Sooooooooo Big.......

Jae-min has a brand new trick that he's very proud of!! If you say "How big is Jae-min?" He raises his hands above his head and you respond with "soooooo big". He thinks this is pretty funny and will try to engage you by raising his arms and waiting for you to say "sooooooo big". He's definately getting so big and loves crawling on the kitchen floor, making a straight line for those doggy dishes. Thank goodness for all these adorable tricks, as he still puts us through the ringer many nights, leaving this mommy and daddy in a state of pure exhaustion. I guess he tries to make up for it during the day with that little face.

Oh, he was "helping" me change his diaper by emptying the diaper caddy of all its belongings. But again he can charm his way out of anything!!!

He's On The Move!!!!

On Saturday night Joe had gone for a quick trip to the supermarket and I was getting Jae-min's dinner ready when I turned around and saw him CRAWLING from where I left him to the dog's water dish!!! I got so excited I grabbed the video camera and then called Joe at the store. When he got home we put Jae-min on the kitchen floor and lo and behold he crawled straight across it. Wow!! is all I can say. He crawls for motivators....the phone, dog's dish, and a jar of M&M's. But our boy is a crawler!!!!!!!!!!! To think when he came home 2.5 months ago he couldn't even sit up and now he's crawling is amazing. All of our hard work is definately paying off. Just look at him go!!!!!!! Way to go Jae-min.

A Boy and His Best Friend............And A Tree

For Mother's Day in addition to a beautiful necklace Joe (and Jae-min) also bought me a rose of sharon tree which is the flower of South Korea. They thought this appropriate to celebrate and mark my first mother's day to our little Korean cutie. So, this week my dad came and planted Jae-min's tree in a special place in the yard. We can't wait to watch the tree grow and change as we watch Jae-min grow and change. Many have asked how our first baby is doing with the addition of his brother. Martin had been with us for 8 years before the arrival of Jae-min so we were alittle concerned how it would go down, but we a pleasantly surprised!!!!!!!!!! Martin loves Jae-min and the feeling is definately mutual. They are truly best friends and we are so happy how well Marty adjusted. He has to say goodmorning each day to Jae-min and loves to be included in everything. And now Jae-min starts "crawling" toward Martin and talking to him in this high pitched sweet voice he only uses for Martin. We are very lucky they love each other so.

Oh, and no dogs or children were harmed in this wagon ride!!! Haha

Two Months Home!!!

Today marks two months since we stepped off the airplane from Korea and welcomed Jae-min home!!! The time has gone by in a flash, unlike when it dragged on and on as we waited. Jae-min is doing well and has changed dramatically in two months. His motor improves daily and it makes me sad to think that if he had received alittle extra help in Korea he wouldn't have to work so hard now. Oh well, the improvements in two months are amazing. He loves a game of peekaboo and claps now in response to Yay. He's very interactive with us and appears to continue to strengthen that attachment every day.
Nightime can be still hit or miss and you just never know what will happen when you place that little cutie into his crib. Sometimes it saddens us when he wakes screaming with his eyes closed. We just think he must still work through some stuff at night. Some nights are great and we don't see his smiling face till morning. You just never know!!!
We still keep all that attachment stuff in the back of our minds constantly which is a bit overwhelming at times. Sometimes we just wish we didn't have to always think about how situations could affect him, but we do, and we know a true attachment will take years to form. We'll continue to look for his cues and clues as to what he needs.
The last two months have been a whirlwind. It has been a HUGE adjustment and some days are still really really hard. We keep telling ourselves that we only have an 8 week old baby at home, as that's what he is to us. So keep us in your thoughts that we're doing little Jae-min proud and that we're being the best parents for him we can be. I'm sure all first time parents feel overwhelmed at times but also feel that pure joy when he lights up with happiness.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

There have been years when this day would come and go with much sorrow. We are fortunate to have both of our mother's to celebrate this day with, but something was always missing. There was always a hole in my heart as we celebrated mother's day.....until this year. This year I got to celebrate with my little (and big) man and it was what I had been dreaming of for so long. I awoke this morning to little whispers and scurrying around and the next thing I knew Jae-min and Joe were on the bed and my little man was holding a card and gift box...so cute. They all went to get breakfast so that I could take a quiet shower Yahoo and then we went to church. We took a walk just the three of us before visiting family for the afternoon. I couldn't have dreamt up a better day. It was definately worth the looooooooooong wait and many mother's days with that sinking feeling in my heart. That feeling is no more.
Today was a wonderful day. After some stressful and overwhelming days since bringing Jae-min home and all the stress before, it was nice to have a day like this. A day to celebrate all mothers. Today I took time to remember the pain of those mothers days past and to reflect on those feelings. And to take a moment of thanks for all I do have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!