Made in Taiwan

"Mama, take a picture"

2012-01-26T23:06:00.001-08:00

Can you say spoiled?

2012-01-26T23:02:00.001-08:00

Postal truck of Taiwan.

"I'm going to eat aaaaallll that!"

2012-01-26T22:57:00.001-08:00

He says this a lot about food he likes. Ah-ma (grandma) gave him an oreo. Who knew he liked them so much? The only time he gets cookies from me (usually) are the ones I make myself.

"I want the Robot Rice"

2012-01-25T21:59:00.001-08:00

2012-01-25T21:58:00.001-08:00

bath and grooming time.

"Mama, you need a man"

2012-01-24T22:46:00.001-08:00

He got a brown and white man today. He insisted on white bread, but I convinced him to have half wheat at least.

"Sit next to me!"

2012-01-24T22:45:00.001-08:00

We went back to GR/Eats with Ah-goo (uncle, my brother), same table and everything. We stopped by his office and grabbed some dinner before picking up Ah-ma (grandma, my mom) from LAX. Ah-gong (grandpa, my dad) stopped by during lunch too. How funny, we saw my whole family in one day. That's pretty rare!

"Everything is ok in the Bathroom"

2012-01-23T20:52:00.001-08:00

Mmm... bread from 85c, reminds me of taking him to his saturday music class and stopping by for bread and tea.

Baba vacuuming water, spread all the way to the wood and carpet on both sides.

NJ watching "the man" (plumber) work outside.

Total disaster of a day. Pouring rain, clogged main pipe, kitchen sink, and bathroom sink plus flooded bathroom. Through it all, NJ behaved as well as he could have and played on his own or watched from where we let him. Thank goodness. Didn't get much done today except for damage control. :(

"I eat my house"

2012-01-22T22:58:00.001-08:00

Today he wanted a house cutout for his sandwich.

Oops, Mama was in a Hurry

2012-01-22T22:56:00.001-08:00

What's wrong with this picture?

I was rushing to get out the door on time, so I brought his shoes to put them on NJ while he finished eating. I'm gathering my things when I hear Baba bust out laughing. What? He points at NJ's feet... Oh! NJ started to whine about not wanting to take his shoes off because he wanted to go with us. We're not leaving you, Mama just made a mistake!

"Jesus, Donkey, Bible!"

2012-01-22T22:50:00.001-08:00

NJ showed up in the sanctuary after his class still eating some goldfish. He happily ate them while listening to music and getting attention from all his aunties and uncles. He got a special treat of opening a gift from Uncle Steve & Auntie Helen. Thanks for the jackets!

Not many have actually heard NJ talk as much as he talks to us or sees him as active as we see him. During car rides, he talks almost non-stop. He'll recite stories that he knows, repeat what we say, pretend to be in our conversation, ask us question after question... Something else he does is his letters and words thing, saying a word and saying what it starts with: "B is for buh-buh-bell!" or "E is for eh-eh-elephant!" Yesterday on the way home from dinner, he was doing that and added: "J is for ja-ja-Jesus! (then) Donkey! Bible!" Well, that was random. I couldn't contain my laughter. What's going on in that mind of his?

the boys

2012-01-22T22:32:00.001-08:00

NJ checking out what Jac and Nic are watching. What a fun time getting together with our "FOT" friends! And a surprise visit from Uncle Perry made it extra fun for NJ who was all over him as usual. Thank you to Uncle Wayne & Auntie Charmy for the cool lunch pail and shirts, to Uncle Ken & Auntie Iris for the red envelope, and to Uncle Jeff & Auntie Susan for the bread from 85... So many gifts this weekend, what a lucky kid.

"I want to flush your poop!"

2012-01-21T21:49:00.001-08:00

Eeeew...

Bye, Bye Bieber Hair...

2012-01-21T21:29:00.001-08:00

Before:

"Baba, don't cut my ear!"

After:

Good job, Baba! First home haircut by Baba. Not bad for his first attempt! Much better than paying. Baba cuts his hair himself to save money, so now we can save even more. If you ask him if he wants a haircut, he'll say yes. Only because of his grandmothers saying so and because he thinks he gets to watch a video/dvd. Well, for fear of his hair getting cut by grandma, we figured it was time. Somehow I feel like me getting upset over the first three times doesn't phase her whatsoever.

NJ, meet Ella

2012-01-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

We had a little Chinese New Year celebratory dinner with fellow adoptive parents from The Home of God's Love (where NJ is from). Funny, it was a bit like a blind date only because we've never met each other. Danielle and I met over FB, where a lot of THOGL families have connected. I was so excited to finally actually meet! First time I've met (in person) a friend that I met on FB. We went to a Taiwanese sizzling steak and spaghetti place called Formosan Restaurant. Yum. Haven't been there in a long time. It was so nice to talk about our adoption experience and have someone understand what you're talking about! And hearing their stories too. Talking about it reminded me of how it was nothing short of a miracle that we have our son. God had it all planned so perfectly and he fits with us so well. It made me feel so blessed... That we could have our beloved son and that we could meet such a lovely family that we could bond with. Thank you to Wade, Danielle, and Ella for meeting us for some Taiwanese food and frozen yogurt! And for the fun robot bag of coloring pages, coloring book, puzzle, and red envelope! That was so kind and thoughtful of you, he loves it!

"I eat the heart"

2012-01-20T23:50:00.001-08:00

He said this during lunch, confusing Baba since he didn't see what NJ ate for breakfast.

For dinner, we had leftovers (from yesterday). NJ got his first while we finished preparing more food. It didn't take long for him to say to me, "I don't want it, the chicken is bad." That's odd, he's never said that before. I've never heard him say that food is bad. How strange. I told him to just try eating it. But then I asked Baba to try it and he said it was really bad. Oops, sorry baby! So we tossed it and gave him fresh rice and dried shredded pork. Wasn't the best dinner for him, but better than bad chicken. :(

Boys, boys...

2012-01-20T23:38:00.001-08:00

Oh dear.

Mama's Baking Helper

2012-01-20T23:34:00.001-08:00

I was in a baking mood again and NJ pulled up a stool as usual. I let him help as long as he was being a good listener and being cooperative. He did pretty well, pouring in some measured ingredients. He loves to watch the mixer mix. Once he got restless and started trying to touch everything, I moved on to dinner and finished baking after we ate. I love how he likes helping.

"I eat the man's arm!"

2012-01-19T21:16:00.001-08:00

Looking up sandwich cutters, I got inspired to make a fun shape for his pb&j this morning. I let him choose a shape out of some cookie cutters we have. He really enjoyed talking about eating the man's arms and legs. I thought that was a little strange, but I'm wondering if it's worse that I left him the cut out of "the man". Reminds me of an ad I did in school for Krispy Kreme. Fun times!

Mesmerized by Cars

2012-01-19T20:55:00.001-08:00

We had a few errands to do today and in the middle of it all, we met Ah-ma for lunch. It was the second surprise lunch visit of the week. It was nice to see her and have NJ spend time with her too. We went to eat at one of our favorite places... where Baba gets his stinky tofu. Ha, ha. Ah, the familiar smell of Taiwan.

"I like to watch the basketball."

2012-01-19T20:47:00.001-08:00

He got some snacks and instead of wandering around while eating it, he plopped himself down on the stool to watch the game. He still asks every time a commercial comes up, "Why there's no basketball more?" And every time I tell him, "They're commercials! People have to sell stuff to make money, it's called advertising..." Ok, maybe not every time, but I do say that they're commercials and that the game will come back.

2012-01-18T22:31:00.001-08:00

"Surprise!" Baba and NJ went out together today and came back with a surprise for me, how sweet!

Such fake smiles! How about a real one?!

2012-01-17T22:21:00.000-08:00

Pull up your pants, dude!

2012-01-16T20:50:00.001-08:00

Not only has he developed quite the attitude, but his pants half way down his bottom makes us feel like we've got a mini teenager on our hands. He wants to do everything himself including pushing this shopping cart that he could hardly hold or steer. On Sunday morning when I went into his bedroom, he already had pants, a shirt, underwear, and socks all laid out on his bed. Well that was easy!

2012-01-16T20:08:00.001-08:00

Surprise from guh-guh

2012-01-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

Smile, boys!

Show some teeth!

Close your eyes and open your hand... Cameron has a surprise for you.

Ooh, it's a car! Thank you, Cameron guh-guh.

This morning I took NJ to our old church just five minutes from here. During class with his guh-guh (big brother), NJ asked the teacher to see baby (guh-guh's little brother). Ha, ha, he really loves seeing him. When I went to get him he said, "I like ah-ee's church" and "I don't want to go home". We were going to follow auntie and boys to see Uncle race, but it didn't work out. I told him about it so NJ was disappointed when we told him we weren't going anymore. He said, "I want to go see car racing!" I felt so bad, but at least he was ok with having lunch with them instead. After lunch, guh-guh had a surprise for NJ. How sweet, he gave him a car.

Whenever we're leaving the house NJ asks which car we're taking. He always wants to to ride in the Mazda. Ha, ha, like father like son. He asked if we're taking the Mazda as we were leaving this morning and I said no because I can't drive it (I never learned manual). So when we got home, he sees the Mazda and says, "You can't drive Mazda? Only Toyota? You need to grow taller?" Ha! Not really, but funny that he made that conclusion. We tell him all the time that he can't ride something or reach or do something because he needs to be bigger or grow taller. Later before dinner, he asked me to get something for him. I told him that he had to wait to ask Baba to get it because I can't reach it. He says to me, "You're not big enough? Baba is bigger?" Yes, exactly.

"You love me and I love you too!"

2012-01-14T22:04:00.001-08:00

NJ's constantly asking for us to read to him. When I told him that I needed to finish eating and washing the dishes, he opened up the books and said the story almost word for word, page by page. It was cute and funny. Pretty good, he knows the stories well!

He likes to randomly belt out the ABC song just about anytime, anywhere. Yesterday, he made up his own variation of it. He made it up on the fly, which we thought was interesting. It went a little like this: "A-B-C-D-E-F-G- alright! H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P- alright! Q-R-S-T-U-V- alright! W-X-Y-Z- alright! Alright, alright!" We don't know where it came from, but it had us laughing.

Seeing me snack on kettle corn, he asked for some too. With the gigantic bag we got, there was plenty left. He saw the bag and said, "I'm going to eat aaaaalllllll that!" Is that right? Once he was done with a handful, I said no more since we'd be having dinner soon. And he says, "May I have dinner please?" During dinner he randomly said to me, "You love me and I love you too!" Aww, what a sweetheart.

I finally started to put away the Christmas ornaments and decorations today. NJ saw me and helped me put some away. Later on in the day, I heard him making all kinds of noise in that room. I peeked over and he was dragging the box of Christmas stuff around. I asked him what he was doing and he says, "You need help!" Hmmm. Such an odd thing to be hearing from my little one. I said, "I need help?" He says emphatically, "Yes!" Ok then! Just please don't say that to me when I'm old...

"For food?"

2012-01-13T23:50:00.000-08:00

We went to get some groceries and looked at some shelves that were on sale. NJ saw the ones we were looking at. I told him it was for storage and he says, "For food?" That made us laugh. I said, "Do we need more storage for food?" His answer, "Yeah."

On the way home, we picked up some Chick-Fil-A. We asked him what he wanted. He said, "Nuggets and sauce." Then he adds, "And I want fries, it's good for me!" Baba and I busted out laughing. Oh really? And what gave you that idea? I guess I tell him all the time to: "Just eat it, it's good for you." Ha, ha. The three of us shared one order of fries and nuggets. I gave a little fry to him and I took one too. He saw me reach for another and said, "No, don't get it! I want some too! Don't eat it, Mama, don't eat it!" Oh my, does this kid think about anything other than food?!

Fun Snacks

2012-01-13T23:47:00.000-08:00

His dinner was definitely spoiled by eating way too much kettle corn, peanuts, and parmesan fries. It doesn't happen often, but we got hungry walking around. It was cute how he'd look up with his hands open looking for more kettle corn. And his girlfriend was nice enough to crack open the peanut shells and feed him the nuts. Ha, ha. He had his first pony ride and petting zoo experience thanks to the generous Uncle Tristan. Poor guy was freaked out at first being put on a horse and then cried twice over big goats getting too close to him. Oh dear. But he seemed to enjoy it. On the way home he told the story over and over about Gaby's skirt being eaten by a goat and Uncle Tristan saying, "No!" Yes, so we've heard. Silly.

Date Night

2012-01-13T23:26:00.001-08:00

Walking together....

Sharing...

Some dinner and drinks...

Dancing...

Horse back riding...

And a sweet hug goodnight. Thank you for the invitation, but NJ cannot go to your house tonight.

Maybe I mentioned it to him a bit too early today because he was asking to see his girlfriend all day long. He also talked about her all the way over to meeting her and her parents. We had to ask him to be patient since he kept asking, "Are we going to Gaby's house? Are we almost there?" It was too much! Baba said to me, "I feel like we're driving him to a date." So we joked that night about him and Gaby having their first date. During dinner, she whispered in her mom's ear that she still wanted NJ as her boyfriend when she's a teenager. Ha! Silly little ones!

"Is it go time?"

2012-01-12T22:43:00.001-08:00

Petal, petal, petal...

2012-01-11T22:48:00.001-08:00

I took him up the street to the end of the cul de sac to ride his little borrowed tricycle. Usually he only puts his feet up on the petal while I push or just scoots with his feet. But finally today I got him to petal on his own. I wanted him to get some energy out, but really it took more energy out of me! It's so tiring to keep my hand on the back to make sure he doesn't tip over or to steer him at times. Even if we're along the side of the street, he goes all the way to the curb and gets off the trike until a car passes. At least he's got safety sense. Today he stopped at a rock, got off the trike to pick it up and throw it out of the way before getting back on to keep riding. How strange.

This morning, I was still in my pi's or sweats as we ate breakfast. He says to me, "Mama, why you keep wearing this?" As if he disapproved. They're my pajama's, I wear them everyday, who cares?! What are you, my little fashion police? Sheesh.

2012-01-10T22:48:00.003-08:00

Taiwanese Thomas the Train

2012-01-10T22:48:00.001-08:00

Over and over, we read the same five or so books. His favorite today was a Thomas the train story. After about the 15th or 20th time, Baba said, "Ask Mama to read it to you in Taiwanese." What? Between the two of us, he has the better Taiwanese! So I pushed it back onto him... He took the challenge and I was laughing already. About two pages in, I was in tears... trying to translate a Thomas the train story into Taiwanese was a lot more challenging than I even thought. You don't realize how little you actually know until you come across any words other than basic conversational ones. Even better, the whole time NJ was wandering around the room, bringing me other books to read, and asking Baba to: "Read the story!"

2012-01-09T21:51:00.001-08:00

"Is it food time?"

2012-01-08T20:20:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, he heard me putting away dishes and came running into the kitchen. He says, "Is it food time?" Baba laughs. Where did he get that? First time we've heard him say it. He's asking for food and snacks all day, so it shouldn't be a surprise it just sounds funny.

2012-01-08T20:16:00.001-08:00

"Honk-a-kong!"

2012-01-07T21:00:00.001-08:00

At first, that's what NJ would call an octagon. I quickly corrected him and he says it fine now, but Baba would say, "But I like Honkakong so much better!" Too bad, I can't have him saying wrong just so we can have a laugh every time!

There he goes...

2012-01-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

This guy turns three and suddenly he's got a ton more energy. I downloaded the photos of the day and this one reminded me of a sasquatch sighting. Baba and I are both still sick and trying to get better, but it's been really hard trying to get the proper rest we need. The poor guy hasn't been able to let any of his energy out, he's like a caged animal waiting to get out. It's getting really tiring just being stuck here. Today and yesterday, he'd follow me around the house. Every time I had to go to the bathroom this is what we'd (NJ and I) go through:

Following me to the bathroom- NJ: "Where you going, Mama?"

Mama: "I'm going to the bathroom, don't follow me."

NJ: (running after me) "I will close the door. I, I will close it for you! I close it for you!" (he barely lets me shut it and I lock the door)

Mama: "Ok. Thank you."

NJ: (from outside the door) "I will wait for you. (I can hear him running his hands all over the door and breathing on it) Are you done? Are you done, Mama? You done?" (the whole time until I open the door)

Mama: "No." (I open the door and he pushes it open)

NJ: "Mama! Hi! You done? You done now?"

Mama: "Yes. Ok, let's go..."

Oh my.

2012-01-06T21:51:00.001-08:00

NJ asked for crackers and peanut butter. I make them into mini cracker sandwiches. I spread them out on his plate and gave it to him. He said, "Why you put it like that?" I paid no attention, I was so hungry and busy making my own food. When I turned around, there were his crackers, stacked up like a little tower. Such strange tendencies he has. Just like the way he lines up his cars or goes around adjusting things in the house. We caught him moving one of the barstools and we asked him not to touch it. He kept insisting on turning it until it faced the same way as the other two. He also does that with the tp in bathroom. I can just picture him when he's older, having everything on his desk at right angles and going around adjusting crooked frames on walls. A while ago I made him a pb and j that I cut into smaller pieces. Some of the pb left on the knife got onto the outside of the sandwich. When he got his sandwich, he says, "Mama, why you made a mess?" referring to the pb outside of the sandwich. It was so little- who cares?! I told him to eat it, it won't hurt him.

He got in so much trouble yesterday that almost all his toys are gone. I wondered wether he'd get into more trouble not having much to play with. Nope, he made do with what he had. And to my surprise, he was taking books off the shelf to look at them on his own. Usually he just sticks to whatever pile he makes in the other room and reads them over and over until I rotate it. Nice to know he was helping himself to even more books, that made me happy.

The boys went out for errands as I got some rest (and laundry done). They came back with lunch and the first thing that NJ says is: "I have prench pries!" Baba and I laughed. "Prench pries?!" Somehow lately he's been sounding a bit Filipino, ha ha. It all started with him retelling the story about me dropping frozen string beans all over the kitchen floor. I yelled, "No Dotty, don't eat them, they're frozen!" And from then on, he'd randomly say: "Mama drop the beans and say Dotty don't eat it, it's prozen!" Baba and I would laugh repeating, "It's prozen!" So now he's got a chinese and filipino accent, hmmm...

2012-01-05T22:33:00.001-08:00

2012-01-04T21:01:00.001-08:00

And the sick emerge... it's been a whole week since I've left the house. It was incredibly warm and bright out. The three of us went out together to do errands we couldn't put off. The little one fell asleep easily in the car, poor guy must be so tired from not feeling well.

Poor little NJ has been deprived to minimal parenting by a miserable Baba and Mama. Don't worry, he still gets fed, showered, and all that good stuff. We just haven't exactly had much energy to play with him, teach him, and talk to him as we normally do. There's a lot more grunting and sighing. All three of us are cranky, miserable, and not ourselves. Today since I was feeling better, I broke out some flash cards to teach and play with him a little.

I'm realizing more and more how much he needs pre-school. He would learn so much more than I can teach him, he'd love the classroom atmosphere, playing with other kids... And he's got so much energy now it'll be good for him to get out of the house and get his energy out doing other stuff. May as well be productive about it and have him learn. But my paranoia of sickness has not subsided. The debate continues!

"Doonk"

2012-01-03T21:43:00.001-08:00

This what we hear from NJ all day long...

I put something away in the cupboard: "Doonk."

I drop something: "Doonk."

Baba closes the door: "Doonk."

Baba sits down: "Doonk."

He crashes his cars together: "Doonk."

He puts his cup on the table: "Doonk."

He bumps into something: "Doonk."

Sound effects from our three year old. Uncle Perry was the one to point it out, I kind of noticed before but hadn't really thought that much about it. Was it influenced by Uncle Perry since it's a very Uncle Perry-like thing to put sound effects to random things? Did he make it up on his own? If so, where did it come from? It's a mystery.

He's also asking with every random noise, "What's that?" Even if he knows what it is!

Dotty snoring: "What's that?"

Kid next door crying: "What's that?"

Something drops on the floor: "What's that?"

A loud car drives by: "What's that?"

A plane flies over: "What's that?"

Hmm, what else? Oh, something else he's saying a lot of, "Is that for me?" Umm, no it's not! Well, sometimes yes, but mostly no....

I take something from the refrigerator: "Is that for me?"

Baba brings home groceries: "Is that for me?"

Baba brings something out from our bedroom: "Is that for me?"

Baba brings in the mail or a package: "Is that for me?"

I get a phone call: "Is that for me?"

Rose Parade

2012-01-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

NJ periodically sat to watch parts of the parade. He liked the marching bands, just like he did when we watched in person. I'm going to say this every year, I think but I still miss living only one block away.

"Is it time to eat?"

2012-01-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

He asks me as he's asking for food in the kitchen. Then he goes to the table, sits down, and buckles himself into his booster. He says, "I'm hungry. I'll wait for Baba." I told him it was going to be a while. I was surprised he was willing to wait buckled since he's unable to unbuckle himself. To no surprise, his enthusiasm faded.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

Finally, a morning I wake up not feeling totally miserable. How many days has it been already? I thought it would never end. Still a ways to go, though.

2011-12-31T13:51:00.000-08:00

Baba had to work and I still felt the same, so NJ spent a little time with Uncle Jason and family. I heard later that he said he liked going to Uncle Jason's and that he got to eat cookies. Hmm, well that'll win him over! Thank you for the last minute help, Jason and Marnie! And thanks for the forwarded photo... you didn't have to listen to him, he's three!

A very quiet new years eve...

2011-12-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

With the exception of the on-going excessive fireworks all night.

Best chicken noodle soup

2011-12-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

Still don't feel any better. Seems like little NJ is, though so that's good. Well, my wonderful better half made us all some chicken noodle soup. It was the best chicken noodle soup that he's made and that I've tasted. Yum. If you're ever sick, ask you know who to make you some chicken good soup. Hee, hee.

2011-12-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

Now another little someone has the sniffles and cough. Great! Meanwhile, I had a horrible night of hardly any sleep with chills, sweating, headache and body ache. Yay. One of the few times I walked out of my room, NJ just starred at me and talked non-stop: "Hi Mama! Good morning (even though it's not- it's just the first time seeing me)! You better? You feel better? You better now? You need blood test more? You ok? You gonna eat?" Sheesh. I couldn't even process what he was saying at the time, all I could do was stare back. It's sweet for him to be concerned.

2011-12-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

Late breakfast/brunch in Westwood after a quick blood test. Woke up with the sniffles and a cough. Great.

Breakfast & Downtown Disney

2011-12-27T23:47:00.001-08:00

NJ helping with the eggs for breakfast. Also for breakfast, some pancakes, bacon, and sausage. Ah-goo and Ah-gim (his Uncle Perry and Auntie Karen) came over for breakfast, which was more like brunch. We all woke up late, but it made for a relaxing day.

After, we headed to Downtown Disney to walk around. NJ was glued to his favorite uncle, it was the cutest!

Ooh, parrot! Let's learn about Macaws. Never knew there was a bone in their tongue, how strange.

Of coarse, the favorite store of every boy!

Let's take a break...

For some Jamba Juice!

Let's enjoy the moment...

As we were walking, NJ stopped and seemed to want to sit down along the side. Ah-goo says, "Oh, you want to stop and enjoy the moment? Ok." So we all sit down. Almost as soon as I take this photo and put away my camera, NJ just starts walking again and we all follow. I said, "Moment enjoyed!"

Belated Christmas dinner with friends

2011-12-27T23:47:00.000-08:00

How awesome to be sitting around at one table with some of my closest and best friends. I feel so blessed just to be sitting at home enjoying dinner to celebrate Christmas. This year has been the toughest that I've had to experience and I'm sure hubby would say the same. But here we are, alive and doing "normal" things again. We wouldn't be here without the major help of our friends, family, and most of all God. I think we may have already used up our quota of prayers, love, support, help, favors, kindness, and anything else good for a lifetime just this year alone. I'm not sure how we'll ever be able to make it up to everyone, it's an impossible job, but we have to try! We hope for better opportunities to serve others as we can. Thank you, everyone who has taken the journey with us this last year... we love you and thank God for you.

2011-12-26T23:34:00.000-08:00

Target. His face says it all.

This one's called: Tired of leftovers.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

More presents than any three year old could possibly appreciate. Still, it made us happy that he's this loved and to see how happy he was to open every one of them. It would have been nice to make it to church, but I didn't want to rush and stress over cooking. So it was surprisingly stress free cooking and relaxing. It was really sweet to get not one, but two invitations to dinner. We regrettably declined, I'm sad to not have had the chance to spend Christmas with more loved ones. But it's best we stayed home since we didn't get to cleaning and nap time until after 4:00, which would have made it a rushed and tiring evening. So it was just the three of us. We are definitely thanking God for this time together as a family. Happy Birthday Jesus!

2011-12-25T23:08:00.000-08:00

So cute! If only it wasn't a high of 77 today! It's a warm Christmas.

We feel ya, Dot Dot, we didn't have presents to open either. They all went to you know who! Ha, ha.

My boys racing their cars. Baba teaching NJ about how to line up the cars and how to separate the winner's bracket. Oh my.

Baba's parents came over (Ah-ma and Gong-gong) for lunch.

It's also Gong-gong's birthday, so we surprised him with some ice cream cake. Who enjoyed it the most? You guessed it... NJ!

Little Helper

2011-12-24T23:10:00.001-08:00

2011-12-24T23:08:00.001-08:00

Early Christmas lunch with some of NJ's favorite people!

2011-12-24T23:06:00.001-08:00

We're all matchy-matchy with our jeans and red tops. Ha, ha, thanks for suggesting to photo, Perry!

2011-12-23T22:02:00.001-08:00

To last the weekend I stayed home to rest, but the boys went out. NJ got to spend time with his girlfriend. I heard there was lots of hugging, kissing, breathing on each other, and chasing each other. And Gaby was even asking for him to go home with her to sleep in her bed, ha ha! Hmm... Uncle Tristan might not be so happy about that! Boys and girls sleep separately 'till married! So cute, though... at least their love for each other is mutual.

Lemon picking and food chopping...

2011-12-22T21:55:00.001-08:00

With Cousin Cooper!

"I put it in my nose!"

2011-12-22T21:53:00.001-08:00

Blue tape removed by tweezers. Still two pieces unaccounted for...

"Christmas lights!"

2011-12-22T21:51:00.001-08:00

Screamed louder than I care to hear! Paired with his antsy, bouncy dance.

2011-12-21T22:47:00.001-08:00

"My hands are all dirty, I want to wash my hands!"

2011-12-20T23:44:00.000-08:00

He was supposed to be out helping Baba. I went outside to check it out and all I heard from NJ was him complaining about his hands being dirty. Sheesh... I asked him if he wanted to stay outside to help or come inside to wash his hands. He kept asking to wash his hands, but also insisting, "I want to help Baba!"

"Thank you for my lunch!"

2011-12-20T23:39:00.000-08:00

I'm proud of our healthy lunch... turkey & cucumber sandwich with carrots, grapes, and cheese.

Not so proud of our hodge podge dinner... NJ had leftover pasta, Baba had leftover beef, beans, and rice, and I had cereal. Yes!

Yogurt Face

2011-12-19T22:31:00.001-08:00

Our dinner conversation:

NJ- "I have no hair!"

Mama- "What?! Who has no hair?"

NJ- "Ah-Tso." (great grandma, my mom's mom)

Mama- "What?! No, who do we know that has no hair?"

NJ- "Mama has hair, Baba has hair, Dotty has hair..."

Mama- "No, it's Ah-goo (Uncle Perry), he has no hair on his head."

NJ- "And Ah-Gim too!" (Auntie Karen, his wife)

Baba- "What?!"

He had us rolling in our seats. Silly kid.

First Christmas Performance!

2011-12-18T23:59:00.000-08:00

It's always been my favorite part of Christmas services... the adorable, fidgety, off-key, un-coordinated children singing and following motions that go along with it. Besides being super-cute and fun, it's a joy to see children be a part of Christmas celebration. Of coarse before NJ I'd wonder if we'd ever be one of those parents up in the front with their cameras and camcorders (I suppose people don't use camcorders much anymore, ha!). So today was extra meaningful in that way. It's a little piece of that dream come true that we wanted. There he was, standing, looking around, turning around, staring at other kids, and at us, not singing or doing any motions. But oh well, that's what's great about it!

Movie Popcorn from 50/50...

2011-12-18T23:55:00.000-08:00

I got invited to coffee or a movie. I said coffee, not a movie. But my wonderful hubby encouraged me to go for the movie instead and enjoy myself. So I did. I wasn't even sure what we were seeing, all I cared about was getting out and spending time with a friend. We went to this great theatre nearby that plays old movies for $2. Woohoo! My kind of place! Well to my surprise I was hit hard by emotions and feelings that I have been trying to forget. At one point the flow of snot and tears were more than my thin, rough theatre napkin could handle. I couldn't turn it off, it was weird. I'm already a cryer (at almost everything) and an emotional person, but this was nuts. It brought me back to this past year and all that's happened. It was hard to watch, but awesome and hilarious all at the same time. Walking out of the theatre, my friend and I looked at each other and laughed! She apologized about this being the first theatre movie experience since having my life back. I insisted that it was highly appropriate! Even more so that she visited me most behind hubby, mom, my brother, and dad while I was sick. I know God wanted me to relive my emotions to remind me of how great is it to have life return to normal. :)

Tree Decorating

2011-12-18T23:27:00.001-08:00

Finally! The tree has been up for the last two weeks, I think. And everyday I plan to decorate it, but it never quite happens. There's just too much to do in a day and not enough time. And everyday NJ asks me, "Why the tree not decorated?" and "Why there's no star on the top?" or "Why it's not on?" He's been waiting to decorate the tree and see it lit up. It was fun to decorate it together and see how much he enjoyed helping. I broke almost an entire box of the big ornaments, oops! My how it's changed from year to year, NJ is decorating the tree with us. Makes me so happy to enjoy these moments with him and baba.

Dinner and Lion Dance

2011-12-17T23:13:00.001-08:00

"I want to go to Sam's Club too!"

2011-12-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

Dot Dot and NJ...

2011-12-15T23:32:00.000-08:00

2011-12-14T22:21:00.001-08:00

"Thank you for cooking!"

2011-12-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

Awww, so sweet when he's complimentary. I made some chocolate pancakes with chocolate chips and walnuts. I tried a recipe from scratch, so much better than from a box. :) We shared snacks after his nap. When I was done with a piece, he said: "You're done? I give you another one. This one for you!" How nice, I like it when he shares!

"I want to help"

2011-12-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

He climbs up onto a chair every time I'm wrapping a gift or packaging something. Today I let him help a little with packing the box. But on Saturday, he takes my roll of tape and says, "I want to help. I will help you. I will get you..." He starts to tangle up the tape. He couldn't get any off the little dispenser so he looks at me and says, "I need help." Oh dear. I said, "I thought you were going to help me, now you need my help?"

"May I Please..."

2011-12-13T23:28:00.000-08:00

All day I was hearing demand after demand. If I ask him, "How do you say it nicely?" He's respond with, "Please?" But I want him to say it in an entire sentence. I was tired of hearing him say, "I want it" or "Get it". Finally I just ignored his requests until he figured out to say, "Please, may I have..." And it worked! Why didn't I think of this before? He knows, he just wouldn't do it.

"Come on, Dotty!"

2011-12-13T23:22:00.000-08:00

We went for a walk, a short one because it was cold! We brought a card over to our neighbor's house and walked to the end of the cu-de-sac. I asked him to hold the plastic bag and talked the whole time about how he's going to get Dotty's poop. "I get the bag and put it on my hand and I get the poop!" Good thing that wasn't necessary because I'm sure it would have gone wrong! NJ was not happy about going home, he wanted to keep going. He kept saying to me, "I don't want to go home..." even after we were in the house and taking his shoes off. You're already home, silly!

"...she's pretty!"

2011-12-12T22:37:00.001-08:00

We met Auntie Sherry for lunch today. It was my first time driving any where else other than in the area and it was pouring rain! It was nice to see her though and NJ really liked seeing her too. He was talking about her even after we got home.

NJ- "Yesterday, we have lunch with Auntie Sherry."

Me- "That was today. Did you like having lunch with Auntie Sherry?"

NJ- "Yeah. And she's pretty!

Me- "Oh, you think Auntie Sherry's pretty?"

NJ- "Yeah. And she wearing the purple shirt."

He even wanted me to pray for her when we sat down to eat. Ha, ha. He interrupted me to remind me to pray for her and Uncle Matt.

"Don't drink and ride!"

2011-12-12T22:30:00.001-08:00

I didn't realize what it sounded like until he repeated it... From the kitchen I heard him fall (at least that's what it sounded like). I went over and he was sitting on his bike with one hand on the floor, leaning over drinking from his straw cup that was also on the floor. How odd.

My Snuggled Boys

2011-12-12T22:24:00.001-08:00

As soon as Baba got home, NJ went running to his room yelling: "Hi Baba! I get the blanket for you!" Ha, ha, cute. He snuggled up with Baba and tucked himself into the blanket. Awww...

Lunch with a Surprise Guest...

2011-12-11T21:34:00.001-08:00

It's Ah-goo! (Uncle Perry) Yay!

Lounging with Ah-goo

2011-12-11T21:31:00.001-08:00

Lots of lounging! He was climbing all over poor Uncle Perry, always wanting to sit with him. NJ kept asking to see the clip of their puppy play and of mini coopers racing. Since he's not used to much tv or videos, he was glued.

Boats are Coming!

2011-12-11T21:27:00.001-08:00

We went down to stand by the boat, where we could feel the waves rocking under us. Uncle Perry held NJ for a while, fearing he'd fall into the water. I told him his arms would get tired and to let him stand holding onto us. I said to NJ, "You have to hold my hand or Ah-goo's hand at all times or you're going inside the house and no more boat parade." Whew, that worked! Ha, ha. But it got cold and the waves started to really rock, so we went back inside. As the parade went on, the boats got larger and the speed got faster, all making the waves bigger. NJ enjoyed waving and saying Hi and Merry Christmas to all the people on the boats that passed. That was nice.

On the way home I asked him, "Did you enjoy your time with Ah-gong (grandpa) and Ah-goo (uncle)?" His response, "Yeah, it was cool!" Ha, ha, woaw... he's never said that before!

Free Donut!

2011-12-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

We were next to a donut shop and I had to get one! I can't remember the last time I tasted a donut, yum. As I was deciding, the lady gave NJ a chocolate donut hole with sprinkles. He was so happy, he quickly disappeared. I turned around and he was sitting at a table enjoying his treat. What a lucky boy. We made sure he said thank you.

Cupcake at the Park

2011-12-10T20:02:00.001-08:00

After his nap, we went to the park to take more pictures. Mostly of his favorite guh-guh and didi (big and little brother), but he joined in on a few of them. How cute to have some memorable photos of the three boys! I brought some snacks to the park to keep the boys happy with treats (if needed). But NJ saw that I had a cupcake in the snack bag and asked for it the entire time. He must've asked about twenty times, "Cupcake now?" It wasn't until we were done that I gave it to him.

2011-12-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Night Night Prayer book and then into pajama's!

2011-12-09T21:27:00.001-08:00

There's cereal on your nose!

Cheers! The boys went out to the auto store and came back with a surprise, awww... Even NJ had a little bit of a smoothie. How sweet that they would get me a favorite treat. :)

We had a nice dinner at the table together. I was happy to make dinner and happy that everyone cleaned their plates.

A little after dinner treat. NJ pulled up a stool to watch as I made cupcakes. He was so excited to eat one! He kept asking, "It's done? Can I have it now?"

It was a fun day together, no drama. We even got the tree out to decorate only to find that's it's turned yellow! And all day NJ was asking, "Is it Christmas?" and "Why there's no star on the tree?" and "Why you not decorating?" I was busy cleaning and being annoyed that our lovely white tree is now a horribly discolored shade of yellow. :(

2011-12-08T23:08:00.001-08:00

He was really trying to roll a piece of chicken in the onion cake, just like I did with his El Pollo Loco chicken in a tortilla the other night. I guess this would be a Shanghai style.

2011-12-07T22:00:00.000-08:00

"Build with me"

2011-12-06T19:53:00.001-08:00

After our bedtime prayer, he asked us to read "Night Night Prayer" before tucking him in. He loves that book and it's the perfect bedtime story.

2011-12-05T23:11:00.001-08:00

"Thank you for washing the grapes and berries for me to eat!"

Awww...

"Come watch me dump!"

Hmmm...

2011-12-05T23:10:00.001-08:00

My day of craftiness... ornaments for an ornament exchange amongst adoptive moms. And cards for my visit to UCLA.

2011-12-04T23:05:00.001-08:00

We were sad to miss church again this week, but we didn't want our sniffly guy to spread his germs. As long as they're not spread to me either, that's the problem.

2011-12-03T22:14:00.001-08:00

The "happy" eaters...

"We eat ice cream now?"

I don't think he felt like eating much because he wasn't feeling well. At least his runny nose is mostly gone, but he's congested. He's got the funny deep voice. He was very quiet during dinner but he did manage to say to me: "I"m not wearing underwear." Hmm, hardly appropriate to say over dinner. I asked him about it and he said no more. I guess that's all he had to say about that.

2011-11-30T23:11:00.000-08:00

Peacefully still asleep.

Some photos at the park. Sniffly again, ugh!

Sniffly NJ missed out on our little lunch date... he loves seeing his favorite di-di (little brother)!

2011-11-29T21:47:00.001-08:00

Reading about bulldozers in bulldozer pj's.

Alaska Puzzle

2011-11-28T21:59:00.000-08:00

Everyday (sometimes several times a day) he asks me to "play puzzle" with him. I didn't like it that much at first because it was just him dumping the pieces, spreading them all over, me putting it together while he gets distracted and uninterested until I'm done and he'll take it all apart. But now it's better because he'll help me find pieces and actually put some together himself. Hmm, time for more puzzles?

"Mama, come here... come sit next to me!"

2011-11-28T21:50:00.000-08:00

Patchwork

2011-11-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

We completely overslept this morning, it was terrible. By the time we were up and ready, we would have been walking into the second service at HOPE half way through (at least). So we checked out a local indie craft fair. Such cool stuff, I'm inspired! It was hard not to buy anything, but it's good not to spend. We had a nice time walking around, there was food, music, and so much creativity! It was quite hot though... It's almost December and it was 89 degrees, what in the world?! Funny, we ran into two different friends there, that was nice.