Best of What's Around: Sugar and Spice

Today marks two weeks home for us. The best way I can sum up her personality is Sugar and Spice. She is sweet, loving and funny. But, boy, make her mad and watch out! A granola bar had the nerve to break while she was trying to eat it and like a fastball down the middle of the plate, it went flying across the living room! She is very independent and wants things done her way and on her timing. She watches people intently and when she is comfortable, she will interact with them by winking, waving or saying "anyong!".

Here's a brief run down on Sarah's transition so far:

Eating: Girlfriends loves some food and some kka-kka (snacks). She knows what food she wants to eat and will point until you get it right. She love yogurt, cheese, eggs, chicken, rice, anything we eat, she at least wants to try. If we eat something Asian-inspired, like dumplings, she goes to town! She has a very wide palate and eating a variety of foods is something she does well with.

Language: She will repeat anything you say. She toddler babbles a lot, it sounds more Korean than English but she loves to talk. To herself, to you. Sometimes she toddler babble yells at you with hand movements and everything! It's like she channeled her inner Italian grandmother or something! She now has lot of words in English: up, help, open, Jack, dog, Dada, egg, yogo (yogurt), rock and pretty. She's picking up English quickly and it's amazing to see her absorb so much in such a short time.

Sleeping: This is our biggest area of need. Her naps are inconsistent, everything from 1/2 hour to 1.5 hours, but she was also doing that in Korea. At night she routinely wakes up at 2am and says "up, up" and points to the other room wanting to be walked. It takes about an hour or two to get her fully back to sleep and then she is out again until 7:30 or 8:00. I'm sure we will work through it and she will get better but it appears as if her mind is very active, even in the sleeping hours.

Bonding: She loves her big brother Jack and will readily say his name, sit with him on the rug to play and read books next to him. She loves her daddy, too. When she is tired, she wants to be held by him and if he leaves the room, she wants me to pick her up to follow him. Once Mark was in the picture, she was slower to warm up to me, but our time alone together has done amazing things and she gave me my first "bo-po" (kiss) yesterday. She is beginning to acknowledge other family members by smiling and waving when before she would just stare at them. Everything is on her terms, but when she is comfortable, she's quite the ham!

And, as we realize how well she has transitioned just two short weeks, we remain grateful to her omma, appa and oppa for preparing her so well for her life in the United States and their loving care. She is healthy and talkative and we are so excited to love her for the rest of our lives!