Goodbye 2010 ... HELLO 2011!

I haven't updated in what seems like forever

(even though it's only been like a week)

I was going through my photos so that I could do and update 

and while they brought a smile to my face, they also made me tired.

Which is kinda how I feel about 2010.

It was a great year ...

Claire turned 3

she went to Disneyland to celebrate

we  saw a picture of our son for the first time

I visited the land of my birth

and brought our son home to us forever

but now that the Holidays are over

it's like we finally get a little break and I just want to sit and relax.

The beginning of the New Year always feels like a new start

and I'm actually really looking forward to 2011.

I have a ton of things I want to accomplish 

and I can't wait to get started. 

but until the clock strikes Mid-Night

and the last float in the Rose Parade passes

I shall sit back, and fondly wave good-bye to 2010. 

So here's to a FABULOUS 2011 from our family to yours!

Fun in Fairytale Town

Fairytale Town is a super old play area made of concrete.

I used to go to this place when I was kid

and believe it or not, it's be around even longer than that. 

So it was super fun to up with our friends there today

as we're looking to get a stretch of at least

eight rainy days starting tomorrow

(this is according to weather.com)

we started with Claire taking a closer look at some animals

 sitting a huge blue bunny? kinda a dream come true

going down the rabbit hole is a must

 Charlie was a bit upset

because all he wanted to do was push the stroller

I LOVE this girl. She was laughing and making faces for me

these little buddies checked each other out

and had a snack

but definitely had some fun

Claire wanted her and Charlie to sit in Cinderella's Coach

I think Charlie was less than thrilled

and he got out of there as soon as he could

Claire kinda missed her buddy, but recovered quickly

the best shot of the kids in the cheese that I could get

and Claire LOVED playing with Parker on the pirate ship

and I loved how many smiles I got from Charlie

my handsome boy just melts my heart

so hopefully all those warm fuzzy feelings will take

me through the next 8 days while we're land locked inside the house.

Wordless Wednesday - {No ... We Don't Have a Dog}

Wordless Wednesday - {Gingerbread Woman}

Seeing RED

so I've never claimed to be Mom of the Year

and here's just another example as to why:

Meet 'RED'

He's our 'Elf on the Shelf'

So here's the deal. I started this thing late. 

I think I pulled him out of the box on Dec 3rd 

(even though I bought him in November)

I didn't read the book, I didn't read any instructions, 

and instead I told Claire before she went to bed:

hey - so what do you want to name this Elf?

At night when you sleep he goes and tells Santa if you've

been good or not. So if you want Santa to bring you 

a locket, you better be good so this guy

can give Santa a good report.

So she picked 'Red'.

(I guess that's what I get for waiting till the last minute)

and here's where Red has been sitting for the past THREE nights.

When Claire is not making good choices, I have been known to yell out:

Hey Red! Be sure to tell Santa tonight that Claire 

is having a bad attitude and isn't sharing with her brother!

It makes her stop for a minute, but I haven't been convinced

that she totally believes it's real or not.

until this morning.

Last night before going to bed Bob asked if we should move him.

Which I responded with, 'um ... I guess so ...'

So we tried a few different places 

but this elf is kinda stiff and he can't sit unassisted. 

So we shoved him in the vase.

I made sure that he was facing out into the living room

where he could keep a steady eye on things.

when you think about it ... this guy is kind of creepy.

oh - and we got the 'dark' version

(which actually looks like a nice tan)

so I forgot about Red when I came downstairs this morning.

but this girl certainly didn't. 

all of the sudden she started yelling

he moved! he moved! 

Red moved!

why did he move Mom?!

so I cringed a bit inside since I obviously put no effort into explaining 

how this Elf thing is supposed to work and then just nonchalantly replied with

of course he moved Claire - he leaves at night

to go give the report to Santa and this time he decided

to sit somewhere else where he can watch you.

If I didn't think she believed in him before, she certainly does now.

She kept telling Charlie how Red moved and how she just couldn't believe it.

I have to say, I think it's kind of fun that Claire believes in Santa.

In fact, this afternoon I was in the living room and she was in the kitchen

and I heard her yelling

hey Santa! Santa! 

Can you bring me a locket already?

Santa, can you hear me?

so I guess I should probably explain

that this isn't how you talk to Santa.

or maybe she knows the real dealio with Santa

and was just trying to give me a heads up.

a FRIENDly visit

I'm so lucky to have couple of 'adoption friends' that live relatively close to me.

so today we got to have a little visit from this little sweetie

Meet Miss Ashlyn

(and yes, I got permission from her Mom to post these)

this girl is SUCH a doll baby!

She was a bit shy at first, but quickly warmed up.

I have to say, she is INCREDIBLY smart

and so much fun to be around.

She's also exactly a month older than my Charles.

(but acts like she's at least 6 months older!)

Charlie did pretty well with the sharing

(but do you notice how he's eyeing her biter biscuit?)

they had fun climbing up and down the stairs

and sharing snacks

and after numerous tries (and two cameras later) 

we finally got them to sit still long enough for this. 

we are SO looking forward to our next play date as this was way too short of a visit. 

I really do love the fact that Charlie will have other adoption friends as he grows up.

I never had that, and while I didn't feel like I missed out on anything when I was younger,

as a Mom, I really want that for my kids. And it's just an added bonus that the friends

we know, happen to be super cool. Yep, I'm going on record saying that.

and on a random note ...

I'm not sure if I already mentioned this or not, 

but I feel like over the previous weekend,

Charlie really turned a corner. He just seems so much happier 

and he's way more fun to be around. 

I'm not even kidding. It wasn't like he was truly horrible or anything,

 but there were days where he was really annoying 

and would just get on my nerves (as harsh as that sounds)

but it was pretty obvious that the feelings were mutual, so I guess we're even.

When I first met Charlie in Korea, he used to always stick out his little tongue.

I have a ton of pictures of him doing that. 

Well, when he came home, he stopped doing it. 

In fact, a couple of weeks ago I kinda made a mental note of it  

like ... hey - he doesn't do that anymore ...

but last weekend, he started doing it again. 

So I take that as a sign that he's becoming more secure in his surroundings

 and that he's trusting us more. 

so with that, I'll leave you with a super out-of-focus photo.

I call it Charlie's 'Asian Smile' and he's been doing it a lot lately.

the most beautiful tree in the world

it's starts with a little bit of pink and purple

(okay, so maybe a lot)

and add a sweet little big girl

who loves to decorate

it takes a lot of concentration to make the perfect tree

even if it ends up a little 'Charlie Brown-ish'

it brought a whole lotta excitement to her face

and entertainment to the little brother

which resulted in two-thumbs up from our little worker bee

and because it turned out so amazingly beautiful

we have decided that the only fitting place for it would be

in her room - as her new night light

which is totally fine by me