Korea Part 3b

So we finally had Katie in our arms. Now what??

We hit Lotte Mart of course. She was doing well and loves the Ergo so we grabbed a cab and hit this Korean version of a Super Walmart. It was kind of insane but we needed to stock up on things like formula, her favorite crackers, a toothbrush, a cup with a straw, etc.

We started in the produce area. I will never again complain about the price of grapes or bananas considering we spent about $7 on grapes and $5 on bananas. From there we found rice and then crackers.

It was complete chaos and tons of people everywhere. We finally found the baby food aisle and grabbed some formula. We then found toothbrushes and a cup and tried to get out of there ASAP. Super overwhelming.

We made it back to the hotel and decided let's feed Katie some dinner. Her foster mom made us some fried rice type dish for her so we heated it up and she seemed to like it. At our meeting they said she takes 2-3 bottles a day of formula with about 200ml in each. They said she eats rice at every meal and after her rice she takes her bottle. So I made her a bottle. She took 2 drinks and then pushed it away. I followed the directions we had gotten at our meeting but apparently she didn't want it.

We left it alone and tried a little later with the same result. I put some whole milk in a sippy cup and she reached for that and happily drank that. She drank just about the whole cup of milk. At that point I knew she wouldn't drink the bottle of formula.

Around 9pm, I climbed into bed with her and we both slept. Every time she moved I would wake up. A couple of time she kicked me or hit me. She is a very active sleeper. I got up at about 6. Katie got up about 8.

I tried to make her a bottle in the morning and again no go. I even tried to put milk in it for her and she didn't want it. I put the milk back in the cup and she reached for that and happily drank away. We shall see how this plays out...

We were hotel bound most of Tuesday due to the typhoon/tropical storm Bolaven. We were all going a little stir crazy. Katie took 2 naps and we hit the playroom for a little while.

Then we ordered pizza with our new friends and just hung out. It was a very mellow day. We are hoping to get out and about again today but  Miss Katie is still sleeping.

I am enjoying Seoul very much but I miss Kiya, my dogs, my bed. I am ready to go home and figure out our new normal. Until that time comes, I am enjoying Miss Katie tremendously. She is happy and funny. She loves to imitate.  She bows when she is done talking. She is a total chatterbox and we don't understand any of it. She definitely is showing signs of a temper but overall she is truly wonderful.

Korea Part 3a

The day had finally arrived. It was Family Day. I didn't sleep much the night before. I was up at 4 and then again at 5 and then again at 6 and finally decided to just get out of bed.

We ate breakfast. We did some laundry. We stared at the clock. We were told that we should be at our agency at 11:10am. So we grabbed a cab and headed out. We got there very early.

There is a little cafe there so Dave grabbed a lemonade and we met a nice couple from California that was also there to be united with their son. They had met him a couple of days prior. We sat and chatted with them both of us moms watching the clock.

Turns out we weren't supposed to be there until 11:30am. We were meeting with the director of the agency, having lunch and then at 1:30 we would meet Katie. Sigh...wish I would have known that but it was nice to see all the great things our agency does and to hear to background of adoption in Korea. The director skirted over the new adoption laws just saying no one really knows for sure what was going to happen and she apologized many  many times for the long wait to be united with our children. She then thanked us for being willing to take care of these children.

After our traditional Korean lunch we waited some more. We were sitting in the lobby and I saw our foster mom walk in with Katie on her back. I cried. Like a big old baby. Not sure they if saw us or not but we didn't actually interact then.

We met with our social worker to fill out some paperwork, get her passport etc. From there we walked up some stairs (which brought back a flood of memories of the stairs we walked up in Ethiopia to first meet Kiya) and into a playroom. There she was. Perfect.

We gave Katie her space. She didn't run up to us and that was okay. She was cautious. It took time but we sat on the floor and played with her. She loved waiting to see our reaction to when she did something. I asked some questions of her foster mom. Her foster mom told us that we were very lucky that Katie is a very sweet girl, not fussy, not picky and loves to wear dresses, have clips in her hair etc.

Her foster mom gave us a big stack of photos, a hanbok, dinner, a Pororo toy (super loud by the way) and an outfit. You could tell this woman loved little Katie very much.

We sat and played for a long time. Giving Katie the space she needed. She would check in with her foster mom a few times and as time progressed she seemed to be more comfortable with us. We hadn't gotten hugs yet but that was okay.

Our social worker left for a few minutes and when she came back she gave us an envelope with something I was never expecting to see. Sonogram photos of Katie. I have never been in possession of anything like this. I couldn't believe it. We now know that Katie was born at 39 weeks.

Soon it was time to leave. They ushered us out of the playroom. We allowed Katie's foster mom to take her and head downstairs. There the director said a prayer for all of us families and children. It was very touching and there were tears around the room. There were 3 newly formed families there counting us. Katie was held by her foster mom the entire time.

As we were getting into the van, her foster mom kind of grabbed me and hugged me. We were both crying. We stopped to take a picture. I look smiley but was holding back tears as I didn't want to scare Katie. We gave foster mom her time to say goodbye. She cried, I cried, little Katie silently shed some tears. Her foster mom handed her too us and we were almost ready to go. Katie reached out for her and as the van door closed she collapsed into me and eventually fell asleep.

This is merely the beginning of a  beautiful love story...

Korea Part 2

I  know I am a little behind...sorry.

So on our second day in Korea we ventured out to try Seoul Tower again. This time we decided to take the subway. It actually wasn't too hard to figure out once we got our barrings and was really cheap.

We got off the subway and walked a little ways to the cable car that would take us up to the tower. Now if you know me you know that confined spaces and heights and not necessarily my favorite things. Imagine being crammed in a cable car with 40 some other people heading up a mountain. It was interesting. The view was amazing and I am glad I did it.

At the top we went to the Teddy Bear museum which was cute. We then took the elevator, yup same deal as the cable car, up to the top. Wow. We could look out over the whole city. It was great.

We had this really amazing lunch at an Italian restaurant at the tower and after lunch we went and placed Locks of Love of the wall for our girls. They are padlocks with our names and our girls names on them. It was really a special moment.

It was VERY humid and pretty warm today so we headed back to the hotel to rest. I took a shower and a nap.

We met Brian of Leah and Brian, for dinner in Itaewon. He showed us some real Korean BBQ. It was great and nice to see a different side of Seoul and the food was amazing.

Right now it is 6:40 am on Monday. Family Day with Katie. I can't sleep and am focused on the darn typhoon Bolaven. It does appear the typhoon has lessened and will continue to lessen in severity. It is set to hit the western peninsula of South Korea on Tuesday. For now we are watching its progress and hoping and praying for the best. I think the biggest issue will be for people trying to fly in and out of Seoul. I am thinking we will get heavy rain and winds but should be okay.

4 1/2 hours until I hold my baby girl. I am so over the moon excited!!!

Korea part 1

We made it! It was a long day of travel but we are here in the same country as our daughter. I can hardly believe it.

Let's start with the flight. 13.5 hours on a plane is just not fun. It is boring, uncomfortable and borderline gross. Luckily, Korean Air is fabulous. The food was decent not great but edible. The staff was very friendly and the served free wine with lunch. I was able to sleep some and watched 2 movies. I got a good glimpse as to what the flight home might be like since I had a 15 month old sitting next to me the whole time. She was actually very good which couldn't be said for some other kids on the plane.

Once we landed in Seoul we went through immigration. Super easy, super high tech and really very fast. We gathered our bags and went through customs which again was super easy as we had nothing to declare. We exchanged money and set out to find a way to hotel.

We wound up taking a bus. I was a little nervous at first that we weren't going to the right place but it dropped us off right in front of our hotel. Again super easy and very cheap.

Once at our hotel I took a shower. We then hit up a local cafe for some sandwiches and I was in bed by 9:30pm Korean time. The bed is definitely on the firm side but we both slept well and all night.

Saturday morning we Skyped with Kiya. It was so nice to see her face and talk to her. She is doing great  but kept saying "Mommy come home." That was hard to hear but I know she is in great hands. She is enjoying her gift a day and she found out that she will get to join her friend Lily's class in the coming weeks.

After our chat, we met up with another adoptive family staying at our hotel. We attempted to go to Seoul Tower with the intention of riding the cable car up to the top but got there and it was closed. We all hopped back in a cab and headed to the Korean War Museum/memorial.

It was a very moving and powerful experience. There was so much to see and do and lots of it was in English. Oh and did I mention it was free. I couldn't believe it. A museum like that in the US would easily cost $15-20 a person.

At one point a Korean man came up and asked Dave if we were from the States. He then bowed and thanked us. It was really touching and very sweet.

So that is what we have been up to so far. This whole experience is so different from Ethiopia. We are two days away from meeting Katie and a possible typhoon. Things are going to be interesting for sure. Tomorrow we may hit up a palace and do some shopping.

In the world of Kiya

I thought it necessary to pause from packing, cleaning, packing, organizing and baby/toddler proofing to post an update about all that is going on with Miss Kiya.

First off, she is over the moon excited to be a big sister as long as Katie doesn't get her pink sheets. She can have the purple ones but not the pink ones. And she also can't have the blue bath turtle that Kiya only gets to play with for one week every 12-13 weeks.

I heard back from our care coordinator about the questions we had after our last cast day. She is going to raise our concerns with the doctor and push for the one month brace break next summer. I am a little nervous about the break but we need to try and fix some other things. As a family, we decided and I told Linda, that we are willing to continue casting for 2 more years. At that point if we are still stuck we will choose one of two things depending on the xray. We will either try to brace and delay surgery or we will move forward with surgery. I cannot be in denial about this anymore and while I hate the idea of my 6 year old having major surgery if the end result is a straighter back and the change to just be a kid then that is what I need to do. It won't be easy if that is the route we go but who said life was every easy.

Kiya is getting her hair actually braided next week. She is so ready for her "Charlotte" hair. I showed her a picture of a little girl that was in Ethiopia the same time she was and told her we travelled with her parents to bring them home. She LOVED her braids and has been asking for "Charlotte" hair. Going to be a long day at the salon but it mean a few weeks of no combing so it will be worth it.

Kiya will be starting private school in September. We have enrolled her in the Pre-3 program at the same school that Dave went to. She is excited about her new school and so are we.

Lastly, Miss Kiya has decided that she wants Sleeping Beauty flip flops. We have told Kiya that if she wants flip flops she needs to learn how to walk up and down the stairs by herself, alternating legs and holding on the rail with one hand. Sounds mean...well her cast and her scoliosis have affected her muscle development. If not focusing, she will walk up the stairs only using her right leg to push off of.  She is almost 4. We are doing her a disservice if we don't challenge her to use other muscles.

Let me tell you she is so determined. When we first presented this challenge she said "I can't do it. It's too hard." Now a few weeks later we have seen great improvement. She is alternating legs most of the time. She is putting her hands down for balance a lot less and she is doing it by herself holding only the rail. She still has some work to do but she is trying so hard. We are so proud of her.

So there you have it. Kiya's world is a busy place and about to get even busier with the addition of Katie.

I can't believe that this time next week I am flying to Korea....back to cleaning and packing and putting together our new stroller.

KOREA OR BUST!!!

It is true. I just booked the tickets. We leave in 9 days. 9. I am still in total shock. We got the call this morning about 9am saying get on that plane.

I was floored. I even asked her if she was kidding. You see I had started to become the crazy adoptive parent who is calling Washington DC to see if I could find out when her Visa Interview was. I called yesterday morning. Well once I lept through the hoops and answered 20 questions a nice woman named Jeanette told me that her visa interview hadn't been scheduled and that I should try calling tomorrow.

So knowing that it was a national holiday in Korea on Wednesday, I had kind of figured we weren't going to hear anything this week or if anything late in the week.

When I saw that 651 area code, I started jumping up and down. Kiya started screaming "Katie, Katie".

Airfare and hotel are booked. Dogs are being boarded. Kiya is staying with Nana and Papa. I am attempting to get Katie added to our health insurance and oh yeah I need to pack.

Hang on baby girl we are going to see you soon!!!

13

13 years ago today, I walked down the aisle of Mission Santa Clara and married my best friend. This has been a wild and crazy ride so far and I am looking forward to seeing what lies ahead. In honor of this day, here are 13 of the many things (in no particular order) I love about my husband.

1.  He can always make me laugh
2. He works so hard so I can stay home
3. That he is always willing to kill a spider even if he is laughing at me
4. That he is truly a wonderful father
5. That he has stood by my side for all the good times and not so good times
6. That 2007 didn't scare him off forever
7. How he is willing to wear beads and sparkly stickers just because our daughter asked him too
8. That he is the calm to my frantic
9. How he can think big picture when I get stuck on the details
10. That he gives really good hugs
11. That if I ask really nicely he will get up and get me another glass of wine
12. That he is still willing to put up with all my shades of crazy after 16 years together
13. That I know that no matter what he will be there for me and our daughters.

I love him  more today mostly because I love how great a father he is. It is truly his best quality. I see the way Kiya looks at him and hopefully Katie will too and it melts my heart.

I am a lucky gal for sure!