Our Big Girl Seoul

Seoul is 2 1/2 years old now. Truly, she is amazing! Every day we look at her and marvel at her growth, development, progression, and personality. It's hard to believe she was ever not a part of our life because she has made it so much sweeter and brighter.

Even as a newborn she showed her (now more developed) stubborn side by taking her sweet time coming out after the 2nd induction, 3rd time to the hospital. She was well worth the wait - beautiful, alert, happy, and ours.

One month old: taught us the true meaning of patience, selflessness, and unconditional love as we started to learn how to be parents.

6 months old: brought new meaning to the word joy as she really developed her personality with her smiles & giggles.

1 year old: showed us how time truly flies by so we need to savor & treasure every moment.

18 months: reminded us to take pleasure in the simple things and enjoy life through the eyes of a child.

2 years old: transitioned easily into being the greatest big sister. Thanks Seoul!

2-1/2 years old: Seoul does it all!

> talks up a storm (full conversations), including telling us daily she loves us and asking WHY all the time

> sings the alphabet multiple times a day, includes identifying the written letters

> counts to 11, recognizing most of the written numbers

> knows all colors (her favorite is blue)

> identifies all shapes but triangles (which she calls diamonds)

> loves Spongebob, although still tells how Spongebob at her birthday was scary

> loves Ariel from The Little Mermaid (favorite movie)

> favorite foods: strawberries, vanilla ice cream, and noodles with chicken

> loves and is very protective of her baby sister (can't even describe all the ways she shows her love)

> likes to color (holds the crayon the proper way and colors in the lines)

> loves to read and go to the library / story time

> loves to play house (Little People house)

> has a super active imagination, which is absolutely hilarious

> sings all the time

> likes to dance and do "tricks" such as balance on the foot board of her bed

There is so much that I'm missing but those are the things I can think of off the top of my head. All in all, she is super fun, super smart, super cute, super independent, and has taught us so much.

We can't even convey how much we love our sweet Seoul Elizabeth!

A-B-C's

We hear the alphabet multiple times a day these days. She's been doing it for a long time but would never let us get it on camera. (This time I thought she'd freeze & refuse since she took a few seconds to start). Sometimes she throws the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom variation in the mix as well. It's funny that now she will point at letters and say, "Do you know what that letter is, Mom?" because I asked her that over and over one day while we were reading books without realizing it. It's fun to watch her learn! Now when we read she identifies the different letters (which makes reading some books very time consuming!)... but it's all worth it!

Her new favorite books are the easy reader level 1-2 books... moving on up in the reading world!

Similarities & Differences

Here are pictures of our girls around 6 months old . Kelley says they look like me. Seoul says Sydney looks like daddy and she looks like mommy. I think both girls have a blend of our features, but each has a very beautiful, distinctive look.

As for personality, they're both very happy girls (when they want to be). If I remember accurately, Seoul was a little more chill at this age, which means Sydney may eventually be more opinionated...? Both girls really had/have no interest in rolling - Seoul only ever rolled from front to back, toward one side. Sydney has gone front to back a few times, but still shows no real interest. I think they will be similar in rolling briefly, crawling briefly, and then cruising. (Seoul can't wait until Sydney can run around with her!) Kelley and I both think Sydney started "talking" more often and a bit sooner than Seoul did. 

There are so many things to remember with fond memories as we go through the milestones with our second daughter. Of course we know each girl is their own person and will very well do everything at their own pace, but it's so fun to reminisce and ponder similarities and differences. Both girls make our lives the best ever and we love them so much!

How quickly the days pass!

Sydney Louise is our healthy, beautiful, 6-month-old girl (already!) that brightens our days!

The well-baby appointment last week went well. The nurse weighed her twice because she couldn't believe she's only gained 2 ounces from her 4-month appointment. The doctor gave her a clean bill of health and said she is just burning more calories sitting on her own so her body is catching up to the weight she gained from 2-4 months. Funny!

Stats:
Length: 26-1/4 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 15 lbs 11 oz (50th percentile)
Head: 17 inches (75th percentile)

What she's up to these days:
* Giggles (Kelley had her going with a "laughing fit" the other day when he kept saying, "Ticket!" to Seoul when she wanted a horsey ride)
* Discovered her hands, ears, and toes more fully.
* Enjoys her rice cereal. Had peas for the first time the other night - LOVES them! (She is always trying to eat my food if she happens to be on my lap. She almost got my spoonful of something into her mouth before I could catch her.) - we're transitioning to 2 meals of solids a day.
* Chews on everything, but is not too drooly (thank goodness!). No teeth yet but I think she's getting closer.
* Talks all the time and is really getting into different consonant/vowel sounds and pitches.
* Really observant of everything around her. She's really starting to enjoy story time - watching the librarian read the stories, and always tries to lunge toward the kids to play.
* Prefers standing.
* Sits solidly and enjoys playing with her toys.
* No inclination to roll, although she's gone from front to back a few times.
* Sleeps pretty well - 8:00 PM to 5:00-5:30 AM, most nights waking once for the binkie (I'm contemplating weaning her off it). Naps: 45 min-1 hr in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon, 45 min in the early evening.
* Loves to give kisses (nice, open mouth, tongue kisses!)

We love this sweet girl!

Happy 6-month Birthday Sydney!

Happy Birthday to you...
         Happy Birthday to you...
                  Happy Birthday dear Sydney...
                           Happy Birthday to you!

Every time we sang that today she smiled and giggled! We have her well-baby appointment Wednesday so I will do a longer post then (or sometime in the near future...). To sum it up, we love our girl and she is growing and doing so many new things! She's becoming quite the fun little person!

Happy (Belated) Father's Day!

This is Kelley.

Husband to Joo Lin.

Father to two beautiful girls, Seoul & Sydney.

They made him sweet pictures to hopefully be treasured forever.

Seoul's picture has her hand prints with a corresponding poem.

Sydney's picture has her foot prints with a corresponding poem.

Both were decorated by Seoul.

He is the BEST!

Seoul and I made cinnamon rolls from scratch for breakfast. After a nice day at church, he generously shared his chocolate truffle candy bar with Seoul & I. (This is the epitome of his character... always giving and sharing and loving others.) Then I made chicken cordon bleu, noodles, and peas at his request. (There is always some sort of drama - apparently we left the potatoes at the store so he didn't get his requested garlic mashed potatoes - boo!). For dessert we had cherry cheesecake.

It was so great to honor and show our appreciation to the wonderful man in our life. I couldn't ask for a better husband and father!

A Day at the Coast

Funny: Days before we went, Kelley mentioned once to me that we should go to the beach, but he spelled the word 'beach' and whispered because Seoul latches onto everything we say. The next day she asked if I wanted to go to the beach with her. I was surprised! She had spread her blanket out on the living room floor and that was the "beach." Did she read our minds or did she learn how to spell beach?!

So, Memorial Day weekend we went to the beach.... down to Newport to hit up the Aquarium. It was fun! Seoul loved the water and playing in the rocks. She's a goof! We enjoyed the seals, the birds, and the fish.

We went to Lincoln City to play on the beach. Seoul had so much fun making a castle and throwing sand in Kelley's moat. I even got her to take off her shoes and step in the water, although she wasn't a fan of that. Then we hit up Mo's for their clam chowder. Yum!

It was a lovely day at the beach... the weather was great and it was fantastic to spend the day as a family!

(Unfortunately there are no pictures of the second half of the day because this is the day our camera broke.)

clarification

So for the funny (above), I realize I should clarify... Grandpa doesn't generally give Seoul crazy dangerous things for gifts. He got her a Baby Genius Pet Care Center. She latched on to the scissors and the thermometer initially, and they went with her everywhere for a while. Now she pretends to feed us popcorn from the bowl and likes to use the stethoscope on Sydney (which is hilarious to hear her say) to make sure she's healthy.

Oh, and as I looked for a picture to post I found out this was selected by Dr. Toy as one of the 100 Best Children’s Products 2009 in the Socially Responsible Products. There are lots of good reviews about this fostering imagination as well as responsible play interaction. Way to go Grandpa!

Seoul's Funny:
One morning she asked me, "Who gives me scissors for my birthday?" I told her it was Grandpa. She said, "Great job, Grandpa!" (very enthusiastically)

swimming like the fishies!

Seoul took swimming lessons and she LOVED it! First of all, she loved her Spongebob swimsuit. Second, she loved being in the water. What a difference one year makes... last year she cried almost every class at some point. This year she went under water, blew LOTS of bubbles, stretched out to swim on her tummy & back, enjoyed the floaty board thing, and even floated by herself with the noodle. She didn't so much like the life jacket. When Kelley did the sign language for "more" she would blow bubbles. It was a fun game between the two of them. Good times! We may do swimming again this summer for her, which would be another parent-child class. When she turns 3 she will have to swim by herself (with the instructor)... will she like that?

(Kelley and Sydney made all kinds of little friends while they watched Seoul swim.)

Ella got baptized!

Ella turned 8 years old and was baptized in May. What a beautiful young lady she is becoming. We are so glad to know her and be part of her family... we love her!

blessing dress pictures

I tried to take some more pictures of Sydney in her blessing dress. Let's just say I have no talent for being a "professional" photographer... I'm just a mom taking pictures of her girls. At least the girls and the dress are beautiful!

Behind Again...

We're keeping busy! The girls are growing! Kelley is working (a lot!) I am trying not to go crazy :)

Seoul still loves Spongebob Squarepants... this little Spongebob goes most places with us.

Seoul loves to "drive" - whenever we are in the car she asks, "I drive one minute, OK?"

Sleeping babies are so beautiful.

Love this mischievous face (and the one off to the side also)!

Already sassing me by sticking her tongue out at me! Haha!

What? Why do you put me on my tummy?!

Our happy girl... we love to play, play, play!

Big girl in the stroller...

Little girl in the stroller...

Love ya sis!

Chillin' together (you can't see but they are holding hands under the blanket).

The girls of the family :)

Seoul loves to sing these days... everywhere, anything.

Loving the swing, as usual!

So intent. We thought she'd be a thumb-sucker for a while but she hasn't lately.

Planting the garden... tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, and of course our strawberries are already in.