We woke up with great anticipation for the day AND a mission: Find somewhere to print some photos. By this point we'd tried five other options and I was entertaining the idea of having to leave Jack Cruz without him having 'together' photos. But when all else failed, we went to the kinkos at the bottom of our apartment building and just asked that they print a few out on cardstock, but low and behold they had photo paper too! Wahoo!!!!
We headed to our agency early, but whose surprised to know that Jack Cruz was already in the lobby waiting for us? Such a sweet boy. After a hug from our boy, we also had the privilege of meeting Appa, Noona, and her beautiful little daughter.
Then off to lunch we went. Jack Cruz walked hand in hand with J and I...I think mostly because he knew we'd let him JUMP the whole way!
We arrived at a traditional BBQ restaraunt where we sat on the floor with our shoes at the front door. As soon as Jack Cruz saw the birthday cake we'd brought, it was a done deal. I got a quick terrible shot of the cake about .2 seconds after JC's hand went in it!! :D Gotta be quick with this one. A quick Happy Birthday was sung and the cake was fair game.
He absolutely loved feeding us bites, which really were gargantuan pieces.
And can I just say this anti chocolate cake Momma ate her body weight of that stuff?! I told Justin he didn't dare let this kid get ahold of Octopus bc everything in his hands went into my mouth!
It tickles me that he trusts us enough to let us feed him and that he enjoys feeding us.
After lunch, our foster family took us to one of Jack Cruz's favorite parks, Olympic Park. (The second we parked it started raining.) It was next door to the Olympic Soccer stadium and was really beautiful. Across from it was a beautiful mountain with a trail and park called Sky Park. I cannot even believe she was able to hike so high with my baby on her back! Omma was able to show me some photos I had received previously and tell me where they were taken.
As soon as we got there, Jack Cruz went nuts!! He totally knew where he was and ran straight for the water. He loved to splash and giggle and 'reach' for the ducks. He also loved picking the flowers (sorry Korean flower pot arrangers...) and throwing them in the water. He was sweet enough to give me one!
He's also quite the photographer and got several great selfies with our iPhones. We certainly love all his close ups.
That's of course when he isn't 90 to nothing. Nurse Lee made sure to tell me numerous times that she nicknamed him Power Man! Too cute. And boy does her nickname hold true for our little fella. He is FAST and STRONG...and of course, AWESOME.
He was soaking wet from all his playing in the rain and had to change clothes before we got back in the car. I loved that not only did Omma dress him in his special birthday outfit, but she changed him into clothing from us as well. She's so sweet and considerate!
It melts my heart to see what an Appa's boy he is. Our boy is SO LOVED.
Goodbye was hard...very hard...but it was quick which made it a lot easier. Kinda like ripping a bandaid off. And it was also in the middle of the busy road in the pouring rain, which thankfully gave some laugh factor to it and J and I were able to squish across the street and giggle a little too. And there was talk of me deserving new shoes since my favorites are pretty much now ruined.
Just for my memory...I want to remember the embrace from Omma and how she had JC 'telling me' Omma, Kwin cha na, Omma, Kwin cha nah (Mommy, it's ok. Mommy, it's ok.) and those precious kisses, until next time, in the rain. We not only love and were sad to leave Jack Cruz, but this amazing extended family we now have as well.
We thought this was our last time going through the subway but then later decided to conclude our trip at J's favorite Korean restaraunt, Gusto Taco. (My fave was The Butterfinger Pancake, but we didn't want to go all the way to Gangnam.)
I tried to pay for extra cheese but the sweet girl wouldn't let me. I thought that meant no extras, but then she told me she'd put lots of extra on ours! And for the record, the menu says these nachos serve four, but I can assure you, J and I had no problem taking these down.
And the cool storefront.
Happy Birthday Jack Cruz. It was an amazing day, and the privilege to love you is unspeakable. We can't wait until Forever.
{thankful for}
our children
a precious woman choosing birth
a precious woman choosing to 'mom the gap'
God's amazing timing, allowing us to spend this sacred day with the other family who loves him as much as we do
fun in the rain
grape juice
belly laughs
popos and ah nas
chocolate cake
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