We love Kim Chee!

Anyone who knows us IRL, knows that when K arrived from Korea he brought with him a very special dog. We think he has had this dog since he was about 2 weeks old. We have many pictures from his time in Korea, and the dog is never far from him. Thank goodness the nice Korean woman who came off his plane told us about the dog in his travel bag. When he started fussing just minutes after he was in our arms, we gave him his dog and it was like magic. Suddenly, this new strange place wasn't so strange anymore. We knew we had gained another (unexpected) family member. We instantly named him Kim Chee. Honestly, it was the first word that popped into our heads, so that became his name. We truly believe Kim Chee has helped K through his adjustment in unimaginable ways. Those first days were tough, and I actually had moments that I was angry at this stuffed animal because my son loved it more than he loved (or even liked) me. I can probably count on my fingers the number of times we've left our house over the past 15 months without Kim Chee. He comes everywhere with us. I have done several surgical procedures on this poor puppy, he's (literally) being loved to death! This week we had the scariest incident yet, when K got up one morning, there was stuffing on his floor. From where? Guess! Yes, poor Kim Chee somehow acquired a slit in his neck during the night. Just our luck, it was a day we were both working so for the first time K went to daycare without his most favorite stuffy ever. (Luckily, we have Rover, his #2 dog he could take) Joe said he only screamed half way there and was pretty OK with the situation when they arrived, he even told his day care provider: "Chin Chee...owiee".  And don't worry, Kim Chee has made a full recovery from the surgery I performed that evening.

When K first arrived, and we learned how attached he was to Kim Chee, we really realized how much his foster mom loved him, and how well she prepared a 10 month old for the huge change he was about to go through. In our eyes, she is simply brilliant for attaching him to this dog and sending it home with him. 

As K is getting older, more secure, more confident and more independent he's needing his dog less and less. There have been days recently when Kim Chee hasn't even left the crib between K's sleeping times. He's learning to leave him in the car when we go places, or if we happen to forget him at home that Willie will take good care of Kim Chee and he will be there when we return. (Which, by the way, could be a whole no

ther post: how Willie somehow has known from the start not to mess with this particular stuffy.) Now we're just hoping and praying that he will outgrow needing to take the dog everywhere before he falls apart!

K and Kim Chee reading in the rocking chair

3/4/09