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.

Fake Christmas picture???

Is it against to rules to just MAKE UP a Christmas picture?? Here are our best faces in ONE picture. I didn't really have to find a good one of Sean...the man is like a cookie cutter when it comes to these pictures. He looks good in every one. I on the other hand had trouble finding one that I didn't have a crazed look in my eyes. So as you can see we are still on the hunt for a Christmas picture. We have some candidates that if by Wednesday have not been replaced by better photos can and will be used. You may be thinking to yourself. Why spend time in photoshop making this ridiculous photo?? I find it therapeutic. I thought maybe if it was just crazy enough it would be good. Nope...didn't work. Now onto our Christmas letter.....fake one of those too??

Update on Ian. He has had a lot of firsts these last couple of days. He took his first steps!! I'm am so very sad that I missed them, but Daddy got to see them. We don't think it will be long until we're running after him. He also took his first road trip this weekend and got to meet some family. He did really well. He slept well in his pack-n-play and even rode in the car well. This gives us great hope for next week!! We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas that we won't be seeing or have addresses for. Have a safe and happy holiday season!!

The perfect picture...

Here are pictures that WON'T be in our mailbox this season...

Every year this is an issue. Getting the best picture possible for our Christmas cards. I knew this year would be a challenge, but tonight we did our first "take". I think I chose the wrong time. I thought it was a good one...both kids were clean, fed, and happy. But it seemed as soon as the camera came out the sad faces did too. No one was looking at the camera at the right time and smiling at the same time. I broke a sweat at one point trying to keep everyone on the couch. This last one, I think Ian is looking for a escape hatch and if you notice the ears in the foreground, Amos (the dog) is trying ever so hard to do what we're asking. Good dog!

When not torturing the kids we're having a nice time as a family. With both Sean and I home right now I had all these grand plans of getting things done, but as you can see from my absence here on a the blog that isn't happening. I do think we are all falling into the grove of a four member family, though. Ian is adjusting more and more each day. We decided not to take him to our Thanksgiving dinners, which turned out to be a good choice (if not a very hard one). He came down with a cold. His second since we've been home. He's been working on his new immunities. But we see no reason he won't be visiting everyone for Christmas!

It is hard to believe that it has been one month since we've been home! Ian is really a happy baby (disregard previous pictures). He is exploring more and asking to be held more (yeah!). We've been starting baby sign language with him and he signed "more" to me today! I'm not sure he understands the sign, but it won't be long now. I feel I need to leave you with a picture free of torture...