First Birthday and Last Post

Natalie turned one year old today! We celebrated with a korean-inspired meal of beef bulgogi, rice, and broccoli. Natalie loved it. When she saw me giving Andrew rice, she started making excited noises and waving her arms so I wouldn't forget to give her rice too. It was very cute. Natalie had her first taste of cake last Friday when we celebrated with family. She liked moving the frosting and cake around on her tray, but wasn't too interested in eating it. I'm not too worried - she's my daughter so I'm convinced that she is destined to love chocolate.



We are quite amazed that she has been home for three months already and by how much she has changed in that time. We are also very aware that we have only had her with us for one-third of her life. And while we are so very grateful for each day that we have had with her, we are also sad that we missed so much. We also find ourselves thinking about Natalie's birth parents on this special day. They gave us an amazing gift and we are so thankful for that. But our gain was their loss, so we hope they know that Natalie is loved so very much and is a very special, amazing little girl.

When we started this blog, we titled it "our journey to Natalie" to document the steps from learning about our daughter, to waiting for our daughter, to meeting her and getting to know her. When we started, I didn't know when we would end the blog, but it seems that we are no longer on a journey to Natalie, but instead with Natalie. I have loved having this outlet to share with all of you and to bring you along on this journey. Thank you for joining us and supporting us through every step, and most of all, for welcoming Natalie home. We are still amazed that she is ours and so very grateful too.

11 months old

We adore our daughter. We have a friend who started a blog entry with "I desperately love my son" and I have been waiting for the day when I knew my daughter well enough to say the same thing. Don't read this the wrong way - we have loved Natalie before we even saw her picture, heard her voice, or held her. That love has grown over the last two months and we have completely fallen in love with our daughter. She just makes us happy. When she smiles, her whole face smiles. Her laugh is so Natalie - it is infectious, cute, and totally unique. Natalie sleeps on her belly with her butt in the air, her favorite stuff dog under her arm. She likes to be rocked to sleep - all cuddled in against you. When she is very excited or happy, she squeals and kicks her arms and legs. It cracks me up because that is so Natalie - on the move. She is a do-er and mover. When she sees something that looks interesting, she dives right in to try it out, or touch it or eat it, or whatever she can do with it. As a result, the cats have learned to move quickly when they see her coming. She thinks they are great but they are still getting used to her enthusiasm. She is walking more and more, even without our coaching. She loves it when we clap and cheer her on too - her face just fills with a smile. Natalie loves to eat (we think she must be going through a growth spurt because she has been eating non-stop all weekend). She is known to hang out in her high chair eating dinner for 30 minutes. She has recently decided that using a spoon is a fun thing, so she wants to hold the spoon now instead of us. She also thinks that if anyone else is eating, she should be eating too. In the last two months, Natalie has gained almost 2 lbs, has started walking, has decided baby food and baby toys are not interesting, has popped out two more teeth (and one or two more look close), she has started day care, and has brought a lot of joy to our family. She can be stubborn and opinionated, but she is also cuddly and so sweet. We are amazed that she has been home for two months already and can't believe that today she is 11 months old. Wow.

Memere and Pepere, Yvonne's parents, came to visit this weekend. We had a fun Halloween together, Memere gave Natalie her first hair cut, and lots of pictures were taken. Here are some of our favorites.

Quick update

Life at our house is chugging along. I have returned to work (this is week 2), Natalie is adjusting to day care, we have already been taken down by our first day care bug - the stomach flu - this past weekend, and I'm learning how to get two kids, two diaper bags, two blankets, hats, gloves, and myself to the car and in/out of day care. Overall it is going well - you never know how much you can do until you have to do it! Natalie has decided that she is done with anything resembling baby food and is chowing down on all types of table food. And she keeps trying to walk and today took five steps! She is getting braver and a lot steadier on her feet. Will she be walking by Christmas? We'll see!

First steps!

She's been working on it since she came home and tonight she did it. Natalie took 3-4 steps all by herself, walking from me to Paul. It was awesome. Now, I know, everything changes once they are mobile and especially once they are walking. But, Paul and I were afraid that Natalie would take her first steps in Korea (in fact, it was the first question we asked our social worker on our way to Natalie's foster home) and so are very glad that we were both able to experience this first with her instead. Natalie loved all the attention - the big smiles and yahoos that she was getting - so she decided to try it again and repeated her achievement two more times tonight. We were able to get the picture above just before she sat down the last time. Andrew wanted to be part of it all too and was a great big brother, helping to hold Natalie's hand. It was very touching. A great way to end the day and the week.

A weekend away

We visited Andrew and Natalie's cousins and parents this weekend. We explored the Milwaukee Zoo on Friday and enjoyed a family hike on Saturday. The weather was unseasonably warm but the fall colors were glorious. It was quite the experience with 4 kids (which included 3 10-month old girls), two double strollers on Friday, four baby carriers on Saturday, 4 kids in highchairs (that was only because Andrew decided that since everyone else was being fed in the highchair, he should as well), lots of diapers, toys, and fun. Natalie had a good time playing with her cousins and trying out some different toys. She didn't seem to mind sleeping in a pack and play or being in a different house. She did wake up a number of times Friday night, but then again, so did Andrew. All in all, Natalie's first overnight trip after coming home went very well. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Ready for the zoo!


Three girls, one pancake. Sometimes it is just easier to bring the tray to them.


Four adults, four kids, four carriers, one hike.

5 weeks later and now 10 months old

Natalie is now 10 months old and has been home 5 weeks. It is hard for us to believe that it has been 5 weeks already but at the same time, it seems like she has always been here. I have really enjoyed time with just her while Andrew has been at day care and Paul has been at work, but I also love and look forward to the time when all four of us are together. There are ups and downs, but Andrew is becoming a great, loving big brother (though like all big brothers, he has his moments of wanting all the attention and all the toys, but as the oldest child myself, I can relate to that) and Paul and I love to hear our children laughing together. I also love watching Natalie move. She is quick! Her favorite destinations are the cats' food, the kitchen cupboards, and my leg. I love looking down and seeing her holding on to my leg and looking up at me. Tickling her and hearing her laugh is another favorite.

Natalie playing


Natalie showing us that she can do two things at once


Since my last post, our computer decided to quit on us and we are now MAC users. We are still figuring out some of the kinks (like sending e-mail) and bookmarking all of our favorite websites again. In addition to the computer adventure, we went apple picking last weekend with my sister and family. The last time we went apple picking was a few weeks after Andrew came home and my sister was pregnant with my nephew. This time, Andrew and his cousin Davin were enjoying the apples with us and carrying their little bags of apples and Natalie enjoyed watching it all from the ergo.



After apple picking with my sister and her family

Family Fun

We have had a couple of great family fun days. I went to the Children's Museum with Andrew and Natalie on Friday morning where we met up with a friend and her son. We have not been the museum before but it was great. We all had a wonderful time. We then joined the Korean adoption playgroup for lunch, which isn't something we are usually able to do because I'm at work. We had a good time and Andrew helped out by feeding Natalie.



Friday night, Natalie helped celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Andrew's Gotcha Day, which was actually on Monday. We enjoyed a pizza dinner together but the highlight for both kids was the breadsticks!



On Saturday we enjoyed the beautiful weather by taking a hike. Andrew is old enough (and strong enough, I guess) to do some of the hiking himself, while Natalie just enjoyed the ride. We have two ergo carriers and have already gotten a lot of use out of both of them. After our hike we enjoyed a picnic lunch and while Natalie enjoyed eating, she enjoyed standing more!







Overall, things have been going very well the last couple of days. We are still working on expanding the list of foods that Natalie will eat, but she is sleeping well at night and explores and plays well during the day. She also lets you know when it is time for a hug, which is very nice. She doesn't cry too much, but does fuss if she isn't able to crawl or move around when she wants to! She also adores her older brother. Andrew and Natalie have shared a number of special moments where they hug or with their foreheads together, just look into each other's eyes. It is very sweet. Her favorite toy is whatever Andrew has, but she is not hesitant to open a cupboard door, dig into a bag, or pull over a basket with toys. She appears confident and happy, which in turn thrills us.