Swimming!

The other day, we took Ethan to the swimming pool for the first time. It was such a hot day that as soon as Daniel oppa was done with work, we all changed into our swimwear and headed to the pool.

We didn't know how Ethan would react in the pool since the water wasn't exactly as warm as his bath water, but he seemed to love it! He didn't complain one bit the whole hour we were there!

He held onto the head of the turtle every now and then, while playing in the water.
But mostly, he liked to move to the side of the turtle and splash the water with his hands.
Hopefully, we'll have more opportunities to take him to the pool this summer since Ethan seemed to have a great time in the water!

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

One year ago today, God granted our family with a healthy, beautiful baby boy. We can't believe that it has already been a year since Ethan came into this world.

I remember going to the hospital and being in labor as if it were yesterday, but I can't seem to remember the actual pain I felt throughout labor and delivery. Thank God for that!

The past year has been amazing. We've watched Ethan grow, step by step, reaching a milestone at a time, simply in awe of how God created him, of how God created life. When we first brought Ethan home, we kept looking at him and thinking "wow! he came out of me?!?" It was unbelievable at first to see him as a small human being, knowing that he once was a spot on the ultrasound with a beating heart! And for the first time, we understood God's love for us in another level, because we had this unconditional, immeasurable love for our son.

A year ago, Ethan would eat, sleep, pee/poop and cry when he needed something. Now, he can crawl and cruise around everywhere, play on his own with his toys, eat finger foods by himself, babble like he's having a conversation with you, smile and laugh all day long, and sleep through the night.

God has truly blessed our family and we are forever grateful.

Ethan's Dol (First Birthday)

On Saturday, we celebrated Ethan's first birthday with family and friends. We rented a community center in Castro Valley so that we could accommodate everyone. Though it took a lot of work and preparation, it was definitely worth it!

We arrived at the venue an hour before noon to set-up the tables and chairs and complete the decorations. I made the banner by printing the letters from the computer and gluing them on scrapbook paper.

We ordered the cake from Black and White Bakery in Hayward. The price was very reasonable and the cake was delicious!

I found ideas for decorations online and even made these go-im towers for the head table. The first tower means first birthday in Korean. The second tower is a cow since Ethan was born in the year of the cow. The third tower is Ethan's Korean name.

We put together some of our favorite photos of Ethan during the past year to place on the photo table. The sign-in frame holds the picture of Ethan in his traditional Korean costume, taken at home with the studio equipment we borrowed from Jonathan for the occasion.

We had a raffle going for the doljabi. Guests were able to predict which item Ethan would choose and enter in the raffle. Each item holds a meaning for Ethan's future. There was a pencil (scholar), stethoscope (doctor), string (longevity), rice (no hunger), ball (athlete) and money (wealth). Though we had planned to give away four prizes, we ended up with only two winners since Ethan chose the same item twice.

My mom helped out by making the orders for rice cake (dduk) and for the food. We catered from EM market in Oakland and the food was delicious! We had way too much leftover, though!

We started the party with a short message and blessing prayer from Pastor DeWayne. Pastor Jun prayed for the food and as everyone ended their meals, Daniel oppa gave a word of thanks to our parents and shared the meaning of Ethan's name before playing the slideshow. After singing Happy Birthday, we helped Ethan blow out the candle.

Then, we did the doljabi. Ethan was reluctant at first to pick up any of the items because anytime he touched something, people were excitedly screaming! It was pretty cute to watch his reaction. He definitely showed interest in the stethoscope and string before touching the money. The second time around, he went straight for the money. My mother-in-law thought he would choose money, but my mom was hoping he was going to choose the pencil. Daniel oppa and I didn't really know which he would choose, but in hindsight, it makes sense that he chose the money since he hadn't ever seen or played with it before.

After all that was required of him, Ethan fell asleep so peacefully.

It was a great event as we saw many of our relatives we hadn't seen in over a year. Ethan was able to meet his cousins, Brynn, Bailey, James, Kari and Jackson, for the first time. It was a nice treat since Jackson and Bailey are only, respectively, a month and two months older than him. We truly felt blessed by our guests and again, we are thankful to God for always watching over our family, especially as we've seen Ethan grow so much over the past year. We continue to be amazed at how God created and blessed us with a beautiful, healthy boy.

Ethan's First Vacation

During the week of Independence Day, Daniel oppa's parents came
to visit. His mom wanted to go to Yosemite, so we found a vacation home to rent for a couple of days and planned a trip in the beginning of the week. We were excited that Ethan would be going on his first vacation away from home. Here are some pictures from the trip:

We rented a minivan for the trip, a Chrysler, Town and Country. It was pretty spacious, just perfect for our trip. I think we went a little overboard with our luggage, thinking we had room since it was a minivan, but then again, we actually needed all that we took and we even forgot some items!

On the way to Yosemite, we stopped to eat lunch at a Chinese seafood buffet in Tracy. We were all stuffed by the time we left. Ethan also enjoyed the variety of food there, especially the watermelon!

Ethan was pretty good in the car, though at times he got cranky and whiny. He seemed to like being out and looking at the view when we pulled over to a vista point after entering Yosemite National Park.

Once we got to the Yosemite Valley, we decided to go to Vernal Falls. My father-in-law carried Ethan in the Ergo the whole way! It was a 0.8-mile hike to the footbridge by the waterfall, which felt much longer than that. We decided to continue our way to the top, another 0.7 miles. The mist from the waterfall created puddles along the trail and made the rocks slippery, so we took a picture and the grandparents took Ethan down the trail, while Daniel oppa and I continued our way up to the top.

After getting drenched by the waterfall's mist and taking several breaks, we made it to the top and it was awesome. I didn't think I was going to make it, but Daniel oppa encouraged me to keep going until we reached the top. =)

The next day, we decided to go to the Tuolumne Meadows. Along the way, we stopped at Olmsted Point to take some pictures. This is such a great picture of the Half Dome.

Since Daniel oppa brought the tripod for the camera, we were able to take this family picture with Half Dome in the background.

Once we got to the Meadows, we realized it was much cooler outside than we had expected. As you can see, there was still snow in the mountains, which explains the fullness of the waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley.

We left the Meadows when it started to rain and headed back to the Yosemite Valley. We were able to walk to the base of Bridalveil Fall and the Yosemite Falls. This picture is in front of the Yosemite Falls.

On the last day of the trip, my father-in-law and Daniel oppa hiked up to Half Dome. My mother-in-law, Ethan and I went to Glacier Point to soak in the beautiful view. From Glacier Point, we were able to see everything from the waterfalls to the mountain peaks. It was absolutely breath-taking and I was so in awe of God and how He created such beauty. We ate lunch and then headed back to the Yosemite Valley. We walked around a lot and just waited for our husbands to come down from Half Dome. We started to worry when it began to rain and we heard thunder in the skies. After 10 hours, the two men made it back safe and sound.

Daniel oppa took this picture along the way. It's the Nevada Fall in the background. Apparently, they were doing well until after having lunch at Nevada Fall because they ran out of water!

Dying of thirst, they couldn't eat snacks along the way and barely made it to the top of Half Dome.

Luckily, they ran into a couple of kind ladies by the river on their way down. The ladies let them use their water filter to fill up their water bottles. With a satisfying drink, the two were able to make it down with a little bit of energy to spare. What a memorable vacation it was!

Day Care

After visiting 4 daycare centers and 8 home daycares, we found the perfect place for Ethan! Initially, we thought of putting Ethan in a daycare center since there would be more than one adult to watch over the group of infants. We really liked the one down the street from our home, run by the church. However, the cost was just too much for our monthly budget, so we decided to look into small home daycares.

Near the end of the school year, I started to call around different daycares and set up appointments to visit and interview the childcare providers. In one week, I visited six daycare centers around Hayward, Castro Valley and San Leandro. After narrowing down the choices to the top two, my mom suggested that Daniel oppa visit the places with me to get his input in the decision. He ended up liking both of them, so we sought advice from our friends. =)

We decided to go with a small home daycare in San Leandro. Though she just opened her center and does not have the years of experience as other daycare providers do, we felt very comfortable in her home, which had large, clean indoor and outdoor play areas. It was very easy to communicate with her, which we feel is important when entrusting Ethan in someone else's care. She has two boys of her own, a 3-year-old and a 15-month-old, who are absolutely adorable and sweet. They played so well with Ethan in the few minutes we were there. She plans to only have her two boys, Ethan and another toddler, so only four kids total. The family is Christian and attends Neighborhood Church, a few blocks from our home. In her daycare description, she explicitly wrote that she would teach the children to pray before meals and naps, read a scripture verse in the mornings and do things related to Bible stories. Her background is in graphic arts, so she does a lot of creative arts with her children, which we're excited about.

We're going to start transitioning Ethan to daycare in August. We're hoping the slow transition will be smooth and that Ethan will enjoy going to daycare and socializing with the other children there. Knowing that he'll be taken care of is making it easier for me to go back to work full-time for the new school year. We thank God for meeting our needs and giving us peace over this decision.