Hooray for the Paks!

what's in a name?

2008-05-31T21:51:00.001-07:00

Galatians 6:14- But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

It has come to our attention that, as is the tendency with blogs, ours has become a bit of a soap box lately for self-glorification. All this time it has been Hooray for the Paks, when really it should have been Hooray with the Paks. As in Hooray for Jesus, our Lord and Savior from whom and through whom all good things come. So after careful consideration, the Paks have decided to retire with love the Hooray for the Paks blog in favor of a new, shorter, simpler URL: www.thepaklife.com. Please continue to follow along as we make the transition; we look forward to sharing with all of you Jesus’ work in our lives.

it's a boy!

2008-05-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

And we couldn't be more excited! Sam and I had talked both about the possibility of it being a boy or a girl, and I had thought I was equally excited for either. So when we had our ultrasound, I was surprised to realize just how happy I was to find out it was a boy! A little ball player for Sam. After he had himself a bit of a weep, Sam immediately went looking for a glove and ball for his little man.

Kayla, of course, is getting less excited by the day, and has gone from kissing my tummy and pointing to the "baby" to crying and turning away anytime I mention his impending arrival. I think it's finally sinking in for her what's to come and she is not at all happy about it. We always tell her how much we love her and how much fun the new baby will be, but I guess you can only explain so much to her at this point.

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and support for our growing family. We are so blessed to have such wonderful community around us and look forward to raising our brood here in Seattle. For Christ's Glory!

mother's day

2008-05-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

Since Mother's Day is always inevitably a Sunday, we didn't think we'd really get to celebrate. BUT as a surprise blessing, Sam ended up working only a half day, so we got to go out for a late(really late) Mother's Day brunch. More like dinner actually.

Who knew there'd still be a wait at Spaghetti Factory at 2:30 in the afternoon? Kayla and I passed the time doing a little photo shoot outside in the parking lot. Doesn't she look fierce?

Then we took a little walk around the block and were lucky enough to catch the train go past. Kayla was so impressed, she couldn't stop clapping. "Hooray train!"

Kayla did her best, of course, a toddler can only be patient so long... Luckily we were seated just in time, not a moment too soon. There are no pictures from lunch, alas, we were all too ravenous to take time to pose for any glamour shots.

Afterwards, we followed up our scrumptious meal with an even more scrumptious family nap, something we never get to do on Sunday afternoons. All in all, a fabulous laid-back day to celebrate the ups and downs of being a mom. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Hope you all had a blessed day as well.

livy's birthday

2008-05-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

I'm SO EXCITED you came to my PARTY!

Here, put on this hat

Check out this cool bouncy house!

This is so fun!

Livy come jump with me!

I'm good, thanks

Suit yourself, you're missing out

Time for a swing break

Everyone smile for the camera!

Kayla, you too!

C'mon Kayla, say "Cheese!"

Oh were we taking PICTURES?

Happy Birthday dear Livy,....

Dude, whats up with my candle?

Happy 3rd Birthday Olivia!

preschool days

2008-04-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

I don't remember going to preschool when I was 20 months old, but apparently formal education starts quite young here in the Pacific Northwest! Kayla has been going to the Olympic Toddler Cooperative Preschool for almost five months now and loves every minute of it!

I still think sometimes she might be a little too young for it but she has so much fun there that its hard now to imagine what we did with our Monday mornings before this.

Things that Kayla loves about preschool:

1. The first three minutes of circle time, after which she can't stand sitting still any longer and must must MUST gallop around the room and over to the book corner

2. Eating and spitting out in disgust the rice, sand, or whatever happens to be in the sensory table that day.

3. Half-finishing all her art projects. A few weeks ago, we made these very handsome panda masks, but Kayla only got as far as gluing on one left eye before she completely lost interest.

OK, clearly Kayla is not nearly at all ready for preschool. Who am I kidding? Ah well, at least we're having fun, right? Right.

whistler take 2

2008-04-09T17:28:00.001-07:00

Some group shots from our trip to Whistler, courtesy of our friend Ryan. Or, the cast of MTV Asia's The Real World: Whistler. Take your pick.

whistler fun

2008-04-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

Finally getting around to posting on our big trip to Whistler! We all had a blast, especially Kayla, who has courageously overcome her irrational fear of snow only to be terrified by her new fear of indoor pools. What?!?!? Oh well. One thing at a time.

Kayla putting on a brave face for the day long road trip...

Enjoying a breakfast of champions with daddy (sorry to our dear friends who are not yet accustomed to waking up at the crack of dawn to tearful cries for "cack! cack!". Kayla's not cursing at you, she's just asking for some breakfast....) before he headed out for a long day of snowboarding

A second breakfast of champions with momma at McDonalds...

Exploring the snow and Whistler Village...

Competing in the hoola hoop Olympic trials...

And taking home the Gold!

Crashing story time at the local library..

May I...touch your baby?

Relishing our 30 dollar teriyaki chicken. Resort tax tasty!

Exploring the village with daddy on day two. It was a little colder this day and I think everyone was starting to get tired...Kayla was not a fan of the puffy jacket. Makes it hard to bend your elbows and such.

Unconsolable crying at the pool. Luckily, there was an ice skating rink nearby so the day was not a total loss. Sam even made a new friend!

It was a great trip and we were glad to share it with some old friends we don't get to see too often anymore. Thanks friends, for your graciousness in making it a family-friendly trip for Kayla. When we get pictures of Sam's escapades on the top of the mountain, I'll be sure to post those for you all too. You know, all the action shots of him in the half-pipe. Stay tuned!

ouweeeee!

2008-03-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, Kayla had her first major injury. Poor thing tripped and cut her foot open on who-knows-what on our kitchen floor. So much for going to the grocery store, we ended up spending the whole afternoon lounging in bed, squealing dramatically..."ouweeee!!!!! ouweeeee!!!!"

"ouweee....look at my foot mama!"

"It hurts!!!!"

"I can't go on...."

"...(oh, look, a hanger)..."

"No really...I can't go on."

"No pictures, please...just leave me here to my misery"

***********

Our little drama queen. *sigh* too bad. We really needed those groceries, too. Luckily, we were able to scrape by with what was left in the cupboard that night for dinner. Mmmm-mmm good, bagels and tofu.

Pssst. For those of you who are dialing us now demanding we take Kayla to the ER for a tetanus shot, here's a shot of the foot on day two. See? Amazing what a little soap and water can do.

24 hours later and Kayla is back to her old self. Look out, grocery store! Tonight, we feast!

"pak" in the day: part 2!

2008-03-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today Sam and I celebrate our fourth year of marriage. As we look back, we decided to do a special Pak in the Day of our wedding ceremony in Hawaii. For those of you who missed it, didn't know us then, or even if you were there with us, please enjoy!

Pastor Lief did our ceremony twice, in Seattle the first time, and for our one year anniversary here, in Hawaii, for round two.

That piggy back beach shot was actually quite exhausting to stage, but the end result looks romantic and spontaneous, don't you think?

My brother KJ was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2. It was great to see him overcome one of his bigger fears of large crowds to be able to take part in our ceremony.

Not sure how the photographers made us all look so glamorous that day, but this is definitely how I will always remember it.

This beach was across from my family's house in Hawaii, where we had the wedding. They sold it later that summer; the wedding was the last time I was there.

We know, we know its hard to imagine there was life before Kayla (especially from the looks of this blog!) but believe us, there was! And what a wonderful life it was (and still very much is!) Here's to the start, in part, of it all...

1up

2008-03-10T21:36:00.001-07:00

What's got Kayla so mad?

Maybe this has something to do with it...

prosperity gospel: "a bunch of crap called gospel"

2008-03-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

We recently had the privilege of Pastor John Piper speak at our church for a conference presented by The Resurgence, a theology ministry started by Mars Hill Church. and it simply blew us away. I was amazed by his preaching and passion for the Gospel in the bits and pieces of his sessions I could catch while running around working the conference. Recently during a discussion about the Sufficiency of God, this sermon was mentioned. In the words of a fellow blogger... Prepare to take some strong medicine. Pastor Piper pulls no punches.

Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

new year, new school

2008-03-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

There is nothing more terrifying for a first time mom than being at a preschool PTA meeting for one-year-olds, listening to your parent coordinator tell you about how to pick a preschool for your child. Because yes, Kayla goes to preschool and yes at 18 months she's already behind, and yes,the placements for next September are procured at the end of March.

So anyway, there I was, wondering to myself since when gumming on plastic food and throwing sand came to be considered school. Bewildered as those around me debated the various factors to weigh when scouting out preschools: classroom layout, curriculum options, teaching philosophy. It was beyond me what curriculum options or teaching philosophies there might be for someone who thought my toothbrush was a baby doll.

For those of you not privileged enough to be in on this nightmare, let me enlighten you on a process they call "registration". First you research preschools in your area. Then you pick three or four you really like. Then you schedule a classroom tour with the parent coordinator to see if their classroom would be a good fit for your child. Then you fill out applications for all preschools you wish to apply for, and get offered a spot based on the random lottery number assigned to you by the preschool association. Once offered a spot, you must turn in a deposit within one week of the offer, or they will give your spot to the next child on the list.

Now those who know me know that I disdain all forms of alpha-stay-at-home-mom agendas and simultaneously am obsessed with redeeming all forms of alpha-stay-at-home-mom agendas. It goes without saying that I immediately went home that night, researched, visited, and applied to four different placements and ensured Kayla's spot in of course, my top pick. Naturally.

And yet I can't help wondering where exactly in this picture the education is taking place. I am having a hard time reconciling Kayla's premature preschool adventures with the heart transformation and nurturing of the mind I really desire for her.

Deuteronomy 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Unfortunately, training a child in the way they should go is a lot harder and more complex than picking the right preschool. As a parent, it is much easier to focus on the agendas and to-do lists. What is really difficult is the daily, hourly, moment-by-moment instruction that we are truly called to. I am constantly asking myself, am I truly equipped to shepherd a living being, an eternal soul?

Maybe I should just not take myself too seriously.

partay!

2008-02-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Ecclesiastes 2:24

A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God

No, thats not the "Drunk of the Week" from the latest Stranger. That's just Kayla at her friend Jalen's 1st birthday party this past weekend. And that queasy look isn't from one too many shots. Its from an overload of cheesy jalepenos and chicken nuggets. Now we don't usually let Kayla K.O. on fried bits of cholesterol, but it was a special occasion and we decided to bestow a little grace on our bundle of love. Needless to say, she took full advantage.

It's been a relatively calm last few weeks here at the Pak house. Sam's been working a regular schedule, Kayla's been sleeping like a champ at night, and the laundry is miraculously getting done. I always get to feeling a little guilty when life feels too good, and things are going so well. But like it says in Ecclesiastes, there truly is a time for everything, and if God was giving us a season of rest, then rest we would do. And no better way to recharge your batteries than to party it up Issaquah style with a little cake, a little baby, and a little XBOX 360.

Kayla couldn't have agreed more. Always the social butterfly, she spent most of the evening charming her fellow partygoers with her "everything I do you love, right?" antics. As for Sam and Liz, this became the perfect opportunity to indulge in a rarely performed act of eating-a-real-meal-with-two-hands while-sitting-down. That's all thanks to our friend Wing, who patiently stacked dominoes for her to knock over for a good half an hour. (thanks, Wing)

There were quite a few toddler toys around, much more awesome than the one's Kayla has at home. Alas, all our one and a half going on 21 year old wanted to play was "Rock Band" on XBOX 360 with her Dad and his friends. You gotta hand it to her, though, that girl's got EXCELLENT form! (note the chicken nugget in one hand...)

Who knew rest and relaxation could be so exhausting? Once again, this is not a drunken party scene, just Kayla and the guest of honor, both up a little past their bedtimes and just too pooped out to party any more. Happy birthday, Jalen, and thank you to the Wu's for throwing yet another fabulous party. Truly, no one does it better. Three cheers for first birthdays, for working hard and playing hard, and for living life to the glory of God.

fanfestful outing

2008-01-28T22:16:00.001-08:00

Habakkuk 3:18-19- yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength;

I bet you didn't even know the Mariner's still had fans! Well, apparently they do and apparently, they're us! And not rain nor sleet nor snow nor blistering cold could keep us away from taking part in the annual Mariner's Fanfest at Safeco Field.

Kayla mostly entertained herself by people watching and fixating on her new mittens, but it was much too cold and crowded to do much running around. Sam was having fun, too, but he hid it well.

We tried our hand briefly at "playing catch" with Kayla out in right field. Not sure if she got that it was all a game or if she was just insulted that we were throwing things at her. At any rate, we decided it might be a bit early to be getting Kayla her own glove. I guess we'll just work on switch hitting this year.

After that fantastic display of eye-hand coordination , we decided to let Kayla sit out on the pitching portion of the day. Sam, on the other hand, well, not to be a boastful wife, but you can see who the true sportsman of the family is.

One of the highlights of being a parent is seeing your kid light up with joy when you take them some place "really fun", or the anticipation you feel when you know they're about to experience something "really awesome". Kayla, as you know, is quite the bubble burster on that particular aspect of parenthood, but we don't mind. After all, it keeps us humble and reminds us where our real joy is supposed to be anyway.

toddler rules

2008-01-14T21:52:00.000-08:00

The older Kayla gets, the more apparent it becomes to Sam and Liz that they are clearly sinners saved by grace, utterly helpless apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. The most current lesson in parenting concerns the never ending struggle to maintain consistency with regards to rules and discipline. In general, the Pak household tends to be pretty laidback, and thus the list is short and sweet.

Clean up your own messes
Don't touch means don't touch
Share your toys and keep your fingers out of your friends ears/noses/mouths
Tables and counter tops are not interchangeable for chairs
If you must throw a hissy fit, do it in the privacy of your own room and rejoin the rest of us when you've maintained your composure

Kayla, on the other hand, has a fairly extensive list of rules. A modicum of conduct that Sam and Liz have had to learn the hard way, trial by fire style. For those of you who have yet to travel the unchartered terrain of toddler-hood, we thought we'd share this list with you. Perhaps now when your time comes, you might be a little more prepared than we were.

Toddler Rules
author unknown

If it is on, I must turn it off.
If it is off, I must turn it on.
If it is folded, I must unfold it.
If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.
If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.
If it is high, it must be reached.
If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.
If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.
If it has leaves, they must be picked.
If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.
If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.
If it is closed, it must be opened.
If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If it has drawers, they must be rifled.
If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.
If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.
If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.
If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
If it is paper, it must be torn.
If it has buttons, they must be pressed.
If the volume is low, it must go high.
If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.
If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.
If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.
If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.
If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.
If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.
If it is not food, it must be tasted.
If it IS food, it must not be tasted.
If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
If it is a carseat, it must be protested with arched back.

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord

You're welcome

happy new year!

2007-12-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, with out of town family visiting, Sam's middle of the night scare, and Kayla going on a nap strike, what should have been a restful break was instead marked by chronic and ongoing sleep deprivation. Lucky for us, though, the Holy Spirit has made good on His promise to be our rest. Despite being a little bleary around the eyes, the entire Pak household is in good spirits and looking forward to the New Year. And Kayla, graciously, has humored us with a little dance to ring it all in! Enjoy and best wishes to you and yours in 2008.

merry christmas

2007-12-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:25-27

Christmas is upon us and the energy of the season is thick in the air. As Christians, this is a time of year when we are preparing to celebrate the gift of new life and the birth of Christ. But instead of being filled to overflowing with joy and peace, at the Pak house there is a gnawing sense of of stress and anxiety that has been slowly building since the day after Thanksgiving.

The season never starts out in a bad way, in fact it really begins quite innocently. The trimming of the tree, the careful scheduling of holiday outings and events, the meticulous planning for those "just right how did you know" gifts for friends and family. But then the tree topper gets lopsided and events get double booked and all that last minute gift buying turns into frantic overnight shipping fees. Soon, before you know it, all those good intentions and hopeful wishes turn into a stressed out Liz, an overtired Kayla and a bewildered and exhausted Sam.

Last night, Sam had a seizure. A frightening middle of the night ordeal where for that haunting hour everything we should have been holding close but were really too busy to think about hung in the balance. For that brief moment in time we were gripped in terror, unable to worry about tomorrow because all of a sudden today was no longer a guarantee.

As the family spends today recuperating from our late night ordeal, we have had time to reflect. The seizure was a brutal reminder of the true meaning of Christmas, and the blessings we have received from our merciful Father. Sometimes we get so caught up in our day to day we forget His promises and provisions. Yet He is patient to remind us and for that we are thankful.

So what if the gifts don't arrive on time or the Christmas cards don't get sent. So we don't hit all the tourist stops on the Seattle Holiday Must-Do List. It's a little late in coming, but this year, the Paks have decided to forego the usual holiday madness and spend some time cherishing the real gifts of the season: salvation and sanctification in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessings to you and your family and Merry Christmas from the Paks. Hope you all have a fabulous Holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

happy birthday samson!

2007-12-16T11:38:00.000-08:00

Last Friday December 14th heralded the quarter century landmark of Sam's 25 years here on planet earth. We celebrated by having a mini-celebration/semi-surprise party on Saturday, complete with coconut cupcakes, a wii tournament, and some old school go karting. Thanks so much to everyone who came, special gold star goes to Mike Johnson who partied with us from beginning to end, Joel Nickerson for staying up way past his bedtime, and Wing and Ryan for officially buying us every game system we've ever owned.

Highlights from this past year:

Discovering the Aquarium

Mariner's Baseball Games minus the Moose

Our first family road trip to Vancouver BC

Slumming it at Lake Tahoe with Mars Hill's High School Ministry "Proxy"

Getting a PS3: Seriously, thanks guys

Thanks again to everyone who came out to help us celebrate. It was great to see you all, and we sincerely missed those of you who couldn't make it. Next year, no excuses! We expect to see all your smiling faces.

walking in a winter wonderland

2007-12-02T22:09:00.001-08:00

While Liz was at the women's training day at church, Sam had Kayla all to himself. And were the two of them in for a treat. The first snow of the year! Sam could hardly wait to take Kayla out to experience it for herself. It didn't go so well.

What the heck is this stuff? It's freezing! And its touching me!

No seriously, Dad, I hate this. Lets do something else

Something inside! INSIDE! Oh save me....

What kind of kid hates snow? But Sam is no child-torturer, so he relents. The two retreat to the toasty warmth of the house to finish their snack. Back inside, Kayla enjoys the beauty of the snow from the safety of the living room couch.

Hey, Dad, check out this white fluffy stuff!

It's totally amazing! I've never seen that before!

Wouldn't it be fun to touch it for ourselves?

Are you kidding?!?!?! We can go out there?!?!? Well, what are we waiting for?????

Amazing how quick these kids turn around! And who was Sam to deny his daughter a second chance? Just to make sure he had his bases covered though, round two was conducted with an extra toasty jacket. For maximum snow enjoyment.

Oh, man, I can barely contain my excitement. I don't even care that I've lost my hands!

Here goes nothing....

Wait a second....

Now I remember!

I hate this!

Its cold and its touching me! Dad, help, its touching me and I lost my hands!

Let's go back inside!

Ah, the fickleness of toddlerhood. We can't wait for Whistler next Spring! Stay tuned as the saga is sure to continue...

gee, that was fast...

2007-11-29T21:43:00.000-08:00

A month or so ago, Sam was working himself up into a tizzy over the fact that Kayla couldn't quite walk yet. He did everything he could to encourage her, but to no avail. No amount of cajoling, bribing, or prompting could motivate her. She remained stubbornly a butt-scooter.

A seasoned father overheard Sam's woes and was quick to both commiserate and offer encouragement. "When my wife and I had our first child, we made the same mistake, the whole encouraging walking thing. With the second child we learned our lesson. We took a much smarter course of action: we discouraged walking. You know, pushing her down when she stood up. "

At the time both confusing and ludicrous, this pep talk now makes perfect sense. Since our post on Halloween, Kayla has become an expert walker and life has never been harder. In the few short weeks she's been walking, she's gotten herself lost at Target, almost run over by a car at the grocery store, and pummeled by a stampede of churchgoers taking communion . She's even tried to run away from us! Praise Jesus for short legs and small steps.

Another testimony of little Kayla's strong will and the sanctifying work of parenthood. A breach baby who refused to be flipped, a fluent scooter who refused to crawl, a late walker who refused to be rushed before her time. Slowly, we have come to grips with the fact that Kayla will do things her own way in her own time.

Sam and Liz feel quite blessed that we have been chosen to steward such a passionate child and that God has been so gracious to us as we stumble along on this path of parenthood. We prayed that God would change our child, but in his infinite wisdom and grace, he chose to change us instead. Praise Him who would complete the work that He has started in us, as mysterious as His methods may seem to His children who lack understanding.

If there is one piece of advice these young parents can give to our very specific audience of "people who read this blog and have children under 14 months" its this: Enjoy every step of the way! In this whole walking ordeal, we had gotten so caught up with the destination that we failed to enjoy what Kayla was doing along the way. Now the time has flown by so fast, and although hindsight is 20/20 we can't seem to remember 1/2 the stuff that has happened.

So there you have it. Kayla has accomplished so much over the span of her little life; an awe inspiring testament to our Creator's handiwork. Below are two videos taken almost exactly five months apart. We ask you this, what were you doing five months ago?

lessons from dad

2007-11-11T22:05:00.000-08:00

In this day and age, being a parent has reached a sort of cult perfectionistic status level of hyperactivity. Everyone's feeding their kids super baby food, buying plastic-free toys and organic cotton onesies. We Paks have definitely been victim to the peer pressure as well. For example, does a six month old really need weekly gym classes? Six months and 300 dollars later, well, Kayla's face just about says it all.

So while other parents are taking their wee ones out on fun educational outings and reading them classic children's literature, Sam is schooling Kayla in the art of XBOX domination. Their current favorite game is the oldie but goodie Def Jam: Fight for New York.

Sam's a pretty hard teacher. He's all about tough love, and doesn't let her win just because she's a girl. She's definitely got her dad's competitive spirit! Unfortunately, it looks like its gonna take a lot of practice before Kayla can truly best her old man. She's still working on the "losing graciously" aspect of the game.

All kidding aside, Sam and Liz love little Kayla and are so excited to love, guide and protect her through the next couple decades of her life. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we pray we'll do a good job.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

better late than never?

2007-11-07T14:23:00.000-08:00

Kayla gets her walk on... on her own!

"pak" in the day: part one

2007-11-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

Due to the fact that we jumped on the blog bandwagon so late, many ultra exciting things have happened in the past that may or may not interest you. We'd like to chronicle those things here for your reader enjoyment under a monthly segment we've cleverly named "Pak" in the Day.

For this first installment, we bring you Kayla's birthday. Like, her actual birthday, the day she was born! Little Kayla was a breach baby and was scheduled to be born via C-section on August 16th, 2006. However, she decided to forego the scheduled arrival date by making her appearance unfashionably early on August 10th. Liz was a little nervous by the change in plans, but of course Sam, being the laidback fellow that he is, took it in stride.

The operating room was a little scary, but because of the awesome doctors and nurses at Group Health, Sam and Liz were perfectly at ease. They were also very excited to meet the newest family member! Sam was especially excited to wear his hospital scrubs, which was the only thing we had insisted on in our birth plan. After only 45 minutes of suspenseful waiting, Kayla Grace Pak made her entrance into the world and the Paks took their very first family photo together, courtesy of the friendly operating room anesthesiologist.

The rest of the day was spent in what became typical Kayla fashion for the next three months. Vigorous eating followed by what appeared to be a traumatizing bath followed by hours of wheezy fitful sleeping. The baths really took a lot out of her.

It wasn't how we planned it and it wasn't what we expected but Kayla's birthday was really everything we could ever hope for. We are so grateful and blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who took care of us in those first couple weeks. Thanks, everyone for making what could have been a really stressful time so very wonderful.

trick or treat!

2007-11-01T11:03:00.001-07:00

It's not exactly a big holiday in our family, but Halloween 2007 will forever go down in Pak family history as the day KAYLA TOOK HER VERY FIRST STEPS! Thats right folks, you heard it here first (well, those of you who we didn't tell yesterday, YOU heard it here first. Everyone else heard it here second). It's still not her preferred mode of transportation, and she still prefers a guiding hand from Sam or Liz, but for all intents and purposes she's now officially a walker.

To celebrate, we took our little spider (much love to the Ossingers for the fab costume) down to the Children's Masquerade party at our church. She had a great time "playing" the super fun carnival games and raiding through the candy buckets. We think she likes Twizzlers.

Unfortunately, you only get candy if you WIN the carnival games, and since Kayla got her athleticism from Liz's side of the family, we ended up going home with a pretty small stash. To be honest, it's all basically stolen/pity candy. She didn't win anything.

Great fun for the whole family. Thanks to everyone at Mars Hill Church who made the Masquerade Party possible and to all the people who brought canned and dry goods to donate to Northwest Harvest. We hope to make this an annual Pak family tradition.

paks invade pumpkin patch!

2007-10-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

This week's Pak family adventure took us up to Snohomish, WA to visit the pumpkin patch at The Farm (yes, that's the actual name). This was our inaugural visit together as a family, and we were lucky enough to convince our good friends the Laytons to accompany us. Liz and Kayla went last year, but colicky screams and dreary weather made the undertaking a bit too ambitious to be enjoyed.

This year proved to be quite an improvement. We were blessed with wonderful weather, and Kayla was old enough to (somewhat) enjoy the activities. She was a bit too small for the John Deere tricycles, but with a some help from mom, we managed to steer our way out of the hay maze. Phew! What an undertaking. The corn kernel bin, well, that was met with mixed reviews.

We also enjoyed a family friendly hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and Washington state corn maze (again, actual name). Kayla got a bit impatient waiting for a group of fourth graders to load, but luckily was able to distract herself by eating her jacket sleeve.

The corn maze proved to be more difficult than the hay maze, but our navigators Sam and Alex managed to get us through in record time! A good thing, too, because by then Ms. Kayla was either really tired and ready for a nap or seriously bored out of her mind.

We did have time to sneak in a quick picture or two out in the patch before a nap deprivation meltdown. A note of advice to our readers, come a little earlier in the month for optimal pumpkin photo ops. By this late in the game they start looking a tad disheveled. Not that we are one to complain of course. After all, Asians don't eat pumpkins so we didn't really miss out.

After the pumpkin patch, we caught a quick lunch at our favorite Hawaiian restaurant in the Northwest, Bobby's, in downtown Everett. Then, it was home for a nice long nap for Kayla and a couple rounds of Nintendo Wii for the rest of us. Fabulous ending to a fabulous day!

welcome to the pak family blog!

2007-10-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

Here is where you can find all the latest news on Samson, Liz, little Kayla and any to-be-announced additions we happen to encounter in the future (for those of you sitting on the edge of your seats, no, the oven is currently bun-less.) Just another incentive to keep checking back for updates! For now, enjoy a few pictures from our latest trip to the zoo. Man, that carousel ride was worth every penny!