All In a Day's Nap

What do you do during your child's nap time? Do you catch criminals, like me?

Here's the (brief) summary:
During Gabe's nap today, I heard and saw my neighbor's car getting broken into and called 911. The cops caught the criminals based on the description I gave. I then had to identify them to be sure it was the right guys, while another neighbor sat and watched Gabe's monitor. The good news is that my neighbor got her GPS back and looks like these repeat offenders will be going to jail. Not sure if I'll have to testify or not...but this crime stopper (aka McGruff) plans on keeping her streets safe!

This all happened and I made it back before he woke up...all in a day's nap.

Keeping it Going

After the great weekend with my fellow blog-moms, I was really hoping that this could be the start of some great friendships. So, yesterday Gabe and I hopped in the car early and drove out to see our friends Kris and X. It was so fun and easy to sip coffee and chat while the two handsome little boys played with Mardi Gras beads and ran around the house.

Busy boys...


Then we all bundled up and headed to lunch. After sitting in the high chairs for a bit, the boys need to run off some energy in their cute, matching coats.


Thanks for the hospitality, K & X! The time went by way too fast....

Wonder Walls

I realize that taking pictures OF pictures is probably something I would only do if I had a blog. And, well since I do...I thought I would share the pictures we ordered from our photographer, but show them hung up. I was afraid we went overboard, but our designer friend said "it's your kid...you should have lots of pictures of him up."

Above his toy chest:

In our living room:



Going up the stairs:



We also hung in his closet a very cute baseball bat coat hook:

But here is my favorite recent wall hanging. If you remember, my friend Sue's adorable son chose my name in her Hanbok holder give away.



I'm so thrilled that Gabe's beautiful, special Hanbok is finally on display in his room. Every time I look at it, I just smile.

New Jeans

I knew Gabe was on the cusp of a clothing size change. But I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I looked at the pics from this past weekend. Check out poor G-Money in his floods, though his friends didn't seem to mind:


So, I busted out the next size yesterday and then hit the store for 2 more pairs of jeans. MUCH better here...

It inspired me to clean out some of the other 'cusp' clothes in his drawers and closet. I can't believe it's time to move to the next size. Kinda sad, but exciting that he's growing too. Look out 18-24 months...here we come!

Friends in Real Life...

that started from blog life.

One of my blog friends had the great idea of having a 'get together' in Chicago for a group of us that regularly comment on each others blogs and know each other in the blog world. We had a fabulous time catching up, chatting and of course laughing. Saturday afternoon we met at the hotel, most of us without our husbands and kids, to meet and have a baby shower for the 3 that are still waiting to travel for their babies.


We then headed to Ben Pao for a girl's night out with fun cocktails and good food.

We finally left when they were literally sweeping up around us. Back at the hotel we had some more wine a few more laughs. Those of us (ok, me) that are the sensible kind and like the morning, hit the hay around 1:30...the rest of those jokers turned in around 4.
Sunday morning was time to meet up with the babes and their dads at the Shedd Aquarium. It was so fun to see all our boys exploring the museum and having fun together.







Everyone really got along and seemed to click well together. It is so fun to start new friendships at this stage of my life. There are certain topics that we were able to be candid about with each other, that only we understand. It was refreshing and exciting to have a natural connection with such a great group of ladies.

Korean Tea

Most of my blogger friends/fellow moms to Korean babies have recently gone crazy for the newest Tea collection of clothes, since this season's inspiration is Seoul. I mean, how can you not go crazy for these cute Korean-inspired clothes? Even if your baby is not Korean, the clothes are really cute, especially the girl stuff. I've gotten this catalog for years, and always kind of dreamed of being able to dress my baby in them. We did get one outfit for Gabe as a gift...but he's got a few more coming soon from the new collection.

Here he is wearing the Tea outfit he already has:

Wordless Wednesday

14 Months Today!

Has it really been another month?! Here's your "What Gabe's Been Up To" update.

*He absolutely loves to help out. He hands mom the pillows when she makes the bed. He will get his plates and sippy cups and place them on the table. He will basically hand anyone anything if you tell him to.
* His latest word is 'car.' Many words are 'ba,' including: bath, ball, banana, bottle, etc. He is starting to try to say his name with 'Ga.' He says 'mama' and 'omma', 'dada' and 'pa', which I think is his version of 'appa.'
*Since about 13 mos he has gotten pretty cuddly. He will lay with me on the bed or sit with his dad on the couch. He also gives kisses and hugs and will come in for a cuddle, unprovoked or provoked, often.
*He still loves his food. Anytime he's fussy, just give him some food and he's happy. He also wants whatever you're having. He's started to want to use utensils on his own. He also likes to place the food ON the spoon...this is a guaranteed toothy grin.
*Speaking of teeth...he has a ton coming in right now, too many to even count. He's handling it well though.
*He loves to show you his teeth. Just say 'teeth' and he'll open his mouth wide.
*He loves to get his dance on. Anytime he hears music, anywhere (commercial, tv show, radio, etc.) his arms start to flap and you may even get a spin.
*Uh-oh or 'uh-uh' as he says, is still in heavy rotation. I've even heard him babbling that in his crib. He also tries to clean up his mess or his 'uh-uh', either on his high chair or if milk or water spills out of the sippy cup.
*He loves to be chased. When you catch him, he squeals in delight.
*Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is currently his favorite book. If you say 'brown bear,' he'll repeat back his version. He will then go find the book, hand it to you (even put it in your hand), then climb in your lap.


We just love our sweet and precious little boy...it's hard to imagine life B.G. (Before Gabe)!!!

Snow Day

We got a lot of snow today and one of the joys of being home is being able to shovel (no, I'm not kidding...I like to shovel, plus more Dave time when he gets home) and of course to enjoy it with Gabe. He likes the snow, but in smaller doses...about 20 mins max. He likes me to throw snow balls at him, he likes to watch me shovel and of course to eat the snow.

Gearin' Up...

Gettin' out...


Face towards the sky, letting the snow fall on his face...

Walking on the now clean sidewalks...

Diving right in...

Why I Stay 'Public'

This is a post I wrote about 2 mos ago but a few of my friends are struggling with this now, so I thought it would be a good time to post it.
Recently, I've seen a lot of discussion on whether or not to keep a blog public or to make the move to private. I respect the reasons why people go private, but I wanted to write a post explaining the reasons why I've stayed public.

1. When we started to look into adoption, the different blogs were such a beacon of hope for me. It was so helpful in our process to see what others had done, how long things took, and of course the sweet babies at the end. I hope that I have provided that hope for other waiting moms that need that little support to get them through. It can be intimidating to ask for an 'invite' to a private blog of someone you don't know at all, so I'm thankful to all those that were 'public' when I needed it. So, in a way, this is me paying it forward.

2. The connections made have been wonderful. I've met amazing friends through my blog, that I'm certain I would not have met if LBOS was password protected. Also, people connect to each other through our blogs. I know a reader of mine was connected to her child's foster family through my blog. I'm glad that LBOS was able to help make that connection.

3. I write my blog for people to actually read it. If someone cares enough and sometimes enjoys what I have to say enough to keep coming back, I'm appreciative and flattered by that and I don't want to make it more difficult for them to do. Well... it used to be more about what I said and now it's more about the pics...but I'm ok with that (and still flattered). If some of my casual readers didn't know much about Korea or adoption and they learn a little something or view Korea or adoption a more positive way...that's only good for my family. Sorry to say, but I don't read the private blogs as much, since it takes an extra step and sometimes I just forget.

I think that people have security concerns and that is understandable. I purposely leave out certain info, just in case. Or sometimes people want to be more open with their thoughts and feelings and get a little uneasy with so many 'unknown' people knowing intimate thoughts. I totally get that...I'm not trying to convince anyone to go public if they feel uncomfortable, just trying to give some 'pros' to staying public.
Ultimately, I think that the people that read my blog are doing so for good reasons, I don't think anyone is reading LBOS in a sea of millions of blogs with bad intent. Maybe that's naive, but so far, I have no reason for concern. I do reserve the right to change my mind though if that changes :)
Blog on...

Teething Tips

For those of you that don't have a Jewish mother-in-law (or mother) to give you good tips...I'm happy to pass this one on. My MIL gave me a bunch of frozen mini-bagels for Gabe a month ago for when he's teething. He didn't need them then, but right now his teeth are hurtin'. He's not too fussy, but you can tell they are bothering him. Enter the frozen mini-bagel. Just hand him one and he instantly calms down. It's a great idea because it's easy for his little hands to hold, feels good on his teeth and he gets a little snack.

Here's some pics of Gabe and his mini-bagels:






May be worth a try for those struggling with teething now. Even if you don't have a Jewish deli nearby, a bakery may have them.

Speaking of Fun Hair

Reading the comments from the last post and remembering Gabe's referral pic, got me thinking that I should really post his Korean passport photo. *I think* This was taken in mid-July when he was 8 months old.

I wouldn't want to meet this guy in a dark alley!


Anyone else have fun passport pics that they would like to share?

Fun with Hair Gel

Ever since we got Gabe's referral picture, I have been dying to spike up his hair. I was hoping he would still have some natural mohawk happening when he came home...but no such luck. Now that he has the slightly shorter 'do, I thought this was the perfect time to fire up the baby hair gel. I was not shy on the amount I used and we did get some spike happening.

Here's the results:


It was cute and fun to play with his hair. However, he has SUCH thick hair and so much of it...it wasn't easy to get to stand up. Next time we'll need the big guns...big people hair gel.