(April and) May Flowers

In looking at some of our pictures from the last month or two, I noticed I had a lot of flowery photos. So I thought I'd share ...


Grammy with her beautiful Mother's Day roses from Robin and company


Kate enjoys picking flowers (and weeds, too). :o) Here she is with a few of her selections from Grammy and Grampy's yard. She picked these for Grammy. :o)


My great-grandmother (my mom's father's mother) had beautiful irises, and my mother still has some blooming in her yard. Here are a few blooms. The iris is the Tennessee state flower, in case you didn't know. :o)


Speaking of irises, here is Kate with some special irises at Mrs. Sandra's house in Tennessee when we visited there earlier this month.


A very special flower garden in Mrs. Sandra's backyard

Back in Georgia ...

Kate and me (and Isaac's picture in the background) on Mother's Day--the flowers behind us were brought to the crawfish boil the day before by Don and Celine (THANK YOU!). :o)

And the following pics were taken in April. Kate got pretty used to posing in front of (or behind ... or in) some blooms as we went out of the house ...

Adoption Update: I-600 Approval, EP Submitted & WBC!

This has been a great week!

Yesterday we received our I-600 approval in the mail! This is BIG news! I cannot emphasize my excitement over receiving that document. Our I-600 was officially approved on May 26th. Now our file is on its way to the National Visa Center, where it will be logged in and out soon.

On the Korea side, Isaac's file was submitted to the ministry on Thursday, May 27. This is for his emigration permit, which can take several weeks to receive. So this is another big hurdle that we need to cross, but it's great that our case was submitted. YAY!

There are still several more steps in the process, and it will still be a few months before Isaac will be ready to travel. And we know that anything can happen in the meantime to delay his arrival even more--but we are VERY thankful for this progress! Thank You, Lord!

In other news, we received another WBC (Well-Baby Check) the other day. Isaac continues to be healthy and well--and he is consistently described as "cute and handsome." :o) We received the WBC on Thursday (May 27) for his appointment that took place on Tuesday (May 25). Until they are about a year old, babies typically go in for a WBC once a month at Holt. After their first birthdays, they continue to receive regular check-ups, but they might be a little less frequent. (This is based on information I have gathered from the boards and other online sources, etc.) Anyway, when the foster families go in for these monthly check-ups, they usually take updated photos. However, the photos are usually e-mailed to the adoptive families a little while later (like a few days or a week or so), after the WBC reports. So we should receive a new photo maybe next week. I hope so, anyway!

I will keep you posted!

P.S. Also this week, some friends of ours here in the ATL area got the WONDERFUL news that their son will be coming home in just a few weeks. We are so excited for them! YAY!

Koreans and Vitamins

I shared this on one of the message boards I frequent. There was some conversation about gifts for foster families in Korea, and the topic of Koreans and vitamins came up ...

In case you don't know, my DH is Korean. He was born in Korea, but his family moved here when he was 2 years old.

We visited Korea back in 2005 with his mom and his brother and his brother's family. DH has lots of extended family in Korea still, and we stayed with some of them while we were there--and some of them traveled around with us during our vacation.

While we were in Korea, we flew to Jeju Island, which is a very popular tourist destination. My MIL apparently set all of this up with help from her family. We had our own bus for our family group and a schedule of stops and things to see, etc. I typically had no idea what was in store for each day but was along for the ride--and enjoyed it!

Anyway, one day we ended up at this orange grove place. There were lots of plants and greenhouses, etc., etc. Then everyone (lots of people, not just our group) was herded into these rooms where you listened to a long presentation about these natural vitamins. It was all in Korean--so I don't know what all was being said--but it was like an infomercial IRL. It seemed to go on forever. Then, when we thought we were free to go, we had to exit through ANOTHER room, where we were supposed to sit down and listen to more sales pitches. In this room is where everyone placed their orders, if applicable. DH and I (as well as my BIL and SIL) were astonished at the sight of all these Korean people whipping out their wallets and ordering up all kinds of vitamins--and they were not cheap! To top it off, I turn around and my MIL was getting some. LOL! She even joked with us, saying that they probably don't even do anything but she wanted to get some anyway. (She is an RN, too.) We just found the whole thing very interesting and kind of amusing.

If I remember correctly, my MIL bought some of these vitamins as gifts for some of her family members, too. It was crazy how fast these things were selling. I also thought it was funny that this was a destination on our tour of the island. It kind of reminded me of one of those time-share things, but we didn't get anything out of it for attending the meeting. hahaha

Since then, I have seen various vitamins and such from Korea at my in-laws' home. They really do LOVE those vitamins.

A Rainy Afternoon & One Umbrella's Story

It was raining yesterday afternoon when Kate woke up from her nap. I asked her if she wanted to go outside and splash.

"Please!"

I got busy rounding up her rain coat and cow boots (which live right by the door these days--she loves those things!), and then started looking for that kiddie umbrella of ours. You know, the blue one with Mickey Mouse on it.

There's a story behind that umbrella.

Back in 2001, I was going to be in New York for work during the holiday season. My schedule had me there over a weekend, and it just so happened that Tanna's schedule would allow him (and another friend of his) to be there, too. The funny thing is ... we were just friends at the time. We weren't even dating or even discussing it (at least, not between ourselves).

Tanna and I had seen Les Miserables in Knoxville earlier that year, and we'd both expressed interest in seeing it in New York before the show closed there. If I remember correctly, word on the street was that its Broadway days were numbered.

Well, guess what?! I scored us some tickets on eBay to a Saturday-night show. During the holidays. I think we had something like fourth-row seats! We were so close, we could see the performers' spit. Seriously. It was awesome. (The performance, not the spit.)

Anyway, there was a bit of drama leading up to the show because Tanna was driving up to the city that very day (from D.C., maybe? I can't remember where he'd been). Anyway, he ran into some traffic and was running behind schedule. At one point, he wasn't sure he was going to make it in time. But, thankfully, he did!

Then, on the way to the theater, it started raining. That's when Tanna bought this Mickey Mouse umbrella off of a street vendor. I am pretty sure he bargained down the price, but I can't recall the details. Anyway, we were laughing that we were all dressed up and on our way to see a Broadway show ... with this Mickey Mouse umbrella in tow--but, hey, it was keeping us dry! It did its job and became a fun memory of our time together in New York.

I held onto that umbrella, and it has stayed with me since. Mostly, it was stored in an umbrella basket in the hall closet of whatever apartment or condo I happened to be renting. It lived with me in Boone, North Carolina; moved with me to Charlotte; and then eventually relocated with me to Roswell, Georgia. And the umbrella has shared an Atlanta address with Tanna and me since our 2004 wedding. From time to time, I considered giving the umbrella away or donating it to Goodwill, but I continued to keep it around, not bearing to part with it. I even wondered if one day, perhaps, one of our children might use the umbrella.

And that day finally happened.



Thank You, Lord, for my husband, for fun memories, for rain, and for a daughter who loves to play in puddles.

_______

P.S. Found a pic of us with the umbrella from back in the day ...

FDNY Fire Zone

FDNY's Fire Zone is part hands-on museum, part safety display, part retail store. It's a great place to visit--especially for children--and is conveniently located in midtown at Rockefeller Center. It's not a big place, so watch closely for it because I could totally see someone walk right by without realizing it.


Inside is a big fire truck for kids to explore. They also can try on turnout gear, but Kate wasn't too interested in that.


She did take a turn at the wheel, however.

Just a few minutes after we arrived, a bus pulled up outside the door--field trip! Because the rooms don't have a lot of extra space (for a large group of children as well as a curious toddler), we moved into the next room to do a little shopping.


Checking out the cool stuff before a field trip commences ...


Look at the wall of patches--Kate was very tempted to pull them off.


More cool patches in the next room ...


... and even more!


My BIL Steven is a volunteer fire fighter, and he had requested a new FDNY shirt. This is where I bought it--I wanted to be sure it was the real deal. The store area had a nice selection of shirts and other FDNY memorabilia and fire-safety merchandise.


Window display

Admission to FDNY's Fire Zone is free. A fire-simulation presentation is also available for guests who are 5 and older, and the charge for that is $6 ($2 for seniors 60 and older). I think this outreach to the community is a wonderful thing, and I am glad we got to visit. Thank you, FDNY and all the fire fighters out there who serve their fellow citizens.


Store hours and such--for more information, check out www.FDNYFireZone.org.

P.S. Please make sure you have working smoke detectors throughout your home.

Central Park

Here are some photos from time spent in Central Park earlier this month ...






















Mr. X enjoyed his time in Central Park, too!

Zoo Trip with Amelia

I started this post yesterday (Monday), but I didn't finish it until today (Tuesday). However, I am dating it for Monday. TIA! HTH!



Kate was so excited to have Amelia visiting today, and I realized that I still needed to blog about her *last* visit, which was back in April! Amelia lives in Tennessee and is my friend Kristi's little girl; she and Kate are just a little more than a month apart (Amelia, not Kristi ;o)). Anyway, when Amelia and Kristi were here last month, we took the girls to the zoo one day. It's hard to believe that we'd never been to the zoo together before, but we hadn't! The girls wore their cute "silly monkey" shirts--which were quite fitting for the occasion, don't you think?


Kristi rented a double stroller at the zoo so the girls could ride together. (They enjoyed walking a lot, too.)


It must be nice! ;o)


They also wore their cute backpacks. Here they are in front of the giraffe statue.


Meerkats


Showing off their panda stamps


Bubble fun with Mrs. Kristi


Riding the zoo train


One of Kate's favorite things these days--the playground!


Group shot in front of the flamingos before we left

Bedtime Stories

For several days, Kate has been sleeping on the floor, using a mat from Aunt Robin. You can't see the mat that well in the above photo, but it is really cute and has an attached pillow (covered up by Kate's big pillow). It has been cracking us up, but Kate has been preferring the floor to her bed. Tanna says she is sleeping like a true Korean!


I think this is the day it started. She actually wanted to take a nap in her little pink chair by laying sideways with her legs and feet over an armrest. LOL! I told her no, but gave her the option of sleeping on the nap mat from Aunt Robin. Sold! This was a ways into her nap, and she obviously had scooted off of the mat by this point. ha!


In other bedtime news, Kate has been wearing her first nightgown--and it has chocolate-chip cookies on it. YAY! This photo is from April; it was the first night she wore the nightgown. After I put it on, she asked for some pants to wear with it ... so I put on these purple leggings. She was pleased.


Here is a pic from the other day, when she wore the nightie again. I had already bought the two-piece PJs in this print--but in a size 4, for later. In an ah-ha moment, I realized the bottoms would work with the nightgown as well. The size 4s aren't too terribly big, even, as the Gymmies run kind of small IMO. I can't believe our little girl is growing up so fast!

As for additional bedtime stories ...

• Bedtime includes getting PJs on, brushing teeth, story, prayer, hugs and kisses, making sure the nightlight is on and that Kate has her sleeping necessities (see below).
  
• Kate usually sleeps with two pacis (at least), a sippy cup of water, and her two special blankets--a pink/multi-colored blanket that my friend Kristi made for her before she was born, and a white chenille blanket that Sandra, a special friend from my church in Tennessee, gave us at a baby shower.
  
• Kate was sleeping with her Yo Gabba Gabba figures (including an extra Foofa), but in the last week or so hasn't been requesting them if they weren't in her room already.
• When Kate isn't listening well or not obeying her parents, she starts to lose her bedtime privileges, including storytime, pacis, water, etc.
  
• After bathtime but before getting her PJs on, Kate has been asking us to wrap her up like a baby. I'll swaddle her up in a towel and then hold her like a little baby. She thinks this is hilarious.
  
• When we moved to our new place, we never hooked up the iPod player in Kate's room. She used to listen to lullibies and other music before falling asleep. We just never got around to getting it set up. She doesn't seem to miss it, really.
• She has started sleeping with a nightlight--it's a ladybug nightlight that she knows how to turn on and off.
  
• She likes to have the doors closed before going to sleep. She likes the doors closed in general, actually.
• Her nighttime requests include "blanket on" if she has gotten uncovered.
• Before bed, she likes to "give Ah-Pah a big hug and a kiss." (Or Mommy, if Ah-Pah happens to be doing bedtime.) It is the sweetest thing, though she will make multiple requests even after giving us hugs and kisses. Nice stalling tactic. She knows how to work it. LOL!
• Speaking of hugs and kisses, Kate likes to run at full speed into our arms and fall over and get a kiss. She calls this a "big bounce" or a "big bump." It is so funny and sweet, too. She will go over and stand with her back against a wall and just look at you, and you know what is coming. LOL! She especially requests this at bedtime. It started with just her and Tanna, but I have been participating as well. (Though it probably is more fun with Ah-Pah because I am just not as strong as he is. hahaha!)
  
• She loves stories and will request to have more and more stories at bedtime (and sometimes at naptime, too, though we don't normally have a story before nap).
  
• Kate loves to look at books right before falling asleep. Sometimes during naptime, she won't fall asleep, but she is pretty good about looking at books quietly in her room for an hour or two.

First Crawfish Boil @ The House

A few weeks ago, we had some friends over for a crawfish boil--the first one at our new place. (In the past, these have been at Tanna's parents' house because our previous residence was not conducive to having something like a crawfish boil.) Tanna had been planning and looking forward to it for a while. For his boils, he has crawfish shipped in from Louisiana and wondered if the tragic oil spill there might be a factor in deliveries, etc. For now, as of a couple of weeks ago, everything was A-OK with the crawfish. When FedEx delivered them Saturday morning, he was happy!


Cleaning and inspecting the shipment


Jane and Jeremy brought us some housewarming laundry detergent--love it! Thank you! (Do you like our grip-and-grin photo?)


Kate was so excited to have a play date with Jasper!


They both like to line up things. :o)


Food's ready! Jeremy is so funny!


Getting ready to dig in--Don, Tanna, Jeremy and David. Friends since high school.


Kate and Jasper having some chocolate-chip cookies. Yum! See the beautiful flowers in the background? Those are from Don and Celine--thank you!


Jeremy the bartender. hahaha


Enjoying a second round


Getting some more play time in. "We're playing!" Jasper exclaimed.


A kiss goodbye