Aspirations

Jude: "Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a hero."
Me: "Oh, that's so nice, Jude!"
Eli: "Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a... (thinking)...a... monster."

This past week was the first week of the preschool year and Eli's very first day of school. It's amazing how different Jude and Eli are. In almost every single way. Jude loves his dad. Eli loves his mom. Jude hates bedtime. Eli will tell us that he wants to go "night-night". Jude loves meat. Eli prefers veggies. And since Jude has never given us a problem when we've dropped him off at school, I was fully expecting a meltdown of epic proportion on Eli's first day. But on the way to school Eli told Kwang, "Daddy, I'm not gonna cry there." And he didn't cry when Kwang dropped him off but he did look as if something had rocked his world. The first thing he said to my mother-in-law when he came home was, "I missed you, Hamonee!" That night he ran a fever and, I kid you not, we all thought the cause may have been stress from having gone to school. Turns out, he came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease. Poor guy.

Kwang thinks it's good for Eli to go to school so he can socialize with peers and participate in different activities that can't be provided at home. If I weren't working, I would probably want to wait a year before putting him in. I mean, he's already learned so much at home:

Close, Eli. Very close. And also very cute.

It recently dawned on me that I finally have a child whose hair I'll be able to style. This was such an exciting revelation that I took out a baby brush and feathered Audrey's peach fuzz:

I guess this is what having two boys has done to me. And I have a feeling that expression on Audrey's face is the same look she is going to give me the day I'll want to break out the John Hughes movies to show her the classic teeny bopper romances I loved to watch growing up. Pretty In Pink... Some Kind of Wonderful... They just don't make them like these anymore.

Vegas, Baby

Kwang received another offer for some free nights at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, so we packed up the family for another weekend getaway. I never thought I'd consider Vegas a great place for my young family to vacation, but the two trips we've taken there this summer were better than I expected. So I'm thankful for the offers, because I don't think I'd have even thought of going otherwise. Not only that, but each time we go Kwang is able to win enough to pay for our gas and food to make it a truly free vacation.

 

This time we spent a large amount of our time at the pool and I think it's safe to say that Las Vegas would be the only place Jude & I would meet a little girl who would greet us with "My mom can eat fire." I didn't know quite how to respond to that, but it didn't matter because Jude had no interest in her... which reminds me of a conversation Kwang had with him back in the hotel room which was prompted by a cartoon on the TV:

Kwang: "Someday, you're going to like girls, Jude."
Jude: "Noooo, I'm not....."
Kwang: "Then who are you going to like?"
Jude: "Nobody."

Jude seemed appalled at the notion. So I guess when he sees me and Kwang holding hands, he must think people are wondering how in the world he ever let his parents out in public like that and he's all, yeah, I'm hoping this is just a phase.

I think Audrey is the only girl Jude thinks he will ever like. This is how I found them as I was busy unpacking from our trip:

Audrey LOVED the pool: 
 

The stylish Ms. Hepburn:

As we rode the elevator down to our car to head home, a group of adults took a look at our kids and one woman said to us, "Enjoy every moment. It goes by fast." So despite waking up that morning with Eli's foot on my mouth, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

 

Our Little Miss Sunshine

... and her future bodyguard:

"My Mouth Is Too Quiet!"

We just returned from the first of our two trips to Chicago this year, which means I'm currently suffering from a horrible bout of homesickness which I'm currently soothing with a heaping bowl of chocolate ice cream. I cope like a champ.

That's Eli at my friend Jane Chang's home. Only he's not coping. It's just a normal Wednesday evening.

People might have the impression that we're just plain crazy for taking a four hour flight with three kids 4 years old and under. And they'd be very correct. I won't even mention the price tag of four full fares (fortunately, we flew on miles). But that's what I'll do for a trip back home. And that's what Kwang will do because he loves me. It's not for the Dunkin Donuts coffee withdrawal I get to satisfy while in Chicago. It's not even for the earthquake I get to miss back in Los Angeles. It's for the comfort of my family and friends. This particular trip was made especially for Audrey to meet everyone back home. The person I was most excited for her to meet? My grandma:

 

My sisters Jane & Kathy:

With my dad, who adored her as much as I thought he would:

Audrey's cousins Meghan, Zachary, & Noelle:

Hanging out with friends:
  

This picture is of our kids with our friends Jim and Diana's five kids. While many here in L.A. seem to think having three kids is a lot, the Cho family is one that makes me & Kwang look like underachievers. Their children are so incredibly good with Jude, Eli, and Audrey. Whenever we hang out with them, I am reminded why it's wonderful to have a large family.

When we're in the airport, we get a lot of looks and comments about how cute our kids are. Of course, I'm sure they're all secretly hoping we are not on the same flight and in the same row as them. Especially because these days, everything Eli says is voiced with extreme enthusiasm and with his volume stuck on max. That may have been why he was so disturbed when his ears became plugged from the cabin pressure on our descent into Los Angeles. In his two-year-old understanding, all he could say to me in panic was, "My mouth is too quiet!"

(with my mom)