Here We Go Again!

Buckle up everyone, we're on the adoption train again. Yes, that's right we've signed up to adopt another baby from South Korea! We are ridiculously excited. Here's what you want to know:

* Though you can never really predict when a referral will come, our agency is telling us late summer/early fall next year.
* We are requesting a boy. We always thought we wanted a boy and a girl, but after lots of talking and soul searching...our hearts kept leading us to another boy.
* Things have changed with international adoption in Korea since Gabe came home. Without going into (boring) details, it is taking longer for children to come home. Gabe came home after 4 months of waiting and was 10 months old. This baby will probably come home about 10 months after referral and will be about 15 months old.
*We will go to Korea again to bring him home. Right now, we absolutely plan to bring Gabe with us. He will probably be 3 1/2 when we travel.

We are so thrilled to be adding another baby to our family and a little brother for Gabe! Thanks for all your support since we started this journey a few years ago, I know we'll need you this time around too. So...let's hit the road together!

Another Year of Wedded Bliss

Happy 7 year anniversary to these two crazy kids...



Love ya, babe!

A Great (Birth) Day!

I promise that this is the last post about G's birthday.
Aunt Bari took the day off on Gabe's actual birthday and we had lots o' fun. The first stop was to his gym class. Gabe absolutely loves his gym class, and so do I. It's tons of fun, he gets to run around, he learns things, and he adores his teacher, who loves him return.
Then we headed to a train diner, which was also a big hit. Gabe likes trains, but not like some of his friends, but he still loved it. After a big lunch, we were off to a local park. He had a great day with his favorite aunt doing some of his favorite things.


Balancing with his favorite teacher:




More fun at the gym:

Jumping with Bari:


Riding the train (coincidentally) at gym class:

Off to lunch:


More fun on this train:



Swinging so high at the park:

Oooooooo:

Ending the night with dinner, dada, and a 'musical' card (his favorite):

Lots O' Parties

Gabe is such a special guy that he doesn't just get one party...he gets two! The first party was for family, 35 adults and 12 kids. He had a great time, knowing all the fuss was for him. He was on a cake and present 'high' all night. The second party was a playdate party for 7 of his friends and their moms. Both parties had a football theme and Gabe was decked out in his Bears and Illini jerseys. I lost my camera midway through the first party so the pics are minimal. At the second party, my good friend Kris took the reins and took awesome shots!

Party #1...

The birthday boy waiting for his guests:

Decorations:

The 'tol' table:


Present time:


Assembling the new grill with Pops and Bari:

Party #2...

Two lovely moms:

The kids played amazingly well together:

Lunchtime:



Cake time:


Is Gabe trying to tell Kris something?:




Present time:




Thanks to all the friends and family that made it out to celebrate Gabe's birthday!! We love you all and are so blessed to have so many great people in our lives.

2 years old!

Just like that, Gabe is two!
Here are some of his wonderful ways (brace yourself for some bragging and some boring facts unless you really love him):

* One of his favorite games to play is 'family band.' After dinner he passes out the instruments: mom on the keys, dada on the drum, and Gabe on the guitar and the harmonica (he thinks he's Bob Dylan). We then have a jam session while Gabe sings. At the end he raises his microphone and says "yeah!"

* The one sure fire way to calm him down is to recap his day. I've been doing that for 6 mos, but it still works like a charm. He loves a 'cap.'

* He has a 'movie night' most nights in his crib. He takes his stuffed animals and they all sit there against the back of the crib, his blue blankie over all of them and they watch the aquarium at the other end of the crib.

*Another funny thing we see him do in his crib on the video monitor is he piles up all the stuffed animals and blankets, stands up and says "two, go" and then he jumps and plops down on the pile.

*He is very chatty and is repeating everything, usually the last word in a sentence.

*He loves letters and can recognize almost every one. He'll pick out his faves (B, M, O, E, P, big G) regularly on signs, sides of trucks, book titles, etc.

*Drawing has recently become a very fun activity. He'll 'draw' eyes, trees, letters, etc.

*He's shy around new people, including fellow toddlers. When a toddler comes at him, he does NOT like it. I think the 'unpredictability' of his peers scares him a bit. Are they going to take my toy? Push me? (both of which obviously happen in toddler-dom).

*He's 29lbs and 35 inches tall...approximately 75 percentile.

*He's still very much a mama's boy. He'll stay by me when we are in a store or walking down the street, not in an anxious way though. He loves other people, but it's very rare that he'll choose to spend time with someone else if I'm available.

*He puts his hands behind his head when we change his diaper, in the high chair and even on the couch (a glimpse of my future teenager).

*He's a gentle boy. He often hugs and kisses his stuffed animals, he climbs up on the couch to cuddle with me to watch tv or read a book. He gives kisses and hugs to all his loved ones and he's gentle with animals, especially the Po.

*He has a great arm...he throws very accurately and far. He has since he learned to throw around 11 mos. No matter where we are...the park, his gym class, at a friend's house...we always get a comment. And not in a faux compliment way, but in a "whoa...he has an arm" kind of way. He's equally good at hitting a ball off a tee. Look out White Sox!

*On that topic, he's really strong. He can carry an 8lb gallon of milk, no problem.

*"Bye" is heavy in his vocabulary. If he wants juice and I say 'no,' he has to say 'bye juice' in order to move on. He also uses it when something is off that he doesn't like. For instance, if mom is holding a baby or has her hair in a ponytail, he walks right up, points to the 'problem area' and says 'bye' in a very strong voice.

*Whenever I'm asked to describe Gabe's personality, I always say that he is very much a boy with a soft center. He's brave and tough, but also very gentle and kind.

Happy Birthday to the best 2 year old a mom and dad could ever dream of!!!