Special Delivery

This past weekend, Kai got a huge surprise in the mail! A birthday present from his foster mom!! We thought about waiting until his birthday to open it, but we were all too excited and couldn't wait to see what was inside. We are so happy that we've been able to have some contact with her, and feel so blessed that she gave Kai such a great start to his life! When he came home, she sent a whole bunch of photos and videos from his time with her, and from those (and her letters we've gotten since) we can tell how very much she (and her family) loves him. The gift she sent was an adorable pair of boots, and a small army of toy cars! Kai loves it all! We are so thankful for all she has done and is doing for him!!

"Is this for me??"

This shoe lover approves!!

Inspection time

Waving the cars wildly in excitement!!

SNOW DAY!!!

Early this morning we woke up to a thin blanket of snow...

it steadily continued through the morning, and at 11 am we had:

Yes, 5 inches!! For anyone who knows about Oregon climate, you know this is highly unusual for those of us that live "on the valley floor".  Willie enjoyed himself, prancing and running all over the backyard, but Kai was not quite sure about this cold white stuff coming from the sky. I think this is my favorite picture of the day! It was clearly meant to be taken of Kai, but you can see Willie on the side, catching a snowball in his mouth!! 

Crazy puppy!!

He stood in it by himself for a bit...

then decided, "There must be an easier way"!

They say there's more on the way tonight and tomorrow, in fact many schools have already cancelled classes tomorrow. I'm so happy I don't have to worry about getting to work!!

Very cold, clear and sunny...

This has been our forecast all week. It makes for mixed emotions when it comes to outdoor activities.  A few days ago, we decided to brave the elements and get out for a walk. Mommy, baby, and puppy all needed some fresh air and exercise! So, we bundled up and hit the road. For Kai, "bundled" meant: three layers on top (including his red "puffy" coat), two layers on bottom, wool socks, chicken shoes, a cute fuzzy blue hat, and a cozy blanket over his lap! Poor thing, he could barely move! He was not too happy about me bundling him up, then strapping him down in the stroller. But, after we got moving, he was quite happy to be in the brisk air and I could see his arms waving in excitement the whole time. As was my goal, by the time he was comfy in his stroller, not much of him was visible... see for yourself. (The hat is actually a little big, so for most of our walk, it was down almost covering his eyes, all you could see was his cute little nose!)

By the time we got home, my fingers and toes were well on their way to numb,but by-golley, my baby was warm! Even his little nose!

See how happy his walk made him??

Now today, the clouds are rolling in and the temperature is rising just a bit...perfect for...dare I say it...SNOW!! Yep, it's in our forecast for tonight! Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to post snow pictures!!

Adoption Buddies!!

Some of you might remember back in early Dec., when I mentioned about our new friends traveling to Korea to get their son, who is only about 10 days older than Kai. Well, we finally got the boys together this weekend for their first play date! It was so fun, all the kids had a blast (our friends also have an older son from China)! Grandma and Grandpa C were so nice to loan us their house for the meeting.  It was so great to share our stories, and "compare notes", and hear her little guy saying the same Korean words Kai does! 

Here are a few pictures of our time together. We hope to get these guys together often, so they can be friends as they grow up!

Checking each other out!

And off he goes!! 

(Notice Kai watching in the background, I love it!)

New friends playing together.

A Day at the Beach

Today we took Kai for his first trip to the Oregon coast! Now, some of you might be thinking...the coast??...in January?? We are very lucky here in Oregon that our coast maintains a very moderate climate all year long, making it a great get-a-way just about all the time. Just one of the wonderful things about living in the NW!! Anyway, we enjoyed a beautifully sunny day, with only a slight breeze, although it wasa bit chilly at around 50 degrees. Luckily, with the lack of wind and a coat, it was just right! We drove over, had a nice lunch, then hit the beach for some walking. Kai enjoyed a ride on my back, and we hit the jackpot on whole sand dollars! Neither of us had ever seen so many in our lives! After walking for a while, we let Kai down to explore the sand. At first he wasn't so sure about it, then he dove right in and start digging like crazy! Doing the most natural thing to do in the sand- burying your feet! All in all, it was a fun day, and a great way to spend one of our last days together before Joe goes back to work next week.

Also, last weekend, Kai took his first steps!! Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Dave were down for a visit, so they got to witness this milestone! He had about 3 times where he took 3-4 steps! We haven't seen that feat repeated yet, but he's been doing lots of 1 or 2 step jobs! We imagine before too long, he'll be running all over the place!

And now, of course, some pictures from our day at the coast!

Lunch by the River

Cozy ride!!

Daddy and Kai

What is this stuff???

Oh, so this is what you do with it!! FUN!!!

Wonders of the Bathroom

Kai is discovering all the glorious, fun things that can be found in the bathroom. As if taking a bath was not fun enough, he has also learned that there is a big bowl-like thing that has a lid that goes up and down, and if you push on a special lever it makes a big fun sound! He has also discovered the fun roll of soft paper that is so easy for him to unroll and is kept right within his reach (well...not any more!).  Our bathroom officially looks like that of a toddler. We are seconds away from installing the toilet lock, our toilet paper roll now lives on the counter, and our tub is full of bath toys- and we love it!! 

Since no child's life would be complete without the ever-embarassing "bath tub" shots, here are a few we caught the other night during bath time. 

Home 2 weeks!

It's hard to believe that Kai has been home with us for 2 weeks now! He has been such a trooper, and such a brave boy. He is doing very well adjusting to life as an American.  He is having less and less grieving episodes, but still cries for "Om-ma" when he is upset, hungry or in pain (from teething :-( ).  He has been pretty much sleeping through the night, and if he wakes it's usually just once for a bottle then back to sleep. We are seeing lots of smiles and hearing lots of giggles, and he loves playing with Willie. He's started smiling in response to seeing us and others.  He loves bath time! Our first few bathing attempts were horrible, but after just letting him play in the tub once or twice, he is now a huge fan; he gets so excited with splashing all around and kicking his feet all over. Tonight, he heard me getting his bath ready, and he came into the bathroom, ready to jump right in!! He is such a joy, and he loves to make people laugh. He is definitely learning English, and is definitely learning his American name. He is having more and longer periods of standing without support, and goes all over the place crawling. We're sure he'll be taking his first steps before too long. As you can tell, we're quite smitten with our little miracle, and I could go on all night. But, I won't bore you with all the gorey details. Let me just share this one picture. I took it a few nights ago. I was bound and determined to catch his toothy grin on camera (something we've not been able to accomplish yet), and we were in his room just playing around. Every time I said "I love you", he would get this huge smile on his face, so I grabbed the camera, thinking I could get my shot. Well, he decided he was done playing that game, when suddenly, Daddy came down the hall and walked into his room. Luckily, my camera was ready, and I got the shot I've been looking for! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

As most of you know, or can probably imagine, our Christmas celebrations this year were delayed. This was, of course, mostly due to Kai's arrival the day AFTER Christmas, and also that he had a new cousin due to be born a few days after Christmas pretty much put everything up in the air for a while. As of this past weekend, Kai has celebrated Christmas with both sides of his new family. He really enjoyed getting to spend some time with his new grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins! We were so happy that Christmas was delayed so that Kai, and his new cousin (Hayleigh Anna: born 12/30), could be there. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

 Christmas Slideshow

Why go around it?

When you can just go through it?

A few nights ago, Kai discovered that if he wanted to get around the coffee table, he didn't have to go all the way around it, he can just go through the bottom of it!! Silly boy!

Life with Kai

Is simply wonderful! We are loving parenthood, and so in love with our sweet little guy. Well, not so little, at his first Dr. appointment yesterday he weighed in at 22 lbs 5 oz, and was 30 inches long! No wonder our bodies are aching. It is hard to believe he’s only been home one week. He has come so far so quickly. The first few days were really hard, he was grieving pretty hard, and would have intense episodes about 2-3 times a day. During a grieving episode, he cries for his Om-ma (his foster mom), screams and jerks his body around, and is inconsolable. We just have to hold him through it, until he will eventually fall asleep. We’ve seen a big change in the last few days. He’s started coming to us before he starts grieving, and asks us to pick him up. Yes, he actually asks. He can say the Korean word for “carry me”, which is “abuba”. When he says this we know he’s getting sad, and we put him in the carrier and carry him until he feels better. He is still grieving, but he is beginning to let us comfort him, and we are able to help him through it much better. We’ve also gotten a lot more smiles and giggles. And last night, we got sleep!! He slept in his crib all night long! We thought it was pretty ironic that on his loudest night home so far (with fireworks for New Year’s), he slept the best. Go figure! We’ve taken him out for a few outings, and he loves being out and seeing everything.
He and Willie became fast friends. From their first meeting, Kai has never shown any fear of him, and Willie is so gentle. In fact, one of the first smiles we got from Kai was when he met Willie! Kai has been chasing Willie around the house, and Willie has been right by Kai’s side while he’s in his high chair!
We are loving getting to know him, and are seeing his personality come out. He is such a snuggle bug, and quite the ham. We noticed while we were out with him that he’s also a big flirt. He loves music and loves to dance. He is so proud of himself while he’s cruising around the furniture.
I’ll leave with a few pictures from our first days together. Hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year!!

First walk with Daddy

Kai with his Pooh car from Grandma and Grandpa M.

Mommy's Little Snuggle Bug

Best Buds