Friends

Even though it is shaky and not in focus, I love this glimpse of my two. They are enjoying getting to know each other and making each other happy; it is an honor to be part of their world.

Bathing Beauties...Marie agreed to bathe with Ty for a few baths to help him get used to the big tub instead of the kitchen sink. Sure enough, if she went in, he had to go in the tub. He lights up when she comes into the room and loves to watch her to see what she will do next. She enjoys entertaining him and will look out for him. He was crawling around in the kitchen the other day and I ran into the other room. When I returned, Marie had put the dog food up on the counter and was in the process of moving the water too so Ty wouldn't help himself to it. Awwww.....

Yes, she sometimes has a hard time sharing toys or understanding why we can't hold her as much...but she is a great big sis and wonderful friend to Ty.

Tuesday Peek

Tuesday is Ty day...check it out.

Ty Speaks the Truth

Ty's gift to me (with some help from Dad) - a onesie for Him and a t-shirt for Me. The black is Velcro so that Ty can be strapped to my chest...just like he likes it.

Jim is a funny, funny man.

Climbing Wall???

Yup. It was cool. More later...

Foster Mother Visit

Ty Ji-tae had 2 foster mothers in Korea. He was born in the southern part of the peninsula (Seoul is a few hours north) so for the first month or so of his life he lived with one foster mother. Then after a month or so, she brought him to Seoul where he was taken care of by a different foster mother (who we met when we were in Seoul). Anyways, Holt International, the adoption agency, sends the foster mothers to the US every once in a while. Ty's first foster mother was in Michigan last week. He and I went to see her in the Detroit area last week. These pictures are of that visit.

I gotta tell you, it was very emotional for me. I was determined to go. But...what to do with Marie? Do we bring her and try to explain this? Does Jim take time off or do I go alone??? Fortunately, we have family in that area so they helped us with a place to stay and some company. Marie was able to stay at school late so she and Jim could stay home. To meet the woman who was one of the first to hold Ty, to get that piece of his life and to Thank her for all she did...it was a magnificent opportunity. We were able to go out to lunch with her and to share a little more time together. She fed Ty, held him and was able to give me some advice (even though she only spoke Korean and I don't...I swear she told me to put a hat on him. Grandmas are all the same, no matter where they are from!) At the end, she and I had a brief moment together alone with Ty in the parking lot. She was very strong and supportive, I was sobbing, trying to thank her. I felt like it was that moment again in Seoul when we got in the cab with Ty at Holt taking him away to the hotel. Except this time Jim wasn't there with me to help get through it. My Guardian Angel took care of me and made sure that my college roommate Lynn was home to help me get through it. She is truly an angel and opened up her home to us. After his nap, Ty and I went over and spent some time with her and her little boy. It was a great way to focus on the positive! Thank you Lynn!!!

In the end, I am glad we went. The opportunity will never present itself again. It is a piece of Ty's history that I am happy to now know. We are truly blessed!

Jim is 3!

This Sunday was Jim's birthday. He and Marie went to mass and then to her last swim class. She was asleep in the car by the time they got home and Jim transferred her to bed with no problem, promptly causing Ty to wake-up from his nap. Don't know how that baby-radar works but Ty's is finely tuned. We had a nice dinner of Todd Chargo's venison steaks and Jim's favorite mash potatoes. YUM! Marie insisted that Jim "walk around the sun" like they do in her class so out came the candle and globe. She sang the song and he circled the sun with the globe. It ended with Marie singing, "and now Daddy is THREE!" Happy 3rd Birthday, Honey! We love you very much!

OUTSIDE!!!

Finally, as I look out the window today, I don't see any snow around the house. The last big pile has melted along the driveway. The rain that we have had the past few days likely helped a lot. In any case, we made it outside!!! Marie is finally big enough to try out her "bikes." She likes both her pink, solo-cruising-the-block one and her red and blue, parents-can-push model as well. Friday, she and Jim took a cruise around the neighborhood with her on the back of my bike. They went down to the lake and Marie went up to her knees. Jim reported that it was freezing cold but then saw the tweens across the street heading out with towels. Youth! Ty tried to help me weed the other day. It didn't go well. He kept trying to eat everything. Dirt, rocks, grass...I opted for a different activity with him. In dog news, we switched Cody from a front lawn dog to a backyard dog. He now has a nice zip line that originates right next to the door so he can go outside and hang out in the back. Once a day I let him go off leash and it is scary. He is sooo fast and huge; he flies over to the pond, races around in the trees and comes back. Cody loves spring.

I believe that ever item in this photo is a hand-me-down. Clothes and scooter from cousins, shoes from Atlanta, and yes, that is my Grampa's grill behind her.

Marie pushing Ty on his scooter. You can still see snow here.

Explaining how it works.

Trying it out.

I think I have got it!

Happy Birthday, Mamma!

What do I have to wish for when I blow out my candles???

How To Eat a Chocolate Bunny

First bite

yes, that is a kiss

"HELP ME!!!"

Easter, part 2

These picts are of the cousins and Marie decorating Easter Eggs. I can't tell you what a huge joy it was to watch Marie with her cousins. First of all, she adores, absolutely adores, the older girls. She loves to mimic them and to follow their lead. Then, there is Luke. I observed them holding hands at dinner and then sitting next to each other, leaning on each other's shoulders watching a movie. They are truly best friends. It was great to see her comfortable and having such a blast with them! She has come a long way and truly knows they are HERS.

My favorite moment was when she was EXHAUSTED, roaming around their house with Charmin, her trusty bear, and discovered that Aunt Heidi's brother was sitting on "HER" corner of the couch, on the one pillow. She grabbed me and exclaimed, indignantly, "MAMA!!! That Man is sitting on MY pillow." Teague chuckled and kindly moved so Marie could reclaim "HER" pillow. When we got into the car to go home minutes later, she was asleep by the end of the block. That, my friends, is tired.



I have been a little slow in posting as this has been a busy week. With his previous 2 weeks upset and in the hotel the past weekend with car naps, Ty has been a little out of sorts. Naps have been quite the challenge. He will scream in his crib for a while, sleep for 30 minutes, awake and then repeat a few more times. This kid owes me a good hair dye appointment, to be sure. Marie too, has been out of sorts. I think she is at the age where naps aren't needed at 3pm but badly needed at 5pm. That's fine, we can get her to bed by 7pm but then Jim gets little time with her. Tonight she asked me why she was going to bed while the sun was still out. THANKFULLY, we have a close friend from Sweden so I was able to explain that in Sweden there are days that the sun never sets (I left out the part that they have huge celebrations during this time all night long). She thought that was pretty cool. The other funny thing from her this week is she has started to call bananas, "grananas." And, Sunday we are going to the ballet. When I told her about this, she told me that we would have to take an airplane !?!?! What??? Well, she explained, it is a long way to LA to see Uncle Jeff. No no no dear...ballet, not L.A.

Easter in Chicago-Lombard, part 1

We ventured forth. We packed up the kids, their Easter baskets, their car snacks and drove the 6 hours to Lombard to spend Easter with our family and friends. We stayed at a hotel and you would've thought that we have personally ushered Marie into Heaven. She was so thrilled! First, there was the candy and popcorn in the lobby then...an elevator ride! We found our room and she couldn't believe her eyes. There were 2 beds, a couch, a TV and drawers for our things! She had unpacked her clothes and stashed them into 3 of the 4 drawers (graciously giving 1 to Ty) and had stripped down to get into her suit within about 2 minutes. Jim and I couldn't stop giggling at her excitement! Here she is enjoying the pool with Jim. On Easter Morning, she was up early and she and Jim hit the pool by 7:15am. She kept asking him,"Where is everybody else?"

Friday night her cousins came over for a quick swim and Marie INSISTED on showing them "her house" upstairs. Then they all changed and headed over to my brother's house for playtime and dinner while Ty and I crashed in the quiet of the hotel.


Saturday, her excitement continued at the breakfast bar. Sadly, Jim woke up fighting off a flu bug and exhaustion and needed to sleep all day. So, I braved breakfast with the might duo. Ty ate a plate of scrambled eggs and toast while Marie took 2 bites of egg, sausage, holding out for the cinnamon roll I told her she could share with Daddy. She loved all the choices!

Then, I packed up the kids and we headed into the city to see Aunt Jacqui, Uncle John and their new baby boy, Jack. Jacqui and I grew up together and it is so amazing that we both have baby boys at the same time!!! Marie and John immediately renewed their friendship, bonded, shared gum, played games and chatted each other up. I got to hold the baby and visit with my BFF. We laughed at how mighty Ty was in mass compared to Jack. Here I am in awe with my new favorite lil friend.

Then, we got a group shot...courtesy of Jacqui. She took the picture however she looks amazing even though she just had a baby...she should've been IN the picture!
More Easter pics to follow...

Inspiration

I finished a fantastic book last week, "The Last Chinese Chef." The author is the same woman who wrote "Lost in Translation," to give her some street cred. This was one of those books that I slowed down as I read to make it last longer. SOOO good. I learned so much about Chinese food and it was a very sweet love story to boot! The entire time I read it, I wanted to eat what they were describing...it was so vivid you could see and smell the food as you read the words! Duck, chicken, pork ribs...YUM.

Mental switch to my coffee table. I have a quite a few coffee table books and I rotate them so I will look at them all. One is a beautiful huge Borders book (you know, the sale table at the front?) that my Grandma gave me via my Aunt entitled, "China: The Beautiful Cookbook." Well, I have flipped through it from time to time but come on...cook REAL Chinese food? After reading "The Last Chinese Chef" I practically flew to the book. It has fantastic descriptions of regional food and life in China along with recipes and great photographs. So, tonight was the first test. I started with a very easy recipe: braised chicken with lemon. You marinate a 2lb chicken with a soy sauce-lemon juice-rice wine mixture for an hour and then boil it in a lemon sauce for an hour. Reduce the sauce and pour it over the chicken. Jim and I learned that we are now proficient in chopstick use; we scarfed that chicken down so fast I was a little embarressed. We tried to keep some of the traditions of chinese food that I learned about - trying to serve others without them knowing, not wasting any food, the importance of texture, taste and presentation. I also learned that my knives don't cut it (DARN good pun!). You are supposed to cut through the chicken, bone and all, in slices and then re-arrange it on the serving platter. This didn't work so hot but I covered the chicken pieces with lemon slices and it still was pretty. Still not sure how to do this but will be asking my favorite chef buddy soon.


I never never knew how complicated Chinese cuisine was until I read these books. You could write a hundred master's thesis on the topic. I laughed aloud at these steps I read in one recipe, "Clean the chicken and bone it, leaving the skin intact - use a sharp knife with a narrow blade to work around the carcass until it can be completely removed." That's it...that's all they say. I am supposed to just remove the bones LEAVING THE SKIN AND MEAT INTACT just by reading that?!?! I gotta lot to learn but judging from tonight's results, I am off to a good start.

Anyways, wanted to share the two books. If nothing else, if you are trying to learn about China, you should read the first book. For me, it was a moving experience. I NEEDED a good book; it had been a drought. To get THAT book that tied in with my special coffee table book, while I was missing my Grama in a particular way...just was so special. Any other book recommendations out there?

Playtime with Ty and Cody

"Spring" Break

Diva In Her Own Mind

I Give UP. This child will agree to wear sensible outfits on school days and when we go in public. But at home, she comes up with her own, ummm, creations. I rearranged her closet a little the other day and shuffled the clothes to the basement that no longer fit and brought up the the ones that now do. She was very very much involved in this process. When I would find a piece that I was fond of that no longer fit, I would tell her how sad I was that she was growing. Each time, she came over and gave me a hug, telling me, "It's okay." She agreed that her U of M jersey could go to Ty, which was shockingly generous as she loves her "football shirt." She was also eyeing her summer dresses and trying to negotiate some wear-time on them now (the high today was forty). However, they were sent to the back of the closet till warmer weather is upon us. In our cleaning of the closet, she discovered a hairbow, her sparkly black dress and lavender tights. Of course, these items make a fabulous Sunday afternoon outfit, as you can see.

The other new development is her social monitoring skills. Today, at lunch, I would not give her a cookie. She had a PB & honey sandwich, peaches and yogurt and only ate the sandwich. Very simply I told her, "Eat your lunch and you may have a cookie." She dawdled, waiting to see if I meant it and, I did. At this point I was informed that, "You are not being nice to me." !!!!! Later, Jim was helping her get her boots and snow pants on to go outside and play. At least, he intended to be helpful. She went off on him about how he was in her space and then evidently thought he was not listening so she ended with, "LISTEN to my WORDS!!!" How could we not? We don't know whether to be pleased with her attempts at working out "issues," frustrated with her rudeness in these misplaced attempts or just laugh at her trying on the new phrases! Which way would you go?

A Surprise Gift

We were given quite the gift today - this picture. A lady that I "know" via the Bethany discussion board has twin girls from South Korea. She and her husband went to bring them home in November 08. At that point, we had just received information about Ty and were waiting for our paperwork to be processed so we could eventually go to get him in Feb 09. When parents go to receive their children, they go to the Holt offices to first meet them and then the next day receive them for good. The Holt offices consists of many parts, one being the doctors office that the children go to for the well-baby visits. When Jim and I were there, we saw many babies with their foster mom's.
In short, when this lady was in South Korea getting her twin daughters, Ty and his foster mom were in the waiting area, likely waiting for a doctor visit. She snapped their picture and sent it to us today!
I can't tell you what this means to us. We do have some pictures of Ty that his foster mom took for us so we are not completely in the dark about his first months. But, how can a few photos ever tell us about the months we were apart? Our hearts ache that we were not there for him, although we KNOW he was well loved and taken care of. Still...we wish that we knew more so that one day we could answer any question he may have. To have this candid glimpse into his life as a baby in South Korea, is just priceless! THANK YOU Kris!!!

Why We Are So Blessed

You'll have to forgive me; the astute ones out there will know these are old photos. But the camera has been without batteries since this weekend so these were the best I had.

Anyways, I have had the opportunity recently to visit with lots of people - some via email, some face-to-face, some on the phone. And it has just been so overwhelming to me how incredibly blessed my family is. First, that we have each other. Second that we are happy, healthy, safe, warm and do not have to worry about necesseties at all. Third, that we can wake-up without any pressing concerns - we have the luxury of just enjoying the day and each other. We are at a point where laughter is easy. The other day it was the witching hour - 4pm. I called Jim to see when he'd be home. As we were on the phone, I noticed M was doing the "I-gotta-go" dance. No sooner did I hang up then we made a mad and almost successful dash to the bathroom. During this time, Ty, no dummy, makes a mad breakout crawl for his favorite thing - the dog's food and water bowls. He reaches his goal and spills water all over him and the floor. M and I are covered with something else, as is the floor of the bathroom. A few weeks ago, this would've been tears for me; now I realize, "What are you gonna do? Laugh and get out the rags. No sense crying over spilled, er, stuff."

But there are so many other blessings right now too beyond our little family of four. Things as serious as the recent successful surgery of my brother helped along by my dad and stepmom, to more pleasant blessings like a wonderful vacation for my mother and unusually warm weather here in Northern Michigan so people got to go out without layers! We read about others blessings via their blogs- a friend's son's academic success and the improvement of Abby (from the button on the upper right), another friend's photos published for the first time and yet another getting through a stomach flu episode. And of course, lil Jack-Jack in Chicago, the newest addition to our extended family! We can't wait to welcome him personally!

There are others, though, who are not on the upswing we are. So, if you are a person of prayer, I ask for a moment from you. Specifically, a young lady I know who is going through a difficult time. She recognizes this testing period has given her strength she did not have before but her heart still aches over the difficulties in her life right now. Please keep Nicole in your prayers. Also, for my sister-in-law's mother, who we very much feel is part of our extended family. Her health has taken a turn for the worse and the outcome is not optimistic. She has been a wonderful friend to us, welcoming us into her home and family and always such a loving Grandma to our nieces and nephew. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

I ask one more thing. Take a few moments to count your blessings. Let us know if you have any requests for prayers as well.

Return to "Normal"

Hmmm...I can't seem to get my cursor to allow me to type at the top. Oh well. And that, my friends, is growth. Normally, I would obsess about that and demand a fix to it but I am gonna let it go. Anyways...
These are some pictures of a small part of what Jim and I concluded is a normal day for parents-of-two. This is Jim and Marie getting on the "Magic Carpet" at Crystal Mountain. Yes, there are 2 weeks left of ski season and it is the first time she has gotten out there. But, hey, she's there!
This is Ty, wondering what ever he did to deserve this??? Having to sit on the cold, hard, plastic thing while his sister gets to have fun. People kept coming up to me and commenting that I was getting him started very early on skiing.

Jim and Marie her first time down the "Hill." Along the left you can see both the "Magic Carpet" and the sharp incline of the hill called "Thor." She insisted that she was ready to ski that and couldn't understand why we didn't take her on it.
Arriving at the bottom safely. They repeated this 5 more times and then she proclaimed she was done. It was nap-time. We got in the car and she ate more than I have ever seen her eat and then she fell asleep. Jim drove them around while I went to Sam's Club. After dinner, she insisted on going back out to ski with Jim in the front yard. Thata girl!

Ok...so why was it normal? Well, we ALL got out and did stuff together as family. First time. Up till now, the thought of BOTH of them out and about was too much. Today we were able to figure out how to manage their different needs/wants at the same time. It was not easy! It took me dropping Jim and Marie off at the bottom of the hill with their boots, parking the car and schlepping Ty, the sled and Marie's skiis across the parking lot, Jim navigating getting their ski boots on and meeting us outside with his skiis, getting Ty safe in the sled, getting Marie to the ski area, managing her needs and Ty's and then UNDOING it all to get back in the car after 1 hour! At one point, they were both tired and hungry in the back and simultaneously crying. So we fed them (and were able to laugh) and, sure enough, they fell asleep. I believe Marie was crying because Ty had touched her little bag IN HIS SLEEP, mind you. Ty was crying earlier because, frankly, he got the shaft. He had to sleep and eat in the car so his sister could enjoy the ski hill. Why do second children have issues??? Since they were sleeping, Jim dropped me off at Sam's Club and he kept driving. I bought a few necesseties (wine and cheese) and then called him to come get me. They had both just woken up. There were still some tears and overtiredness but WE DID IT.
We thought of all of us going together to church tomorrow but decided not too. Realized that tomorrow, Marie and Jim have swim class for the first time and that would be pushing it. So Jim and Marie will go to 9am service and I will hit 11.

Rice, Anyone?

Ty was tickled that we had rice for dinner.

We plopped it on his plate...
He knew exactly what to do.
Sort-of.
And then Marie insisted we get her picture too!

Everything AND the Kitchen Sink

Just another exciting Friday night at the Whall house...

Some Much Appreciated Help

My cousin Ab came for 2 days to see Ty up close and personal. By the end of day 1, she was calling herself "Cinderella" because we put her to work. Actually, she constantly jumped in and lent a hand without our asking her to. Dishes, folding laundry, playing with kids...she did it all! I was able to get Ty to nap a little in his crib as this has been a serious work-in-progress. I also was also able to finally get some needed baby items and to clean a few places that were needing it. Ab takes pictures too besides cleaning; here are some I stole from her camera.

Marie on her way to school Tuesday morning. She still insists on wearing only skirts and dresses. Now that I am home in the morning, she also insists on having her hair done in braids or some other fashion daily. Yes, she is still getting attention with Ty home!

Aunt Ab with the two watching an episode of "Ni Hao Kailan." Marie is riveted. This was at the end of her long day at school when she does not take a nap. She can be difficult or easy on these nights as she is dog-tired. Tonight, she had stripped to her undies and was helping us give Ty a bath in the kitchen sink. She was starting to get r-e-v-v-e-d up so we told her to just drop trou and get in the sink right after Ty - she was going to have a "baby bath." She giggled and giggled and got in the sink and took a bath just like Ty does. She past out shortly into her cuddle with me in her bed. Usually, it is a discussion about why-we-need-to-stay-in-bed; tonight she was asleep within minutes. *PHEW* She has Thur and Friday off from school as there are P-T conferences during the day. In other words, I will be home alone with Tweedly-Dee and Tweedly-Dum. Oh my!

And, finally, our FAVORITE picture from the visit. Ty with his silly scrunchy smile!

Some Winter Homeslice

Marie loving the winter hat sent from friends in Georgia. She loved loved loved the little pocket in the hat and the puppet it contained. The puppet is in the foreground. Ty has a matching hat and this thrills her to no end!

Jim and Ty out enjoying the snow. Or is this our plot to get Ty's body clock on local time by exposing him to sunlight even though it's extremely cold out? We wouldn't do that! (It has worked, by the way!)

Our 'little' man. Can't imagine life without him. He is eating pretty well now. He loves the same foods Marie did at this age. Congee and cheerios, sweet potatoes and bananas. But he's eating. Whew! Every day is better than the previous and it really has only been 2 1/2 weeks!

Korea Trip

View Project at Shutterfly

My Retirement Fund???

A Happy Moment

The kind friend ignores my mismatched pajama socks.

Return to the New Normal

Ty the Exer-Saucer King and his sister, the Dancing Queen. You will note Ty has on some stylin duds. These were inherited clothes and you may recall Marie enjoyed them. It worked on her - one of her favorite songs is "Hail to the Victors."

"Eating" together. I love that Marie has 1) her leotard on 2) a Halloween cup and 3) is using a Silver Lake placemat. I am too tired to recall what meal this was but it must have been Saturday as that is dance class day.

Jim cuddling with the two rug rats. Ty and I have been "sleeping" here on the futon together.


As of Saturday, Marie had carmel corn from Aunty, sugar cookies she made with her Aunt, sugar cookies sent over from a friend, chocolate from Grandma and this, the Big Daddy Lollipop straight out of Wizard of Oz sent from Uncle Jeff. Enough!

We are having ups and downs still. Ty has been to the Dr twice. He is napping well but is not able to sleep at night. He will fall asleep on us if we carry him upright but isn't comfortable lying down. Yet, I can get him to lie down for his nap. Jim reminds me that Marie didn't sleep at night either but it's different. Marie just lay there trying to be with me and had jet-lag and stress. Ty is so tired and wants to sleep but can't. Something is bugging him. We know he is teething; he is a drool machine and his lovely little cheeks are all irritated from the acidic drool. He may or may not have an ear infection. The doctors looked but he has so much hard ear wax built up (not unusual in Asians) that they can't see the ear drum. We need to irrigate his ear with a baking soda mixture for the next few days to clear that up. He spits up pretty regularly and has a hard time swallowing so we are wondering if he has some sort of reflux or gerd. So we will treat him with Prevacid to see if that helps. It really won't hurt. The doctor is going to call us in a few days to check and we go back in Tuesday. We feel very comfortable with this doc. He has been working for 20 years with Korean adoptees and is on the board at the hospital. Everyone loves him. Today at our visit, he told me that before he saw Ty and had just read about him, he was sure that it was all behavioral. Once he looked at him though, he suspected that there may be something more going on. I appreciate his assessing things with a fresh eye and he has a plan of what to do if things don't turn around Tonight Ty took a bath, had a bottle and fell asleep on me right away. I set him down and he has been up and down since then, sleeping for maybe 20 min at a time. I think we will try a car ride as he seemed to like that earlier. So off to do that!