A Crab in a Crab Pool...uh oh!

Ryan and I had a fun day!!! I love summer time and I am so glad it's finally getting hot out! We spent a lot of time outside today. Almost every day I lay a blanket in a shady spot on the grass for Ryan and I to sit on. Cooper usually joins us too! I bring out toys and treats for Ryan and a magazine for me and he sits and plays and I lay there and read. It's so relaxing! Being that he hates the grass he won't leave the blanket which nice too. Ryan and I also took a trip to Target today so I could buy him his first baby pool. On hot days like today it will be nice to cool off in a little pool! They had this crab pool and I thought it was so cute for him. I mostly liked how it has a canopy to block out some of the sun. I had to wait until my husband got home from work for him to blow it up and at this point it was getting close to Ryan's bed time so he was getting a little "crabby". I sat him in the pool without water just to see his reaction. The pictures say it all...







Let's hope he will enjoy it when it is filled with water. He loves his baths so I am hoping he will love his pool too!

Almsot Wordless Wednesday....Home Two Months....

Two months ago today we walked off that plane with our little peanut. It breaks my heart to see how sad and scared he looks in this picture.

Fun at Grandpa & Grandma's

Today was a good day. Actually the whole weekend was so nice and relaxing. Today we spent the day at my parents house and Ryan was such a good boy given that he didn't have his afternoon nap. We went for a walk, had a typical summer bbq dinner of chicken, corn on the cob, and mash potatoes, we played outside, and went to our favorite dairy farm for ice cream. I love watching Ryan be happy and enjoy himself too. It really was a good day and these are the days I have waited for for a very long time. There are still some days that I find it hard to believe that I am actually able to experience such joy from a child. I love seeing Ryan be happy and content and finally feeling like he is completely adjusted to his new life. He has some off days just as any chid does but overall he is a very happy little boy who has made me a very happy mom!

New Shoes!

Ryan finally got his first pair of 'real' shoes. His grandma F was nice enough to buy him his first pair. We actaully went to a few places and all of the ones we liked they didn't have in his size. So, we found this nice pair on stride rite's website! A good pair of walking shoes sure doesn't come cheap considering he will be grown out of them in a blink of an eye! I feel like he looks like such a big boy wearing them. SO cute!





Other than a new pair of shoes there isn't a whole lot to report. My husband had to make his first business trip to D.C. since we've been home from Korea and I'm not going to lie, I was really dreading this week. It turned out to not be so bad after all. Well, Tuesday we had a REALLY bad day but yesterday and today have been wonderful! Joey will be back home this evening and things can go back to normal for a while now. I survived being alone but I really don't like it. I much rather have my husband here with us. We all missed him!!! Now we have a nice weekend to look forward to!

Front Door

Ryan LOVES to look out the front door. Every time it is open he crawls over to it and stands on his tipy toes to look outside. He actually does this every morning after Joey leaves for work. It's so cute. He just stands there and babbles while watching cars and people pass by. He even gets a look of disappointment on his face when I have to move him and shut the door.

11 Months!

Today our sweet little peanut is 11 months old. I HATE that he is growing so fast. I wish I could freeze the time and make him stay where he is for just a little while longer. He has been so much fun over the last few weeks and is learning and growing very quickly! I can't believe one month from today we will be celebrating his 1st Birthday. We have actually started preparing for his party...ordered chairs, tables, and started making towers out of oatmeal boxes and different colored beans.

Here are 11 things about Ryan....

*He crawls VERY quickly.
*He has gotten very fast at pulling himself up and will hold onto something with only one hand.
*He loves to eat...eats pretty much everything minus noodles. Hates them!
*He just got tooth number 8!
*He says, mama, dada, ba, ga, da, na, ah, and a bunch of other sounds. He is a talker!
*He is very good whenever we are out in public.
*He loves going out to dinner
*He claps, waves (sometimes), gives hugs, and kisses
*He loves his blanket or anything soft and will put it up to his nose when he is tired
*He is enjoying bath time. When he hears the water running he crawls to the bathroom.
*He is much better at getting dressed and undressed

Here are a few pics from today...

Mother's Day!

Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of getting married someday and having a family of my own. Even though things happened a little different than I once pictured, I couldn't be happier. In fact, I am so glad that things happened the way they did because I have been blessed with the most wonderful son. Today was my first Mother's Day as a mom and it was great. Ryan was great even without getting a nap. We even went to church with my family this morning for the first time since we've been home from Korea (yes, I know we have been bad) and Ryan did great in church too. We then went to my parents' house and spent the day there. Ryan was a very happy baby today and there were several times he would just started laughing for no reason.

I loved watching Ryan feel so happy and content around my parents, grandma, and siblings. That right there was such a wonderful Mother's Day gift in itself. Today was a great day and I couldn't be happier. I loved being with my family and being with my son. My first Mother's Day was one I will never forget. Being a mother has changed my life and is truly the greatest blessing!
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!!!!

Here are a few pics of today...unfortunately my sister and her boyfriend had to leave because my sister got tonsillitis...Yikes!!!!

Visiting Great-Grandma(s)

Today Ryan met his great-grandma V for the very first time. She is 92 years old and lives in a nursing home with dementia. It is incredibly sad to see her. It makes me so sad that she will never know Ryan and Ryan will never know her either. He will never know what her 'hard' chocolate chip cookies or pastina tasted like. He will never get to see for himself what kind of grandma/great-grandma she was and how she made the simplest things seem so much more than they really were. He will however hear all about her from me and I will share so many wonderful memories that I cherish with my grandma V with Ryan. I'm glad that he was at least able to meet her. When she first saw him she said, "that's your baby from Korea." How the hell she remembered that is beyond me. Funny how the mind works.... Or doesn't work :(








After visiting my grandma at the nursing home, we drove to my other grandma's house. Ryan's other great-grandma , who is an active part of his life and ours is moving out of her home that she has been in for over 30 years. This home once belonged to my great-grandparents so it has been in the family for a very long time. There have been SO many memories at this house throughout my life it was so hard to say good-bye to it. I walked into each room with Ryan and found myself hugging the walls and tearing up knowing that I will never step foot in that house again. Everything is out of order and packed away and Salvation Army was there taking away pieces of furniture that have sat in that house for years. Almost every Sunday throughout my life my grandma and her sister would cook dinner in her basement for the entire family. At noon on Sundays we all gathered in the basement to feast on some of the greatest meals ever made!!!! Today was Ryan's first time at my grandma's house and will be the last. He will never experience what a Sunday dinner in my grandma's basement was like. That too made me sad. Next week my grandma will begin her knew life in Clarkston. In just a few short weeks her new home on my parents property will be complete. Ryan will begin making his memories at her new home and that makes me happy. I want Ryan to spend as much time with my Grandma K so he can get to know her and what a wonderful grandma she has always been to us.

Here is Ryan at my Grandma's house for the 1st and last time...



I am happy that we spent time with grandma's/great-grandma's today but both visits were much more sad than happy. Life is about moving on to the next phase. Sometimes that phase is difficult. That's life though!

Waving and Sharing

This weekend Ryan started doing two new things...Waving and sharing his food. We have been working on waving hi and good-bye everyday and this evening while he was sitting in his high chair he started waving to himself. It was SO adorable. The funny thing is, is that he waves with one hand and tries to clap with the other. I love it!!!! I have also been working with him on sharing his food with me when he is eating. I ask him if mommy can have a bite or piece of whatever it is he is eating and I would take whatever was in his hand and bring it to my mouth. Today while eating his watermelon I asked him if mommy could have a bite and he picked up a piece of watermelon and put it in my mouth. I was so excited!!!! He did the same thing to his grandma when she asked for a piece of watermelon too! I love the fact that he is learning new things but I love even more that he is starting to understand what I am saying to him. Watching him learn is so rewarding.

Here is a pic of him waving and clapping at the same time.

Red, White, Blue and Cooper Too!

Today we bought Ryan his first American flag that will be used as a prop in his photo shoot next weekend. Cooper and Ryan were both very interested in the flag and both wanted to chew on the wooden stick. My cousin's husband will be shooting Ryan's 1st Birthday photos next Saturday and one of shots will be of Ryan in his Hanbok holding an American and Korean flag. Well, that's the plan anyway. I can't believe next month my little boy is going to be turning one. It makes me a little sad because I feel he is growing up SO fast and slowly becoming less of a baby. Either way, I am so blessed to have him in my life and each day I realize this more and more. He is such a sweet little boy. I also want to acknowledge how wonderful Cooper is with Ryan. He is so patient and loving toward him. In the beginning Cooper seemed to be the one annoying Ryan now Ryan is the one annoying Cooper. Kind of cute.
Here are few pics!