The things they say...

Just had to write this down so I wouldn't forget it...

N was singing this song to Jude Dude as a lullaby before bed tonight. I can't remember everything, but here are a few lines:

"Oh Lord, help me to stay indoors with you...
Oh Lord, help us exgrace your Word.
Oh Lord, you are holy.
Remind me you are with me.
Oh Lord, help us..."

N is always making up song lyrics and melodies. The melody was beautiful. Not sure what "exgrace" means. But she's been asking about what grace is, so she's probably experimenting with the language. Also, every night before she goes to bed, so tell us that she doesn't want to be by herself, so we have her recite Isaiah 41:10...thus the "you are with me". And the "stay indoors"...perhaps because we had to stay indoors today since it was raining? I had to both giggle and smile because it seems like she getting at least some of what we're teaching her.

Something else she said the other day that cracked me up...
"I just want to squeeze I----- so hard that his head will pop off and I will eat it for chicken!"

I often tell her that I want to squeeze my kiddos so hard and bite them because they are so cute. I think this was the influence, as well as the fact that I had just told her about her uncle eating frogs legs and it tasting just like chicken. Ha ha!

Meanwhile...our T-Max is exploding in his use of language. He's been putting two words and phrases together for the past couple of weeks, both Korean and English. He's saying words that he's never said before out of nowhere, especially words that we've been teaching him for a while. It's so much fun to hear him talk! A few of our favorite phrases are, "No yike"-I don't like this, and "I-oh-know" = I don't know. Also, he's learning to sing "Amazing Grace" and dance like the Jabbawockees (he want to watch them ALL the time!).

What's Jude Dude been up to? He turned 3 months on Tuesday. He's still eating well and sleeping well. He's doing one long stretch about 7-9 hours at night and then another 3-4 hour stretch. He's such a good little boy, we hardly hear him cry. He's giggling a lot, especially when I tickle under his collar bone with my jar or climb up his tummy with my fingers. He's gotten really good at grabbing things and bringing them to his mouth.

Love my kiddos!

Apple Picking @ Homestead

We went apple picking last weekend to Homestead Farms in Poolesville, MD. Our friend said that she had gone and picked so many yummy apples. We picked only Fuji apples, and they were SO good! Of course, I did all the picking since my girlie was upset about the gnats flying around her, and T-Max was busy trying to pick up bruised and nasty apples that had fallen on the ground. We picked 26 pounds, which I thought was a lot until we gave some away to my parents and my brother's family, and another family friend. It hasn't even been a week, and we've already finished the apples we brought home. I had hoped to bake with some, so I guess we'll be back this weekend to pick some more!

I think girlie is picking apple skin out of her teeth in the background!


Here is a pick of T-Max actually picking an apple (with a little help):


I love how much my kiddos love eating apples with a passion!


Just having fun with my boy


Abba getting a little lovin'!


Superboy!


Our little Jude Dude


And for some reason my kids really love rocks.


Enjoyed running into an old friend from high school!


See the rest of the pics here. You can also see pics of our trip to Butler's Orchard with our Homeschool group for the Pumpkin Festival last week here.

Summer Flashback: Downtown Silver Spring

Peter has been so busy editing wedding photos, that though he's taken pics of the kids, he hasn't been able to work on them til now. So here's a flashback post from August of a fun summer day!

One hot day, we decided to go down to Rockville Town Center to let the kids play in the fountains. We went down there only to find some kind of wine festival going on, so we decided to go to downtown Silver Spring instead, since we had promised the kids they could run around in the water fountains. It turned out to be a bit cooler there because there wasn't as much sun, but the kids still had fun. And after some frolicking, we ate homemade bok keum bap (fried rice) and strawberries and pretzels dipped in Nutella outside by the fountain, then we had some Ben and Jerry's!

Girlie didn't actually want to go in the water.


The water was so cold that T-Max was actually shivering and his lips turned purple. But nonetheless he had a great time!



The kiddos eating fried rice so deliciously!



And here's Jude Dude, who was such a good boy that day!


The rest of our pics are at the end of our Summer 2009 set.

2 month update

Life is definitely even more full with the addition of little Jude Dude. We are absolutely loving our kids, but blogging seems to end up on the back burner. Just wanted to record Jude Dude's 2 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs. 1 oz 90th percentile
Height: 23 3/4 in 75th-90th
Head: 15 3/4 in 50th

He's a good eater and good sleeper. God has been so kind to us! He's pretty easy to read, and as long as he's fed, he's happy. He definitely loves people and touch. He loves his "noona" and "hyung", and they absolutely adore him. Several times a day, they huddle around his head when I'm feeding him to take turns (or not take turns!) rubbing his hair in their faces. T-Max is always squashing, I mean, hugging Jude Dude, so he can't breathe. JD is super "talkative", cooing and gurgling all the time, esp. with N. We are enjoying him so much.

Peter has been so busy, he hasn't been able to touch pics of the kids. Hopefully soon, you'll see some pictures of what we've been up to either on his blog or mine. Although, you can see pics of our kids that our the sohnzone took while we were in OC together.

Here's one pic the sohnzone took of our littles (We affectionately call kids the biggies, the middles, and the littles!). It makes us crack up because they look like mini versions of their fathers.



N has started officially started preschool, and she's doing a great job. The challenge is to figure out what to do with T-Max. T-Max is obsessed with Cars, and "Nigh-ning", as he calls it. He knows all the names of the characters, and has gotten really into dancing. He loves to move whenever he hears music, just like his noona.

1 month stats

So decided to go with Blogger for now, despite Peter's recommendation to do Wordpress. WP was just more than I needed. I just want to record my kids milestones and memories.

We went to the doctor last week for Jude Dude's 1 month appointment. In two weeks he had gained over 2 pounds and an inch! I can't believe how fast he's growing!

Weight: 11 lbs. 9 oz. 90th percentile

Height: 23 in. 90th

Head 15 in. 50th

He's such a great baby! He's already been smiling at us, gurgling the classic "a-goo" sounds (which I adore btw!), and seems so responsive to our faces and voices, especially N. He's still waking up a couple of times at night, but will usually go about 4 hours between feedings at night. He's feeding well, and seems to be a decent sleeper.

Peter and I are not sure if we will have more kids yet, so I am trying to savor his "baby-ness" as much as I can!

Our little chunker monker!

2 Weeks and 4 Year Checkups

I know you all already know this, but just to make it "official"...

Isaiah Jude Bang
born on July 20, 2009 (our 7th wedding anniversary)
@ 9:06 am
8 lbs. 13 oz. and 21 1/2 in.

He turned 2 weeks on Monday, and he is doing very well.  He already seems like such a pleasant and sweet boy.  We had his check up today and here are his new stats:

Weight: 9 lbs. 2 oz.   75th percentile
Height: 22 in.           90th percentile
Head: 14 1/4 in.       25th percentile

He's feeding really well, which is such an answer to prayer.  I was not able to nurse my other two longer than a month, due to complications, so I ended up exclusively pumping and bottle feeding them both.  So far, things are going well, and it looks promising.  I would say that the first two weeks have been great recovery wise.  The most difficult part is feeling so tired all the time, and not really being able to take naps.  Most of the day (and night) I feel like I'm feeding Jude Dude, but I'm def. not complaining about this.  I am SO grateful!






He's already loved by his brother and sister.  Kisses and squeezes all day, and lots of hair rubbing.  I think this little dude will develop a lot of tolerance!  Anyways, he's a gift to us, and a joy to be caring for him and raising him. 

Naomi had her 4 year checkup at the same time.  She had to get 4 shots, and was super brave!  They were great - a nurse on each side.  On the count of three they each gave a shot, and then the next, so they were done in no time!

Naomi's 4 year stats:
Weight:  36.4 lbs     50-75th percentile
Height:  40 1/2 in    50-75th percentile

So I'm thinking about changing over to Blogger or Wordpress.  What do you think?  Not many people seem to be on Xanga anymore.  I might possible make the change soon. 

Newborn and a New Start

So I'm finally making the switch over from Xanga. Peter's been telling me to do this for a while, but I'm the type that likes to stick with what's familiar, and I don't deal well with change. But for some reason, I'm feeling the need for this change. We'll see...

So anyways...


I know you all already know this, but just to make it "official"...

Isaiah Jude Bang
born on July 20, 2009 (our 7th wedding anniversary)
@ 9:06 am
8 lbs. 13 oz. and 21 1/2 in.

He turned 2 weeks yesterday, and he is doing very well. He already seems like such a pleasant and sweet boy. We had his check up today and here are his new stats:


Weight: 9 lbs. 2 oz. 75th percentile
Height: 22 in. 90th percentile
Head: 14 1/4 in. 25th percentile

He's feeding really well, which is such an answer to prayer. I was not able to nurse my other two longer than a month, due to complications, so I ended up exclusively pumping and bottle feeding them both. So far, things are going well, and it looks promising.

I would say that the first two weeks have been great recovery wise. The most difficult part is feeling so tired all the time, and not really being able to take naps. Most of the day (and night) I feel like I'm feeding Jude Dude, but I'm def. not complaining about this. I am SO grateful!







He's already loved by his brother and sister. Kisses and squeezes all day, and lots of hair rubbing. I think this little dude will develop a lot of tolerance!

Anyways, he's a gift to us, and a joy to be caring for him and raising him.

Naomi's 4 year stats:
Weight: 36.4 lbs 50-75th percentile
Height: 40 1/2 in 50-75th percentile

Strawberry Picking and a Wedding

Last Friday we went strawberry picking to Butler's Orchard.  Well, at least I did some picking.  T-Max just ate them.  Peter was busy taking pictures and watching the kiddos.  And N?  Well, she was most concerned about being dirty and the bugs and the mud, so she didn't do any picking or eating (until we got home, that is!).  You can see Peter's post here.  But here are some pics that didn't make it on his blog. 








I picked about 5 pounds.  Most of them we ate fresh and shared with my family, but with some I made some yummy Strawberry Bread.  I'll def. make it again!


Here's N, but I have NO idea what she's doing. 

You can see more pics from Butler's here. 

And then this past Sunday my kiddos were the flower girl and ring bearer for my cousin Bo and Kevin's wedding.  You can see some pics on Peter's blog.  I think he did a fabulous job with the pictures, so check them out.  But I just wanted to show you one pic of my kiddos because I just think they were so cute!



They both did great!  We knew N would do a good job because she loves dressing like a princess, and she was SO excited to do her job.  It was T-Max that we were a little worried about.  The wedding started at his nap time, and he didn't really get to have a normal lunch, but we were pleasantly surprised.  We just told him to walk holding N's hand, and that's exactly what he did!

Update

Here's an update on T-Max's stats for his 18 month check up. 

Weight:  21 lbs 11 oz    3rd percentile
Height:  31 1/2 in          25th percentile
Head:  18 1/2 in            25th percentile

He's slightly dropping in his percentiles, but he's still on a normal curve for him.  Doc says that he'll just likely continue to be a lean, and that with childhood obesity on the rise, she's glad to have one lean healthy little guy.  He's still a good eater and sleeps well, sleeping 12 hours at night and a 2-3 hour nap during the day. 

He's been working hard on using a fork and spoon the past couple of months.  The fork has been easier for him, but I'd say he's finally getting the hang of using the spoon.  He loves to feed himself cereal, and then when he's done, he likes to drink the milk out of the bowl. 

He plays so well with N these days.  They have fun playing tag or just chasing each other around the house.  Their favorite thing to do together is roll around together with N's blankie (which has become one of his favorites also!) or in her bed after nap or just before bath.  Peter and I say they remind us of two little puppies playing together. 

One new milestone for N is that she is starting to read!  She's just reading some 3 or 4 letter words with short vowel sounds.  I made her some index cards with word families on them, and she loves to read them especially when she's on the potty!  I wasn't teaching her to read, just working on letter sounds, but one day I was listening to her "read" one of her books, and she was sounding out the word "bat" on one of the pages.  She was so excited that she wanted to read more words. 

We celebrated Mother's Day early today because my mom's working tomorrow and Peter's got a photo shoot.  We made lunch for my mom including paninis (with chicken, basil, sundried tomatoes, and provolone cheese on ciabatta bread), salad, and blueberry crumb cake.  Over lunch, we each took turns sharing with her why she is so special to us.  She was moved to tears, and I think she was blessed.  Earlier in the week, Peter had given me the day off.  It was a great refreshing time to be alone, and even have lunch with an old friend.  And then today, he made us dinner - one of my favorites, breakfast for dinner.  I hope to post pics from our day soon.  Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies!

Ballet Spring Class

A few weeks ago N had another visitor's week at her ballet class. She's really learned a lot, and continues to enjoy it, regularly wearing her ballet slippers around the house. Here are some highlights from that day:




Dressed as Madeline with her teacher.


This is one of my favorite poses. She's pretty good at pointing her toes.


Her curtsey!


She won't smile for pictures anymore.



Picture from my mom's b-day.

Updates and Milestone: Learning to Read

N is still doing ballet and loving it as usual. This session, there is only one other girl in the class, so she's really learning a lot of technique. In fact, last week, the other ballerina didn't come, so N had a private lesson! She still LOVES to read, often reading books from memory or just making up her own stories by looking at the pictures. She's got quite the imagination. The most exciting milestone for N is that she has started to read. She's in the stage of sounding out words with short vowels.

Easter 2009

We had a great time decorating Easter eggs with my girlie.  I tried something new this year by blowing out the eggs instead of hard-boiling them.  I've always hated the stinky "rotten egg" smell that seems to permeate the house the minute their done boiling, and although I've read that it's perfectly safe to eat them dyed, I just never liked the idea of it.

So I followed instructions from Martha Stewart's website by first making an egg drying rack.  This was actually very satisfying to do!  And then I followed her other instructions for blowing out the raw eggs.  This proved very tricky as I was just using one of the nose suckers that you get from the hospital when your baby is born.  But out of a dozen and half, I managed to get a dozen of them blown out.  The rest of them cracked in the process.  And then dyeing the eggs was more challenging for N too since the eggs weren't heavy enough to sink down, we had to hold them submerged in the dye.  But all in all they turned out well. 

Didn't take any pics of us dyeing the eggs, but here are a few pics of decorating with my two kiddos. 













Besides egg dyeing, we continued our Easter tree tradition with 42 days of ornaments to learn and celebrate the covenant God has made with us from Creation to Jesus' death and resurrection.  It was fun to see how much more N remember and understood this year.  Not only is it helpful for her, but it really helped me to prepare for Easter. 

Family pic from Easter Sunday after church (thanks iversohn!). 


After the kids naps, we went to my parents' house to have an egg hunt. This was T-Max's first year participating.  He was only about 5 months old last year.  (see last year's).  N was so great at letting T-Max find some.  She would purposely wait for him to find one that she had already spotted, and even encourage him to get it. 








T-Max LOVES my parents' neighbor's dog, Haley.  He will look out the window and call, "Haley!"



I love this shot Peter took.






It's so difficult to get both kiddos to smile at the same time, and our little girlie is WAY into silly faces...as you can see!








T-Max's mouth is oozy with M&M slobber.  He stuffed his mouth with goodies from the eggs. 



Silly faces!










Back in November, N and I planted some tulip and hyacinth bulbs in our front yard.  She had anxiously been waiting for them to bloom.  We enjoyed out hyacinths for a few weeks back in March, and finally our tulips bloomed.  And they all looked so beautiful.  Here they are:





Hope you had a great Easter too!  More Easter pics and other recent pics on flickr.