The flight from LAX to Narita was about 11 hours and my children were very good. They are now seasoned travelers and enjoy flying, especially Elizabeth, who frequently runs around with her arms stretched out imitating planes. However, the flight attendant that we had made it abundantly clear that she did not like having to service young travelers. I was counting on her to help with the kids. Instead potty trips were a family affair, with the baby strapped in and the kid in tow.
During the layover in Narita, I found the nearest nursing room and stayed in there for the full two hours. Nursing rooms are a staple in Korea and I've almost come to expect them wherever I am. Nursing rooms can vary from the basic diaper changing/nursing room to a full service facility with complimentary baby products and staff. The nursing room at Narita was small, but clean with Combi changing tables, a filtered water dispenser, basic kitchen and a sterilizer for baby products. No one came in while we were there and it was a safe place for Elizabeth to play and to eat our snack. We had a small Japanese style spaghetti with some edamame for about $24. Traveling solo with two kids was not as hard as everyone told me it would be. I prepared well, was patient with my children and stayed on top of their needs. I could not watch the in-flight movies or peruse the duty-free shops, the usual highlights of international flying, but I made it to Incheon with my sanity and content two year old and five month old. -S
It's been nearly two years since we've seen Uncle David and thanks to Susie's wedding, we were all able to gather in Los Angeles and spend some quality time together. Uncle David is graduating from medical school this year and has great plans ahead, but he frequently comments on the prospect of having joy in his life and he strongly believes that true joy comes from family and children.
Even though a good amount of time may pass, children can immediately sense with whom they have favor. It had been so long since Elizabeth last saw Uncle David, but there was no hesitation or waiting for approval from Mom. She jumped right into action and became Uncle David's best buddy. The children took to Jane as well and I want to thank her for the many books and toys she brought all the way from Chicago for the kids. They will be treasured for many years. -S
The grand finale of our trip and the reason for our visit stateside was to see my best friend, Susie, get married. Due to a scheduling conflict, Tim had to return to Korea earlier this week for work, so he was not able to attend with us. However, Grandpa and Grandma came with us to celebrate a lifelong family friend's wedding and to help me with the children.
When we found out we were pregnant with Elizabeth, Susie was the first one to send a congratulatory card and a baby outfit. Throughout the years, she has not missed a single birthday and always sends gifts for the kids for the holidays. She calls weekly to offer support and praise for the kids and encourages me to be a better mom. She loves our kids and cherishes them and it was a honor to stand beside her on her special day.
Auntie Susie's wedding was beautiful and it was a perfect day for the perfect wedding. Elizabeth and Vincent were great little guests too. Vincent was admired by all the everyone for being the youngest and the best dressed. Likewise, Elizabeth was a little star, showing off by singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Three Little Bears" (in Korean) to a long table of guests. Elizabeth is going to blossom into someone great one day. -S
After a week long non-stop adventure, we will be going to Los Angeles tomorrow to finish up the last bit of our travels before heading home. This past week was incredibly fun for Elizabeth, who partied like a rock star every day. Upon arriving at the Wyatt's, Jane asked me, "Do you think they'll stay up talking and playing and not go to sleep?" To which I answered, "They're not teenagers, they're only two and Ellie loves her sleep." Well, Elizabeth is usually asleep by 9PM on any other day, but every single day of this last week it's been a late night. Once, we couldn't get Elizabeth and Caylee into bed until past midnight. These two year olds have complete conversations in broken sentences. They play make believe house and make believe cooking, feed each other make believe foods and react to tasting their make believe cuisines. They fake fall so they can kiss each other's boo-boos and play doctor too. Caylee's dresser is now a collage of stickers and they even wanted to try on each other's clothes. It's amazing. I feel like Elizabeth grew exponentially socially and she added many new words to her repertoire.
We have extraordinary cousins, who not only gave us a place to stay this past week, but made us feel welcomed and loved. They fed us and picked up after us without a single complaint and generously gave us the freedom to live like it was our home. We cannot thank you enough for your hospitality and I will remember this past week as one of those special moments in our lives. Thank you Brandon, Jane, Caylee and Caden. -S
It seems like just yesterday, when we were in high school and the biggest decision of the day was what to eat for lunch. Now, some ten plus years later, we are wondering what to feed our kids for lunch. We had a small gathering of four moms and our kids and it was a blast. For lunch, we had lasagna and salad and then a few wanted to eat apples too. Afterwards, the kids ate Pirate's Booty and Rice Krispies Treats for snacks. Thank you to Jane for hosting our fun play date. -S
We made plans to have dinner with our friends, Frank and June, and their daughter, P, at Maggiano's. P was a lot bigger than when we last saw her. At the beginning of dinner, Elizabeth was sleeping, so the kids couldn't play. Once she woke up, the two of them were sitting next to each other drawing together. It was neat to see. They had gotten together a few times when they were babies, but now, they were talking and interacting with each other. After dinner, the girls posed for pictures in front of the Christmas tree. Hopefully, there will be many more pictures of Elizabeth and P. -T
For several weeks, we had been talking about cutting Vincent's hair. The back and sides of his head had thinned out but the top was getting pretty long. The result was a weird comb-over look. While staying with the Wyatts, we decided to have Brandon cut Vincent's hair...or more like shave it. Sana didn't want it too short, but due to some miscommunication, he got the army crew cut. Luckily, Vincent has a nice shaped head, so it actually looks pretty good. Mark another "first" off the list. -T
This week we are staying with Jane and Brandon, parents to Caylee and Caden.
After I had Elizabeth, the transition to full time mom was hard work. Taking care of a little human is a big deal, much harder than I thought it would be. After Vincent was born, the baby part was second nature and I've been breezing through all the early hardships, like a well orchestrated symphony. However, playing with, feeding, entertaining, and cleaning up after a toddler while taking care of my little baby is incredibly exhausting.
Yet, I learned something while staying with our cousins. There is power in numbers! Each morning, when we fed the girls, they scarfed down their cereals and drank all their milk, without hardly a complaint. Eating time was an enjoyable time, as they chatted and ate their food. Playtime was all day long with their partner in crime by their side. Even Vincent, who longs to be held, played and grabbed at Caden and was entertained by another little baby. If we have a third, I'm asking God for twins. It's the truth, there is power in numbers. -S
We spent our Saturday night hanging out with Noah and Christina and their daughter A. This is our first time meeting their cute kid. A is around the same age as Vincent, so the kids really couldn't play together. No matter. When the babies get older, I'm sure they'll be chasing each other around. -T
One awesome aspect of living in Colorado is the great weather. With low humidity and mild winds, Colorado is a year round outdoor community. Though there are snowstorms and bad days here and there, for the most part, the sun shines all year long. Even during the month of November, mid-day is fairly warm and Vincent and I spent the day strolling through the Denver Botanic Gardens with Ji Un. Daddy and Kevin went to a football game and Elizabeth spent the day at the park with her cousin Caylee. Everyone did their own thing for a few hours today and when we reunited, we were so happy to see each other again. -S
We wanted to take advantage of our visit to Denver, so Sana and I made appointments with the optometrist and dentist. While we're at it, we thought that it would be a good idea to take Elizabeth in for her very first dental checkup. We arranged hers to happen while I was getting my teeth cleaned and checked. We ended up in adjacent stations. Naturally, a little child will have a sense of curiosity together with fear at the sight of all the weird instruments and some strange person poking around in his/her mouth. Elizabeth started out that way because I could hear Sana and the tech trying to keep her from squirming. Even the dentist was trying to find things to keep her attention. Eventually, things calmed down with the occasional "Where's Daddy? Daddy?". My response was something like "Ahhey uwuh heeya" or "Daddy over here". She finished up and came running over with her bag of goodies. Her first checkup was done and she got a clean bill of health (for her teeth, that is). -T
Many people have commented on the resemblance of our little Vincent and his grandfather and from the moment we arrived in Denver, they have been inseparable. He giggles nonstop for his grandfather and the smiles are contagious. Even though this is their first visit together, it was amazing to see the connection. The day after we arrived, we went to church together and even amongst all the many strangers, Vincent still giggled every time he saw his grandfather. Also, grandfather Kim does a great job at making them smile with his goofy sounds and fun energy.
For a few days, we went to Nebraska to stay with Grandpa and Grandma. On one of the days, the whole family followed them to work and Elizabeth had a grand time jumping on all the hotel beds while following around grandpa as he did his rounds.
Even though it was a bit breezy, Grandpa took Elizabeth out to play and run around in the back yard. They were out for only a short time, but Elizabeth expelled some energy and made room in her belly for the nightly feasts.
While Elizabeth was napping, Vincent splashes in the pint sized "pool" and continues on his play journey with grandpa. And finally, a day of fun is never complete without some putt-putt. -S
Upon arriving in Denver, we had a nice early Thanksgiving dinner with our extended family. The kiddos are all second cousins and the start of another generation. We have from left to right: Elizabeth 32 months, Vincent 5 months, Caylee 29 months, Cameron 3 months, and Caden 2 months. This was a rare moment to have all the cousins together, since Cameron and our kids currently reside in Korea. It just happened that we were in Denver all at the same time. Family is so important and the bond between cousins is so special. I hope there will be many more memories to treasure as they grow older. -S
After being away in Korea for 20 months, our family set our feet in the Mile High city for a visit. We rode the familiar tram at Denver International Airport and felt like we were almost "home". Welcome to your real home kids! Elizabeth, you may not remember, but you were born here and spent your first year here. Vincent, this is your first time in Denver, but this is where you will call home. -T
While in LA, we made it a point to meet up with our friends Elizabeth and Min-Ho and their daughter, L. They moved from Korea to LA a few months ago, so we hadn't seen the family since then. L is about the same age as Elizabeth and the kids always have a great time together.
They made the drive over to Disneyland one of the nights we were there to have dinner and catch up a bit. Naturally, the girls were right back to their old ways. They were laughing and giggling and running back and forth to the fish tank. After dinner, we walked around Downtown Disney and listened to the live music. Then, two of them started dancing and having a good time. This in itself drew a small crowd as people stopped to watch the two little girls having what looked like the time of their lives.
Before parting ways, we all agreed that it was a great idea if Elizabeth (our daughter, not L's mom) spent a night at L's house while Sana prepped for and hosted Susie's bridal shower. After our stay at Disneyland, we went over to Susie's place and spent a night. The following day, we packed up a bag for Elizabeth and myself and went on our way with Min-Ho and L, who graciously came to pick us up.
We stopped by Target to pick up a couple of things, but our short visit turned out to be a rather long one because the two munchkins found the toys. They were grabbing things left and right and watching each other's reactions. What really got their attention (and I'm still trying to figure out why) was a jack-in-the-box. Not one of those fancy toys with all the lights and sounds. Just a simple jack-in-the-box. I think that alone took up 30 minutes. We finally left the store and got to L's house. Once inside, the fun just continued. They watched Pororo together and played with all of L's toys. They even had their little fights over who played with what. The next day, we went to a nearby park and took in some Southern California air before heading to the airport to meet up with Sana and Vincent for our flight to Denver.
It was a fun time and I hope Elizabeth and L remember times like these. -T
