A Well Spent $24.99

Yesterday Beau and I headed to Toys R Us to find him a walking toy. I'm not sure why we hadn't bought one earlier, but I never really thought of it. He is so close to walking and will take a few steps on his own, but is not walking independently yet. I thought that a walking toy might help Beau gain a little more balance and independence.

We found a great little tikes walker for $24.99. We haven't bought Beau any new toys since he has been home, so I didn't feel too bad spending the money on it. Much to my surprise, Toys R Us was having a sale. With the purchase of the walking toy, we got to choose an additional little tikes toy up to $24.99 for FREE!!! Yippee! I love buy 1 get 1 free sales!!! So, we chose a Christmas gift for a family member!

I think Beau has already gotten his money's worth out of the walker! He has been using it morning, noon, and night!!!!

Morning!

Noon!

Night!

A Wonderful and Unexpected Blessing

Today we received the most wonderful and unexpected blessing...pictures from Beau's first birthday in Korea. The first birthday celebration in Korea is known as a tol (or dol, depending on translation) and it is a very important day. Children wear a hanbok at the celebration and there is traditionally a well-decorated tol table.

As I was going through the mail today, I noticed an envelope from our adoption agency. I wasn't expecting anything, so I quickly opened it. Much to my surprise, there was a cd.

I ran inside and put the cd in the computer. When I opened the first file, I thought they had sent the cd to the wrong family, because it was a precious baby, but it wasn't Beau.

As I kept looking through the cd, I realized that each file was labeled with a baby's name. It was written in hangul, but I found Beau's name and opened it up! There were pictures of sweet Beau and his wonderful foster mom at his tol. What a blessing to have these photos!!

The adoption agency in Korea, Holt, plans a birthday party each month for all of the babies in their care that turn one that month. So Beau celebrated his first birthday at his tol with 14 other sweet babies that also turned one in June.

There was also a cd of pictures set to music, but unfortunately Beau was not in the video. There were also not any pictures of Beau's toljabee.

Obviously we don't know for sure, but we think that Beau and his foster mom may have had to get to the party early and leave early. You see, in one of the pictures, a lady is ironing the fabric backdrop. This leads me to believe that maybe they were there a little early. Also, all of the other babies seem to have pictures of their toljabee and blowing out candles on a cake. Maybe these events took place later during the party and Beau had already left.

We are so very thankful for the pictures and we know that Beau will treasure them!

As I continued looking into the envelope that I received from our adoption agency, there was also a single printed picture. It was of Beau and his foster mom on the day he left Korea to come home. I cried and cried when I saw this. So much love and sadness all at once. Beau's foster mom never intended to care for him permanently, but that doesn't mean she loved him any less. You can see how much she loves him in all of the pictures.

In the photo, Beau is in the same shorts and socks that he came home wearing. He is in a different shirt. I'm sure his shirt had to be changed at some point during the 18+ hours of traveling. You can tell that Beau's foster mom has been crying in the picture.

I am not sure if these pictures were sent from Holt Korea (the adoption agency) or if Beau's foster mother sent them. I may email our agency in the US and see if they can find out if the cd of pictures came from Beau's foster mom or the agency.

I have tried to upload a few pictures to share, but they really large files and won't upload. I will keep working with it to see if I can get a few pictures up soon!

Happy 16th Months!

Happy 16th months to my perfect son, Beau Tanner Si-won. We love you so much! God created you in His image for a very special purpose. We can't wait to celebrate lots of birthdays with you!

In a world with no sin, there would be no need for adoption because children would stay with their birth families. But we live in a fallen world full of sin and tragedy. But our God is so gracious to redeem tragic beginnings and create beauty for ashes! He restores joy to the lives of his children and makes all things beautiful!

Thank you Lord for our beautiful blessing of a son! Thank you for entrusting him to us.

Happy 16th Month Birthday Beau! You bring immeasurable joy to my life everyday!

An Apple A Day

Yesterday Beau and I went grocery shopping together. I looked away from him for a moment to get an item off the shelf. While doing so, Beau turned around and got an apple out of our shopping cart.

Before I knew it, he was eating the apple!! :)

We have tried to feed Beau apples in the past, but I've always peeled them and cut it up into very small bites. He never seemed to care for it. He likes a lot of other fruits, so I really hadn't tried any more apples in a while.

Raleigh does take an apple everyday to work, but obviously Beau doesn't see him eat it since Raleigh is at work.

Beau was so delighted with the apple. He was a happy camper just chomping away as we shopped. (I know the apple should have been washed, but I don't get uptight about the little things in life! Life is way too short to worry about one unwashed apple!)

Beau was so good at holding and eating the apple, that I think this may have been how he ate apples in Korea.

I'm glad to know that he actually does like apples, as long as he is allowed to hold the whole thing and take little bites at a time! I did supervise him carefully to make sure he didn't choke on the peeling or a big bite.

Enjoy the pictures of Beau eating the apple!

Today is your lucky day!

If you are like me, you might not have been able to go and hear Katie Davis speak while she was in the US.

But...today is your lucky day!

Here is a link to Katie Davis speaking at Brook Hills!

http://www.brookhills.org/media/series/first-timothy-the-household-of-god/v756

The message is 66 minutes long, but I guarantee it is worth your time! What an encouragement to radically live life for God's purpose!

The entire message is worth your time! Here is one of my favorite quotes from Katie's message.

"You be faithful in the little. You be obedient to the person that I put in front of you. And I [the Lord] will be faithful in the much. I [the Lord] will be faithful in the big."

Family Pictures

A HUGE thank you to Brandon and Stacey for these amazing pictures! See the full set of pictures here.

Lunch with Friends

“A constant friend is a thing rare and hard to find.”

― Mary Engelbreit

Pumpkin Patch

Today we took a trip to Kinsey Family Farm with some friends.

When we arrived, we went to feed the animals. Beau was not too fond of the cow.

Our sweet friend Lily was having fun with her mom and dad!

Ara was helping Beau feed the goat.

Lily and Charlie really liked the wagons!

Beau started to relax as we continued exploring the farm!

He loved looking around in the comfort of dad's lap!

Lily and Charlie were all ready for the picture!

Unfortunately, Beau didn't like it so much! Ha! Ha!

He wasn't too sure about a picture on the pumpkins!

But we still think he is adorable!

Hmmm mom...maybe this isn't so bad after all!

There's a smile!!

Sitting like a big boy by the pumpkins!

Finally having fun!

Sitting with dad is fun!

Charlie was having fun on the hayride with his mom and dad!

Family picture time!

15 Month Check-up

Today we visited the pediatrician for Beau's 15 month check-up. Beau did great in the waiting room. We read Goodnight Gorilla (his favorite book right now), a few times and then it was our time to see the doctor. Beau does not like having his height measured on the doctor's table. He screams every time. :) Then, once he is mad about that, he refuses to sit on the scale so I have to lay him down on the scale. Oh well!! Hopefully one day he will have less anxiety about the doctor.

Our pediatrician said that Beau is healthy is doing great!

Beau had 2 shots today...his prevnar booster (last one) and a flu shot. We will go back in 4 weeks for a flu shot booster. Apparently since this is Beau's first flu shot, he will need the booster this year. Next year, he will only need the one shot. The only thing is, the flu booster is scheduled for the day before his surgery. The doctor said the flu shot booster would be totally fine to have before the surgery, unless it gives him a fever. So, we'll wait and see if he gets a fever from today's shot and make a decision about rescheduling his booster. (sorry, I know that was way too detailed)

Beau's Weigh at 15 months: 20.3 pounds. (4th %)

Beau's Height at 15 months: 29.8 inches (11th %)

Our doctor did note that Beau has only gained about 1/2 pound since he came home, but she is not concerned. She said that he may just be on the small side. He is barely hanging on to the growth chart. It also appears that he lost weight on his growth chart because at his 14 month check-up he weighed 20.7 pounds, but this is not entirely accurate because they weighed him with his clothes on last month and today he did not have on his clothes.

Our doctor also wants us to collect stool samples. Boo! This is just precautionary since Beau was adopted internationally. She just wants to make sure that he doesn't have any parasites that might be overlooked without doing the stool samples. We know that this is highly unlikely since he received excellent health care in Korea, but we are going to follow through and just be sure!

Our doctor noted that many 15 month olds have 1-3 words. Beau hasn't said any English words yet since he has been home, but we are not concerned at all. He has only been hearing English for 2 months. When he was living in Korea, he had 2 words omma (mom) and appa (dad) so technically he is speaking 2 words, just not in English. :) It is interesting to think about how his development would have continued in Korea. I wonder how many Korean words he would be saying now if he was still hearing Korean all day everyday. Our pediatrician's recommendation is to give him time. She suggests we wait until he is 2 and then look more closely at his speech development for any possible areas we need to address. I will continue being intentional about using lots of language with him everyday.

It was a great visit to the pediatrician and she is very happy with Beau's growth and development!

I didn't take any pictures at the doctor's office, but I did get a few pictures when we got home!

Beau loves to crawl and explore the house!

Beau's new trick is to sit on the bottom stair while I sit on the floor a few feet away. He takes a step or two towards me before loosing his balance.

Just relaxing!

I love his smile!

Beau is trying to stand on his own! He tries everyday and just can't quite get all the way up on his own! I love how he puts his arms out for balance!

Thanks Karen for the awesome shirt he is wearing in his pictures!