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". :)

whatnot wednesday.

happy hump day, folks!

*i think we've got a sleep talker on our hands. lately, we've been hearing choi boy chatter in his sleep and when i check the video monitor, he's sound asleep, just chattin'. i talk quite a bit in my sleep and the hubs snores, so between the three of us, we've got one noisy sleeping household! the funny thing is, because cb isn't yet putting sentences together, his sleep talk sounds something like this, "dah dah, ah, BALL!!" or "ahbahbah MOO kokoh!" it's actually very funny to hear over the monitor.

*i'm not kidding when i say my child has a serious obsession with balls. not only does he talk about them in his sleep, but he also likes to have them close by when he sleeps. cb's really gotten down with his bedtime routine and he knows that after stories, a prayer, and hugs from umma and appa, it's time to go in his crib. we've been allowing him to "read" books on his own before he falls asleep, so lately, he's been going to his bookshelf, picking a few favorite titles and slipping them into the crib in between the slats for him to enjoy on his own. last week, he also tossed his football into his crib and apparently had some quality snuggle time with his football before he drifted off into dreamland.

see the football in the corner? funny kid.

*so, there's *another* pirates 0f the caribbean movie coming out?? seriously?! what number is this one? 8? i stopped watching after the second one where there was that whole weird painted eyes on j0hnny depp's face thing going on. freaked me out. no, but, really, i'm sorry to offend all you PoC fans, but i just don't get the excitement of these movies anymore. the first one was entertaining, but now? meh. and really, for all the fans out there that squeal with delight over j0hnny's "hotness" in these movies...really?? the guy plays a dirty, smelly pirate with nasty hair and teeth and he wears tons of eyeliner. i just don't get it. and this whole movie franchise was based on a *ride* at disney w0rld?? what's next? "it's a small w0rld" the movie??

*i cleaned out my closet last week. my mom told me it embarassed her and that people were going think she didn't raise me right because my closet is a mess. um, not sure who's going to come over and check out my closets, mom, but it *was* about time to do some serious organizing in there. and, i was happy to find that i still fit into a lot of the clothes i hadn't worn in while. yay! and, though i love my skinny jeans, i was reminded why bootcut/flared jeans were the "it" jeans for so long. they are WAY more forgiving than their skinny counterparts. WAY more. i'll be pulling those bad boys out again a lot more frequently now. except the super lowrise ones...those just had to go. a plummer's crack is cute on no one. just sayin'.

*i've come realize that i am not above bribing my child with sweets in order to get him to cooperate with some picture taking. in the past, i've used fruit or something semi-healthy/not-terrible-for-you to bribe cb, but on easter, i grabbed the closest treat in sight, which happened to be some of my precious chocolate eggs. cb nibbled on some eggs while my sister snapped some shots of us, and here is one of the resulting pictures:

choi boy's tiny choclate mustache and tiny chocolate soul patch are so classy, right? and about two seconds after this picture was taken, choi boy wiped his chocolatey hands all over my tulle cap sleeves. i think i'm going to stick with non-staining treats from now on when doing my bribing.

*and i promise, promise, promise this is my last little bit about chocolate eggs. you know why? because they're ALL GONE. i opened the last bag, had a few and then forgot about them. later, choi boy reached over from his booster seat and knocked the bag on the floor, spilling all the remaining chocolate egg goodness. i'll confess that i really considered just abiding the five second rule and stuffing them back in the bag, but piper was trying to eat them and licked a few and by the time i had gotten her away, five seconds had passed and though i love my chocolate eggs, i wasn't about to eat some that had been licked by my dog.

sadness.



your turn! come join the whatnot wednesday party with elizabeth!

the big 2-0!

today, this little man is officially twenty months old!


that's right, folks, my baby is now one and two thirds years old. ;)

(even though he looks like an 18 year-old frat boy in some of these pictures! yeesh!)

to mark this milestone, here are 20 little tidbits about choi boy, presented to you in four lists. because lists mean i don't need to write as much. :)

5 things choi boy can't get enough of:

1. food.


carbs, fruit, meat, cheese, and yogurt, specifically.

2. balls. of all shapes and sizes. he does not discriminate. oh, and anything that looks like a ball, is a ball.

3. going outside. choi boy likes to bang on the doors and windows and shout "at-dye! at-dye!" {that's "outside," for those of you that are not fluent in choi boy-ese} at us several times a day.


4. being on the move! he thinks it's awesome to be outside or out of the house and be free of the stroller. he shows us his delight by running everywhere and daring us to catch him. :)



5. getting down and dirty and exploring with his hands.

the funny thing is, he doesn't like his hands actually being dirty, so while playing and exploring, he'll stop to wipe his hands on his pants or whatever adult is standing nearby. it's lots of fun. ;)



5 things choi boy is working on:

1. NOT throwing everything in sight. i swear, i'm not being biased when i say this, but choi boy has a really good arm. for a not-yet-two-year-old, he can throw things to impressive distances with great strength. but, it is NOT fun when he's throwing things like food, cell phones, utencils, shoes...you get the picture. we're trying to stress *only* throwing balls and *only* throwing them outside, but man, is it hard trying to explain to and reason with a 20-month old!!

2. talking. choi boy has lots and lots of words under his belt, but he is working on putting them together. so far, we've heard one 2-word sentence: "umma, ahyah!" translation: "mommy, ouch!" apparently, i could have been more gentle when putting on cb's hightops.;)


3. being a little less of an evel kenevel. this boy is a serious daredevil and just a minute ago, the hubs had to stop him from jumping off the window ledge. on one hand, we love that he is so fearless, but on the other hand, he is going to make us go prematurely grey!

{contemplating his next stunt}

4. having fun at daycare. cb still cries a little at drop off, but he is learning to let loose and really have fun while he's there. our childcare provider said he is laughing a lot and really enjoying playing with his little buddies. :)

5. jumping. he wants so badly to jump, but since it's really hard for him to lift his body off the ground, he settles for jumping *off* things (see number 3).


5 things choi boy is NOT a fan of:

1. getting his face wiped. it's hysterical how much he screams when we wipe his face after a meal!

2. being told "no." ;)

3. wearing socks.

4. milk from anything but a bottle.

5. big, costumed characters -- he pretty much freaked out upon meeting the chick-fil-a cow. we may have to hold off on disney*world for a bit. ;)



5 things i love about choi boy:

1. his sweet little voice. it's so high-pitched and darling. if it's still like that when he's 10, he'll probably hate it, but for right now, it's so cute!

2. his shy, proud smile.


3. his love for his big sis, piper.


4. the way he loves his family and friends. the look of sheer joy on his face when he sees one of his favorite people is just priceless!

5. that he's here and he's our son. i couldn't have asked for a more perfect addition to our family.


even when there are lots of moments during the day that look like this.

;)

love you, son...happy 20 months!

uh-buls!

whoever invented the bubble wand/bubble blowers is a genius. and whoever decided to market them is an even greater genius. seriously.

a little soap and water + a plastic thingy with a hole or holes = many continuous minutes of entertaining a toddler.

i salute you, bubble people.

anyway, choi boy is obsessed with bubbles. he looooves them. but, he's a totally bossypants and gets upset if he doesn't have his own bubble wand. enter the gymb0ree oodles of bubbles set. easy for him to use and a lot less mess to worry about.

not sure what it is? here, let choi boy give you a step-by-step demonstration of how to use the bubble blower to blow bubbles, or as he calls them, "uh-buls!!!" (*always* said with exclamation marks!)

how to blow uh-buls with the bubble blower:

step 1. grab the bubble solution bottle and hold it hostage. and make sure you're wearing your grodiest onesie.


step 2. pour some bubble solution into the little yellow well and dip the bubble blower into the well. do this obsessively until the blower is positively dripping with bubble solution.



step 3. blow into the opposite end of the bubble blower.
be careful not to put your mouth on -- forget it.



step 4. say, "oh-wah!" as you watch your bubbles float away.


step 5. repeat step 2.

don't forget about the obsessive dipping part.


step 6. experiment with your blowing technique.



like, really experiment!


step 7. pause for a moment to realize you've accidentally swallowed some bubble solution and it tastes kinda funky.


step 8. pause for another moment to give your umma a bit of a stink eye for taking so many pictures of you.


step 9. give in to the picture taking and do your best blue steel.


step 10. go back to bubble blowing.

(sidenote: check out those red highlights!)

step 11. watch and keep track of where those bubbles are floating.


step 12. exclaim, "oh-wah!!!" again, this time with more enthusiasm.


and step 13. give yourself a proud smile for your hard work at bubble blowing!




and there you have it, cb's 13-step guide to bubble blowing! note that there are very few pictures with actual bubbles in them. mmmhmmm, choi boy may have invented this program, but he's still working on honing his own skills. good thing we've got the whole spring and summer ahead of us to practice! :)

whatnot wednesday.

*i cannot not talk about the royal wedding! kate's dress was ABsolutely gorgeous and i am just so happy for her and william. they just seem so normal, right? anyway, the wedding. two things i need to mention.
the first.
what the *heck* was up with this?!
(source)
was the goal to look like a giant weird present? crazy.

and second.
i was so incredibly impressed by how orderly and gentle the british crowd was. there was no pushing, no shoving, no *touching*, really. and they just calmly walked behind the row of police officers (or constables or bobbies, if you will) once they opened up the gates to the palace for the kiss. amazing! i am almost certain that if the crowd was made up of americans, we'd be all up in each other's personal space and the police officers would be facing the crowd and walking backwards while wielding those giant SWAT shields at us. just sayin'.

*one of my life goals is to be on jeopardy. i think i know enough (mostly useless) trivia to do mildly well. or rather, at least well enough to make it to final jeopardy without being in the red. especially if one of the categories is something to do with entertainment fluff. i am really sad i missed qualifying for the jeopardy teacher's tournament this week! that could have been me! really, though, i want be on celebrity jeopardy. 'cause it's clearly easier than every other jeopardy game. more specifically, i want to be on celebrity jeopardy with will ferrell as alex trebek and darrell hammond as sean connery. :)
(source)

*since choi boy is not yet 2 years-old, he's still discovering a lot about the world and can take things i say at face value (well, as much as he can understand). for example, the chocolate i'm eating that he's pointing at? i can just say "ugh, it's gross! you don't want any!" and he'll usually believe me. ;) yesterday, we were at the farm and there was a carousel. instead of being a super fun, super cool nice mommy and getting him on the carousel, i said something like, "wow! look at the horses going 'round and 'round! it's so fun to *watch*!"
and choi boy thought so, too.



see? he's doing his "oh-wah!"

yes, i realize i'm pretty much lying to my child, but i'm fully aware that this will only work for a little longer, and i'm going to take advantage of it while i can. ;)
and now i feel terrible about lying to my child. but only kinda. no really, i'll start telling him the truth. tomorrow. ;)

*a short whatnot open letter:
dear j.crew,
you need to get over yourself. i love you dearly and your spring/summer line makes me drool. and all i want to do is roll around in your merchandise and take one of everything in every color, but girrrrrrrrrl, you are not worth *that* much! seriously, a t-shirt should not cost $50. on sale.
thank you.

*and finally, please head on over to my (pretend) BFF's website. my (pretend) BFF, the pioneer woman, is doing an awesome "giveaway" where the "prizes" are four $500 donations to a charity of the winner's choice. AND she will donate a quarter for every entry to help with the relief efforts of the devastation in alabama. win-win. it's a wonderful way to contribute to relief efforts even if you can't make a donation yourself. win-win-WIN!


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

every dog needs a boy.

(source)

does anyone else remember this book? i used to love it. it's the story of petey the puppy who very much wants a little boy to play with and love. he has a hard time finding a boy and asks other dogs if he can have their boys and is, of course, denied his requests. in the end (spoiler alert!), petey finds the "home for boys" and has not one, but fifty, boys to play with and love.

okay, so now that i think about it, the story is a *little* strange, but i have such fond reading rainbow memories of it!

anyway, i've been reminded of that story as i watch our sweet piper love on her new little brother. if you've ever met our dog, you know she's a wee bit strange. she is incredibly sweet, but also a bit of a loner and in her own world. if she were a child, she'd be the kid on the baseball team picking dandelions and rolling in the grass while she was supposed to be covering left field. if she were an adult, she'd totally be a spacey lady who'd look out the window during the entire bus ride, only to realize later that she got on the wrong bus. in short, she is lovely, but a little loopy, too. :)

we weren't sure how she'd react once choi boy was home. she's always loved children and is very patient and affectionate with them, but she'd never had a child around 24-7.

well, piper's maternal instincts kicked into high gear when choi boy came home. she just adores him and loves to be near him. she insists on sleeping in front of his crib and whines and cries when a door separates her and her beloved boy. and, i'm sure the extra food she gets from cleaning up after him is quite an added bonus. :)

choi boy loves piper, too, but, as with all toddlers, loves to push his limits. there's some ear pulling, tail pulling, hitting, poking, sitting on, laying on, etc. and cb *knows* he's not supposed to do those things, but he does 'em anyway. and you can betcha that we try and stay on top of the piper-tormenting, but goodness, cb is fast! and sweet piper just looks at us with that sad edward cullen eye as if to say, "please help...," all while giving her brother gentle kisses to coax him to stop.

lately, though, choi boy's taken to really pouring out some affection on his big sister. he loves to give her hugs and do "ah-ee-peu-dah" which, in korean (literally translated) means, "oh, so pretty," but is often used as a way of telling children to touch gently instead of hitting. ;)

want to see one of those hugs?

okay!

{be warned: totally going to be a proud momma showing off my two kiddos now. kthanks!}











is that not the SWEETEST?! (aside from the last shot where it looks like cb is squeezing so hard that piper's eyes are going to pop!)

love, love, LOVE.

truly, every dog needs a boy. and vice versa. :)


and clearly, every dog and every boy also have thresholds for the amount of affection they can handle, because seconds later, they went their separate ways:


they can't *always* be hugging, right?