May Again!

May is still a favorite month in our family. First, we have May 10, our Family Day. We marked two years as a family of three this year. To mark the occasion, we had a picnic in a park. Drew enjoyed playing in the sand with his construction equipment. It's hard to believe it's been two years, but it's also hard to remember life before this precious boy. Then, we had Mother's Day, marked with our second Mother's Day Train Ride in Versailles. Drew is normally a happy boy, but the smile he had upon boarding the train was a sight to behold. You can see in the pictures that these were not camera smiles--they were train smiles! On May 31, we are due to have our baby girl join us. Drew has named her Minnie (since he is Mickey, I am sometimes referred to as Daisy and David as Donald), so we have taken to talking a lot about Baby Minnie coming to join us. Drew plans to kiss her, hug her, hold her, and get her milk. I think that is a summation of what he knows about baby needs, which is pretty good! Just because I know that in the busyness of life, I will forget so many things I want to remember... 1. Running in his buddy Jackson's sprinkler (or sprinky-ler). It was his first sprinkler experience, and being a cautious guy, he wanted a little help, so he said to Jackson's dad, "Hold my hand, Congleton!" (Congleton is their last name and somewhere along the way, he started calling him that. It cracks me up every time. 2. Today I told him, "You have no idea..." and he countered with, "I have yes idea!" Clever boy! 3. When either of us leaves the house, he shouts out, "Don't forget me a hug! Don't forget me a kiss!" 4. Drew has this need to know who is driving which vehicle at all times. If I am going to work, he will ask, "Are you taking the van?" When I get back, he will invariably ask, "Did you took the van?" 5. All his toy vehicles have to talk to each other now. Mostly they talk about going to Martinique. (Long story!) 6. Drew looooves the extra attention that family house guests bring. We love seeing him so excited and enjoying them all so much. 7. I love his announcement to his friend Jack, "Bye, Jack! I'm going on a 'benture!" (Adventure.) 8. Every night before bed, he has instituted a "good night parade" ritual, which I can only hope lasts for years. The pictures show our train ride, his love fest with his cousin, aunt, and Busia, and his inauguration of his sandbox. :)

Two Year Anniversary of The Call!

Today, Feb. 4, 2012, marks two years since we got The Call that we had a sweet baby boy waiting for us in Korea. It was the most exciting day of our lives up to that point!
Today we marked the occasion with Drew's first bowling outing, and a new toy--a giant semi-truck. At 2 1/2, Drew is a man who loves vehicles of all kinds.
I doubt we have too many folks reading the blog since we haven't updated in months, so I am mostly compiling the list below for us. We know that time goes so fast, and the phases and phrases of today are all too soon over forever.f we record them here, it will feel like we can hold onto this special time a little longer.
Phrases, preferences, and memorable moments from age two:
1. Greeting his Busia, aunts and cousin at the door for his birthday in his Cookie Monster robe, grinning from ear to ear saying, "Come in house!"
2. Daily love fest with his stuffed cats: Joe Joe, Mommy Kitty, Tiny Kitty, and Gray Kitty.
3. Love/obsession with his special blanket. Quote: "My blanket makes me, makes me...happy!"
4. Singing his two favorite songs with gusto for months now: I've Been Working on the Railroad, and The Wheels on the Bus.
5. Love of all vehicles, especially buses, trains, construction machines, and semi trucks.
6. The smiling face in the window when either of us comes home. All crinkled up and happy.
7. Concern for and need to kiss all booboos.
8. One of the very few words he mispronounces is Popsicle--pos-ka-poe. I love this variation. Along the same lines...When wanting to be held, he says, "Mama/Daddy, hold you!" I don't look forward to that ending.
9. His ability to sing his favorite songs, and then substitute different words as the occasion arises. Example: For awhile, he loved to sing, "It's a small world after all..." And, while playing with Play Doh broccoli used the same melody to sing, "It's a brocco-li-li-li!"
10. Upon seeing a star, asked, "Should I sing my song? No, I'm too shy."
11. No matter the situation, if he sees one of us in any sort of need, he pipes up, "I will help you!"
12. Me: Juju, you make me happy. Drew: I make you smile.
13. Early morning musings: Busia is happy. Is James coming in his splendid red coat? The sun is waking up by Mr. Keith's house.
14. When we have to search for something, he sings, "_________ where aaaaaaare you?"
15. Seeing his mama wear earrings on Christmas eve: "Mama, you're a lady (wady)."
16. Some months ago, when he spotted something special, he would point at it with his index finger right by his eye. These phases go too fast.
17. Lately, he's been asking each of us regularly, "Are you happy." We always respond, "Yes, because I have..." and he fills in "Drew!" The other day, I explained that Drew made me happy. I asked him what made him happy and he looked deep in my eyes and said, "Buses. Buses make me happy."
18. "Mama, can you sing Silent Night? Can you sing Jesus?"
19. His conviction that our new baby is in his tummy.
20. Last week Drew inquired, "Mommy, can I sit on the big couch and think about things?"

Ahh, May!

The month of our "family day" anniversary and Mother's Day, my two new favorite days!
It was one year ago on May 10 that we became a family of three. This year we looked back at pictures from that all important day and were in awe at how much our son has changed. From a sweet, round little baby to a big, handsome, walking, running, talking boy. And talk he does! Oh, goodness...there is nothing this boy cannot say. Just a few of his favorite phrases: 1. All aboard! 2. There you go! 3. Almost! 4. Round and round! 5. Three, two. (said whenever there is two of something) 6. Try again.
We often think about birth mother, but on our anniversary day, thoughts of her were more present than usual. We wish for her a beautiful life and hope that she sees his file and sees how loved this precious child is. It would be wonderful to meet her someday.
These are just a few pictures from these two special days plus a couple more. For Mother's Day, we took a little train trip. It was a beautiful day and Drew has become quite the train lover. For our family day anniversary, we went to Jacobson park to feed the ducks and play on the playground. Then we headed over to Chipotle and ate outside, which Drew loves to do. We ended the afternoon with a trip to Baskin Robbins, where Drew plans to be employed as a taste tester.
The next picture is of Drew painting for the first time. He really enjoyed it and of course, I see true talent. :)

Looking at 21 months!

Wow! Time flies!
So glad that I recorded the few words Drew was saying a couple of months ago. As we were anticipating, we have had a word explosion. Over 30 words and phrases now...some of my favorites: up in the sky, noooooo, eat rice, please, thank you! :)
We have had a busy and fun spring. In March, we visited family for Spring Break. Drew had a blast holding court each evening. You can see in the picture that he is having "class." When you are in Drew's class, he does a series of motions with his hands, and he checks to make sure that each student is following his lead. It is truly a riot to behold, and he absolutely loved having all the Shraders following his every move! He also put on absolutely fabulous dance performances, but this low budget Blogger site has not let me post videos in ages. :(
Back before this era of torrential rains, Drew became a big fan of sidewalk chalk. Guess what we would draw all over our sidewalks at Drew's request? Regular blog readers should guess correctly...balls! Even people walking down the street would get approached by a little boy with a big piece of chalk and the request, "Ball?" You can see a picture of the artist at work.
When I found out we were having a little boy, I decided he would have a seersucker suit for Easter. I must say, no one wears seersucker like this handsome angel! And in a big boy haircut! He got his first professional haircut a couple of weeks ago. Big guy!
What a lovely, exciting era of life. :)

What 18 mos is like...

We've all been together over nine months now, and we find that it is so hard to remember what Andrew was like back in the earlier months. Time just goes so fast and babies change so fast. I've been brainstorming some of his distinctive 18 month-old charms...
1. He still enjoys his game of "pickleberry," but for the past couple of months it no longer starts with one of us saying, "I call you pickleberry!" Instead, it starts with Drew letting out his patented high-pitched scream and then running. He has made some other variations, too. Sometimes, you may be instructed to hold a giant stuffed frog or dog while chasing him. In a version I call "lazy pickleberry," he wants to be put in his crib so that one of us can run down the hallway. Then, we are to turn around and look for him, but he has run to the other end of the crib, out of sight, to laugh and laugh. It's really amazing that he has orchestrated all of this with such a limited vocabulary!
2. Climbing steps. Oh, boy. It doesn't matter if we're at home or at the Great Wolf Lodge. Step climbing is where it's at! All day. Every day. Our neighbors have two steps on their porch and we have a measly one. Most days Drew runs over to their porch to enjoy walking this extra step. Then he sits there for quite a while.
3. Outdoor enthusiast: slides, swings, neighbor cats, stroller, wagon...it's all quite beloved right now! We have had some nice weather lately, and we easily spend two hours outside playing, going to the park, finding acorns, and generally trespassing all over Meadowthorpe.
4. His plastic teeter totter. Oh, my! This is such a hit. He can ride it in the middle, on the side, or, if he has his buddy Jackson over, he can ride on one end. The teeter totter at the park is also quite awesome.
5. Stealing/hoarding balls. Every time I see a child with a ball, I cringe because Mr. Drew is already eyeballing it and planning his strategy. The other day it was a giant sized ball a little girl had at the park. Yesterday it was Jackson's basketball. (Jackson is the kindest little boy in the world, and his sweet mama told Drew to keep it for a few days. He has not let go of it since!) Today, we were at a kid's gym for his girlfriend Catherine's birthday party, and it was ball hoarding at its finest. He is intense on this topic. At the party, he tried to shoot baskets while holding three balls!
6. Talking. I'm pretty sure we're on the verge of a word explosion, so I want to capture where we are right now word-wise: mama/umma, dada/hay-da, uh-oh, up, weeeeeh, two, three (two and three are used for counting steps of course!), choo-choo, tickle, ah-choo, kitty,and kaku (Korean peek-a-boo). He has said other words, but not regularly. Today was the first day he put two words together. We got home from church, got out of the car, and neighbor cat was in the yard. Drew waved and greeted him with, "Hi, Kit-tay!"
7. Kissing. Drew has his own way of doing most things, and kissing is one such example. He is not a kisser in general, more of a hugger/snuggler. However, he will kiss me like crazy through the sheer drapes in the living room. It's the funniest thing. He will also kiss through the banister railings. He started this with his grandma, and it continues. If David reads him the book "Daddy Kisses" he will go on an all-out kissing spree. It's a riot. Drew is also quite fond of blowing kisses--two handed, no less! Nothing sweeter in the world.
8. Ee-i-ee-i-OH! If you sing "Ee-i-ee-i," Drew will pop in right on key with, "OH!" Too cute.
9. Dancing. Drew is really getting famous in all his circles for his dancing prowess. We may not even notice any music playing wherever we are, but then we will notice this little guy is dancing with perfect rhythm. It's really quite amazing. He used to just basically bend his knees, but now we have arm movements, feet movements, and oftentimes he dances in a circle, sometimes while keeping one foot planted and marching around with the other. It doesn't have to be a catchy song or a long one. The alphabet song, for instance, launches him right into his routine. If you bang a couple blocks together in any sort of rhythm, Drew will also accept that as a form of music and dance away. As you can see in the video, dances can sometimes involve stuffed animal partners.
10. Papaw. Idolatry is a sin, and Drew is treading on thin ice here. He is so enamoured with David's dad that it's just a riot to behold. All Dave has to do is look at him and Drew grins and grins. You can see an example in the previous post.
11. Sympathy grunts. Drew is a big fan of play-doh, and luckily he cannot open the little cans himself quite yet. He often brings me a can to open, and I always have a little trouble getting the lid off. Seeing me struggle, Drew ALWAYS makes a few "sympathy grunts," presumably to help me with the task. They are very forceful grunts and it's all I can do to keep from laughing. I fear that if I laugh, he will no longer sympathize with me and will stop his big grunts!

One Year after THE CALL

This past Friday (Feb. 4) marked one year (3:09 pm to be exact) that we got the call of our lives telling us that we had a boy and he was born 7/30/09. All we got from the phone call was his birth date, his name, the fact that he was born early, weighed 4 pounds at birth, and that he was healthy and doing well. We didn't see pictures until the next day. Those couple of days are so clear in my mind that it doesn't seem possible that it could be a year already. I remember when I answered my phone in my office and heard the adoption lady's voice, I thought, "Oh, geez. I must have messed up some paperwork," because we weren't expecting to hear anything that early. Then she just said, "I have your referral." It was like an electric shock went through my body! I wrote down everything she said as fast as I could. David was at home, so he actually was not the first person to know! I just sort of stumbled out of my office and there was Lois, whose office is next to mine. "We have a boy!" I said, and she, being an adoptive mom herself knew exactly what I was saying and we just hugged and hugged. Then I called David and through all my tears somehow managed to tell him the biggest news of his life. Then I called my mom, and within a couple of minutes, my sister called me because my mom had hurried up and called her to tell her. News was traveling fast! I remember crying the whole drive home...all that joy and excitement just kept coming out in tears somehow. I remember collapsing on David when I walked in the door. David had to teach that night, so we couldn't get out to the adoption agency in Danville until the next day to get the papers and the pictures. It was torture to wait. When we finally got there the next morning, I remember we saw that now famous smiling picture first. For over two months we pored over all the pictures, admiring this baby who would be ours. And we would read and re-read all the paperwork that told us about little Hyun's life with his foster family. I remember loving the phrase "likes to be hugged, touched, and kissed." And also, "likes to get funny with foster mother." These are still true today...he is a lovey man and he loves to "get funny" for sure!

First Christmas Together

Wow! It's the end of January and I'm just now getting around to posting about Christmas! It has been a fun and busy time!
In the picture where we look frozen, we are at the Cincinnati Zoo. We went a few days before Christmas and highly recommend it. The Christmas lights show is awesome, and it is all very festive.
As you can see, Juju was the cutest Christmas baby in the world. We stayed home for Christmas Day for the first time in 13 years and traveled to see the fam the next day. On Christmas Eve, our friends the Baunachs invited us for dinner, which was lovely, but the best part was the surprise they sprang on us: they are pregnant with twins!! How exciting is that?
On Christmas morning, Drew wasn't quite sure what was up, but he knew something special was going on...he was like, "Hey, I'm dressed up like an elf, I'm getting new toys, and we're eating some good stuff around here! Hmmmm..." Speaking of food, we ended up making bi bim bop (Korean beef, vegetable, and rice dish) for Christmas dinner. Not traditional Christmas fare, but yummy!
We had looked forward to our first Christmas with our baby for so long, and it was just as sweet as we had imagined.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.