Holiday Fun

I can't believe the holidays are over already and the new year is here.  Thanksgiving with Chris' side of the family at his brother's and then Christmas with my side...at our house!!  Thankfully, they all made it into town before the bad weather hit.  And wow, was it ever a white Christmas here!  We are glad that everyone was under one roof and safe and that we could all be together for the holiday.  And talk about a full house, but it was so much fun.  J and our nephew, C, had a good time playing together and we got to watch the babies crawl around and pull themselves up on the furniture.  I think there were even a few v-e-r-y tentative steps from one of them, you know, until he fell because he couldn't believe he was standing on his own!!

One of the recordable storybooks that J's godparents sent him.  Similar to the one we sent over in one of our first care packages for him.  Whenever he hears their voices reading the story (especially his Uncle Pat's), he gets a big grin on his face!

J is learning to give hugs and is so adorable doing it.  Here he's giving his cousin J a hug...from that facial expression, looks like my J may be squeezing just a little too tight!!

...although that same expression was seen quite often, even without getting a hug!  I think he is starting to be aware of his tongue.  Either that, or his parents are teaching him to mug at the camera!  hehe

Older cousin, C, had a good time getting to know J a bit better.

His little brother, E, was a jolly little elf during the day!

Christmas morning

The four cousins; this was the best picture I could get and it turned out pretty well!!

Relaxing with daddy.

One of my Christmas presents from my awesome hubby!  Exactly what I asked for (gotta love those Ama*zon Wish Lists!!) and it's been great for my music-loving child.  Now I don't have to go turn the big stereo on; can just punch the button and we've got tunes!!  Plus, we can play his Korean music CD that his foster mother gave to him.  So wish I could find some more of them...any suggestions?

My Christmas present from J, with a little bit of help from Daddy.

This was a great gift; I almost started crying when I opened it!  It's so unique and incorporates what our family now represents.  Can you see the outline of South Korea within the US and the Korean flag in it as well?  Perfect.

The weekend before Christmas we had a friend in town from PA with his family.  He was the Best Man at our wedding.  J took to him pretty well.  Maybe because he has a cute little 2-year-old princess that J got to play with all afternoon?  Hmmmmm...

J's first sucker.  We had gone to apply for his SS# and the man who finally helped us asked if J could have a sucker since he'd been such a good boy (we waited for about 45 minutes and he played quietly the whole time.  I'm so proud of him!).  Once we got home, I told him he had to stay sitting on the couch and he did; does this child know how to relax or what?!  With the belly hanging out and everything!  

Playdate with our friend, J.  The table and chairs were actually passed on to us from this family.  We really love the set...thanks!!

It has been a great holiday season to top off an incredible, life-changing year!!!  Hope everyone had a safe and blessed holiday.  We couldn't have asked for anything more...uh, well, maybe for less sickness in the house...you know who you are, people!!  Glad you're feeling better.

Such a slacker!

First of all, happy 20 months to our little boy!!  You are growing up so fast...slow down, take it easy, we want to savor every moment and hold it, and you, close!

Okay, wow, have I really been out of touch with the blog for almost two months?!?!?  There really is no excuse, other than we've been so busy that when there is down time, the last thing I feel like doing is getting pictures ready for the blog...and now that I am, Photo*shop won't open on our new computer!!  So I'm going to write this in hopes that my dear husband can fix the problem this week and I can add the pictures later.  (He updated the software and yay...no more problems!!)  Forewarning: this post is overflowing with pictures and video.  :)

November 5 - it's official: we finalized J's adoption into our family!  We couldn't have been more excited, although he took it in stride.  Afterwards, he gave the judge a hug and a kiss!  What a sweet boy we have!!

Here are some more of our family pictures, from one of the locations.  I don't have very many of them downloaded yet, so there will be more to come in the future.

Thanksgiving was quite fun this year, what with it being the first big holiday that we got to spend as a family of three...and that includes traveling as a family of three and getting first-hand knowledge of just how. much. stuff. you pack to go and how much MORE stuff comes home with you!!!  We went to Chris' brother's house Wednesday-Friday of Thanksgiving week.  As soon as we got to their place, J HAD to open all his gifts and the child did not get to bed until 10pm!  I don't think he's been up that late since we've been home with him.  But he enjoyed it and loved playing with all his new toys!   Then the whole family went to a huge indoor water park near their house through Sunday.  The kids had a blast.  It took J a little while to get used to it, but he did have a good time...so did Mommy and Daddy on the slides for the grown-ups.  Oh, and I got to go see Burles*que with my two sisters-in-law...awesome movie...and the soundtrack, wow!  It's on my wish list, but all sold out.  :(

J's first piano.  He loves all the prerecorded songs to dance to!

A workbench toy with lights, songs, and buttons...heaven.

Tired out Thanksgiving morning.

Found them this way at home one day after naptime; doesn't look like they're done yet, huh?

With grandma, grandpa, and cousins

Kisses for Uncle Pat

A few more pictures of my little boy growing up.

being sooo gentle with Lexi!

in Mommy's shoes

chillin' during a football game

He looks so much like a little boy in this picture; he's growing up too fast!!

in Daddy's shoes

We raked more leaves and he got to play in them.

Getting into places he's not supposed to be.

yes...the dryer.  and yes...I watched him climb in, just to see if he would actually do it...then had to pull him out screaming and crying because he wanted to stay in it!!  Bad Mommy.  :)

J was being very quiet (never a good sign with him!) so daddy went to investigate what was going on...we have a fearless climber on our hands.  gotta keep a close eye on this little guy.  yikes!

kept on playing so we weren't aware he was up here, but he was having a great time!

Dancing, dancing, and more dancing...this boy has some moves!

Just some general silliness.

What a goof!

A bite from my donut...

...and then a bite from Daddy's donut!  Both yummy!!

We bought our Christmas tree and decorated it, with J's help, of course.  He had finally gotten the hang of taking the ornaments from Mommy and giving them to Daddy to hang on the tree, only to come back to me to find out all the ornaments had been hung.  Needless to say, he got a little crabby because HE was not finished decorating!!  Ha!  We've been snowed and "wind-ed" in the last few days here; rain on Saturday turned to ice when the temps dropped overnight and then snow Sunday on top of that with a LOT of wind.  Monday and Tuesday brought negative wind chill, so we are just snuggling down inside and trying not to go stir-crazy.

Sunday was a great family day, just the three of us.  We did brave the cold and wind and bundled up for a quick walk to the store for more stamps for Christmas cards.  When we got home, we started a fire that we had burning all day.  Our little man already knows that he is not to go near the fireplace when there is a fire burning; he stands back with one hand up and says "ot!"  That's right, sweetie-pie, it IS hot...he's a genius!!  J was in a good mood all day with barely any fussing, ate well all day (for once), and took almost a 2-hour nap!  All in all, an awesome day.  I'm looking forward to many more like that one.

Remind any one of a certain Christmastime movie???

And for some Christmas fun, we are hosting my family this year, which has grown by three people since last year.  It will definitely make for some good times with two toddlers and two babies crawling around!!  Any ideas on some yummy, but quick, breakfast breads for the occasion??

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkin Carving and Family Pictures preview