Sniff, Sniff

Jules leaves in the morning....BOO. We've had a great time hanging out these past few weeks, and you can't put a price on all the help she has given me. There have already been some tears, but I'm trying to keep 'em in since once I start crying I may not be able to stop! Here are some pics I just stole off of her camera. =)

Me, Jules and Jacki getting ready to do some shopping

Our girl's night out  at Ole in Central

Getting in some tummy time

Rain Rain Go Away

Our weekend was less than exciting...it rained a TON!  Julie's friend Jacki came to visit for the weekend (she's spending a year teaching English in Seoul), so we had a girl's night out on Saturday.  Of course, I only made it until 11, but once I got home Dave went and met up with the girls so he'd have company watching USA lose to Ghana in the World Cup. 

Other than that, lots of lazy time!  Here are some of the latest pics of the kiddos.

Here's Nolan in the tub....he looks a little suspicious about the whole thing, but actually enjoys getting bath.  Unfortunately for him, Finley also enjoys "helping" me bathe him. 

"Throw your hands in the air....and wave 'em like you just don't care."

I'm being totally self-obsessed for a second and posting this pic of my STRAIGHT hair!!!  Getting my hair straightened was one of the "terms and conditions" I laid out for Dave before I would agree to move to humid Hong Kong.  Yes, I'm that shallow. 

Ready to call it a day.

Three Weeks

Nolan is now three weeks old and is growing a TON. His newborn size clothes are getting too small, he's eating lots and lots and he's starting to be more awake and alert which is so fun (unless it's in the middle of the night - then it stinks). 

Finley continues to be so sweet around him.  She holds him every day and when he fusses she says, "It's okay, Nolan.  Don't cry, mommy's coming."  She has yet to master the concept of "comfortable silence" and talks or sings (loudly) from the moment she wakes up until the moment she falls asleep.  She has about 15-20 songs she knows, she recites lines from her storybooks and asks questions all the time.  Out of nowhere, she'll say something random like, "Hey, look at that!  A monkey delivering a pizza!"  For a moment I'm confused until I realize she's just quoting page 20 of Curious George and the Pizza.

Here's some pics from the last few days...

Having a snuggle with Nolan.

Wearing her White Sox cheerleader outfit from none other than Grandpa Bill and Grandma Marge...we can only put this on her during the week when Dave is at work.  My Dad has trained her so that when he asks her who her favorite team is, she'll reply, "White Sox".  But Dave has also taught her to say "The White Sox are yucky."  My poor, confused girl.

Yeah, my kids like pacis - don't judge.  I swear, Fin only gets hers at bedtime.  Here they are in Fin's bed, getting ready for some stories before Fin goes to sleep.  Isn't she big?  And seriously, check out her tan!

Busy Weekend!

We've had a busy weekend here in HK!  It's been heating up a TON - seriously, all you people in the midwest complaining about the heat should come out here for 5 minutes to get some perspective!  We've been beating the heat by spending some time at the pool....so much time swimming that I actually ran out of swim diapers for Fin.  You can see below how absorbent regular diapers actually are.  Poor kid, it's not junk in her trunk - just a whole lot of water.

Here's Finley with one of her bff's, Mia.  Mia is moving to Singapore this week, and we're going to miss her and her mom Alicia SO much!  We have a "reunion" planned in Singapore this September, but it's not going to be the same here without our good friends.

Aunt Julie brought out a tennis racket for Finley....a good thing since half of our windows overlook tennis courts and Fin is obsessed with the game.  She loves playing with it and can't wait until she turns three and is old enough for lessons!

My sweet boy finally opened his eyes!  I swear, he is Fin's twin!

We celebrated Father's Day at the American Club today....we took Finley to the Eagle's Nest playroom and then enjoyed a delicious brunch.  Here she is working up an appetite!

Apparently, the Eagle's Nest is for children of all ages...

Tuen Ng Festival

Wednesday marked the dragon boat championships in Stanley, as well as the Tuen Ng Festival.  We made the rookie mistake of heading to the beach with the kids to watch the races....it was crowded, hot, humid and pretty much a bust!  I think we lasted about 10 minutes before taking our sweat-covered bodies back home.  It also made me laugh, because there was such a huge crowd, but no alcohol.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it made me think that if this were taking place on North Avenue Beach then it would basically be a huge drunk-fest.  Anyway, we tried to partake in the cultural festivities and that's all that really matters....right?

The crowded beach and a boat race about to finish

I'm posting this pic only so my mom knows that I finally managed to figure out the baby wrap she bought me.  Yay!  Nolan spent over two hours napping in here while we walked around town, and I'm pretty proud that I turned 12 feet of fabric into a safe baby carrier.  See his little ear poking out?!

Nolan is also a bit of a celebrity anytime I take him somewhere.  Some of the mainland Chinese have never seen white kids, so right there they're intrigued.  And the Chinese traditionally don't take newborns out of the house for the first 30 days of life....so seeing a tiny Western baby is a rarity for them.  We tend to get stopped so people can admire him, ask how old he is and then just continue to stare until I finally cut them off and walk away.  It's also interesting too, because when I take Finley to Stanley, the mainlanders won't hesitate to get their DSLR camera about two inches from Finley's face and start snapping pics....without even asking!  Apparently western kids with curly hair are also a novelty. 

The Latest

I feel pretty pathetic...we're averaging a ratio of 1.5 adults per child, I don't have to do any cleaning or laundry, Nolan is a dream baby and yet I'm still CRAZED most of the time!  However, here are some recent pics of our sweet boy.  He happens to be sleeping in every single pic...which makes sense since that's how he spends most of his time.  Maybe soon we'll get some shots of him with his eyes open?!?

Father and son =)

Our little Buddha

Love the clasped hands...

Seriously, this kid can sleep anytime, anywhere!

Here's a token photo of Aunt Julie and Fin in the pool taken from our balcony.  Julie gets props for wearing out Fin enough to get her to nap.  

One Week Old!

Nolan is one week old today!  He continues to be an absolute dream of a baby....so knock on wood, I may actually be lucky enough to have two amazingly well-behaved newborns.  Nolan spends most of his days snoozing, with a few periods of alertness throughout the day....and no tears unless I'm taking too long making his bottle.  Finley seems to be getting accustomed to him and often asks to kiss him, hold him, and makes occasional comments about how he's a cute little baby.  As for me....I'm in love with my sweet little boy.  He's perfect.

In other news, Jules got into town late last night and will be here for 3 weeks.  Yay!  Unfortunately, it rained most of the day today so she hasn't seen any of the town.  Finley is absolutely thrilled to have her bff  here, and has made it clear that mom comes second to Aunt Julie.  Carmelita even noticed too - while her first comment about my Julie is that she's "slim" (I'm trying not to take that as an insult to my own physique), her second comment is that Julie seems to be the new favorite in the house.  Whatever.

Here's Fin having another turn holding Nolan.

Sleeping on his playmat....

Getting some love from his sister.

Doing what he does best....

A cute little "smile"...

Day Four

Today marked my first (kind of) solo day as a mom of two.  My mom left this morning to go back to Chicago...it was great having her here.  I feel guilty that she saw so little of Hong Kong after coming all this way, but it was really nice to have her around to help and be in town for Nolan's birth.  It was a huge relief to know that Finley was in such good hands while I was in the hospital....and of course I just liked having her to hang out with me.

  To add insult to injury, Dave went back to work today. =(  Luckily, Finley had preschool this morning so I was able to relax a bit.  And it's nice to have Carmelita around as well - she was able to do the grocery shopping for me this morning, and I may have her take Fin to the plaground this afternoon if I need a break (since it looks like Fin isn't going to nap today - boo). 

Anyway, here are some pics I just took....

Nolan....though he sure looks like Finley to me.

Alert in his bouncy seat

Of course Finley insisted on having her picture taken when she saw I was snapping shots of Nolan.

Here's Finley holding Nolan for the first time.  Before today, she didn't want to....but today she said yes when I offered and then didn't want to let him go. 

She was so gentle with him and just sat there for a good 10-15 minutes giving him "gentle touches" (her words) and singing him songs.  I may have teared up watching them. 

My Buddies

Fin refers to her friends as "my buddies".  It sounds so nerdy and so cute at the same time.  Last week, we had some of her buddies over to play....and they wound up in bed together.  From left to right, here is Lucy (Lulu), Fin and Mia.  Lulu is leaving HK next week - spending a month back in the States before moving to Bangkok, and Mia is moving to Singapore at the end of the month.  We never imagined we'd meet such great people and form such strong friendships in such a short time....so we're sad to be "losing" our friends, but looking forward to visiting them in their new countries and planning family vacations together.

Nolan Henry Korn

After a LONG wait, Nolan Henry Korn arrived at 12:17 p.m. on June 3rd (local HK time).  He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.  The delivery was very easy and I feel great!  Nolan has been an absolute dream too....while I thought no baby could possibly be as mild-mannered (and sleepy) as Finley was as a newborn, Nolan may just have her beat.  He has barely cried since being born, and is such a sweetheart.  He also bears a striking resemblence to Fin - pictures of them as newborns are virtually indistinguishable. 

Dave, my mom and I are in love....Fin is still making up her mind.  She seems to like him unless I'm holding him.  When that happens, she usually turns to Dave and says, "Daddy, Mommy doesn't want to hold Baby Nolan.  Please take him."  Here are some pictures of our sweet little boy....

About two minutes old...

Getting examined at about 5 minutes old.

Father and son, right after we got moved to recovery.

Another day one shot....don't mind the messy hair, tired eyes and sexy nursing bra.  I'm too happy to care.