one small step

It is official.  We flipped the switch. We bit the bullet.  We mustered up our courage and decided that tonight was the night.  Emma is getting older, more social, and more ornery.. meaning that she is more difficult to get to sleep and more difficult to stay asleep because she enjoys the pleasure of our company too much.

It was time. Past time. Emma is no longer the sweet newborn that sleeps 20 hours of the day, whether we hold her or not. I have started doing a dance to meet her demands for how she wanted to get to sleep - and sometimes it would take hours until I could put her down in her bed for the night.

Tonight, we started The Routine: our new bedtime ritual that will soothe her and trigger her to know "its time to go to sleep" - and then we put her down and closed the door.  One and a half hours of intermittent crying later, she is sound asleep.

I am a bit relieved actually.
Marc was older and more stubborn when we finally did this, and he had 4 hours of continual crying for our first night of sleep training.  If we made it through THAT, we can make it through anything!
Hopefully Emmalyn will catch on quickly.

And so this is just one small step towards independence, one giant leap for self soothing.

Outside

Our children LOVE the outside.

If it is a beautiful morning, but we have not gone outside - Marc will open the door to the "front porch" and sit out there to enjoy the sunlight.

 Marc took the time to give his favorite guys a look out of the window, saying "Po-ro, outside!", "Crong, outside!", "Eddie, outside!"... until they all got a look at the wondrous outside.

As the weather is finally getting warmer, our current favorite afternoon activity is going to the park as a family.  We are fortunate to have several parks fairly close by as well as a variety of playgrounds within walking distance.
Here are some photos of playtime at Yongsan Family Park:

They have bunnies there (we have seen them several times!)... Ever since we saw the bunnies, one of Marc's favorite books to read is the "Bunny Book"...

"In the Spring, a Bunny came down the road"

Marc also LOVES throwing rocks in the water.  What a boy.

We also enjoy outings to Seoul Forest.  It is really pretty this time of year with the cherry blossoms blooming!

Emma is such a trouper and does well being strapped on in the carrier.  

We hope you are enjoying some bright, sunshiny days!

The Great Room Swap

When we moved to Korea, just Jarrod and me, we entered our three bedroom apartment and were delighted - but it seemed huge and fairly empty.  In the three years we have been here, we have filled it with two kids and furniture and clothes and toys... and while we still fit nicely, it is a lot less-huge.  Prior to Emmalyn's arrival, Marc was sleeping in a crib in our nursery, and we had an office/guest room that we were able to use for our 20 visitors over the past three years (some were repeats..).  This weekend, we finally moved the desk into our room and got rid of our guest bed to make it Marc's "big boy" room so that we could move Emma out of our room and into the nursery.

We have been waiting to make this room swap until our last known visitors came and went... and then we waited for the school to come pick up the guest bed... and then we waited until we figured out what bed we were going to use for Marc's new room... and FINALLY we got it all set up on Sunday night after Marc went to sleep (but we forgot to talk about WHEN he was going to move into the room).

We got the toddler bed frame from our online facebook flea market, and Jarrod stayed up late Sunday night drawing Pororo and Crong for the headboard and footboard of the bed - which transformed this plain blue bed into an AWESOME Pororo bed.

Monday morning, we watched as Marc entered his cool new room with his cool new Pororo bed - and loved every minute of his excited exclaimations "Po-ro (Pororo)! Crong! Peh-y (Petty)! Loomny (Loopy)! Poby! Eddie!" as he explored the surprises we had in store for him.

Because we just got a toddler bed frame, we had to quickly move Marc's crib mattress into the toddler bed so that he could "try out" his new bed as soon as he saw it.  I didn't fully realize that at this moment we were switching his room.

I will admit, I am a bit sad. Don't get me wrong, I have been pushing for this move.  We NEEDED to move Marc out so we could move Emmalyn from the pack-and-play bassinet that she couldn't even straighten her legs out in any longer and reclaim our bedroom for ourselves.  But after all of the waiting and all of the preparing, this just seemed so sudden.  And my little baby boy is growing up.

I did have a choice.
I could have moved the mattress back into the crib in "Emma's Room" and give him one last nap in the crib (for my benefit), all the while lamenting the passage of time and the closure of this chapter in Marc's life -

- but we had built all of this hype about his new room and we needed to "cement the bond" -so to speak- that this awesome room/bed wasn't just a play room (the kid doesn't do change really well).

I didn't move the mattress back - I put Marc down for his nap in his new bed on Monday... (the timing could have definitely been better - since he had just developed croup) and despite his coughing and fever, he went to sleep easily and STAYED in his bed.  I'm a proud Momma.  And when he wakes up,  he waits for his Mommy to come get him and then jumps up out of bed.  DON'T TELL HIM that he has the same ability to climb in and out of the bed like he does all day long when he is put to sleep and wakes up.

We also discovered that Mommy can now lay in his bed with him - so several times during the day he will get a book and his blanket and say, "Mommy, come." and expect me to follow him to his bed, climb in it with him, get under the covers, and read.  It is a really special time together. Maybe this new big boy bed is not so bad. :)  I guess this is another of those bitter-sweet moments when things change for the better... but they weren't bad to begin with.

The other important factor of this great room swap: Emmalyn took over the nursery (changing green to pink), moved into Marc's crib with a temporary (pack-and-play) mattress and is learning to put herself to sleep. Pray for us.

At least she wakes with smiles.

And so, life goes on.
My children are growing up.

I am trying not to blink.

Emmalyn's 100 day photo shoot

April 19th, 2012 marked Emmalyn's 100th day.  This is an important milestone in Korean history (related to baby survival) that continues to be celebrated today.  And when in Korea... we definitely need to acknowledge this day. Good work Emma, eating and sleeping and pooping and crying and smiling and cooing and wiggling for 100 days!  AND in honor of this very special day, we took PICTURES (surprise, surprise).

Really though, who needs an excuse to pull out the camera and take extra pictures of your ridiculously cute kids? Obviously not me, since I have taken thousands of pictures (not an exaggeration) since she was born (hey, I have TWO kids now!) but since this was Emma's 100th's day.. (and Korean babies get a professional photo shoot) we took A LOT of pictures.  (who thinks I need to stop using parentheses?)

Without further ado: 

 And of course, we have to take some shots with the Big Brother... if only he would smile for the camera...

ok, big bro has had enough...

 So, which pictures are your favorites??

Easter Baskets!

This year for Easter (April 8..) I had my first attempt at making Easter baskets for the kiddos.  It was really inspired by Brooke, and all the goodies she brought us herself, from Joe and Teresa, and from Denise and Peter that we could put in the baskets...

...well, basket.  Marc's basket was loaded with new fun toys and treats.. Emma got hand-me-down books and keys that were her brother's.. washed and "like new". She didn't know the difference. ;)  The soft bunny was new to Emma though..

Can I just say, I loved doing Easter baskets.  Almost more than Marc. Ok, maybe more.  Don't get me wrong, Marc was delighted to come out of his room and find these goodies waiting for him (he didn't even ask to EAT - which is normally top priority when he wakes up). He gratified his Momma while appropriate"ooohs" and "ahhhs", taking his time to explore each item.  It was an unexpected surprise for Marc and he loved it.

SO why, you ask, did I enjoy it MORE THAN THAT? While I wasn't getting any new presents or tasty treats (okay, okay, I MAY or MAY NOT have eaten the M&Ms in Marc's basket. He'll never know ;) I really enjoyed making these baskets because:
1) I get to pass along a tradition from my childhood that I really enjoyed as we celebrate Christ's resurrection
2) I was delighted to see my son so delighted
3) It was my FIRST time.  And firsts are significant.  Not just my first time making an Easter basket - but (...along with this past Christmas) my first time making a holiday special for my child(ren).  I foresee many special holidays, and many Easter baskets in our future - but THIS year is extra special because it holds all of the firsts when Marc can see and enjoy the out-of-the-ordinary celebrations of life, liberty, and Christ. (Birthday, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Christmas, Easter..) This year of firsts seems to complete my inauguration into motherhood. Extreme? Maybe. But it is definitely one of the enjoyable parts of this new "job" I have that I had yet to experience. So just go with it.

And, because we are talking about firsts and Easter, this was the first year we dyed Easter eggs (at playgroup). Marc was *sort-of* into it.  Maybe next year Mom will remember to bring the apron and let Marc really dig in the dyes.

Don't be fooled by his stoic expression. He really liked choosing the eyes and mouths and then using his expert sticker skills to put the faces on the eggs.

So this Easter was an extra-special one for us as we remembered Christ's death and celebrated His resurrection.  May every year be filled with newness and awe at this life-giving truth!