once upon a time...

there was a boy who said, "chay-yah!" and sat on his faithful dog.


his sweet dog remained patiently still as her boy giggled at his own cleverness.


then the boy jumped up and down on his dog, shouting, "CHAY-YAH! CHAY-YAH!" and thought it was great fun.


and his momma said, "no more!" but the boy said, "mo more?"


and the boy smiled to try and charm his momma.


his momma's heart fluttered when she saw that smile, and she briefly considered letting the boy continue. but it was to no avail, because the boy's dog ran away and decided she didn't want to be a chair after all.



the end.

hmmm...

there seems to be something amiss with this fire truck.


well, crikey! i think i shrunk it!


appa! i shrunk a fire truck!
-you did??


uh-huh. but it's okay, who need fire trucks when you've got hugs?



*clearly, these pictures were taken before the great hair makeover of 2011 ;).

laters, lovely locks.

well, folks, the inevitable has happened.

choi boy got his lovely locks chopped off. and not just a trim, mind you.

no, no, it's a full-blown hair makeover.

and makes me sad because he looks like such big boy now. :(

i reeeeeally wanted to keep cb's hair long because he has really gorgeous hair that falls so nicely, but the poor kid was sweatin' up a storm in the hot weather and was getting all kinds of gunk in his long hair from playing (rolling) outside. so, i sucked it up and agreed to give choi boy a short cut for the summer.

now, you may recall how choi boy's last haircut went down. 'twas not so pretty.

this, time, we wised up and headed over to a salon that specializes in children's haircuts. i was a wee bit (okay, a lotta bit) nervous because i knew some mommas had taken their kiddos to such places only to have the trip result in totally botched up hairstyles. but, i brought a picture as a reference and hoped for the best. or at least hoped that it wouldn't be the worst.

choi boy was not too happy about the whole situation, but we had him sit on his appa's lap, turned on some d0ra, gave him an elm0 toy and a lollipop and he settled down.

he still wasn't thrilled, but he tolerated it and kept a very close eye on what was going on.


after a minute or so, relaxed for a bit as inches of hair (sniff...) fell from his head.


he even played for a little,



and caught up on some d0ra.


when the haircut *still* wasn't over, choi boy got a bit suspicious and kept alternating between checking himself out in the mirror,



and giving me pleading looks of desperation.



cb *nearly* lost it when he realized his lollipop was covered in hair.

(and, i may or may not have swept in and gotten the hair off by licking it and spitting out the hair. may or may not have.)

by the time the magical glowing clippers (yes, they glow, that isn't my flash reflecting in the mirror!) came out, cb had had enough and was DONE.

and thankfully, so was the stylist.

phew!

and the result (as momma looks on with crazy eyes)?

total big boy look.

sad.

choi boy was thrilled to be done and zoomed next door (hence the blurriness) to the toy shop to give hugs to his pals from the street.

seriously, who is this preschooler in that picture?!

i have to admit, choi boy still looks pretty darn cute (in my humble, unbiased opinion, of course), but man, now that he doesn't have the long hair to balance out his cheeks, they look HUGE!


it'll definitely take some getting used to...this morning when i went to scoop cb out of his crib, i had to do a double take because i had forgotten what he looked like with this new hair!

sigh.

hair.

at least it grows back.

whatnot wednesday.

it's wednesday! you know what that means...crazy, nonsensical drivel smashed together in one happy post -- whoohoo!

*so, you know how p0ttery barn kids monograms anything and everything? and you know how they show examples of this in their drool-worthy catalogue? well, choi boy's first name is all over their newest catalogue. i think they pick a handful of boys names and girls names each season and use those names to showcase their monogramming super powers. anyway, i'm not so sure how i feel about this. i LOVE cb's name and picked it because it was classy and fairly timeless, as well as unique but not weird -- or at least that's what *i* like to think. ;) but now that it's all over the pb kids catalogue, i'm worried that cb's name will skyrocket in popularity and suddenly he will no longer be the only kid (or at most one of three kids) at school with his name. am i letting too much ride on this one little catalogue? probably. am i totally obsessed with and possessive over names? totally.

*i blame this on the jennifer and michael phenomenon of the late 70s and early 80s. i had THREE jennifer b.'s in my class (jen, jenn, or jenni, if any of you happen to be reading this, hi there! hope you are well!). i also blame this on the strange popularity of the name "grace" within korean circles in the late 70s and early 80s. i think i was one of 6 korean girls at school with that name. when talking about one of us, one would *always* tack on our last names to make the distinction. i couldn't stand that. and because there is a very finite number of korean last names, i knew several graces that not only shared my first name, but also my last name. not cool. because of that, i swore that my children would have unique (but cool) names so they wouldn't have deal with the, "grace? grace who? grace kim? lee? park? chung?" kinda questions. seriously, not cool. i guess i could i have just stuck with unique and named cb something like "batman" (the hubs' serious contender for cb's name. i'm not kidding). maybe if we have a choi girl one day, we can call her "princess consuela bananahammock." :)

*you know how i know i'm getting old? i love going to f0rever 21 and finding cute, trendy pieces that are cheap and i don't feel guilty about buying. but, now, when i go in, i have to seriously brace myself to deal with a) the loud music b) the disarray and c) the half-my-age girls squealing, "ohmygosh, that. is. SOOOO cuuuuuuuute!!!"
oh, and i find myself tut-tutting and shaking my head at the pieces labeled "dress" that i really think should be labeled "shirt."
perhaps i shouldn't shop there anymore...

*the main road leading to our neighborhood is being repaved. the poor repaving guys have had to contend with the crazy spring rain we've been having so it's been taking extra long for them to finish. because of that, there have been no lane markers on the road for the last week. so, the busy road that ususally has three lanes on each side is now just a big fat stretch of asphalt. it reminds me of that seinfeld episode where kramer makes the "extra-wide" lanes for driving comfort. remember that?
but, amazingly, all the drivers on our road have maintained the three lanes on each side, even with no lane markers! sometimes, it boggles my mind at how dangerous driving really is and that it takes a lot of trust in random strangers following arbitrary driving rules. you know what i mean?

*while we're on the subject of driving, is it just me, or do other people also have uncontrollable urges to jump out of moving cars and roll down the hill off the highway? no? or what about the uncontrollable urge to take your purse and knock down all the fancy plates in the china shop? anyone? no, really, anyone? am i the only nutball in the house? should i see someone about this? is it an indication of suppressed anger? or, do i just watch too many movies?...

*one last little morsel of randomness for you.
last week, the hubs was away at a conference and came home with a little bat and ball set for choi boy. of course, my ball-obsessed little guy was over the moon about his new gift! but, here's what he did as soon as we opened it an handed it to him:

did you see that crazy smacking-his-hand-with-the-bat threat thing he did? i swear, i have no idea where he picked that up.
no idea.
no, seriously, i promise the hubs and i don't walk around the house smacking our hands with two-by-fours or clubs like members of angry mob.
PROMISE!


happy wednesday! come out and join the whatnot wednesday party with elizabeth!

scheming.

choi boy and my dog are scheming against me.

i just know it.

look what i stumbled upon yesterday:

"hey, piper, i heard umma has these things called 'cookies' up on the counter. i'm pretty sure if we work together, we can get them. huddle up. here's what we'll do. you run to the left and start barking like crazy..."


"...and then i'll move in from the other side on my toy car, stand on it and swipe the -- hold on, we've got company."


"act normal, piper. just play it cool."


"hi, umma. we're just hanging out. okay, bye."


"...she's gone. so then i'll grab the cookies. hello? piper? are you listening? are you in or what?"


"stay still if you're in."


"okay, cool."

"...and, break!"



dude.

i'm in for some trouble.

at-dye!!!

remember how i mentioned how much choi boy loves to go outside? all day long several times a day, choi boy grabs the door handle and shrieks "at-dye! at-dye! at-dyyyyyyyyyye!!!" (that would be "outside"), while looking at us with his big, pleading eyes. and by the way, we now need to keep the door locked at all times because cb has learned to opened all the doors in the house. lucky for us, he hasn't learned to lock and unlock the doors. yet. and goodness me, i hope he doesn't. for a VERY long time.

anyway, as long as it's not raining or nap time or meal time and we don't have to be elsewhere, we'll usually comply and let choi boy outside for a romp.

and what does cb like to do while he is in the great outdoors?

hmmm...

well, for starters, just sittin' in the grass is quite lovely.


as is rolling in it!


running through the grass and chasing piper is always great fun, too. :)


but, the very best?


just hangin' out.

together.

:)

just a taste.

spring weather in our area is weird. it fluctuates between hot, summer-like days that excite us and give us a taste of what's to come, and cold, wet rainy days that pull us back and remind us that it's not quite summer yet.

so when we get these tastes of summer, we like to take full advantage of the warm, summery days, spending as much time as possible outside.

a month ago (a month!! where did the time go?? no, seriously. it's flying! today marks five months since choi boy's been stateside. FIVE MONTHS!!!), when we hit 80 degree mark, we headed over to our local town center/outdoor mall to play in the interactive water fountain.


at first, choi boy wasn't quite sure what to make of it. he watched in awe (many "oh-wah"s were uttered) as the water shot up to impressive heights and laughed as he watched the big kids run in and out of the water.

he decided to take a closer look and examine the holes in the ground from where the water was shooting out.



he took a walk around the perimeter with his beloved eemo...


...then got sprayed in the face and bolted!


in the end, i think choi boy thought the fountain was cool, but a tad scary, and spent his time inching his way closer and then running away in a fit of giggles.




isn't that covered giggle face hilarious? cb's been doing that a lot lately. he does it when he's really excited but wants to conceal his excitement and play it cool. or he does it when he thinks he's being hilarious. ;)


i love my silly little guy.

can't wait for consistent warm summer days! we're so ready for you!

p.s. just to give you an idea of how weird the weather actually is, this happened the day *before* the chilly playdate/crazy toddler group photo attempts at the park!

whatnot wednesday.

happy wednesday!

*wanna know a secret? i'm actually writing this on TUESday and then scheduling it to post on wednesday. so sneaky. ;) it makes me feel like i'm on top of things and gives me a sense of accomplishment. you know what else gives me a serious sense of accomplishment? having an empty g00gle reader. i had to play some serious catch up on my blog reading this week and i was actually feeling a bit of anxiety seeing the numbers climb into the triple digits in my reader! phew!

*i have a bit of an obsessive personality when it comes to certain things. i am guilty as charged when it comes to playing out songs and listening to them on repeat until i can't listen anymore. in eighth grade, i pretty much wore out my cassette tape single of ace 0f base's "the sign" because i played it again and again. and again. and then my friends and i went to great adventure and sang it in one of those mini recording studios. we were so cool. and then we played *that* tape again and again. and again. and then the song was dead to us. until recently when it came up on my glee pandora station...now i love it again!

*anyway, i say all that because i tend to be obsessive with certain foods, too. i'll get on a kick and consume copious amounts of a certain food (usually snack food) until i get really sick of it. case in point: mini eggs. i think i'll be okay if i don't see another one until next easter. (so sorry, jojo, now i'm REALLY done talking about them, promise!) and now i've moved on to this:

it's only the best cereal ever. or at least until i've had enough. care to venture a guess as to how many boxes it will be until then?

*you know how everyone thinks their child is a genius? mine really is.
no, seriously.
you know how i know? look what i found in choi boy's bookshelf:

he found it in the office and put it in his bookshelf all by himself. he's just catching up on some light reading on leadership. you know, all part of his plan to take over the world.
oh, but don't worry.
apparently, it will be a soulful takeover.

*another one of choi boy's favorite reads is this recordable book we sent over to korea in a care package.

cb's sweet, sweet foster mom sent it back home with him and cb's recently rediscovered it. but here's the thing. while he was in korea, he played with it so much, it broke. and the recording is a bit wonky now and goes off on its own. so, we'll be going about our day at home when suddenly i'll hear voices coming from cb's room, which freaks me out to begin with, but then as i head upstairs to investigate, i hear that it's MY voice and get REALLY freaked out. and then i realize what it is and feel silly, but still kinda freaked out. ::shudder::

*i'll leave you with this...in addition to being on je0pardy, one of my dreams in life is to be in a flashmob. like, a really good one. that would be SO super fun. and i think the best flashmob would be one that did double dream hands. kinda like ellen's staff did for her birthday show, but even bigger. and better. that would be SO awesome.
and if you're not familiar with "double dream hands," please, please watch this gem. john just makes me smile and i love his over-the-top enthusiasm. my absolute fave is his freestyle. it's like the modified carlton! i know that he became an internet sensation because everyone was making fun of him, but elementary school choruses need crazy cheesy choreographers, too, right? ;) and besides, he hasn't let the mocking get him down.
so, giggle along and learn yourself some double dream hands. and then let me know you've learned it and we'll plan that flashmob.

so, who's in??


c'mon and join the whatnot wednesday fun and link up with elizabeth!

the voice.

have you seen that new singing show, the voice? so far, i like it. the blind auditions were really cool and a great concept. i wonder what simon thinks of it all...

anyway, remember how i mentioned choi boy's sweet little voice? sometimes it surprises me with how high and soft it often is. i think if you heard it without seeing him, you'd be shocked to find that the voice belonged to this crazy active toddler boy instead of a sweet little toddler girl. sorry, cb, but it's the truth! ;)

i tried to catch his voice on video, but he wasn't doing his high soft voice. i think the strawberries i was bribing him with were just too exciting. :) the video is still very cute (totally objectively, of course) and you can hear his high voice on some of the words he says, so i thought i'd post it anyway. please take note of piper's cameo bark and cb's made up sign for "guitar." :)


and just to show you how high cb's voice can actually get, here's a tiny little (and rather hilarious) clip (kitty lovers, this one's especially for you!):

pardon the interruption.

we interrupt this friday night to bring you two important annoucements.

1. blogger stinks big time and we are not on speaking terms right now. it ate my last post and then spit it back out but swallowed up the comments. grrr. thank you for them, though. i big puffy heart them and they make me smile. and jojo, you know i love you, too! :)

and

2. my child is SO cool.


he's a rockstar and he totally knows it.


he's all, "peace out, cub scouts."

wikka wikka waaah! (<-- that was supposed to be a turntable noise. 'cause you know, his hand looks like he's spinning...? no? okay.)


the end.

we now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

which, if you're like me means "say yes t0 the dress". :)