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.
Thank you so much for all of the posts. (Although the blog is a distant second to talking on the phone 7 or 8 times a day....) I cannot get enough of him! I hope your last day apart goes quickly. And give Annie a big hug!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your post so thanks to you! Jaden is beautiful. I can't imagine having to play for 30 minutes then leaving for a few days. Just try to stay busy to pass the time.
ReplyDeleteTracy
Oh, one more thing... did you happen to be carrying our gallon size bag? (Marvin and Tracy snyder)
ReplyDeleteTracy, we made a note of everyone's 1-gallon bags that we delivered yesterday. We delivered 6! All the names are back in the states and we will let you know when we get back. FYI, we were happy to see that Jaden had recieved ours and had several pictures with the items we sent in our 1-gallon bag.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing...more info and photos. I feel like I'm getting to know you a little bit, which is good...because one of these days we'll have even more in common (besides blogging & mothers who quilt). I guess I'm living vicariously through you right now...because we've got a WAYS to go yet. I'm glad to hear you say it was worth the wait. I'll just keep chanting that to myself...over & over.
ReplyDeleteFeels like we are almost there with you!
ReplyDeleteLove the 2nd update.
He's as big as Elia and she's almost 2!!
Talli
You look so happy! This is so amazing - just a ray of sunshine! I'm glad you're keeping busy touring and whatnot. Good luck with the rest of everything!
ReplyDelete