Christmas Fun!

Made some gingerbread cookies which OTHER people mostly decorated!  It's a good thing because I am NOT very creative.

In the Spring of 2011 Cory and I were able to go to China and visit some of his college friends who are living there.  I was pregnant with Esther at the time and picked up the smallest "Christmas" dress I could find.  She did wear it last year, I think, but this year it actually fits her so well!  Does she look Chinese to you?

 (admiring the ornament sent by Gig)

Last year we also bought her this beautiful coat (I'm told she looks Russian.)  The sleeves were a little short, but it still fit her pretty nicely, otherwise!  I suppose we are trying to make sure this little girl keeps some of her international flair!

(Christmas dress from Aunt Mandi and Uncle Josh combined with a goofy face!)

Holiday Lights at CALM

The week before Christmas one of Cory's former students (from Guam) came to visit for a few days.  She is currently a student at UCSD.

We went to CALM (California Living Museum) for their Holiday Lights event.

 

Esther LOVED the lights but was not so fond of the carousel.

We are glad Stephanie came to visit!  Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures with her on the "real" camera - you'll have to visit Facebook to see those!

Winter in Cali

The climate here is quite different from where either of us grew up - although living on Guam gave us our first tropical Christmas experiences.  It has "cooled" off a bit, especially at night, but we definitely were not looking for a white Christmas here this year.

 Our visit to CALM (California Living Museum)

 Esther's Christmas dresses ... 

Smiles

Just can't resist posting these super - cute smiles!

Loving the slide! 

Loving the dirt! 

Ready for Christmas!

Esther's Favorite Things

No joke - she plays every single day with one of the empty boxes we keep for her under the sink.  Simple pleasures!

Bakersfield, California

 I know it doesn't always work this way, but when the decision was made to leave Korea it was very clear.  Within a week Cory had a job offer here in Bakersfield, and though we tried to take some time before making the final decision, there wasn't much time to spare and it seemed evident that we were supposed to purchase a new home and embrace a new direction.

And so, here we are - just about 6 months later.  We are buying a home and moving in 2 weeks.  Many people have asked me if I (Jen) am adjusting to life back in America - to be honest I think it's been easier on me and Esther than on Cory.  I find that I am happy to be able to communicate clearly (most of the time) with others - a common language is rarely the issue!  I love going to the grocery store and being able to find ANY ingredient I am looking for, for ANY recipe I want to try out on my family!  I love being closer and more in touch with family - even texting back and forth throughout the day brings so much joy.  I love the idea that we are going to have our own home.

There are definitely things that we are finding difficult, but I feel like recently my 'cup' is overflowing.    

Moving ... Continued

In September we were able to move into an apartment.  We have been house hunting since we arrived in CA but it's been quite an interesting experience.  Esther wasn't sleeping through the night well and struggling with her naps, so we decided it might be best for us to go ahead and find an apartment until we could get into a house.  It was probably one of the easiest moves we've made - two trips with a minivan!  LOL - probably because we had almost no furniture to speak of.

As you can see, Esther likes the new place.  She is sleeping 10-12 hours a night and was taking two 2-hour naps a day when we first moved in!  She is slowly getting rid of the morning nap - it just kind of depends on what is going on for the day, but all in all she is sleeping so much better and is way more happy just about around the clock.  We are so grateful for our family taking us in for so long but I have to admit, it's awfully nice that Esther is back to a more normal sleeping schedule.

She loves sunglasses and cell phones.  This phone was one from Korea that made it back with us to the US.  She walks around "talking" on the phone - usually to Gig or Mimi!