small style -- steppin' out!

i'm linking up with mama loves papa today because i had to show you choi boy's crazy get up.

while at retreat, cb was reluctant to nap...i'm certain it was because he felt like he was missing out on all the fun that was surely happening outside our room. :) so, when he awoke from his naps, he was up and ready to go greet his adoring fans that surely missed him while he was asleep. :)

on one particular afternoon, choi boy decided to add some flair to his outfit before steppin' out post-nap. check out his style:




aside from the basic shirt, shorts and shoes, everything else was cb's choice. a backpack stuffed with precious items (i.e. bubbles, a mini magna doodle, etc), a pair of grownup sunglasses, and appa's watch. on his ankle, no less.

my friend saw us asked why cb was wearing a watch on his ankle, and i told him cb asked to wear it there. that he was starting a new trend. my friend responded, "the i'm-wearing-an-ankle-monitor-because-i'm-on-house-arrest trend?" why, yes. that's exactly the look we cb was going for. how did you know? (oh, dear...this is NOT a forshadowing of cb's future. it is NOT.)

cb later traded in the big shades for his more appropriately sized ones and added his fish water toy to complete his look.




classy.

i am simulatneously excited for and terrified of when cb can actually start dressing himself. can you imagine the possibilities??

shirt: baby gap
shorts: hand-me-downs, from target
shoes: crocs
sunglasses: fayke bans from target's dollar spot (holla!)
appa's watch: nike
backpack: pottery barn kids
fish: munchkin

in his element.

we just got home for our church's annual summer youth group retreat. what an amazing four days it was! seeing our students refueled and blessed is always such a privilege. *we* were so blessed.

we *are* so blessed.

God is so good and we are so grateful for His family.



choi boy has been welcomed into our church family with open arms since even before he came home. all of our youth group kids eagerly awaited his arrival and celebrated with us as we brought him home. they love on him and adore him like crazy.

despite that, i was a little nervous about bringing choi boy to his first retreat. but knowing him, i shouldn't have worried at all.

let's just say he didn't mind being the center of 200 teenagers' attention.

:)

cb is a classic extrovert who flourishes and is energized when in front of people. he shines brightest when he has an audience and even begins rounds of applause for himself. it's kinda ridiculous and a lotta hilarious.

imagine choi boy's sheer joy when discovering he had a large captive audience that surrounded him nearly 24-7 while at retreat.

the boy couldn't contain himself!

he walked into every room like he owned the place.


he was like the little mayor of the youth group, doling out hugs and handshakes and high fives wherever he went.



he even gave out sweet kisses.

one of our youth group girls proclaimed cb's kisses to be *perfect* -- "they're not wet and yucky, but just right with the cutest pucker!" i'd have to agree. :)

cb charmed the big girls into joining him in whatever activity he felt like doing.


he sweet talked them into giving him some extra treats,


and coyly pretended to ignore them and play hard-to-get as they watched his every move.


but it wasn't just the girls he captivated.

oh, no. the big guys crowded around him and scooped him up at every chance they got.


especially when they witnessed choi boy's athletic prowess and penchant for all things sports-related.



see? choi boy was totally in his element. he savored every minute of the attention he got and came running back to me with a huge, proud grin on his face as if saying, "umma! they like me! they REALLY like me!!!"



in all seriousness, though, seeing choi boy relish and delight in being around so many people (many of them well-meaning, but in-your-face teens) is just more confirmation God really knew what He was doing when He chose cb for us. of course, we would love cb no matter what kind of personality he had, but knowing how much he *loves* being around people gives us such peace and comfort because right now our lives involve being around lots and lots of people lots and lots of times. it's not easy being a pastor's kid, and the Lord knew we needed someone that would not only endure but also enjoy being in the spotlight at large gatherings. and my goodness, how he enjoyed that spotlight...;)

and i have to give credit to our awesome youth group kids, too. they could easily have dismissed cb as just a baby, but instead they choose to love him as their own. it is amazing to see how well cb fits in not only with our little family, but also with our large church family. watching 200 youth group kids love on and interact and laugh with (and sometimes at) a wild, attention-hogging toddler is just beautiful and a true picture of agape love.

God is so good. and we are so grateful.

lookalikes.

my goodness, i didn't realize my double-dog daring you to guess the "love story" product would lead to such...ahem, adult...guesses! the answer? LOLLIPOPS. weird, right? belle was the closest with her guess of candy. the others of you? um. i have no words. :)

anyway.

i have this strange knack for identifying lookalikes. if someone looks like someone else i've seen before, it bugs me until i nail it, and i usually do.

the other day, we were driving to church and it dawned on me that choi boy reminded me of someone in the particular outfit he was wearing.

and then it clicked.

look!



white polo, parted hair, chubby cheeks...a dead ringer for martin, right? ;)


i thought of another lookalike after the nkotbsb concert. actually, i've thought this for some time, but was reminded it of it as i saw his face on the jumbotron again and again.

jordan knight?

totally a younger version of anthony bourdain!



i mean, right?!


the end.

happy weekend!

whatnot wednesday -- school's out edition!

*"schoooooool's out for summer!" :) as of 12:07pm today, i am officially done with this school year! whohoo! it's always stressful packing up my room, but there is nothing like being DONE. one of the coolest things about teaching is that there is closure at the end of every year and every fall brings a brand new start. oh, yes, and the 2 months off in the summer is pretty darn cushy, too. ;)

*being off from school frees up my brain to think about many a useless things. for instance, on the radio today, i heard that pippa and prince harry are getting awfully close. which makes me wonder, is it weird if you date or marry your sister's husband's brother? something seems a tad off about it, but i also think it would be quite convenient to only have one set of in-laws to deal with, no? think about how easy it would be during the holidays!

*if that's not weird, how about this one...you know lindsay price of 90210 and lipstick jungle fame? her mom is a korean adoptee and her father is her mother's adoptive brother. did you get all that? in other words, her parents are not biologically related, but were raised as brother and sister and later ended up marrying each other. which means her mom is also her aunt and her dad is also her uncle and her grandparents are her maternal AND paternal grandparents. is that weird? or is it strangely normal? twalk amongst yourselves...creepy or okay? discuss.

*the hubs came downstairs this morning wearing a blue polo and khakis. he looked nice and all, but oddly familiar. and then i realized he was wearing the best buy employee uniform. sadness. blue polos and khakis will now forever be associated with the electronics superstore. just like a red top and khakis will forever make you look like a target employee.

*check out my latest engrish find.

yeah.
listen, i totally commend korean companies for trying to market their products in english. but, hi. *someone* must know a cousin or a friend or somebody that could do a quick spelling or grammar check. yeesh.

*even better? check out this gem:

nice, huh?
i double-dog dare you to guess what this awesome packaging is for.
double-dog dare you.
:)


c'mon out and join the whatnot wednesday party with elizabeth!

six months.

six months ago today, this sweet 15 month-old boy was placed in our arms.


he was an absolute dream come true and an answer to so very many prayers.


he was a bit unsure of what was going on, but still showed us parts of his goofy and charming personality.



but, he was scared, too.

and quite honestly, so were we.

we didn't know how our journey as three would unfold.

but, we knew that we'd travel it together.



and six months later... my, how far our travels have brought us!

in many ways, it's hard to believe that it has *already* been six months since choi boy has been with us. everyday we marvel at the fact that we have the joy and privilege of having cb in our lives. it is amazing to think that we have already had six full months of marveling. :) time flies when you're having fun, right?

and what fun we've had!


the goofy little personality we saw in korea quickly and fully revealed itself into full-blown goofiness.



he is still the same little one we met back in december (in the same weird bart simpson korean pajamas -- hey, it's laundry day...don't hate!),

but he is now fully *home*. not only physically, but also emotionally. he *knows* us and we *know* him and we have settled nicely into our groove as a family. there are certainly still many unknowns in our continuing journey, but we now travel that road knowing our roles and our strengths and even our weaknesses. and we travel it with an overwhelming sense of absolute joy and comfort in knowing that we are truly WE.


so, in other ways, it is hard to believe it has *only* been six months since cb joined us because it's hard to imagine and remember what life was like before he made his sweet entrance into our arms and our hearts.

we love you SO much, cb...and we thank the Lord daily that He chose you for us.


finalization, here we come!

whatnot wednesday.

*it's true, choi boy is a broccoli fiend. a few weeks ago, cb discovered a serious love of broccoli and has been inhaling it ever since. weird. not complaining, though. beth asked what the broccoli diaper looked like. and i feel obligated to let you all know that it was too many kinds of disgusting to describe. like, explosively disgusting. it didn't help that he also inhaled mounds of blueberries the next morning before the broccoli came out. let's just say there were bluish green stains all over his shorts. aren't you happy beth asked?? :)

*i'm writing this as choi boy is in his crib napping. or, rather supposed to be napping. he's talking to himself, reading books and bouncing around. he's also pointing to the pictures above his crib and calling out everyone's names. except, he's calling out the names and then wagging his finger and saying, "no, no. no, no." i'm not sure what he's scolding us for...maybe he's practicing for the terrible twos? yay.

*generally speaking, i like birds. they're cool and beautiful to watch when they're in flight (unless they are in giant flocks -- then they give me the heebie jeebies. but that's another bullet point). except for canadian geese. i do NOT like them. they're EVERYwhere and their poop is so nasty and EVERYWHERE. (can you believe i've already mentioned poop twice?!) when i was in high school, we had to move a lot of outside PE classes indoors because our fields were *covered* in goose poop. so gross.
canadian geese also seem to have no fear and get right in your face, which can be a little frightening. the other day, when we went to the park for the train ride, we stopped by the lake and met some very rude geese with no concern for personal space.

i made the hubs pick cb up because i was afraid the goose would try to nip him. and good thing, too, because when i said, "look at the goose!" cb said, "KICK!!!" and pretended to kick the goose. lovely.

i promise, he didn't learn that from us. we love animals. really.
oh, darn, i guess the entire paragraph above negates that statement. let me rephrase -- we love most animals and believe in being kind to all animals. is that better? ;)

*so, yes, hordes of things freak me out. giant flocks of birds, colonies of bugs just hanging out, etc. even clumps of holes or bumps totally gross me out. like the bumps on the backs of fern leaves? oh my nastypants. i have goosebumps now. someone told me it's called pattern sickness. whatever it is, it's enough to make me want to cry and vomit. (oh, now i've mentioned poop and barf! keepin' it real, folks, keepin' it real.) anyone else like this? or am i oddball out again?

*choi boy learned a new word. pig. he used to make a snorting face to refer to pigs, but now he calls them by their name. except, the way he says "pig" actually sounds like a bad word. like a bee with an itch, if you will. nice. especially when he screams it excitedly. we will be staying away from the farm until this is sorted out.

*and finally, an announcement. if you're reading this on my actual blog, you'll notice something new at the very top. last summer, i applied to the blogher publishing network on whim and then forgot about it. well, last week, i got an email from them inviting me to join their network. at first, i was really iffy about it because i didn't want to take away from the fact that this is our family's blog and it's really for our friends and family. but then i thought i'd give it a shot because it's a great network and site and my (pretend) BFF, ree, is doing it. and if the cool kids are doing it, it's gotta be good, right? actually, that's a terrible message, i take it back -- don't listen to me! but, anyway, i went ahead and accepted the invitation, with the thought that if it wasn't right for me, i'd withdraw. so, please, if you think i'm being a dummyhead and i shouldn't do it, please let me know. for reals!!!


join elizabeth's party and get on your whatnot!

come on, ride the train!

hey ride it!

i'm sorry, i couldn't help myself. once a song is popular during your high school years, the lyrics are forever ingrained in your brain. you can blame z100. (jersey girls, holla!)

last summer, when we were waiting for choi boy to come home, we had a whole list of things we couldn't wait to do with him. late spring/early summer is my favoritest time of year and a lot of our to-dos were things that we could only do once warmer weather hit.

today was the *perfect* day to check off one of those "first time with cb" items. the weather was glorious -- in the high 70s, breezy and sunny and just beautiful. we headed out to a local park to ride the awesome train that runs through it!



cb hasn't quite caught on to train-mania yet (and honestly and truly, i'm okay if we bypass it...especially thomas. he kinda freaks me out.), but he loves to watch the choo-choo that runs through the dairy section at our grocery store and loves to point out the choo-choos in his books. we told him he would get to *ride* a choo-choo today and he was excited, but i don't think he quite understood what that entailed.

oh, but don't worry because we were totally those annoying first-time parents and geeked out with both our camera and video camera, so i can show you exactly what it entailed. ;)

(no, seriously, massive amounts of pictures to follow. if you want to skip ahead, just watch the video at the end. i promise all 42 seconds are absolutely worth it.)

we got on board,


and had to wait for a bit for the conductor? engineer? dude driving the train to come back. cb kept himself entertained for a wee bit.



(blowing raspberries on appa's arm -- it's his newest trick.)

and then choi boy was done waiting and got awful antsy. so i made a valiant effort to keep cb contained and entertained.


it didn't work so much.

this boy was ready to ride!


and then finally, the train whistle blew and it was time to go!



choi boy wasn't sure at first, but you can see how he warmed up...i love the visible change in his feeling about the train!


he loved it!


(and apparently, so did his overly enthusiastic momma!)

and because photos aren't enough, check out this video of the first minute of the train ride. it is PRICELESS. and absolutely, positively SO choi boy.


gosh, i love him so much!

when the cat's away, the mice will play!

and in this situation, that cat would be me. :)

i love my sister somethin' fierce. she and i are very much alike, but also very different. we fall into the stereotypical birthorder profiles very nicely and in short, she is the way cool, (slightly) crazy younger sister. she is my first choice when it comes to babysitters for choi boy because i know she loves *him* somethin' fierce and that they will undoubtedly have a blast together.

i fear the day that choi boy comes home with some giant tattoo or piercing after hanging out with his eemo, but until then, i will gladly look forward to cb and eemo time!

my sister babysat cb while i was off in a late 80s/early 90s time warp. i was a teeny tiny bit nervous about cb's first bedtime with someone other than me or the hubs, but, of course, cb and eemo had a rockin' time!

my sister wanted to write a post about their fun adventure, so enough blabbing from me!

take it away, tiff!


I’ve been meaning to write this guest post since the night I babysat CB, but there was all this pressure to be funny and engaging and eloquent and not lose readers for my dear, hilarious sister. Well, once I accepted that that wasn’t going to happen, you have what you see here. Here’s hoping I don’t lose some of you!

On the night my sister was being a total geek at the NKOTBTIOWEROIHQEOINSAB concert, I watched my sweet nephew for the first time. Not only was this my first time alone with him, but it was the first time he was being put to bed by someone other than his parents. Talk about nerve-wracking! I’ve done a fair amount of babysitting and still do as non-profit work pays in hugs and words of affirmation, but I was anxious that little CB wasn’t going to take to me and freak out! The stakes were higher than they’ve ever been since I’ve never loved a little boy more and rejection would be devastating. Turns out, I was nervous for nothin’! We bonded over being weirdlings and fat kids with lots of smiles and laughter. We had an absolute BLAST-O-RAMA! I took a thousand photos for your viewing pleasure, so I hope you enjoy. :)

My sister decided to snap this LOVELY photo of me right before she left, but don’t stop on account of this terrifying image, the rest are infinitely more adorable.


I made us some yummy veg burgers and a LOT of broccoli. I mean, a LOT. CB and I are both broccoli enthusiasts so I went all out.


We enjoyed :)




Until we were pretty stuffed.

Then an after dinner dance workout was in order! Obviously.


Did some investigation of random pieces of trash treasure we found around the house.


Decided pants were no longer necessary and tromped upstairs hollering and making weird noises, as we are experts at these things.


Then, CB had the BEST idea. He grabbed his most important things and decided we were going to have a bath time adventure sans water.
“c’mon eemo, you comin’?”


We played.


…and played.


And pretended to wash our hair.


Did more of what we do best: Goofing.





Did a little modeling.



Then, we were SO over bathtubbing (that’s what we’re calling it) and ran into CB’s room to do more, yep you guessed it, playing.


We read a bit.


CB climbed a bit.


Then it was time to get ready for bed.

Where we brushed teeth



And contemplated books.


CB freaked a very very minor freak after we said our prayers, but it was soon extinguished when he realized I wasn’t going to leave the room. I slept for a couple hours on the floor beside his crib on a blanket I was later informed is Piper’s. Nice.

Overall, we had an incredible time together and I can’t wait for our next play date. I hope you thought the incessant photos were cute, not annoying. And silly you thought my sister was bad…

The end!