Last night, as I looked at the pictures from Claire's dol (first birthday party), I started to cry. You see, in Korean culture, a dol is one of the most significant birthdays in a person's life. It is, in fact, THE most important birthday in a young person's life...
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Exactly one year ago today, I began to go into labor with Claire. Sure, we were sent home from the hospital at first, but we returned 10 hours later to be immediately admitted and our Claire Emmanuelle was born at 9:35pm on September 30, 2010. I can't believe my little girl will be turning 1 tomorrow. J and I have been astounded by Claire's growth — both physical and mental — in the past couple of weeks. J's parents, like most grandparents, were concerned that she was not eating enough when they arrived. As a result, they have been feeding her like crazy...
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It has been exactly one week since J's parents arrived from Hong Kong to help me with the last few weeks of my pregnancy. They will stay in the U.S. and continue to help out for the next few months which will undoubtedly be tremendously difficult with two babies that are only 13 months apart. I have stated before that I don't have the best relationship with my in-laws. It's not that we don't get along — we do, but we are far from being BFFs and I still feel a bit uncomfortable around them. Add to that the language and cultural barriers, and the fact that I am a highly private person...
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Claire loves books. This bibliophile of a mother couldn't be more proud, as our 11-month-old's favorite "toys" are books...
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Today I woke up and remembered how a decade ago, I saw smoke rising from lower Manhattan as I drove along the New Jersey Turnpike. I remembered how I, along with other drivers, stopped our cars and turned our radios on full blast while we stared in horror at another plane crashing into the second tower. I had been on my way into Manhattan at that moment. I had been on my way to Chinatown, which meant that I would have passed Ground Zero on the way to my destination. For once I could not feel more relieved that I had been running late. Needless to say I did not make it into New York City that morning. But I will never forget...
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