Happy Easter

My mother has never purchased Easter baskets for me or my siblings but now that she is "Halmoni" that has all changed. This Easter Kaitlyn and Noah received their first baskets with a big stuffed bunny and tons of candy. Practical? No. Fun? Yes. This pose is typical of the two... Kaitlyn exploring her world and Noah wanting some space away from her. Will they be like that when they're older???

Blessings

With the addition of Kaitlyn and Noah in our family, we feel blessed in so many different ways. This past weekend we had an opportunity to bless them through baptism. The two were sprinkled with water and prayed for by Pastor Isaac. What a wonderful experience it was to have them blessed together, wouldn't you agree???

Daddy's boy

A lot of people say that Noah looks more like me than Jawsh, but these pictures prove them all wrong. Noah is a carbon copy of Jawsh when he was an infant (with the exception of the eyes). Do they look like twins or what???

Bobble-head babies

Here is the card Jawsh made for Billy's 30th birthday... funny huh???

Chug, chug, chug

Many people warned us that Noah would not "take to a bottle" but he has proved them wrong. He eats well and Jawsh is very responsive to his hunger cries. Here is a picture from Jawsh's perspective when he feeds Noah. Cute eh???

100 days

Noah celebrated his Baek-il at Harabujee and Halmoni's home. The Baek-il celebrates the 100 days after a baby's birth. The number 100 has an inherent meaning of maturity and perfection. Family brought presents and wished Noah good health and blessings. We had two types of rice cakes prepared: baekseolgi (steamed rice cake) and bulkunp'at gomul (red bean rice cake). The steamed rice cake is shown in the picture and has the symbolic meaning of holiness whereas the red bean cake expels evil spirits that may block good fortune. Will Noah appreciate all of these things that we do when he gets older???

Behind the scenes

Here is a sneak peek of Noah posing for his Baek-il pictures. We were very surprised how well he reacted to the studio and the photographer. Don't you think the pictures came out well???

Sitting pretty

Throughout the day Jawsh helps Noah practice sitting in his seat... it's really amazing to see how strong our little boy has become. Before we know it Noah will be sitting up straight on his own. Time flies fast, doesn't it???

Mr. Mom

Jawsh is at home with Noah for a few weeks now that I am back to work (I had to post this picture of the dvd that Joel made for Jawsh... love the creativity). Jawsh is really great with Noah and he's enjoying the bonding time. How will I cope being away???

Happy V Day

Billy bought Kaitlyn and Noah matching Valentines Day outfits... cute huh???

The big 3-0

We had a wonderful time celebrating Jawsh's birthday with family and friends. What a sight... look at all those candles! After Jawsh blew them out we had to turn the fan on! I wonder if Jawsh's birthday wish will come true???

Uncle Zach

Noah finally met his Uncle Zach visiting from NYC. I think they got along very well. Uncle Zach and Uncle Bill have similar likings: they both love hamburgers, watching movies, and the glory days of the Bulls... will Noah have the same things in common???

Noah's first job

Noah and I were at our favorite baby store and we met a talent scout for the Dunstan Baby Language DVD. She took a picture of Noah and he received a call back for a screen test (he was chosen out of 250 babies). Noah's job was to cry on camera, which he did on cue. I'm not sure if Noah will make it on the final DVD but it was worth going to the session because he received a stipend for five minutes of his time. I wonder what his next job will be???

Happy two months

Even though Noah has been here for a short amount of time, we can't imagine life without him. He is the joy of our lives and we feel so blessed. Every day there is something new that we learn about him; he loves to look at the chandelier lights, he loves bath time but hates it when I dry his hair, and he really likes it when Jawsh sings, Fly Like an Eagle. I wonder what we'll discover next???

Hae-sahm

My dad and mom enjoy their roles as Harabujee and Halmoni. When we visit they want to hold Noah and he obliges by being very calm. My dad has started to refer to Noah as hae-sahm (which means sea cucumber in Korean) because he feels soft and lays still peacefully content. Hae-sahm is a term of endearment but I wonder if Noah will like it when he gets older???

What's up cuz?

Kaitlyn likes to say hi to her cousin Noah. They are really cute together don't you think???

Healthy baby

Today's doctor visit brought us joy and sadness... The joyful part was finding that Noah is growing and developing fine (he is now 12 pounds). The doctor also stated that Noah was "advanced" as he is turning from front to back, smiling, and "talking." The sad part of the visit was holding my son in my arms as he received his first set of immunizations. We have never heard him cry like that before. Jawsh even said his heart broke watching it happen. How are we going to handle his next set of shots???

Hello Great Grandparents!

Noah met his great grandparents, Art and Tina. He is not only their first great grandson but the only one on their side with no dimples! Dimples or not, he is still the cutest boychick (Yiddish term of endearment for little boys) in the family! Or am I just biased???

Tranquility

Last week Noah met his Great Uncle Marty, Great Aunt Gail, and Second Cousin Rebecca. Aunt Gail shared this fact about the meaning of Noah's name in Hebrew: Noach means "tranquility" (Genesis 5:29). Noach appears in the Bible as the builder of the Ark, whose family survived the Flood. In kabbalah, Noach is another name for Shabbat, the day of rest and tranquility. Jawsh wants to call him Mr. Tranquility. Does that sound like a comic book hero's name???

Happy New Year

In Korean tradition, we greet our elders with the new year's saying: "say hay boke-mahn he pah du say oh". If we observe the meaning of the greeting "say hay" means 'New Year', "boke" means 'blessings', "mahn he" means 'a lot' and "pah du say oh", 'please receive'. It literally means "Please receive many New Year's blessings". Noah followed this tradition and bowed to his Harabujee. After bowing, Noah received some money, symbolizing good luck and good wishes. 2006 was such a great year, I wonder what 2007 will bring???