NYC: American Girl Place

I wasn't sure if we'd visit American Girl Place while we were in New York--only because there is an American Girl Boutique and Bistro not too far from us. Plus, Kate hasn't really gotten into AG just yet. But with the NYC AG store so close--and some time on our hands--we decided to stop by.


Loved this window display!


We got there not too long after opening on a weekday, so the place was not crowded at all. And it's HUGE--a lot bigger than the Atlanta-area store. Check out the store directory above. We enjoyed exploring the different floors.


Mr. X was with us--he enjoyed meeting lots of pretty ladies!


All sorts of fun stuff


More retail area


This one's for Abigail--check out the pets. :o) And this isn't even all of them.


You can have a custom T-shirt made for your AG doll.


Some of the T-shirt options


Photo studio


The doll salon area


There is even a doll hospital!


Sweets for the sweet!


Kate had fun in the Bitty Baby area.


Trying out some of the toys


Giving this double stroller a test drive ...


Here we are with Lanie, the 2010 Girl of the Year.

Cow Appreciation Day Outfit Ideas, Post 1

Cow Appreciation Day is fast approaching! The annual event--during which Chick-fil-A gives customers sporting cow attire free food--is set for Friday, July 9. That's next week, people! To help you get prepared for the big day, I have a slew of ideas for your get-up. Here are just a few ...

The concept here is investing in a cow-print item that is practical--something you can use for just more than CAD each year. Feel free to google these things to find online retailers.


Apron--wear this all year long in your own kitchen, and in July wear it to CFA for some free chicken!


Nursing cover--the cow-print might be a little too much for such an item ... but this works!


Bib--for the little ones ... or maybe for the parents, too ...

More to come!

A Few Random Things about Kate

I have various scraps of paper around the house with random things about Kate scribbled on them. Tanna likes to make fun of them--and of me--when he runs across them ... and just whenever, really. Before these little notes take over the place or are lost forever, I thought I'd try to record a few things ... so here are some random things about Kate ...

• The girl LOVES to jump. And jump. And jump some more. She loves to dance, too, and say, "My name is (insert random name or various words here). I like to dance." Just like on Yo Gabba Gabba (one of her favorite shows). She has taken to jumping on our bed lately--and I finally just let her, at least for a little while. She would jump all night if we allowed it. Her face gets all red, and she gets so hot and sweaty ... but she just keeps on jumping and dancing. As she dances, she likes to listen to music--a recent favorite is "I've Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. LOL!
  
• She still loves to draw and color and paint and do various artsy/crafty projects. She is getting pretty good at drawing. She will say she "need(s) to write something down." She also can write a few letters ... E, F, H, T, L, O ... and a few more. She tries to write others, too. She loves to doodle and draw smiley faces (still), crosses, boats, water, eggs, shapes, etc., etc.
• Kate has become attached to her little Bibles lately--particularly the pink one. She has a few of the Gideon-sized New Testaments. She has been sleeping with the pink one the last several days. So sweet.
  
• Her vocabulary continues to expand, and we are amazed at the things she says ... and remembers! We are so thankful.
  
• I think I mentioned this before, but after bath she loves to be wrapped up like a baby (swaddled) in a towel. Then she likes to be carried around like a little baby and she will ask the person who is putting her to bed to "go show everyone your little baby?" Hilarious!
• She sings songs now and remembers the lyrics really well. In the last week or so, she has been watching Miss PattyCake's "God's Great Big World" and likes to sing the song about Baby Moses in the basket as well as "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," which she also sings at church. So cute to see her do the hand motions and sing all by herself, though she does like for us to sing sometimes, too.
  
• Kate likes to sit with me at the computer and watch YouTube videos. Sometimes we watch videos of her, and sometimes we watch videos of her friend Amelia. Then we also have several other favorites, including a lot of videos about the alphabet and numbers and colors and ...
• Monkeys Jumping on the Bed! Kate has a YouTube video of this that she likes to watch over and over again. Oh, and lately she has been saying "Five little Kates jumping on the bed ... one fell off and bumped her head, etc." as she literally jumps on the bed. So funny.
  
• Sometimes in the morning, I will let her eat a Pop Tart breakfast up in our room and watch television. That's how we stumbled upon the show "Super Why" ... because we don't have cable upstairs. Anyway, for the longest time, Kate kept saying "PRESTO!"--but I couldn't figure out where that came from or where she'd heard it ... until one day ... when we were watching "Super Why." :o)
• She likes to test us. She will put something where it doesn't belong (like a pen or magic marker lid or a puzzle piece) and say "this goes here" or "this goes there" and then look at us just to see if we are really paying attention to what she is doing. hahaha

I have a bunch more, but this is an OK start. More to come!

Speaking of jumping, here is Kate outside a jumpy bouncy house recently. A nearby church had a children's event a few Saturdays ago, and we stopped by for a little while. Kate had so much fun!

CAJA! & Calling DC about Our P3

Thought I'd share a brief update about our adoption process. We continue to hope and pray that Isaac will be home before his first birthday, which will be in September. We are currently waiting on our EP (emigration permit), which will grant Isaac permission to leave South Korea and emigrate to the United States. I have read that the emigration permit is not the actual travel certificate (which is similar to a passport)--but it is permission to process the application for the travel certificate. Confusing enough? I know.

Isaac's documents were submitted to South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare (the governing body that grants EPs) on May 27. From what I have learned, EPs are approved in batches, and our approval should be coming soon. Although some folks get their EP approval quicker, they seem to be taking an average of about six weeks or so lately. As of yesterday, it's been four weeks since Isaac's EP paperwork was submitted, so hopefully we'll get an e-mail with good news soon.

The thing is ... not much else can move forward until we have this EP approval. Everything that can be done on the U.S. side (up until now at least) has been done, so we are waiting on the Korean government. CAJA, people! CAJA! (That means "LET'S GO!" in Korean ... although you might see it spelled "GAJA! GAJA!" as well because the first sound is kind of a mix between a hard "c" and a hard "g." You hear people saying that a lot in Korea, and Tanna's dad says it all the time, too. But I digress ...)

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Now ... about the P3. "P3" refers to a packet of paperwork that the U.S. Embassy in South Korea sends out to the adoption agency in Korea. The agency completes this paperwork--which has to include the EP--and then returns it to the U.S. Embassy, which then schedules a visa interview (embassy appointment) and so on and so forth. The P3 should also include important documents such our birth and marriage certificates, I-600, I-864, etc., etc.

The U.S. Embassy sent our P3 to Holt on June 8--and we are still waiting for it to be returned. But it can't be returned to the embassy until we have that EP. And even though our agency should notify us when we receive EP approval, we can call the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC, to check the status of Isaac's visa. The kind folks at the State Department's Visa Office can look up our case and tell us when the P3 was sent, when it was returned, when the visa interview is scheduled, etc., etc.

However, right now, all they can tell us is that our P3 was mailed to the adoption agency (Holt in Seoul) on June 8. I called earlier this afternoon, and the nice lady that I spoke with said they are waiting for the "packet 3" to be returned before they can assign an interview date. I knew this already, but some people can get some great information by calling DC.

And DC doesn't mind your calling. Literally. Just like at the NVC, everyone I've spoken with in DC has been extremely helpful and polite. The first lady I spoke with told me I could call every day, no problem. I am so grateful for the wonderful information I have learned from the adoption boards and blogs I read. Otherwise, I would not know how to call to check on these things.

Anyway, in case you were wondering, here is how you call DC about your P3:

• Wait about a week after you are "NVC out." Before the U.S. State Department will be able to track your file, your information has to be sent from the NVC to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
  
• Call DC at 202.663.1225. To bypass all the various recordings and options, you can push 1 and then 0 (although I like to listen to them sometimes).
• You will be connected to a visa specialist. Have your SEO number--given to you by the National Visa Center--handy because that's how the visa specialist will look up your case.
• If the U.S. Embassy in South Korea has received your file, then DC can tell you when your P3 was sent to the Korean agency.
  
• DC will also be able to tell you when your P3 is returned and when the visa interview is scheduled, etc.
  
• The visa specialists in DC are known for their politeness and friendliness and do not mind to check on your case, so don't feel bad about calling. As I mentioned before, one lady I spoke with told me I could "call every day, no problem." And that is a quote!
• A little later in the process, the visa specialists will be able to tell you when they see your child's photo in the system--and this is when you are getting really, really close to a travel date! (I am still learning about the photo thing.)
• If anything here is inaccurate, etc., please let me know, and I will make the necessary adjustments. Thanks!
  

Kate's VBS Memory Verse: Matthew 22:37

NYC: Children's Museum of Manhattan

The morning of our last full day in NYC, I decided to venture up to 212 West 83rd for a visit to the Children's Museum of Manhattan. I'd been considering taking Kate there while we were in the city, but then when I realized there was a bee-bim bop activity (as part of the museum's celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month), I was all over it! (However, I will say I thought there was going to be a little more to the project, but that's OK. It was still very cute.)

Anyway, Kate thoroughly enjoyed herself. I thought that maybe our membership to the children's museum here in Atlanta might get us in for free, but I found out that the level at which I renewed said membership was not quite high enough. Last year, however, we could have taken full advantage of the reciprocal program. That's OK, though, because regular admission to the Children's Museum of Manhattan is even cheaper than regular admission to the children's museum here, if you can believe that! (And you can ... because it's true.)


After a looooong walk and a little bit of drama in finding the place, we arrived ... and with plenty of time to make a bee-bim bop collage. Pretty cute! (Bee-bim bop is a Korean dish.)


Here's Kate working on her craft. Another idea to go along with this would be to somehow incorporate the book Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park.


This sand area was a hit! I really liked the layout of the museum. There were different floors, and this particular floor featured activities for the little ones. (The main-entrance floor had exhibits for older children.)


I thought this huge Lite-Brite-like toy was pretty cool.


Here's Kate having a ball!


Colorful blocks


FDNY truck


On the next floor down, there was a really neat Dora and Diego exhibit.


We were actually almost ready to go when I realized there was a whole water-play area outside.


There was lots of fun to be had, for sure!


This girl loves to splash and play in the water.


She didn't want to leave. I must say, it was a very cool setup.


This contraption was really neat--the kids could follow little floaty things all the way down the tubes (or whatever they are) to the end of the line.


Getting ready to leave--yes, there was a meltdown (or two) ...

Kate and I highly recommend the Children's Museum of Manhattan!

Picking Up Our Giant Mr. X (YIIIPPPPPEEEEE! WE WON!)

So if you are my friend on Facebook, you may have noticed some ... ummmmm ... interesting photos I've been posting in the last few months. They're photos of Mr. X--the shaggy, sweater-wearing blabla doll--and some of his travels and adventures with our family. You see, blabla was holding a contest to win a giant Mr. X (which, by the way, retails for about $400!). Contest participants took photos of Mr. X for a chance to win this awesome prize. Here's part of the original contest announcement from blabla: "We would love to see your favorite funny photos of Mr. X! Hilarious hijinks will ensue as each day we choose a winning image, and that lucky blabla fan will receive a Mr. X key chain! On June 1st a Grand Prize of a Giant Mr. X ... will be awarded. Enter often for your chance to win this fabulous furry prize!"

I was so excited to read this contest announcement because this Flat Stanleyish type of thing is right up my alley. Plus, I am a genuine Mr. X fan--I seriously have loved him since I first saw the cool guy a few years back. So I started snapping photos--and I entered often, as we were encouraged to do. Some of my Facebook friends weren't quite sure what to think as new Mr. X pictures were posted along the way--but that's OK. I had a lot of fun, and family and IRL friends enjoyed the Mr. X adventures.

We took Mr. X to Tennessee, to New York City, to the beach. In fact, he was on national television a few times when we visited The Today Show and The Early Show (posts on these visits to come). Mr. X visited several Atlanta attractions as well. The guy sure gets around!

Anyway, long story short ... we won the contest! Yiiippppeeeee! Kate and I went to the blabla store to personally pick up the new addition to our family last week. What a joyous occasion! A visit to the blabla store is always delightful, and we enjoyed our time there the other day. We brought Mr. X home, and he is currently set up in the playroom, ready to greet guests who enter our home.

THANK YOU, BLABLA!


Getting acquainted


Mr. X rides shotgun.


Almost ready ...


Mr. X is buckled up for safety!


Giant Mr. X @ his new abode. Kate put the smaller Mr. X on top of his hat--LOL!

My Hallmark Ornament Picks for 2010

Have you seen the new Hallmark Dream Book? It's out and about--you can view it online or pick one up at your local Hallmark Gold Crown store. Then you can sit back, relax and preview this year's Hallmark Keepsake ornaments--and make your wish lists, of course! The big ornament premiere weekend is coming up--it's July 10 and 11. Back in the day, my siblings and I would visit a few different Hallmark stores to shop and to participate in their premiere festivities. While we might not be that hardcore these days, it's still fun to pick out a few ornaments that we might add to our collections. Here are my picks for our family this year ...


Yay for more vintage Little People ornaments! This airplane one will be perfect for Isaac, who will be taking an extra special and very long plane ride this year (and sooner rather than later, we hope).


And the schoolhouse one will be great for Kate's collection. She'll be attending preschool again (although a different one than before) starting in the fall.


I love this one for Isaac.


And this one has Kate's name written all over it!


I LOVE photo ornaments. I would love to get this one as well as the one at the top of this post. Can't wait to see a family-of-four photo to display on the tree. :o)

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Here are a few others I like. Not sure if I'll get these, but here they are for honorable mention ...


I think this one is sweet for obvious reasons.


You can display a small version of your child's (or your own, I guess) artwork in this neat ornament.

What are your favorites?