Where have you been?!?!?!?

So, about 765,313 days ago I decided to write a blog about our sweet boy Theo. All started well and people were enjoying our initial posts about our adventures in Seoul, followed by our first adventures in parenting. Then I was abducted by aliens, flown to the planet Mars, and forced to become an indentured servant for the royal Martian family, before I was allowed to return to Earth. Additionally, my house was carried off by a twister and where Atticus was doted upon by a sweet little girl and a world full of munchkins. Did I mention Andy ran away from home and joined Van Halen on tour?

Well, if those excuses don't work for you, they don't work for me either! I'll just blame life, work, and a broken computer. Now with a new laptop at hand, I will reintroduce the world to Theo, who once was a charming, darling, little person and now is..... TWO YEARS OLD. I kid, I kid... Theo's doing wonderfully. Talking up a storm, going to pre-school, and enjoying everything from Star Wars to Wheel of Fortune. He spent Halloween as Captain Hook to Andy's Peter Pan, while I spent the day as a lowly first mate. (I tried to be Mr. Smee, but my costume just didn't quite work!) Theo spent his first weekend away from Mom and Dad at Grandma's and Papa's in early October which would have worked out great if the poor little guy hadn't gotten sick. I guess that's what we as parents get for leaving our young child at home while we went off to an adult's only weekend at Disney World. In our defense, we did go to enjoy the Wine and Food Festival at Epcot, which would not have interested the crowned prince in the slightest.

Theo also got to meet his new friend baby Penny, who he absolutely adored and did a fantastic job holding and helping feed. He had many sweet kisses for our 5-week old friend, and I'm also proud to say I was not scared of her wobbly head in the slightest. His social calendar tends to be on the full side between hanging out with his fun babysitters, his family, and seeing friends both old and new. We had a great time at a pumpkin-carving party the night before Halloween, and he's learned to cruise "the hill" at our friend Missy's house with ease. Independence is the name of the game, and it's amazing how much he's doing on his own. Latest talents include counting, (to 16 on a good day) drawing smiley faces, coloring, and of course battling with light sabers.

In the next few weeks we are excited to have visits from both the Oklahoma Barretts, and Grammy from New York for the Thanksgiving holiday. I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner(YIKES) and am hoping to bake my first pie to celebrate the occasion. If Theo survives the meal, I will be sure to post again soon!

September pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157622640137677/detail/

October pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/721576622765394148/detail/

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The school year has begun!

The last few weeks have been crazy as school has gotten back into full swing! Andy and I have been busy getting back in the groove, and Theo has been adjusting (beautifully) to a new routine that includes one morning of preschool a week.

August was a full month with lots of end-of-summer activities including a visit to Susu's house in Tennessee and countless playdate with friends. He's currently obsessed with his buddies Bobby and Emma... I sincerely hope their parents do not seek a restraining order in the near future due to his stalker-like tendencies. While we were at Susu's he had a great time swimming in the river and checking out the local sites. He definitely shared the love of the Apple Barn after his first visit!

We also had time for some short road trips to Bloomington for a day with Bella, Becki, and Mindy, into Chicago for the 2009 Korean Festival, and Melrose Park for an outing at Kiddieland. We also rode the train into the city with the Klotz family... I was mistaken to think that he would be thrilled with the train ride. After about 5 minutes, he and the other kiddos were bored with the trip. Regardless, we survived and had a great day.

August Flickr pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157622127404217/detail/

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Potty? What Potty?

Whew! The month of July was busy for us Barretts. Additionally, it was FINALLY warm enough to do many things outside! What a crazy summer it's been... I'm sure it will get hot and humid in about 3 weeks... right when all the kiddies go back to school. Balderdash to you Mother Nature!

The month started off with a fun 4th of July. No big party this year due to the house renovations, but fun none the less with a small group of friends. Theo made it to the fireworks this year (last year he was asleep almost two hours before they happened), and enjoyed them until he fell asleep about 5 minutes before the show ended. For those of you who know how close our house is to the fireworks display, you KNOW how unbelievable it is that he fell asleep. Regardless, he loved the fireworks that he did see, and now asks every night if we are going to see fireworks. Personally I think it's a stall tactic for going to bed...

Following the 4th, we got to do lots of fun things with fun people! The three of us met up with the Triebel family for a great day at Brookfield Zoo. Theo had a great time with Bobby and Emma, and we managed to find several quiet spots to see animals on an otherwise crowded day. We also had many park dates this summer with anyone and everyone who happened to call our house looking for something to do. Aside from walks down the street to our neighborhood park, we also went to Blackberry Farm with a bunch of the teachers and their kids from Mill Creek, Peck Farm with our new friend Tommy and his mom, the sprinkler park in Geneva with Storm School friends, and several other outings with new friends Katie and Gavin, as well as old friends Will and Alyvia. Believe it or not, we also managed to hit the pool! Theo might have been a fish in another life- he LOVES the water.

In other events, we helped Bumpa (great-grandpa) celebrate his 85th birthday with a fun lunch that included ALL of the cousins. There were a lot of little people running about during that party! We were also lucky to have Robyn and Zach visit from Omaha in the middle of the month. Theo had so much fun hanging out with them the night they stayed at our house. Theo also attended Camp Pride for the very first time. Camp Pride is a week-long cultural camp for Korean adoptees held every summer at a Korean church in Itasca. Theo is still too young to attend, but our good friends the Carlsons go every year, and asked us join on them on the final day of camp for the show in which all the campers share what they've learned for the week. It was SO fun, and I can't wait for the day when Theo can attend as a camper!

In all the excitments of his social calendar, Theo has some pretty big milestones occur as well. He used the potty for the first time! He used the potty for the second time! He used the potty for the.............. okay, the first two potty trips were obviously flukes at best, but he did in fact use it. I'm not sure if seeing the actual poops, or my and Andy's elated reactions did it, but as soon as he was done both times he burst into tears. I hope that isn't a sign of things to come because that would mean we are in for some REAL big trouble. Theo has also transitioned to a toddler bed, which means absolutely nothing to him apparently, as he still waits for someone to help get him in, and help get him out. I'm actually going to encourage that behavior for as long as possible! We also had a sad milestone to deal with, the passing of a pet. Bruce was a good fish, and he will be missed terribly. So terribly in fact, that Andy and I decided to buy Bruce 2.0 before Theo could realize that Bruce was no longer with us. This plan would have been fine, except for the fact that Bruce 2.0 died within days (okay, it was hours) of coming home. We decided that the universe was trying to tell us to be truthful with our two-year old. (And that there was something majorly wrong with our tank.) After breaking the news that Brucie was sick and had to go bye-bye, Theo immediately asked for a goldfish. Guess he wasn't as attached to Brucie as Andy and I thought!

July pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157621944696066/detail/

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Kitchen renovations and "big butts"

What can I say? Kitchen renovations distracted me from blogging for the last two months. WE ARE NOW FINISHED. All new hardwood for the entire first floor, new kitchen cabinets, new kitchen counters, new vanity and mirror in the bathroom, all new light fixures, and all new furniture in the family room and kitchen. Needless to say, our lives have been in shambles for weeks now! Believe it or not, I'm sick of eating out... (Kitchen pics will be posted on my Flickr account soon!)

Theo is now two years old and is as precocious as ever. His vocabulary is exploding, and he's talking in more and more complete sentences everyday. Recent favorites include, "Ready, set, go," and "Knock, knock!" He is also very into comparing big and little things, which was fine until the day he came up to me, pointed at my butt and said, "Big butt?" That was the day that I decided to eat only celery for the rest of the summer. (Don't worry, that thought was out of my head by dinner time.)

The official start of summer was mostly met with our home improvements and yucky weather. The poor boy hasn't been to the pool once this summer! Too hot, too cold, too rainy, too many walls needing to be painted in the kitchen! Fortunately, we've managed to squeeze in some great playdates with many of our favorite peeps. One of our favorite playdates were with Uncle Craig and Aunt Amy straight from Jakarta! It was so nice to get to hang out with them when they were home for some R&R. Also, we were happy to have Granny SuSu visit for a whole week in the beginning of June! With her visit we were able to celebrate a great second birthday at our favorite Korean restaurant. Theo got many great gifts... including his very first fish, which he promplty named Bruce. Yes, he's still obsessed with Finding Nemo, but we've managed to broaden his horizons to also include Wall.E, Toy Story, and Star Wars. Andy feels it's never to early to start Jedi training, especially since the kid already owns 4 lightsabers!

Here are some of our latest pics - May was a light month but we picked up the pace in June!

May: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157620698420647/detail/

June: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157620871007556/detail/

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Happy spring?

Where did April go? Is Spring here yet?!?!?! Why so many questions about the weather and the time of year??? BECAUSE I'M SICK AND TIRED OF COLD WEATHER AND RAIN! So is Theo, poor kid can't wait to be outside as much as possible!

As the Barretts try to survive the swine flu (and the extreme paranoia) that has infilitrated our sweet little suburb, we also are focused on the last few weeks of school, a certain young man's second birthday, and the pending remodel of our kitchen and family room. Andy and I continue are streak of pure crazy as we plan to rip out floors, cabinets, and countertops to start our summer. All I can say is that it will be a lot of work, but I CANNOT wait to destroy the ceramic tile that is the bane of my existence...

Since being the world's cutest ring bearer, Theo has had a visit from the Easter Bunny, become an expert tooth-brusher, and now enjoys "cooking" with his mommy. (Hold the laughter please, we all know I don't cook!) He's also becoming more social by the day... always asking to see friends like Bobby and Emma. I think we're in for a busy summer with lots of playdates around town!

Link to latest pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157617596991484/detail/

And a little video:

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