happy 8 months!

college football love

The season has begun... the love/hate relationship that inevitably comes at this time of year. In our family we have two teams to cheer on, although the OSU Beaver spirit dominates due to Kelley's passion. I do give a shout out to the BYU Cougars even if it was a disappointing game Saturday. We were feeling slightly let down by both our teams!

The happiness of Saturday was the big event... drumroll please... Seoul's first OSU Football game! Of course she had to sport the BYU bow to show some Cougar pride... (and prove she is a girl!)

She was such a good girl! She just enjoyed watching all the people and activity. It did surprise me that she seemed to track the football flying through the air before the game started. During the game she was a little insecure with Kelley's yelling so she would cuddle with me. She even took a nap for an hour through all the noise & excitement!

I love time as a family! There will be more fun things to come!

Finally domestic?

My mom should be proud. Growing up she urged me to help her cook, can, and learn useful skills. I resisted for so long. I think the time has come... I've given in...

I believe I can cook a good meal when I choose to; the other night I did stuffed meat & cheese manicotti - yum! Unfortunately for Kelley I am not a fan of cooking meals but he is supportive and doesn't mind Taco Bell every once in a while. Fortunately for Kelley, though, I do enjoy baking & desserts!

This year I even canned fruits. I did pears with my mom. Kelley and I tackled the peaches in our own little adventure!

I am even contemplating asking for canning equipment for Christmas! It was a great feeling to see the end product and add it to our food storage.

There may be hope for me yet!

Seoul looks like Kelley!

I can interpret the results of the poll how I choose since I am the one posting - ha!

Thanks to those who voted in the poll! I admit I was hoping for DETAILS in the comments but that's ok. I hear often that Seoul looks like both of us, which thrills me since I was adopted and don't look like my parents. It's exciting to share physical traits with my baby!

She is beautiful either way but I truly have difficulty seeing physical resemblances between me and her. Really. I think people are thrown off by her brown eyes and the fact that she has hair on her head - of course that would make her most like me!

I see Kelley in the shape of her face, the shape of her eyes, her eyelashes, her mouth, and her dimples... you have to admit that is the majority of her face. I love it all... every scrumptious little part of her!

Just clowning around

Who Does Seoul Resemble Most?

I'm curious... vote on the sidebar...

Here's Seoul:




Here's Daddy: (to be fair, this is an older picture, but one of the few of Kelley face-on)




Here's Mommy:

This is Seoul's attitude (that I believe she inherited from DAD!)

Friends and Family

We got to visit our wonderful friends Bob & Nan this past weekend. It is always such fun spending time with them. They haven't seen Seoul since she was 3 months old... I think they like her... and she likes them :)

Seoul is starting to have little play dates... hilarious to watch babies interact with each other. I did learn recently that when they take toys from each other they aren't being mean necessarily - it is part of learning how to mimic and interact.

(Left, circle clockwise) - Seoul, Tucker, Gavin, and Audrey.

Seoul and her little girlfriend Audrey. Seoul is saying "Hey Audrey, try chewing on it - super tasty and makes a fun squeaking noise! Try it... try it!"

The old roomies come together for the first time in a long while... Jessica, Kristy, Brittney, and I. Kristy came to visit from Utah and we had dinner at Local Boyz in Corvallis - yum!

A few weeks ago we went to Medford and saw Kelley's family that came into town. Seoul and her cousin Cason got some good bonding time! He's adorable and growing so fast!

A little love from Aunt Kendy!

Play time with cousins Amanda and Ella!

We are so blessed to have so many family and friends in our lives. Love you all!

Jogged a 5K... really!

Seoul can say she's run her 2nd 5K... the first she was in my belly and the second she was in her stroller. A yearly tradition? We'll see...

Actually I'm pretty ridiculous. A few months ago my friend asked if I wanted to run and I agreed. Then a few weeks ago I backed out like the flake I am. The Friday before the Saturday run I felt like I wanted to do it for some reason. Yes, not much "training." I had been doing a run about once or twice a week... just a couple miles with our newly acquired jogging stroller.

These are pictures of Seoul on our weekly jogs - before & after... every single run :)

So the morning of the race I woke up and Kelley looked at me. Good man that he is asked if I was going to run and I couldn't decide. He told me to get up and go. It was in Corvallis so I got ready and loaded Seoul and did it! Since I'd never run that far with the stroller and didn't know the course my goal was under 45 minutes. Surprisingly I finished in 36:11... no walking... and there were even a few inclines on the run. I was pleased with the results. Wahoo!

Starting the race...

... and finishing the race...

Brady & Brittney, Seoul & I, and Jessica.... go team roomies + a couple extras :) Brady pushed their daughter Audrey in the stroller while Brittney & I ran together.

I'm glad I did the race. It's still hard to believe that I am able to jog multiple miles at a time. I remember when I first started jogging and it was hard for me to do a couple laps, let alone a mile. Now it's nice that I can pick up pretty much where I left off and keep it going. It's definitely easier to stay motivated when there is a goal. I enjoy having the jogging stroller so I can run outside and teach Seoul good exercise habits as she gets older.

1st Zoo Trip

Seoul had her first trip to the Oregon Zoo! She liked the animals that were right in front of her. Her cousins Trevin and Ella came to share the adventure. Funny, but true... when I would point and tell Seoul to "look at the animal" she would look directly at Trevin. This happened multiple times - silly girl!

Cousin love...


We love the giraffes... Jasper's cousin...?

She loved looking out the window on the train ride... then fell asleep on the way back.

Fun family day!

More animals!

We love our animals! On the way back from Medford we stopped at Wildlife Safari in Winston. Kelley & Seoul and never been there before. It is so fun to see all the animals roaming... especially close to the car. Seoul enjoyed riding in the front seat so she could see out the window.

Our favorite animals were the giraffes and brown bears. The brown bears were wrestling for a while. The giraffe was right in front of the car, walking toward the side of the road.

Seoul was not a fan of the petting zoo... those scary miniature horses!

She didn't make it through the whole park... sleepy Seoul.

At one point there was a goat or something on the side of the road right by the car. Seoul waved at it... whole arm wave. Adorable!

7 month birthday!

Oh boy, Seoul is 7 months old now!

She loves to...

* Stand at the coffee table and play - toys in both hands so she is balancing with her belly or freestanding (this one for just a few seconds at a time).

* Knock over towers of blocks or stacking balls.

* Eat her foods... the newest is sweet potatoes and prunes.

* Smile and watch or play with daddy. They play peek-a-boo as part of the nighttime ritual - she covers her head and daddy "finds" her.

* Eat little puffy snacks - she can pick them up with her thumb & index finger.

* Jabber... mamama or dadada... sometimes at the top of her lungs and sometimes quietly like a whisper. She's finding her voice :)

* Read her "touch and feel" books - she figures out where to find each texture on the page.

I think she is close to crawling - lunging forward when sitting and lifting up her little bum. When she's on her belly she has gotten to a sitting position a few times. She likes to hold our fingers and walk around, although she is still a bit wobbly sometimes. She is pretty confident standing and likes to move around the coffee table. What a big girl we have!

From this (12 weeks)...

... to this...

... and this (9 weeks)...

... to this...

This is our beautiful girl and we love her so! It feels like she has been in our lives FOREVER and we're so grateful for her sweet spirit in our family.

Seoul's first camping trip!

Last weekend we took Seoul camping for the first time, well, it was also our first time camping too. We got a bunch of camping gear a few years back and we have been lazy and haven't gone but when we heard that our ward was having a camping trip, we jumped at the opportunity to go. It was a blast! We went to Silver Creek Falls and that was fun because we got to show Seoul where daddy asked mommy to marry him.

Here are a few pictures of Seoul and our camping adventure.

Seoul chilling in her stroller.

Seoul bundled up in her pack and play. She is such an angel!!

Seoul at the beginning of her first hike

Seoul at the end of her first hike

Seoul's audition for "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 6