Words and More

I'm long overdue on posting an update, so I'll try to cover some ground as best as possible. Oh, and as it's the end of the month, Oliver has been part of our family for just over 4 months now! 

Happy Easter! and He is Risen. Hallelujah!
The first big holiday as a family of three (yes, we were together at Christmas. In Korea. With a very sick and grieving child. Not really a "holiday" if you ask me!). We know Oliver was involved in church activities in Korea, but we aren't sure what his foster family might have done to celebrate Easter. 

We began with an egg-dying session (he had fun though he didn't really "get" what was going on), baked a cake and continued with the traditional Easter Bunny visit on Easter morning. While we attempted to incorporate the story of Jesus and His resurrection into the festivities, I will admit that we failed miserably this year -- aside from actually attending church on Sunday morning. He had fun in his Sunday School class and we enjoyed a great Easter message.

Oliver enjoying the cake clean up process

But back to the bunny. The Easter Bunny did make a visit, bringing Oliver an Easter Basket, a bucket of sidewalk chalk and a Mr. Potato Head, all waiting for him on the coffee table. Scattered about the upstairs were piles of grass holding plastic eggs (filled with candy) and a few other little candies and gifts. He managed to wake up while I was desperately waiting for the coffee machine to heat up, so he saw the surprises before I could get Tony up or grab the camera. His expression was priceless -- unmasked joy, surprise, excitement and delight. 

Learning how to play with Mr. Potato Head

Since he didn't have words to express what happened or how he was feeling, he acted it out for us. He put his hands by his head and pretended to snore, then "woke" up and placed his hands up by his face with a huge "surprised" expression and gasp! All to show us that he went to bed, then woke up to this big surprise. So cute and wonderful.


Tony and Oliver wore matching green checked shirts. I tried to snap a good shot with my phone's camera, but this is the only one that I could manage (let's just say that Oliver was very distracted). We have other photos on the *real* camera, so maybe one day in the distant future I will be able to get those posted to the blog!


After church we headed to Tony's Aunt and Uncle's place for the traditional family celebration. Delicious food, a fun egg hunt for the kids, great family time. At least that's what I vaguely remember....the day was, well, exhausting. Oliver was all over the place, refused to eat during the meal time, generally behaving well and having a blast -- just staying very busy. Tony and I barely got to speak to the family as we were busy tag teaming to keep tabs on the active kiddo, start conversations with family members that we wouldn't be able to finish, inhale some food and occasionally sit down long enough to catch our breath. Oliver always gets a bit hyper at new places, and around other kids, so we weren't surprised. All the chaos did mean that we missed out on a desperately needed/wanted family photo -- all three of us dressed nice for Easter. Bummer. 

What we didn't miss out on -- Oliver doing the egg hunt with his cousins, joy from the adults that after two Easters of waiting he was finally here and taking part in the festivities. Pure joy.

And perhaps Oliver's biggest take-away: a Chuggington train track and nearly all of the Chuggington trains, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa. 

Spring? Hello?
Where are you? Oh...you're arriving in the form of cold and rain. And one last major snow storm before Easter. Great. More inside time for the little ones, after a teasing couple of days outside. Thank you (note the sarcasm...this Missouri girl is ready for the warmth).

And in other news, we think Oliver might be suffering from seasonal allergies. Runny nose, coughing, streaming eyes. It did give us a excuse  opportunity for an early night  valid reason to see how he would react to Benadryl, and he slept like a baby. It seemed to help a little, but the weather also changed to cold and rainy. I guess we will just keep an eye on how he does as the weather warms (because it has to warm, right?). 

Words
Oliver's vocabulary continues to expand! It's pretty amazing. He isn't putting too many words together, though we did hear the phrase "Daddy, where are you?" the other day. 

Two long awaited words/phrases passed through Oliver's lips this past weekend. The phrase brought me to tears, literally. He said "love you".  Do you remember the exact moment you first heard the words "I love you" from someone close to you? Honestly, I can't recall the moment Tony first said those words to me. And I can't remember the first time I heard them from my family (because they were always said). But I will remember the first time Oliver uttered them -- as Tony was leaving for work Friday morning. He said to Oliver "I love you" and Oliver responded "love you". Precious. And we've heard it since!

The second word we heard was only said once, but it gives us hope. He said "Oliver". Keep in mind that just last week when I asked him if his name is Oliver, he said no. When I followed up with, "Is your name Chae Ha?" he said yes. So not only did he identify that his name is Oliver, but he said it out loud! 

Amazing. Precious. 
This kid just melts my heart and warms my soul.

Mommy Reaction
I'm learning about what I will call the "Mommy Reaction." This is where something happens or is been said (or not said) that causes an immediate and intense defensive Mommy response. Illogical, irrational, not founded in reality, but yet it is a strong and visceral reaction. And it's hard to rationalize yourself out of the feeling. Protective of the child, standing up for the family, reality be darned. So, I've now had (many) mommy meltdown experiences, and I can add mommy reactions to the list. :)

Expanding Our Korean Cooking Repertoire
This past weekend we decided to try another classic Korean dish: Bulgogi, or grilled marinated beef. Thinly sliced by the butcher, marinated and quickly cooked on the grill, this is another meal right up Tony's alley. We've had this numerous times here in the U.S. as well as in Korea, and Tony's parents have made it as part of the New Year's Day celebration. This was our first time trying it out.

Oliver also requested another batch of Japchae (over jjajangmyeon, or black bean noodles), so I put that together while Tony mastered the grill. Both dishes were wonderful and Oliver seemed to really enjoy them (though if we are honest, he mostly ate the "bap," or rice, with kimchi). Perhaps one of these days we will feel comfortable enough making a few Korean dishes to invite some friends or family members over for a Korean feast.

Cute Pictures
I snapped these pictures tonight after bath, just before bed. First he's posing for the camera, then he's treating his dump truck like a "baby." Which is what he was doing when I first started taking the pictures. He is such a sweet child, very compassionate and tender. He likes to baby his stuffed animals and, apparently, his trucks.