Happy First Birthday, Trent!

I'm not sure how it happened so quickly, but Trent turned one on Saturday.  He woke up to balloons and presents, followed by birthday pancakes (complete with sprinkles and a candle!), and then later, a fun birthday lunch at Benihana with his girlfriend, Dylan.  And, of course, he got to try his first taste of a cupcake (which he eventually devoured).  

It has been so fun getting to know Trent over the past year.  He has been a perfect addition to our family and I love that Nathan and Trent are already best friends.  Whenever I ask Nathan what he wants to do, he usually responds that he just wants to stay home and play with Trent.  They adore each other.  

At a year old, Trent is always on the move.  He is one of the fastest crawlers I have ever seen and he does not like to sit still (this makes diaper changes an absolute nightmare - I usually feel like I am wrestling a crocodile).  He is also not far from walking.  He took his first step a few weeks ago and shortly after that, he managed to take 3 steps before falling.  But, he seems to be content with crawling for now.  He is also a little monkey who climbs on anything and everything.  He is definitely going to keep me on my toes!  He loves Nathan.  He completely lights up when Nathan walks into the room and he likes to mimic him (noises, actions, etc.).  Maybe this is why he is already quite good at playing catch (well, maybe not the catching part yet, but he's quite good at throwing the ball back to you).  And, despite the fact that Trent is usually always on the move, he does love to cuddle and is a very sweet boy.  Although he does love to cuddle with me, I would have to say that Trent is a daddy's boy (opposite of his brother, who was a complete mama's boy).  Trent adores Chris and wants to be held by him whenever Chris is around.  It's actually really adorable and it provides a nice little break for me :)  

This has been the fastest year of my life, but it has been such a great year and we all love you more and more every day, Trenton!   

Nathan was helping Trent open his gifts.

Birthday pancakes!

Playing with his new toys.

Birthday lunch with his love :)

The big brothers.

Captivated by the fire.

He was a little hesitant with the cupcake at first, but he ended up loving it!  

Traditional Korean game to determine what he will be when he grows up.  Will he be: 1) an athlete; 2) a chef; 3) a farmer; 4) a banker; or 5) an artist?

Looks like we will have two artists in the family.  Nathan chose the paint brush too!  There must be something very intriguing about paintbrushes for babies :) 

Christmas 2014

We stayed in London for Christmas again this year.  We weren't quite ready to make the trip to California again just 4 months after our last one (the jet lag and sleepless nights (due to a baby who was not in his familiar environment) were still a little too fresh in my mind).  So, we opted to enjoy another quiet Christmas at home with our little family and, of course, our London family (we celebrated Christmas Eve with our closest friends in London).  Although we greatly miss our extended families during the holidays, it has been really nice to have these past two Christmases to ourselves to establish our own traditions and to make some memories of our own.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with our London family.  This was the best shot of the kids that we managed to get :)

The Three Amigos opening their Christmas crackers.

The boys enjoying their toys from their Christmas crackers. 

Dueling dinosaurs.

Matching Christmas jammies.  Thank you Grandma Choi!

Santa brought Nathan baseball gear--a batting helmet and baseball pants and belt.  Yes, this is what he asked Santa for, and no, there is not baseball in London, but he has been a bit obsessed ever since our trip to America this summer :)

Also, on his Christmas list - catcher's gear :)

Trent's First Christmas!

Showing off his Christmas booty :) 

This was a couple of days after Christmas.  It was time to take the tree down, so my boys went to work.

December 2014

Trent turned 11 months old in December.  We're having a hard time believing that it has been almost a year since he was born!  He has turned into quite a climber and climbs up onto anything and everything that he possibly can--chairs, the couch, stools, his toy box, and he's even climbing up the sides of his crib already!  He also took his first steps shortly after his 11-month birthday.  But, he still finds it most convenient to get around by crawling (I don't blame him, because he is such a fast crawler that I have a hard time keeping up with him!).  So far, his max is 3 steps, but I am sure that he will be walking in no time (which is much sooner than I would like :) 

Looking very proud of himself for getting himself into a seat that is just his size.

And, yes, he climbed into this box on his own too.  And, then Nathan decided to join in on the fun too.

Trent and Dylan.

My cousin, Erica, came to visit us for Christmas this year.   We showed her the lights and Christmas decorations in our neighborhood.

Enjoying a chilly day at the playground.

Watch out - Trent has control of the T-Rex!