Two Things I Love...

baseball and Korea. This article about Shin-Soo Choo and his MLB career has both.

Wordless Wednesday (fun with Grandma)

Best.Day.Ever.

One year ago today, was one of the best days of my life. Yep, the day we got Gabe's referral. There are many exciting days with adoption, but referral day is the most magical, in my opinion. I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience that 'high.' The excitement of seeing OUR child and learning all that we could about him from the papers we had. All the clouds lifted, and there was our perfect baby looking back at us. Sure, in the next few weeks and months we had anxiety again about him coming home and all that we had to do. But on April 20, 2009...it was all about possibilities, love, joy, and peace.

I look at Gabe's referral picture now and it's funny to compare what I thought he'd be like to what he's actually like. We're far more lucky and blessed than we ever thought was possible.

Let's look back to the one of the best (in my humble opinion) 'throne' pictures:

Wordless Wednesday (red, white, and blue edition)

"17 months" by Gabe

Some of my friends have been posting lately so I thought I should get in on the action too. I turned 17 months on Saturday and I thought you would like to hear my likes and dislikes from my perspective instead of my mom's.

*Lately, the stroller as been on my nerves. I'd much rather run around and hang with my mom than sit still in the stroller.
*I really love those dogs. I never knew how many there were out in the world. Big or small, drooling or dry...doesn't matter to me, I'm gonna give them a hug and a kiss!
*After my breakfast, I like to take my sippy cup and feed whichever stuffed animal I bring down with me. They gotta eat too, right?
*I've gotten a bit obsessive about things being clean. I don't even want the smallest crumb on my hand or on the table. To let my mom know, I say 'uh-oh' on repeat until she fixes the situation. Then I like to take a paper towel and finish up cleaning for her.
*I am very aware of the 'edge.' If I'm going to climb down the stairs...I get down and scoot backward towards the edge from about 5ft away. You can never be too careful!
*I think I'm getting taller. I can now reach the counter tops and pull down anything that's close. Score!
*My throwing is getting even better. I've always been good with balls, but now I know how fun it is to throw my sippy cup. Man, can that puppy fly! Food is pretty fun to throw too.
*I still love my mom to hold me and when I want her to pick me up, I hold onto her legs, stomp my feet, reach my arms up and whine.
*I have a 'staring problem.' If I'm taking a walk with my mom and I see somebody doing something cool (like kick a soccer ball, setting up for softball practice, etc) I gotta stop and watch and watch and watch. Seeing new things is quite fascinating. I like to try to figure things out.
*I've started to get very curious in the store too. There are lots of shiny and interesting items. When I see one that I HAVE TO HAVE, I scream in my highest pitch so my mom knows I want it. Sometimes I can have it, but other times she says no.
*I'm understanding everything that goes on in my world and what people say to me and you know what? Things are pretty good around here!

Going Out

Saturday night a group of us went to see the documentary Going Home. The movie follows the director, an adult adoptee, as he goes back to Korea to meet his birth mother.
The 5 of us went through quite a bit of tissue during the 73 minute film. Though the movie is pretty emotional and heavy, there are light moments as well. We all felt that the movie struck a nice balance between his life with his very supportive parents and friends along with meeting his birth mother. The movie doesn't minimize or glorify either piece of his life. There were certain moments in the film that really spoke to us as moms to Korean adopted children and we hope that we learned a little something to tuck away if/when our sons decide to search for their birth families. We all agreed that it was a must watch for parents through adoption. I don't want to say too much about the film, in case you are lucky enough to see it.
Afterward, the director and producer were there for a Q & A session. They hope to find a distributor to release it on DVD. We went up to tell them how much we appreciated their film and what a great job they did. They were both very gracious.

Here we are with the director and the producer:

We then headed for drinks and a nice dinner at Atwood Cafe. And as we are accustomed to with this group...closed the place down.

Have I mentioned how much I love my posse?

White Sox Winner!

Happy Opening Day to You!

Easter and Eggs

We had a very nice Easter on a lovely day. First we headed to church to meet Dave's aunt and cousin, like we do every year. I was worried about how Gabe would behave in church, but he did pretty well. The only time we had to take him out was when he would screech because he liked to hear his voice echo.
After church, we all went back to our house for our traditional bloody marys and light breakfast. Of course, we had to hide the Easter eggs. Gabe LOVES eggs and was saying 'guh' all day long. We are old school and use real eggs for the hunt. Once Gabe found an egg he would smash it, then run off. He wasn't letting go of his 'guh,' until he realized there were more eggs to be found.

I found one...


Ooooo, another one...

I'm keeping this one...

You can't catch me...

Well, here's another one...

I'll just put them nicely in the basket...

He was definitely tuckered out after that and took a 3 hour nap. When he woke up, we headed to my mom's for a wonderful dinner.

Hope you all had a happy Easter!

Passover

Gabe his had his first round of Passover Seder's this year. After being sick last week, he was thrilled to get out of the house and charm some of his relatives. The first night he had a ball! I've never seen him so 'on,' before. He loved spending time with some relatives he hasn't seen as much, running around their spacious home, and playing with his cousin's very pretty and friendly dog.
The second night at his grandparent's home was a little harder for him. Partying 2 nights in a row is tough on an adult, much less a toddler. He rallied though and had fun with his cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents.
Last year at this time, we didn't even have his referral and this year he was sitting at the table. What a difference a year makes!

Here are some pics from the first night:

Sitting at the table waiting for dinner with his cousin

Fun with the beloved dog

It's hard to see, but he's kissing her


Gabe LOVES dogs and any soft pets. He's not afraid of them AT ALL and goes right for them to hug and pet them. He's quite gentle with them and just lights up when he sees a dog. Gabe had a dog in his foster home, Kodong. I am so thankful that he did, since I think that helps him appreciate and love animals.

Second Hand Post

Sorry I've been such a lame blogger lately...I will certainly get back on track soon. Poor Gabe has been sick all week, the first time he's been sick-sick since he came home 7 months ago (today!). Coughing til you puke...not fun. Turns out he has either bronchitis or pneumonia. Hopefully his antibiotics kick in today. So today's post is piggy-backing on 2 other people's posts.

First, my friend Rachel recently posted an amazing photo series from her trip to Korea. She is a great photographer and I love the poem that develops from her captions of the photos. For those of you that want a nice flavor and feeling of Korea, or those of you that dream of Korea and can't wait to go back (that's me!) check out her awesome post.
Well done, friend.

Another blogging pal, Elizabeth, runs a cat rescue. She does great things for many kitty cats. She recently got a call about a poor cat that had been shot in the face! This adorable kitty (who looks a bit like our cat) is getting some much needed surgery to repair her jaw. If you would like to help Ms. Ida B or any of the other cats Elizabeth rescues...here is the link to her organization, Tenth Life.