*path*

{just a little stroll i took with my boys one weekend. love.}

*still here*

{promise...i've been away too long and i know it. for the first couple weeks after O came home, it was very hard for me to think of anything but him and maintaining a good schedule for him. i didn't think about pinterest, my blog, google reader...it was all him. i went to bed when he went to bed and i woke when he woke. my whole world changed. i no longer was able to get up and do my normal routine like checking e-mail, looking at pinterest, grabbing a little breakfast and hoping in the shower when i wanted to. it took some time to feel comfortable and to figure out what worked for both of us. tomorrow will mark 7 weeks and that blows my mind. it's crazy how fast each week goes but like everyone assured me...each week gets better and better. i now have a new schedule for myself and i'm slowly getting back on pinterst and i have some time to read a couple blogs or get on facebook. it's nice. i feel like myself again. i'm not complaining in any way just saying that i knew things would take time and i'm happy to say that it's feeling like a (new) normal around here.}

{it's actually been pretty busy here. b and i plan something to do every weekend so that we don't feel like we are tied to the house and i really think Oliver likes being out and about. i have so many pictures to share of our outings and i hope to get those up soon. i have been working on Oliver's baby book, his height chart and printing out pictures for his life book. i don't want to miss something important. it feels good to work on it and i hope that one day he will be able to enjoy all the information that i have been writing down for him. i ordered his announcements finally! phew...glad those are checked off. now i am working on his birthday party...yes..a birthday party..here..not in Korea! O will turn 2 in August and i need to start planning. i'm actually pretty excited and a little nervous about planning his party. now that we have an idea of what Oliver is into...i have a couple ideas on what i think we should base the party around. i'm also thinking about summer activities...something i never really thought about. i find it more exciting to know that we will be able to experience everything with O now..it's like everything is new again! i need to share what he's been up to and what's new since the last post. one thing for sure is our boy is very comfortable with us and that makes me and b super happy! life is good! hope all is well with you!}  

{something i pinned recently...love summer parties outside!}

*one month home*

the three of us on our first Children's Day!

{so i had this big huge post about our last four weeks together as a family and all the things O has been doing and what's changed etc...i had tons of pictures to share and was almost done writing it when blogger decided to eat it. yup...blogger ate my post! three days i spent on that darn post...writing in between naps and night time...blah...blah..blah...ugh. oh well...that's life right?}

{let's talk about the reason for THIS post...it's been ONE month since Oliver came home! can you believe it? i can't. it's crazy. boy have we learned a lot about our little guy! now that he is getting more comfortable, he is showing us more and more of his personality. i have a lot of little tidbits i'd like to document so i totally understand if you want to just scroll down and see the pictures. let's see where shall we start...oh well...Oliver has opened up so much since his first day home. he sings, he screams, he dances, he babbles, he runs, jumps, climbs. he shows us lots of love by giving hugs and kisses. he smiles and laughs and giggles. he loves to be held and wants to know what everything is. he will point and do a little grunt...it's his way of saying..what's that?}

finishing a sample we got at whole foods...

{he eats and eats and eats. i don't think there has been anything that he hasn't tried and liked. he's very easy to please at restaurants and so far (fingers crossed) he's been super good. he just sits in his high chair and enjoys all the people. we went to a restaurant last Saturday for dinner and he just sat there staring at these three girls for about an hour....he didn't make a peep.

i'm sure he gave them the creeps. ha!}

the face he makes when we roll down his window...ha!

 {he loves car rides but wants to eat or munch on something while he's in his seat. see...he eats...all...the..time. he loves to explore and will get into just about everything. he loves being outside and going on walks...thank goodness we got the new stroller before b went back to work...}

{O really likes to go on walks and i can now take him and Arden together...which has been really nice. Oliver is still learning to be nice with Arden. before Noah passed away, Oliver really didn't bother with A. he was more interested in Noah and was actually really sweet with him. there were many times where we would find Oliver laying next to Noah on the floor or he would be gently rubbing his back. it was so sweet. With Arden though...i'm not sure why but he likes to slap her across the face, stomp on her feet and pull at her tail. Arden is doing a really good job at being a big sis and gives O lots of kisses even though O may not be nice with her. we know that one day Oliver will understand that he shouldn't treat Arden the way he does and he will be nice with her...it just takes time. on our walks, we will typically hit the local park...Oliver is in hog heaven when we do this! he has grown to love the swings and slides and has a thing for the mounted steering wheels.}

{b and i are so happy that Oliver now loves bath time...it took a little over two weeks but he now laughs and plays in the tub. it's even gotten to the point where when i turn on the bath water...O will run into the bathroom and want to get into the tub. he even lets us pour water over his head and wash his hair....huge accomplishment! he will giggle and wipe off whatever water spills onto his face. it's so much more enjoyable to see him happy and laughing.}

{he is fascinated with all things...trucks, cars, trains and airplanes...basically things that move. he will sit down with his books and go through the pages just to find these items and

then will show them to us. he points them out when we are driving, walking around the neighborhood or when he's looking out the window. i'm currently teaching him all the different types of trucks, buses and cars.}

his vintage coupe

at Green's Fine Foods

{he does like other toys...like his musical dog. his current favorite song is head, shoulders, knees and toes. he will touch his head and then the ground. i think it's helped him learn where his eyes, ears, nose and mouth is though. it's super cute to see him dance when music is on..he will bob his head and shake his booty. ha! he loves his cell phone...he cracks me up when he plays with his phone. he will walk around and babble on it and then hang it up. the phone will ring once he closes it and he will make this face like he's surprised it's ringing and run back to it to pick it up. ha!}

{as for his sleeping...well we've had great improvements. we also had to do a little transition last week. since Oliver hated his crib and didn't want anything to do with it (i know..i was a little sad to say goodbye to the custom bumper we had made for it...but what can you do?)..we had his crib mattress on the floor next to his closet. that's where he would sleep each night. we "boxed" him in with pillows and his padded toy chest at night so he wouldn't roll off his bed. after days of pushing his mattress out of the way in order to get to his clothes...i finally told b we needed to do something else. we decided to buy him a toddler bed. we felt it was too big of a transition to move him to a true big boy bed (full bed) so we got him this cute little bed...}

{it's turned out to be the perfect transition. he loves his bed and uses it for both night time and nap time. he likes to play on his bed too which makes me feel so good about the transition we made. we took down his crib so now his toddler bed is in the place of where the crib once was. what i also love about this is he is now sleeping under the birdies we made him and has took interest in these birdies.}

{Oliver now goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 and gets up between 6:15 and 6:45. he also naps around 1 to 2 hours each day. i can't tell you how happy i am to have him sleeping like this. this is the one aspect that i feared the most. i think what has also helped is his pillow from Korea (see picture below). it's super cute and matches his room..how about that??}

{O has learned some English words...his first word was "hot" but now he says hi, car and all done. we have also been teaching him a few signs like more, drink, milk, water, all done and help. he's picked up the sign for ball, car, dog and birdie from the baby signing times video we have for him. i really think this has helped us with the language barrier issue. there are still times where we have no idea what he wants and he will just grunt...but it's progress.}

{when we took Oliver to the doctor right when he came home, we were told that he was 34.5" tall and 22 lbs...he was considered 80th percentile in height and 5 percentile in weight (i'm thinking he heard this and that is why he has been eating and eating. ;)). the other day, i took Oliver to get some shoes and while i was there...i had his feet measured. we thought he wore a 5 1/2 but we were wrong...he wears a 6 1/2! our little guy has some big feet. he-he!}

{today not only marks one month home but it's also Oliver's 21st month!! We are so happy to finally have him home and to be able to celebrate these milestones with him in person!

Happy 21st Month Oliver Yu-hyeon!!!}

*forgive me...*

my purse has become a modge podge of items...a toy truck, diapers, sunglasses, a leash...but i love it!

{as i still try to adjust to being a new mom. trying to find time time to blog has been hard because when O is asleep at night...i want to spend my time with B. i do miss it and i miss pinterest and my google reader...and my paper magazines....but i am feeling good about our daily schedule and soon i think i will feel comfortable again at blogging more regularly. until then...i'm still here and will try to post more when i can. xo!}

*goodbye*

it's hard to put into words just how important Noah was to me. in 1999, i told b i wanted a dog. he wasn't sure about it because he grew up with the thought that he was allergic to them. we lived in ST. Louis at the time and i was working while b was going to school to get his second degree. b was gone quite a lot which meant i was home alone...quite a lot. i had a co-worker who told me about some labrador puppies that needed a home. there were only two left, a chocolate female and a black male. b and i thought about it and we talked about it a lot...i finally convinced him it was a good idea. we told my co-worker we wanted the chocolate female. the day before we were going to pick her up, my co-worker called and told us that the female had been taken by another family. b and i decided we would take the male, we talked about names and chose one. we practiced saying that name that night. i will never forget it. the next day, we drove to Pocahontas, IL to a little farm out in the middle of no where. when we pulled up to the house, a man walked out of his home and greeted us. we told him we were there for the last puppy. he informed us that the puppy was the runt of the litter and that three other families had come to see him and none of them wanted him. a moment later, he whistled and over the top of a hill came two puppies...the chocolate female and the black male. i don't remember what the female was doing because all i could see was this adorable little black speck coming towards us with big floppy ears.  my heart would never be the same from that day forward. we named him, Noah. he was 8 weeks old. he was covered in ticks and dirt and shaking with fear. we took him home, gave him a bath or two, picked all the ticks off of him and showed him all the love we had to give.

Noah had a huge heart and showed us all the love he could give. he was my sweet sweet pal, my protector, my buddy. he was incredibly smart and there were times where his actions almost felt human like. he filled our lives with many many smiles and so much laughter. 

on Saturday, April 28th, we had to say goodbye to Noah. my heart broke into a million pieces. he had been with us for almost 13 years but i knew it was time. he had ailments that would not heal. there was nothing we could do for him but give him peace. people have told me that they think Noah stuck around until after Oliver came home just to make sure everything would be okay. i believe with all my heart that this is true. that is something that my Noah would do for me and b. he was more then just a dog to us, he was a gift from God.

 it has been hard to adjust to not having him here at home. i miss my Noah's sweet face, his leaning hugs, his super soft ears and my pal who greeted me every morning with kisses and tail wags. i will never forget Noah, there will always be a special place in my heart just for him.

Goodbye my pup.

*happy birthday love*

{you bring a smile to so many people's lives but to see you make O smile makes my heart swell!

 i am so in love with you! i thank the lord every day for you. i wish you the happiest of birthdays my love. you deserve it. your d.} 

*all about Ollie*

{i am taking this opportunity to write things about Oliver while naps. i've been wanting to do this for some time and i am actually glad that i have two weeks under my belt to be able to talk about our son...so here it goes....}

Oliver loves:

to eat...there really hasn't been anything he hasn't liked. if he tries it and spits it out. b or myself will eat a piece (not the one he spit out...) to show him it's okay and 99% of the time...he buys the bait and eats it. he also loves to snack...a lot! some things he loves to eat are:

cinnamon sconces

green beans

peas

Japanese style rice with edamame

chicken

chicken and veggie wantons

mac & cheese

tater tots

 grilled cheese
yogurt
broccoli
apples
smoothies
milk
water

O loves the dogs but he seems to gravitate towards Noah. he lays down by Noah when he is snacking from his snack cup and gives Noah hugs and kisses each day. we had to teach O that he needed to be nice to the pups and rub on them nicely. he still likes to grab their tales but he's learning and i can see him trying to be nice to both of them.

our boy is fascinated by all cars and trucks. luckily the way he sits in his high chair allows him to see out the dining room window where all the cars, trucks and buses go by. he doesn't mind his car seat but would prefer to have a beverage or snack in hand. he has this face he makes when his window gets rolled down or when the sun roof is opened. it's so funny. i need to get a picture of it.

music...O loves to listen to music and loves to shake his booty. some times we will have music playing while we are all eating and he will bop up and down in his high chair or swing his head back and forth. it's sweet to see.

the outdoors is where he would prefer to be. O loves to go on walks in the ergo. he loves to play in the yard and pick up sticks and really likes to grab flowers and leaves. i've been trying to work with him on "being nice" to plants....not sure if that will stick or not. ;)

some things that O didn't like when he first came home but he's doing so much better at is...

getting his diaper changed. he hated it and would scream and kick. now he goes to his changing mat and lays down. he likes to have something in his hand while we change his diaper to i guess distract him but he's pretty much become a champ with diaper changing.

he hated to get his hands and face wiped clean. we are still working on his face but he does let us clean off his hands. b and i would wipe our faces and hands in front of him many times over the last two weeks to show him that it was okay. he will let us wipe his face but only once and then he fights. ha!

bath time was never a fun time. b and i would take turns going in the bath with him so that he felt more comfortable. we put bubbles and toys and would splash the water but the tears would fall and the reaching for the other person not in the tub would be endless. finally...his 14th day home...he asked to go into the tub. we had smiles and laughs the entire time. the only thing he didn't like was getting out of the tub and being cold.

we are still working on putting lotion on him after the tub..this makes him mad. it's probably because he's cold and the lotion doesn't help. ha!

sleeping was the biggest issue. he hated to go to bed. we only had our mattress in his room on the floor for three days. after that i was done. none of us were getting any sleep. he was waking every 2 hours and it would take him an hour to calm back down. so we tried his crib and that was a huge NO! he screamed bloody murder and would try to climb out of it. we would rock him to sleep and just when he was about to fall into a deep slumber...we would put him in his crib..instantly he would wake up...jump to his feet and scream. it was so crazy how fast he woke up and knew. we decided to try him sleeping on the floor since that is what he was used to in Korea. we surrounded him with pillows and he did this a couple nights but it wasn't as restful as we hoped. plus he would roll right over the giant pillows surrounding him. he is a mover and a shaker when he sleeps...as i am sure most kids are at this age. finally we put his crib mattress against a wall and on the other side of the mattress we put his toy chest..almost boxing him in. the wall and toy chest are padded for his safety but this has become a huge success. we also noticed that there was a pillow case that was sent in his bag that was wrapped around his hanbok. this was a huge plus! he knew what it was and instantly laid his head on it. now he goes into his room and lays on his bed when he's tired. we just ordered him a toddler bed so his mattress doesn't always have to be on the floor...and i can get into his closet. i'm sure he's going to like it....i hope. we use a sound machine and a fan to drown out the noises. he seems to like them on. a couple nights after he got home, he showed us that he could open his door..it was so crazy. there is now a safety knob for his bedroom door! phew. his new bed time is around 6:30-7:00 and he typically sleeps through the night and gets up at 6:30-7:00. if he does wake up, it's usually around 10:00 but we can almost always get him back to sleep.

bonding...he's doing really well with both of us. when he first came home...he didn't have one person that he gravitated to until a couple nights in when he decided he wanted to be a daddy's boy. that was short lived though. he likes for both of us to hold him or comfort him. he calls us both omma. it's kind of funny but we are trying to teach him that we are mommy and appa. he loves to watch us and tries to mimic us. it's so funny to watch. i've taught him a couple things like high five with his hands and feet, winking and shrugging his shoulders. he loves to give appa a kiss and hug...which is so so sweet. if we go outside, he will wait by the screen door and wave at us when we are walking back in. love this.

the word omma is used for almost everything and when he gets impatient...he says it over and over and it gets louder and louder. we've noticed that he does have tantrums and will scream bloody murder when he doesn't get his way. he will stomp his feet and tense his body. the other day when our neighbor dropped off a vintage cozy coupe...he loved being in it. when it was time to go in for dinner and he had to get out...the screams and kicks started and lasted for a good five minutes until i gave him something to drink. i have noticed that when this type of behavior does happen...giving him something to drink calms him down. we are trying to work with him on this so that he knows that he doesn't need to act out like this. our pediatrician said it's terrible twos which seems about right. the more he does it...the more i notice it's just typical.

over all...each day we have with Oliver gets better and better. we just love our little guy!!

*two weeks home*

{it's crazy to think that our son has been home for two whole weeks...all i can say is each day just gets better and better! i'd like to write a post that is dedicated to what O is doing and learning and what has changed since the first day he came home...but for now..let's just look at pictures from the last two weeks..shall we?}

exploring outside the house...in his pjs.

our first walk in the ergo...

watching a video with Appa on his phone...

playing with bubbles for the first time on the back deck..

a little cat nap in the car that turned into a 2 hour snooze..

first doctors visit....boo...O did not like this visit.

loving the wheel at our local playground...

acting like one of the dogs...right after our 1st post placement visits!

our first trip to Target...

having his first scone...and loving every single bite!

all ready for his first play date at home...looking spiffy in his hot dog tee.

having fun with Addie at his first playdate at home.

a little blurry but one of my favorites of me and my boy...

having fun with his buddy, Noah in the backyard.

*vote 4 me* tee...love this tee!

trying to get a photo of the three of us...

having an old fashion donut (his first with us) after having a bad experience with "lab work"...that darn nurse.

more fun at our local park with neighbor Addie...

loving every second of his new vintage cozy coupe. a gift from our next door neighbor!

wearing some cool shades for the first time (they were a gift from his buddy Carson).