Swinging With Daddy

Anderson and I were swinging yesterday and he was going crazy!  It was so funny.

1st Week Home

Here is a collection of photos and videos from our first week home. Enjoy!

 In the Ergobaby with Mommy.

Riding our 1960's vintage elephant.

Pirate in training t-shirt from Grammy and Grandaddy.

I Just Got New Shoes Smile!

Mr Cool Baby

First time in a swimming pool.

Making it home and then some...

 This is the end result of 31 hours of traveling, but trust me, it did not always look so good.  By the time we arrived home we were exhausted.  We had to wake up at 5AM on Friday morning in Seoul (which is 4PM Thursday evening here in Concord).  We had to wake up our little one and drag our luggage to the airport shuttle stop in front of the Renaissance Hotel which was about a 1/4 of mile from the guest house where we were staying.  We had called a taxi to drive us the short trip but he looked at our luggage and said he did not have room.  Uggh.  So I had Anderson on my chest in the ergo baby with his diaper bag while I pulled a suitcase behind me.  And Andy had 2 suitcases, a bookbag, and his backpack with all the electronics in it.  We were a pitiful looking crew.  And wouldn't you know it started raining.  We finally got on the bus and we were about at the airport when Anderson vomited on Andy.  But Andy took it like a champ and we clean them up and Andy put on his extra shirt (only one hour into the trip home.)  The airport was amazingly efficient (like everything else in Korea) so we had over 2 hours to kill in the airport before we boarded our plane.

Here are my two guys just taking it easy before the long plane ride across the Pacific.

 Just chillin'

This picture was taken right before a delightful game of peekaboo between Anderson and me, the after effect was that he came around the chairs and when I held out my arms he walked into my arms and gave me a hug.  It was such a feeling of release that he was going to bond with me and that our family was going to be just fine.

 There was an indoor playground near our gate.  At first Anderson was unsure if he wanted to explore it.  He was content just to sit on Daddy's lap and watch the other kids have fun.

 But before long he had to join in.  We even climbed up the slide like the other big kids were doing.  I am not sure if this mom was completely prepared for all the energy and curiosity this guy has. 

He will watch you do about anything and then try it himself.  Except walk on grass, which we discovered on Sunday that he does not like and has probable had little experience with.  But we are working on it.

But back to the trip home.  The exhausting, trip home that seemed like it would never end.  Anderson really did amazingly well, but he would only let Andy hold him the entire time we were traveling all 31 hours.  By the time we touched down in Charlotte Andy's arm muscles had completely given out, but he held on trough the pain.  He is such an amazing father.

 Our hearts were crushed when we reached NYC and learned that our flight had been cancelled.  Andy broke down in tears when the agent told him that we would not be getting on a flight home for another 7 hours hours (9PM).  They even had to taxi us to another airport.  We had a momentary breakdown when we talked to family and friends and explained we would be much later arriving that planned.  As our family comforted us and encouraged us we could no longer hold back the tears.  Then we pulled it back together not wanting Anderson to see us so upset and knowing that falling apart was not going to solve anything. 

 Father and Son- such a mutual love

Our first photo together as a family of 3 on US soil.

 

 

 

Our family and friends were there to great us at the airport.  Just seeing their faces and being in a familiar setting was such a relief.  My parents drove us home, but even that was challenging.  Anderson had never been in a carseat before and perhaps never even been restrained in any way so he cried and screamed the moment we strapped him in.  He cried for over 25 minutes non-stop.  I was worried he was going to make himself sick.  Finally, when we reached George Liles Parkway he feel asleep.  We arrived home to a house filled with the smell of a pot roast cooking, a stocked refridgerator and cabinets, flowers in vases and many other details that my family had worked on while we were gone to make our transition into parenthood as smooth as possible.  Andy went to sleep almost immediately and slept until noon.  I always have to unpack and try to settle back in before I can fully unwind.  My mom and I gave Anderson a bath.  As it turns out, in the absence of Andy, he was eager to turn to me for comfort.  It was hard to give that up but I was exhausted as well.  So I handed him over to my mother and crawled in bed.  

The next morning I found the two of them curled up on our front porch swing.

 

I haven't taken many photos in the last 3 1/2  days that we have been home.  I have just been soaking up the joy of having our son home.  I mean look at this bundle of joy.  

Yes, he really does sleep like that on a regular basis.

We have been swinging, strolling, dancing, singing, tickling, bouncing, snuggling, exploring, learning, clapping, stacking, and so by the time the end of the day comes around, I just haven't thought about blogging.

We have also been swimming (in the kiddie pool on our back porch).  It is a refreshing activity after being in the heat of the day.  It is a little cool, but after this face comes the laughter.  He loves playing with the cups that drain.  He also loves drinking the water.  We are trying to break that habit.

 Daddy was practicing spiking my hair. 

 Anderson loves to make mommy and daddy dance to the music.  And we will do just about anything to make me giggle.  Just look at that face, can you blame us?

Initially he danced to the music by tilting my head to the left and right, but after watching mommy and daddy dance around the house, he is starting to add some dance moves of his own.

 Getting to my Tia (Aunt Meg).

So many people have stopped by to visit.  Granny, Aunt Julia, and the boys came over.  Anderson went over to Garrett and gave him a hug.  He liked blowing bubbles with Aunt Julia.  He wanted to blow them himself.  He did a good job sticking the wand in the bubble container, but instead of blowing the bubbles, he put the wand in my mouth.

 I had mentioned "stinky face" in another blog post.  We think this is how he breaks the ice and makes friends with new people.  Well, this is "stinky face" which usually changes to surprised face after a couple seconds, then back and forth.

 I know I look tired in this picture.  After seeing it, I decided to put some make-up on today.  But let's keep it real here people.  We are new parents of a toddler with extreme jet-lag, we are tired.  But we are having fun too.  This proof that mommy and Anderson are bonding fantastically since being home.  I wanted to put this picture us to show that even though we are tired we are having so much fun!  In this picture we are laying on a quilt in the front yard trying to get him used to the grass.

Oh Anderson, we have known you for 9 days now.  And in those 9 days you have already brought us so much love and joy.  You are a blessing to us.  We are so lucky that you are our son.

Home Sweet Home

We finally made it home after 31 hours of travel with no sleep, 16 hours in the air a flight cancellation, a cab ride across NYC, and lost luggage.  We were so happy to be greeted by family friends at the airport we both started crying, but we had both been crying quite a bit during the trip.  I was doing ok until our flight out of NY got cancelled.  After that I had a hard time holding it together.  It's amazing what lack of sleep will do to you.  We'll post more later, but for now we are home!!!!

~Andy

Figuring each other out

Thursday, July 19, 2012

While yesterday went amazingly well, we did spend about 4 hours out on the street just walking around trying to keep him distracted.   We were worried that walking around would not be a luxury we available to us due to the prediction of lots of rain.  We were anxious about trying to entertain our little man for 14 hours in our little apartment guest room with limited toys and his tendency to cry when we in the room.  Well, we have been pleasantly surprised on both accounts.  First of all, the rain was heavy through the night and early morning, but now the skies are blue (perhaps the prettiest day here yet).  We did take about an hour-long walk after lunch to try to keep things fresh and interesting so that he wouldn’t become restless.  Second, Anderson has done so well indoors today.  We are amazed at how much more of his personality has been revealed to us as each hour passes and how much more comfortable he grows just being around us. 

As you saw in today’s earlier video post, we have broken the laughter barrier.  He smiles and laughs quite a bit now.  And I already mentioned the funny faces in yesterday’s blog.  Our caseworker told us he likes to be the center of attention and we are starting to see that come out.  Looks like I now have two comedians in the house. He is really good at mimicking as well.  We have played telephone a lot today.  He is so smart.  He works hard to figure out new toys.  He is so observant that once he has seen you do something several times; he can do it as well.  We are starting to introduce a little baby sign language.  And he has already used the “more” hand signal 3 times!  (And no it wasn’t for food; it was for water.)  Can you tell I am one proud mommy?

He is very physical with daddy.  He wants Andy to be the one to hold him (which means Andy is the one to put him down to sleep) and he always sits on Andy’s lap when we are playing together.  But don’t worry about me.  He is not pushing me away.  We play a lot, and touch a lot, and I am doing a lot of the feeding.  Also, the time he and I are spending together when I have on the baby carrier are great for bonding.  Of course, I want him to reach for me and snuggle in my arms, but I know that time is on the horizon.  Look how far we have come as a family of three in only 26 hours. 

And now he is resting for his 2^nd nap of the day!  Looks like we have a good sleeper on our hands.  He slept for 11 hours last night (straight through the night- not a peep out of him).  He took a 45 minute nap at 11AM.  And now he is napping again.  According to the schedule his foster mom gave us- he usually sleeps for 2 hours during this nap.  We’ll have to wait and see.  But for now I am counting my blessings.  He is so beautiful when he is sleeping!  Well he just woke up so it turns out it was a 1 hours nap today.  Still, I’ll take it!

So what is in between us and Concord you ask?

The rest of the afternoon/evening here (it is currently 5pm), a night’s sleep (finger’s crossed), a early wake up, we have to catch the 5:57 bus to the airport for a nearby hotel, getting to and through Seoul’s airport, waiting for our 10:40 AM KoreanAir flight to get there (we were told to be there 3 hours early!  Awesome!), a layover in NYC, a flight from NYC to NC, and then through the Charlotte airport. 

So this is probably going to be my last post until we are home.  Our bags are mostly packed.  I told Andy today that I don’t think I have ever been so eager to get home or so dreading a flight there.  Please keep the prayers coming our way because they are working. 

Love to you all!

His laugh is so cute you will cry! :)

Gotcha Day

July, 18^th 2012… Will forever be known in our family as Anderson’s Gotcha Day.

We spent the morning straightening up the room, grocery shopping for food he might like, and trying to relax/rest before the big change.

We have been waiting so long for this day to come, but as the elevator climbed to the 6^th floor I was filled with a heart-thumping combination of excitement and anxiety.  Of course I was longing to have Anderson in my arms and call him ours, but I knew that this transition would not be easy for him and that the tears would flow. 

Each day he has gotten more comfortable playing with us in the playroom of SWS.  Today in walked right in and started playing with us.  We didn’t have long with him before he had to go to his final doctor’s check up (the first couple floors of the SWS building are part of a hospital).  Well the visit confirmed what we already knew.  We have a really healthy boy; he is 27 pounds!  Ms. Kim gave us our necessary paper work, foster mom gave us some snacks and food that he loves to eat (eternally grateful for that!), and the agency gave us 2 books about Seoul and SWS, formula and diapers.  Before we left, the director of SWS came to meet us and gave us a beautiful gift (a mother of pearl jewelry box.)  Then it was time to leave.  If it had been up to us this part would have happened differently but it was not up to us.  Ms. Kim told us it was time to leave.  We all walked to the elevator (foster mom was still holding Anderson.)  You could see she was having a hard time letting him go.  She shifted him on her hip several times.  There were tears.  Andy and I were forcing ourselves to remain calm so to not further upset Anderson.  Then Anderson was handed to Andy and we got on the elevator to leave.  Anderson cried as we were on the elevator, but once we were outside he was distracted from crying by looking around.  However, once we were inside our room, he was crying inconsolably.  Andy was sweating terribly and needed to change clothes so he handed Anderson to me.  I felt so helpless.  I could sympathize with his tears but I wanted so badly to make them stop.  His head and eyes kept scanning the room looking for foster mom.  It felt like an eternity, but in reality it was only 18 minutes.  Oh yes I timed it.  And like a light switch had been flipped, hid eyes fluttered and he feel asleep in my arms.  I walked over to the bed and we rested together.  He slept and I soaked in the moment of having my son sleep in my arms for the first time.  He slept for a little over an hour, but when he woke, the tears came again.  We decided to brave the stares and headed outside.  He does not cry when we are out and walking around.  Union Street here we come!  He eventually fell asleep in the ergo baby.  After our walk we had dinner (rice and pumpkin).  He is doing so well with the bonding.  Each hour we see improvements in his willingness to be with us.  After dinner we took a quick bath.  We played in the room a little longer, but when he started to get fussy we headed back outside for another walk.  On this walk we felt like we had two major bonding successes.  1.  He started making silly faces back at us.  He has two silly faces that he alternates between.  Face #1 is a scrunched up nose that you would make if something stinks.  Face #2 is the chin extended down but the lips kept together like you are surprised.  Making these faces back and forth while we walked earned us our first smile of the day.  2.  We have been calling ourselves mommy and daddy and sometimes using the Korean words for mom and dad when referring to each other and ourselves.  While we were walking Andy was talking to Anderson and telling him to say “Daddy”.  Much to our surprise and delight, Anderson pointed to Andy and said “Appa” (the Korean word for Daddy! Mommy might be a little slower coming since that is what he called foster mom, but if we are here already we know it won’t be long.  At 8pm he started yawning again.  He usually goes to sleep at 10pm, but we decided not to fight it.  Andy and Anderson played with a musical toy we bought while here as I showered.  We were told he likes things that make noise.  Well he is in luck because so many friends have given us electric toys that we should have more than enough to keep him occupied.   At about 8:30 Andy gave him a bottle and curled down beside him in the bed, and by 9pm he was sleeping like a champ.  The bed is not big enough for the three of us even is the best sleeping conditions.  The plan was for me to shower and then come sleep there, but after my shower I peaked in the room and both my boys were sleeping so soundly I could not bear the thought of moving Andy.  At about 11pm, Andy woke up and we switched places.  Then we switched places again at about 4am.  Like I said these are not the best sleeping conditions.  The beds are rock hard, and neither of us has slept through the night since last Thursday when we left Concord at 4am to go to the airport.  It is now 7:40 AM, and Anderson is still sleeping.  What a blessing to have such a good sleeper!   

It is pouring rain this morning thanks to a tropical storm to our east in the Yellow Sea, so today is going to be interesting since walking might be more of a challenge, but thanks to a good night’s sleep we are up to the challenge. 

Love to you all!  Andy, Kate and Anderson. 

Let's Play Ball!

July 17^th continued…

For our last big outing while we are here is Seoul (because we get Anderson in about 8 hours) we decided to check out a Korean baseball game.  We went to see the LG Twins play here in Seoul (they play in the Olympic Stadium here).  We had read a couple of travel blog post about what to expect, but we didn’t know that we would have so much fun! 

While at first glance this looks like your typical American baseball game with people in jerseys and refreshment stand everywhere, do not be fooled.  Things are not what they seem. To begin with, the options for refreshment range from sushi to fried squid.  We decided to pass on the food because we had just eaten dinner before jumping on the metro.  And why buy here at the stadium because they let you bring in outside food.  And boy do the people bring in the food. One group of office workers sitting next to us brought in several cases of beer!  We got tickets at the gate.  All of the information was in Korean, so we were very proud of ourselves).  We found our seats pretty easily.  They were in between 1^st base and right field.  We both agreed that for less that $9 each they are a steal.  Not long after sitting down it started to rain.  We feared it might rain the entire game, but luckily it cleared up by the end of the 2^nd inning.  The game began with the playing of the national anthem and that is when the action started! 

Where to begin…Well, there are cheerleaders for each team.  Andy said that if American baseball had cheerleaders when he was younger he probably would have been a bigger baseball fan!  There is an MC who leads the crowd in cheers.  Not just occasionally, like when the fans of the Atlanta braves do the tomahawk chop, but throughout the entire game!  Each player has their own personal theme song/cheer that is played/sung when they come up to bat. The MC even held a drinking contest for the crowd’s entertainment between the 4^th and 5^th innings.  And almost everyone in the crowd, including us, had inflatable clippers to cheer on the home team and distract the away team.  From beginning to end, the entire experience was very interactive. 

The pitching was not great for either team, but we got to see some great hits and fielding.  We had so much fun.  It was a wonderful way to spend our last night as a family of two because after tomorrow we will be a family of three! J

p.s. Random side note- Green Tea ice cream is not as delicious as it sounds! :/  I should have gone with the Apple Mint or the Musk Melon!