red box: an update

As I’ve begun pulling out the hand-me-down 3T clothes for Leo to wear, I have realized that these are some of the clothes that Drew was wearing when we were in the process of adopting Leo.  It’s hard to believe Drew once fit in these clothes…and equally hard to believe that Leo is beginning to fit into them.  While they are both physically growing, what impresses me most these days is how much they have grown closer together as brothers.

Back in 2010, I bought a box.  A red box (click & check out the old post) that I hoped would help Drew connect to his little brother.  I think it worked.

the box in 2010 - it now sits on a bigger and fuller bookcase with chapter books having replaced the board books

This red box now holds 89 notes from Drew to Leo.  Most are legible.  Re-reading these notes has made me realize Drew was just as excited and anxious to have Leo home as we were.  (it also makes me think that i should have had my own little box of notes for leo as we waited to bring him home).  The notes were (and are) Drew’s hopes and dreams for brotherhood.  As you can see in this post, their bond has grown very strong over the past 17 months.  They have played and shared and learned so much.  And, they have accomplished all this together.  I have no idea if or when all the items will get checked off (go in a hot air balloon?).  That’s not really the point.  I am glad my boys are doing things together and sharing the things they like to do.  I hope the number of notes added to this box…from Drew and Leo…reaches the hundreds or thousands over their lifetime.  What a gift that would be!

and, 13 days later we were on our way to bring Leo home

{i am still amazed at how well drew could write at just three and a half years old!  that he knew his letters and could write them so well. i loved his tenacity back then...and i love that it has carried through to how he approaches his nightly homework. i love each and every note he wrote - and would have included them all in this post - but, they are his notes to leo.  but, they aren't really mine to share.  but trust me...they are all awesome. just like drew is.}

Until next time…we've got some notes to write - it's time this box saw some new ones

previously at all accounted four

curious as to what we were up to over the past five months…no need to be anymore!

kindergarten.

despite all my worry and stress around when to send drew to kindergarten, getting him into the everyday program and adjusting to school life, things are going pretty darn good.  drew has an amazing teacher. he loves being part of an advanced math “team”.  he’s on the very verge of a serious reading break-through – i am already so impressed with all the words he’s already reading! he made the coolest christmas gift in art class – a beautiful and functional green clay bell. he has made a lot of new friends…and lives to play football on recess.  and, if chicken patty is on the hot lunch menu…he has to have it!

heading into kindergarten open house

drew and his crazy-fun teacher

first day of school

family day.

kindergarten started on september 6^th…and the next day we celebrated the first anniversary of being a family of four.  some call this Gotcha Day or Family Day.  we are still looking for a term that fits our family.  no doubt, this day is super duper special day.  but, quite honestly, we found it a little difficult and awkward to celebrate.  we all understand that leo officially joined our family on a day other than the day he was born.  but, yet, it’s still hard to explain or justify why leo gets another whole day for him with gifts and cake and attention.  i did my research…looking up and checking out how other people celebrate this important day.  a special korean meal.  gifts of korean heritage or adoption related given.  paying respects to birthparents and foster parents.  but nowhere did i find a resource for how to celebrate a “gotcha day” for families that have both biological and adopted children.  for me, it’s a tricky day to celebrate.  do not get me wrong, i really don’t what to lose sight of the importance of this day for leo…i just want to make sure we also celebrate it in a way that recognizes both my sons…of us as a family - all accounted four.

we still need to find that balance and come up with our own traditions for this day.  hopefully by this september 7^th, we’ll have thought of something really good.  as for 2011…we took a picture.  we ate cake.  chocolate cake.  and, most importantly, we were happy to be eating it together.

that was one yummy cake

school pictures.

this fall we sent both the boys to school one morning looking handsome and ready for pictures…hoping and praying they still looked good by the time it was time for pictures to be taken.  they turned out better than ok, don’t ya think??

dallas.

in early october, i did the unthinkable…i took a spur of the moment, last-minute solo trip to dallas, texas to hang out with my college roommate and cheer on the detroit tigers during american league championship series.  those that really know me understand how out of character that was for me.  it was too spontaneous.  but, i decided to go…and the next morning before the sun was up, I was on my way to the airport.   i still cannot believe i went!! but i am so glad i did…even if the tigers lost the first game in the POURING rain (oh, the rain delays) and I missed game two due to postponement due to rain.  it was so great to see kristen and re-connect.  thanks, again, kristen for helping make this wonderful trip possible!!

fall break.

after two road trips to the cottage already under our belt for the year, we thought “what the heck! let’s do it again!” so, we packed up the vehicle and made the 10 hour road trip.  it was the first time the boys (damon, drew, and leo) had been to the cottage in the fall…and it was just beautiful!  while we couldn’t go swimming, we still had a lot of fun while there running on the beach, playing baseball, riding bikes, playing in the leaves, going to the zoo, shopping and hitting some brew pubs.  but, i think best of all, damon and i got a whole evening out to celebrate our anniversary.  it was perfect.  absolutely perfect.

hockey.

i am officially a hockey mom! (i’ve even got a button to prove it.)

drew has been enjoying hockey immensely…and i seriously cannot believe how much his skating has improved in just a few short months.  jumping over the blue line, skating on one foot, stopping without “superman-ing” onto the ice, learning to skate backwards…there is no doubt he is now a better skater than i am!

#4...my self proclaimed defenseman

not wanting to leave the arena...even after a 2 hour practice

thanksgiving.

call us crazy, but we made a fourth trip to michigan over thanksgiving break. this time we made it to detroit…and we flew.  we were the picture perfect, happy and experienced traveling family – until we had to circle and circle and circle detroit before landing…it was during that time that leo’s terrible screaming two’s came out in full force.  and, to be honest…so did my tears. passengers did not like us – oh, those stares. and the flight attendants threw FAA regulations out the window – sitting down, trays up, seat belts…no need!!  good times.  luckily, the flight home was much more uneventful.

it was good to be “home” for thanksgiving. and, really good to finally meet little jjb!!  jj is just the sweetest and cutest little baby boy – we just love our nephew/cousin!

we ate A LOT in Detroit…i felt like every fb status update was about the great eating or drinking establishment we were at.  besides my mom’s fabulous cooking (there’s not a better Thanksgiving dinner), we got to eat my all-time favorite pizza (twice); we enjoyed a yummy coney island breakfast (twice); damon and i started a date night at a highly recommended korean restaurant – which i still find myself craving; and a trip of ours to michigan would not be complete without stopping in at a couple microbreweries (as one of damon’s beer club members said, upon seeing yet another beer related fb post from michigan, “you guys take the best vacations!” – the people at Pure Michigan would be so pleased to hear that!).  yet, i feel like there are even more places we could have gone to eat while there – we totally missed greek town, mexican village and our favorite polish place.  next time.

besides eating and drinking we did a lot of fun stuff…built marble runs, checked out my elementary school playground, went to a Whalers hockey game, cheered on a friend’s son at his youth basketball game (way to go Luke!), braved the cold and enjoyed the balloons, floats, bands, and clowns at the detroit thanksgiving day parade, had fun learning at two of our favorite museums – the Henry Ford and the Ann Arbor Hands-On, played euchre with an incredible couple we are so blessed to call our friends, introduced my gymnastics coach to my family (while the boys jumped in the pits and swung on the bars), and really just enjoyed hanging out and relaxing with my side of the family.

christmas trees and santa’s preferred mode of transportation.

we love kicking off the christmas season with a trip to our favorite tree farm. thousands of trees to choose from, kettle corn to eat, carriage rides to take, hot dogs to roast, a big straw fort and maze to play in, and the arrival of santa claus – by helicopter.  [to this day, when leo sees a helicopter he points and shouts “santa!”.  at least he knows it’s santa now, for the first two weeks of December he was calling santa “noah”.]

so…there you have it…phew!

All Accounted Four is all caught up.

until next time…

two

we’ve got a two year old in the house!

leo turned two on friday…but it seriously feels like we’ve been celebrating this big birthday for days; rightfully so having missed celebrating his first birthday with him in person.

thursday there were cookies and a birthday crown at school

friday (the real deal day) we opened some gifts, hit the community pool, and enjoyed some delicious korean food for dinner (which included new chopsticks for both drew and leo from the market next door to the restaurant since i forgot theirs.  luckily, they had a 'stage two pair' for drew and for leo, they had a crong.. the perfect match for his pororo set at home. and perfect because now i can use one of the two pororo sets we have at home.) leo must have thought it was a very fun-filled day...he fell asleep in the car on the way home at 6:15 - and slept through the night!

ahoy!!

someone else was pretty excited for this gift

practicing with crong before the food came

quite happy with his new chopsticks (and even happier when the kimchi came)

the two birthday boys

the waitress positioned us just so...to make sure we got lots of mother of pearl in the picture

saturday we celebrated with a puppy dog themed party! dog house picture frames, puppy chow in dog dishes, hot dogs for dinner, bow wow and puppy paw cupcakes, and doggie bag treat bags.  it was a really good time celebrating with so many friends!! and the perfect theme for leo (and no, leo did not get a puppy for his birthday. but, our neighbors picked up their first family puppy dog that day, and I have a feeling leo will be pretty excited about that!)

[a big HUGE thank you to christine at leapfrog lane for designing and making the absolutely perfect party decorations!! i am sure the theme of the party wasn’t the easiest for her at the time (she just lost her beloved dog roxy)…but as i told her, the decorations were amazing and it was obvious roxy was on her mind when she did them.  without a doubt, roxy was still spreading love and joy with all of us at the party.]

sunday we celebrated damon’s birthday…and leo carried the helium-filled balloons around the house looking to share part of his party with daddy!

now that all the festivities are over (at least for leo…we’ve still got drew to celebrate before the end of the month! hooray!!)…there’s more time to see that my little toddler is indeed slowly but surely turning into a big boy.  lately leo has really been starting to let his personality shine and express his likes and dislikes.  it is so fun to see!  here’s a little glimpse into leo, the two year old.

he’s a counter.  you ask “how many?” and leo starts counting whatever it is in front of us…cars, trucks, books, legos.  it is fascinating to see his brain working and carefully and skillfully point to and count things.  the first time leo counted for us he got to thirteen.  that was a month or so ago.  just the other day he counted to twenty.  seriously. twenty.  (we must count a lot in the house)

and, by the way, if you want to know how old leo is, you probably won’t get an answer if you ask him “how old are you?” though, your chances of a response are much better if you ask “how many are you?”  :)

his favorite color is green…or at least i think it is because it’s the only color he correctly identifies and proudly announces to whoever will listen when he sees it.  but then again, maybe it’s black because lately it’s the most sought out and used color of crayon – he just must not know that to call that color yet.

“oooh maaaan” is a common phrase we hear…usually followed up with a super cute “all better”.  i want the sound of those words to be forever imprinted on my brain.  they are too cute and oh so sweet.

the kid is drawn to water…must be his busan roots. bubble baths, showers, bathroom sinks, kitchen sinks, sprinklers, hoses, rivers, lakes, pools, ice rinks – makes no difference, leo is in heaven when he’s with water.  needless to say, the pirate ship water table we got him appears to be the perfect gift! and, i see many more trips to the community pool and swim lessons starting up for him this fall or winter.

he keeps growing and growing (despite his sharp decline in consumption of fruits and vegetables over the past six months or more)…when he was measured at the cottage on the fourth of july, leo measured in at 36 inches  (that would be an inch taller than drew at the same age – yikes!). we shall she how much he's grown in a month tomorrow at his check-up appointment!

but he’s getting “big” in other ways too…in the last year he’s shown us that doesn’t need (or want) a lot of things anymore: a pacifier, his highchair, gates around the house, sippy cups (much to my chagrin; they’re so convenient and the no spill clean-up factor makes me such a happier mom…but, i suppose he can’t use one forever).  now if only we could get rid of diapers.  [seriously though, what a huge year of growth and development and independence! great job leo!!]

he’s resourceful and helpful…when he’s on a mission, there’s not a chair or stool that he hasn’t been pushed or carried to put into place up high or get to a sink for some water.  and, leo especially wants to help his big brother  – wanting to help drew clean up toys or share anything and everything he has with him (even if drew doesn’t anything to do with what he’s being given) or hand drew his shoes and hat saying “drew-drew’s shoes. drew-drew’s hat” when it’s time to leave the house.  there was a time when i wasn’t so sure, but i think these two boys of mine are going to be great brothers and great friends with each other too.

leo still loves music…playing musical instruments, singing, and dancing.  we listen to a lot of kids place live on xm radio (did you hear absolutely mindy read leo’s name and give him his birthday missions on july 27^th!?!) and drew has been singing out loud in the car much more lately…to which leo now knows is acceptable behavior and sings too.  how he knows the words is beyond me…and way too cute.

happy TWO leo!

until next time…there’s leftover cupcakes and ice cream that need to be finished and i’ve got a lego party to plan!