cold days ahead!

What? It’s almost November? Nathan’s almost ONE and Caleb’s almost THREE!

Time has gone by so fast, though it doesn’t always seem like it when I’m in the daily grind…but looking back…wow. This year really flew by.

Thank you to those who faithfully follow our blog and took the time to actually remind me to update! Thanks for being so interested in our lives, even though most of the time, I blog about my kids or sometimes nothing much at all :)

I have not been a very good and diligent blogger this year. I think there are many reasons that contribute to my lack of blogging…but mainly, I think it’s simply laziness. And the cause of the laziness? Facebook. I upload so many pictures on there and quite frequently, I must say, that I didn’t feel the need to keep this updated. But it is true, this is different. There are actually words :)

The summer has come and gone. It was a pleasant summer with beautiful weather and great people. Summer weather here in Washington is truly wonderful, I just wish it were longer :) we had many visitors here, both friends and family. I loved it. We were also able to take a mini vacation with Jun’s family to Lake Chelan for a few days. We rented a condo and it was very relaxing. We rented a boat and went water tubing. Caleb went with daddy too! He loved it! We went golfing and most of all, ate many great meals. Then, we visited LA for a short week. We enjoyed it very much, although our schedule was a little crazy and we didn’t get to relax at all :) It was just good to be back home where everything was so familiar and comfortable. We didn’t get to see everyone we wanted to see and that was the only downside :(

After coming back to Washington, I felt like I had to readjust all over again! However, it was only for a couple of days. After a summer of being surrounded by close family and friends, it was back to being me and the kids again…it all of a sudden felt very overwhelming. But I was so thankful for a great summer.

We’ve been in Washington for 2 years already! We are going on our third year. It has been an emotional roller coaster for me! I can’t even fully say that I’m completely adjusted to this new place we call home and my role as just mom and wife. It’s a completely different life, but so many good things have come out of this move and we are thankful. We are blessed with so much. I just wish I could transport my close friends and family here! Hehe…wouldn’t that be nice?

The weather’s changing here…the leaves are vibrant orange, red, and yellow….so beautiful. It definitely feels like fall here and we are getting ready for the cold weather. Like I said, so different here, but so much to be thankful for :) Jun is not so thankful for all the trees around our house during this time of year, haha...our driveway is a mess, so many leaves to clean up!

Caleb and Nathan are definitely becoming brothers. Caleb takes away Nathan's toys and Nathan cries. At home, they have a hard time sharing, but at the same time, Caleb misses Nathan when he's not around. He's also very protective of him around others, but i think when they are by themselves, Caleb gets frustrated that he needs to share his toys. MANY lessons to be taught everyday...i pray for patience on an hourly basis! Oh but when they love on each other, it is truly priceless.

Many things come with Caleb's growing vocabulary and personality...like heartache :( he's starting to say things like, "You're mean, mom" or "I don't like you." it's weird, i know it's coming from a 2 year old who's just learning to express himself, but it still hurts! during those times, i need to just remind myself that...it's ok and it's more important for me to be a parent!

Anyway....this entry has been long....moving on...

Jun will be celebrating his bday soon, as will our 2 boys! The three boys in my life have bdays too close together! I get a little crazy trying to think of ideas for gifts and celebrations for all 3 of them! But at the same time, it’s kind of exciting I guess!

oh, and last update for now! caleb is potty-trained!!! well, except for naptime and bedtime? does that still count? anyway...he did so well :) i'm so so so proud of him.

some pictures....more to come.

my first attempt at making bibimbap for our guests...and i can say that i won't be doing that for awhile! haha....

yum! looked easy on paper, but so not easy! the yumminess was kind of worth it...kind of...
nathan in his big boy car seat! lovin it!
caleb in his carseat
my little monster after bath :)
nathan having fun on the swing!
his first haircut!
caleb and his crazy obsession with CARS...not just any cars...not interested in hot wheels at all! only disney pixar's CARS. i had to buy him a case because all the little cars lying around everywhere was driving me nuts! he loves the box, so win win situation :)
my eater :) using the corn as his teething toy :)
caroline and the kids visited from la!
caleb at the museum of flight

playtime with daddy...
at the puyallup fair...
driving with his friend, logan.
taking his brother for a ride! i framed this picture in his room and Caleb went to show it to Nathan and said, "look, nathan! we are best friends." oh my goodness!!! i almost cried!
uncle john took this picture of us :)
so happy with daddy. he seriously loooooves his daddy. it's so cute.
aww...i am so blessed. thank you, god!

june gloom

for the past month, it has been gloomy. the skies were gray and it was often rainy. it sure didn't feel like june, at least not the kind of june i'm familiar with having grown up in la... but the good thing about the gloominess is how much you appreciate and enjoy the sun when it does come out! seriously, it's like you look at the day in a whole new way. we always talk about what a beautiful day it is when it's sunny and clear and we rarely did that when we were in la! i actually enjoyed a little bit of rain in la :) it really is so beautiful here when it's sunny though and we try to go out and do something so that we don't waste the day. so far, it's been sunny for a week already and it should stay pretty much like this for while considering it's summer :)

this month, a high school friend of ours actually had a wedding that was held here in seattle, so it was fun to be reunited with old friends. it felt so nice to just sit around and chat. we slept late and man... did i pay for it that whole week! i guess i'm not cut out to stay up late anymore...haha. thank you, christine for coming to visit me and making my month so much brighter :)

jun has been super busy with the summer kicking off...vbs (vacation bible school) just ended and he worked hard and was very tired at the end of the day, but it paid off. over 120 kids showed up! amazing... today, he will be giving his first bilingual sermon ever to the whole church. he usually either does korean or english, but never together. today is family worship and he was asked by our senior pastor to deliver the message. he's a bit nervous, i think it's the largest crowd he has ever addressed, but i have no doubt that god will use him :) i am proud that my husband continues to so faithfully do the ministry that god has called him to, even though it's a field that may seem to be all give and not much take. i don't hear him complaining...i should learn from him :)

the boys are great, or should i say, have been great? nathan was very sick this past week, with cough, sinus congestion, and fever. the worst night was when he woke up every hour. the next day was not the brightest of days for the parents :) he's getting better now and is back to his happy, smiling self. however....caleb was coughing a lot last night, so i'm hoping that he won't be full on sick! sick kids=exhausted parents! more than anything though, it was just hard seeing nathan so miserable because he's usually such a sweet and happy spirit.

caleb is such a character. he does and says things that make us laugh everyday. it seems like he picks up new sayings and words everyday, it amazes us. he was still too young for vbs, but he loved going to the praise part. he would dance and jump with the big kids. in one of the songs, there was the word, "supernatural" in it. that night, when i was putting him down for bed...he looked at me and said, "mommy...you are supernatural." i got a good laugh out of it!

i am definitely seeing a bond that is forming between the brothers :) nathan smiles whenever he sees caleb, even though caleb is always "accidentally" knocking him over and pushing him and screaming around him! caleb is already protective of his brother and it's so cute to see. if caleb is scared of something, he would tell us not to show nathan because he'll be scared too...things like that. also, if it's just caleb and me, he'll ask, "where's nathan?" when nathan's napping, he'll say, "nathan's up now" because he wants to go get him. in the car, they sometimes stare at each other and smile :) or caleb makes noises so that his little brother smiles. i think everyday, they love each other more! i can't wait until they can actually play together...i tell jun that and he says...but that's when the fighting begins! i hope it won't be too bad....that's my prayer and my hope...that they will love more than fight.

ok, now me...i'm ok. i'm just always tired and low on energy it seems. i feel like there's so much to do around the house and so little time because i only do things when the kids are sleeping and that's too little time in a day to finish everything! it seems like no matter how much i clean up, it never stays clean! i guess that's the territory that comes with having kids. i've been missing home and family and friends...i just need to have a getaway soon...to clear my mind from the daily routines so that i can do my job better. it's that time...i need a vacation.

so i figured out that uploading videos on youtube is so much faster. here are the links to the recent videos of caleb and nathan...

http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=cd5F1mS62hU
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=utQoIU34pB0
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=iV8VJrKbZIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Mh9APXiFWiQ

now, pictures...

time with daddy...
melts my heart...
favorite family time...spending time on mommy and daddy's bed
such a sweet moment
oh happiness :)
thanks, nathan honey :) enough said.
vbs 2010, caleb joining in on all the fun with the big kids!
nathan and mommy
nathan and daddy
caleb and mommy being silly...



exersaucer time...it was a hot day
supporter of the korean soccer team for world cup
playing with our neighbor's little boy...they were such good friends...so sad they moved :(
sofa picture time....
christine's visit :) good times...

decorating

so now that nathan is almost 5 months (already!), i have finally began thinking about decorating the house. i bought frames and am looking for artwork for the house. however, there seems to be too little time in the day to do anything at all. the only time i could really do anything is when the kids are napping at the same time. that gives me 2 hours a day. i feel like i get started on something and then i have to put it off to the next day. oh, and not to mention how hard it is to shop for house stuff with 2 kids! when the kids are in bed for the night, it's jun and my time together...so i guess this decorating thing will just have to be an ongoing project...slow project :)

i will be starting solids for nathan next month! i can't believe how fast it has gone by...of course it didn't feel like it the first 2 months when i was so tired and nathan was waking up at night, but now looking back, it's flying by. i think it's so much faster with the second one. i love seeing caleb and nathan grow, but at the same time, i'm so sad because they grow up way too fast. i love them so much!!! i told jun the other day that i think i'll have a hard time when they grow up and leave the house. haha...already thinking about that!

when i look at my two boys, i feel like they are changing everyday! it is especially obvious in pictures. jun is doing well, very busy this month, with a conference coming up next week. he'll be gone for 4 days...i know i'm going to be very tired with the two kids by myself, especially with the bedtime routine! on the bright side though...my sister will be visiting! i am so looking forward to some time with her and caleb loves his auntie!

the only other thing coming up is nathan's infant baptism...hopefully i will have pictures to share on my next post :)

now, pictures!


caleb painting a picture frame...
bubbles outside...the weather is getting so nice, so we have more opportunities to go out.
nathan has one eye bigger than the other...caleb was like this too!
caleb hugging nathan
caleb's smile
sleepyhead :)
resting on mommy's pillow
tummy time...but nathan can now turn over, so he doesn't do this for long anymore.
after bath
our nighttime routine...after bath, they both play on the bed for a little bit.
experimenting with caleb's hair before bath

i love my boys!

i haven't updated in awhile because i've been lazy. i just post pictures on facebook...it's the easy way :)
but i heard from my mother in law that some people in korea have been asking about our blog, so i guess i should still maintain it with some pictures once in awhile :)
oh...i'm loving my two sons....they are wonderful. truly wonderful. they bring me so much joy. when i was pregnant, mothers told me that love just grows because i was wondering if you'd be able to love as much with the second one...
but man...it's true....love does grow. caleb and nathan are doing well together...caleb is good with him...he hugs and kisses him all the time, but can be a bit rough sometimes when he doesn't know what to do with his excitement :) it's cute to watch their interaction with each other already. caleb wants to play with nathan, but doesn't know how, so he just places a toy next to nathan. so adorable.
caleb was going through a tantrum stage for awhile, so it was very difficult, but he seems to have calmed down a bit now. we are working on potty training now...very slowly.
nathan is so sweet. he is sleeping through the night now...he sleeps for 12 hours and takes 2 naps during the day. i am so thankful.

life is definitely slowly going back to normal now, but without jun, it's so hard! we have a whole night time routine going now and it works great...but when jun's not here, it's so much work! usually, jun takes caleb and bathes him...while i bathe nathan. then jun reads to caleb while i feed nathan. so jun and i are able to put both caleb and nathan down at the same time...8:30. if jun's not here, one of them has to sleep later because i have to do one at a time.
i am thankful for my husband. he is a great dad. i truly love my boys.

here are some recent pictures and videos :)

erin's visit
side swept hair :)
oh my baby nathan....
i love putting hats on caleb, but he can never wear them for long...
nathan's classic look :)
at the park...


easter egg hunt
caleb is such a character now!
love his cheeks!
he smiles sooo much...


silly boys...
tummy time!

caleb likes to do tummy time with nathan :)

videos:
nathan growling at daddy....caleb learning to read/recognize words...