6 months already?

Six months ago yesterday we arrived home with Ian. (disregard the date above...that's when I started writing this post...Nov. 5th is when we came home).I can't believe it has been that long already! Next week we're heading to the court to make our family official and legal. We've felt pretty offical for a long time now, Uncle Sam just has to have his say as well. ;-)
Yesterday also happened to be a holiday in Korea known as Children's Day. They celebrate the children by taking them somewhere fun, eating fun foods and getting presents for them. Here are the kids getting ready to go. We spent the morning with other families that have kidd-o's from Korea. It was a lot of fun. It is so great to see Ian toddling around with his adoptee buddies. Thank you to all the ladies who went to so much work to make it such a fun morning! Here they are enjoying their cupcakes.
Here is Ian practicing his social skills. His friend Drew is 7 days younger than him. Perhaps they were nursery buddies.

The kids discovered a fountain and sure got wet.

Here is Ian doing a headstand because he's so excited about playing in water. We all had a lot of fun.

I've started working on a Lifebook for Ian and for Cydney. A lifebook is pretty common in adoption circles. It is a book you put together for your adopted child that explains all you know about his past and how he/she came to be adopted. It is a good jumping off point for discussions about adoption. I'm making one for Cydney too. I underestimated how hard this task is. I'm also looking for possible ways to illistrate it. It may just be some stick people with smiles. I still have a long way to go.

Thank you for checking in. My appologies if you've been checking more frequently than I post. Perhaps this summer I'll have more time?? :-)

April fools!

No, this is no April fools joke...I'm actually posting a message! I apologize for being so silent for so long. Time has been getting away from me, but please except my apology with many pictures of the kids. So much has happen since I last posted. We've had visitors, swim lessons, doctor visits, and oh, yeah! A court date has been set to finalize Ian's adoption!! Woohoo!!
Here is another big accomplishment...we turned Ian's car seat around to face forward now. He giggled the whole way to our first destination after we turned him (he giggled like we'd forgotten to turn him around). :-) Ian has also been busy supervising Cydney's job of feeding the dog. She gives him the lid to dog food container and he bangs it on the floor while she dishes out the food. Kind of like a "come and get it" bell for Amos. Cydney got a metal for finishing her sports class at the YMCA. She was so proud of her metal that she wore it for days. After she got tired of it, Ian tried wearing it for a day, but decided it was too long. Here they are in the wagon (on one of our nice days not too long ago), getting ready to ride to the park. Cydney had instructions to not let him jump from the moving wagon and she took it very seriously. I'm not sure Ian could breath most of the way there, but he was safe. ;-) I was trying the get a picture of Cydney and Ian in their "Big Sister" and "Little Brother" shirts before they got too big to wear them. This was as close and happy as they got during my photo session.
And lastly, we are in full Easter celebration around here. Just like the Christmas photo there isn't a photo that has both these bunnies smiling, so alas, a have a happy bunny and a bunny in headlights look. But they were sure good sports. Since none of the previous pictures have Ian smiling, I thought I'd end with this one of him enjoying a dip in the sink. Sometimes a meal is just that good, that he needs a dip in the sink rather than be spot cleaned.

I promise to not let as much time go until the next post. Some things that I wish I could show you are Ian's new dance moves and Cydney's magic tricks. Ian's ears pick up music everywhere and he just starts dancing. His moves are fun...kind of a Charlie Chaplin meets Micheal Jackson thing. Cydney's tricks usually involve her waving her hands and exclaiming.."Ta Da...FIRE!" That makes Mommy nervous and has made her launch into fire safety and awareness, but Mommy also knows who to blame. ;-)

We wish everyone a fire free and Happy Easter!!

Ian is ONE!!

It seems like only yesterday that we were bringing him home.... :-) We celebrated a few weeks ago with family and friends (my apologies for not posting sooner). We hadn't invited Mother Nature but she invited herself so we had to reschedule for the next day. We tried to keep with Korean traditions and make sure we had the 4 parts of a good Korean birthday party. #1) Wear traditional Korean clothing (we left that to Ian, who wore the Hanbok that his foster mom gave him). #2) Prayers and blessings (Rev. Grandma Henson did a nice job with that). #3) Sharing food with friends and family (we fixed Bee-Bim Bop and Seaweed soup) #4) Preforming the Toljabee (having Ian pick an item that will predict what his life will hold).


We surprised ourselves with the Bee-Bim Bop. It turned out better than our trial run at home. Woohoo!! I wanted to serve seaweed soup because I had read that many mother's eat it after giving birth and then eat it again on their child's birthday to celebrate it. I wanted to honor his birth mother in some way and this seemed like the perfect way. I'm afraid we should have done a trial run on it too, because it didn't turn out nearly as good as it was in Korea.


We preformed the Toljabee. Here are the items we had and what they stood for:
Apple - He will have many descendants
Thread - He will have a long life
Book - He will be a scholar
Rice - He will be rich
Knife - He will be a warrior
Brush - He will be a talented artist
Puppet - You can guess this one (a last minute addition from Daddy)
Ian chose the thread and then went for the rice. A great choice! I was relieved that he chose the thread...with his dare devil ways I need all the assurance I can get that he's going to live a long life!! I secretly was holding out for the apple (because of grandchildren...it is never to early to start hoping). ;-)

We also had some American traditions as well. It just wouldn't be his first birthday without letting him eat his first piece of cake! He really liked it. Cake in one hand....a Star Trek tribute with the other "Live long and prosper." He didn't get quite as messy as I thought he would, but he still needed a little dip in the sink afterward.

We all had a great time. I think Ian had the best time of all. He was working the room like I've never seen. He loves parties and especially when they're for him!! Here are a few more pictures from the party....
Ian with Grandpa Henson enjoying an inside joke.
I think Cydney might be melting here. Just too much fun...

It was so wonderful to be able to celebrate Ian with so many friends and family! I can't begin to tell you how much we're enjoying having him as a part of our family. We're looking forward to many more birthdays!

Ian has been Served!

Hopefully this is the only time in his life that this will happen. Yesterday we met our lawyer. Well, more like his assistant and saw his office. We got the paperwork started to finalize Ian's adoption. Korea's rules are that the adoption is finalized in the US, six months after we arrive home. Our court date won't be for a while yet, but I knew there was paperwork and regulations that took some time to complete, so I wanted to get the ball rolling. It was really an interesting experience. Our lawyer's assistant took us around the court house completing paperwork. Our last stop was the department that "serves" people their paperwork to be present in court. According to the law, Ian is supposed to physically except the paperwork from the Lady working in this department. "Good luck, Lady." Was my only thought. She waved the paperwork at him and he did his shy pose (burying his head in my shoulder...I love that). His thoughts probably were (sorry, if this gets old...): "This is a trick! At home they don't let me play with paper, because it tastes so good and they're afraid I won't eat dinner. And I'm not supposed to take papers from strangers." Finally I took his hand and placed it on the paperwork and they called it "served". Phew! I thought we might be there all night. We celebrated with a trip to McDonald's. That's right, we celebrate BIG at our house. ;-)

Because yesterday was such a big day Ian's cold has gotten worse. Poor guy. You wouldn't know it to watch him. He just goes about his exploring, but when you look at his little face you can see how miserable he is. A trip to the doctor didn't provide any medicine, so he's got to just wait it out. Blah.... I'm just hoping he feels better in time for his birthday party. Cydney is so excited about his party. She's been picking out dresses in her closet for a few days now. She's hoping that there will be music for dancing. :-)

How to terriorize your soon-to-be toddler....

It is simple really....go through the automatic car wash. Today I learned about Ian's biggest fear. I thought it actually might be fun and I'd get the van clean...a win win. But once we were in place and the sprayers started, so did the crying. No amount of consoling or telling him it was going to be alright made any difference. From his perspective it was like this: There is a large monster outside my window! And not the kind from Sesame Street. Oh, o.k. I think it might be gone....Oh, wait here it comes again!!!! Oh, the humanity!!!! Will this never end?? The Mom in the van was beginning to wonder the same thing. Meanwhile, on the other side of the van was a whole different experience. Cydney would squeal with delight with each passing and exclaim "Ooooo we're getting soooo kwean!!" So the lesson learned here, was to leave Ian at home next time and wait a few years before we try it again with him. Poor little guy.

We have a new place to hang out during the day. We became a YMCA family last week. It appealed to me because I could take the kids with me and they would have fun in the activity room and I'd get a little bit of exercise and wean myself from the need for coffee. Everyone wins. I knew it would be an adjustment for Ian, but he has really done pretty well. I also like it because if he is upset for very long they'll come get me. Cydney likes to run the track after I come and get them. I carry Ian as we are chased by bears, bees, or lions. Although today he wanted to run it himself. He tries so hard to keep up with Cydney. It won't be too long before he can.

Oh the questions...!!

It has been my first week home with both of the kids and it as been a fantastic week. We had Cydney going to preschool full time until last week. We'd paid for it so we thought she might as well enjoy it! We hope to get her into a new one where she only goes 2 mornings a week. Ian loved having her home with us. He likes to follow her around to find the "good" toys. Cydney likes being home so that she can "mother" Ian as much as she wants. They play pretty well together. Today I heard all this giggling coming from the living room and when I got there I found Cydney giving Ian a puppet show! Her Dad has rubbed off on her. :-) Ian likes it if the puppets try and eat him.
Reading my cousin's blog the other day I realized that we are having the same discussions in our house. Since Ian has been home the topic of body parts has come up and we've been trying to address them as clearly as possible. Just like my cousin's little guy (Landon), Cydney thinks Ian has a "peanut" or after being corrected..."pizza??". She seems concerned about it, but I think more because she's jealous that he gets to carry food in his pants. We'll keep those discussion lines open and hopefully get her straightened out before she has kids. :-)
Cydney has also started noticing the differences between her and Ian in other ways. We knew that this is the typical age for kids to start comparing themselves to others. Cydney loves Ian's eyes. She loves that they are so dark and she can see herself in them. I caught her today trying to get her eyes to be the same shape as his. I love that she loves his beautiful features. Of course, being out in public more now I've noticed that adults are not much different than 3 year olds on this subject. We get a lot of stares and comments. The worst one coming this week was "How much did he cost?". I'd read that this could be a question, but I wasn't prepared for it. All I could muster was..."He was worth it." Not that all the stares are dark or comments bad. Most strangers we see seem so very genuinely happy to see our little family. Before we got Ian, it was my biggest fear that the stares or comments would bother me. I've never liked sticking out and adopting a child of another race seemed like a very big way to go about doing just that! It scared me. I was afraid that it would be like wearing a sign that says, "Hello, I can't have my own child so I took someone elses! What's your name?" But I can now honestly say that none of it matters. Having Ian home with us and falling in love with him makes all of that disappear. People can think and say whatever they like...I'm in love and he's my SON!! But now my fear is for him. Right now it is easy. He's oblivious to all of this. In a few years he'll start to notice things just as Cydney is. Just as any new parent I want to have all the right answers at all the right times. Are there enough books out there so that I can memorize these quick witted answers to annoying questions and make him the most well adjusted adopted child in the world? Probably not. But I'll do my best. As long as he grows up knowing that he is loved and loves who he is, I think that's all I can ask. Just as long as he understands he doesn't have food in his pants.

A New Year...New accomplishments...

It has been a crazy new year so far. Hence, the lack of blogging. We had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed introducing Ian to his new family and friends. Here is a picture of Ian with his cousin Maiya. We discovered that he's an extrovert. He's a little shy at first, but once he starts to feel at home, there's no stoppin' him. :-)I think Cydney liked having him here on Christmas morning. Santa leaves double the toys!
Ian's had a lot of firsts lately (which are good...no more missing any of his firsts!!). His big first is that I believe we can officially say that he is walking. He started about a week ago. Here is a picture of his first taste of spaghetti.... I think he liked it!

His newest game is to see what I'd be willing to eat. Toys, his sock, the string on my sweatshirt, an old bottle he found under the couch are just a few things. Sometimes it feels a little like Fear Factor. I kind of wonder if it is pay back for trying to get HIM to try so many different kinds of food. :-)

A new year comes with a new adjustment. I'm now trying out my new role as a stay-at-home Mom by day and workin' gal by night. Originally I was planning to work 3 nights a week but because of scheduling conflicts I'm working 5. Blah....It is going to take some adjustment time, but I think we'll get the hang of it here before too long. Hopefully...

I hope all of you are enjoying your new year this year so far. Last year was all about building our family and this year we plan on just enjoying it.