It's pumpkin patch time!

18 months old

Our precious Morgan SeonAh is 18 months old today and we continue to be amazed at the progress she is making. She jabbers all day long...would LOVE to know what she's actually saying, since clearly, it's very important for her to get it all out! She is able to say, "hello," "bye-bye," "night-night," "milk," "yes," "no," "I do," "thank you," and of course, "mama" and "dada." She likes to "woof woof," whenever she sees a doggie and she likes to give all of her stuffed animals and baby dolls kisses. So sweet. Her facial expressions are classic and her dance moves are really coming along. :)

Attachment-wise, she is doing great! She clings to mama more when she is upset or hurt and she lights up when daddy comes home after work every evening - she's always there at the top of the stairs to tell him "hi dada" with a smile and then requests, "up" so that she can be happy in his arms. She also gives her big sis hugs and kisses spontaneously throughout the day. Sharing is happening more frequently and they really are developing that sisterly bond. Some afternoons, I find them playing together in Sophie's room cracking each other up...just warms my heart.

What in the world did we ever do without our sweet Morgan?! It's like she's been with us always. God really did have the perfect plan for our family and we are grateful for our blessings every hour of every day. We are SO in love with little miss Morgan!

2 Years Post-Finalization!

2 years ago, on August 31, 2007, we finalized Sophie's adoption. My, oh my, how fast 2 years fly! In honor of this special family day (we have a lot of those), I made bulgogi with rice, mandu (dumplings) and even found a mix to make our favorite Korean sweet-treat...hatteok! Add to the meal, kimchi and little yogurt drinks and our night was completely wonderful!

Our first attempt at making hatteok...tasted very much the same as it did from the vendors in Korea...
Little yogurt drinks...we had these every morning with breakfast at our hotel in Korea...
Sophie loves them!

We are so blessed to have her as a member of our family!

First Day of Preschool

My baby girl, Sophie, began preschool today. Of course, she was absolutely ready and she walked into the place liked she ruled the school. I could barely get her to hug her poor mama before she just waltzed into her classroom for the very first time. I'm so proud of her for being confident and happy and excited for new adventures - she has an amazing spirit about her. What a big day in her little life - she was awesome!

I, on the other hand, had my mushball moment out in the car after dropping her off. Having never left her anywhere (other than with family), my heart hurt to watch her and her little backpack just walk away from me. After composing myself, I did enjoy my one-on-one time with Morgan (which I haven't had a lot of) and after some retail therapy at the mall, it was already time to get my Sophie back!

She enjoyed telling me all about what they did today, especially details about the snack! Oh, and she's already asking when she can go back because "preschool is so fun." Sigh. My baby girl is growing up way too quickly.

What Morgan Did On Her Summer Vacation.

Very first Fourth of July...


Mama's girl...

Celebrating lots of family/friend's summer birthdays...





The original favorite spot...she clears off all of the books and sits there with pride...
Of all of the dress-up fun we have...Morgan LOVES this red scarf!
Rocking out the ponytail...our first attempt...

Chillaxin' in the rocking chair...her new favorite spot!

Blowing kisses...


We are so incredibly blessed!

She's published!

If you've been a loyal blog follower, you may recall that prior to us traveling to bring Morgan home, we received word from our adoption agency that Morgan was going to be featured in our Korean agency's magazine. Because we were unable to celebrate Morgan's first birthday with her, Eastern threw her an official Tol party and took lovely pictures that we received when we traveled. In addition to that, they also published a few of those photos with a little story in their magazine...which we just got our hands on! This is the Korean version, so we have absolutely no idea what it says...we can only assume that it's some copy about her birthday celebration. We should receive the English version as well, as soon as they are done translating the magazine. What a great keepsake this will be for our sweet baby girl!

(BTW...you can click on the pictures themselves to see the larger view.)

The cover of the Eastern Family Magazine...

Look for our little supermodel in the bottom left-hand corner!

Our sweet Morgan...

Oh yes...today marks 4 months since we brought Morgan home! Hard to believe it's only been 4 months because it feels as if she's always been with us while on the other hand, it's amazing (and a bit terrifying) that time is passing so quickly!