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Food
We have discovered that Halle is a lover of corn-on-the-cob.
Don’t even ask what the corn did to her digestive system…………gross……………Halle also felt a little left out that Clay and Jake had started making homemade pizzas, so she wanted to get in on the action too…
The girl likes to eat! She fits right into this family. 
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Nine Months
Halle has been part of our family for nine months. This is the same amount of time that she lived with her foster family. Wow. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for her foster mother to say goodbye to her after all those months. A lot has changed in these past nine months. Here is one of our first family photos from the first week we were home from Korea:
November 2009
This picture was taken on Halle’s 1st birthday. She looks like such a baby! We were still suffering some major jet lag at his point. Clay doesn’t have any facial hair and looks like he’s 12. Jake still has his “Korea haircut” and doesn’t quite look like the hipster he does today. I think I showered for the first time in a week right before this picture was taken.
Nine months later…
August 2010 - Nine months home!
Halle is a full-blown toddler. Complete with pigtails and necklaces! Clay has his facial hair back and doesn’t look like an adolescent anymore. Jake is rockin’ the tan and the Bieber-like hair that is all the rage. (Seriously…what happened to boys who like crew cuts?) I actually take a shower on a daily basis now. Sometimes two.
Halle’s addition to our family is beyond words. We are complete.
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On The Road Again
So…August has been a busy month. Busy…but very fun. The first weekend, Clay and I traveled to San Francisco for a much needed, long awaited, weekend get away. It was fabulous! We were able to actually sleep in past 7am, go to restaurants for leisurely meals, have cocktails in the middle of the day (yes!) and not be tied down to a nap/feeding/playtime toddler schedule. I think we explored every nook and cranny of that city and our sore feet proved it. Here are a few pictures from our adventures:
Standing on the pier in front of the Bay Bridge
The craziness that is Lombard St.
Meanwhile…back at the ranch…Halle was busy trying on her fancy shoes, hat and purse:
And like the responsible big brother he is, Jake taught Halle to play X Box while we were away. Can you see the excitement on her face as she zaps the zombies?
Halle did great while we were away. The grandmas worked hard and entertained her every waking moment. I don’t think she realized we were gone until we came home. And then she was MAD. She showed her anger by waking up between 5:30 – 6:00am for the first 3 days we were home. Lovely. Luckily, she has forgiven us now and we are back to our normal schedule.
Last weekend the four of us took a road trip to Chicago to see my cousin, Julie, and her husband, Ralf, who were in town from Germany. We only see them about once a year so it’s always fun to hang out and catch up. This was Halle’s first time meeting her aunt and uncle, and Julie knows exactly how to make a toddler instantly like her…FRESH RASPBERRIES!
Of course, Jake had to get in on the action too:
The cousins and our husbands went out for a fun dinner at an Irish pub:
And then this wanna-be-Michael-Jackson-guy-with-the-horrendous-pink-pants and his band started playing REALLY loud, REALLY bad music 5 feet from our table, so like the old people we are, we busted out of that place.
We got some family pictures of me, my cousins, my mom and Halle:
Julie, Mari, Jen, Halle
Halle is saying "cheese!" in this picture...can you tell!?!?!?!?
It was about 128 degrees with 110 percent humidity...if you're wondering why we all look so greasy
And a weekend at grandma’s wouldn’t be complete without pretending to be a dog and lying in the dog bed. Fun times!
We are done traveling for awhile. There are only 3 weeks left until school starts and Jake is having daily panic attacks thinking about sitting in a classroom all day. I keep reminding him that he still gets recess, but it’s not helping. Oh well.
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Leavin’ On A Jet Plane
This week, my husband and I will leave the state for a trip out to California… Alone. With No Kids. By Ourselves. This will be the first time we have left Halle since we came home from Korea. To soften the blow to her, we have ordered up the services of not just one grandma…but two! I am sure she will have some difficulty adjusting to us not being here for a few days, but no one can spoil like a grandma and Jake will be here as the big brother back-up. I am crossing my fingers that she sleeps and naps well while we are gone, so the grandmas are not too tired. As my mom continually tells me…”there is a reason people have babies when they are young…it is hard work!” Amen, mama. Like I have previously said…I would NOT consider myself in the “young” category anymore, and therefore am exhausted every night and fall into bed without uttering a single word to my husband and The Other Woman, Paddy.
To keep the kiddos busy while we are away, I have given the grandmas instructions to put them to work! For example….Jake can do the cooking…
And Halle can do the laundry…
If they get their chores done, there will probably be time for some fun times, such as whipped cream eating contests…
And maybe a wagon ride with a favorite balloon…
Now that I think of it…the kids will probably be happy that we’re leaving!
Grandma’s Rules: No Chores & More Ice Cream!!!
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20 Months
As of yesterday, Halle is 20 months. That means she is only 4 months away from being 2! This 2 year old will really have some big shoes to fill…wouldn’t you say?
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The Other Woman
Most people know that my husband is obsessed with technology. More specifically, he is the world’s biggest fan of Apple and will only allow Apple products into our house. Don’t even try to bring a PC through the front door. He will rip it out of your hands and burn it immediately. He is a passionate guy.
So…obviously the other humans who live in our house are exposed to the latest and greatest of technology. Recently, when the iPad was brought home, we learned that it travels everywhere with him. If he’s in the kitchen, it’s in the kitchen. If he’s on the deck, it’s on the deck. If he’s in bed, it’s in bed. Glancing over at it before falling asleep and seeing pictures from www.peopleofwalmart.com often causes nightmares…just so you know. Anyways, the iPad is sometimes so distracting to him that I have decided to give it a name….Paddy. Paddy…the other woman. She has overtaken my husband’s attention like you wouldn’t believe. I think it is similar to what would happen if Carmen Electra walked in our front door.
Paddy has now infiltrated my children. Now, I understand the flirtation with Jake – I mean, he is a cute kid and has the same technology addiction as his father. But….my 1 year old, completely innocent daughter?!?!? You have got to be kidding me! Of course Clay has found the coolest kid apps for Paddy and when Halle sees it, she squeals with delight, jumps up and down and does the arm motion for wheels on the bus. Oh yeah…he has interactive nursery rhymes where she can actually open the doors on the bus, move the wipers on the bus and make the people bounce up and down on the bus. Unreal. Don’t even bother trying to get her attention while they are interacting with Paddy. It’s useless. But, it does make for really cute daddy-daughter bonding time and they have a lot of fun playing with it together.
So… I guess I can live with this other woman in my house because I know she can’t make yummy banana smoothies like me, can’t take the kids to the park and pool and would definitely not make a good wife. Take that….Paddy.
Look at the excitement!!!
The wheels are turning...
Uh...what do you mean we're all done?
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8 Months Home
On July 17, 2010, it was exactly 8 months since Halle came home. It has been a roller coaster ride…to say the least. A HUGE life transition, to be exact. She is a wonder and we are grateful to call her our own. Needless to say, the last 8 months have not been all peaches and angels, but we are definitely getting there. To show how much she has progressed, I thought I would compare the Halle from November 17, 2009 to the Halle from July 17, 2010:
11/17/2009
When I look at this picture, it makes me so sad. I can see how petrified she is and is clinging to me, even though I am a stranger to her at this point, because she has no idea what just happened to her life. She looks so sad and scared. That breaks my heart.
Halle clung to me every moment of every day. I couldn’t leave her side without her screaming at the top of her lungs. Fun times.
She was terrified of Clay. She wouldn’t let him hold her, feed her or bathe her. That sucked.
Her diet mainly consisted of yogurt, baby food, cheerios and formula. Yum.
She didn’t like to sleep through the night…she thought it was party time at 2am every night. Sometimes there was a second crib party at 4am. The crib parties consisted of her screaming until I took her out of the crib and then we played “make-mom-guess-how-to-make-me-stop-screaming”. It usually took me several times to win that game. Sleep deprivation is no fun.
She was petrified of any man and would hide in my shoulder if they came within 5 feet of her. She also cried when any other woman touched her or talked to her.
She was crawling, not walking, but had no interest in crawling anywhere around the house.
7/17/2010
When I look at this picture, it makes me laugh. I can see how funny she is and doesn’t even want me to hold her because she is too busy playing and dancing. She looks so happy and goofy. And she says “cheese!” when you pull out the camera!
Halle is very independent and basically has no fear, except of loud noises. She definitely still likes to be carried, but she goes into a room by herself, will play by herself and does not need me in her eyesight 24/7.
She LOVES her daddy. Complete and absolute turn around…it is unbelievable and heart warming all at the same time. Clay has lots of fun daddy tricks in his bag (that’s in the next post!) and he has definitely earned Halle’s love and trust.
This girl will eat anything! It is such a relief that she doesn’t require a normal toddler menu consisting of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. Gross. She still does love her yogurt, though!
Girlfriend is a GOOD sleeper! Consistent 2 hour daily naps and 11 hour solid sleep at night. No more crib parties in this house!
She engages in play with other adults (even men!) and graciously gives smiles, high fives and fist bumps to all.
She is walking, running, jumping, bouncing, you name it…she is on the move!
8 months may not seem like a long time period, but for our family, it has been a sometimes long 8 months full of changes, but it’s all worth it when we see this on a daily basis:
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Lollipops
Halle is having a love affair with lollipops. When one magically appears in front of her, she does a little happy dance, squeals and laughs with delight and must have it in her mouth immediately. Actually… now that I think of it, I do the same thing when I see chocolate! Anyways…here are a few pictures showing her recent lollipop infatuation.
Lollipop at the beach = Heaven
Whoops...slipped out of my hand...
Lollipop + sandy crusty coating = yummy!
No hands!!! Oh...and the stick is just as good as the lollipop!
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Summer Fun
School has been out for one month and I feel that we have packed a lot of action into the last 4 weeks. The beach, the pool, road trip to Chicago, the zoo, many lacrosse games and lots of time outdoors. Here are some pictures that hopefully document all the fun the kids are having so far this summer and explain why I am so frickin’ exhausted every day by 7pm.
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Inauguration Day!
Welcome to Halletown!
This is my brand, spankin’ new blog about life with a 10-year old son and a 20-month old daughter and a really cool husband and a very big, hairy dog. I will try to keep it light and fluffy with lots of fun pictures to keep the far-away family updated on the kiddos’ lives. Needless to say, it will all depend on my mood that day.
Umm…I was supposed to start this blog about 6 months ago, but, well…I’ve been busy adjusting to the addition of a toddler to our family and figuring out how to be a stay-at-home mom again after working for the past five years.
So…since we have brought Halle home from South Korea 8 months ago, I have discovered so many blogs of adoptive parents that have recently adopted children from South Korea. It was an unknown world I never even knew existed! It has been so fun, informative, addictive, helpful and inspiring to learn of other parents who have grown their families through adoption and the trials and tribulations that come along with the territory. That said..I may need to wander my thoughts into some adoption-related issues from time to time. Oh…even though my blog is named after my daughter, I really do love my son too. Just needed to confirm that for you. Jaketown doesn’t have the same ring to it, and really, let’s be honest….a 10-year old boy does NOT want his mother to name anything after him. He has a reputation to uphold, yo.
I hope you enjoy my blog!
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