Hawaii!

While we tried to do a "test flight" after our very horrifying experience on our way home from California, we had a wonderful flight to Hawaii. We had two carry-on bags full of Ely's toys, ear drops, and lots of candy. We were ready to give him a special massage around his ears if his eardrums didn't pop. He was able to tell us if he has a "boo-boo" so he would point to his ear when the pressure would build up. At least that was what we thought he was telling us.

The first two hours went very slowly. Each toy we got Ely lasted only 15 minutes but we were able to use it again later. The tape and highlighter games were a big hit!

We had candy too. Ely didn't finish any one piece of candy. He got a kick out of opening the bag and tasting all of the candy.

Then Ely peeped around to find the other kids around our seat.

After awhile Ely got sleepy and we made room so that he could sleep between mommy and daddy. He slept for two whole hours. We were worried that he would sleep too much because the last time, he slept too long and his eardrums couldn't adjust to the change in cabin pressure when the airplane was getting ready to land. Luckily Ely woke up before we landed and we played a few more games.

Too bad when we landed we were greeted by a storm. Ely was probably wondering what were doing back where we started after so many hours in the airplane.

We stopped by a Hawaiian restaurant to grab a quick bite and Walmart to stock up our room. Once we got to our condo, we went out to the beach to check out the view. It was beautiful, despite the stormy weather.

Once we got to the condo, Ely was very tired and was ready for his bath-time.

We spent 7 nights in Hawaii. Ely loved checking out the gold fish in the pond at our condo. They were huge!

Ely loved playing at the Kaanapali Beach but the waves were much too big and Ely's spirits were no match. He wanted to dive into the beach but he didn't realize how big and strong the waves were. While the beach was beautiful, it wasn't quite right for Ely. The waves were much too big.

We checked out an aquarium but Ely was too tired and cranky to enjoy it. Much of the exhibit was under construction so it wasn't very amusing.

We found the perfect beach "Baby Beach". Ely was able to walk up to his chest although we had to discourage him from being so brave. We also made a huge sand castle.

We had so much fun in Maui. It was a very relaxing trip. Ely loved going to the pool and eating lots of icecream.

A week went by so fast. Ely and I caught a bug towards the end of our trip and we were ready to come back home to Seattle. I was getting a heat rash and wasn't able to enjoy the sun much. Our flight back home was pleasant. Ely took a long nap and we had lot of toys for him to play with. He even had a projectile vomit incident (Sung was showered with it) and we were able to get Ely changed without anyone noticing. Ely is usually very angry after an inicident like this but he didn't seem to mind it at all. We enjoyed a nice sunset on our way home and was greeted by nice cold Seattle weather.

Once we got home, Ely ran (literally ran) to his train table and played with his choo-choo toys (that's what Ely likes to call it).

~We're slowly adjusting back to the PNW time zone. The two hour difference (instead of three) has been helpful.

Happy Halloween

Ely dressed up as Bob the Builder and we met up with our friends at Woodland Park Zoo. It wasn't raining and absolutely beautiful outside. Lots of kids (even some parents) showed up dressed in costumes. Ely was excited to see the animals.

We had lots of fun checking out the zoo with his buddies.

Ely thought he was being clever when he snuck under a barrier to see the meerkets upclose. He knew he was up to no good because he made a silly face and was very mad when daddy made him come back out. He also liked to stop at every puddle and do a little splish-splash before moving on.

After a nap and dropping off Toby and Charlie at Dora's, we headed over to the Bellevue Square Mall. The mall was packed with kids everywhere. Ely quickly figured out that people were giving out candy and eagerly ate it as soon as he got it. Ely learned that inside the plastic packages are yummy treats. He had m&ms for the first time at a friend's b-day party the daybefore and it has kicked his sweet tooth into full gear. He ate a kitkat & 2 dumdums. It was a good way to figure out what we could use to bribe him during our long airplane flight coming up very soon.

We had dinner with our friends and even our friend baby Jacob came to join us for dinner. Ely was happy to see Jacob and managed to behave (somewhat) considering that it was way past his bedtime.

It was a very long day. Ely had a ton of sugary treats (including a big scoop of chocolate cake at dinner time) but he fell asleep in the car.

Potty Time

Ely has had some interest in potty time mainly because some of the toddlers in his class are getting potty trained. Yesterday our friends came over and Ely got to watch the two older boys (3 and 7) potty and was verrrry interested. I also asked them to help Ely potty and the three of them were in the bathroom for awhile figuring out the potty seat.

Ely asked to use potty and poo this morning. He sat on the toilet for awhile and stood up to pee. His aim wasn't too great so he made a mess. Ely wiped his butt and the floor. Good boy!

Woohoo!

I can update this easier now so perhaps I will update more often now. :)

Ely has grown soooo much but yet he only weighed 26 lbs on his 19.5month wellness check. We had to wait for his usual pediatrician so we went past the usual 18 month checkup. At the least, Ely is now in the avg for weight and height and still 97%+ for head size. Ely has figured out to "run" but does not run quite that fast (luckily for us).

His first two words were "no-mommy" while I tried to feed him something he didn't want. He also says "all-done" on a regular basis but I think he thought that it was one word because he has said it in the past.

He loves music and asks me to sign to him by saying "more?" very sweetly and "stomps" when the "if you're happy and you know it" music tells him to stomp. It's the most cutest thing. I've now turned it in to a game sort of like Simon Says.

Here he is already working hard in his own office.

Last bit of summer

After a yummy lunch at Grandpa & Grandma Kim's, we headed to a local beach. Grandpa taught Ely how to throw rocks into the water and figured out quickly that it was a very bad idea. Ely wanted to go into the water to the throw the rocks. When that wasn't allowed, he decided to throw rocks at grandma and grandpa. Eventually he threw rocks into the container we brought with us. It has a bit chilly but it was still very nice out and we had a wonderful time.

Summer Fun

We enjoyed the beatiful summer weather and stayed cool at Kayak Point beach. Sung's cousin is going away for school so all of the family members were there to wish her well.

Ely loved going into the water although he waved bye-bye when he was exhausted. He played with his cousins although he was still much younger than them. Maybe by next year he will be able to keep up with them.

Here he is wondering why the older kids were putting ice in the fire pit.

All grown up

It looks like the last I updated was about four months ago, when I just started my new job in Bellevue. Ely's grown so much in the last four months and is taking off running around to explore new things.

Before Ely could even stand up by himself, he modeled for See Kai Run. The shoe that is he wore is Piran, a Smaller line from SKR. SKR sent us a sample of pictures from the photoshoot. Thanks SKR! I can't believe Ely has grown so much since the photoshoot. He was a little baby boy and couldn't even balance himself. :) Now he is a busy toddler.

Thank you!

Today was Ely's last day in the infant room. He has been visiting the toddler room (12month-18month) for awhile now so that he would be familiar with the surroundings. Luckily a teacher in the new room is from the infant room and Ely remembers her.

It was so hard to figure out a way to thank Mayboobeh for all of the work she does for Ely. Ely absolutely loves his teacher and hugs her every morning. She tells him that Ely's her favorite and how sweet he is. I think Ely senses that and loves her back even more. He is one of the few babies who have been able to pronounce her name. He has the biggest smile on her face after he says her name. :)

Mayboobae is the best teacher ever! She is sooooo patient with every baby and nurtures them so much. She has been there to change more diapers for Ely than Sung and I. With her many years at school (10yrs +) she's changed a countless number of diapers ---- even "the" BLOW OUT diapers without complaint...not to mention being so patient with babies who test their patience 24-7.

I couldn't figure out what I could get as a thank you gift for Mayboobae. First I got a coaster with birds on it because she taught Ely how to say birds. :) Also last night, I put together a little album for Mayboobeh. It included pictures of Ely since he started at daycare, a drawing by Ely, and copies from a journal that Mayboobeh has been writing almost everyday. I included one where she wrote about the day she had to change shifts to starting later in the morning. When Ely saw her later in the morning, he cried and reached out for her.

Evidently another teacher told Sung that Mayboobeh loved the gift and got teary! She had to go home sick but I'm sure our little gift made her day~!! Woohoo!!!

A couple of steps

Ely isn't walking just yet but he takes a couple of steps and will walk when we hold his hand. He likes to touch the ground most of the time when we walk outside or crawl.


Ely is growing up so fast! He never really cried when I dropped him off at daycare but now I have to wait until he says bye to me. I guess it is a toddler thing. He is also screaming more now when he doesn't get he wants. We are teaching him to say 'please' and he tried to say it a couple of times when we bribed him with icecream.

Ely loves pens and write on paper. He also loves the vacuum cleaner. ;)

Here is Ely with his favorite teacher. He is graduating soon and will miss his teacher. He says her name when he sees her and smiles.

First trip to CA

It was a pleasant & relaxing trip. We hope to come back again next year.

Friday
We had Chick-Fil-A for dinner. I love this place and
Ely does too. The chicken is very fresh and seasoned well.

Dinner was at a Korean restaurant inside a Japanese grocery store. It wasn't bad but it wasn't the best thing to eat at a Japanese grocery store of all places.

Ely didn't like sleeping in the cage like crib and woke up many times during the night.

Saturday
We met up with our friends Todd, Kristin, & Sophia at Pretend City. There was a long wait b/c it was drizzling outside and people wanted to be indoors.





The kids played and crawled around. It was good to see Sophia. She had grown so much since I last saw her. She even signed to mommy "this big". Afterwards we grabbed lunch at Irvine Spectrum and strollled around the mall. Eventually it started to drizzle and it was time to go say goodbye. Hopefully the Brewers can visit us soon!

We ate the same food again for dinner but at a Korean grocery store this time. It was pretty good.

We got sucked into buying some baked goods because of a long line. we figured that it must be good if the locals were waiting in line. We were right!

Ely did better in the crib this time. We stuck his crib inside the closet and used the doors to block the sides. Ely stood up and played with the clothes in the closet before he went to sleep.

Sunday
We met our friends in Corona. The drive was very nice and the area seemed more green this time because of the rainy season. Our friends reminded us that the traffic is usually horredeous and the it is usually much warmer.

Ely was very happy to find kids around his age and lots of toys to play with. He also saw a cat for the first time. He wasn't sure what to do and the cat actually came up to his face. Ely stook his face to say 'no-no' to the cat as it was trying to smell his face. Apparantly it was he first time the cat came up to a baby but it may have been the cat's first time that a baby didn't try to grab him right away.





Afterwards we went to eat Chinese/Korean food for dinner. It was good and Ely loved the food. He ate until his little belly was nice and round.

Monday
We met up with our friends from Seattle who were also visiting CA. We rode in a very roomy van.


We ate very good Japanese and Korean food - thankfully our friends knew the area very well. We stopped by a Korean home store and scored very good deals on mats for the kitchen.





Tuesday
We went to San Diego Zoo- got free tickets through our friends. :) It was frrreeeezing in San Diego. Ely was bundled up but Sung and I were freezing. Ely liked the giraffe and peacock.





We had awesome dinner at a Korean restaurant in Irvine. I was craving a spicy noodle dish and this place had one of the best one I have had in years.

Wednesday
The boys waited for me patiently (2.5 hours!) while I got my hair done in Garden Grove where there is a large population of Koreans. Afterwards we ate more korean food. Ely loved it too and ate a ton. He loved the barley rice although much of it ended up on his clothes and the floor.

Our flight was at 6 so we drove around and stopped by some stores. The weather was perfect and we talked about moving here one day but reality soon set in. We hope to
be back soon to visit again.

First trip to CA

After a quick pit stop for baseball tickets for the upcoming season we drove to Seatac. We had plenty of time to spare and made it through the security without much trouble.

Ely was ready for his bottle before his naptime. By the time we were ready for take off he had already finished his bottle and fallen asleep so I woke him up to drink some water so that his ears would pop. He was tugging on his ear but stopped after a little bit. I think we are okay for now. We'll need to repeat this again when we land. For now, Ely is soundly sleeping. I had brought a ton of little toys for him just in case...even my nintendo ds.





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Ely woke up with an hour to go before we landed. We kept him busy with toys and such but he got bored. Luckily it was a short flight.











He seemed to be surprised from the sounds when we landed but he was happy when we got up from our seats. He loves to smile at people and at time touch them. I have to remind him that we don't touch strangers but he has a mind of his own and a bit stubborn. Luckily people didn't seem to mind it.

We were lucky to get a rental car that we are familiar with- Accord. Last time here it was a red impala and it was not a pretty site. Unfortunately we were not familiar with the carseat and "we" were installing it incorrectly (for about 45 min). A nice Hertz guy came by and figured it out right away. He had come by 45 min earlier and asked if "we" needed help but "we" thought we didn't. :)

To let Ely roam around freely after spending so much time in a airplane we went to a local mall expecting to find a playarea. It had lots of highend stores but no playarea. There was a carousel in an Easter theme that Ely and I rode on. Ely didn't like the ride and pushed himself off of the bunny he was sitting on. Unfortunately for me I had gotten motion sickness by then and had to stand there holding Ely anxiously waiting for it to stop spinning. I wonder if Ely had motion sickness too.











Ely wants to crawl around everywhere. While we were at the mall he wanted to crawl. I had to let him for a little bit because he had been sitting all day long. I did spray his little hands with sanitizer pretty well afterwards. :) I brought walking wings for when we go to the zoo tomorrow. it will give him a chance to check things out without getting his little hands dirty.

It is pretty funny how Ely's on a schedule. We were driving back to our hotel and Ely was fussy. Right around 7 pm, his eyes were slowly closing and he eventually passed out in his carseat. People were dresses up and going out for the night but here we were
checking in on a Friday night at 7pm. Fortunately for us we were very tired and needed a nap too.





Once we put him in the crib he woke up.