1/2 Way There!

Baby Boy Zanger - 20 weeks + 4 days

Life these Days

Hello, all!  I know I have been VERY quiet on the blogging front these days and I am really sorry about it.  In fact, sitting down today, I know that I NEED to blog but I honestly don't know exactly what to write about.  There haven't even been any pictures on our camera since Easter!  It's not that life is too boring, or too busy...  I guess we've just been running through each day of life without really reflecting on it or taking pictures, or feeling the need to remember and share.  Forgive us.  I also think that we've fallen into the dreaded "post having a new baby and need to take a picture of every moment of her life" syndrome.  I already feel sorry for our new baby boy when he arrives.  I'm sure there is no way that we will have as many pictures of him as we did of the 1st year of Emma's life.  We'll try, but I know the new will wear off and life will start to happen much quicker this 2nd time around.

So, what have we been up to lately?  Here's a quick look at our lives lately:


Eric:


Been helping out with the school soccer team a few days after school the last couple of weeks
Still leading the Men's Sunday School at church and is still excited about men's ministry
Playing baseball with his Korean baseball team on the weekends (not today, though!)
He has been wearing many hats at school still with Guidance Counselor and Yearbook advisor being two big ones that have taken a lot of time recently.  Last night he helped host a dinner for the Junior class and their parents where he and the administration helped the kids and their families understand all the steps they'll need to take in the next year to get ready for and get INTO college.  And of course the yearbook is due in 2 weeks so lots of pressure there as well.

Laurie:

#1 thing - taking care of my husband and daughter.  Which basically means I watch Emma all day, clean the house (although Eric helps with a LOT of this), and cook the meals.  We try to get out and support Daddy whenever we can in his various ministries/activities as well.
I'm also involved in 2 Mommy groups at two different churches.  One is MOPS which meets once a month at Mission Baptist Church.  And the other is just a MOMS group at our church that is more of a Bible study for Moms to learn how to be better Moms, Wives, and Women of God.  This meets twice a month.

Us:

Each week we meet on Sunday afternoons with our small group from church.  We always have a good meal and fellowship in addition to a Bible Study.  Currently we are studying Hebrews.
I feel like this goes without saying, but we are also involved in church every Sunday and Eric and I volunteer in the Nursery once every month or 2.
Oh, and don't forget DATE Night! Every Monday night is so nice to get away and have so husband/wife time for a few hours.

Emma:

Since the weather has turned nice (60s and almost 70s every day!) we have started to spend a LOT of time outside.  Korea has a TON of local parks.  There are actually so many within walking distance that I can't even count them!  Maybe 10-15???  So, Emma has learned what to do at a park now and is very good at climbing the steps and going down slides.  She loves going outside and if there is every a day that we don't go outside, she gets very cranky and tries to go to the door and put her shoes on all the time.  The picture above is actually one that a friend took on her phone and posted on facebook.  It is so nice to have several friends who live close who have kids so we can go outside or have playdate together with them.
Emma has also been working hard on her vocabulary and blabber talking all.the.time.  She also seems to be understanding SO MUCH these days.  I can tell her to go give something to Daddy in the other room and she'll do it!
Oh, and she's also starting to test the discipline boundaries with saying "no, no, no" to us a lot and disobeying more.  I have a feeling that stage 2 of parenting is just about to take off for us.  Are we ready for it?  AHHHH!!!!!  :)

Genius Child

This stage of "babyhood" is so fun for us to watch! It seems that at least once everyday Emma will do something completely new and fascinating to us and we'll look at each other and say, "Genius!" It seems like it anyway. Now that she's mastered most of the physical elements of development - all the way to walking anyway - she's now working hard on developing her language and social skills. I know it's been a long time since I've updated so I thought I'd write down some of Emma's amazing feats before they become the norm instead of the new.

Language:

Spoken words - Mama, Daddy, Jack (her own version), Peekaboo (her own version), no, yes, hi, bye bye, puppy, Ow, Wowowow, and she loves jabber talking all the time, too.

Animal sounds she can make on command - Puppy, Kitty, Monkey, Lion, Snake (working on this one)

New commands she can follow - "Go put your clothes away in the laundry basket" (in the other room even!), "Don't touch your hair" (after I put something in it), "Clean up!", "Don't touch, it's HOT!" (referring to the oven but so cute because then she starts blowing on it like I blow on her hot food), "Go find your (insert anything from paci to stuffed monkey to socks)"

Favorite actions - Shaking her head up and down in the "yes" manner. SO CUTE! She does this all day long, mostly when we look at her face to face and tell her something, but sometimes she even dances by shaking her head like this! She also enjoys dancing in general, too. She also loves pointing when you are holding her so you'll take her somewhere. Or, she'll point out animals (usually dogs) when she hears them bark. She barks back, too. When I'm holding her and patting her back, she sometimes starts patting mine back! And she loves mimicking our actions... everything from tickling to hiding her eyes for peekaboo to eating with a spoon or brushing her teeth.

New social skills - Holding hands and walking with a friend her age. Hugs for friends her age. Running around and getting very hyper with other kids. Waving at strangers as we walk by in the stroller. Wanting to be held all the time by anyone she is familiar with. (still doesn't like being passed to strangers)

Fun new activities - Having the freedom to wander around at the park. Going down the slide (with help). And don't even get me started on all the new foods she's been enjoying since turning 1. In addition to allowing some sugar in her diet and chocolate, apparently she ate a WHOLE burger at McDonald's the other day when she was with the Romsas! Don't worry, she doesn't eat like that all the time. But it just goes to show that this girl LOVES to eat just about anything we set before her. Not picky at all. (and she has the teeth to handle all of it - all 16 so far!) At least she loves veggies, too, like her Mama. :)

Cute story - The other day my phone went off in the other room with a text. She noticed it, went and got the phone and brought it to me and put it in my hand!

Ok, that's all the new things I can think of for the moment. I'm sure there's more but that's ok. Below is a picture of our "genius child" on Easter. We didn't have the opportunity to get any really good pictures. But just had to show this gorgeous dress that her Grandma sent. We had professional pictures taken in it awhile back too, so a better picture will be forthcoming as soon as we get those back.

Oh, and I'll leave you with two of the most common things people comment about Emma when they see her. Just thought you'd think this was interesting.

#1 - "She is SO expressive!"

#2 - "Is that... what color is that?" "Is her hair RED?!?" "I believe there's a little red in her hair." "Has her hair always been that color?" "That is such a unique hair color!" (Don't worry, it's not your normal red/orange color... just brown with red highlights. And yes, it's always been that color.)

All.The.Time.