Turkey Pics

Zander is enjoying the big snowstorm that is upon us today!  He wanted to (finally) share some of the photos from his recent adventures in Texas - he had a wonderful trip!!

Playing football with Cousin Adaleigh - Hike!

 Handoff from Daddy!

 Touchdown!

 Playing with Cousin Skylar:

 So much fun!

 Having a blast with Cousins Paige and Adaleigh:

Repairing the lion car with his new toolset (which accompanied a fun workbench) from Uncle Ryan, Aunt Amy, and Adaleigh:

 Reading Thomas the Train with Uncle Ryan:

 Playing Wii with Skylar and Adaleigh on Thanksgiving Day:

 Thanks for the lift!

 Playing with Kona and Tank at the park:

On Tuesday, Zander burned off some energy playing with the lion car at Grandpa Duc's house:

 Then Grandpa Duc and Ann treated us to a delicious feast at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant:

On Friday, we met Grandpa Duc and Ann for coffee and breakfast treats.  Afterward, Zander enjoyed exploring the Village Depot play area in Allen:

Playing in the Texas Maze:

 Climbing on the red caboose:

 Zander LOVED the huge decorated tree that played Christmas Carols:

 At the park:

The three Wilson brothers (Jim, Chris, and Ryan) and their families enjoyed getting into the holiday spirit with a visit to an enormous Christmas store - the decorations were amazing!

Skylar (awesome Eagles jersey!), Spring, Paige, Zander (eating Cheerios) and Mommy:

It was a very special holiday and Zander did great... except for the flight down to Dallas - we described it as a "two-hour haircut".  Extremely stressful!  We were thankful that the passengers/families near us were very patient and understanding.  Zander did awesome on the trip back home - we celebrated with some serious play at the Minneapolis airport upon arrival:

Giving Thanks

We are so blessed to have Zander in our family!  Thanksgiving provided us the time to reflect on all the joy and happiness Zander has brought into our lives.  He is such a fun little boy:

We had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with family in Texas - pictures to follow.  Here is a video Daddy captured on his new phone - it includes Cousin Adaleigh pushing Zander on a Lion-mobile, as well as Zander saying his favorite/most frequently used word, "Dada":

Having a Ball

A couple of weekends ago, we had our first snowstorm of the year - about a foot of snow!  Zander (and Dooly) watched in amazement as the snow continued to fall:

He bundled up and had a blast exploring outside.  Athough he didn't care for the snowflakes landing on his face, he had a great time riding his sled and playing in the snow:

Zander continues to love to pushing large objects around - including his new shovel:

Later in the day of the snowstorm, Zander helped celebrate Nana Pat's birthday with his first dim sum meal - he LOVED it!  We were amazed at his capacity for noodles, dumplings, steamed buns, and sticky rice!

Here was Zander celebrating Grandparents Day back in September.  He made her a special piece of artwork that included his palm prints:

That evening, Zander attended his first ball - the Little Red Ball, a fundraiser for our adoption agency.  The event was at Target Field (the new MN Twins stadium) which was a fantastic venue.  We all really enjoyed the 'behind the scenes' tour - here is the massive press box:

 It took over 500 colored pencils to complete these pieces of art commemorating the 1987 and 1991 World Series victories:

 We learned some other fun trivia as well, such is the fact that the stadium sports 14 miles of beer piping:

The boys enjoyed checking out the visitors' locker room - the last team to use it was the Yankees during playoffs:

 The tour was supposed to include a trip to the dugout as well, but unfortunately it was inaccessible due to the large snowfall.  Zander (and Daddy) loved how spacious the stadium walkways are:

Mommy and Zander enjoyed checking out the exclusive Champion's Club - a private club behind home plate for select season ticket holders:

 One of the highlights for Zander was meeting the Twins mascot, TC:

It was a fun-filled evening out - we all had a ball!

Mine!

November has been flying!  The first week of the month was pretty hectic - Mommy had two work trips, and Zander came down with a fever, so was home from school Tuesday-Thursday.  He certainly wasn't himself - no giggling, minimal appetite, and he was putting his head down anywhere he could to rest:

Fortunately he was back to himself for the weekend.  On Sunday, he was able to resume one of his current favorite activities - saying "apple", eating apple, and feeding Daddy apple:

Zander loves balloons, so Daddy picked out a Vikings balloon (above) for him before the big Arizona game.  Unfortunately the balloon got tangled going into the car, came off its string, and floated away... so Daddy had to go back for a second balloon!  The balloon seemed to work its magic at the tail end of the game when the Vikings pulled out an unlikely OT win.  This week, we learned that the balloon must only be good for one week.

Zander's cute blue outfit was a gift from Amy's colleague Noreen - it is adorable!

Zander continues to build his vocabulary!  One night Mommy asked him to hand her a book - he gripped the book, turned around, shook his head, smiled, and exclaimed very clearly, "MINE!"  He has roughly doubled his vocabulary from the list of ten words mentioned on our 10/17 post.  In addition to "mine", he now also says: Da-da (finally! Daddy was getting very tired of being called Mama!), Nana, hi, bye, ball, owie, help, more, and poop.  The last three words have been particularly helpful in knowing when Zander needs assistance, when he would like more food, and when his diaper needs a change!

Happy Halloween!

Although Zander is still trying to figure out the whole Halloween thing, it didn't stop him from having fun celebrating over the last two weeks.  He dressed up four different times - his costume was the Korean Hanbok (native dress) that his foster mother sent home with us when we left Korea.  We really enjoyed the opportunity to see Zander in this beautiful, traditional outfit since we missed him wearing it on his first birthday! 

Last weekend was the General Mills fall festival - here is Zander getting ready:

Catching a quick (Korean) story before heading out:

Checking out the festivities:

His first wiener dog!:

Watching Cousin Luke get his face painted:

Yeaterday (Saturday), Zander spent his morning enjoying the Halloween festivities on Main Street in Maple Grove.  Then, in the afternoon, his school sponsored a Fall Festival:

In his classroom with Daddy and Nana Pat:

Too much excitement - I need a nap!:

Even in his sleep... a big hug for Dooly!:

After a quick power nap, Zander had a great time playing the 'tunnel' game with Nana Pat:

When Nana Pat got ready to leave after dinner, Zander gave her a kiss goodbye.  Then, he added a new word to his vocabulary - "Nana"!! 



This morning, we took a Halloween field trip to near Osceola, WI to see 'Aunt Jodi' and her girls who are visiting from Philadelphia.  Since Jodi was staying at her sister's place, the outing became a playdate with six other children.  In almost no time, Daddy became "Jungle Jim" with the kids, while Zander looked on (in his pumpkin socks):

 Crashing:

 Gabrielle, Sam, and Zoe:

 On Sunday night, Zander went trick-or-treating in his wagon:

 Practicing.... "Trick or Treat!":

 Zander enjoyed getting a chance to pet Kim & Dave's cat Boo (yes, such an appropriate name!).  Zander was a little scared at first, but then did great. 

 Here is Zander with his Cousins Luke and Brady:

 The end of a fun-filled (and sugar-filled) weekend:

Reunited

We first met Dooly on June 10th - the day we left Korea.  She was presented to us as 'Zander's girlfriend' at the agency as we prepared to begin our long journey home:

Dooly is a pink dinosaur (based on a Korean cartoon character) - complete with a bow in her hair and flowers on her shoes - with some resemblance to a Tweety Bird.  Dooly is a huge source of comfort to Zander - so we were delighted to be able to bring her home with us to ease his transition.  During our first several weeks as a family, Zander would often give Dooly hugs and (affectionately) chew on her nose to soothe himself.  It is always so funny to watch him carry around this big doll... which is definitely not very masculine!  Last weekend, we believe we may have uncovered an explanation as to how this inseparable pair came to be...

We recently confirmed that Zander had a foster sister during his 13+ months in Seoul!  Our guess is that Dooly was intended to be his foster sister's toy, but that Zander really bonded with the pink dinosaur and she became his.  Here is a recent shot of Zander on his glider with Dooly as he prepared to cheer on the MN Vikings:

 Zander even lets Dooly share his horns & braids - that's love!:

Zander loves to hug Dooly when he is sleeping - so yes, she makes the daily journey to his school so she is available at naptime.  And, it turns out that Dooly wears the exact same diapers as Zander:

Dooly even borrows Zander's clothing on occasion (and apparently Daddy's cell phone as well).

Back to Zander's foster sister - she is just a few days older than he is, and, amazingly, now lives near St. Paul!  We had the privilege of meeting her and her parents on Sunday for a play date - it was delightful!  We visited the Children's Museum and then went out for some delicious Korean cuisine.  It was wonderful to see the children reunite and compare stories - the children share such a special connection.  Here is Zander jamming on a drum in the 'Japan and Nature' exhibit at the Museum:

He loved all the colors in the Festival of Lanterns display:

We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to meet Zander's foster sister and her family - we are still in disbelief that she lives so close!  Zander thoroughly enjoyed the reunion, and was completely tuckered out after dinner:

Sweet Dreams Punkin!!