Happy New Year!

Steady Eddie!

That Can Happen?! TMI.

No one tells you that when you have a little munchkin, sometimes, a diaper gets full....and then goes above and beyond. I'm here to tell you...it happens. Ho-ly....well, you get the picture.

The Airport- Arrival Pics!

On Thursday December 2nd, 2010 we arrived home with our bundle of joy! We were so sick, so tired, and much happier & proud than we've ever been.










How many first time parents does it take to put a baby into a coat?

My sister arranged for a professional photog / family friend to be at the airport to catch some shots of our arrival. Thanks Jay! You rule! Thanks Ike! You also rule!

The Aftermath

Score!

Edit-Couple quick notes about the prezzies! See that dinosaur walker/ rider thing on the right? It was one of Chully's gifts from Grandma & Grandpa L-P. Mike and I sat about a metre and a half apart this morning and Chully walked back and forth between us while pushing the dino! He was so happy. We were so proud! It was adorable. Tomorrow I'll try and grab some video.

The red sled is from Chully's Grandparents on Mike's side. Grandpa L had sanded & painted it himself! So sweet. We're going to try and mount it on his bedroom wall.

Was Santa good to you this year?

Happy Holidays!

Cool fire truck! Thanks Auntie I and Uncle M!

Hop on the back mama!




Getting spoiled is exhausting! Nap time with Auntie!


We hope your Christmas is full of love, laughter, friends, family, and FOOD!

Best Christmas ever.

More pics to come!

As Promised!

I had to share this despite my weird man laugh. Do I really sound like that?! The boy though- He's too cute. Sorry for the delay!

Chapters

Chully and I did some last minute shopping today and after lunch we stopped by Chapters. Who knew pulling books off the shelves and getting mama to put them all back would be so much fun! We even made a new friend and played with the dollhouse for a while. He was actually squealing with delight. Really fun day.

Life: An Update

Life continues to be great since coming home with our sweet boy. He is adjusting quite well and although sleep is still a bit of an issue, we're getting the hang of things little by little. Chully is still in the pack and play next to our bed and we haven't ventured moving him any where away from us just yet but as I said, no biggie. It is amazing to sit back each night and list the noticeable ways we bonded that particular day. How did I ever not know this little person? You guys were right, I forget a life without him.

We are really looking forward to Christmas this year. Last year I fantasized that it would be our last Christmas as a family of two but I also kinda felt like it might be a little bit of wishful thinking. We have so much to be thankful for this year and I plan on spending every moment watching my boy soak in all of the magic that the holidays hold. Remember when Christmas was magical? I had forgotten all about it. I remember when my parents would tell my sister and I that if we listened we could hear Santa and his reindeer on the roof. We always did and would rush to our beds to pretend to sleep. They always said "If you aren't asleep Santa won't stop" The lies! ;) One year my parents wrapped all the gifts before Christmas Eve and put them under the tree and my sister and I opened every one. Could you imagine?! Who does that?!

Chully continues to eat really well. A new fav is pastina. I blended a homemade veggie packed sauce to go along with the tiny bits of pasta and he couldn't get it in him fast enough. Is there a better feeling than watching your kids eat well? Well, besides, them falling asleep on you, giving you a sloppy baby kiss, holding your hand, bundling them up in your arms after a bath, seeing their smile first thing in the morning....ok, ok, the list goes on and on and on. Cheesy, I know. What can I say, I'm a sleep deprived, insanely happy, and totally in love new mom. It rocks.

Snack Time: Avocado

Decorations- iphone Pics.

I'm sure he thinks we're nuts.

Hanging our homemade Korean flag ornament! What a difference a year makes!



My dudes!


Man- the quality of these pics suck! I really have to use the good camera more often. I'm brutal for that. Sorry!

Santa: Take Two

Santa sweetened the deal with a red sucker. I probably shouldn't have but I couldn't not let him have a few licks. Well, he took a couple licks and then basically smeared it from head to toe. He had it everywhere! In his hair, on his coat, the whole shebang. Totally worth it.

Nine Months Old!

Did I mention how much of a ham this guy is?! We were calling him "Mama's little Bieber baby" b/c of the hairdo. ;) I grabbed these iphone pics last night post bath, pre bed. One of my favourite times. He is so snuggly and so, so funny at this time of day.

Its hard to believe that tomorrow marks two weeks that we've been home and Chully's nine month B-day! Time has gone by so quickly but at the same time, I feel like we've come so far.

Sleep. Ahhh, precious, precious sleep. The first few days / nights were rough to say the least but we're getting better every night. We're in the "one good night, two crumby" mode right now but we're definitely counting ourselves lucky. He was co-sleeping with his foster parents & the crib is a scary place at this point so we've put a plan in place. The first couple nights he was in bed with us, since then he has been in the pack and play beside our bed. Over the next few months we plan on slowly inching it closer to his room, eventually, when he is comfortable, landing him in his crib. It's a loooong process but patience, patience, patience is key. I'm not going to stress over it too badly. He needs to know we're here and as long as the plans are progressing and we're sleeping at night, I'm pleased. I had an idea of how it was going to go before we had him home and of course now that he is here and reality has sunk in, plans are pitched. C'est la vie! Happy boy, happy mom.

Food. The boy LOVES to eat. We've been staying pretty mellow with the new foods but the ones he has tried, he's loved with the exception of watermelon. Not a huge fan. His favourites so far are cheese and mashed banana!

Play. Whatta guy! He loves anything that has anything to do with banging stuff together, clapping, slapping his hands on something, etc. All signs point to a love of drumming. When he isn't pounding on something he is trying to stand up on something, balance (his little baby toe breaks away from the rest of his toes for extra stability...SO cute), and yes....attempting to walk. Scary. I think I have a couple more months of getting used to the action of it all though so that's a relief. Without anything else around to pull himself up he can get into the downward dog position and then rocks back and forth for a bit and then falls. When there *is something there to pull himself up....look out! He is up and he is proud! Big smiles all around. :)

His idea of petting Dex is more like grabbing a handful of hair and pulling so we're keeping a close eye on that. Poor Dex. Chully just can't get enough of him. They're getting along great. In fact, I worry that Chully's first words could easily be "Please don't share your rice cracker with the dog, buddy" b/c he hears it so often. ;)

It's a trade off for Dex, I guess. Pull my hair, share your snacks.

The amount of happiness this little boy has brought to our lives in such a short amount of time is immeasurable. He amazes me everyday with what he learns, how much he grows (could they grow ANY faster?!), how much he laughs, and makes us laugh. I'm a lucky, lucky mama!

Happy Nine Months, sweet boy. We love you so much.

Chully & Santa

"So I sit with this dude and smile....

and then I get presents?!"


This weekend our golf club had its annual Christmas party and we were in hog heaven having our boy home to attend! We had been amping up Santa for days and Chully did great w/ the old man! What can I say, this boy loves to have his photo taken! He is such a ham & I LOVE it! He is such a funny guy.

BTW- Any techies out there? I can't get that video to upload. Although its saved as a quicktime video my comp is giving me an error message that says..."The document “Chully Blows Raspberries.MOV” could not be opened. The movie is not in a format that QuickTime Player understands." Weird. Any thoughts?

Korea 2010!

"Feed me and we'll get along juuuust fine!"

Back at the guesthouse.

First family photo at SWS in Korea just after our son was placed in our arms forever.

One last bottle with our boy's amazing foster mom.

Finally in my arms!

Mike holding our boy for the first time!

Finally!

Sorry for the delay guys! Lame, lame blogger! As you can probably imagine it's been craziness here on the home front but a really awesome craziness. Chully (our boy's nickname) is such a happy little guy and his smile is the most amazing sight. The first few day were rough to say the least. We had a very tired (but would not sleep) and very sad little boy. We've been home a week now though and we are all slowly finding our groove. Chully shows off his toothy little grin to us often, is eating well and although we had an issue the first couple days we were together, is relieving himself regularly. TMI? My radar is kinda off these days! Sleep would probably help that, eh? Ok, I still (argh, why does this seem like such a big job?!) haven't uploaded our camera photos. To make up for it I've included a video (Edit- still working on the video upload) and a couple iphone pics full of cuteness. Thanks for all your kind words and your patience! I'll get better as I learn to manage my time! After his afternoon meal our boy likes to snuggle on the couch and that eventually turns into him blowing raspberries on the arm of the couch. It's hilarious and he gets a pretty big kick out of making us laugh. Future class clown? We're totally head over heels in love!

Home Sweet Home

Things / sayings that have taken on a whole new meaning since I've become a mom:

- I love you
- What just happened?!
- I'm so tired
- I have the best friends and family ever. Yes- that means you!
- I'm scared


It's 5 am and my boys are sleeping. I've just been laying here for hours so I thought I'd drop you a quick line. I'll go into more detail in another post but we've made it, we're together, he is eating, he is sleeping, he is smiling! I'm exhausted and scared out of my wits but I think that's how I'm supposed to feel....? Right? Moms? Dads?

Pictures! I promise! Soon!

M.

Baby Makes Three!

We've got him! We've been hanging out in the room all day getting to know eachother and its been great! He did have a bit of a cry when we first got in but otherwise he has been doing well! We've dimmed the lights, put on some Pororo, had a bottle, some rice porridge, and even a bit of a snooze. Everything is fab! We even did a load of laundry! Well, Mike did.

Fingers crossed the little guy is ok through the night. Either way, we'll get through it!

He is incredible guys.

zzxxcv fdrrrrrd ---- that was a little note from the dude! :)