crazy busy

Oh my - what great events have come to pass! And the camera cord... in a box...

THANKSGIVING

We spent the holiday with family... such good times! My mom hosted and it included: my mom, Evan, Dana, Trevin, Amanda & Ella, Mindee, David & Ashley, my dad, Kelley's mom, and the three of us. It was a feast with my favoritest part: PIE. Visiting, Wii, family, and many many blessings. What a wonderful holiday! We have so much to be grateful for! OH, and of course Seoul LOVED all the food - little muncher!

SEOUL'S 10-MONTH BIRTHDAY

She's our little angel. Here are her latest accomplishments/quirks:

* can do the sign for "more" (slight variation)

* fold her arms for prayers

* throws fits when the food is gone

* takes her beanie off quicker

* puts her arms in her sleeves by herself

* says "gobble gobble" when prompted (Kelley taught her)

OUR HOUSE

After months of looking, waiting, looking, waiting, looking, and waiting... we did it! We bought a HOUSE in Canby and we love it! Once we got word it was go-time it went super fast!

Day 1: received confirmation on our loan

Day 2: signed papers

Day 3: bought carpet

Day 4: packed

Day 5: bought paint

Day 6: Kelley and my dad painted the interior of the house - all rooms & ceilings

Day 7: packed & Kelley finished painting

Day 8: carpet was installed, finished packing, loaded Penske truck, drove to Canby & slept in OUR NEW HOUSE!

Day 9: cleaned, unloaded & unpacked in OUR NEW HOUSE

Day 10: my mom, Seoul & I went down to the Salem place to clean

The original plan was to have a week to pack and move Saturday 12/12 but smart Kelley looked at the forecast and decided we better move sooner (Monday 12/7). We moved to Salem on the hottest day ever and moved to Canby on the coldest day ever! Fortunately it was just cold with no rain, snow, or ice.

Thanks to EVERYONE who helped!!

It is a blessing and super exciting to be in our own place; 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a hallway, kitchen, dining room, and living room of our very own... and of course the yard for Seoul!! What an excellent Christmas present! Seoul feels more comfortable and cruises all over the place! We're still unpacking (really, it's never ending!!) and getting settled. I'm very excited to start picking accent colors for the different rooms. We have a list of "honey-do" projects that we will get started after the holidays. Already my fabulous brother has helped move the water heater so I can fit my washer/dryer (no clean clothes is such a bummer!).

So... life is crazy busy but SOOOOO good. On to the glorious Christmas holiday!

Don't come between Seoul and her food!

As Seoul learns to feed herself, I've discovered something very telling about myself. I consider myself a relatively neat & clean person. Am I really ready to observe food being smeared everywhere?? We had our first spoon-on-the-floor incident the other day. I have a while to go before it's over... I best get used to it :) Seoul mastered picking things up with her pincer fingers a while ago... now she's getting quite good at the rolling peas and slippery avocados.




Breakfast: oatmeal and pear. Smeared from the back of her head, down her arm, all over the tray. Lovely. She had fun going at it with her hand, though!




Since she gets to eat big people food she has become a little MOOCH! Oh my! Whenever there is the sight of food she comes as quick as she can. Who could resist this little angel face silently begging for food?? Oh, did I say silently? WRONG! She is extremely vocal about getting some!

I believe she knows the words breakfast, lunch, dinner, and food. Whenever I mention them she gets super excited and makes a noise that sometimes sounds like 'yes' or 'ya'. If the boppy is nearby she will point to or touch it. Silly girl!

Below is her expression once her bowl of food is almost done (and this was her second bowl!). She insists on seeing inside the bowl as I feed her so she can gauge how much is left. When there are two bites left she starts getting mad. I believe she also knows the colors of the foods she eats. No more can I get away with cereal really - she will keep her mouth closed. Then open it as soon as it's something yummy like veggies or meat on the spoon.

Family Love

Here are the latest pictures of family loving on Seoul.


"Mmm... kisses from daddy!"




"Hmm... usually it's mommy behind the camera..."




"Who's this funny looking guy...?"




"Daddy isn't this hairy... is this normal?"

"Oh Mom. If I have to smile for yet another picture I will..."

Seoul's Antics

9 month doctor visit. This was Seoul's expression when I told her we were at the doctor's office waiting for daddy to arrive. "Eek - do I have to go in??"

Stats:

Weight - 16 pounds 10 1/2 ounces (20th percentile)
Length - 28 1/2 inches (85th percentile)
Head - 17 inches (25th percentile)

Just an itty bitty thing. But she is super HEALTHY and that is what's most important! The doctor said she's doing great and gave the OK for all food but honey. Lucky baby... let the fun begin!

Playing with daddy at the doctor's office... before the shots...




These days Seoul is everywhere in the blink of an eye. Crawling the "normal" way these days, she makes tracks! She is adventurous and cruises all around the furniture and walls. She's mastered climbing up the stairs, although not down yet. Books are fun - turning pages and looking at the pictures and touching the textured parts (touch-and-feel books). Mimicking us is her new fun game - clapping, blowing razz's, laughing... we love it! Every day is new and exciting and SO MUCH FUN!




Hmm... checking out daddy's wallet for cash already. Look at her sneaking around - hanging out in between the couch and desk so we don't realize what she's up to. Smarty pants!

Silly girl... gotta find a new angle to play with those toys to keep them fun.

Four chompers coming in... I said show me all your teethies and she did!

She loves to help unload the dishwasher... and get a few more dirty in the process. Check out her stylin' slippers :)

I was making dinner and realized she was being very quiet. I look down and she's managed to get the lid off and she's eating her treats very quickly.... she knew we would take them away!

What a beautiful, smart, fun girl. We are so blessed to be her parents!!

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

Here are some cute pictures of Seoul

Autumn is here

The word Autumn is so poetic. I really like it.

The Autumn season is so beautiful! I love the changing leaves and the crisp, cool air. Plus it indicates the coming of the wonderful holiday season.

We go for family walks to enjoy the fresh air. Seoul inevitably falls asleep, of course. She got a new toy with Grandma's Halloween treat but didn't enjoy it until later.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Seoul to a local pumpkin patch with our friend Amy. Seoul wasn't sure what to think about some things like the feel of the hay poking her legs or sitting in a wheelbarrow with a giant pumpkin, but it was clear she wasn't such a fan of the petting zoo or pony ride. Maybe one day :)

We went through a very muddy corn maze and made it to this castle. I've noticed Seoul is adventurous and likes to be up high. To get down we took the slide. Seoul is sticking out her tongue at Dad in the first picture and then clapping to show her excitement in the second.

We had to pose for a picture with the "Asian" pumpkin... those of us with "slanty" eyes :)

It was perfect fall weather and we had a lot of fun! Next year Seoul will really be into the activities.

Trick * or * Treat!

Seoul's first Halloween and she made out like a bandit! Really, who gives a 9-month old candy?? At least Kelley & I appreciate the spoils!

We went to Legacy to trick-or-treat at Kelley's office. Seoul dressed as a pink lady bug, although everyone called her a "love bug" - how much cuter can our girl get?! She would get tired of wearing the hat and pull it off.

Seoul would crawl to the candy, which made the effect of the bug costume even more adorable.

Kelley loves showing off his "love bug" to everyone!



We visited with the cousins a little bit and got some fun Halloween costume pictures. Trevin is a hippy / crazy man... Amanda is a garbage can... and Ella is a bat... very creative costumes!

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

We hooked up with our friends the Springers and went out around our neighborhood for a little trick-or-treating on Halloween night. The weather was rather nice. Randy was "Handy Randy" and was super cute in his overalls and boots, complete with a hard hat, tool belt, hammer, and wrench. We didn't get many come to our door and there weren't many in the neighborhood so the kids got handfuls of candy at most houses. Randy kept saying his bag was heavy. Seoul held her bag until it got too many pieces of candy. Lucky parents!

Seoul did get her own little treat that night, though. Daddy bought her some little cookies so she got to chow on one of those.

Halloween Treats

I have to write about the delicious goodness a friend shared with us. Little Halloween ghosts made with Nutter Butter cookies dipped in melted white chocolate or white confectioner's coating. You can use mini chocolate chips for eyes. Oh my, they are quite the treat!

Baby Joo Lin

My dad sent me these baby pictures of me the other day. Adopted when I was 6 months old, there aren't many pictures of me as an infant. Now I can hassle my parents for pictures to compare ages.

I now see the resemblance between Seoul and I. Of course the cleft lip makes a difference and Seoul is much more beautiful, but I get it... finally.

In this picture I was 7 months old. From my position, maybe Seoul got her silly crawl from me.

I'm not sure how old I was in this picture. Am I dancing or going to get to work using the shovel? Hm. I do see also that I can't blame Seoul's hairline entirely on Kelley's genes. We have the same hair (sigh) and I was so hoping it would be more like Kelley's.

Thanks Dad!

Kudos to Kelley

Seoul & I are so proud of Kelley! At work the other day he got a kudos for exceptional customer service. I will brag for him... he has gotten quite a few shout outs. At his year review in August he got rave reviews and the boss said he's a real asset to the company. Funny: the only critique from a peer review was that he wears too much orange :)

It is so wonderful he has a job he loves and he excels with each performance!

Love you!