Favorite Foto Friday - Brothers

One of our biggest concerns before bringing Aidan home was how each of the boys would adjust to having a sibling. I had visions of screaming matches over sharing toys, sippy cups & me & Chris. Luckily, Andy & Aidan have liked each other from day 1. Of course, we have our small skirmishes throughout the day and sometimes they each want the undivided attention of Mommy or Daddy, but overall, they have done really well and it has been so fun watching them interact with each other. Its very rare for them to be apart...Aidan always wants to do whatever his big brother is doing and Andy always wants to include Aidan in all his games.

Here's some pictures of them together. Its so hard to get one where they both are smiling, but I can tell you that we have more smiles around here than tears!

Happy Birthday Aidan!!!

It's official, we now have two toddlers in the house! In celebration of Aidan's 1st birthday, we invited my parents, sisters & their families over for a traditional Korean 1st birthday celebration (the Tol). In a few weeks, we will have a larger party for extended family, but since the first birthday is such an important milestone in Korea, we thought it would be special to honor that tradition on his actual birthday.

The Korean 1st birthday has 4 components: the making and wearing of traditional Korean clothing (the hanbok, which Aidan's foster mom provided for us), prayers for the child, performing the Toljabee (predicts the child's future) and sharing a meal with family. If you want to read more about the Tol, visit www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm.

Our dining room table, all set for the party.
On each plate, we provided a short explanation of the celebration.

Everyone gathered around the table, enjoying the tradition Korean meal Chris & I prepared (beef bulgogi and Jap Chae). We also bought Korean beer and orange rice cakes from the local Asian market.

Our 1st attempt at a "kid table". Andy lasted about 2 mins before he moved to Chris's lap and then we pulled the little table up next to ours so Addy wasn't left all alone on the other side of the room.

Aidan in his hanbok....he looked sooo cute!

The kid table, set up for the Toljabee. If you are wondering what happened to the apple, Andy got a hold of it before the game and helped himself to a few bites.

Aidan selected the apple first, which means he will be blessed with a large family.

Aidan selected the paint brush second, meaning he will be talented in the arts.

An attempt at a family picture.

Aidan and Andy...this one is for a frame!

After Aidan finished, we gave Addy and Andy a turn at the Toljabee. Addy selected the book (she'll be a scholar) and Andy picked the knife (he'll be a warrior). Here's the 3 kids posing with their treasures.

This was the scene in my kitchen post party. I think we used every dish in the house. I stood there wondering who was going to clean all this up....

Luckily, I had two helpers ready to get to work.

"S" is for "Sorry" and 10 other things...

First, so sorry, but once again, there won't be any Favorite Foto Friday this week. The good news is Chris has informed me the status of our computer has been upgraded from "critical" to "stable" and he assures me that by the end of the week he'll have it completely up and running again. Which is great news b/c tomorrow is Aidan's 1st birthday and we have a special Korean celebration planned...be sure to check back Monday for pictures and a video!

Until then, my blogland friend Rachel (http://www.inhishands-ouradoptionjourney.blogspot.com/) had a fun activity on her blog the other day and since it involves making a list (which as you all know is one of my favorite things!) I decided to play too. Here are the rules:

If you want to play, leave a comment in this post and I will assign you a letter. You write about 10 things you love that begin with that letter on your blog along w/the rules and assign letter to anyone who wants to join in.

Rachel gave me the letter S:

• Sons - They're adorable little wild things who keep me on my toes and make me smile every day. Need I say more?
• Sisters - Is there anything better than having a friend who has known you your entire life? Having moved well beyond the whole "she stole my shirt/shoes/CD/boyfriend" thing from our teenage years, I can't imagine what it would be like not to have my sisters...other than I would need a lot less cell phone minutes...which would be good b/c I would probably need the money I saved on phone calls to pay for a really good therapist :)
• Singing - Not in public, mind you. I'm talking about the "volume cranked up, top of my lungs" kind of singing that I do pretty much any time I'm in the car alone. Yes, I realize my windows are not tinted and that all the other drivers can see (and possibly even hear) me, and yes, I have had some embarrassing "I just got busted car-singing" moments, but tell me how can anyone resist belting out "Like a Prayer" or anything by Madonna for that matter? Seriously, if you do know how to resist, let me know how you do that, I find the restraint of non-car singers fascinating.
• Sunshine - The beach. Strappy Sandals. Outdoor Dining. All things I love and all things that require warm weather and sunshine. Sometimes, after spending 15 minutes struggling to get myself and the kids bundled up into all our winter gear just for a 5 minute trip to the grocery store, I find myself wondering "How did I end up living here? Why didn't Chris & I move away when we had the chance?" My friend Leslie has been trying to convince anyone who will listen to move to North Carolina w/her & her husband and if only I could figure out how to move our entire family business down there so that Chris would still have a job I would be looking for houses in remax.com right now instead of wrapped up in a blanket in our freezing house making this list.
• Suitcases - I love, love, love to travel. Everything about the entire travel process in so much fun. Researching a new destination. Creating extensive packing lists. Seeing something new. Indulging in hotel room service. So far this year we have a summer road trip New Jersey planned to visit Chris's mom & a few college friends and we are tenatively planning to take the kids to Disney World for the 1st time in the fall.
• Sundaes - I am currently going through an ice cream phase and have been creating elaborate sundaes for Chris & I to enjoy. I even bought special sundae bowls which I keep in the freezer so that the ice cream doesn't melt too quickly.
• Saturdays - I know Sundays get a lot of votes for favorite day of the week, but I've never been a fan. Sundays mean the end of the weekend and the beginning of another work week. Saturdays, however, are the best. They have everything Sundays offer - no work, a chance to relax, cross something off the to do list or do something exciting without the constant nagging thought that the next day is Monday. Also, Chris gets up with the kids and lets me sleep in on Saturday mornings, so that obviously is enough to make it my favorite day of the week.
• Sleep - Oh sleep, my old friend, how I miss you! One day, when the children are older, I will once again be able to spend 9 to 10 hours with you every night. Until then, we'll always have Saturday mornings.
• Shopping - Anthropologie. Nordstroms. Sephora. J Crew. Banana Republic. Target. Pottery Barn. Kate Spade. Enough said.
• Soup - Maybe its the record cold we've had this winter or the discovery of Barefoot Contessa's Mexican Chicken soup recipe, but lately I've become a big fan. In fact, Chris just walked in with Olive Garden carry-out, so I'm off to enjoy some now!

Today I had "that" kid

You know "that" kid...the one who yells something really inappropriate in a public place, causing all heads to turn to stare at the child's mother...well, today I had "that" kid.

Aidan has been having some stomach issues the past few days. Today we were waiting in line to pay for our stuff at the grocery store and Aidan was sitting in the front of the cart and Andy was sitting in the back (okay, fine, he was standing...that's right, I let him stand up in the cart when we are waiting to pay). Andy was getting bored and started touching Aidan's head, which led to the following conversation:

Me: "Andy, you're bothering Aidan, stop touching his head, okay? You need to be nice to Aidan".
Andy: "Okay Mama"
Me (in my head): Wow, I am an awesome mom, he is such a good listener!
Andy: "Aidan my brother"
Me: "that's right"
Andy: "Aidan a baby"
Me: "Yes he is"
Andy: "Aidan silly"
Me: "very silly"
short break while Andy tries to grab the little divider stick thing between our stuff and the person's in front of us
Andy (getting really sick of waiting and getting louder): "Mama, Home!!!!"
Me: "I know, its a long wait. We're going home."
Andy (back on his everything about Aidan kick): "Aidan sick"
Me: "Aidan's belly hurts"
Andy (in the loudest voice I've ever heard him use): "Aidan has messy poo-poo! Aidan has messy poo-poo!"
Me (dying of embarassment): "SHHHHH Andy! Let's not talk about Aidan anymore, let's sing a song"

Apparently, Andy is a good listener, I made that messy poo-poo comment hours before we went to the store :)

A little different Friday Post

I know today is usually the day you can count on some cute pictures and a fun story or two about what the kids have been up, but a few things have happened this week, so I'm going to do post something a little different today.

First, our computer crashed a few days ago...luckily, Chris can bring his work laptop home or I'd be completely out of touch. Also, Chris is one of those responsible types who backs up our hard drive every few months, so the vast majority of our pictures, music and lists can be restored. Unfortunately since this is a company computer, we don't want to upload any camera stuff on it, so no pictures this week.

Instead of Favorite Foto Friday, I thought I'd post Favorite Moment Friday. This week's favorite moment happened at lunch today. Andy was eating strawberries and cheerios and I was feeding Aidan strawberries & vanilla pudding. I realized in my rush to get lunch on the table I left the strawberry container on the kitchen counter & I heard our cats trying to get it open. I went into the kitchen, shooed away the cats & put the strawberries back into the fridge and then the phone rang so I grabbed it from the other room before heading back into the dining room. During this time, Aidan is of course yelling "More! More!" b/c he can't feed himself the pudding. I go back into the dining room to find that Andy had left his chair, crawled into one next to Aidan and was attempting to feed Aidan more pudding though most of it falling off the spoon onto Aidan's shirt. When he hears me walk in, Andy turns to me and in the sweetest voice, w/the biggest smile on his face, says "Mama, I help Aidan!".

So, in addition to our computer crashing, that was my memorable moment for the week. The other thing I have been meaning to post this week is a prayer request for a family we have come in contact with on our Guatemalan adoption blogs. They have several children, one of whom is 4 year old Abby who they adopted from Guatemala. This summer when Abby was 3 1/2, she was diagnosed with lukemia and because of a genetic disorder, her chances of surviving are about 20%. Abby has entered the most serious round of her treatment this week and it is very possible she will not survive it. Of course as a mother, any story of a child battling a terminal illness is heartbreaking. What has really touched me about this family is the unbelievable amount of faith they have in facing the very real possibility of losing their child. Rather than being angry w/God and wondering "Why our family? Why Abby?", they instead are focused on making the most of Abby's time here, on supporting her through treatments and for praying for the strength to accept God's will. In one post they write that they know regardless of the outcome, this is a win-win for Abby; either she will be blessed w/a long life w/a family who loves her or she will be at peace w/God. Honestly, that amount of faith and trust in God in the face of such a devastating ordeal just amazes me. Please pray for Abby and if you have time, visit her family's blog http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/. I promise this family will truly inspire you.

FFF - Mealtime Fun

As some of you know, Andy had serious eating issues when we brought him home and was in eating therapy for several months. It was rare to get more than 200 calories a day in him from actual food - he existed mostly on bottles of Pediasure and sippy cups of juice. As a result, mealtime became a pretty stressful experience for us and rather than enjoying family meals together, we spent a lot of time trying a wide variety of tricks to get Andy to eat even the smallest of portions.

That's why its so great now when we have happy moments at the dining room table. In a sort of reversal of roles, Andy wants to be just like his little brother and his willingness to sit at the table and at least try many types of foods has increased greatly.(even if he often takes them out of his mouth, hands the gooey mess to me and say "yuck mama, all done."). Don't get me wrong, Andy still has the appetite of a small bird, but at least I feel like my entire day doesn't revolve around numerous failed attempts at getting Andy to A)put something his mouth, B)chew it and C)swallow. Here's some of the new happy faces around the dinner table:

Aidan, our champion eater. The only protests I hear from him at meal time occur when I am not providing him w/food fast enough. He seriously giggles when I put him in his high chair and smiles the entire meal.... ...even when Daddy dresses him in a Met's onsie as part of his sad, little dillusion that either one of his children will choose to be a Met's fan when they are growing up in Cubs territory.

Andy, our newbie to the pleasurable food experience, "feeding" himself ice cream...

...notice I put feeding in quotations, as most of the ice cream was ending up splattering on the table, dripping onto the floor and falling onto his pants (look at the ice cream on his knee!). I was faking a smile and saying encouraging things like "wow, you almost got all of that in your mouth!" or "don't worry, I think the carpet's favorite flavor is vanilla too!", but the little cleaning lady that lives inside my head was screaming "STOP LETTING HIM DO IT HIMSELF!!! So what if you have to go to his school and spoon feed him his lunch when he's in the 8th grade - it will keep you two from growing distant like so many teenage boys and their moms do". I considered it a personal victory that I did not cover him in plastic and wipe up after every spoonful. Yay me.

Addy, former champion eater of my dining room table before Aidan came home. Her devotion to food is quite strong (I think her & I share that gene). In the picture below it is late on Christmas Eve. You can see how even though she is clearly struggling to keep her eyes open and she is too tired to use her fork, she gives up on trying to eat like a big girl and just shoves the food into her mouth using her hand in an attempt to finish what's on her plate before her eyes close...and you know what, she did it! A girl after my own heart :)

FFF - Outtakes

I've seen this on a few other blogs and thought it was funny. Here's some pictures that didn't make the Christmas card this year...

And the one that did....