An afternoon with friends...

This afternoon we met up with our friends Mason and Jaclyn before we head off on our adventure up North.  It was so great to see the both of you together having fun and enjoying the beautiful weather today.  You were both a little unsure of the sand that surrounded the playground area, but eventually decided to tolerate it.  Grady, you just liked getting your hand dirty and then rubbing the sand on Mama.  It was fun to see how you interacted with each other in the outdoor setting.  Your friend Mason was crawling around and taking cute, wobbly steps, enjoying his freedom from the car.  You, however, decided to cling to me pretty much the entire time.  Whether it was around my neck, on my leg, or pretty much anywhere you could grasp on to me with your little fingers, you stuck to Mama like glue.  That's ok...you'll find your independence soon.  Probably too soon for me.  The ride on the mechanical police car, however did win you over.  After it stopped moving.  We couldn't help but giggle as you sat frozen with hands mid-air during he ride, while Mason bounced back and forth as the car "drove" off.  Once it stopped, though, you both had a blast steering and beeping the horn.

I love the expression on these cute faces!

After some fun on the playground, you both allowed us (and by allowed, I mean pretty much had no choice) to dress you two up in your hanbok as a celebration of the New Year.  We couldn't resist snapping away as you both sat on the bench. It was so fun to see Mason playfully trying to climb down the bench to get in some more play time, while you sat stone faced, frozen again as we took the pictures. You crack me up sometimes when you put on your serious (let's get this over with) face and focus on the task at hand.  I love that about you! You did, however, manage a beauty pageant wave and grin to Jaclyn for about 6.2 seconds.   

The Serious Face.

The Wave.

    
We ended the afternoon with a nice lunch at The Cracker Barrel and then headed home when you almost instantaneously fell asleep due to your full belly.  Hopefully, we can meet up with Mason and Jaclyn sometime again in the near future!

Happy Lunar New Year!

Well, the Year of the "Black" Dragon has just begun.  The Year of the Black Dragon only comes around every 60 years and is considered more than just lucky, bringing hope and important changes to 2012.  Seeing as though we are moving to another state this year, I am optimistic that this is a great year to do it! We started celebrating by decorating a bit in the house and opening a book about the lucky year.

  
This evening we decided to go out to eat to Wild Wok.  You loved your chicken and broccoli and couldn't get enough, of course.  Here is how the evening started...

This is you after Mommy told you that you had to put on your coat and hat, then get in the car seat.

This is you after I told you that food would be involved in this outing.

Said food...more, please!!!!!!

The family

Hugs for the new year!

Opening another book and lucky money!

This has been a remarkable year!  We are so looking forward to what this year brings and we can't wait to share it with you!  Happy New Year...Love, Mommy and Daddy.

Around the house

We have been having some pretty nice "winter" weather, which we will be sorry to leave in a few short days.  The afternoons, for the most part, have been beautiful with just a bit of a chill in the air.  Nothing like it normally is mid-January.  Here is a picture of the beautiful afternoon sky here in sunny NC. We decided to take your Cozy Coupe out for a quick spin around the driveway before your "almost nap."  (I can't complain since you did sleep three hours yesterday.)  

Last night we decided to try a new stir-fry that had Korean Teriyaki Sauce on it.  You and Daddy had chicken and I had the salmon.  It was a LONG dinner since you were practicing your spoon skills with the rice.  Zoey and Lucy didn't seem to mind, since they were lapping up the rice that didn't get into your mouth (which, unfortunately, was most of it).  

Preparing for a new adventure...

Well, Grady, we are off again on another adventure.  This week we have been trying to enjoy our time in NC as much as possible before we move back up to Pennsylvania.  I am so excited for you to be able to be much closer to your grandparents and extended family.  You will love having everyone's attention while you smile, giggle, and eat your way through PA.  Right now, though, since we have had only two and a half week's notice we've been trying to balance preparing for a move and enjoying the time we have left in your first American home. Here are a few snapshots of the downtime you had with Lucy and Zoey.



Zoey did actually lick the cup that you were sharing with her!

After your time with the dogs, we put you to work.  You followed us all around as we went from room to room packing what we could, only stopping to assist Daddy while he took pictures off of the wall.



"I got your back, Daddy!"

 


If you look really close, you can be seen between the crib rails!

Mommy still can't resist snapping pictures of her baby...even though you are getting tired of the camera.  Here are some cute pictures of this weekend.



Snuggle time with Daddy.

Finally, we ended the three-day weekend with a play date with your first NC friend, Eli.  This is the first time we were able to meet up since before Christmas, so you both exchanged presents, too! All in all it was a great weekend! 

Playing with your stuffed animals.

One of your new cars from Eli.

You were laughing so hard because Daddy was pretending to sneeze for the picture!

Relaxing Weekend

The end to another week has come and gone.  We took it easy this weekend and stayed close by just enjoying each other's company.  We decided to get out the easel that you got for Christmas and see how you liked it.  Well, you loved it!  One side is dry erase and you can also stick magnetic letters to it. You spent such a long time trying to get those letters to stay up there with lots of success.  They are a bit to tiny for you, so Mama and Dada kept a close eye on you watching for letters that made their way into your mouth...which they did.  The other side is a chalk board.  You got the hang of it so quickly and it took a long time for a piece of chalk to actually get broken.  Once you were getting a little bored with it I did notice that your teeth looked a little blue.  Dada dived in to retrieve the piece of chalk you were snacking on.  

 
On Sunday we decided to go to the park for a nice walk.  The weather was beautiful and crisp, but not too cold for a January day.  Since you just kicked back in your stroller we did have to pile on a little more layers that usual.  Once we got you all nice a toasty, you fell asleep.  For most of the walk.  It was still a relaxing morning and we got three miles in, while you napped.  



This was the beginning of the walk. 
    This was your idea of a smile because you didn't want me to take a picture!



This was the beginning of the second time around the trail. 
Your fingers were cold and you thought it was hilarious to wear  Mama's gloves!



This was about 2 minutes after the we started the second time around.  Snoozing already!

Precious Moments

Lately I've been trying to take in the little moments.  The moments that I dreamed about before we were a family.  We've been so lucky to have a couple of those moments this week.  I don't know if I notice them more because you are growing so quickly and I just want to stop and take it all in, or if you've just helped me notice more along the way.  One of those moments happened on Thursday evening.  I was chopping up veggies for soup and Daddy was helping by getting all of the other ingredients ready. You were sitting on the floor in the kitchen playing with dogs.  It was just a simple thing, but it was one of the quintessential family "pictures." Mom and Dad working together and child in the background playing.  Ahhh...I savored those few short minutes and tried to save it in my memory.

Another fun moment came while I was making your breakfast.  You were in the kitchen with me again trying to become friends with the dogs.  You found the perfect way to get their attention.  I turned around and there you were emptying out the island pantry that has all of Grady's goodies.  Food...the sure way to the dogs' (and your) heart.  It was so cute. Zoey even tried to be sly and gingerly walk away with one of your teething crackers. 

I'm also loving to watch your investigate your new Christmas toys.  You are enjoying them with gusto!  Your favorites thus far are your car, kitchen, plastic fruit that you can "cut", and Sesame Street collection.  Your "serious play" expression always makes me smile!



You love...

Oh, the things that make you smile!  Every few weeks or so, you come across a toy, an activity, a book, or an adventure that brings a smile to your face.  You never do anything halfway...when you love something, you really love it!

Right now you love...

Sitting in front of the door in the kitchen and looking out into the backyard with the dogs.

You love...

Your freedom in the kitchen.  You can open and close the gate over and over and over again.

You love...

Playing make-believe.  You love feeding your stuffed animals (and Tucker) and taking them for rides in the car.

You love...

Carrying things around with handles.  You act like you are going somewhere and tell me bye-bye!

You love...

Wearing hats...they make you laugh!

You also love...



Having fun with Dada.  He makes you laugh all of the time!



We love...you! And all of your smiles, giggles, and quirks!