Bedtime Prayers and an Update

Our Sweet Girl is active, super smart, and a whole bunch of Sassy!

We are amazed at how much she has grown and adapted since arriving home...she has a 40+ word vocabulary and for the past week has been going potty 3-4 times a day on her big girl seat! She loves to get into her brother's toys, the cabinets...pretty much anything new that pulls at her curiosity.

We went to the zoo and she loved the "animals", she didn't want to learn the word zoo or lion...instead she learned to say giraffe and animals. I think she thinks she is just as grown up as her brothers!

For months she would scream when I tried to take pictures, but now she smiles and poses for the camera. She loves the water and runs straight into the pool in over her head and when we at arms length grab her and tell her to kick, she just laughs and claps....let's just say I am a bundle of nerves when we head to the pool. My boys were terrified to get water on their head and she just wants to dive right under!

We had a fun adventure at the airport welcoming buddy Miles home and meeting Bates & Aiden. Of course our sweet girl just wanted "downnnnn" so she could explore and run around!

She has quickly learned to say no and has went from eating everything in sight to taking the lead from her big brother and if she doesn't like something will shake her head "no" followed by a "yuck". She will put on Momma's shoes, jackets, socks, whatever she can find. It is not uncommon to see her packing around Hotwheels or a Nerf gun...in hot pursuit of her big brothers.

She loves for me to sing "Rock a bye Baby" and will laugh and giggle..she runs to get her babies and sings "rock a bye" to them and rocks them...such a loving girl. She likes to sing and dance and now runs to the Nursery at church...during puppets she always jumps up to sing and dance!

Life is crazy busy with three littles in the house...especially with two under five that love Mommy's attention. However, no matter how hectic life becomes, we absolutely wouldn't trade these moments with our kiddos for anything in the world! We are so blessed!

Attempting Pig Tails :)

Christmas Gift

When adding a child to your family you work hard to bond and build attachment with your child. Each day brings progress as you see hints of their personality emerge. Often your child will initially be solemn and guarded in their interactions.

Many friends have spoken of the "light switch" moment, when their child finally let go of their hesitance and smiles, giggles, and laughter emerge...well you could say our greatest Christmas present this year was our "light switch" moment.

It was something as simple as a pair of socks from her Korean grandma to bring on the best belly laughter we've heard from her...

We hope you all had a holiday season full of laughter and joy!

Return from my blogging vacation!

Hello to all my fellow bloggers...sorry for the break with no updates. There are several reasons...one being how much I loved my last post...it was just right for the time. The other reason surrounds going from a family of two kids to three kids...life is crazy busy and we have had a sick clan on and off for a month now...we are all now mostly on the mend and hoping to be healthy going into the new year.

Updates on our girl:

• She now has 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on bottom
• She loves to eat and only cries tears when she can't have another cookie or has to wait til lunch or dinner instead of snacking away
• She loves her brothers and likes to be in the middle of everything they're doing
• Sadly she is no longer using Korean words, but is now using many English words
• Momma
• Dada
• Butter (Brother)
• I-yah (Isaiah)
• Bottle or baba
• Ball
• Puppy
• Pup (Cup)
• Juice
• Hello
• Hi-ya
• and her newest word tonight - Jesus
• She can have quite a temper and melt your heart all at the same time
• She melts into us when we pick her up for a hug
• She loves Patty-cake, itsy-bitsy spider, and ride-a-horsey
• We see more smiles and giggles as the weeks pass at home
• She still hugs her FF picture when we show it to her and listens closely when we play the recorded message from them
• Our girl now loves a pacifier...especially at bedtime
• She has completed our family and we are so blessed to have her home

Our two boys have also been busy, growing and changing...

Ethan just finished up the first half of fourth grade and is doing great! He is such a smart boy and loves to read! He also just submitted a book through a publishing program with the school to publish his story on "My Trip to Korea". He did such a wonderful job documenting our trip and I can't wait to share it once we have a copy home!

Isaiah has transitioned from baby to boy before our eyes. He has finally lost his baby fat and this is the stage that just breaks my heart. Don't get me wrong...I love to see my kids grow and thrive..but I don't cry the day they start school, instead for me it is the time I see that change to growing out of "Mommy's Baby".

I have returned to work, which is going well, however, this time it was hard to return. Not because I don't want to work, because I need to be busy and like to be out accomplishing things, but I have been in my current job 5 years and I am having a hard time finding the zeal I had 5 years ago. I am hoping the 11 day break that starts tomorrow will be enough time to put some inspiration into my worklife!

We have our 2nd post placement visit on January 11th. It is hard to believe we have been home for almost three months! Life is finally beginning to settle into our new normal and we enjoy each day learning about each other and growing closer as a family.

Now for what you are really waiting for...PICTURES:

The First Month Home:

Our First Placement Visit:

Birthdays:

Baby Dedication at Church:

Christmas Time:

 Our Traditional Christmas Tree:

 The Tree We Won at the Festival of Trees:

 Annalee's Tree:

 Ethan & Isaiah's Tree:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

A Wish...

One day our family had a dream...a wish...

....we are so blessed that it came true...



An Amazing God Thing!!!

On this adoption journey we have embraced we have met so many wonderful people and familie that are now our friends and our adoption family! We are truly so blessed and my friends, my sisters have been so loving and supportive!

One of my friends started the adoption process after us and she has been so supportive, encouraging, and interested in our process. We have had such a good time sharing our journeys. Well, yesterday and today we have found that our journeys will forever be entertwined!

My friend and I talked yesterday and I asked about if they had received a referral or heard from her agency and she said no, not a word, but hopefully she would get some anticipated paperwork in the mail that day. Well, I got a call later and in fact she received the mail she was waiting on and guess what...a referral call too!

Now I can't give details, because it is still in the very early stages and if you by chance know this person...please do not post any responses that identify her or the family...I want their referral anouncement to be identified by them with all of the details!!!

Anyway, today I received a call...not only is this the perfect child for their family...here is the GOD thing...when Ethan and I were in Korea, we are 99.9999% sure we held her baby and played with the baby and took lots of pictures...so GOD led us to this child, before any of us knew and allowed us to love on this sweet child. How awesome is that?!?!?!?!?!?

God is just too awesome for words sometimes...I keep wondering how much more amazing this journey can be and God keeps showing up and saying, I'll show you!


As for an update on our family...Ethan is back to school and has just continued life as normal, no issues transitioning to an older brother of two now...Isaiah is doing better but still is crying for me alot...naptime and bedtime are the worst, although tonight is the first night since I got home that he did not have an all out fit!

However, he loves his sister and is always by her side:

Annalee continues to adjust and is soooo smart and learning sooo much.

• She was taking 5-10 steps without holding on when we received her, now she is walking all through the house and will stop, squat & pick up a toy, then stand and continue walking!
• She has a hot temper when she doesn't get what she wants and has learned how to take the outlet covers out if we look away for a few seconds, so we have to really keep an eye on her.
• We also have learned that if she needs to have a BM she will go to her pack-n-play and put her arms up to be put in....too funny that she likes her privacy of the pack-n-play to do her business!
• Yesterday she had a really hard grieving spell...I don't think I can ever see her grieve without grieving with her. We had been to the Korean market and my work, both places people spoke to her in Korean, we had walked with her in the carrier for the first time in a few days, and we fixed her rice for dinner...I'm not sure what triggered it, but it carried a bit into today. We kept things pretty secure/calm today to try to help soothe her.
• She is cutting at least one new tooth, maybe more.
• We went through her items from Korea today and found that the recorded book we sent for her was retaped by the Foster Family! They say..."Hello Mommy, Hello Daddy, I love you! Thank you Mommy! Bye!" They also say several things in Korean...what a treasure for her and us...I am thankful we recorded the original with my cell phone and will record this too, so she can always have both recordings!

Now for some cute pictures