Hoon No (September 24, 1974- January 27, 2007)

Hoon and I met the first day of classes at Virginia Tech and had been close friends ever since. He had such kindness and compassion for others. Hoon was funny and brilliantly smart. He could have been a nobel prize quality scientist if things had turned out differently. I have pasted the references for two articles from The Washington Post about what happened. There is so much more to Hoon and to his life story than you can get from these articles. I would like to share his life story and stories about the fun times we had together with each of you, when the time is right.

Liquor Store Clerk Killed in Daytime Robbery
By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 28, 2007; C03

Bouquets, Prayer at Site Of Md. Slaying
By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 29, 2007; B01

120 bpm

Today we had our second OB appointment for our baby. The appointment was very quick, but it did take her a while to find the heartbeat. I knew she was looking too high at first b/c those tiny little movements have been much lower (which the doc said I couldn't be feeling at 15 weeks). Once she found it, the baby would immediately move. Finally she was able to clock the heartbeat at 120 beats per minute. That is the same as the first appointment. And that is different from Ethan, who always had 140 bpm.

When I picked Ethan up from daycare today they said he was such a huge helper all day long. He helped put all of the toys away and apparently also helped each parent as they packed up their kids things to leave. When I arrived, he gave his classmagte, Shanelle, a huge hug (so much of a hug that he knocked her completely over in the process). At home, we unpacked his bag and he had colored a picture of cookie monster. I helped Ethan hang it on our art wall (where literally every piece of artwork he has ever done in his entire life hangs). When Steve got home, I said "Show Daddy what you colored today.", and he smiled a huge smile as he pointed to that one particular picture.

The 17 Month Old Big Brother (to be)

Ethan's new expression (usually, when he's trying to make us laugh)


Ethan and Pooh


An afternoon at the "Please Touch" museum


Don't eat that!


The young musician


He's eating well now, knock on wood (Italian food is his favorite)


Happy guy!


Other news:
Ethan is saying a lot now, but his favorite new word is "Ewe!". Also, you can't take your eyes off him for a second. I was cooking dinner the other night- one moment he was right behind me organizing the pots and pans, the next he was standing on the dining room table, grinning from ear to ear.

The baby is doing well as far as I can tell. I know it is too early for this, but I feel tiny little movements each day. Or it could be the digestion of the vast quantity of food I've been unable to resist eating. We are in the 2nd trimester now. The baby is supposed to be the size of a lemon and should have all of his/her parts in place.

Some good news folks!

The four of us in Baltimore :)

A trip to the big apple

Ethan in his fire engine bed

Bathtime

Ethan and his buddy

The Sombats in Baltimore


Now I can tell you all why I have been so bad about updating the blog lately. We are expecting our second baby on July 18th!!!!! (And as a result, I've been pooped the past couple of months!). We are obviously incredibly excited that Ethan is going to be a big brother! Ethan knows something is in my tummy. When we ask him where the baby is, he lifts my shirt up, pokes my belly and giggles. He has learned to say "baby" and "big brother" (kind of). (Sorry, I cannot seem to download the pic of the ultrasound, but email me if you want to see it and I can send you the file).

A few days after I realized I was pregnant, Ethan suddenly stopped nursing. He went from nursing at least several times per day to nothing. I guess the pregnancy changed the taste of things. After that it was something of a challenge for me to learn to comfort him in other ways (especially at bed time), but within a week or so he was finally sleeping through the night on occasion. Now, most nights he sleeps in his fire engine bed after being cuddled to sleep. Then he wakes up in the middle of the night and wanders into our room. He frequently either sleeps with his whole body on my pillow or gives Steve only the tiniest sliver of his side of the bed.

A weird pregnancy symptom- starting at 3:00 p.m. each day- severe itching over most of my body (worst on hands and feet) with hives developing by evening. Then, by about 10 a.m. the itching and hives would completely disappear. This went on for about 5 days. The only thing that would help was soaking in an ice cold bath of water. Anyone ever heard of this happening or know what causes it?

We all had a wonderful Christmas this year. Besides telling our folks the good news, Ethan really knew that something special was going on. He ran out to the tree Christmas morning to see his presents (many of which he liked, but a couple scared him). Steve got him the hokie pokie Elmo, but he had to do surgery on him to make him work. Ethan cried when Elmo was doing the hokie pokie with wires hanging out everywhere.

Ethan is so full of energy and personality and is a constant source of fun for us. He adores music of any kind and bops his head, taps his toe and shimmies to every beat. He sits at the table like a big boy now and is eating better. I believe this is partially because we are not pressuring him to eat in any way whatsoever or even praising him when he eats. He also loves airplanes (big surprise!). When he sees one in the sky he points to it and says "Da Da!".

More later (hopefully not too much later). I have to give a talk to a pretty critical bunch of folks next week and better get down to business so that I don't get harassed too badly.

Happy New Year to all of you! Drop us a line when you get a chance!