We have sent in our official acceptance paperwork and it is already on its way to Korea. That is the good news. We are still waiting to hear from our specialist as to what we can expect now, when we can send our first care package and when it becomes really official.
So because there are a lot of unknowns and to protect our baby girl, she will be called for the time being Baby K and we won't be posting any pictures of her. You will just have to trust me that she has a full head of hair and is just plain adorable.
Baby K does have a name here at home and among family. It is the name she was given by her birth mother. Her birth mother chose for her an American first name and then a Korean middle name. We aren't going to change it. We love it and we love that it came from her mother.
For now we also aren't sharing all of the details about sweet Baby K. Some details will for sure come out and other's will stay private but for now it will be private.
This adoption is so very different. We likely won't meet Baby K's mother possibly ever. We will meet her foster mom and family which is amazing. She isn't in an orphanage as was Kiya. Things are just different. One big difference is Baby K weighed at 3 months what Kiya weighed at 6 months. Kiya was well loved and taken care of by the nannies at the care center. Baby K gets a mom figure that takes care of her. A person that she can attach too.
I am anxiously awaiting to hear what the next steps are in this long part of the process besides just waiting. We know we are being fingerprinted by USCIS in a couple weeks so that piece will be done.
So while we wait we will talk about her and look at her pictures. Kiya insists on looking at her pictures all the time. She also insists that "baby walk now". She also said today in the car that she wanted to play with Baby K. I think she is going to make an amazing big sister. It will be an adjustment and I suspect the first months home will be a challenge but in the end. I think Kiya is going to like have a sister to play with. They will be about 2 1/2 years apart in age.
Ok I am officially rambling. I am just so excited to hear the squeals of two beautiful little girls in this house. I am very blessed.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Cast # 4
This post has been brewing in my head for a few days now. I just needed a few days to sort it out and well celebrate the good news of our soon to be baby girl.
Kiya got cast #4 this past Tuesday. It was a VERY long and draining day. Kiya as always was such a trooper. In my heart, I was hoping for just a little even a smidgen of correction in her curve. That was not to be this time. Her stubborn little curve gained 4 degrees. So we started the day at 66 degrees and once again our doc worked his magic and she is holding at 15 degrees in cast. Amazing. Her flexibility is what keeps me going.
I was devastated by the news that her curve got worse. It was a tough blow. However, not only did I have my wonderful husband, I had some dear friends there to help pick me up. And Linda, our nurse to insist repeatedly that all is fine and that I shouldn't be worried. I am so grateful that Catie, Tracy,Sarah and Rachel were there to pick me up after the news of her curve. I am not sure what I would do without these amazing women that I am so honored to call my friends. Catie has been down this road with her iron man and her hope and his progress is such an inspiration to me. Sarah just gets it and well Rachel is so sweet and dealing with her own cast day stuff and yet there she was to be a support.
So after the shock of that news and a nice breakfast chat with Tracy, it was time to get to Miss Kiya. She is usually pretty grumpy post anesthesia but once again my amazing girl just rolled with it. She was a little out of it and a little mad but once she got her crackers and some juice she was much better. I can't thank Tracy enough. She was right there by our sides encouraging Kiya to eat and drink and getting her more crackers. I just met the woman in person that day and wow. So grateful to her for being there when she didn't have to be and for her care and concern for me and for Kiya. I am lucky to have met her.
Kiya was sporting her new pink cast and was ready to get to the tape. She was even helping the nurses tape her cast. She sat so still and was just amazing. I was so proud of her. All was well until it was time to trim the shoulder straps. From there the day was a blur. Kiya was hysterical. I was a mess and the new latex free tape was TERRIBLE. It just became too much at one point.
I hate scoliosis and I hate this cast. There is extra fiber glass, crappy tape and it is so tight. I will be shocked if we don't have sores under her arms.
I hate that sweet Kiya has to deal with this and yet deal with it is what she does. She is truly amazing. She was up and running around that afternoon. She even went to preschool on Wednesday. She asked to go. She had a great time. She went accident free in her new big girl underwear. We had our first post cast laundry room bath and she was totally fine. She rarely if ever complains. She is such a superstar.
So where do we go from here....we keep on casting. That is what the doc says and that is what we will do. So here is to the next 11 weeks.
Kiya got cast #4 this past Tuesday. It was a VERY long and draining day. Kiya as always was such a trooper. In my heart, I was hoping for just a little even a smidgen of correction in her curve. That was not to be this time. Her stubborn little curve gained 4 degrees. So we started the day at 66 degrees and once again our doc worked his magic and she is holding at 15 degrees in cast. Amazing. Her flexibility is what keeps me going.
I was devastated by the news that her curve got worse. It was a tough blow. However, not only did I have my wonderful husband, I had some dear friends there to help pick me up. And Linda, our nurse to insist repeatedly that all is fine and that I shouldn't be worried. I am so grateful that Catie, Tracy,Sarah and Rachel were there to pick me up after the news of her curve. I am not sure what I would do without these amazing women that I am so honored to call my friends. Catie has been down this road with her iron man and her hope and his progress is such an inspiration to me. Sarah just gets it and well Rachel is so sweet and dealing with her own cast day stuff and yet there she was to be a support.
So after the shock of that news and a nice breakfast chat with Tracy, it was time to get to Miss Kiya. She is usually pretty grumpy post anesthesia but once again my amazing girl just rolled with it. She was a little out of it and a little mad but once she got her crackers and some juice she was much better. I can't thank Tracy enough. She was right there by our sides encouraging Kiya to eat and drink and getting her more crackers. I just met the woman in person that day and wow. So grateful to her for being there when she didn't have to be and for her care and concern for me and for Kiya. I am lucky to have met her.
Kiya was sporting her new pink cast and was ready to get to the tape. She was even helping the nurses tape her cast. She sat so still and was just amazing. I was so proud of her. All was well until it was time to trim the shoulder straps. From there the day was a blur. Kiya was hysterical. I was a mess and the new latex free tape was TERRIBLE. It just became too much at one point.
I hate scoliosis and I hate this cast. There is extra fiber glass, crappy tape and it is so tight. I will be shocked if we don't have sores under her arms.
I hate that sweet Kiya has to deal with this and yet deal with it is what she does. She is truly amazing. She was up and running around that afternoon. She even went to preschool on Wednesday. She asked to go. She had a great time. She went accident free in her new big girl underwear. We had our first post cast laundry room bath and she was totally fine. She rarely if ever complains. She is such a superstar.
So where do we go from here....we keep on casting. That is what the doc says and that is what we will do. So here is to the next 11 weeks.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Guess what......IT'S A GIRL :)
We got the call on Monday afternoon. We were shocked, thrilled and super excited. It was about 4pm when I saw that I missed a call on my cell phone. I saw the phone number and my heart skipped a beat. I just knew. This was the call about our son. The day we had been waiting for.
When I called back and started talking with the social worker, she first confirmed that we were open to adopting a boy or a girl to which I responded yes. She then said well, I have some news about a referral for you. It is a baby girl. At that point, I probably should have pulled over as I was in tears. We knew it could happen but really thought we were going to have a boy. We had even started a list of boy names.
As we started to hear the details, things just clicked. This little girl fits in our family. We listened. We discussed. We sent the email of info to our international adoption doctor, the same one we used for Kiya's referral. We waited.
Our doctor called us at 6:15am on Tuesday. We were up and packing to head to the hospital for Kiya's 4th cast. I spoke with her for a few minutes. All medical info seemed in line and good. She is in the 50th percentile in most metrics. She is obviously well loved by her foster mom.
For now she will be called Baby K. She is currently 4 months old and doing very well with her foster mom. She has chubby cheeks and a head full of hair.
We now settle in to wait again. It could be up to 14 months before we travel to bring her home. Kiya is in love already. She sees her picture and says baby sister. Melts my heart every time. We showed her the picture right before we left to head to Chicago. When we stopped at the oasis for food, she asked if we were picking up baby sister now. So we told her no. I think the adoption will allow for a more open dialogue about Kiya's adoption. I know she will be a great big sister. Though this morning we asked her if she would share her toys and she said, "no my toys. not K's toys."
Never dreamed I would be blessed enough to be a mom to two beautiful girls, Kiya and baby K.
Time to shop for her first care package :)
When I called back and started talking with the social worker, she first confirmed that we were open to adopting a boy or a girl to which I responded yes. She then said well, I have some news about a referral for you. It is a baby girl. At that point, I probably should have pulled over as I was in tears. We knew it could happen but really thought we were going to have a boy. We had even started a list of boy names.
As we started to hear the details, things just clicked. This little girl fits in our family. We listened. We discussed. We sent the email of info to our international adoption doctor, the same one we used for Kiya's referral. We waited.
Our doctor called us at 6:15am on Tuesday. We were up and packing to head to the hospital for Kiya's 4th cast. I spoke with her for a few minutes. All medical info seemed in line and good. She is in the 50th percentile in most metrics. She is obviously well loved by her foster mom.
For now she will be called Baby K. She is currently 4 months old and doing very well with her foster mom. She has chubby cheeks and a head full of hair.
We now settle in to wait again. It could be up to 14 months before we travel to bring her home. Kiya is in love already. She sees her picture and says baby sister. Melts my heart every time. We showed her the picture right before we left to head to Chicago. When we stopped at the oasis for food, she asked if we were picking up baby sister now. So we told her no. I think the adoption will allow for a more open dialogue about Kiya's adoption. I know she will be a great big sister. Though this morning we asked her if she would share her toys and she said, "no my toys. not K's toys."
Never dreamed I would be blessed enough to be a mom to two beautiful girls, Kiya and baby K.
Time to shop for her first care package :)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Cast free and mixed emotions
I copied this from a post I wrote today for our luckycast blog:
We cut off cast number 3 today. While it was cast 3 in reality it was more like cast two since we had to take such a long break between cast 1 and 2. But regardless the blue cast is now in the garbage.
Sweet Kiya, aka my string bean, is itchy, bruised and slightly off balance but is looking straighter. I am so excited for her to be able to enjoy summer toddler fun minus the cast for one week anyway. She will get to run in the sprinklers with her friends and take baths and enjoy.
I love the squishy hugs and the pure joy that encompassed her once we got the cast off. She was so mad when we were trying to cut it off and once it was off you could just see her face light up in pure joy.
This week of free is always a little strange for me. I try to enjoy all the hugs and fun and yet I watch and wait to see if/when her back will bounce back. I pray that it doesn't but we just don't know. That is the worst. She looks so straight right now. So straight, tall and skinny.
So we head to Shriner's on the 19th for supposedly a pink cast. She keeps saying she wants a pink one. She said that last time and we came home with blue.So we shall see.
Kiya truly amazes me. Nothing stops her. No sooner than we cut off her cast did she stand up and try to awkwardly walk away. She was a little off balance. After her bath she was back to running. She is nothing short of an inspiration. She is 2 1/2 and has a beautiful outlook on life. I love her goofiness, her stubbornness and her dare devil spirit. All of these traits are serving her well on this journey we are on. This kid has taught me so much about life and I am truly honored that I am her mom. I am so very blessed in so many ways.
We cut off cast number 3 today. While it was cast 3 in reality it was more like cast two since we had to take such a long break between cast 1 and 2. But regardless the blue cast is now in the garbage.
Sweet Kiya, aka my string bean, is itchy, bruised and slightly off balance but is looking straighter. I am so excited for her to be able to enjoy summer toddler fun minus the cast for one week anyway. She will get to run in the sprinklers with her friends and take baths and enjoy.
I love the squishy hugs and the pure joy that encompassed her once we got the cast off. She was so mad when we were trying to cut it off and once it was off you could just see her face light up in pure joy.
This week of free is always a little strange for me. I try to enjoy all the hugs and fun and yet I watch and wait to see if/when her back will bounce back. I pray that it doesn't but we just don't know. That is the worst. She looks so straight right now. So straight, tall and skinny.
So we head to Shriner's on the 19th for supposedly a pink cast. She keeps saying she wants a pink one. She said that last time and we came home with blue.So we shall see.
Kiya truly amazes me. Nothing stops her. No sooner than we cut off her cast did she stand up and try to awkwardly walk away. She was a little off balance. After her bath she was back to running. She is nothing short of an inspiration. She is 2 1/2 and has a beautiful outlook on life. I love her goofiness, her stubbornness and her dare devil spirit. All of these traits are serving her well on this journey we are on. This kid has taught me so much about life and I am truly honored that I am her mom. I am so very blessed in so many ways.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Happy 4th of July
Every year we try and spend the 4th of July up at the lake house. We watch fireworks from the boat and hang out with friends and family. It is always a lot of fun and this year we let Kiya stay up to watch the fireworks. Some of the pictures are blurry but she just moves to darn fast :)
Kiya loves to be tickled. She just loves to laugh so she would run to me and I would tickle her and scoop her up. Below is one of my most favorite pictures with Kiya.
Loving the boat ride. Hating the life jacket. She kept asking for the boat to be bouncy. She loved it when we went through choppy water from another boats wake.
Kiya loved the boat. Loved the fireworks and she really liked Uncle Andy's girlfriend. The red beads might have had something to do with that and then the seeming endless spinning of ropes but she keeps talking about her.
The best parts of the weekend for me were playing tickle monster with Kiya, watching fireworks on the boat, spending time with family and my most favorite part came on the boat ride home after fireworks when Kiya came over to me and said, "I sleep on mommy now." I picked her up and we snuggled the rest of the way home. It was a perfect mommy/daughter moment.
We had one unfortunate experience just before we left. Kiya was running in the house which is a no-no. She had sandals on which is a no-no as she isn't as stable on her feet (my bad but it was hot) and well she and the coffee table met face to face. Literally. She tripped and smacked her face on the table leg. Her eye is super swollen. She has a cut above her eye and on the side if her nose. Her top lip is swollen and she had her very first bloody nose followed by a second one today. She looks terrible but her mood now that we are out of the moment is fine. She was pretty hysterical and way over tired after it happened and the sight of that much blood kind of freaked her out even more. No stitches necessary...do love having a doctor in the family...and time will heal her wounds. Just hope they heal before we head to Shriners and have to explain to one very opinionated and not so friendly nurse why my toddler has scratches and bruises.
So hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. We did minus the coffee table experience. So glad Kiya is old enough to share in the fun of this holiday and that she loves the boat and the fireworks.
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