whatnot wednesday.

it's that time again! this makes wednesdays so much more fun. ;)

*check out this bib i saw at target (why, yes, i *do* spend a lot of time there) the other day:

it makes this blogging thing seem so passe, right? oh, well. passe or not, i'm going to carry on blogging. because i love it. where else can i spill all my verbal diarrhea? ;) (p.s. i totally just spell checked "diarrhea," and i canNOT believe i spelled it correctly on the first try! whohoo!)

*on that note, moving on. look what else i found at target:

they were full when i found them. this also may or may not have been the third empty bag in my house in the past two weeks.
i love easter season not only because we get to celebrate and rejoice in Jesus' ressurection, but also because the best chocolate candy EVER fills the shelves. i know, i know, mini eggs are small in the big picture of easter, but they are just so darn yummy! far yummier than and superior to those widely available lettered chocolates. i think it's something about the candy coating to chocolate ratio. and the candy coating itself...it's thicker and crunchier.
oh how i wish mini eggs were available all year round.
i'd better stock up. oooh...do you think they'll go on sale after easter???

*speaking of obsessions, choi boy's elmo obsession has been taken to another level. he looooooves all things elmo. but, i'm a mean momma who won't let my child wear character clothes or shoes. unless they're vintage-y looking. i know, i'm mean!! i told you! but, i figure, while i have full control of his wardrobe, i might as well take advantage of it, right? anyway, i steer clear of the character clothes when choi boy and i are out and about, but last week, my mom and i took him to m@rshall's and while my mom was pushing him in the cart, he started screeching, "eh-mo! EHHHMO!!!!" my mom looked around and saw that he was pointing to a package of elmo underwear. she said, "this?" and cb vigorously nodded and reached out for it. she handed it to him (because that's what grandma's do -- give their grandchildren whatever they want), and cb spent the rest of our time at the store hugging and caressing a package of underpants.
and no, i'm not taking that as a sign that cb is ready to potty train. no way, jose.

*oh, momma...it's so fun to see her as a grandma. she just adores choi boy and it's so sweet to watch her be all mushy gushy with him. watching her with him reminds me of when i was little. and i have to say, my mom was right about a lot of the things she told me when i was younger. for instance, i *do* totally regret quitting the piano. and my teeth *did* shift back a bit because i failed to wear my retainer faithfully. and if i eat too much chocolate, it *does* go right to my midsection.

*but, my mom was also wrong about some things...for instance, your eyes will *not* stay crossed if you take a picture while crossing them (um, i'm slightly embarassed at how long it took me to figure that out). and it is not necessary for you to use extreme caution when looking through the onions at the grocery store because a poisonous snake will *not* come out and bite you. also, eating sweets before dinner will *not* ruin your appetite. i know, because i ate a whole plate of sushi after polishing off that bag of mini eggs. ;)

*this would probably freak my mom (and probably many of you) out, but look at this picture of choi boy:

yes, that's a trash can on his head.
i know, i know, it's probably gross, but i promise, whenever there *is* trash in there, it's inside the garbage bag that fully covers all of the fabric. once the garbage bag is out, choi boy snatches it up and walks around with it on his head.

he thinks it's hilarious.

i also find it hilarious.

*i can also tell from that last photo that choi boy's forehead is REALLY large, like could-have-its-own-zip-code large, and he would not look so good with a receeding hairline. good thing he won't have to worry about that for a while.

i hope.


wanna join in on the whatnot wednesday fun? go link up with elizabeth! can't wait to read your randomness!

i love your funny face.

*that's my *favorite* audrey hepburn movie. i considered a short wedding dress because of it. but then i decided my legs were just not up for the challenge. ;)

it's a yucky, rainy day over here. so, instead of going outdoors, we're staying in and exercising.

exercising those facial muscles, that is!



can you tell i'm running out of ideas for indoor activities?!

a great man.

let me tell you about a great man. a man who i am so proud and honored to have known. a man i loved.

a man i called my halahbuhjee.



my grandfather was a soft and gentle man, but he had great presence. he was loving and kind and generous and had a wonderful sense of humor that matched his contagious laugh.

like my halmuhnee, my halahbuhjee was an amazing example of unwavering faith. he truly lived what he believed; he constantly blessed those around him with genuine love and care.

as the hubs was preparing to speak at my grandfather's burial service, my mom shared this story with him from her childhood: one day, my grandfather did not return from work at his usual time and instead came home hours after he was expected. his family was worried sick about him and when he showed up at the door covered in blood, their worry turned to fear. but my grandfather explained that it was someone else's blood. he saw a man that was injured and he carried this bruised and bloodied stranger to the hospital and made sure the man received proper care.

that's the kind of man my grandfather was. a literal good samaritan.

my grandfather was a dentist in korea, but when he moved his family to the states in his forties, he found that he could not transfer his korean dental license to one here in america. undeterred, he worked instead as a dental technician. and though he could have been frustrated and angry that his years of dental schooling seemed all for naught, he worked faithfully and joyfully at his new job. {and kept his dental skills up by checking out his grandchildren's teeth. ;)}

in his early sixties, my grandfather enrolled in seminary, unbeknownst to his children or grandchildren. for several years, he took classes part time. and all of these classes were in english, his second language! eventually, he successfully finished a masters of divinity program. when he was close to completing his program, he shared this news with us, telling us that he felt called to the mission field and that he wanted to be sure he was properly educated before leaving.

upon retirement, instead of moving to a warmer climate and a slower pace of life, my grandfather and grandmother packed their bags and moved overseas and became missionaries. my grandparents served north korean refugees and my grandfather provided free dental care. they loved the Lord and loved sharing the gospel and living it out daily while serving others.

my grandparents served faithfully for nearly 10 years until their ailing health brought them back stateside.

my grandfather developed alzheimer's and we watched as the man we knew lost many of his memories and abilities. each time we saw him, it took him longer and longer to recognize us, and he eventually got to the point where he never remembered the hubs. for the rest of us, he could recognize that we were familiar faces, but often did not remember our names or confused us.

it was so sad to watch a brilliant man become someone who needed constant supervision and care, but the whole time my grandfather suffered, he never once complained. never. and the whole time he suffered, his faith never failed.

one of my treasured recent memories of my grandfather was last new year's day when he was asked to pray for dinner. and goodness, did he pray! my grandfather had little short-term memory and continued to pray the same words and blessings for several minutes. my dad eventually jumped in and finished up the prayer, but i think if he hadn't, my grandfather could have prayed that prayer for hours. as the hubs remarked, it is amazing that even in his condition, my grandfather kept Jesus so close to his heart.

this january, we drove up to philly to celebrate my grandfather's 82 birthday. it was the last time i saw him alive. at first, i was really hesitant about going up because choi boy had only been home for a month and was still a bit weary of strangers (and his car seat), but i am so glad we bit the bullet and took the trip. and though he wasn't up for being held by his great grandfather, i am SO thankful cb got to meet him.

i hope that as he grows, we can tell choi boy about his amazing great grandparents and the prayers they prayed for him. and i pray and pray that choi boy will grow to love Jesus as his great grandparents taught our family to.



rest in peace, halahbuhjee. i hope you are dancing and gettin' your groove on in heaven.

nineteen months.

thank you so much for all your sweet words on my grandfather's passing. i'm working on what i hope will be a meaningful tribute post; i can't wait to tell you all about my amazing halahbuhjee.

with all that's been going on this month (and it's only the end of the first week!), i didn't have much time to work on a full post for choi boy's nineteenth month, so i'll just share a few tidbits about what's going on in cb's world. i didn't have time to take pictures, either, so this post will be peppered with pictures taken by my 16 year-old cousin while we were up in philly. :) p.s. cb was battling a nasty illness while we were there so he does *not* look happy in most of these pics. :(



*choi boy continues to learn more and more words every week. he mimics certain words we say and my current favorites are wait ("whaaay" -- yeah, he hears this word a lot from us. a lot a lot.), neh (korean for honorific "yes"), cheese ("cheee"), and ball ("boh!!" -- always said enthusiastically!).

*"ball" or rather, "boh!!" is always said enthusiastically because choi boy has a new found love of sports balls in all shapes and sizes. he recently "mastered" kicking and loves to kick balls (or anything that resembles one). he also loves throwing balls and has a seriously impressive arm, if i do say so myself. cb has the uncanny ability to find and point out anything that resembles a ball and then proceeds to screech "boh!! boh!! BOH!!!" until i acknowledge and agree that it is, indeed, a ball. my favorite example of this? those large red cement spheres in front of target!
you know, these:


*choi boy loves drawing with his crayons (held together in his awesome kimchi keepsakes crayon roll!) and uses either hand to work on his masterpieces. he will often invite me to partake in his drawing by demanding asking that i draw elmo or cookie monster. thank goodness those guys are fairly easy to draw. yesterday, cb asked me to draw ernie and my attempt ended up looking like a sad, strange orange alien. cb was not impressed and asked for a redo.



*daycare is going slightly better. cb still cries at drop offs, and will sometimes even cry as soon as we get off the exit on the highway, which is a good mile and a half away from our childcare provider's house (on the upside, i'm taking this directional awareness as a sign of genius - ha!). however, i am told that cb settles down more and more quickly and when i pick him up, he happily tells me the names (well, his approximations of the names) of his daycare buddies and insists on giving them all hugs before we leave. such sweetness!



*as you can see, choi boy is fascinated by musical instruments. he especially loves the drums and guitar, and has surprisingly steady rhythm for a toddler. i'm pretty sure cb and his fellow rockers, gabe, and spencer would make the cutest band ever. EVER. anyone else want in??



*choi boy is all about waving right now. he waves to EVERYONE and his wave is very cute and very enthusiastic. he is simply tickled when the wave is reciprocated, which most people are happy to do. it's a tiny bit sad to watch cb wave to all the passersby when we're driving in the car because they can't see him through the tinted windows. he might not show it, but, i swear, he gets a bit deflated waving to everyone only to have no one wave back. at least he gets a good arm workout!

*eating continues to be one of cb's favorite activities. his current favorites are: grapes, grape tomatoes, clementines (i think he could *easily* eat 5 of those delicious cuties in one sitting), cheese, yogurt, chicken (which he rather disturbingly calls "bok bok", as in the clucking noise chickens make), and meeyuk gook (seaweed soup). really, this list could go on and on, but those are the standouts (aka, snacks and meals from yesterday and today!) right now.


working off those pounds with grandma on a stairclimber. i know you're all totally jealous of my mom's zebra print house slippers.

*i mentioned in my last post that choi boy is into hitting lately. he's also into throwing things (that are definitely NOT balls) and throwing tantrums. it's SUPER fun. no, really, though, sometimes the tantrums are rather hilarious (the other day he cried for 5 minutes about wanting to take his socks off -- which he did, and then he cried some more), provided they're taking place on a cushiony, carpeted floor! it's hard to know how much of this behavior is choi boy's true personality coming out (remember, we were told by his FM that he *definitely* has stubborn streak); or how much of it is cb's continued transition to our family; OR how much of it is just plain normal toddler behavior. we tend to think most of it falls into the "normal" toddler category, but we don't want to rule out the other categories either. we're certainly learning more about parenting in these moments and we're also learning more about our little guy, whom we love like crazycakes...tantrums, throwing, hitting and all. :)

*more and more, choi boy is seeming less like a baby and more like a full blown little human. i know that sounds ridiculous, but seeing how much he comprehends and watching him run and climb and interact with people just makes him seem so much more...alive and full of life. he is capable of so much and seems to learn something new everyday. it amazes me and is so fun to watch! while i *am* a bit sad that we missed out on the first 15 months of choi boy's life, that is largely overshadowed by the fact that i am so loving watching him learn and grow and discover the world right *now*. this age is so much fun!

i have to end with this short series of photos. if you are fb friends with me, you probably already saw these, but i just adore them and find them hilarious. we were at my parents' store the other day and my mom insisted on giving choi boy a (very small) milkshake. after all, she reminded us, it *is* made with real banana and contains calcium. (oh, grandmas...) as you can imagine, cb went to town with this sweet treat!

at first, he was confused by what we were offering him.


but then he quickly realized the goodness before him and had a death grip on his cup while he drank non-stop for several minutes.


finally, he stopped to take a breath and revel in his good fortune.

but only for a short while, because he needed to finish his shake! true story: i asked for a sip and cb shook his head and offered me a grape with one hand while securing an even tighter grip on his cup.

:)

happy nineteen months, sweet boy!

whatnot wednesday.

there's been a lot going on here lately...my grandfather suddenly passed away, choi boy's been the sickest we've seen him, and we're just worn out from traveling to and from philly for the memorial services. i could write about all that, and i will, but for now, i just need to carry on with some random drivel as i'm still processing all of the above. in other words, this is going to be a post about a whole lotta nothin'. in other words, this is going to be a lot like most of my other posts. ;)



i'm linking up with my buddy, elizabeth, and joining in on her weekly whatnot wednesday hilarity. elizabeth regularly cracks me up, and though i can't promise i'll be as funny as she is, i think i can pull off being as random.

ahem.

*one of my go-to clothing stores is h&m. it's cute, trendy, and cheap(!), all things i love. i've discovered that they have baby/kid clothing that's just as cute, trendy, and cheap and it's the source of a good amount of cb's wardrobe. their sizes are super funky, though. cb is wearing 12-18 months in most clothes and is transitioning to 18-24 month clothing. at h&m, though, cb is *swimming* in 12-18 month clothing and the 9-12 month sizes are still pretty loose on him. meanwhile, i have to wear a full 2 sizes larger than i usually do in their grown-up clothing line. all this makes me wonder if swedish people start off as REALLY large babies and then turn into SUPER skinny grown ups. judging from the fact that the only swedes i can think of are actresses and models, i don't think i'm too far off in that thinking.

*speaking of clothing and funkiness, i was reminded of how funky korean clothing can be, especially kids clothing. my dear, dear friend, dana, got her referral this week (YIPEEEE!!!) and she was saying that in some of the pictures, her son (!!) is wearing a pink snowsuit. i laughed and then remembered that when we developed the pictures from the disposable cameras we had sent to his foster family, we saw that choi boy spent a large part of the summer in pigtails and halter tops. i kid you not.
wanna see?
of course you do!


doesn't he look like pebbles flintstone? oh, and that large white spot? the flash. because i took a picture of the pictures instead of scanning them. 'cuz that's how i roll.

*choi boy's into hitting lately and it drives me nuts. when he hits, i hold his hands, look into his eyes and tell him, "look at me. we do NOT hit." except, when i say "look at me," he *really* does. he makes his eyes all wide and big and accompanies them with a mock serious look. it is all i can do not to burst out laughing in his face. so, yes, so far, this method of discipline is SUPER effective. :(

*last week, the hubs went to the store to pick up some things and asked if i wanted to watch a movie. i said sure and to get something that wasn't too serious. he came back with "the t0urist." he didn't read any reviews, but figured that since the two stars were top billing actors, it wouldn't be too bad. it was AWFUL. like, a ridiculous waste of time and money and "talent". i was so upset after watching the movie because it had ridiculous ending and i felt like i had wasted 2 hours of my life. the hubs reminded me that it was free (holla redb0x and the free rental codes!), but still. i woke up the next morning so annoyed and angelina and johnny. ugh. just writing all that got me upset again!

*i'm one of those people that remembers dreams daily. and usually, they're silly, fluff dreams that are a waste of brain space to remember. for instance, last night, i dreamt about fruit snacks. and not only did i dream about fruit snacks, i dreamt that i was eating said fruit snacks in secret because i didn't want cb to find me and eat all my fruit snacks. yes, i have issues.

*then again, if you had a kid that loved food this much,

you'd probably have the same issues. right??

*at target the other day, i found this shirt:

cute, right? except i'm pretty sure that's a pretend "asian" language at the top. please correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm almost certain that that's a strange mix of japanese characters and korean letters. i don't get it. why wouldn't you check this with someone to make sure it made sense before sending it into mass production? (EDIT: my friend informed me that the language on the shirt is an actual language -- japanese. but, really, don't some of the letters totally look korean? okay, i'm done being defensive. i'll own up to being a bit of a dummyhead. that's what whatnot wednesdays are all about anyway, right?)

*oh, wait, asian countries butcher english, or rather, engrish, all the time. case in point, this gem found on a bath mat that my mom bought from the asian grocery store (the best part is the tiny print at the bottom):

don't ask.

and that, my friends, is my first whatnot wednesday. :)

batter up!

someone around here is ready for his rookie season!


just make sure there are ample reading breaks written into his contract.





what's that? i'm up?


i'm on it, coach!

i'm thinking this one's a contender for cb's first baseball card.

whaddya think?

p.s. we're actually not yankees fans around here...i grew up as a kinda sorta mets fan (we were more of basketball family) back during darryl str@wberry's glory days (and pre his crazy legal problems), and the hubs cheers for the brewers, along with all teams wisconsin. the cap was a gift from my dear friend who *is* a big yanks fan. it's so cute and totally matches the pinstripes on cb's paul frank tee (target -- holla!). she gave it to cb along with a giants track suit, just to annoy the hubs. love her. ;)

p.p.s. i {heart} instagram. SO much.

le-le-le-lemon face.

(i apologize for that totally lame musical allusion in the title. i couldn't help myself.)

a few weeks ago, while eating out at a restaurant, choi boy swiped a lemon from me and tried it.

he LOVED it.

and he's been swiping lemons from me ever since.


part of me thinks that his love of lemons is actually a love of the laughter he gets when he makes his little sour faces.





did i mention he's a total ham?






sillyhead!


did i also mention how much those tiny little dimples slay me???