Leena update at age 4!

April marked 4 years old and June marked one year home for our little Leena!  However, you are not so "little" anymore my dear!  How amazing it has been to see you grow this year- 4 inches and 8 pounds in 12 months.  Not to mention a head of the most gorgeous hair that is now down your back.

  

For your birthday in April we had a huge celebration with family, neighbors, friends and classmates.  Thankfully the weather cooperated and we enjoyed the deck and backyard including the big bounce house we rented.  It was Moana themed and you seemed to cherish every second of it.  Knowing that it was the first time your birthday was ever celebrated, I just wanted everything to be as special as it could be!  We got it catered by a restaurant and everyone seemed to enjoy the yummy Indian food.  You were spoiled with a lot of amazing gifts and had a big smile on your face the entire day.

You are a ray of sunshine Leena.  You are giggles and pure happiness and a true optimist at heart.  Friends sometimes ask me if you are ever NOT happy after being around you.  I decided I could only think of a few situations that would put a frown on your face- 1) ponytails.  You hate all of your hair pulled back so much that it has only been done for one minute before you ripped it out.  SO much that we may have to drop out of the gymnastics class you are excited for because you need to wear a ponytail for safety.  I'm guessing it has a lot to do with finally having hair after the orphanage shaved your head for 3 years.  2) riding your balance bike.  We have this adorable pink balance bike but you just refuse to spend any time trying to figure the thing out.  You are definitely not taking after your brothers in wanting to ride a bike!  3) Being forced to wear anything you don't want to, especially costumes.  Themes at preschool are NOT your thing, despite enjoying dressing up with your brothers in the comfort of your own home.  But other then those three things, life is all peachy in Leena's world!

So what are you up to now?

- You can recognize and write all capital letters very well, we are working on lower case now:)

- You are speaking very clearly and using big hilarious words.  You actually think "chillaxing" is a word and use it often thanks to Daddy.

- You are SWIMMING- literally you can jump in a pool and we can just watch you swim.  You taught yourself on vacation in the outer banks and have been getting better and better at our pool ever since.  You even went down the water slide at the pool.  Lessons for stroke mechanics come this fall:)
- You talk a lot.  Like all the time.  Like Mommy and Daddy have to sometimes ask you to stop so we can hear ourselves think.  So then you start singing:)
- You still come into our bed around 3-5am the majority of most nights but we upgraded to a King sized bed finally so it doesn't really bother us at all.  In fact, I kind of love waking up to your face every morning.
- You exude love.  You live for snuggles, kisses and hugs.  You ask in the car ride home from errands if we can "go home and snuggle."  I wake up with a million kisses in the morning (Luckiest Mommy in the world)
- You have crazy strong upper body strength!  You could climb street poles and "skin the cat" on our swingset trapeze bar when you were still 3 years old.
- Your manners are quite impressive.  You thank Mommy/Daddy all the time for making your meals, taking you places and playing with you.  It is endearing.  I'm sure just a phase:)
- You love helping grown-ups do anything.  Hanging stuff in your classroom with your teacher, putting laundry away with Mommy, cooking with Daddy- "Can I help you?" "Can I help you?"
- You and Grant are in full sibling petty fighting mode and know how to push each others buttons.  However, when he was gone for a week in Rochester you missed him the most.  You guys are so silly together and SO loud!
- You and Auden have the cutest relationship that I want to document every single day.  The 4 year age gap is so sweet.  You climb up to his bunk when he's reading and give him "massages" or just lay next to him until he pays attention to you.  He plays awesome imagination games with you and you can convince him to play dolls often.  He thinks you are "the cutest thing in the whole world!" 

This summer has been a little hard with the change in routine that summers naturally bring.  Although you still are at Appletree with your same buddies they change the teachers for the summer and every week is a different fun "theme" to make it feel different from the school year.  We had the week long vacation in late June in NC, been to the lake twice for longs weekends, you've had you first sicknesses in the last month so missed some school days for that- so needless to say routine is lacking which makes you a little anxious and sad for drop-offs after so many days at home.  It will be nice to get back in the fall routine next week.  Luckily the teachers say you bounce back quickly and we always pick you up with a smile on your face.  We are so lucky to have such a great school with a staff so invested in you.  After your school show on the high school stage in May, all the teachers and parents just commented and complimented on how amazing you are doing and just can't believe how much you have caught up with language and confidence.


We've had an awesome and BUSY summer!

You are thriving our little angel.  Thriving in every possible way.  We can't imagine our world without you in it.  Missing the first three years of your life is hard to grapple with, especially when we look at pictures of you and your old friends in the orphanage and you ask me why you were there for so long.  "Why didn't you come when I was a baby?" you ask.  I'm so sad to say we didn't know even know you as a baby.  But all I can say is we found each other and we are together now.  Daddy and I feel beyond blessed to be your parents, it is an honor and a privilege that we do not take for granted when we kiss you goodnight.




Here's to an amazing year of lots of FIRSTS!

First Christmas!

New Years!  Happy 2018!

Baptism at St. Mark's Church with Godparents Uncle Chris and Ms. Ven

Daddy's little Valentine 

Easter fun

Disney World in Florida!!!

Fist time skiing!  Liberty Mountain, PA

Spring Break in Colorado

Grant is SIX!

Happy Birthday to Grant who is now the big 6!  I stared writing this the week of your birthday but time got away from me and things started to happen that I thought should be included in this Grant update.  So here we are, 3 months after your birthday, whoops!  Your birthday weekend was super fun and jam packed with swim lessons in the morning, then a soccer game mid-day, then a late afternoon party with all your buddies at Pump It Up where you all had tons of energy to bounce yourselves silly.  I loved coming into school the day before your birthday to read a story for your class, then we all sang "happy birthday" and I then stayed to each lunch with you and your friends which was super special!

You are ALL soccer right now, Daddy is coaching your team for the second time this school year and your soccer friends have become some of your best buddies.  It's a great group of boys and we have been enjoying hanging out with all of the parents.  It is already so fun watching you guys progress, I can't imagine what it will be like the next two years as you all get older and more skilled.

Daddy and I love how you are willing to try many different sports and your great coordination and fast speed means you are good at many of them.  When we were in Colorado for spring break you upped your skiing big time after you had ski school for a day.  You really improved technically and your turns are looking awesome- you were 5 years old and taking on west coast blue squares like a boss.  It was so cool to watch!  Currently, you are taking a break from Tae-Kwon-Do since it is soccer season and you also were doing before and after school sports programs- Hip Hop and Sports All Stars.  You'll be doing mini-stars swimming again this summer to keep your stamina up in the pool.  Your coordination is great for freestyle and backstroke but you are just working on the stamina.  This past weekend you joined Auden for his last track meet since it was "family fun" day and you loved it so I think we might have added another sport to your future repertoire, haha.  I'm looking forward to you trying lacrosse too since it was my personal favorite.  Now is the time to try all these different things and figure out what you like best before the craziness of travel teams starts up in 2 years.

My how this year has flown by!  You have absolutely rocked Kindergarten.  Your report cards are outstanding, you are quick to learn anything new and always ask for challenging work.  In fact, you were selected to receive advanced academic services next year to ensure your 1st grade teacher gives you differentiated work in language arts and math to keep you challenged.  We were pleasantly surprised by this news and happy the teachers recognize what we do at home.  It is hard to believe you only heard English for the first time when you were 26 months old and now you qualify for advanced language arts.  We knew how bright you were from the first weeks we met you but what we are most proud of is how hard you try at school and give your best effort.  That's all we can ask for, well....and wish you practiced reading more:)

Socially, kindergarten has been interesting as it has brought new types of challenges we have not had to parent yet just because Auden hasn't taken us down this road before.  You are a natural leader in your own right among certain types of personalities, however, you still seem to be drawn to certain kids, or this year- one boy in particular who you seem to follow.  We've had to have several discussions about being your own person and not making poor decisions just because friends are, since in your heart you know what is right and wrong.  We knew peer pressure is always an issue growing up but we didn't think we would have to deal with it in Kindergarten honestly.  But there have been a few instances this year that were good "teachable moments" and we are trying our best on parenting techniques to help you navigate having fun with your friends, being inclusive of everyone and not letting others influence you to make bad decisions.  You are a social butterfly and well liked by many Grant, we want you to use these powers for good and follow your kind heart!

At your 6 yr old check up with the doctor, we did some blood tests because you had another little drop in percentiles for weight and height.  You are a great eater so we just wanted to check and see if there was anything going on since you are at the very low end of the growth charts now.  Surprisingly, the one thing that came back is that you had an elevated level for Celiac (which could affect growth).  After some discussion, we were urged to do a biopsy by the GI specialist as it is the "gold standard" in diagnosing Celiac.  It was a relatively easy procedure and you were such a trooper!  These things are much harder on Mommy to see you in a hospital bed coming out of anesthesia.  Unfortunately we did not get a conclusive answer from the biopsy (1 out of 3 criteria met) and your genetic testing for Celiac came back negative which I assumed because it is rare for Koreans to have Celiac.  So at this time it looks like you have a gluten sensitivity but nothing that should be affecting your growth.  Right now we are on week 3 of a gluten free diet at the recommendation of the specialist to completely rule out Celiac and see how your body does off of gluten.  We will probably try it for 3-6 months then gradually re-introduce it and see how your body does.  If nothing changes we will go back to a regular diet.  It's definitely not easy but in today's world it is not a major inconvenience to be gluten free since so many people are on GF diets.  You are being a trooper and trying lots of new types of food and the rest of the family is too:)

We've already had awesome trips to the NC beach and the lake this summer.  Next up, in one week you and Auden will be going to "Nana and Pappy Camp" for 5 days without us.  You are a little apprehensive but you definitely want to go, so hopefully it works out well!

This past week your appearance has changed a lot as you wanted Daddy to give you a proper mohawk and you "lost" your first tooth!  I say "lost" because it was actually (unfortunately) an extraction of your front baby tooth because an x-ray showed an infection in the root.  It was a bit painful but I'm not sure you minded too much because you were just so excited to lose your first tooth and have the tooth fairy come!  You look adorable and like a big boy at the same time.

You are growing up right before our eyes.  You are always anxious to learn things from the big boys in our neighborhood or at camp and sometimes this is for better or worse.  We don't want you growing up any faster than you already are!  Auden's friends think you are the coolest little brother.  You are inquisitive, hilarious, sassy and a great helper around the house.  It's easy to tell when you have a lot on your mind and sometimes some extra snuggles are in order.  You and Auden continue to have a special bond which warms my heart.  We think you make him more social while his love of science and learning rubs off on you.  You and Leena have a very typical sibling relationship, one that I remember quite well with my older brother growing up.  You both know how to push each other's buttons and it's common to hear the phrase from Mom/Dad, "please get away from each other if you can't get along."  You have your sweet play moments but there are sharing problems and tattling between you two as well.  But at the end of the day, we know you adore her and you are very glad to have her in the family, so that is the most important.

This year was a BIG year for you!  You faced lots of changes and firsts- like gaining a sister, starting elementary school, going to summer camp, starting a gluten free diet and most recently losing your first tooth!  It wasn't without a few bumps but you are an amazingly brave kid that we have no doubt can tackle anything that comes your way.  Grant, you are SO special and SO loved!

 6^TH BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

• What is your favorite toy?   Legos
• What is your favorite food?  Noodles- red sauce (like Spaghetti) or brown sauce (like Ramen)
• What is your favorite thing to do/play outside?  Playing tag in cul-de-sac
• What is your favorite show?  Captain Underpants show
• What is your favorite color? Red and blue
• Who is your best friend? Sawyer, John 
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  Math teacher (like 6th grade) 
• What is your favorite sport?  Soccer

  

Auden is EIGHT!

***Well, I guess life is busy with 3 kids considering I've been working on this post for over a month!

And then he was 8!  Happy birthday to our sweet Auden.  As our oldest child, every time you turn another year older, it just seems like such a big number and we can’t imagine you being on this planet for 8 years already.  You had a wonderful birthday party with a crew of your 2^nd Grade buddies at a Rec Center that has a big pool with water slides, a whirlpool and a lazy river.  You were definitely in your element and had a blast.  What a great and fun group of boys you go to school with!  I feel like they are all so kind and appreciate everyone no matter their differences.  I hope that stays true as the years go on. 

 This year you’ve been re-visiting old hobbies and taking up some new ones.  You are back in TKD with your brother doing a family class once a week.  You are working very hard at it and you say you enjoy it and want to continue which is awesome.  This in turn makes Grant want to continue and not quit like he otherwise probably would have by now.  You are agreeable to trying track and field and I found a laid-back program that starts in a few weeks.  I think you will really enjoy it as you’ve always loved racing short distances and doing big jumps.  We are headed to Colorado for spring break (hopefully there will be snow) and I know you will leave Mommy in your dust and start going on runs that I don’t even want to do.  You realized you are pretty good at ice skating because you roller blade around the cul-de-sac often and you expressed interest in taking speed skating lessons in the future.  Since team sports aren’t your thing, we are having some fun trying to think of what other individual sports you may enjoy.    

 Your love for science is only deepening and you have recently claimed you have learned everything you could about the dinosaur age so now you are deep into reading books about the organisms and marine animals that existed before the time of the dinosaurs.  Honestly, I don’t even understand the fancy scientific names you list off, the evolution facts of each species of animals you know and it’s clear that you the teacher and we are your students.  Your thirst for knowledge is just remarkable and I wish I had such a passion to learn when I was a child.  I love how you learn things for yourself, not for a test and not to impress others.  When you talk about anything science there is this excitement in your voice and sparkle in your eye that is contagious and only makes me wonder what your future will bring.  We just visited the Baltimore Aquarium and it was hilarious watching random kids listen to you at each window of different fish because you knew more information than the plaques provided most of the time.  You are enjoying an after school program on “electronics and electricity” and got lots of good robotics for your birthday that you can’t wait to get started on. 

You have the greatest teacher this year, she is one of those teachers everyone says you are going to remember for the rest of your life.  She recognizes all your strengths, your intelligence, and works hard to accommodate your weaknesses at school.  She thinks you are funny and awesome and doesn’t seem to mind the little extra work it takes to come up with ways to get you to reach your potential in the classroom.  It’s because of this teacher and your super nice special education teacher, we decided last month now was the time to try medication for your ADHD- Inattentive.  We promise Auden, it was not a decision we took lightly.  We researched for months, I had sleepless nights about it, and Daddy even followed the bus one day to watch you get off of it because you seemed a little less like “Auden” one morning when you left after giving you medication.  The scales were tipped at your annual IEP meeting with your lovely teachers that sat there and said- we’ve realized that Auden has no weaknesses or disabilities with the material or tasks in math or writing, it is just that his lack of attention (daydreaming) is globally effecting him in all these areas.  They said, at least we aren’t dealing with several issues, it is just one issue affecting everything.  Internally, that’s when Daddy and I knew it was time.  So, how could we not see if ADHD medication could help you reach your full potential in school?  Of course, there is a part of us that doesn’t want to medicate you just to fit the norm of what a typical child looks like in classroom setting but we worry that at some point your self-esteem will be affected. 

You are one month into the medication and so far we are getting pretty remarkable feedback from your teachers.  You have more body awareness and calmness in class, you require less prompts to transition to different activities, you are completing your math classwork in record speed and not daydreaming between each problem, you are coming up with ideas for your writing assignments faster than ever.  The math aide in your class did not know you were on medication and on the 3^rd day she told the teachers how you were acting like a different child knocking out your math worksheets without even looking up- she was floored.  We don’t have those kind of demands at home, so right now we just have to trust your teachers that you are closer to reaching your potential at school and are accessing more information than ever.  They say you are proud of your work and all you are accomplishing which is awesome.  The biggest negative is that it is taking you longer to go to sleep at night, instead of reading for 1 hour, you are reading for 2 hours, ha.  We are monitoring that but hopefully now that it is getting nicer outside you can burn off more energy after school. 

This year was a big year with gaining another sibling.  It’s so funny that you seemed apprehensive before I left for India yet you just fell into the role of having a little sister like it was second nature.  You are just the best big brother.  We would have never considered having another child if the adjustment to having a brother was a really tough one.  But you and Grant are like peanut butter and jelly.  You are opposite in almost every way yet you two go together perfectly.  Grant says he loves you because you say “Hi” excitedly to him every time you see him in the hallways and sometimes when your recesses overlap you and your friends always play with him.  It is the most fun watching you with Leena when you don’t know anyone is looking.  I spied you helping her brush her teeth the other morning and it was the cutest thing I ever saw.  Our sink is so tall, you had to lift her up every time she needed to spit and rinse.  Watching you talk to her in a little bit of a baby voice and lift her up as she giggled and put her arms up for you was the cutest.  When we say you are in charge of her you take it very seriously.  Like the time on the playground while I was watching Grant’s soccer team- other parents saw you come out of the porta-potty with Leena and you said it was hard work holding her up so she didn’t fall in.  You were meant to be a big brother.  And you are a perfect big brother in our unique family circumstance of having two younger siblings that look nothing like you.  That’s because some of your best qualities are your big heart and not caring what others think.  Grant still relies on you to explain why and how you are brothers to some kids that may ask at school.  One day he will need gain his own voice but for now he told me that he likes it when you say it.  And you say it matter-of-factly, simple and with a bit of “who cares/no big deal” that makes other kids just move on to another topic of conversation.  How amazing you are Auden Henry.  

The highlight of your year I'm sure was going to Disney World in January.  My most special memory that I'll never forget is waiting for the "gates" to open so you and I could sprint to Space Mountain as fast as we could.  It was the one ride I always wanted to do and you were the only kid in the family that was tall enough for it (and brave enough!).  So, Daddy let me have this experience with you.  It was as you would say "SO AWESOME" over and over and over again.  The excitement waiting and the thrill on your face when it was over was something I'll always remember.  It was a great start to an amazing day in the Magic Kingdom with the whole family.        

We love you with all of our hearts and we can’t wait to see 8!!!

 8^TH BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

• What is your favorite toy?   Robotics and Legos
• What are your favorite books right now?  The Phantom Tollbooth, Spirit Animal series, A to Z mysteries, Dogman Series, How to Eat Fried Worms, 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, any non fiction about animals and dinosaurs 

• What is your favorite food?  Pizza, corndogs
• What is your favorite thing to do/play outside? ride bikes, roller blade, play in woods
• What is your favorite show?  Nature documentaries 
• What is your favorite color? Green 
• Who is your best friend? Thomas and Cole
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  A Palenotologist 
• What is your favorite sport?  Skiing