Mini Vacation

In February Seoul and I took our first trip away from Kelley together. Although we had a lot of fun with my mom, it was sad and we missed Kelley SO MUCH! We printed a picture of him and Seoul would say "Daddy?" and kiss the picture. Adorable.

We went up to northern Washington - Birch Bay and Leavenworth. The drive was long but surprisingly I didn't get tired and Seoul handled it OK. The first few hours in the car of each drive were the hardest for her. She's not a car sleeper so we listened to a lot of baby CD's and sang a lot of songs. She read books in the back seat, which were a lifesaver!




Our first stop was Birch Bay, Washington - about 45 minutes south of the Canadian border I think. It was beautiful. We hiked around a state park and Seoul picked out rocks and shells for daddy from the beach.




Next was Leavenworth, Washington. This is a fun Bavarian tourist town. The shops are fun. I bought a (yummy scented) candle out of guilt for making wet tire marks in his shop with Seoul's stroller. Oh, the things I do for a baby - haha! Seoul walked on snow for the first time. Yep, not a fan to walk on it or touch it.

It was a rather quick trip but lots of fun to spend time with mom/grandma and see some new sights. The days away from home took a toll on Seoul and she did sleep a good portion of the way home.

Seoul the Bounty Hunter

Seoul is becoming SO FUN these days! Not that she wasn't before but we've entered a whole new phase of development & learning. It's just amazing to see what new things she does daily.

Her newest achievements are walking and going potty. Really.

Walking - She can go up to 10 steps if we start her free standing.
[I was going to attempt to post a video but now I don't know where the video cord is. Boo!]

Potty - she goes once or twice a day in the potty. Honest!
[She loves sitting on her potty - it plays a song when she pees! The second night we had it she used it. Since then it's been almost daily - she does the sign and then we go to the bathroom. Any suggestions for actually potty training are welcome since I haven't researched it yet!]

Starting young... she likes to lounge on my body pillow and hold the phone to ear and pretend to talk. She has actually made calls on our house phone. Oops!

She loves the alphabet mat. We're learning to match her alphabet letter books to the letter blocks.

Learning to play baseball at an early age :)

Her words:
daddy
papa
mommy
baby
ball
cracker
bye
hi
yogurt (gogurt)
go (in terms of leaving the house)
uh-oh
boppy (referring to nursing time)

Already she loves to be up high and she LOVES spending time with daddy after work.

She shut herself in the bathroom the other day. Peek a boo!

Her princess tent keeps her entertained for long stretches of time.

Her signs:
please
thank you
more
banana
doggy (baby sign version)
potty
all done
help (newest one)

Happy Valentine's Day - cute dress, yes? She is wondering why we were wasting time taking photos instead of letting her have her presents.

The remote is hers when we're in the living room. No arguments.

She still loves her food... this would be bits of cottage cheese all over her face. She can feed herself with a spoon when she wants to.

She knows:
* animal sounds/motions (elephant motion, 'sss' for snake, 'quack quack' for duck, 'moo' for cow, fish lips)
* how to brush her hair & that barrettes go in her hair
* shoes and socks go on her feet (and imitates saying 'socks')
* how to fold her arms for prayers
* what pictures are in her alphabet letter books (For example she finds the 'H' book and knows the order: hands, hat, horse. So before we can even open the book she shakes her hands. Then she touches her head for hat. For horse she can't do the sound so she nods her head yes for some reason.)


She's discovered cupboards and drawers.

She discovered lemons in a restaurant and sucked every last bit of juice out of it.

Cute Seoul moments:
* She wanted yogurt and I wasn't going to give her any (I'm not a mean mom, it was close to dinner!). So she rifled through her alphabet letter books and found the 'Y' book, turned to the page that had the picture of yogurt, and handed it to me while signing please and saying yogurt. Really! How could I resist? She got her yogurt :)
* Dad sings a song he made up - Seoul the Bounty Hunter - and Seoul then pulls on her ears like he taught her. It's one of her and daddy's special songs.

Seoul's 1st Birthday

Seoul had a birthday! She is loved :)

Cousin Amanda put together a "how well do you know Seoul?" quiz. That was a lot of fun!

Do you know the answers?
1. Name Seoul's stuffed animals (given names; ie my car is Jasmine)
2. What is Seoul's birthday?
3. Name Seoul's favorite colors.
4. What is Seoul's favorite food?
5. What is Seoul's bedtime?



Seoul did really well patiently opening all her gifts. She tore at least some of the paper off every one, enjoyed reaching into the bags, and didn't even play with any of the empty boxes (until later). She now has an adorable little wardrobe, stuffed animals, and lots of books to read. Thanks everyone!






I made a butterfly cake - what a fiasco! Let's just say I'm not a cake baker, design cutter, or decorator. I ran out of time so I didn't get to make Seoul her own little cake so she had to settle for a cupcake.




How old are you? I am one (holds up her finger). She's not so interested in the cake yet...





Cousin Ella helped get her excited! She wouldn't pick it up so I gave her a taste of the frosting... and she stuck her tongue out... not sure about this...

... but there she goes...

She's getting so sleepy... no afternoon nap...

Here is our little lady showing off those crackers people kept giving her. She was in heaven! Randy Jr is politely ignoring her bad manners :)

On her actual birthday we had a mini birthday. She had fun opening the gifts. Then she got a box of Ritz crackers... her FAVORITE! Thanks grandma!

We had a doctor appointment the week after and Seoul is such a healthy girl! She knows. Can't even pretend anymore. She didn't even want to go into the room. She cried when the nurse was prepping the shots. Poor baby.

Stats:
Weight - 19 pounds 15 1/2 ounces (30th percentile)
Length - 29 1/2 inches (70th percentile)
Head - 17 1/2 inches (30th percentile)

perfect post

My friend Wendy wrote a post on her blog and I had to share it. It's a mommy moment and it's beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes.

http://wendywking.blogspot.com/2010/02/not-my-baby-anymore.html

Seoul just turned one... where did the time go? I always heard it goes by so fast but only now do I realize the truth of that statement. I sat and read through my journal and the content has become centered around Seoul - the good times, the rough times, the things she learns each day. It says so much but not all of it. Again, as I mentioned in a post a long time ago I wish I had a little camera on my forehead that could record everything. All those tiny moments that will unfortunately be forgotten as new moments crowd them out. I love it all. I love being a mommy. I love being a stay-at-home mom. I love my husband for helping that dream come true.

Homeowners

I was asked when it felt like "home" and I realize that it's felt like home since the day we moved in, no furniture and all. We love the area, being close to family, getting to knock holes in the wall if needed, painting to make it our own... everything. Kelley just commented last night that he likes that Seoul just roams around on her own, from one end of the house to the other.

It's a one-level 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house that fits us perfectly.


view from the front door (the tv with our new stand is to the left of the picture)

view from the corner of the dining room (behind the desk is the corner sectional sofa)

view into the kitchen. please note the FABULOUS new double oven. pizza and breadsticks baking and done at the same time... at different temperatures. LOVE IT!!

this was the icky stove that was originally with the house. yep, seoul could almost reach the knobs and actually pull open the oven door a little. ugh.

the bathroom. we haven't changed our original beaver bathroom color scheme so eventually we will coordinate the towels and curtain with the tile that's already there.

seoul's room. it now has light pink and raspberry walls. i will take new pictures and update once we get the wallpaper border in our hands and put up.

Oops, no pictures of the office or our bedroom... must have gotten sidetracked. When I update with Seoul's room I will post pics of those... they aren't that exciting anyway.

Of course I must include pictures of Kelley's homeowner handiwork :)

as previously mentioned we knocked a hole in the wall to move the water heater. this is kelley patching the hole with sheetrock. he then painted the entire area ... it's looks fantastic!

later he tiled the floor of the laundry area. first the hardiplank (?). then using the big tools! - a wet saw/tile cutter. next he meticulously laid the tile. his finished product looks so great! (well, he's going to do a tile backsplash instead of the rubber baseboard thing)

We have spent time in the yard raking the leaves... that have never been raked at all this year, I think! Kelley loves knocking things off what he calls the "honey-do" list (but secretly I think he enjoys adding projects to the supposed list I've made).

Homeownership is work and I know we're still new... but we're having a lot of fun and have fun ideas on how to improve and expand over the years. Yay for us!

dear...

... life,
I love you, but is there a possibility of slowing down just for a bit so I can get caught up on a few things? The length of time is negotiable...

... journal & blog,
We've had a long-standing relationship so do you think you could be a dear and keep yourselves caught up for just a week?

... family,
Thank you for all your patience with me. I love you!

... grocery store,
Could you please send me all the food I need to cook for my family plus the little extra treats we love... for free?

... house,
You are doing just great. I enjoy cleaning you and appreciate that we're a team now.

and last but not least...

... body,
I am writing about some concerns I have about your performance lately . I do my best to take care of you and still, you are struggling to maintain your end of the bargain. If I knew how to fix the problem I would do what's needed. The doctor doesn't know what's wrong either so it's now up to you. I believe you are capable so please take care of the matter. My mental capacity is on the fritz and it would be a sad day for myself and my family if I am completely incapacitated.

Sincerely,
Joo Lin