Christmas Vacation - part I

We've been on vacation for the last 2.5 weeks visiting family, and we're finally home! The rest was much needed because now we are busy preparing for the arrival of our little girl at the end of the month. Nesting has kicked in, and all I want to do is clean, clean, clean!
The first part of vacation was spent up at Halmuni and Halabuji's house. Noah loved being outside and going on walks. It's amazing how much more he's talking in just the last few weeks. His vocabulary is multiplying (a mixture of Korean and English still), and I love hearing all the funny things he's learned to say...such as booger. He loves to chant 'booga, booga, booga' when he wants his nose wiped. I'm sure I won't think it's that funny a month from now, but it sure makes us crack up now!

Reading a book on a chair just his size


Taking Gracie for a walk

Checking out a newt with one of the neighbors

Waiting for lunch outside a bakery

Xmas family photos

Here's a sneak peak at a few of the pictures that we took for our annual holiday photos. Mollie also took Noah's one year photos, and we just love her!

little sponge

I can't remember ever putting my contact lenses on in front of him, and the only time I put lip gloss on is in the car (he's still rear-facing, so I don't know when he saw me!). The other day, it was so quiet out in the living room, I had to investigate. There he was, with my lip gloss that he had fished out of my purse, giving himself a makeover. He was so proud of himself!





See those beautiful long curls? While I was working this past Sunday, Matt decided to play barber shop with Noah, and they're gone!!! Needless to say, it's a bit of a sore subject in our household...meanwhile, I just keep telling myself that it'll grow back.

Thanksgiving Break

While we were sad we didn't get to see family this Thanksgiving, we sure had a nice and relaxing time at home! We spent the day cooking together, going to the park, and eating of course! The day after Thanksgiving, Matt braved the black friday sales while Noah and I started putting out our Christmas decorations. Matt came home with a 7 foot tree ("it was on sale," he says :)) that has taken over our living room, but it is sure bringing a lot of smiles on Noah's face. Surprisingly, we haven't had to put a gate around it yet...he's pretty much left it alone, although the ornaments are only on the top half of the tree!





After we went to church on Sabbath, Matt was so sweet and offered to take Noah to the aquarium while I stayed at home. I can't remember the last time I've taken a 3.5 hour nap! I had all these grand plans of going to Barnes and Noble or a coffee shop with a magazine, and all I ended up doing was sleeping. And it was delightful.

lately

I can't believe the holidays are right around the corner and that we only have about 65 days until our little girl arrives!!! Where is 2009 going? Noah has been talking more and more and I love hearing him use his words to communicate what he wants. We've made use of all the holiday catalogs that have been coming in the mail...he loves to sit at the dining room table and point/name all the things he recognizes in them. Often times he surprises me by naming something properly that I don't remember ever teaching him! The other day we were driving to his gym class, and this car cut me off, so I yelled "Move!". He wouldn't stop saying it that day...I'm glad that 'move' was my choice word that day :).

Let's see, his favorite words he says are - egg, banana, ni-ni (bedtime), more, ball, keys, dog, bird, truck, car, moon, wow, stop, up, Jesus, Bible, Amen, pang (bread in korean), ma-ma (food in korean), cheese, dude, all done, bath, apple, gi-gi (gross in korean), book, and of course umma & appa (mom and dad in korean). Animal noises are a big thing around here as well. He knows the noises of a lion, tiger, cat, dog, monkey, pig, bee, bird, owl, sheep, goat, rooster, horse, and ducks. His pronunciations are so cute that I often don't want to correct him because I just love the way he says things.

It hasn't been all daisies and roses around here though...tantrums are starting and whining is a common occurance. Matt and I are learning and discussing each day about discipline, rules, and boundaries. It's such an exhausting thing...there are some days when I feel that all I said was "no, stop, and time-out." But then at end of the day, he snuggles up with me and smothers me with so many kisses that I forget he was ever causing me any grief!

Here he is trying to convince me that standing in a chair is a completely safe and acceptable thing to do...

carousel

In the midst of the sad news that's filled our lives, we decided to take a trip out to the beach for good food and fun rides. The first time Noah rode on a carousel, he held on for dear life while whining the entire time. This time around, we had to wrestle to get him off, and he rode it three times in a row! We had to bribe him with dried apples to leave the area...




We've also finally transitioned into the tub. We use a mini-tub within our tub, which saves us water and time, plus, I think it makes him feel a little safer. Fortunately, bathtime is something that he really looks forward to, and he chants "bath, bath, bath," whenever he hears the water running. At the end, he stands and watches the water run down the drain, while waving and saying "bye-bye".





Tom, our family gatherings will not be the same without you, and we look forward to the day we meet in heaven...

Happy Halloween

Getting ready to go to church. He's becomming quite the active participant in Sabbath School. He loves to take the felts up to the board, put money in the offering basket (sometimes even taking change from the basket!), and folding his hands during prayer. Whenever we mention that we're going to Sabbath School, he can't get in the car fast enough!



We had the perfect turtle costume all ready to go for the trick-or-treat through downtown, but the weather was in the mid 90's, so we opted to go for a sleeveless turtle. He thoroughly enjoyed lounging in the wagon while Matt pulled him around, and I thoroughly enjoyed eating all his Halloween candy!






Halmuni and Halabuji also came down for a short visit, and Noah had such a fun time going to the park with them. He wouldn't nap for very long because he knew that someone was waiting to play with him as soon as he woke up!