Joe is the best Christmas present ever. After Baby Jesus...

We had a wonderful Christmas as a family of four.  I woke up super early (Brian asked if I had even slept) to make the monkey bread and make sure everything was ready for the kids.  After all, Olivia has been waking up very early in anticipation these past few mornings and we were figuring she'd be up by 6:30.  Not today! 

It was almost 7:30 before she made her appearance, greeting us with a robust, "Merry Christmas", quickly followed by rapid fire excited outbursts: "Look!  Santa ate the cookies we left for him!", "Wow! Look at all the presents under the tree!", "I'm so excited!", "Mama, can I help you make the monkey bread?!?".   We had a quick breakfast of monkey bread before opening up a few presents before we got ready for church.  We figured Joe Sung Min wouldn't mind if Liv opened up a few presents, so we got started.  Olivia was very excited - and appreciative of all her presents.  By the time Brian got Joe up and fed, we had time to open up two of his presents, and they have turned out to be his favorites -- some stacking blocks and a Pororo doll that we had shipped from Korea.  He broke into a huge grin and kept clapping - and even gave Pororo one of his forehead "hugs".

At church, we decided that Liv would join me in the choir loft and Joe would stay downstairs with Papa.  Both kids did very well in church, Liv, standing the whole time with me and Joe being rather quiet down in the pew.  The alto section kept commenting on how cute Joe was, how beautiful Liv looked and then it happened, Joe finally saw us and he laughed and waved and babbled.  Heads turned, we waved and the choir chuckled.  His vision is better than we expected!  Joe ended up coming upstairs with me and Liv after communion and he was definitely Mr. Popular.

We had a relaxing day at home: snack, nap (me and Joe - Liv and Brian looked at things under her new microscope), lunch and playing before heading back to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We were excited to hear that cousins Randy, Jessica, Mitchell and Raniece were going to stop by.  Joe was great with his cousins and was enthralled by Mitchell's remote control helicopter.  Liv has already requested one when she gets older.

Soon it was time to get the kids to bed.  Before Liv said her prayers, she softly said, "You know, Mama, I got a lot of nice things for Christmas, but Joe Sung Min is the best Christmas present ever -- after Baby Jesus."  I got a little teary at that comment and couldn't help but think how blessed we are.

A very excited Olivia

Putting Baby Jesus in the manger

Can't. Wait.

And Joe makes a grand entrance

Santa even brought some presents for the pets

So excited to get a microscope

All smiles with Pororo

Joe was so excited he kept clapping for his Pororo

A little pre-dawn Christmas concert

 

Liv and Brian with the camouflage coffee mug she bought him

The kids were enthralled with Mitchell's helicopter

 

Merry Christmas Eve!

We were awakened bright and early by a very excited Olivia. "TODAY IS CHRISTMAS EVE!" she loudly announced as she entered our room.  "Santa is coming tonight!!!!!"  We hurried her downstairs before she woke up Sir Sleeps A Lot - he gets a little grumpy if he wakes up too early. 

Liv spent her morning in the kitchen, first helping me finish some bars we're taking to church for the Christmas dinner, then, helping Papa make wreath cookies and the dough for gingerbread men.  Joe Sung Min kept himself busy playing and helping out as only he can.  

Liv spent the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's house and excitedly called us to let us know that Santa had come while she was napping so we needed to get over there. Now.   So we got Joe dressed in his "Christmas best" (at least in the pajama world) and headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and to open some presents.

Before it was time to open presents, Joe gave a little love to Grandma.  The "forehead" is his form of affection.  We call this a Joe hug (Liv calls it a "head bump") -- either way, you can't help but smile when you get one! 

We couldn't pass up this adorable romper for him...

Joe was not interested in the Christmas presents -- all he wanted to do was play with his dinosaur - his favorite toy.  We ended up having to bring the dinosaur over to where we were opening presents so he could at least be part of it.

Olivia helped Joe open up his presents and he got some presents that really caught his attention -- Tupperware filled with little things that would make noise when he shakes them.  He LOVED them (so did his big sis!!)

Olivia was thrilled to get a guitar from Santa Claus and immediately started playing us some songs.  She's a natural!

Joe Sung Min was also very excited to get this singing/dancing/talking puppy dog.  He has already figured out how to turn it on and make him talk.

Christmas Eve is perhaps the easiest night to get a 5 year old to sleep.  She wanted to fall asleep immediately to make sure Santa knew she was asleep.  Too bad we can't harness this every night.  Then, it was time for some last minute present finding wrapping and decorating before I got ready to sing at church.  It is going to be an late night and an early morning... but the joy on the kids' faces will be worth it!

A Visit With Santa

Each year, Santa makes a special visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house - it is definitely a highlight for Olivia, her cousins (and their parents and grandparents) and some of her friends from school.  This year, we were very excited to have Joe Sung Min be part of the celebration.  Joe isn't always a fan of big crowds or lots of noise -- and since there were going to be 15 or 16 kids running around, there would surely be lots of commotion.  And surprisingly, Joe LOVED it.  When he wasn't crawling after his sister and her friends, he would safely sit and watch everything go down.  This boy doesn't miss a trick.  He laughed, he smiled, he charmed the crowd and was very comfortable with so many people, many of which this was the first time he had seen them.

Everything was nice and peaceful as Grandma led the kids in singing Christmas songs and then it happened.  This big man in a red suit came in.  The kids and adults cheered and said hello to Santa.  Santa stopped on his way in to say hello to Joe and to welcome him to the party.  He wasn't quite sure what to think about what was happening.

 
One by one, Santa spoke with each of the children, finding out what was on their Christmas list (a few parents were surprised to hear "a dog" mentioned).  Santa stopped to tell everyone that Olivia wrote him a very special letter -- one for her little brother Joseph.  In it, she asked him to bring Joe some Tupperware and baby toys.  How sweet is that?  Here is her letter:

Santa asked if Joseph could come to sit on his lap.  His reaction was just about what we expected.  Luckily, his big sister was on hand to make everything better.

Next, Santa reached into his sack and started handing out presents to all the girls and boys.  Joe felt more comfortable in his Papa's arms, but didn't want to get too close to the man in the red suit.  Truth be told, as excited as Liv was that Santa was *right here*, she didn't want to get too close either...

It will definitely be interesting to see what happens next year!

Fun with Charlie Brown and Snoopy

Joe Sung Min has made amazing strides in the almost 4 months he has been home with us.  Things that used to startle or scare him (Jazzy barking, toys that play music, make noise or move, etc) now make him smile.  And not just smile, but laugh out loud with a giant, infectious belly laugh. 

One of his current favorites is also one of Olivia's favorite Christmas decorations.  It is Charlie Brown and Snoopy decorating Snoopy's doghouse.  When you push the button, it plays the "Linus and Lucy" theme song and Charlie Brown and Snoopy move their heads back and forth.  We showed Joe how to push the button to turn it on and he will play it non-stop for at least 15 minutes at a time.

Today's photographer was Papa -- as you can tell by the smiles on Joe's face, he and Papa are best buddies.  Enjoy.

Just as we expected -- surgery for our little man

We took Joe Sung Min back to the eye doctor and it was determined that he DOES need to have surgery on his eyes.  The doctor diagnosed him as having strabismus and alternating esotropia.  Basically, his eye muscles aren't working correctly and his eyes cross when he is focusing on different things - and that he isn't seeing out of both eyes properly.

Brian and I weren't surprised by the diagnosis.  Yes, the doctor had said that he wanted to take some additional measurements before making a decision on whether or not surgery was necessary.  Although he  didn't receive a diagnosis while in Korea, we knew before we accepted his referral that he would likely need some sort of medical intervention to correct his eyes.  Were we deterred?  Not at all.  We fell in love with him the moment we saw his pictures - and would do whatever was needed for our child, much like we have done with Olivia these past 5.5 years.

The surgery is a routine outpatient procedure where the doctor will go in and adjust his eye muscles so they will work correctly.  It will probably be first thing in the morning (at this time, he is the youngest patient) and we'll be home in the afternoon.  It scheduled for January 6, 2012 - we will keep everyone posted on his progress and appreciate your prayers.

Here are some pictures of our happy boy with some of his favorite things: the green drumstick, a box and his exersaucer.  Love this kid. :-)

The Tree Is Up

For the past three days, the tree has been in the garage.  At least six times a day, Olivia asks when we can bring the tree in the house.  Tonight, Papa gave her the answer she had been (not so) patiently waiting to hear.   Poor Joe Sung Min didn't really know what to think.  He seemed more than a little confused to find that a tree was in the house.  Brian and I joked it was like Jim Gaffigan's Holiday Traditions monologue.  As you can see, Liv was thrilled that the tree was up.   If Joe was a little unsure what was happening before, he didn't know what to think when the lights were put up.  I can only imagine what the little busy body will do when the ornaments adorn the tree!

O Christmas Tree...

This year, we were determined to get our Christmas tree a little bit earlier.  While we always had the best of intentions in years past, by the time we got out to pick a tree, all the good ones were gone.  Since Joe was still feeling icky with his ear infection, we decided to make it a special trip with big sister Liv.  It was a relatively mild December afternoon as we headed to the Wilcox Christmas Tree Farm to pick out the perfect tree.

We learned that going on a Friday afternoon is much more relaxing than on a Saturday morning.  We pretty much had the farm to ourselves.  While Brian got the saw, Liv and I went into the store to grab a cup of hot chocolate for the ride down to the trees.  Thankfully I only filled it half full, but it was still an adventure.  Our driver gave us a few pointers about the best tree for us (i.e. type of needle, if we wanted a fragrant tree, etc.) and we were off.

In about 20 minutes, we had found our tree -- and about 100 that weren't quite what we were looking for.  Liv, of course, found a number of trees that were a little smaller than we were looking for.  As you can see, she was quite taken by our selection.