Merry Christmas!

You've Come a Long Way...

It's been a week. A week of firsts:

• baths
  
• doctor's visits (FYI = not fun)


• meals



• going to Target (this took 45 minute of prep on my part and I forgot a diaper bag)


• smiles and laughs


• outfits (some fit, some don't. Some are ridiculously cute.)



• dirty diapers (some dirtier than others)


• toys (Dustin perpetually sings the Cookie Jar song right now with his own grown-up lyrics)


• exploring the house


• meeting the dog


• getting to know mom and dad
  
• waiting for Santa (and/or grandmas and grandpas)

The sleeping is slowly working itself out a bit. The first few nights were Really Rough. The past two have been marginally better. But when I look at where little Jaden was a week ago, I'd say we couldn't ask for anything more.


Merry Christmas Eve!

Giggles = priceless!

HomeSweetHome!

We have talked to many of you already, and this post is a bit delayed, but we are home safe and sound. The weather in Chicago and some misplaced bags couldn't hold us down. Jaden was amazing the entire way! Thanks for all your kind words and support along the way!

We will be off the blog for a bit as we tend to some new duties! :) But, you know where to find us!

Almost home! In Chicago. Very sleepy... But all is well!

Not Lost in Translation

This is the last post from Korea. We've been here for only five days, it seems as if it has been longer. The waiting has been interminable but is finally at an end. We have a long plane ride ahead, and we will survive. It will be okay. Our family will come home.

What I'm really thinking about this morning is Jaden's foster mom. She is preparing Jaden for us this morning. Undoubtedly she is putting extra thought into his clothes, his carry-on items, his bath... Whenever we saw her with him and saw her sing songs, it was clear is that she loves this child to her core, and she will be incredibly sad to leave him. We were supposed to bring gifts for her to show our gratitude, but what gift can we give that says thank you for providing our son with a stable, loving environment for all of these months? I can only hope that our thoughts and words do not need translation either.

Until America then...

So, we meet again

It was easier this time. He let us calm him, feed him and play with him. He went home for his last night with his foster mom. We will take him to the airport in the morning. We are undeniably, indisputably, irrevocably in love with this child.

Our Big Night Out

Some brief reflections on yesterday:

1. We walked 3023 miles yesterday and took 45 different subway rides.



2. I got pretty "hangry" (word creator = Sara) at one point -- most of you who know me understand that this means that Dustin forgot to feed me every 2 hours and I almost fell down for the lack of food. Luckily, a 7-11 interceded with Coke at exactly the right moment. Had Coke not been found, I may have turned into a permanent fixture in Korean society -- hopefully with underpants on my new physique.



3. We had the best night we will have here in Seoul because we were able to meet with my cousin (Annie) and her boyfriend (Cole) -- pictured below. Both haved lived in Korea for over a year and work as English teachers. They hooked us up with good food, insights into Korean culture and found us a CD with Korean children's music. We had a great time.



4. Part of the Berlin Wall is here. Go figure.



5. Seoul is really pretty at night -- the Christmas lights are out in full style. Very romantic.



6. An a final picture to sum up the trip thus far...

...or something like that. :)

It is only 5 in the morning right now, though we both got the most sleep we have since arriving this past night. We are going to get things packed up here this morning, move over the guest house attached to our agency, and then meet Jaden again at 2 PM. The social worker will make the decision after our meeting whether to transfer custody then or wait until tomorrow morning as we get ready to leave for the airport. Yes, the "not knowing" isn't entirely fun -- but, we want to do what is best for Jaden. We'll update as soon as we know. I can't wait to see him again!

Day 3 - killing time

(Dustin here... Ali makes me identify all my posts because she doesn't believe they are as good as hers and are filled with spelling errors. :) For those of you who are interested in continuing inspite of all that, below are some highlights of our travels so far on day 3 in Seoul. :)

Ali down below waiting for the Subway:

First stop was the Korean War Memorial. For this photo, the photographer was yelling, "give me deer in headlights! deer in headlights!!!" So, we did.

Enjoying a frosty Korean beverage before moving on to our next stop:

This was a brief trip across town at the beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace that was constucted in 1395:

Here I am at another part of the same palace, also part of the National Folk Museum:

We had a traditional Korean lunch ("Bibimbap") at a wonderful cafe that was part of the national museum:

OK... next stop - TechnoMart! Now this might be one of the most amazing (modern) places I have seen since we have been here (Warren and my father might agree!). 10 floors of nothing but electronics - hundreds of different stores. unbeliveable!!

All for now. We are taking a quick rest and then off to more shopping and dinner with Ali's cousin! We are really looking forward to seeing her! Tomorrow (Thursday) we move from our hotel over to the agency guest house and spend more time with Jaden and prepare for our trip home on Friday morning!

Last Day Apart

In the aftermath of the blur of our emotional meeting with Jaden yesterday, I think I left out a few key details. First -- we forgot to ask how much he weighed. So, my scientific analysis says...he is about 18 or 19 pounds. No idea if that is correct -- not at all. He felt good when I picked him up though -- really sturdy and cuddly. His foster mom says he loves to be cuddled. Whew. I think that is good -- I've got a lot of latent desire to hug and snuggle with him.

Also -- he is crawling! Really well -- a regular little scuttle-butt. He pulls himself up on furniture and takes a few steps while holding on to objects. He eats a few things -- like yogurt and rice porridge. He puts himself to sleep, according to his foster mom. He also sleeps in a crib. Whew again. The cultural norm is co-sleeping in Korea. Dustin and I were getting geared up to do the same to ease Jaden's transition. But, let me make this clear -- we both wake up at the sound of a feather falling in the next room even WITHOUT children. I think co-sleeping with a wriggly 8-month-old would be a bit of a challenge.

After our way-too-quick meeting yesterday, we met the President of the Eastern Social Welfare Society (the Korean agency we are adopting through) and then had a traditional Korean lunch with other adopting families. There were about 8 families there for the lunch. Most were about to become parents for the first time -- just like us. Needless to say, we have a lot in common!

We went sightseeing afterwards, and navigated the subway system somewhat effectively. We ended up in bed at 8:00 -- not joking. I was beat. I was up at 1 am for an hour, and then again at 5 am for good. We are now killing time until the city opens at 8:00 am. We plan on going to the Korean War memorial this morning, doing some more shopping, and finally meeting my cousin who lives in Seoul for dinner tonight. This is our last day without being together as a family. Did I mention I'm looking at our photos from yesterday in an obssessive compulsive manner? Here are a few more.

Finally, we have to say thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the many, many good wishes and messages you have all sent. As I've said before, there is no playbook for building a family through adoption. Being able to have two-way communication with our loved ones back home has exponetially increased our happiness with this process. It makes the whole experience so much more real.

Cute alert!

Attached are a few professional photos of Jaden that his foster mother gave us.

First hellos

We arrived at the agency at 10:00 am (after a bit of a runaround the city with a confused taxi driver.) We met a social worker who gave us Jaden's passport and told us that his foster mother was on her way. She shut us in a backroom and we waited. The minutes took an eternity - the last few before we met our son.

The foster mom finally walked in and immediately held Jaden out to us. With gusto she introduced us to him as "ommah" and "oppah" (mom and dad.) Jaden didn't necessarily agree -- he was definitely a little hesitant with us at first. We went up to a playroom and had about 30 minutes together. The foster mother and social worker explained his routines to us. To be honest, it was terribly hard to concentrate. It was just so amazing; seeing him, touching him, hearing him, watching him. He is a busy little boy with a happy demeanor. He laughed and smiled often and played with every toy that was out in that short period of time. He let me hold him for a few minutes at a time before fussing for his foster mom. We got a chance to snap a few photographs -- the first of thousands I'm sure.

The foster mom is just phenomenal. She gave us a couple of photo albums of pictures she had taken over the past 8 months. She also gave us an amazing photo of Jaden on his 100th day -- all dressed up in traditional attire. It is gorgeous -- he is gorgeous. A perfect, healthy, happy baby boy. We couldn't ask for anything more.

We will meet with him again on Thursday afternoon and hope that he begins to feel more comfortable with us. Until then, we will scour the city for things he might enjoy.

The wait was definitely worth it.

Who needs sleep?

(Dustin here) We made it! 17 hours of air travel and we are now in Seoul... and may we say a pleasantly uneventful trip thus far. The snow and ice in Minnesota was unable to stop our departure and the rest of the trip went very smoothly. Korean Airlines is wonderful and, so far, highly recommended!

It has been a whirlwind since we arrived... so no pictures yet until tomorrow. We just dined on some"korean style" sushi... interesting (ali said "sub par".) For now, we will sleep (enter exhaustion here)... tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow, we meet our son for the very first time at 11am. :)

Greetings from Seattle! I feel blurry!

(dustin here) Just because Ali doesn't know how to use a camera phone... she is still ok. After 6 attempts, this was our best shot. :) Maybe I am just not photogenic. Only 11.5 short hours to go...

Leaving Minneapolis on our way to Seoul!

Seoul Bound

In less than 24 hours we will be on a plane to meet our son. Today, I think, is the first day we get checked on our parenting skills. We had to choose clothes for the trip, we are sterilizing bottles, and making sure there are enough things in our bag to keep Jaden somewhat entertained on our enviable 12.5 (yes, you read that correctly) flight back from Seoul to Chicago. I was fairly proud that we didn't have "much to do" today -- I thought we were pretty set. But, I've been up since 7, it is now 2, and I haven't put anything of Jaden's in a bag yet -- let alone of my own. Welcome to our new life.

The house is a bit of a disaster, but I've made sure Jaden's room is properly organized. Here's a picture of what awaits our little boy. The quilt is compliments of my mother. I.love.it. Thanks mom, I can't wait to introduce you and everyone else to the latest addition to our family.

Until Seoul then.

Travel Call!!

9:32 am I'm typing a letter of recommendation for a student and thinking about how I really didn't want to teach in 15 minutes time.

9:33 am An email from my husband comes across my screen that says: Call me!

9:34 am Dustin and I know we are going to be parents within the week! We got the travel call from our agency and Jaden is ready to come home!!

We are leaving on Sunday and will arrive in Korea on Monday. Our return flight is on Friday. My head is still spinning. What a great day!