AAAHHHH!!! (huge sigh of relief)

Yesterday we turned in a signed childcare contract for Kai's daycare when I return to work in 3(short) weeks. What a huge relief! We started the week with a few childcare leads, and a few interviews set up; we ended the week signing the contract with someone totally different! It's amazing how God uses people who have been in our lives to open doors when we need them opened! This is a great example of how our city really is a "big little town", one of the reasons I love it here! So this is what happened. Monday morning, I was continuing to search for daycare options, even though we had a few interviews set up. Joe calls me and says that a work acquaintance has given him the name of her childcare provider who is awesome, and happens to have a few openings right now. She says we better call FAST, because Melinda's openings fill quickly. So, I wasted no time and called her. We set up an interview with her for the following day. Later on Monday I was talking to my friend Brenda (who happens to be covering my leave at work), and told her we were interviewing a daycare that was right down the street from her house. She asked me what her name was, and I told her "Melinda". Brenda said, "Oh, she goes to my church, and she's awesome. I was going to take my boys there, but she didn't have openings on the right days when I was looking". Since I have gone to many women's gatherings at Brenda's church, I asked if I had met her, and we both decided that I probably had. Tuesday afternoon we go and visit Melinda's house (yes, it is the lady I was thinking of from Brenda's church). Right away, we love it, she's so easy-going yet has total control of the kids. Kai loved it and just wanted to walk around, explore her house, and play with the other kids. I tell her that I've met her at Brenda's church, and she says she thought I looked familiar. So, we're at her house, chatting about her daycare and such, and in walks a work acquaintance of mine, to pick up her daughter!  Wow! Who would have thought? We've heard nothing but great things about her. Oh, and in the course of chatting with her, she tells us that she's also an adoptive mother! I liked how she didn't make a huge point of bringing it up (like she had to prove something to us or like it would be a deal maker), but rather it just came up quite naturally in our conversation (her son was adopted domestically, so it's not as easy to see). So, we love that he will be in a Christian home and getting excellent care by someone who is sensitive to his needs as an adoptee. Yesterday when we stopped to drop off the contract, Kai had a chance to play with the other kids a bit (all boys right now), and he loved it! The only draw back is that her house is about 10 minutes out of our way to work. But we figured, it's only two days a week and for quality care, it's not a big deal! Knowing he will be in a good daycare has really eased my mind about returning to work, although I still can't believe my leave is almost over!

Proud, sleepy Mommy

Our day today started WAY TOO early! Little Kai woke up and started fussing around 3:45 am. We let him be for a few minutes, and it became quite clear that he was quite unhappy. So, I got up, made a bottle (just in case), and went into his room. Upon seeing me, he started giving me the "milk" sign, so I gave him his bottle. After the bottle he settled down, but still didn't want to be put down to go back to sleep...so the walking/carrying began. To make a long story short, we were still walking when Joe got up at 5. When Kai saw Daddy, he thought, "How fun, Daddy's up, now it's time to play". So I let him down and conceded that we were up for the day. After playing for a few minutes, Kai gave me the "eat/hungry" sign. I was very impressed as we've just started using this sign less than 2 weeks ago. So I put him in his chair and he ate some yogurt and toast (wonderful, breakfast at 5:30am...what time does that make lunch?). He really was hungry! He was hungry and he used his sign to tell me! (Can you see me smiling??) Around 7am, he started fussing again, so back in the Ergo he went. After about 10 minutes of unsuccessful cuddling in the carrier, he gave me the milk sign again (I wasn't happy that he wanted milk again so soon, but he was very upset from teething, and I knew he needed more sleep, so I gave in). About 3oz. into his bottle, he was out! Totally asleep...the bottle even fell out of his mouth! So, now I'm way tired, but probably up for the day, and so, so excited that Kai is using his signs meaningfully and appropriately! I am so proud of our boy! I just think it's amazing that through sign language, we can give him words before he's able to speak them! Now, I better go grab a shower while he's still sleeping...who knows what other adventures lie ahead of us today!

Home 2 Months!!

It's sunny...can we go out and play???

WOW!!  Yesterday marked 2 months since Kai came home to us! When we look at our little guy today, we see a much different person than the one we met in San Francisco 2 months ago. Today we have an outgoing, happy (usually), adventurous little boy; far from the scared little baby we first met.  "No fear" would be a great way to describe him. Of course, that's good and bad. The good: he's willing to face any challenge head on (unless it involves a sippy cup). The bad: he has no clue where his boundaries are (as in...the edge of the couch).  When we take him to a new place, he's shy for about 2 seconds before he wants to go off and play!

As the weather has been improving in our neck of the woods, we've been able to go on more walks and even stopped to swing a few times! At first, he was not so sure about it, but now he loves it. He also recently took his first trip to the dog park, and of course he loved it! He got such a kick out of watching the doggies run around and play.

Over the past week or so, he's been running to greet Daddy as he arrives home from work. He seems to know, if Daddy's not home and he hears the garage door open, it's him!  The first time it happened we were across the house, Kai heard the garage door, got a huge smile, and off he went...in search of Daddy! 

We're convinced that his first "real" English word is "yea". Great, slang. If you ask him a question, most times he'll answer with a very distinct "yea".  We weren't sure if we were imagining this, but grandparents have confirmed that they also heard it. As Joe said the other night...no more secrets! 

He was doing really well on his solid foods, but a rebound of his cold, and some major teething have set us back a little.  As for sleeping through the night, I'm happy to report good news! Well, I guess "sleeping" is not really the right term, he's still waking up, but probably 6 out of the last 8 nights, we have not had to get up with him or give him a bottle! WOO-HOO!! He's just woken up, maybe fussed a little but mostly babbled (most likely talking to his doggy), then gone back to sleep on his own.

Enjoying a banana.

I thought he didn't like bananas because he wouldn't eat the little bite-size pieces I was giving him, he'd just spit them out. But no, he just wanted a huge hunk to hold onto, and eventually smash into banana mush (and some actually made it in!). I restrained myself from taking a picture of that lovely mess.

So, there you go, a nice update on us. Thanks for checking in!

More new friends!!

Over the past several months we have had the pleasure of getting connected with some other families with children from Korea. We were connected the "R" family through a mutual friend, and they have been absolutely wonderful to us! They have two children, both from Korea, a 9 year old son (Sam) and a 5 year old daughter (Emma). We first started conversing through emails, then one Sunday, Holly (the mom) noticed me at church! Later that day I got an email asking if we went to their church. Over the next few weeks (I'm not kidding) she saw me a few other places around town, until finally we met face-to-face...at Costco!! (Not planned, of course) It's a little scary that we go to the same stores and restaurants, but that day at Costco, we even had the same dog bed in our shopping carts! Yikes! We feel so blessed to have been connected with this wonderful family, and really feel they'll be great mentors to us in the years to come. Last Sunday they invited us to dinner at their house, and another family joined us as well (also with a 5 year old Korean son, Zach). We had such a great time, and Kai had a blast playing with the big kids!  After looking for so long for other adoptive families, we feel so lucky that we're finally getting connected! Here are a few pictures of the kids, taken by Holly. Unfortunately, Sam was off doing his own thing, but here are some good ones of Kai, Emma and Zach!

Growin' like a weed!

We're starting to see just how true this old saying is! This is exactly what our little Kai has been doing. At his 12 month check-up last week, he weighed in at 24lbs 1oz, and measured 31 3/4" tall!! If anyone is keeping track, that means he's gained nearly 2lbs and grown nearly 2" taller in the 8 weeks he's been home!  His doctor said he's right on track for his age, and his height is 90th percentile and weight is about 75th, so no worries. His first "real" well baby check brought with it our first "real" homework as parents. Three major goals for us to work on over the next several weeks: increase solids and decrease formula (thereby transitioning to cow's milk), wean from bottle and encourage sippy cup drinking, and omit night time feeding. It seems to me they all go hand-in-hand, but she encouraged us to take them one at a time. So far, the increasing solids seems to be going well, and he's enjoyed his first few bottles of whole milk. It seems to me that as he starts eating more solid food, he won't need his night-time feeding, and this was proved correct last night. :-) So, we'll keep plugging along at those two...and save the doozy for later. We've tried the sippy cup a few times, and he just looks at it like, "OK, now what??" A few times, he's just started crying at the sight of it. Since we're still in the trust-building phase of our relationship, this is something I'm not willing to push just yet. Bottle feeding is great for bonding (although I also know you can hold a sippy cup like a bottle and feed...still great for bonding), but when he starts screaming at the sight of the cup...no thanks. So, wish us luck as we help our little baby turn into a little boy (already??). Here's a little video clip of Kai's latest moves!

Haircut!!

Last night, to celebrate Kai's first Valentine's Day with us, we took him for his first haircut!  It's not quite as short as we were planning, but we decided to leave it in the hands of the expert. The stylist was worried clippers would freak him out, so he did  some pretty decent chopping with his scissors. He looks very handsome, and still has a "baby style".  Maybe this summer we'll do something crazy!  He did about a good as a 1-year old can! After the first few minutes he decided he did not want to get a haircut and was pretty squirmy until they broke out the balloon! My biggest worry was that it would be too stressful and send him into grieving at bedtime, which it didn't! Here's the pictures of his big day!

Waiting patiently with Daddy 

(Don't be fooled, the "patient" part only lasted about 30 seconds!)

All ready! This is a good shot of how long and shaggy it looked!

Look at my big boy!

Thank goodness...here's Mr. Balloon!

"OK, I'm ready for my close-up!!"

Happy Birthday, Kai!!

One year ago today, our precious little boy was born in a town just outside Seoul, South Korea. I don't remember exactly what we were doing that day, but I'm pretty sure it didn't even dawn on us that our son could be entering the world. I do remember as we passed through Feb. 2007, I often hoped and prayed that our child had been born, but I had no way of knowing for sure. It amazes me that on that day, our lives changed forever, and we had didn't even know it!

As you can imagine, today is a bittersweet day for us, as I'm sure it will always be. We are overjoyed at this miraculous gift that God has given us, but can't help of thinking all that he left behind in Korea. Today I have been thinking about his three families. First, his birthmother, praying that she would have peace in her heart that the baby she relinquished is now part of a loving, forever family. Also in my thoughts is his foster mother, who cared for him with a mother's love from the time he was 2 weeks old, until he was ready to travel to us when he was 10 months old. I know he was deeply loved by her and her family. And lastly, our family, his forever family. We feel so blessed that our families have been so supportive of our adoption, and have welcomed Kai into our family as one of their own. 

Our family's love for our son was evident this past Sunday, as they joined in a celebration of his birthday. It was such a special day for us, one we will always remember; at church he was dedicated to the Lord, then after church we had his First Birthday and Dol (or Tol) party at our house. (Click here for more info about the Korean Dol) During his toljabee, he selected the jujube (not the candy, it was supposed to be a Korean dried date, but I couldn't find one, so we used a mini-bell pepper, since it was about the same shape and size), and the pencil. The jujube signifies that he will have many descendants, and the pencil means he will be a scholar. As you can see, he is quite handsome in the beautiful hanbok that his foster mother sent with him. And of course, he loved trying his first piece of cake!! 

Please enjoy the slideshow that Joe made for him!

Happy Birthday, Kai-Kai!! Mommy and Daddy love you lots!!

Kai's 1st Year

Is he talking to me??

Over the past few days, I've been starting to sense that when Kai says "Omma" (reminder: that's "Mom" in Korean), he's saying it to me. He's been saying it since he came home, and at first I knew he was calling for his foster Mom when he said it.  He's always said (or screamed) it when he was upset or said it in a non-specific, babbling type fashion.

It all started on Tuesday night, we were having a little snack of some chex mix. I was holding him at the kitchen counter and we were both munching away. I told him "All done" and set him down in front of me. Then, I proceeded to take one last bite. He looked up at me, straight in the eyes, and said (very deliberately) "OM-MA!" As if to say..."Hey, Mom, I want more, too!!" Since then, there have been several times where he has seemed to call me Omma very directly and deliberately.  

It feels great that he is starting to recognize that I am his Mom, but to me, his "Omma" will always be his foster Mom. Joe and I have never referred to ourselves as "Omma" or "Appa" ("Dad" in Korean), we've always been Mommy and Daddy. 

We've identified another Korean word he's been saying. We mentioned in a letter to his foster Mom that he was saying "dada". She wrote back and told us that in Korea, he would say "daetta" which in Korean means "enough, or done"... as in "that's enough of that!" I've been paying close attention to when he says it, and I do think he's saying the Korean word. He always says it when he is going through something he doesn't like: diaper change, getting into the car seat, etc. How lucky are we that we know what his Korean words mean??

This little boy never ceases to amaze me! 

And, since no post would be complete without a picture: here's a nice one of him trying to grab the camera from me!

See for Yourself!!

Here's our little walker in action!! He actually started from the chair that is in the background, but it took a moment to get the camera started. (Sorry about the grainy quality, it was taken from our digital camera, not a video camera)

Random Acts of Silliness

Now that Kai has been home for almost 6 weeks, we are really starting to see his personality shine. We've learned that we have one very silly little boy on our hands. Our days are now filled with little acts of silliness and random outbursts of laughter. Of course, it is hard to capture these moments, since we can't just watch life through the view-finder of our camera. Luckily, we're starting to identify when we see something silly starting, and know his "signs" of being in a silly mood. Over the past week or so, we've been able to catch a little silliness in pictures. 

Here is his first experience with spaghetti noodles. I'm not sure how many actually made it "down the hatch", but it sure was entertaining!

He's been very "into" his diaper bag lately (no pun intended!), on this day, he was attempting to carry it, but the strap is too long, and he couldn't get it off the ground. It was very funny watching him try to figure it out!

Empty box= Instant Fun

Need I say more?

This is what I found a few mornings last week when I got him up.

Kai-standing in his crib-a dog in each hand

What do you mean it's not bath time?

Since our little guy is now highly mobile, if we leave the bathroom door open, we are likely to see this sight at any time throughout the day. He loves his bath so much, he just can't wait for bath time!