2012 Year of the Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year! Augie celebrated at story time on Saturday by waving a rainbow flag (really got into it!) and stomping on bubble wrap (firecrackers) and banging on a drum. Since he was born in 2011, that makes him a RABBIT. Fun fact, Grammy Strom is also a rabbit! Cuddly, warm and affectionate are the attributes of the Rabbit. His fortune for the year is, "Enjoy your downtime with friends and family this year, you will be more charming than ever. Save your spending money this year. You will be most happy if you go with the flow this year." Another interesting fact, is that the best hours of the day for a Rabbit are 5:00-7:00 a.m. We might be on to something here!

Impromptu Ladies Night!

Last Friday, a glass of wine turned into an impromptu dinner party with two amazing lady friends. Augie turned on the charm with his rock 'n roll PJs!

KISSES!!!

(and she doesn't even like babies)

"SO BIG!"

I cringe at the very thought of it, but if the bruises on his face are any indication, our precious baby blueberry is on the cusp of . . . walking! We now see him do his "So big!" stance (with both arms in the air) from a standing position. Watch out world!

So . . .

. . . big!

We eat meat!

From time to time we share some Check-Bar-Check (Henrie Ranch) meat with our dear Jackson friends. We divvy it all out in our garage, and Jacob gets to share a bit about how to prepare the variety of different cuts of beef. Can YOU think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning?

LouLou isn't thrilled about the meat-only diet heading her way!

Master of Ceremonies

"The best way to prepare the tongue is to . . ."

Big Dump

Last week, we got an awful lot of snow here in Jackson (to the tune of 55 inches!). So, after sledding and swinging and shoveling, we brought our exploration indoors.

White. Cold. Tasty.

Carbivore?

"They" say that what you eat during pregnancy will impact your baby's tastes. Well, I could not get enough of the ol' baked goods during the entire experience (ask anyone). Now that Augustus is a week shy of 1 year, so I'm breaking down and giving him tastes of some of the foods that have been off his diet thus far, like carbs. Here he was sampling some scrumptious organic 9-grain bread. See what he thinks . . .

BIG boy seat!

It's no secret that our "baby" is growing like crazy. We reluctantly decided to make the big move into the big boy car seats. Whooo there's a lot of research out there on car seats! We decided to go with the Big Daddy Britax, but what about the money? We have been so blessed by "hand-me-ups" and "pass-arounds" in the baby community, and this was no exception. A college roommate of mine is successfully raising three boys back in Michigan and was willing to pass their seats along to us. (Thank you Allison!) Sweet! Augie was thrilled with their arrival! But, the big question remains, how will Jacob restrain the baby in order to get ready for swim lessons now?

"What do we have here?"

"Tastes delicious!"

"If I pull here . . ."

And who can resist . . . Baby in a box! BOO!

Los Tres Reyes Magos

Bebe Agosto will be celebrating a variety of Latino traditions as he becomes a bilingual/bicultural little dude. So, on January 5th he placed his shoebox (Thanks Uncle Tommy!) under his bed (ok, crib) ready for the Three Wise Men to visit. Early the next morning, he awoke to find some treasures! What an epiphany!

The paper is clearly the best part!

And what did they bring?

11 months!

Our 11 month advice card came from my sweet colleague, Bari, mother of two boys. She wrote, "You've almost raised a healthy happy 1 year old. Congrats on begin loving and supportive parents! Hopefully you're getting some sleep these days!" What a wise soul!

It's "cool" to be 11 months old.

BOO!

새해 복 많이 받으세요

Saehae bog manh-i bad-euseyo! Happy New Year (Korean style!). So basically, the feast goes like this, you start with two kinds of soup (the sweet cucumber was my favorite), LOTS of little dishes appear, then meat keeps coming and Mrs. Choi keeps cooking it until you can't take it any more. Then Mr. Choi reminds you how to make the little lettuce wrap taco thing and you keep eating, then out comes a silver lunch box that they shake up and you vow you can't eat another bite, and before you know it bipimbop is all you can dream of. At least, that's how it worked for Augie (which, by the way, means "baby" in Korean).

Augustus keeps asking for "Bop", which is confusing because it means both "rice" and "food" in Korean.

BOP!

Bathing Beauty

Augustus loves the water! Here are some pictures sure to bring him great joy/embarrassment as he gets older. But, what's not to love?

Friday Fish Fry!

Another Wisconsin tradition that we honor, is the Friday fish fry. Turns out, we don't even really know the differences between the fish, except that it's usually beer-battered, and it's delicious. Jacob, Tesha and I enjoyed a lovely meal and conversation. Grammy and Papa, well, see below . . .

the entertainer

Alchemy

We met Papa Strom for lunch (poor guy still had to work), but it's a treat to meet at one of my favorite Madison haunts, Alchemy. Their sweet potato fries are ah-mazing and they mix in all kinds of local and seasonal goodies!

Tesha/The Nugget enjoyed wasabi green beans and Tommy, when asked if he would like his soup as his side, replied "AbsoLUTEly not."

Daddy's girls

My new computer background image <3

State Street!

We love heading down to State St. and snooping around. It's so quite with all the UW students away on holiday break, but the spirit lives on, as do the memories of nights at State Street Brats and Urban Outfitter bargains.

We Bought a Zoo

Ok, well, we didn't BUY a zoo, but we did GO to the zoo! Madison has a fabulous (seriously better than Lincoln Park Zoo, sorry Chicago) and free zoo. Perfect! We had so much fun watching Augie watch animals. For me, the highlight of the trip was the sparing giraffes, a.k.a. "big Sophies".

One of the few pictures of the baby awake
(after a quick nurse in the primate exhibit, he went comatose)

"I am so glad each Christmas morn!"

There's no way to capture all the smiles and laughs shared on this magical day, but needless to say, Strom traditions were out in full-force. From reading the Christmas story from the big white Bible before gift opening to booze-fueled sugar cookie decorating!

ASH's new badger hat matches his Christmas PJs!

Getting in the spirit of things!

Let the games begin!

Grammy Strom wows us again.

Post-dinner entertainment

Before and After

Truth be told, I was impressed that Gammy and Papa held back on the gift-giving this Christmas! We were hoping to honor the "3 Gift Rule" meaning that if Jesus received three gifts from the wise men, then our precious baby doesn't need any more than that. This can be tricky, when he's just so cute (and there's a sale at Kohl's, right Mom?). So, a couple of gifts surfaced before and after the big day.

Augie's mastering his horse-whispering . . . except for the whispering part.

"Our house just needed one!" --Grammy

La Nochebuena

The Spanish translation for "Christmas Eve" is "La Nochebuena" or "The Good Night". And that it was. It's such a treat to spend time with Grammy and Papa, even as our traditions have shifted to earlier church services and earlier bedtimes. It was wonderful to sing the old hymns, light the candles and still come out with new reflections (even with the multitude of young families in the service!). What a magical time!

La familia buena.

Drummer Boys!

Looks like Tommy is totally ready for fatherhood! He quickly distracted Augie from the many expensive bottles in the room with the newest form of Rock Band for the Choi residence . . . bowl and spoon style.

Banging it out!

Great Grandma's Hands

During our brief stay in Chicago, we went to celebrate Grandma Strom's birthday with her. She looked beautiful and enjoyed spending time with her (so far!) only great grandchild. We all shared a laugh when Augie took Grandma's walker for a spin!

Augie had a great time (he just doesn't like to sit still)!

Two of the softest hands I've ever held.

Dancing!

Buenos Dias Papa Noel!

Santa found us in Wyoming the morning before our flight to Chicago. Simplicity reigned and Augustus enjoyed the crackily paper as much as the other gifts (and honestly, the lack of snow this winter makes the sled seem a little silly!). After looking locally and on .etsy (always dangerous), I decided the best stocking option for lil' Augustus was to make one myself!

The orange was the immediate favorite gift!

Tiny tots, with their eyes all aglow . . .

Santa on the Square

We did what all new parents (should) do, and drug our baby downtown on a chilly school night to go meet up with THE MAN. Santa was kind and calm, and really, it was only Augie who busted out his "Ho, ho, ho!"

Who is this guy?

Classic.

Also classic.

Naughty or nice? NICE!!!

Ditto

Whew! Seeking routine in the new year has made blog updates a little challenging. Thanks to my little sister for capturing our holiday fun in HER blog! Check it out: http://baby-choi.tumblr.com/