Fun for Tae

Tae has had a fun week...

Finding treasures under the furniture:

Eating grass off the sidewalk:

And eating sand at the beach (egads...):
Playing with his new friend Grady at Parent Participation class: Playing in our "backyard pool" since it was so hot today:
And sleeping. Tae is now sleeping in his crib exclusively and we've moved back to our room. For the most part, it's working out well, though since this change he seems to be an early riser -- 6am most mornings -- ugh!I guess it's not true that he "exclusively" sleeps in his crib. Today he fell asleep on my back as I vacuumed...with a death grip on his teddy bear's ribbon. Poor bear!

Hope you've had a fun week too!

A couple cute videos

We've been teaching Tae some baby sign language, as well as how to act out the phrases "I have no idea" and "I can't believe it." Here he is putting them together -- cute!

Tae has the most adorable giggle, and it's the littlest things that get him to laugh, including kisses from mom on his arm...

This past week Tae and I started attending a fantastic mom/kids play group which includes a beautiful boy adopted last year from Ethiopia and a wonderful mom who was adopted from Korea when she was a baby. We also had our first weekly "parent participation class" with songs, games, crafts, and outside play for toddlers. Tae is the only one in the class not yet "toddling" -- but it won't be long! He keeps standing up and holding on to furniture as he takes steps.

We're well, happy and grateful for the gift of our Beautiful Star!

Birthday celebrations continued...

We had a fantastic week in Oregon with Mike's family (and extended family and good friends) introducing Tae and continuing his 1st birthday celebration. No doubt Tae would say that his birthday cupcake was the best part:

We spent a day hiking at Silver Falls State Park with 10 waterfalls, some of which you can walk behind. Tae loved it and tried to touch the water:

The best part was being with family, including Grandma and Grandpa Isensee, Tae's cousins, aunts and uncles.
Now we're home and getting into a real routine, including improved sleep! Thanks for checking in on the birthday boy!

Tae's 1st Birthday!

We joyfully celebrated our little boy's first year of life on Monday, August 31! We were in Colorado for a week visiting my (Jana's) parents in the mountains. On his birthday we had professional photos taken of all 3 of us in our hanboks (the traditional Korean dress for first birthdays and other life celebrations).

Here we are trying to fit Tae's hanbok hat on his head for the photo session, which was successful for only a couple photos:

Later in the day we celebrated with a Korean "Tol", a traditional first birthday party with special Korean food and decorations on the table:

We also had a Korean "toljabee" table on which party guests placed items which they hoped Tae would choose to help determine his future. As Tae's mom, I was super happy that he chose my item (and I didn't even rig this!) -- a Bible to signify his growth and critical inquiry into faith. He also chose a rock from a geologist friend, so he'll be rooted in the earth while he grows in faith! :-)
We shared a traditional Korean birthday cake and blew out one whole candle:

Throughout the week all eyes were on Tae, including his Aunt Michelle's and Uncle Mark's in this photo at an "outdoor living room" next to the river in Buena Vista:

Tae's also had his first pet of a cat:

He had fun with Grandpa Rod:

And fun with Grandma Sharie at the library:

How grateful we are for our sweet one year old boy:

Now we're in Oregon where Tae is meeting his relatives on daddy's side of the family. We continue to be smitten by this beautiful little boy. Thanks for helping us celebrate his first year of life!