A New Kind of Play

(by Lena) It's been so much fun watching Karis learn new things. We're constantly amazed at the things she does and understands. She's becoming a little girl!

Her play time has definitely been different lately. She will sit and try to figure things out. For example, she'll put pegs in holes (all eight of them) and then pull them out. It's fun to watch her stay focused and be patient. We're used to seeing her pick up toys, stick them in her mouth, maybe shake it, and then move on to the next thing.

On Christmas day, Karis received a picture book of everyday things. Yesterday morning, she pointed to objects when I asked her where they are. I asked her, "Where is the kitty?" and she pointed to the cat on the page with about five different things. She also identified the banana, pear, baby, ball, and of course, the dog. I pointed a few times to the swan and taught her what it was. She had never seen a picture of one before. Later that day, I brought the book to Karis so that Derek could see her point to the pictures. She pointed to the same objects, and surprisingly she remembered which one was the swan!

When she plays with her friends, she is definitely more aware of them and tries to interact with them (as opposed to parallel play). The other day, a friend of mine came over. Karis put a toy on her lap and pushed the button to show her what it could do. I expected Karis to watch the toy, but instead, she was watching my friend's face to see her reaction. She was so happy to see that my friend was amazed at her toy.

It's also been nice that she understands more of the things I'm saying to her. She understands when I tell her we're going "outside," or when it's time for a "bath." She'll come when I ask her -- except when I have a diaper in hand -- but she'll get me a diaper if I ask.

Seeing her leave the baby stage and become a toddler could be a sad thing, but with another baby on the way, it's a welcomed thing for me. The more she can understand and do by herself, the easier it will be to have two under the age of 16 months!

Oh, and one fun thing she does -- when she sees a football game on TV, she'll raise both hands and we'll say "touchdown!" She'll keep doing that every time she looks back at the TV.

The Petting Zoo

We took Karis to her first visit to the zoo. It was a petting zoo located in San Juan Capistrano.

Daddy had to show Karis what to do.

He then helped her so she could try to do it by herself.

Eventually she started to get the hang of it.

Pretty soon she was doing it all by herself.

Here is a short video of Karis feeding a mule.

At the zoo, she also saw a cow, turtle, geese, birds, goats, and llamas. She went on her first pony ride which she enjoyed and was so sad when she had to get off.

Happy Birthday, Jesus! We made you a cake!

One thing I (Lena) would like to do with Karis every Christmas Eve is to bake a birthday cake for Jesus. What would be better than doing one of my favorite things (baking), with my daughter, as a way to help remember why we celebrate Christmas?

This year, given that Karis is only one years old, we made a very simple cake. We made boxed vanilla cake which she helped me mix. I then made a cream cheese frosting and she helped me put it on top of the cake (for about four seconds and then I took over).

We took the cake to my sister's house for Christmas dinner and enjoyed the cake with everyone. I'm excited to have Karis help me a little more each year and to do something different with each one.

Here are a couple photos of Karis mixing the cake batter. It was a messy job, but someone had to do it.

She couldn't figure out how to use the whisk, so she just put her hands in the bowl.

"mmm, I know this handful of raw eggs, oil and flour is going to be delicious!"

The proud bakers:

Karis dipped her fingers in the cake to "test" it to make sure it was okay for everyone to eat.

Enjoying the fruits of our labor:

A Day At The Mall To Meet Santa

Today Karis and I went to the mall (Fashion Island). I wanted to relax and enjoy the day since I'm finally done baking, shopping and writing Christmas cards. I also wanted to get a photo of Karis and Santa.

We waited in the long line to meet Santa which surprisingly only took about a half hour.

Karis enjoyed meeting some people in line and checking out the mall.

She took a quick little ride on a wooden pony just before meeting Santa. She was being a little over-dramatic, if you ask me.

While in line, one lady asked me, "So are there going to be smiles or tears?" I assured her that it would be all smiles with Karis. She's never met anyone she doesn't like and is quite the social butterfly. I think that's why I like these photos so much. She took one look at Santa and wanted nothing to do with him.

That's okay... I don't really like Santa either. I'd be okay if this was Karis' first and last photo session with him.

We walked around a little, took photos, and met a lady with her dog. Karis was so excited to see a mini Greyhound in a Santa jacket. The lady had to stop b/c she didn't know why my baby was smiling and so happy.

We watched the carousel and then stopped at the water fountain. The mall is surprisingly a great place to be when you don't have a shopping list. It was quite peaceful and fun!

Decorating The Christmas Tree With My Little Helper

We finally got a Christmas tree up! I know, it's two days before Christmas... we've been a little busy and the tree hasn't been a high priority (it probably will when the kids are older). We just wanted a tree to sit by when we open up gifts on Christmas morning.

I pulled out the decorations and started to put them on the tree. Karis was quite interested in what I was doing. She watched me as I went to the couch, picked up an ornament and then walked over to the tree to hang it up. She wanted to help me so I picked her up as I continued to hang the ornaments. I was surprised she didn't grab the ornaments out of my hand and shove them in her mouth. She just enjoyed being held and watching what I was doing. When I put her down, she quickly got to work on putting up her own "ornaments" on the tree.

Karis' 12 Month Check-Up

Karis had her 12 month check-up earlier today. Derek doesn't usually go with us to her check-ups, but he wanted to come with us today. I'm so glad he did! Karis was full of energy. She wouldn't stop moving and kept trying to escape the exam room. She wanted to see what everyone in the office was doing, and also try to find the baby that was crying (she was very concerned). She received two big vaccinations and a finger prick, which did not make her happy. This seemed like the most painful set of vaccinations so far. It was nice to have an extra set of hands (and comforting arms), not to mention help carrying her up and down the stairs to the doctor's office.

To our surprise, Karis is now in the 80th percentile for height. I knew she hit a growth spurt by her eating habits and the fact that we pretty much skipped the 9-12 months clothes in her closet. She has hovered around the 50th percentile up until now. We're curious as to who she gets her height from! She is in the 70th percentile for weight and head circumference. Everything else checked out great!

We grabbed lunch afterwards and then I took Karis home for what should be a good long nap this afternoon (I'm hoping!).

Finally, another tooth!

Now that Karis is 1, she should be eating what we eat. But, since she has had only two teeth for the longest time, I haven't been able to feed her any differently. The other day, I stocked up on more baby food because I didn't expect Karis to be able to really change her eating habits. But, lo and behold, a third tooth has finally broken through. We're thinking the fourth will pop out any day now (based on the drooling). Hopefully the others will follow and she'll be able to bite things and eat the things we do!

Here's a crazy picture of her where you can see a tooth on top coming in.

Thanks Grandma!

The Robinson family wants to give a shout out to Karis' nana. She came out for Karis' party. She drove a long way (not easy doing it alone) and helped us prepare for the party. She did so much for us! Thank you also for Karis' very first pony!

A Celebration for Karis' 1st Year of Life

We had a party with our friends and family to celebrate Karis' 1st birthday. There were lots of people which made things a bit hectic, but it was great to be surrounded by so many people who support and love our family. We had so much fun and we hope our guests did too!

We started the festivities with a Korean custom. It is a time when the child symbolically foretells her own future. For this ritual, the child is dressed in traditional Korean clothes and seated before a table of various foods and objects.

The objects we had in front of her were noodles, a pencil, rice, a ruler, money, and a Bible. The child is encouraged to pick up an object from the table, as it is believed the one selected first will foretell the child's future. The noodle symbolizes long life, a pencil means wisdom, rice is prosperity, ruler is good with hands, money symbolizes wealth, and we set out a Bible for ministry. Karis picked the rice. She stuck her hand in the little bowl and didn't pull it out for quite awhile. I don't know if it was because she was hungry or because it was fun to play with.

The theme of the party was "puppies" -- one of Karis' favorite things.

A few of our friends brought their pups so that Karis could play with them. She loved it since most of the time she just admires them from afar or through a glass pane.

We had Italian food for lunch and I baked plenty of stuff for dessert.

I even made Karis her own little smash cake.

It took her a little while to figure out what to do with her cake, but she eventually got it.

For our guests, we sent them home with some shortbread cookies. We even had some raw hide bones for our four-legged friends.

We have had a great year with this precious gift of ours. We are so thankful for her good health, her spirit, and the joy she brings to us and others. We look forward to another great year!

Approaching 1 Year

Grandma Robinson is in town and she has been surprised at what Karis is now doing. I realized it's been a long time since I've posted about Karis' new "tricks" and development. So, as she is about to turn 1 year old, here is what she's been up to (sorry, no time right now to post any accompanying photos or video):


She walks everywhere. It took her about month to get the hang of it. She is pretty fearless and still falls often. But she catches herself pretty well and avoids falling into large objects. I'm surprised she hasn't seriously hurt herself. I'm amazed because so many times I jump out of my seat thinking for sure she's going to hit her head on a table or wall... but she never does. We rarely see her crawl anymore and she won't hold our hand while she walks. She often takes off in a restaurant or into a large crowd at church and doesn't look back.


She took one lesson from dad on how to climb stairs and quickly got the hang of it. Going down took a couple more lessons, but she's now a pro. We no longer have to go up and down with her. We do however have to remind her that there's no playing on the stairs and that once she starts her ascent or descent, she cannot stop.

She likes to dance/bounce to music.

She loves to clap when we say "Yay!" or when she sees other people clapping (mainly on TV). Her clapping turned into her sign for "more." She does it often in her high chair or when I ask her if she wants to eat. The other day, someone was feeding her and she said, "Wow, Karis is so happy when she eats." Little did she know that she wasn't feeding Karis fast enough and she wanted more food!

Solid food is now a large part of her diet. Her favorites are Cheerios, fruit, tofu and cheese. She still only has two teeth.

Her hair is finally starting to grow. She still doesn't have much but the hair that she does have is growing longer. She actually has enough to have bed head when she wakes up.

One thing she's been doing recently is taking a burp cloth, or a clean rag or tissue and she wipes things down. It looks like she's going around dusting the chairs and wiping the floor down. We really need to develop this so that she can start helping around the house.

She still speaks mainly babble, but she does clearly say "dada" and "mama."

She does this big cheesy smile where she grins real big, squints her eyes and throws her chin up in the air. She flashes this smile when she's happy, flirting or has her hands on something she knows she's not supposed to (i.e., the remote, a pen, bills)

She still hasn't shown any signs of stranger anxiety. She loves meeting new people and getting their attention.