, some of us played and others of us worked. Boo... not fair to Troy. Little girl at first was skeptical and scared of the big, giant "bathtub" but soon forgot her fears and thoroughly enjoyed the water slide and pool. She even ran along the water edge with Halmoni trying to keep up with her and jumped into the 1 ft 6 inch area all by herself. Quite bold! The best part of the afternoon simply was observing the bond between the girls. Lucia's cousins are definitely special!!

And here's a video of the water slide that all the girls (yep, that includes Halmoni!) enjoyed!

Final pix from Ohio

2011-12-28T14:14:00.002-05:00

The first ones show Lucia's fancy up-do that her daddy created for her. The latter photos of a girl trying to escape the male-dominated sofa!

More special times with Family

2011-12-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

Our Sunday was extra special because we got to see Uncle Verle. The children posed with him after meeting.

When we got home, the grandchildren took a photo with Grandma and Grandpa.

And for the rest of Sunday, we simply played and savored our time together!

Gifts Galore

2011-12-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

Of course one of the most exciting parts of the holiday is the gift exchange. We especially enjoyed the children opening their gifts on Christmas Eve, and then we all dug into our own baskets yesterday.

Eggs!

Playing with Grandma

Playing with the piano on daddy's lap

Grandpa's stack

My family is soooo fun!

2011-12-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

Our little girl has been ecstatic these past few days with cousins as play mates, Grandma and Grandpa's house to explore, different toys (even cars, trains and balls!!) with which to play, tractors to ride, cookies to decorate, etc. We love watching her take in all the joy of family!

"Everybody... dance, dance, dance"

Surprise!

2011-12-24T13:00:00.000-05:00

We had some great pizza as a surprise birthday party for Troy. The gooey cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza and thick supreme pizza with LOTS of yummy olives came from Countryside Grocery and Pizza. Mara crafted the awesome cake.... she's definitely the Cake Boss!!

Unwittingly went to pick up his own birthday dinner.

rock on, birthday dude!

Pepperoni

"Loaded" pizza. One or two pieces make a meal!

Homemade German chocolate cake!

Over the river and through the woods...

2011-12-23T19:52:00.001-05:00

After a brief night-time nap, we headed out to visit Uncle Dennis. He stays in a very, very nice place!

Greetings in the indoor "Main Street" area!

Looking at newly-hatched baby birds.

Fun with cousins

The cousin kids

Long-overdue visit!

Taking her baby for a walk

2011-12-21T22:26:00.003-05:00

Tea and toast

2011-12-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

Actually, tea makes "it" worse. So, hot water and toast only. That was supper. The night before? Saltine crackers and hot water. 'Nuff said. Better now. Thankfully no one seems to be infected by it.

On more important international news, Dear Leader finally died. Whew. Hope the son is somewhat more sane. Doubtful.

Modern noise

2011-12-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

This post is not meant to be negative. It's not really positive, either. It's just my observations from wandering around our neighborhood. IT'S REALLY NOISY in suburbia. In the past month, as I push the stroller while doing the silent nap-chant "go to sleep, go to sleep," I've definitely become aware of how much noise pollution occurs. IT'S REALLY NOISY when you are trying to get your sensitive little girl to nap. Shall I list the noise? Leaf blower, leaf blower, leaf blower, riding lawn mower, chain saw (especially when the tree next down was being cut down), UPS truck, leaf blower, school bus, leaf blower, riding lawn mower, leaf blower, the town's leaf picker-upper-machine with vacuum attachment, stump grinder, leaf blower, mail truck and leaf blower. Granted, we have a lot of trees and therefore leaves in our neighborhood. We also own and use (well, Troy does) a leaf blower. We also make noise and contribute to the problem. I love that these modern conveniences help our lives immensely, and keep our town pretty. The cost is noise. So next time you see me and I'm shouting at you.... it's because IT'S REALLY NOISY around here and I've lost my hearing (and probably my mind).

Mama... we're late for meeting!

2011-12-17T11:00:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday morning as I busily packed the diaper bag full of books, fake-Etch-a-Sketch, snacks, bottle, and Bibles, little girl posed for some photos for her daddy.

"Hiii"

"Is that noise from our car?"

"How many more, Daddy?"

"Good, last one! Mama!!!"

HaPpY bIrThDaY tO yOu!!!!!!

2011-12-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

Since today is Troy's special day, we can't wait until he gets home. He's working in the field, so undoubtedly he's happy to be outside rather than starting at a computer screen. Also, we want to sssssssstretch the birthday festivities out as long as possible, so we'll make it a fun weekend, too!

She aced her test!!

2011-12-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

What test would a toddler girl be required to take, you ask? It was a citizenship exam that she took last night. She ate her first McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese and loved it. She proved that she's an all-American girl, after all!! She ate several bites with gusto (and that was even after eating a big bowl of zuppa toscana -- chock full of sausage, cannellini beans, potatos and kale).

When a toddler gets her way....

2011-12-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

Apparently her daddy was amused by her selection of shoes that she brought to him when we told her we were going outside. And he, being the fun dad he is, put those very shoes on her feet. We wandered around several stores looking like this. Not one single person said anything, nor even noticed! In fact, I had almost forgotten about it too, until I was taking the Hello Kitty microwave picture.

Weekend Target expedition

2011-12-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

Who buys a Hello Kitty microwave, anyway? You are not exactly going to give it as a birthday gift to your three-year-old niece. You are not exactly going to use a low-wattage pink microwave in your well-coordinated kitchen. You might use it in your dorm, but by December, you probably already own a dorm-size microwave. But it was worth a fun picture and post, anyway!

Any guess what this might be?

2011-12-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

HINT: Grandpa G will get this right immediately!

Ok, I will admit that it's very difficult to take pictures of Christmas lights in the dark and these photos aren't great, but we tried. The top photo is rather funky, in my opinion, just because it sorta gives the impression of sparkling lights. Anyway, we are no fools! There are tons of lights in our fair city, and neighborhoods of McMansions with artistically, tastefully and/or beautifully done lights. We could have taken photos of any number of those well-proportioned and pretty lights. BUT, on our way to the office party Saturday night, we passed this farmhouse that we go by often (en route to gospel meeting, friends' houses, etc) with a very special tractor always parked out in front. Now THAT holiday decoration is worth capturing!!

Holiday party

2011-12-11T20:49:00.001-05:00

Last year, we didn't make it to the annual office holiday party. I think something about having a little baby, winding down with chemo and Troy's studying for finals might have factored into the decisions. Well, this year, we took our active toddler along and she had a blast. The daughter of our hostess played with our daughter very well. Lucia was thrilled with all the new toys, dollhouse, kitchen, balls, etc to explore, besides her buddy Neil being there, too. She also happily entertained the adults with "high fives," "knuckles," winking and saying "hi." Troy and I also enjoyed ourselves with good company, excellent food and watching the kids play together. So thankful to work with a wonderful bunch of fun, dedicated, caring and smart professionals!

Mama's slippers

2011-12-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

It's much funnier to watch her walk around in her daddy's large shoes, but the camera was handy this time! And if I let the camera roll for one more second, you would have heard her scream "mama."

Sushi Boat

2011-12-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Found a picture I forgot I had taken at the restaurant of one of our meals last weekend. It was a LOT of food, but fresh and delicious.

A one-year-old's version of piano lessons

2011-12-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

Halmoni found this keyboard at Ollie's Bargain Outlet and it has become a favorite toy. Surprisingly, it makes semi-appropriate noise and semi-decent music. It may be the least expensive piano lesson (and piano!) for which we will have to pay.

Baby Einstein

2011-12-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Well, so much for simplicity parenting. I think, think, that is still our goal, but our girl has fallen in love with her Baby Signs DVD. She has watched it enough times to know what's coming next. "Baw" she says, and what do you know? There's a little baby with a big ball in the next scene. In another scene, a cow appears in the midst of milk cartons and just before he shows up, she says "moo." Eeks!

She loves the DVD so much that yesterday morning, she found the portable player on the seat of a dining chair, hefted the heavy-for-her machine, carried it to me and insisted that I play it. When I turned it on first without lifting the lid/screen, she lifted it herself. All the while, I hear in my head "the real Einstein never had Baby Einstein DVDs and your child doesn't need it either." Is this worth fighting? This parenting thing might get real fun, real fast!

Weekend pix from Schenck Forest

2011-12-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

Collecting rocks

Sharing with my Halabuhgee

Stump-ed (sittimg on a stump)

Hmmmm... got to figure it out!

Observing things like Daddy does

Weeks' end and weekend

2011-12-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the hiatus in posting. The end of the week swirled by quickly. I worked Thursday and Friday as the office was short-staffed, and then also my usual Saturday. We enjoyed our special company Friday night (some pre-planned and some last-minute-welcome!) and appreciated their visit. Saturday morning, we took advantage of the sunshine and we showed my parents Schenck Forest. The scenery was gorgeous, and hopefully some photos turned out well. We found a great restaurant Saturday night, and all of us dined sumptiously (including you-know-who for a change). Sunday morning as we prepared to leave for our church meeting, my phone rang and my parents learned that one of their old friends passed away. So with a sudden change of plans, they rushed around to pack, and they left around noon right after meeting. Sad, sad, sad! We managed to keep busy with rearranging the house Sunday afternoon, sped to the gospel meeting and slid into seats at 4:29 pm, and then met up with some friends for supper afterward. Whew. I love Monday!

I'll post photos tomorrow.

More Charleston pix

2011-12-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

Oops! I just opened up the camera photos on my phone and discovered a few more pictures. Better to post late than never, right?!

The new shhhh machine

2011-11-30T17:00:00.000-05:00

Last night, we pulled into the parking of the gospel meeting place and sat for a few minutes until nearly start-time since little girl had fallen asleep in her car seat. We managed to time it perfectly so that we scored FRONT ROW SEATS! Gulp! That would be the first time ever in the front row with an active little girl. Amazingly this child who will startle at any commotion and who refuses to sleep when there are people and excitement around her just in case she'd miss anything, slept on my shoulder for the first 15 minutes through the singing and all. She must have been dazed or something because she sat fairly still the rest of the meeting on my lap, looking at books and of course at other people. Fortunately, we found this awesome quiet toy at Ollie's the other day which kept her entertained very well, also.

The electronic umbilical cord

2011-11-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

This recent CNN article raises interesting points (most of which everyone already knows, probably) but it's good to be reminded that we could potentially become addicted to our gadgets. Pretty soon, the U.S. will have as many detox centers for electronically addicted people as there are in Korea.

Charleston SC

2011-11-28T13:00:00.000-05:00

Getting away for a couple days proved to be a welcome break from the daily routine. We appreciated the beautiful scenery, old but well-maintained houses, history, parks, water, palm trees and lowcountry cuisine.

Walking along the hotel lobby

Chairwoman of the "bored" directing us where to sit, etc

The lone Korean restaurant

at which we did not eat, but found funny signs!

oooh, horsies!

Art gallery display

At the end of Broad Street

Three generations

Rockin'

Beautiful architecture

More old buildings

At the Battery

Overlooking the ocean

"hear ye, hear ye"

Sitting on a cannon


Stoll's Alley

Daddy are you coming?

Me and my Halmoni

2011-11-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

We both love to have fun. We both love collecting leaves. We both love hanging out with our friends!

Feeding the ducks

Oooh, watch them swim and fight for the bread

I don't like that scary one!

Ducks swimming for food

Scary one! No clue what it's called....

My and my friend

Me and my Halmoni

Me and my Halabuhgee

2011-11-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

We both like Starbucks. We both like to smile. We both like being outdoors. Life is good!

Every kid should play in the leaves

2011-11-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

Both Troy and I reminisce about how much we loved raking leaves and then jumping in them! We have loved the noise of crunching leaves while walking on the greenway lately. When Lucia wanted to play in the big pile the other day, I gulped down my instincts to keep her from the branches in there and just let her romp and throw the leaves around. I think she had a blast!

Thankful Day

2011-11-24T11:00:00.001-05:00

Today's celebration of gratitude (and food!) is always a favorite. Our list of items for which to be grateful extends beyond mere words. We shall count our blessings with a full heart. Happy thanksgiving to everyone!

Almost a word a day

2011-11-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

After my suspicions of our girl having a slight delay in expressive speech (although she clearly understands very well) were confirmed through the online developmental questionnaire before the last pediatrician's appointment, she is now talking more and more. Since her friends her age all speak more than she does, we happily welcome this turn of events. Most of the new words started spilling out in the past week or two. So far, her words include: dada, mama, hi, me me me me (as in "pick me up"), cracker, baw (ball), yeah, wa wa (water), cheese (as in smile), ha-mi (halmoni), ha-ji (halabuhgee), done, car, whoo whoo (dog or any animal), and tickle tickle.

Ninety percent of her communication is through pointing and babbling (with much expression!) and some signs. She is exhibiting her bossy skills by pointing to wherever she wants us to sit, stand, lie, play, eat, carry her, etc. She uses her hands to say please, thank you, more, all done and baby (the newest one which she learned by herself from the DVD - no kidding!). She bows after we sing the grace, and also bows when we say "thank you" and "hello" in Korean. Her daddy taught her the Korean bow, ironically.

Hopefully my Konglish won't confuse her and her grandparents speaking Korean with her will help teach her both English and Korean. We are excitedly awaiting more words.

Also, one of the funniest moments occurred the other day while we were at Pullen Park. We have been encouraging her to shake hands with people after meeting, so when she spotted two children at the park, she wandered over to the grassy area where they were and stuck out her hand to shake theirs. The other two children looked rather confused, and I was rather amused.

Lady in red (Sunday)

2011-11-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

If it weren't for the pacifier, munchkin might look like a big girl. She only recently started to become more attached to it. I was hoping we might get away with not having a traumatic separation from the paci. Uh oh!

Impromptu fun

2011-11-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

Typical for us, our plans for spending a few family hours together came together at the last minute. We decided Friday night that going to Saturday's parade might be fun. After a late breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs, we hustled out the door by 9:45 for the 10:00am parade. We made it downtown before 10 but traffic halted at the two exit lanes. While trying to detour around the back streets, then being blocked by the police car parked perpendicular to prevent any traffic encroachment near the parade route, we turned to loop back around. Quickly, we realized that we couldn't exit where we thought we should, and decided to forget the parade. We remembered that one of the downtown parks, which was renovated over the past two years, was to reopen that day and opted for exploring that new park. Our morning turned out to be a blast! All of us enjoyed the clickety-clack train ride, found the carousel mesmerizing (or scary if you are a little girl!), and soaked up the sun while walking around the pond in search of ducks. At the playground area, we even ran into a girl from Lucia's art class. Her mom told me that she used to go to that park when she was young. The entire park was full of smiling people of every age! Can't wait to go back!

Our entertainment this week

2011-11-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

Our neighbors had their very, very tall trees removed and we had front row seats to the action. Lucia was especially fascinated by all the machinery, movement and noise.

Love = Happiness

2011-11-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

I like bread and butter, I like toast and jam...

2011-11-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

but especially the butter and jam, even if it means burying my face in it to scrape it off the bread.

The beauty of nature

2011-11-17T11:00:00.000-05:00

The trees has been absolutely magnificent this fall, especially the last couple of weeks. Our neighborhood simply glows during the day, and the other day I snapped a few shots while on a walk. It's also been windy and rainy so the leaves are dropping quickly this week.

Toothpaste

2011-11-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

She's always loved her toothbrush, but now that she has actual teeth, we encourage her to use the brush to actually brush. Better than the toothbrush, though, is the silly strawberry toothpaste. She always asks for more. And how exactly am I supposed to keep her from swallowing the paste?

ArT cLaSs NuMbEr ThReE

2011-11-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

You can figure out who had the most fun at this one!

Halmoni and Halabuhgee

2011-11-14T12:06:00.001-05:00

Ok, I'll admit to pre-posting the last few blog posts. I knew that when Halmoni and Halabuhgee arrived we could be very busy so thought I might as well post ahead of time. We are so excited they are here. Lucia now gets fed really well, has every need and whim attended to with playmates at her beck and call, hears "Sora" more than before, shopped at several malls already, and showed her grandparents her favorite parks. And mommy gets a little bit of a break although the little girl still wants her mommy nearby.

Last week when they first arrived, munchkin had her 15 month check up. She measured well, continuing on her usual curve, and received 3 shots. She's also had a low-grade fever for a few days, trying to bite down on stuff with her bottom teeth coming in more, and also has a runny nose. She was much better yesterday and seemed normal but then this morning started with a runny nose.

New addiction

2011-11-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT ever try these. You will not be able to stop eating them.

Plateful

2011-11-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

GaugeCam on NPR, NC State Blog

2011-11-11T23:33:00.001-05:00

We are excited that GaugeCam, which started as Troy's undergraduate project, showed up on the official NC State blog and on NPR! (Ken mentioned the recognition on his blog, too!)

Non-slip slippers

2011-11-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

As most of you that our kid doesn't like anything to cover her feet. Even as a newborn, she kicked off all blankets and couldn't stand footed pajamas. So, it's an amazing feat (ha... pun intended!) to get her to wear socks or slippers. We found these really cute giraffe ones at H&M the other day and the ribbed cuff keeps her from pulling them off easily (although she does manage to sometimes). They also have non-skid dots on the bottoms which allow to her play chase with her daddy and run without falling.

Pumpkin pie

2011-11-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

After my previous roasting of pumpkins several years ago, I decided the effort wasn't really worthwhile. I felt the fresh pumpkin and canned pumpkin difference was negligible. While at the pumpkin patch this autumn, I was inspired again to consider roasting a pumpkin. The pumpkin patch carried Indian River cooking pumpkins and I chose a medium sized one. Eventually the four cups of fresh pumpkin became curried pumpkin soup and also an attempt to copy Grandma Helen's pumpkin pie. The fresh pumpkin was very nice, indeed! Worth the effort? Maybe.

Wash

Cut in half

Scrape seeds and strings

Roasted pumpkin

probably over-roasted due to urgent, pressing child need

De-skinned

Pureed

and PIE-D!!!!

For those of you who have tasted Grandma Helen's yummy pumpkin pie recipe, I am fortunate to have a copy in my possession. I never had the opportunity but Troy knows the taste of it, so the bar was set high for me to copy it! He claimed the spices were almost perfect but oops, I think I added too much sugar by accident. This recipe is definitely worth repeating!!

PUMPKIN PIE - makes 2 pies

Pumpkin pie spice (important) 2 c. mashed pumpkin, 1 l/2 c. sugar, 4 T. flour, 1/2 t. salt, 3 eggs, well beaten, l/2 to 3/4 t. each - allspice( or to taste - I go light), cinnamon, 1 large c. ( means a little over a cup) rich milk for each pie. Use more to fill larger pie tins. (She used to use up to a l/2 c. more.)

Mix sugar with flour and stir into pumpkin. It is best to add salt and spices to the flour sugar mix before stirring in pumpkin. Add eggs to mixture and last the milk. Out into tins and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice (to taste).

Bake at 350 or 357 and remove when pie seems thick or knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean.

This is more of a custardy pie than some...

The sixth food group

2011-11-09T11:00:00.001-05:00

Isn't sour cream considered a food group of its own? (The fifth food group being french fries, of course.) The other night, I even had to put sour cream on her peas and sweet potatoes to encourage vegetable consumption. And to make her Grandpa G really proud, this girl loves, loves, loves butter, too! She's getting good at scraping butter off bread with her teeth.

Art class number two

2011-11-08T11:00:00.001-05:00

The theme of this session of art classes is animals, so in yesterday's class the teacher had pre-folded cardboard boxes to look like the body of an animal. Our job was to paint the box and decorate it to our desire. Lucia and I started with pink paint and glued on foam cut-outs. She loved the paint! At first she took the brush and smeared on gobs of paint, but then tried to turn the brush around to use the handle to push the paint around. Obviously that tactic didn't work. Taking a cue from another mom sitting with us, I encouraged Lucia to use her hands. Boy, oh boy, did she LOVE the paint on her hands! Very quickly the hot pink shade covered her hands, arms, clothes, chair, table and even her face as she tried to lick off the paint from her hands. Needless to say, I couldn't take any photos of the little pink ~~monster~~ artist as I didn't dare grab a camera or phone. It's very possible that mommy had more fun than daughter (especially since someone else had the privilege of cleaning up the mess we left behind!)

Why do I blog?

2011-11-07T11:00:00.001-05:00

Recently, Troy and I have had interesting discussions about blogs and facebook. We have talked about it between ourselves and with some others who have thought-provoking opinions about both. We are now a generation of people who can express our personalities in many ways, and have the medium to ~~craft~~ ~~manipulate~~ show a cyber-image of ourselves however we desire. What do we want others to know about us? How do we want others to perceive us? Are we narcissistic for writing about our lives? Why do we choose to share some things but not other things? Why do we read others' blogs?

The reasons for blogging are as varied as there are blogs. Some maintain blogs for money, some for fun, some because of a special interest, etc. I started reading Jennifer's blog a few months ago, and now look forward to her posts. The one she wrote about blogging caught my attention; it is very well-written and echoes my sentiments exactly. I met Jennifer and her husband several years ago b.c. (before children), and am thrilled to have re-connected through the wonderful world wide web. Though I never knew her in the mom role, her posts tell me that she is a very thoughtful, caring and fun mom of two adorable children. If we lived closer, I know I would really enjoy her company. Instead, I can laugh and tear up (yes, I really did!) by what she writes. I also enjoy reading Todd and Tamara's blog about their sweet family of seven children.

So, back to the original question. Why do I blog? As Jennifer listed, there are many reasons, but the main one for me is to share our lives with our families (and friends, of course) who don't live nearby. I try to post more pictures than words since photos capture change and help others to visualize the moment the words are trying to explain. Since being blessed with our girl, our purpose for blogging also includes maintaining a memory book for her, which we have printed annually. Does this make us narcissistic? I don't know. It's interesting to think about, anyway. We are grateful to Ken and Lorena for encouraging us to blog in the first place. Blogging pushes me to be more reflective of the things I do, think, share, and therefore hopefully helps me be a more thoughtful ~~person~~ mom(!) and live with intention.

The beauty of this season

2011-11-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Autumn brings such joy, with gorgeous trees sparkling with red and gold leaves, the crisp air, the smell of wood burning in fireplaces, the comfort foods, the baked goodies, etc. We played in the afternoon sun, while capturing some moments with our little girl through photos and videos.

We are family!

2011-11-05T13:00:00.000-04:00

At the park today....

Future college athlete?

2011-11-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

While I worked out at the gym last night, Lucia ran around the intramural soccer field. Literally. Ran. Troy spent the whole time keeping her from joining in the ongoing games. She managed to find a tennis ball which she threw around and chased. I am loving the blurred photos because busy girl never stops!!

Honey child

2011-11-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

It was toooooo quiet for a couple minutes while I was cooking the other day. I peeked over the end of the counter and guess who I saw sitting so nice and quietly in her orange seat with the honey bottle open?

Remember those pumpkin sandwiches?

2011-11-02T11:00:00.002-04:00

I used the cookie cutter to make the sandwiches and with the remaining bread, baked up some bread pudding. The bread pudding seems to be a southern tradition, and our carb-and-sugar-holic little girl loved it. The vanilla sauce makes the pudding extra-special but also extra-sweet. Next time, I would use less sugar as some of the reviewers suggested.

My first art class

2011-11-01T11:00:00.002-04:00

Lucia attended her first art class yesterday morning at the newly renovated Art Center downtown . We love this building and I was excited to find an art class offered for toddlers there. As usual, she acted shy for the first minute but then happily clapped, wiggled and moved with the initial music segment. This class will be perfect as only 4 other children are enrolled in this time slot. (I try not to photograph other children for our blog posting unless obtaining parental permission first.) For our first activity session, we cut out an animal shape from cardboard and then chose markers to color it. Of course, our girl preferred playing with the actual cap and marker rather than coloring. She somehow managed to marker her hands very well (should have taken a photo of that but our time was up and we needed to wash those hands!). She also loved dipping her hands in the glue pot instead of using the stick to dab glue on the paper. In the end, we had a LOT of fun and created a funky little cow/goat/pig/whatamacallit animal. More fun next week....

Artist in residence

I would stick that pompon on the paper if it wasn't stuck to my hand

Hmmm, what decoration next?

Name that animal!

Notice its forked tail!

Just ducky!

2011-10-31T18:00:00.000-04:00

Mommy, ducks can't have pink legs!

This moo-ducky combo....

makes me feel a little better.

But the leoparducky


might be the best touch.

You'll have to trick-or-treat with me to find out which ducky is the winner!

Band Day

2011-10-30T14:00:00.002-04:00

Our local high school band competition occurs every year about this time. We can hear the bands from our house, and last year we promised ourselves that we would take munchkin this year. So, early Saturday morning we bundled up the girl and headed out the door to watch the parade. Except no parade. Was is cancelled? Yes, probably so. Rain? Yes it had, but it did stop an hour before. Cold? Yes, it was! Oh well.... so we went on with the planned activities of the day (although Lucia and I missed her daddy's Porktober fest at his school since her nap lasted longer than time allowed for us to get to a baby shower on time). Then in the evening, we bundled up little girl again and headed outside for a walk and passed the battle of the bands at the high school. Munchkin's head turned left and right, trying to see and hear all the bands practicing in the parking lot. We didn't actually go into the stadium but watched from the fence for a few minutes. We crossed the street to Five Guys for hamburgers, where Lucia fell in love with ketchup. She dipped her french fry (isn't that one of the food groups?) in ketchup, licked the red salty-sweet stuff off, then dipped her french fry again.

Yeah, right, I'm gonna wear mittens!

Our high school band, headed for the stadium

More bands

I love ketchup!!

Nope, I'm not complaining

2011-10-29T11:00:00.002-04:00

The other day, we played outside in the driveway after our new park exploration (perhaps the last nice, warm day of the year???!!). Lucia and Neil really, really liked the McDonald Park that is located along the greenway just south of our house. That one even contains an old fashioned merry-go-round, sized for toddlers. After two hours of exploring every inch of the exciting park, we strolled back home and the hills of the greenway somehow doubled their incline in that time. ANYWAY, munchkin didn't want to go inside (and neither did Mama) so we enjoyed the beautiful warm day some more. She decided that the dryer vent looked interesting, and dug around in it, pulling out some lint. After a little while, the little rascal came up to me with her tongue sticking out and a wet wad of lint at the tip. I sat on the step right next to her, watching the whole thing but somehow she snuck that little motion past me!

Alumni news

2011-10-28T11:00:00.001-04:00

The email I received last night from Rush indicates that a new, state-of-the-art hospital will be opening in January 2012. The interactive tour of this beautiful facility made me both wistful of those hectic days when the hospital was essentially my home and every day was an exciting mental challenge, but also very thankful that those grueling hours are long past.

UH OH!!

2011-10-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Kelly, the American Girl Doll company has found us! More specifically, they have placed Troy on their mailing list! Freaky...

A week of new faces and places

2011-10-26T14:00:00.003-04:00

And we wonder why munchkin is tired this week? We loved having Aunt Dora as well as one our friends from West Virginia at our house this week. The brothers also paid us a visit, which was very, very nice. We are fortunate to know some special, interesting, multi-talented and kind people.

Earlier, Lucia explored the Chapman's house (and garage, too!) finding all kinds of fascinating new things like a wooden horse rocker (and riding mower!), and learning all kinds of amazing tricks like counting out loud. She even tasted her first Krispy Kreme doughnut there (our fault since we took some over to entice Kelly and Christian to run the Krispy Kreme Challenge in a few months).

And, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Troy's professor's house and spent a wonderful evening together. Little girl's mind was boggled by their well-organized toy room and hardly knew with which train, truck, doll, bead, book, airplane, etc to play. She somehow found their son to be funny and fun, so tagged after him constantly, bringing him books to read, giggling at him, trying to eat off his plate, etc.