Sungjae's Growing :)

I guess it's something we take for granted, yet often forget about... You have a baby, you feed the baby, the baby grows... But there are certain times when you're watching your own kid and you think to yourself, "Aww, he's not a baby anymore... Look at him!"

Pick-up time is always difficult 'cause neither of our kids want to go home! Sungjae loves the playground at his daycare and he surprised me during one of his first few days there by hanging on that bar for a good few minutes. I didn't even know he had the grip and arm strength to hold up his weight! I couldn't believe my eyes. He was having so much fun and was so proud of himself.

Here's a short video of him hanging happily from bars on a monkey gym. "See~" he proudly says. This mommy was on edge the whole time! Eek! ^^;

One afternoon, we needed to make lots of cards. Sungjae got in the action too and this was his side of the card. His fine motor skills are definitely improving.

He's also always wanting to dress and undress himself these days. He usually gets frustrated while putting on his pants 'cause the back gets stuck under his puffy diapers. He hasn't figured out how to pull up the back and only pulls up the front. On this particular evening, he put on his pajama top, head first. Pretty clever, right? It's not easy, ya know. =D He knew it wasn't on right and kept on trying to pull it down more, but then he soon forgot about it and started doing his own thing. He was happy when I fixed it for him and he could pull his top down. :)

Sungjae doesn't like being taken out of the car seat. As soon as we unbuckle him, he flips around and climbs out of his car seat and out the door on his own. He's becoming a really good helper around the kitchen and is always willing to take the spoons for everyone - except he tends to give them to the individual person wherever he finds them, rather than putting them on the table! He does the same with chopsticks, forks, etc. He likes taking his bowl of rice / plate of food to the table and putting his empty bowl / plate / silverware, etc in the sink when he's done. He's also very competitive and is always competing with Juhee - competing for attention, wanting whichever toy she's playing with, wanting to wear her school bag and hat, wanting to run faster than her... He's also started to speak Japanese too, which adds another interesting layer of confusion as we're constantly having to figure out a) which language he's speaking in, b) what he's saying, c) what he's actually trying to communicate (not always the same for toddlers). :) From when he was about 18mths old, he's also been putting his arm under my neck when sleeping. When he puts his face right next to mine and lies on his side, he can now get his little arms around my head/neck to give me a big hug before falling asleep. It's an awesome feeling, absolutely the best. <3

I can't believe my baby's turning two this month... Sniff... :'(  =D

Thank you God for a beautiful, healthy, bright, cheerful, strong, sociable, affectionate, loving, curious, outdoor loving, wonderful little boy. :) Help us to be the godly parents that you long for us to be so that we can help guide him to be a lover and disciple of You. Thank you for surrounding him with awesome Christian family and friends who will spur him, guide him, keep him accountable, and sharpen him as he grows older. We look forward to seeing the man that you have planned for him to be and pray that he will always be one that is ruled by ("jae") the Holy Spirit ("sung"). <3