27 months

Christopher finished up his soccer lessons and earned his first certificate for sports. Hopefully this is just the beginning of his athletic activities.

On our drive back to MD, we got caught in traffic. Here is Christopher enjoying his stickers. The simple pleasures, huh?

Back at the hotel, Christopher and Annabelle said their goodbyes. They truly became the best of friends.

After his graduation, we left for PA to Sesame Place with the Wonders. It was totally last minute and tons of fun. We all enjoyed the trip and espectially loved how the kiddos played so well together.

Andy had a simple graduation ceremony at the Bethesda naval medical center after completing his two years in the Endodontic program. He is thrilled to be done with school and any studying.

Capt. Tordik hosted a wonderful graduation party for the T2 class at her house. She had pony rides for the kids and great food and fun for all! It was a sweet ending to a long program.

As we began organizing for our move and packing day, we found so many things we forgot we had. Here is a look at Christopher getting reacquainted with his bumbo chair. Doesn't he look comfortable in it with reading material and all? I wonder if it will be that easy to have him do that on a potty seat!

Time is going by fast as we close in on our move to Cali. Less than a month left and we head out on our road trip to CA with a 2 year old and an 10 year old dog. More details about our trip in the next posting.

After his graduation, we left for PA to Sesame Place with a classmate of his. It was totally last minute and tons of fun. We all enjoyed the trip and loved how the kiddos played so well together.

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26 months

As we close in on our life here in DC, we seem to be busier than ever.

For starters, Andy went to Orlando this month for the AAE conference. During that weeklong trip for him, Christopher and I did some "mommy and me" bonding.

Here's a shot of him during bath time!

We have a bookshelf in our kitchen that we are in the process of emptying. Somehow, this became Christopher's hangout (especially when I'm doing dishes). He made it a little nook for himself, with his pillow (a.k.a "baby").

Christopher is so creative.....somehow always making everything a seat!

It amazes me that with the many toys that we buy him, he always finds something else around the house to entertain him. Raising the window blinds was a new activity for him!

This is how life is at the Park home! As soon as daddy's home, all the kids swarm to him (see Rustee tucked behind them vigorously licking Andy's legs). Unfortunately, this is how Andy completes his studying (with Christopher and Rustee climbing on him). Andy is such a good sport! Only 6 more weeks of studying for him!

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25 months

This month approached so quickly. In April, we went to CA to visit grandparents, aunt, uncle, and to look for housing in San Diego.
Wow....it was great to be back at home! I can't wait for Christopher to be able to enjoy the San Diego weather year round!

In the meantime, for the last couple of months here in DC, Christopher has taken on two new activities: soccer and gymnastics (a.k.a tumbling). He fell in love with gymnastics immediately. I think it was all the jumping he was allowed to do that excited him. Soccer on the other hand, took some getting used to. He didn't grasp the concept of kicking the ball when it was easier to just pick it up! What’s the “no-hands policy”?

Going through the obstacle course with daddy at his first soccer class!

Here he is walking on the balance beam, with a little help from coach Bobby. It looks like something else caught his eye!

Just swingin'! Wheeee!!!!

I'm not sure what this is called. It's similar to the trampoline but with less springs. Christopher always tries to run as fast as he key on this mat!

Save the best for last! The trampoline! This is his FAVE!

Now he's always jumping on our bed at home too!

He's such a good clean up helper! Hope that continues as he gets older!

At Christopher's second soccer class, he began to get the hang of it.

Look at me now!

We had many extra goodies from the party bags from his birthday. We put a cookie monster and big bird tattoo on him. He was so mezmerized by them. The simple joys...

While in CA, we stopped by a park. Christopher began feeding the ducks his cheerios. He was actually a little frightened of the little critters and would quickly throw the food and immediately cover his eyes.

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Christopher turns 2!

The month of March is always a busy one for the family. With 5 birthdays to celebrate (all within the family), it is definitely full of activities. Christopher's birthday was exciting for me since it was my first time organizing a baby party. It was so much fun! I have to say as he is approaching 2, he has definitely become more mischievious. They don't call it the "terrible two's" for nothing, huh?

Christopher was hysterically laughing and enjoying himself. Oh yes, and I was in the living room on the telephone, happy that he was entertaining himself.
Well, look at what he was so be happy about! - He got all of Rustee's dog food and spilled the bowl on the floor and was laughing so hard watching Rustee trying to eat his food off the floor. Poor Rustee!
Before leaving the DC area, we have a list of places we want to visit again. Among those areas, is the National Zoo in DC.

Taking a ride on the metro to go to the National Zoo.

Unfortunately, many of the animals were not being exhibited yet. Nonetheless, it was a good day trip for the family.

Christopher had a playdate with his buddy Mikey and Elmo! Here they are having lunch together.

They especially enjoyed playing in the school bus!

For his birthday, we rented a place called Romp n' Roll. It is a little toddler gym with soft blocks, a moonbounce, disco time with bubbles and of course a spot for food and cake. I don't think Christopher understood that it was a time to celebrate for him but he seemed to enjoy it.

The party room ready for the guests!

Christopher blowing out his candle......okay, with daddy's help.

Later that night, we went out to Ziki Japanese Steakhouse for a birthday dinner with the Hwang family. The little boys' (Christopher and Christian) expressions during the fire and knife show were priceless!

This was a new pose for Christopher. So cute!

Our little family!

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23 months

This month was pretty quiet. Christopher had his usual weekly Gymboree visits and some other playdates.
We ordered a toddler guard rail for his crib but he was climbing out too easily. So, for the meantime, we decided to remove the front panel. He absolutely loved how he could get in and out as he pleased.

Here's the result to his playtime with the salad bowl.

We decided to allow Christopher to play in the tupperware cabinet. Unfortunately, he found the wooden salad bowl and immediately made it his toy.

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22 months old

For the longest time, we've been looking for a salon to get a haircut for Christopher. Everytime we went to a place, little boys with bowlcuts would be leaving the salons. This was a sign for us to leave right away. A friend of mine suggested using the "flowbee". It is a home hair-cutting system that resembles a vacuum and sucks up the hair and allows for various clipping lengths. It is an easy way to get a clean layered cut. It seemed scary at first but actually was very easy to use. Okay, Andy cut Christopher's hair and found it quite simple to use. Besides, I loved how it left no mess. Here is a picture of Christopher new haircut by Daddy.

We found an awesome light show in a nearby city to celebrate the holiday season. It was a 3.5 mile stretch of different light displays.

Did I mention Christopher began to climb out of his crib? A few days after Christmas, he learned how to come out on his own. Luckily, during his nap time, he still found a cozy part of his room (making sure to bring out his pillow with him).

Andy found this to be Christopher's sign that he was becoming a little man.....getting the pose down.

Christoper is always wanting to go out. He even put on my shoes to show he was ready.....too bad they were too big for him!

With the hectic schedules of the holidays, here are a few pictures of how our guy is growing up. He is already almost two!

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