16 Months. . .

We celebrate our Little Peanut turning 16 months today. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It seemed like it was moving relatively slow for awhile or at the very least I felt like I had soooo much more time left with him before I had to go back to work and the inevitable would come. . . daycare. And, now I'm facing the final weeks home with him. It seems like yesterday I was just counting the final six weeks and now all of the sudden BAM! We JUMPED to three in the blink of an eye.

The weather has been very hot these past few days (98-100 degrees) so we stayed in today and took a few photos to commemorate the "Sweet 16 Month."

He looks so old to me here :(
LOVE this smile :)
Excuse the drool - it's been non-stop since we came home in August!!!
Trying to escape the "photo shoot."

Wesley experienced a few "firsts" in this past month (well, firsts with us at least). He's been babbling quite a bit but no English up until now. We haven't spoken or encourage any Korean since we brought him home (for various reasons/recommendations). He now says, "Da-Da" and "Cat" but alas, no "Mommy" so apparently I rank third behind Brian and our two cats. Brian is convinced that he's saying "Yellow" but I beg to differ. Our pediatrician said that he'll probably start slowly and then look out - once the flood gates are opened, he'll be a talking machine.

Then this past Saturday, Wesley attended his first birthday party. My friend from work Teresa and her husband Mike hosted a 1st birthday party for their beautiful daughter Leah. They decided to do a traditional Doljabee ceremony where the child selects a particular object laid out for him/her to predict her fate/path in life. The objects range from money meaning the child will be wealthy to a stethoscope meaning that the child will be a doctor to a microphone meaning the child will go into the broadcasting industry or entertainment. We arrived and right out of the gate, Wesley recognized Teresa's mother-in-law speaking Korean and smiled. We weren't sure how he would react, but he seemed to be comforted. There was so much good food there and friendly people, we had a really nice time. Wesley tried some new foods and had a fun time watching the older kids play. Since we were not able to see or participate in Wesley's Dol, it was special to experience this with Leah. For the record, Wesley chose the microphone and Leah chose the stethoscope.

Now for some other updates:

Food
Tomorrow Wesley goes 100% off formula. He'll still be on the bottle, but no formula. We've been gradually weening him off of it and tomorrow is the day to cut the cord. We've also been working with the sippy cup and he's doing really well with milk and water. He's continuing to try new solids including: shells & cheese, scrambled eggs, whole grain waffles, etc. Tonight we actually tried fish sticks which was interesting but he dug them and worked through the chewing.

Sleep
This continues to be one of our areas of struggle. Just when we think we're onto a "routine" things seem to go off track some how. The good news is that we've bumped up Wesley's bedtime an hour or more. He was going to bed between 9pm-10pm when we arrived home. We've changed that to 8pm. We've also worked to somewhat eliminate his morning naps and bump up his afternoon nap from 2pm to 12noon. This should work better with what the daycare schedule does when he moves to the "big boy" room in a few months. The struggles are the random wake ups in the middle of the night. They just started happening within the past 2+ weeks. He's never done this before so I feel like I shouldn't be complaining when I know that other families have a much harder time, however we're just perplexed at why he's all the sudden doing this. We're thinking that it could be the "change" of Brian going back to work (even with him being in the house) or Wesley going through some toddler growing pains of sorts or he could be suffering some more grieving. The other recent struggle is the shortening of the afternoon nap. This is very recent. They have gone from 2-2 1/2 hours to 1 - 1 1/2 hours, which result in a very cranky little boy come 3-3:30pm and 5-5:30pm.

Walking
Nothing yet. He's so incredibly close. He now gets one of his walking toys, stands up on his own and starts cruising down the hallway in seconds. I mean, you turn your back and he's off! We call his the little daredevil because he'll be standing up and balancing on our legs while we're sitting and he'll just turn around and let go and fall. It's like he doesn't realize that we're not going to support him. Yikes!
Kisses
Ok, Brian would probably say that I'm sharing too much, but I think it's really cute so I don't care. Wesley understands "Kisses" and when I say, "Can you give Mommy kisses?" and I lean in to give him a kiss, he opens his mouth (as opposed to puckering) to give his style of a kiss. Then when you connect with a "kiss" he giggles hysterically. It's really very cute.

To end this very long post, I'll have to share what I was thinking this morning while I was on our usual walk on the nature trail. I was reflecting on the long journey Brian and I have been through (as have others) to get to this point in our lives. After coming off of a somewhat difficult week with Wesley (last week) I vowed moving forward to be more patient, understanding and to keep top of mind what is really important. THIS is what we always wanted. HE is what we always wanted. There are going to be difficult times. There are going to be times when we're tired. There are going to be times when we're not sure what he wants. There are going to be times when other things will have to slip. As long as we love him, we love one another, the rest will fall into place.

Wesley loves the swing at his Grandy & Pops' house (my mom & dad's)

Adoption Families Picnic

Quite a bit has changed in our house since my last post (hence the week in between posts). Brian went back to work last week, so it's just me and Wesley each day. And, I started doing some part-time work for my job from home this week - in my "spare time." Needless to say, it's been a little hectic around here. Luckily, my mom is going to start coming on Mondays to help out with Wesley and give me time to get some work done as well as a few things around the house. This past Monday went great especially since we had our second home visit from our social worker yesterday - the house DESPERATELY needed some attention.

This past Saturday, Wesley attended his first big event since being home with us. Our home study agency had their annual family picnic and we were thrilled to be able to attend this year with our Little Peanut. The director of the agency is actually very much responsible for turning us on to the South Korea program and our adoption agency, so also we wanted to thank her in person. We used this agency for both our South Korea home study and our China home study, so we've been with them for more than 3 1/2 years and it's time that we met these ladies!

Once we arrived, we immediately saw the big bounce house - oh, this is going to be fun! There was also a guy/clown figure walking around entertaining the kids making balloon animals. Wesley was a little apprehensive at the beginning, but he quickly warmed up. We introduced ourselves to the director and other staff members and headed over to the balloon dude. Wesley just had a ball watching him making animals for the other kids and seeing their reactions to the different animals being made. Crazy balloon animal guy.

Then, it was time to go over to the bounce house. I don't know what was cuter, Wesley being inside of the bounce house or Brian "acting" like it was such a sacrifice that he "had" to go in with him to protect him from the big kids. Imagine a 30-something (closer to 40) climbing/squeezing through a tiny opening made for a child. Wesley sat inside watching in awe as the big kids came in and jumped, flipped, etc. around him. It was really cute. This didn't come out very well because of the screen on the bounce house, but you can get the idea.

While we sat down and ate, we visited with other families that had adopted from other countries like China and Russia. We really enjoyed talking to a young couple who was currently in the process of adopting from Japan. We shared our story with them and provided them encouragement for the journey they had ahead. So exciting! Wesley did really well but, he was getting a little fussy and it was nap time, so we headed out, but not before we got some photos including one with the gal that helped us get on the path to finding him. Brian, me, Wesley and Lesley from Across the World Adoptions.

Mom and Wesley getting cozy under a tree.

Dad, Wesley and Mom altogether in a photo is rare (my hair is tore up, it was pretty windy) .

Wordless Wednesday - The "Faces" of Wesley

Lately, Wesley has had a wee bit of an "attitude" one could say. There are times when we're not sure whether to chalk things that he does up to being a toddler or if it's an "adoption thing." Well, we're pretty sure that the attitude, the drama/crocodile tears and the testing us is a toddler thing. Today during lunch when I told him "no" to something, it came out in full force so I decided to capture it (yes, they are in sequence). Enjoy. . .

Weekly Update (Grandy's B-Day, The Big Pool, 2nd Dr. Apt. & Going to Work)

Now that the weekend is here, I realized that I hadn't updated the blog in awhile. I've actually been trying to write this for the past two days, but Brian's out of town and since I'm here alone with Wesley, you can imagine the amount of "free time" I'm having - LOL. So, here I am 10:30pm on Saturday night - here are a few highlights from our past week+:

Grandy's Birthday Celebration
Last Saturday we spent the day at my parents to celebrate my mom's birthday (which was on the 1st). Wesley had fallen asleep on the way over and he woke up once we got there unfortunately, not in the best mood since he was in a strange place. However, he warmed up pretty quickly - just in time for my my brother, his fiance, her son and my nephew to arrive. It was fun with a full house of kids all difference ages. Wesley did great and we think my brother J better watch out because "somebody" has a new girlfriend, J's fiance Kelli. The older "kids" supplied all the food and Brian worked the grill so that the Birthday Girl didn't have to do a thing. Mom said it was the "best birthday in a long time." :)

Labor Day @ The Lara's
We took the nature trail to our friends Jose & Shannon's house Monday for an adult "play date" but secretly we knew they really wanted to see Wesley. We had pizza for lunch and the plan was to put Wesley in the "grown up" pool after he ate his lunch. Well, he was in a really good mood for the first part of the visit however by the time we were ready for "pool time" I think he was a little cranky (teething) and we possibly approached the whole pool thing wrong. Jose and Shannon were so sweet by buying a little floaty thing for Wesley to sit in with a sunshade and everything. We went ahead and just put him in it with Brian in the pool. Well, the tears came immediately. I think the combination of not "easing into it" and the water being a bit cool may have set him off. We were also quickly approaching nap time, so that didn't help. We had a great time regardless and Wesley actually ended up falling asleep in my arms while we hung out in the shade. So, we were able to visit with our dear friends a bit longer before we hit the trail home.

Smiling for Shannon's camera. Did I mention that he's a flirt?

Hey, are you taking my picture?

He finally pooped out and fell asleep on Mom.

Wesley slept the whole walk home - big day for him.

15 Month Check-Up
Wednesday Wesley had his 15 month check-up with our pediatrician. I was a little concerned since the only appointment available was 2pm (Wesley's nap time), so we hoped for the best and Wesley stayed awake on the way there, so we were in good shape. He LOVES his pediatrician so another win. The check-up went really well and our pediatrician was very pleased with the progress Wesley has made in the past month developmentally as well as physically. He actually lost weight - what?!? The kid can't stop eating, so we were a little shocked. Typically, doctors aren't in favor of little ones losing weight at this age, but it was such a little loss and it put Wesley right about where our pediatrician thought he should be in terms of height and weight that he felt that he was "right on." Unfortunately, Wesley did have to get a few vaccinations which was hard on us to watch, but it was necessary. He was a trooper and the rest of the afternoon he didn't seem bothered by the shots, he had more discomfort from the molars that he's cutting.

Wesley Goes To Work
Thursday, we headed to my place of employment so that Wesley could meet the wonderful people that I work with. I work for an advertising agency that is approximately 45 minutes-1 hour from our home (depending on traffic). Wesley fell asleep in the car on the way there, so when we arrived, we had to wake him up but he got in a good nap before meeting everyone. It was so cute because before we even got him out of the car, my friend Marjan peaked out of the front door and said, "Come On! We can't wait any longer!" So, we quickly gathered up Wesley and our stuff and went inside. Everyone was gathered in the conference room with a cake, presents and lots of smiles. :)

The cake for Wesley. It was yummy. Brian had 2 pieces.

Wesley had a really good time meeting everyone and we were really thrilled to see that he wasn't overwhelmed. There were about 25-30 people in the room and he did great. He was all smiles, he flirted with the ladies as he always does and he even was okay going to Joette (my boss), Sherry (one of the very nice ladies at work), Marjan (good friend at work) and Teresa (another friend at work & Korean mommy) briefly for some lovin'. We needed to try/experiment with "outings" like this and he did great, so we are so pleased.

This weekend Brian is out of town for my little brother's bachelor party in San Diego (Michelle, don't think we didn't "talk" about a visit - j/k). So, Wesley and I are hanging out Mom and Son - all weekend long. So far, it's been a lot of fun. It's tiring, but we're getting in some good bonding time. Here are a few photos. I'll post more after the weekend is over. Got to get some sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Wesley is finally getting warmed up to a rocking horse that we got as a gift. It's really cool - it's a rocking horse that converts to a rolling horse.

Wesley is fascinated with the washer and dryer.

Wesley on the nature trail walk with Mom Saturday morning - it's a lot of fun!

Wordless Wednesday (Hanging out with Dad)

Right before bath time, I saw an opportunity to snap some photos of Wesley and Dad. They were sitting together after Brian and I had finished dinner together (a rare moment). Ignore the excessive drool, Wesley is cutting not 1 but 2 molars (poor little guy).