Guess who's 18 months old today??

I can't believe we have an 18-month old toddler in the house!  The past 4 1/2 months have had their share of ups and downs, but it has been a dream come true for me and Chris.  We have dreamed of having a child for years and J has just fulfilled that dream completely.

We love watching him walk all over the house.

We love his hugs and kisses.

We love the way he says "uh-oh!" when a timer goes off, or the cell phone beeps.

We love the way he waves goodbye with his arm stretched up over his head.

We love the way he squeals and gets soooo excited when he sees Dada come home and toddles over to him as quick as he can.

We love the way he laughs and giggles (it's very contagious!).

We love this little 18-month-old so much that words cannot express how very thankful we are that he is the one who came into our lives to complete our family.

We love you, Baby J!  Forever and ever and always.

(more pictures and video coming soon, probably after the Korean celebration this weekend.  J's Korean SW will be there, so we get to show him off to her and meet a lot of my blog friends in person for the first time...I cannot wait!!!)

What a difference a year makes

One year ago today, we received The Call about our Baby J.  I remember exactly where I was when the Brahm's lullaby started playing on my phone...the ring tone I gave to our SW.  And what a year it's been!  More waiting, picture updates, one written update, two baby showers, two new nephews, more months of waiting, and then, finally, that other coveted phone call, the one telling us that our son was finally ready to travel home!!  And now, four months later, we are finally starting to feel like parents to this wonderful little boy who came into our lives so sweetly.

We are so lucky to have you in our lives, Baby J.  You have grown up so much in the past year and we adore the little boy you have become.  We can't wait to see what the next year brings!

We love you, forever and ever and always.

Four months home!

Today marks four months since we brought Baby J home and we really cannot believe just how fast the time has gone!  So much has changed in our lives that some days it is hard to take it all in and really realize that he is ours, now and forever.  I sometimes find it hard to remember how things were before we brought him home; that is how much of an impact (obviously!) he has made on our lives!!  J is a super kid and no other one could have fit as well into our family as he does.
We think he's going through a growth spurt, as he is sleeping more and not quite as picky about his food as usual.  He has been sleeping through the night for the past week (knock on wood that I'm not jinxing us again) and some nights going 11 hours!!!  And I am super excited to announce that the past two naps and two nights that I have put him to bed, I have actually left the room before he's asleep.  This is a major milestone, as my leaving has been followed by either no crying or less than 5 minutes of the crying that says "hey, come back in here with me, but if you don't, I'll go to sleep anyway."  He seems to be liking his crib a bit more these days and is not terrified of being alone in his room.  When he wakes up in the morning, he'll now cry out a couple of times to tell us he's awake...if we don't get in there within a few minutes, then he lets us know that we're taking too long!  I can't wait for the day that he calls us by saying mommy or daddy, but that day will come and I'm trying to be patient!!
The poor boy is also cutting his top two canine teeth at the same time.  He has had one tooth or another (molars) coming in for the past 2 1/2 months!  No wonder he's picky about his food.  But other than that (and drooling buckets!!), he really is doing well with the teething.  Two more to go and then he's good until his two-year molars start coming in, right?!?!
Now for a bunch of cute pictures of our son...what, were you expecting otherwise?!

Giggles...

 ...kisses...

 ...and hugs with Grandma.

 Hanging out with Daddy watching football and using J's phone.

First trip to the pumpkin patch...loving the ride in the wagon!  Guess I know what will be on his Christmas list.

With his Illini gear on. 

Doesn't he look like he's about to get into trouble?!?!  I adore this boy!

Flying high and loving it with some help from Dad.

Sleeping in (until 7:40 this morning!).

Snack time on the stepstool made by Great-grandpa.

I haven't put in a picture of our first two babies lately.  Lexi and Jinx resting after a day of being chased around by a toddler.  Poor tired girls!

Lexi puts up with soooo much!

It's been a while!

So much going on and so little time to get to the blog these days!  I am back at work, which means J has started at the sitter's house.  I would give anything to be home with my son every day, but that is not feasible at this time.  :(  I know Chris has a hard time dropping J off because the. kid. is. smart.  The first day, he started crying only once Chris put him down inside the house and started leaving.  Now, after only 7 days going there (and they are sporadic, usually only twice a week and not the same days), he is starting to cry and shake his head as Chris pulls into their driveway!  Smart boy, but it's breaking Daddy's heart.  Note: our day care lady has said he is getting into playing quicker each day, which helps to know.

J turned 17 months old last week!  We can't believe it!!  He's still only saying a few things in English (uh-oh, hi, and I think he's starting to say "up"), but we can tell that he's understanding a whole lot more, so it's just a matter of time before his babble turns into actual words.  I cannot wait!!!!!  I asked him to open his mouth yesterday and then showed him what I meant, and he mimicked me right away, down to saying "ahhhhh!"  It was absolutely adorable!  And he giggles afterwards each time.  I love that boy.

My mom came up and stayed with us last week, as Chris was out of town for work.  J loved having his grandma here...on the second day, she started getting big hugs in the morning, which was amazing for me to see.  I have waited years to see my mom with my children and it's finally here.  And she was so excited too that I'm not sure who had more tears in her eyes!  Anyway, we had a great time with Grandma here, but were also very excited that Daddy came back a night early and was here when J woke up on Saturday.

Speaking of waking up (and I really really hope I'm not jinxing ourselves!), J has been sleeping through the night for the past 3-4 nights, maybe waking once to have his diaper changed but going back to sleep right away.  And then the earliest he's woken up for good has been 7.  One day I even got to sleep in until 8am; mind you, I had been sleeping on his floor since about 5:30 that morning, but who cares...8AM!!!!!

Now for the pictures and some video:

Day 2 at the sitter's, his binky and blanket at the ready.

"Maybe I'll feel more comfortable if I can hold J's hand."  Our sitter's older boy; her younger one is a week younger than our J!

Day 4: his big brother buddy.  Such a sweet picture!!

We tore out our old front porch and had a new, bigger one added.  We absolutely love it and wish we would have done this years ago!  We can even put the baby gate across the opening and let the dogs come out.  They love that!

Spent July 4-5 at Chris' extended family.  J was so taken with their cat and vice versa.  I think it's the first time he's seen one.  He was sooo gentle with it!  Can you see the one pointer finger reaching out?!

"Here kitty kitty!"

He was giggling uncontrollably.  He thought that cat was the best play thing!

Spent some time at a lake they have...

...looks like he's just floating in deep water...

...surprise!  Not even waist deep.  He was liking it for the most part until he went under backwards (by accident, people! I was right there, but he was slippery!) and then wanted nothing more to do with being in the water by himself.  He rested on my shoulder for probably close to an hour after that.

Getting to sit in the driver's seat of the ski boat.  Daddy kept a close eye on him so he didn't push that oh-so-interesting throttle forward that's on his right side!

And then great-uncle Donald let him help steer the boat back to the dock.  Wonderful, wonderful day!

This first video I can't get to turn vertically, so sorry about that!  But oh, so, cute dancing.  We went to a Jazz Fest in town and found out our boy likes jazz as well...although he will start dancing to almost any song with a good beat.

And this one was just a cute moment between Daddy and J.

Tomorrow, Chris' parents are coming for the day, so J will get to spend time with them.  I am putting together a small picture album for J of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins so that we can look at it frequently and he can at least get to know their faces.  I'm hoping this will help make him more comfortable with them when we all get together; I only have a couple more pictures to get and it will be complete.  He already likes to flip through the pages, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  

I'll try not to let as much time go past before my next post, but you never know!  Hope you've enjoyed this one and didn't get bored.

A kiss is just a kiss...NOT!

So as I was giving J some snacks today while playing, he signed that he wanted "more, please" and waited for the food to come.  I thought I'd try asking for a kiss before giving it to him (I know, I know, you're not supposed to bribe your kids, but I thought what the heck, it won't kill him to give me a kiss).  I also figured he wouldn't do it anyway, since he never has before, either of his own volition or when asked to.  Much to my surprise and complete awe, he came at me with puckered lips and pressed them to my own!!!!!  I just sat there for a second, not believing what had just happened, then started grinning and gave him a huge hug.  Of course, he got his snack for that.  :)  And when I asked for another one, it was a messy open-mouthed kiss with a kissing sound accompaniment.  I was thrilled!  Those are the only two I've received from him; usually he puts his forehead on ours and rubs it back and forth.  When Chris came home and I told him, he asked J for a kiss as well and got the open-mouth slobbery, lovable, can't-believe-it-happened one as well!  We know that this is not necessarily, in J's mind, a sign of affection and may just be something else that he has learned makes those big people in his life really silly and happy.  But we don't mind.  Mind you, we can't wait for the time that he is giving us kisses spontaneously.  We know this might be a while and, in the meantime, are content with the prompted ones.  Wa-hoo!!!!!!

loving the chocolate pudding!

tried going in the potty since he's like clockwork, but he didn't like it.  but not 2 minutes afterwards, he was going while he sat ON the potty...close is good, right??

just so ya'll know that he isn't always in a good mood!!  I usually try (unsuccessfully) not to laugh at this face...what a faker.  It's usually pulled out when he doesn't get something he wants.

can you see the pathetic single tear running down his face??

little stud man!!

I didn't think he'd do well with dipping the french fry, but he proved me wrong.  

3-month Family Day anniversary!!

So, yes, I've been a slacker for not posting anything for three weeks.  But I also have an excuse...actually, three excuses: week one, a sick baby.  The kind of cold where he woke up every hour or so coughing and we had to go in to his room to get him back to sleep; eventually, one of us would wind up sleeping the rest of the night on the floor in his room.  Does NOT make for good sleep for anyone.  Also, YOU try breathing through your mouth and keeping your binky in at the same time; a binky, I might add, that has to be in your mouth if you start waking up or else you cry and wake yourself up completely.  Week two: camping trip to our land with J for the first time.  It rained over half of the time we were there and every. single. night.  Good news from that: we found out that once J is asleep, not even a HUGE clap of thunder will wake the kid up (the same noise that woke up my husband who is a very heavy sleeper!).  And week three: well, I really don't have an excuse other than the fact I'm counting down the days to going back to work (sob!) and that J started with another cold a few days ago.  And so begins the sleepless nights again; great timing!

J also got to meet his cousins on Chris' side of the family at the beginning of the month and we got a great picture of the three boys together.  I just love this picture; he looks so comfortable with them!

Today is a good day to post since it has been three months since J was handed to us and we became a forever family!!!!!  I look back at the pictures and remember those days/moments in Korea and it feels like it has been forever since we were there, but it also feels like the time has flown.  I still remember our meetings with J so clearly, like it was yesterday.  I've been looking through pictures of when we first brought him home and in some, I can now see how scared he was, even though he never showed it through tantrums or tears.  So much different from the little boy occupying our house now; one that whines, cries, screams, and grunts when he wants something or doesn't get his way (for his own good, of course! ex: no, son, you can't eat the dog food).  I think he is able to do this now because he trusts us enough to show us his true feelings.  He is still not really saying any words to communicate with us, so I am hoping that this comes quickly, but I also want time to slow down so we can enjoy every last second with our amazing boy.  At times, I still can't believe he's actually, finally, here and just how lucky we are to have him as our son.

Now I'll leave you with some pictures I've taken over the past three weeks.  Enjoy!

helping Daddy pump up some tires

too cute!

Soooo jealous of those lashes!!!

Out strolling during good weather while camping

getting outside at the campsite

having fun in the camper during the rain

stopped at Chris' family's house on the way home

J's hanbok, sent home with us by his foster mother;

he'll probably be wearing this for a few more years!!

More pictures and video coming soon.  Bye-bye.

Wordless Wednesday - Little Fan