Most of you see AJ regularly, so you know he’s still alive and stuff. Sorry I havent blogged in forever (but not really, cause I might do it again ).
Anyway, he’s just been doing his toddler thang. And we’re just learning how to cope. He can be pretty awesome most of the time, but sometimes, he’s the opposite of awesome. Like, take the most hormonal woman you have ever met and multiply that by 10. He can go from crazy excited laughing having a good time to red faced tears and screaming in .2 seconds. And you’re left in shock, like, how did that happen? Werent we just playing with bubbles?
The worst part for me is the evening melt down. I mean, I totally get it. He plays hard at school, he’s been stimulated to the nth degree. 6pm rolls around and if he’s not constantly entertained, he looses it. Unfortunately, its the only hour and a half I get to spend with him, and I’d prefer peaceful happy than whiney tantrums. I’d also prefer to, say, prepare a meal and eat it. Or sit on my butt for a few minutes. Or check voicemail. All of which are not very enjoyable for Mr. Cranky Pants. On nights when I know Steve wont be home to help out, I’ve been trying to find something else to do, like go to the park or get icey cream or something. That’s really helped out, with keeping us both entertained.
But dont get me wrong, most of the time he’s way cool. He’s learning new stuff all the time (like the other day, he completely surprised me by blowing perfect bubbles in the bath water. I assumed Steve had taught him how to do it the night before, but he said no. And so, AJ figured it out on his own. The craziest part was that he never, not once, went to take a breath while his nose/mouth was still in the water. I was so impressed!).
All in all, things are trucking along nicely and I think we’ve definitely found our groove. Which, I’m sure, means he’ll switch it up soon. If he could switch it up in the starting to sleep through the night section, that’d be awesome.

Big congrats to our friends Diane & Mike. They just got their travel call and will be leaving for Korea very soon. They’ll be bringing home their baby boy, Kaden.
Hooray!

We met Diane & Mike a few months ago, when Steve, AJ & I attended a workshop for adoptive parents in process. We were the light at the end of the tunnel, hey look, you’ll have a baby someday too! Diane & Mike were the only couple there adopting from Korea, and we were able to answer a lot of their questions. Fast forward a few months later and we’ve been privileged enough to share in the excited over their referral, and now, their travel call.

We cant wait to meet Baby Kaden!

AJ has this thing, where I say “Last Bite!” and he opens his mouth really wide and takes the last bite of whatever and swallows it quickly and happily.
He also has this thing where he decides 4 bites early that he’s “aw duh” (all done). From what I can tell, he’s not really full, but just tyerd of being strapped in his high chair.
And so I have this thing where I “lie” and tell him “Last Bite!” four times in a row. I know I’m tricking him, and its probably not the best parenting skill. And one day he’ll realize what “Last Bite!” really means and he’ll grow up hating me for lying to him (or not). But I dont really care right now. Can “almost the” be implied before my statement? Should I mumble that under my breath? Sure its less than honest, but, HEY, it works.

Dear AJ,

You’re 16 months old today. At your last doctor’s appointment, you weighed almost 24 pounds and were 32.5 inches tall. You’re certainly taller, but havent put on too much weight (we suspect its because you’re always on the go). Almost all your baby fat is gone, and you look much more like a little boy than a baby. I’ll admit I miss your chubby face. You now have 14 teeth, with 2 more expected any day now. All those teeth certainly contribute to your older look. I’ve trimmed your hair a little, just around your ears and above your eyes, but your hair is still very thin and short. The fold in your right eye has disappeared, though it did return when you were very sick. You are still eating well, though you easily get distracted, or demand certain things. You drink lots of soy milk and recently started drinking rice milk. You drink out of sippy cups with straws. You have stopped drinking from bottles. You can feed yourself oatmeal with a spoon, but you are still working on your fork skills. Yesterday you tried kiwiberries for the first time and really liked them. Most days, you scarf down blueberries and grapes. But its the salty snacks that you love the most. I wish you would drink more water and eat more vegetables. You still babble a lot, but have a few words and signs. You mostly communicate by pointing at what you want, and grunting a few “uh uh uh”s.
You still havent mastered sleeping through the night, and I’m most often very tyerd because of it. Last night, you were asleep by 8pm, but woke up before 10pm. Daddy tried to get you to go back to sleep, but you cried and cried until you joined us in our bed. Then you quickly fell asleep and slept till 2:30am. At that time, you suddenly sat up in bed and it scared me. When my eyes adjusted, you signed for milk. I thought it was kind of crazy, but if you were thirsty enough to do that, I figured I’d take you to get some milk. Unfortunately, you were also wide awake and remained that way till 4am. Then you slept from 4-6am, but tossed and turned quite a bit. I really wish you could sleep better. Short of just leaving you in your crib to cry all night, we’ve tried every trick in the book.
Despite the lack of sleep, you smile and laugh a lot. You often get really excited about things, which makes you shout out loud. You love to be chased around the house by Mommy, Daddy and Grammie. You love to be tickled. You really like music and dancing. Recently you added a spin to your dance moves. More often than not, you prefer to be in someone’s arms for dancing. We dance to Farmer Tad’s songs, Moose’s songs and Ellen. You still enjoy reading, playing with your plastic stars and your musical table. You love to splash in the tub. You know all the motions to “The Wheels on the Bus.”
You are very settled at daycare and rarely cry when I say goodbye for the day. You are learning a lot there, and love to do crafts and play outside.
But you are still a Momma’s boy. Saying goodbye in the mornings is a routine, but you cry any other time I have to leave, even if its just to go upstairs for a minute. When we are together, you want me to hold you and you get upset when I try to do other things. I’ll admit it can be frustrating, but I’m also thankful that you like me so much.
Daddy gets jealous of that, but I can tell you love him and know he’s special to you by the way you say his name. Your “dada” (with the sign) is so sweet and loving and you are alway so happy to see him.
We both love how you lean your forehead towards us when we ask for a kiss. You are very generous with your kisses.

But its never enough,
Mommy

One year ago today, my dreams came true. It was a Monday afternoon, and I had just finished blogging about God’s perfect plan and timing and finally being okay with all of that when the phone rang and a woman I had never met told me there was a baby boy waiting for us in Korea. It was the most emotional moment of my life, by far. I cried uncontrollably in front of coworkers. I was bursting with joy I had never felt before, and utter relief, and insane praise for God’s faithfulness. Moments later, I received a few pictures of my sweet son, and information about him. It was definitely love at first site (unless you want to argue that I loved him long before that).
A year ago today, I found out I had a son! Kunyoung Park was mine!