Fun with Jordan

Jordan loves it when Luke tosses him up in the air- they play this game every day when Luke comes home from work!

Jordan has definitely entered the climbing phase! All he is interested in doing is climbing on as many different pieces of furniture that he can! It is very fun to see him grow and develop, but we sometimes wish he wasn't quite so eager to climb! Thankfully, it hasn't seemed to cross his mind to try climbing out of his crib!
Here is a picture of Jordan after he has climbed up on the couch. At least he is sitting down- that isn't always the case!

Jordan has even managed to learn how to climb onto the kitchen table! We usually don't allow him to do that, but we had to get a picture of it, so on this day we let him do it with close supervision. He is so proud when he gets on top of the table!

Last Saturday was my mom's birthday, and we went out to eat at our favorite local Chinese restaurant to celebrate. The staff knows us there because we eat there so often and are very understanding and forgiving when Jordan makes a big mess. This particular night he was exceptionally messy and threw rice all over the floor. Hopefully they will allow us to come back! Maybe we will just order take-out for awhile.

Jordan wants to do everything like a big boy, including using utensils. We were surprised at how well he could use a spoon to eat his rice! But then he decided to set the spoon down and to use his hands to push the rice everywhere! We think he even threw rice on a nearby customer- I was a bit embarassed.

After dinner we came home and Jordan was in a very energetic mood. Maybe it was because of the cake and ice cream we fed him. Here he is after he has climbed on the ottoman. It used to be so difficult for him to climb up on this, but now he does it with very little difficulty and is so happy when he is sitting on top of it!

One Year Ago

As my students were recently talking about our upcoming Valentine's Day party on Friday, I realized that it was almost exactly one year ago that we received Jordan's referral. We received his referral on the exact same day as the students' Valentine's Day party, and I still remember much of that day vividly. It's hard to believe that almost a year has passed, and it's amazing to think about how much our lives have changed! Jordan is now 17 months old, has been home for nearly 6 months (we completed our last post-placement visit with our social worker last week!) and continues to bring excitement and joy to our days.

He has learned to do so much in the 6 months that he has been home. I can't believe how much he has changed! When he came home from Korea he was taking a couple very wobbly steps, and now he is walking, running, and climbing on everything he can! He only says a small handful of words and doesn't even say those few words very consistently, but we are amazed at how much he understands. He loves to play hide-and-seek (he doesn't know how to hide, but he sure loves it when Mommy hides!), loves to be chased around the house, and dances whenever music is played.

Here are a few recent pictures of our little sweetheart!

We recently spent an evening at our friends' house. They have a little one-year old too, so it's fun to see the kids interact. They both were so eager to sit on the couch and listen to this book!

Although Jordan has a Mommy who can tend to be a bit of a neat freak, he hasn't inherited that trait yet. He leaves a big mess wherever he goes!

Jordan recently began smiling on command which makes it fun to take his picture! Jordan doesn't seem interested in bananas when they are cut up for him, but he sure loves them when he is able to hold the banana himself!

Jordan has discovered the thrill of climbing. He often tries to stand on his little Adirondak chair and then climb onto the ottoman or the couch. We aren't as excited about this new phase as Jordan hasn't learned to be cautious yet!

Jordan loves books! I mean, really loves books. I am amazed at how often he wants me to read him a book! As a teacher I am ashamed to admit this, but I have actually hidden this trucks book for a few days before because I've been so sick of reading it. Jordan is a boy through and through- he loves trucks, cars, and anything else with wheels!

Museums, Baptism, and Winter Fun

Jordan has been one busy boy these past couple of weeks! A couple weekends ago we went to the Grand Rapids Public Museum with my parents. Despite the huge crowds we managed to have a fun time with Jordan. He especially enjoyed the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit as there were many wheels and gears to turn. Here is my dad helping Jordan turn one of the gears at the da Vinci exhibit.

Once Jordan caught sight of this truck he didn't want to be anywhere else! He loves to sit in little trucks and turn the steering wheels!

Last Saturday my mother-in-law and I took Jordan to the Children's Museum. It was crowded there as well, but Jordan is fearless and immediately took off to check out everything there was to see and touch!

Jordan loves music- he's a boy after my own heart! Here he is playing with a little tamborine.

Jordan spotted another little truck at the Children's Museum and went running right for it.

This past Sunday was Jordan's baptism. I was a little nervous about how he would do on stage in front of the whole congregation. It turned out that he did fine during the actual baptism and even gave a little wave to the crowd (what a little show-off!), but waiting to go up on stage proved to be challenging. Jordan hasn't quite learned how to be patient yet!

My mom was sitting right behind us in church and tried to keep Jordan entertained and distracted until we brought him up on stage.

We tried to get a family picture in the church's gathering room after the service. Unfortunately we couldn't get Jordan to look at the camera.


Although we've had a busy couple of weeks we have enjoyed a few quiet days at home as well. The weather has been frigid so we have been staying cozy inside or bundling up really well when we do go outside.

Here is a sight that is becoming common- Jordan reading his books in his new little chair!

It takes a lot of work to get Jordan bundled up to go sledding! I tried and tried but could not get this picture to post correctly. But even though it is sideways I thought it was way too cute to pass up!

Our Very Merry Christmas

Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays, but the season definitely has become more fun and exciting with a baby in the house! Christmas Eve was spent at our house where we ate dinner and opened gifts with my parents. Opening presents with Jordan was so much fun! He was so excited about every gift and would keep repeating, "ooh, ooh" whenever we would open a present. I was shocked at how interested he was in every toy he opened and would proceed to sit down and play with each toy for a good length of time before opening the next present. Here is Jordan checking out his new sled! As he has never ridden on a sled, he has no idea it's meant for the snow but he did think the sled was fun to stand on. Unfortunately almost all of our snow has melted the last couple days. But snowfalls come frequently here in West Michigan, so I'm sure we will have a chance to try out the sled soon.

Jordan was excited to play with these blocks and has already learned how to stack the blocks to make a little tower!

Jordan was so eager to play with this little phone that my parents gave him. He was frustrated that it was taking so long to open the package and kept trying to push the buttons while Luke was attempting to get it out of the package.

Here is the Adirondack chair my dad made for Jordan. Isn't it beautiful? Jordan will look so cute sitting in it on the deck next summer!

For the time being we will probably keep the chair in the living room as Jordan loves to sit in it!

Jordan and Daddy in their matching Minnesota hats! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Scherkenbach!

We spent Christmas Day at my parents' house with my aunt and uncle and cousins. Although Jordan was way too little to participate in our annual Bingo game, he loved playing with all of the toys!

Jordan loves this top that was one of my toys when I was a little girl. He finally figured out how to make the top spin!

Jordan, you sure have made this a very merry Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrating Thanksgiving with Jordan sure made this year's holiday extra special. We have a lot to be thankful for this year! For the past few weeks I have been telling Jordan how much he would love Thanksgiving because he LOVES to eat! But to my surprise, when the day arrived Jordan didn't each much at all. He was too excited about playing with the new toys at my uncle and aunt's house and chasing around their little dog. I guess there are things that are more exciting to Jordan than eating! Jordan loves to sit in little chairs and was excited to see a new chair he could try out.

Jordan loved my uncle and aunt's dog, Sammy. I think he was shocked that Sammy actually let Jordan pet him. Whenever Jordan comes anywhere near the cats they always run for cover!

Here is Jordan playing with my cousin's son. Actually, they didn't really play together; they just played side by side. Jordan hasn't learned how to play with others or how to share yet!

What else has Jordan been up to? Well, he's been one busy boy! He has now begun running and loves to run up and down our front hallway. He also loves to try climbing and standing on everything he can! Strangely enough, Jordan's first English word was "hot." He says it when he points to the oven or to our coffee cups, but he also says it at random times throughout the day.

Sadly, I had to go back to work this week. It was hard on me, but Jordan seemed to adjust fine. He loves being home with Grandma!

Jordan loves to stand on this register whenever the heat is on. I often find him standing here letting the heat warm his feet! We do try to put socks on him, but he always pulls them off!

Jordan recently learned how to get into this little chair and sit down all by himself without any assistance from me. He loves to sit in it, but more often can be found standing on it and looking out the window.

Jordan was so proud when he learned how to stand on this truck. Mommy and Daddy weren't as excited as we can envision a big fall backwards in the future!

Happy Halloween!

Jordan continues to amaze us with all of the things he is learning every week. It is becoming very evident that he is understanding more and more of what we say and is able to follow simple directions. He babbles a lot and even says "dada" whenever I talk to him about Daddy or ask him to find Daddy. He says "mama" as well but apparently that word means food in Korean. He often says it when he is sitting in his highchair!

Jordan has had this pumpkin for a few weeks now and loved to hit it and roll it on the floor. He was pretty surprised when we cut it open to discover that there was a lot more to play with on the inside of the pumpkin!

Jordan dressed up as a frog for Halloween. Isn't he adorable?
Jordan loved playing with the candy but thankfully he didn't seem to realize that it was edible. If he knew that it was food, he would have been begging us for a bite!

Every time the doorbell rang Jordan walked to the door to help Daddy pass out the candy!

Jordan has begun to wear these slippers and loves them! Surprisingly he is still able to walk well in them even though they are so big and bulky!

Last night my parents' friends threw us a shower to celebrate Jordan's arrival. He loved being the center of attention among all the adults. Jordan received many wonderful gifts, but his favorite item was this big blue bow!
Here is our happy family!

Jordan loved sitting in this cute little rocking chair!

Home for 2 months!

It's hard to believe that tomorrow marks 2 months since Jordan came home! Tonight I was looking at the little outfit that he traveled home in. Although we loved him already at that point, he was like a stranger to us and we were definitely strangers to him. And here we are 2 short months later and it feels like he has always been a part of our family!

Jordan has been one busy little boy these past few weeks! His walking is getting so much better and he squeals with laughter whenever I chase him around the house. He sure has come a long way from those first couple weeks home when he needed to hold on to our hands in order to walk the loop around the house. He is also very interested in doing whatever Mommy and Daddy are doing. Apparently his toys aren't nearly as interesting.

Jordan loves to "help" me with the sweeping

and the dusting!

Although he won't wear the hat we bought for him, he sure was interested in trying on Daddy's hat!

Trying to play the piano like Mommy



Who are you going to call on your cell phone, Jordan?

Recently Jordan has become very interested in books. He often picks a book out of his basket and brings it to me while nodding his head up and down as if to say, "Yes, Mommy I want you to read this book to me!"

Jordan loves it when Daddy reads a book to him!

Here is Jordan with his favorite book. Yes, I have the entire book memorized!

Jordan loves to pull books off of his little bookshelf in his bedroom.