Saturday, March 31, 2012
Photo-a-day: 3/31 (Last one!)
There's a chance I may have a slight addiction to hair accessories...
My work is done! I actually managed to post a photo (or more) a day for every single day this month!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Photo-a-day: 3/29 (and a Lyla update)
I hate this picture of me on so many levels, but it is so cute of Lyla that I can't resist posting it.
It's been a while since I've done a Lyla update. I keep thinking of so many things I want to make sure I document, but then I sit down to write and I can't remember any of them! She is quite the character. I can't believe some of the things that come out of her mouth lately. Like today, the boys were fighting and she pointed her finger at them sternly and yelled so seriously "You get in a time out!". When we put her down for a nap or bedtime and finish reading books, she immediately asks us to "lay down with me for couple minutes." Her favorite activity lately is riding her three wheeler around and around and around (and around and around) in circles on our deck. She always wants me to be out there with her and if for some reason I don't go out, she tries to coax me out by telling me "the weather is nice, mommy. Come sit outside and watch me." If I tell her it's too cold, she tells me to "put on a jacket, mommy." The boys have also taught her all kinds of tricks. The other day, we were out on the deck and she told me to look at the sticker on the front of her bike. There wasn't anything there. She then told me, "oh, look over there, the sticker is over there" and she pointed off the other direction. When I looked over, she said (chuckling) "ha ha, made you look!" - yes, my 2 1/2 year old is already a jokester. When I say "bummer" she replies "bummer in the summer." She also knows (and gets terribly excited) when a Justin Bieber song comes on the radio.
As of about a month ago, she is fully potty trained (YAY!). Interestingly, poop came much easier than pee, which is directly opposite of the experience we had with both the boys. Whenever she is pooping, she tells us to "leave! don't look at me!" And then promptly summons us to wipe her when she is done. It is so nice to finally be completely done with a diaper bag! We also moved her into a big girl bed a few months ago (after she started climbing out of her crib). She is really growing up!
She talks in all sentences now. No more single words at all. Her speech has come a loooooong way, as has her pronunciation. She says "Brennan" almost perfectly now; before, it was a one syllable jumble that only we could understand. She now clearly says a two syllable "Ben-an" and she even gets a tiny bit of the "r" sound in there.
We have taken to calling her "bag lady" because she has a curious habit of finding any and all bags she can dig up in the house and stuffing them full of random objects. Whenever we can't find anything - hair clips, shoes, kitchen utensils, you name it - we now know to go searching through Lyla's bags because chances are the lost item is in there. I couldn't find a pair of her shoes for weeks and finally found them buried at the bottom of one of her many bags.
There is no place she'd rather be than outside, and (unfortunately for me) she can handily unlock and open the back slider all by herself now. So even though she knows she supposed to ask permission first, she rarely does and simply lets herself out whenever she wants (not so great).
If she isn't outside or stuffing bags, chances are she is doing some sort of arts and crafts activity. She especially likes to "cut paper" as she calls it and I've had to hide all of the scissors because she just goes at it whenever she feels like it (again, without asking permission). I'm finding this is a big difference between her and the boys; they were a lot better about obeying and asking first. I also found the side of a kitchen cabinet scribbled with marker the other day and you better believe that she knows she is only allowed to color on paper! Little stinker! Thank goodness for washable markers + the magic eraser! Again, never had a problem with the boys drawing on things like that. She is also fond of "folding paper" (I guess she thinks she is making some sort of origami), making "birthday cards" for anyone and everyone she can think of, stamps, painting, and water colors.
She is still very much into princesses, and Snow White in particular. She loves dressing up in princess costumes - the bigger and frillier, the better. And she also likes to wear necklaces. She has also been asking about earrings, but I'm not sure how I feel about getting her ears pierced this young.
She is scared of many random things. Her latest is the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. She also claims to be scared of bugs, though she cried when I squished an ant the other day. She told me I squished her friend and burst into tears.
I know there are a zillion other little things I'm forgetting, but that will have to do for now.
As of about a month ago, she is fully potty trained (YAY!). Interestingly, poop came much easier than pee, which is directly opposite of the experience we had with both the boys. Whenever she is pooping, she tells us to "leave! don't look at me!" And then promptly summons us to wipe her when she is done. It is so nice to finally be completely done with a diaper bag! We also moved her into a big girl bed a few months ago (after she started climbing out of her crib). She is really growing up!
She talks in all sentences now. No more single words at all. Her speech has come a loooooong way, as has her pronunciation. She says "Brennan" almost perfectly now; before, it was a one syllable jumble that only we could understand. She now clearly says a two syllable "Ben-an" and she even gets a tiny bit of the "r" sound in there.
We have taken to calling her "bag lady" because she has a curious habit of finding any and all bags she can dig up in the house and stuffing them full of random objects. Whenever we can't find anything - hair clips, shoes, kitchen utensils, you name it - we now know to go searching through Lyla's bags because chances are the lost item is in there. I couldn't find a pair of her shoes for weeks and finally found them buried at the bottom of one of her many bags.
There is no place she'd rather be than outside, and (unfortunately for me) she can handily unlock and open the back slider all by herself now. So even though she knows she supposed to ask permission first, she rarely does and simply lets herself out whenever she wants (not so great).
If she isn't outside or stuffing bags, chances are she is doing some sort of arts and crafts activity. She especially likes to "cut paper" as she calls it and I've had to hide all of the scissors because she just goes at it whenever she feels like it (again, without asking permission). I'm finding this is a big difference between her and the boys; they were a lot better about obeying and asking first. I also found the side of a kitchen cabinet scribbled with marker the other day and you better believe that she knows she is only allowed to color on paper! Little stinker! Thank goodness for washable markers + the magic eraser! Again, never had a problem with the boys drawing on things like that. She is also fond of "folding paper" (I guess she thinks she is making some sort of origami), making "birthday cards" for anyone and everyone she can think of, stamps, painting, and water colors.
She is still very much into princesses, and Snow White in particular. She loves dressing up in princess costumes - the bigger and frillier, the better. And she also likes to wear necklaces. She has also been asking about earrings, but I'm not sure how I feel about getting her ears pierced this young.
She is scared of many random things. Her latest is the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. She also claims to be scared of bugs, though she cried when I squished an ant the other day. She told me I squished her friend and burst into tears.
I know there are a zillion other little things I'm forgetting, but that will have to do for now.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Photo-a-day: 3/28
I love doing crafty things. In fact, I'd love to start an Etsy shop...simply to give me a reason to craft and help cover the cost of all of the supplies! These bow/clip holders are my latest hobby. What do you think, would you pay money for one of these? I also make them with birds, owls, and princesses. I'm currently working on a little Chinese girl in traditional dress for my China AP friends.
Catching Up - Photo-a-day: 3/27
We celebrated Family Day over the weekend with some family fun at Chuck E Cheese, followed by dinner at one of our fave restaurants where the kids get to make their own pizza.
Catching Up - Photo-a-day: 3/26
[I'm having major Blogger issues, so please excuse my delayed posts! It is still only allowing me to upload one photo at a time. ugh]
Happy Family Day to my little miracle! Two years ago today, after a long nearly 24-hours, we arrived home to this, and were finally a complete family of five!
Happy Family Day to my little miracle! Two years ago today, after a long nearly 24-hours, we arrived home to this, and were finally a complete family of five!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Catching Up -- Photo-a-day: 3/24
Two years ago today Lyla was placed in our arms forever and entrusted to us as our daughter. I remember how strange it felt to be handed a nearly 9-month old child we barely knew and being allowed to simply walk out the door with her - exciting, yet a bit terrifying! After all we'd been through to get to that point, it was an amazing feeling to finally have our daughter.
Even now, there are moments when I look at my beautiful Korean daughter and I'm struck by what a miracle she is....the improbability of all that had to happen for us to be together. Adoption is a truly amazing blessing.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Catching Up - Photo-a-day: 3/23
Let's Go Caps! We were treated to a suite at the Capitals' game last night. Unfortunately, they lost in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets. Boo!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Photo-a-day: 3/22
Two years ago today, we met this sweet pea for the first time. I can't even describe how surreal it was to see in person the little girl we had grown to love as our daughter through pictures over the previous months. Definitely a "pinch me" kind of moment.
We met our social worker at the SWS offices and rode with her to Lyla's foster parents' home, which seemed like it took forever (it was about a 45-minute drive). They live in a big high rise apartment building and when the elevator opened on their floor, Lyla's foster mom was standing there in the hallway with Lyla in her arms. Yep, "pinch me" moment for sure. I honestly don't remember the details of that day; I was so excited that it all whizzed by in a blur. But I do remember that Lyla was so happy and joyful that day. And I remember that her foster mom brought out a little zippered pouch full of hair elastics and clips and Lyla kept dumping them all out and trying to put them in her mouth (we still have that pouch). Kind of an odd, random memory, I know.
I'm kind of sad that I don't remember all of the details, but the emotion of that day and seeing Lyla's sweet face for the first time, I will never, ever forget. Definitely one of the best days of my life.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Photo-a-day: 3/21
Continuing my walk down memory lane.... two years ago today was our first full day in Seoul. It was a Sunday and the day before we would meet Lyla for the first time. We had Starbucks for breakfast (I remember being surprised by how many they have there) and then hopped on the Subway to Insadong.
From Insadong, we traveled on to Namdaemun market and then on to Seoul Station where the big Lotte market is, and then decided to take a taxi back home because we were so exhausted and couldn't bring ourselves to navigate the subway during rush hour.
Catching Up - Photo-a-day: 3/20
Two years ago today, we landed in beautiful Seoul, South Korea and were just a couple of days away from meeting Lyla for the first time.
I remember how horrible the traffic was coming from the airport. It took us 2 hours to get from the airport to the SWS guest house where we were staying, via the KAL shuttle. We arrived in the evening, during the evening rush hour. Despite being March, it was COLD in Seoul. It even snowed one of the days we were there.
The jet lag was bad. Day was night and night was day. I was exhausted, but couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time both because of the jet lag and because of the immense excitement and anticipation. The feeling of being in a country where your child was born is something that is hard to describe. You look at things differently. It isn't just a vacation or site seeing trip. You feel so connected to everything you see - the architectural landscape, the culture, the faces, the smells, the sounds. It is an intensely emotional experience, which was magnified by staying in the same building where Lyla spent the first 98 days of her life in the baby reception center.
More to come...
The jet lag was bad. Day was night and night was day. I was exhausted, but couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time both because of the jet lag and because of the immense excitement and anticipation. The feeling of being in a country where your child was born is something that is hard to describe. You look at things differently. It isn't just a vacation or site seeing trip. You feel so connected to everything you see - the architectural landscape, the culture, the faces, the smells, the sounds. It is an intensely emotional experience, which was magnified by staying in the same building where Lyla spent the first 98 days of her life in the baby reception center.
More to come...
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