Happy Birthday to me! What a year it has been. From my first two days in the nursery with high respiration rates & hypothermia, to sleepless nights for mommy & daddy, to learning to roll over, crawl and now walk, this year has been quite an adventure. There is so much I learned that it is really quite amazing. But for now, I will reflect on the past month.
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| Moments Old |
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| I'm ONE! |
The most obvious thing that happened was my first Christmas! It was really neat. We went to visit Santa at the Mall, and I really did not care for him. I went to my first Candle light Christmas eve service at Calvary Chapel, but I didn't get to see the candles; I played with my new friends in the nursery there. Finally, Christmas morning arrived, and I received WAY too many gifts. I was certainly spoiled by my extended family. It was so nice to celebrate with everyone, but one special person was missing that made the day bittersweet: Daddy. He stayed up late where he is to skype in and watch me open my first gifts and then I was able to skype with him before dinner when Halmoni came over, but seeing him in the computer is not the same as getting hugs and kisses from him in person. I really cannot wait to have him home with us again.
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| My gift from Mommy & Daddy |
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| A Hammer to bang on things. |
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| Skyping with Daddy |
After Christmas, I celebrated New Year by not sleeping through the night. I was giving mommy such a hard time there for a while. Even Grandpa & Grandma couldn't get me to sleep. I think I was having a difficult time because I was learning a new skill. WALKING! I took off last week on Thursday January 10. I was Skyping with Daddy and I just decided it was a good time to do it full time. I had taken a few steps here and there since Christmas, but I wanted to make sure Daddy saw me start walking for real. I've been nonstop since. I rarely crawl anymore, and I've even tried running!
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| walk, walk, walk. |
Just after the new year, I had my pictures taken with a cake. Man, that cake was delicious, and my mommy said the pictures would make great memories of when I turned 1. Here are some of the photos that were taken. A big thank you to Bridget Vanderveen for squeezing us in last minute!
Every week I get to spend a few days with my Halmoni. She enjoys it because she gets me all to herself for the day, and mommy enjoys it because she knows that once we're back on Guam, she will never have a moment to herself until Daddy gets back. I don't know what she does while I'm away, but I do know that I have a blast! I even put myself down for a nap every afternoon all by myself. You should have seen the look on Mommy's face when Halmoni told her that. She didn't believe it, but I am always on my best behavior for Halmoni. She makes me delicious lunches, plays with my toys with me, and lets me watch Korean television. Mommy worries that I'm not saying too many words yet, but what she doesn't know, is that I'm speaking Korean!
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| I love my Halmoni! |
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| Playing with Halmoni is FUN! |
I went to the Circus with Grandma, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Keith, and Wesley. It was so neat seeing all the performers. I especially loved the Dog act and the Elephants. We moved up to the last row so that I could walk around and cheer (read: Yell) at the performers. I had such a great time, and was so tired out that I fell asleep as soon as I got into the car.
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| I love the Circus! |
I've really enjoyed the last two months here in Navarre. Seeing my family and getting to spend some quality time with them all has been wonderful. I will truly miss eating breakfast with Grandma Triebold while mommy catches a few more zzz's, getting flipped in the air by Grandpa Triebold, playing with my cousin Wesley, getting lots of hugs and kisses from my Aunt Michelle, being spoiled by Halmoni, and getting to see my Bumpa, Nana & Auntie Sha Sha whenever we take a quick trip to Destin. Even Aunt Teresa and Uncle Ryan came down to celebrate my birthday, and it was great being entertained by them! I may be leaving this family for a while, but I know I have a Guam family to get back to that will help mommy and me get through this deployment.
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| Playing with Aunt Michelle |
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| Grandma Triebold protecting me from the baby Gator |
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| Aunt Teresa hanging out with me and Wesley |
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| Grandpa Triebold reading to me |
Just as our time here in the states is coming to a close, so is this blog. Mommy is going to start a blog now that I'm a year old that talks about the adventures we have as a family. I know there is a big move coming up, and of course, Daddy will be coming home, too. It has really been fun updating you all every month with everything I learned this past year, and who knows, maybe when I'm older, I'll want to continue it, but for now, I want to focus on learning and growing and playing on my little island of Guam. Be sure to look out for the Ismay Family Blog posts in the future to see what we're all up to in the coming months!
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| Happy Birthday to me! |
