He May Not....

He may not have my big brown eyes....

His are deep brown and almond shaped.

He may not have my wavy hair...

His is jet black and oh so straight.

He may not have my larger nose...

His is small and button like.

He may not have my DNA...

But, he sure does have my HEART!!!!Today we celebrate one and a half years as Jae-min's parents. That's 18 months calling Jae-min our son. I find myself looking at him often and wondering about his birthparents. I wonder...

Which one of them was easygoing just like him?

Which one of them was inquisitive just like him?

Which one liked spicy foods?

Which one was a jokester?

Where did he get all the peach fuzz hair on his shoulders and back?

Where did he get his empathy and his caring spirit?

I think about them all the time and would honestly give anything for a chance to meet them. To see them and talk with them. Although knowing Jae-min as I do, I already feel like I know them. So...Jae-min sure doesn't have my genes, but I know that no other child could capture my heart more than him!!! He may not have been born from this body, but he sure was born from this heart. Happy 18 months home Jae-min. And thank you to your birthparents for making that most difficult and selfless decision.

Tomorrow we celebrate 2 months waiting for KB too. Yahoo.

Your brother can't wait to meet you KB too. Each month that goes by my heart gets bigger and bigger with anticipation with all that is to come!!!

"B" Is For Blankie!!!!!

Jae-min has recently become very attached to his blankies. Or as he often refers to them "2 bllllAnkies"!!! It's really cool as the dog headed blankie is the one we sent him in his care package when he was still in Korea. His foster mom sent it home with him and I remember the first night in the hotel getting that blankie out to try to console a very grieving child. The minute he smelled the familiar smell and touched the familiar ears, he would calm down. We held that little dog blankie close all night and every night since then. I love how the ears are now worn because he loves to rub them. I love how we have pictures of us with this blankie before he came home, and how we have pictures of him and his omma with this same blankie. This special blankie traveled halfway around the world twice and it is loved loved loved!!!!

His second loved blankie is the soft green one I knitted for him with lots of love. He's often seen dragging it around the house with the dog blankie too. Soooo 2 blankies!!!! This one was also filled with so much love. Every stitch brought us closer to bringing Jae-min home and it was my saving grace while waiting for him. To see him snuggle up with this makes my heart melt. To know the agony of some of those days before he arrived and then seeing him smiling with that special blanket is pricelss.So, when we were official for KB too I knew I wanted to knit another special blankie. I had wanted to wait to see if it was a boy or girl to get the appropriate color yarn, but the yarn store in town is going out of business and was having a big sale sooooo...... I ended up picking up the yarn.....a very neutral yellow and then will edge it in a gender specific color. I'm actually excited to start this blankie and hope our next little one loves it!!!

I just finished this project (I know another blanket) which was intended for a friend but may now just hang out in the closet waiting for our special little someone. We'll see.

I love that Jae-min loves his blankies. I love that I could make it for him and his sibling. I love that we could pick out something for our little one without even knowing them yet, and they fall in love with it. I guess I just love my little man (and our next little one that I hold in my heart).

Passport To Korea....

After finalizing Jae-min's adoption (in Dec) our agency had given us step by step instructions on how to apply for a passport, a birth certificate, and a social security card. It kind of got put on the back burner because this spring we were working hard on getting everything together for KB too, so last month we decided to start the final paperwork for Jae-min. Jae-min's passport arrived this week so he can now officially leave the country, and return. Great news. We haven't decieded yet if Jae-min will be coming to Korea with us to pick up KB too, we have plenty of time to decide, but if he does he's all set. Yahoo. Next stop....new birth certificate!!!

We've also been having a craving for some Korean food in this house!!! It had been too long since we had some great Korean food, so yesterday we decided to take Jae-min to our local Korean restaurant for the first time. He LOVED it. Tried everything and even liked the Kimchi. But...on the way out asked the owner for a "hamburger". Yup, alittle embarassing!!!!
I always get alittle nervous entering the Korean community as I never know what they feel about a Caucasian couple raising a Korean child. But... in true wonderful Korean fashion every person was so sweet and welcoming. It just solidified more why we love this culture. We had one nice man even approach our table and talk with Jae-min. He called him "happy boy"(we've heard that lots before) and just light up. Then he decided to give Jae-min a scoop of ice cream....which surprised us and totally knocked us off our seats. I don't know why though because this is how the people in Korea were too....so friendly and awesome. This would have been a sweet gesture except for the fact that Jae-min CAN'T HAVE ICE CREAM....it gives him big belly bugs. So this sweet man gave Jae-min one very long afternoon of belly aching and no nap. Oh well, take the good with the bad!!!!

A delicious meal makes us miss Korea that much more. We can't wait to go back and hope to take Jae-min there to experience it all for himself!!!!

First Road Trip!!!

Last week we went on our first road trip since Jae-min came home almost 1.5 years ago!!! Since coming home he has only slept in his own bed, so imagine my anxiety as we approached this vacation. But.... with our little trooper, everything went great!!! He loved New Hampshire and Storyland. He slept like a champ, played, laughed, and had a ball. First vacation was a success!!! For mamma and toddler Haha
Here's Humpty Dumpty (or humpy dumpy as Jae-min calls him). I think Jae-min found a new best friend.

Jae-min got to "drive" the tractor. We thought his head was going to explode, he was so excited!!
Look real closely at that big green thing. It's a huge catepillar. Gross, but pretty cool. Jae-min got a stick and wanted him to climb aboard. But I think it was just too fat.

Aww...look at that beautiful Cinderella and the handsome prince!!!! Jae-min was all smiles and giggles visiting her. A little tongue tied maybe?

And what good vacation doesn't end like this? Fast asleep two minutes after we got in the car on the last day. And he and Martin slept most of the way home. We had 2 tired little ones!!!!!!!!

We had a great time and all of mommies worrying was for nothing. I'm trying to relax and have faith in our little man and our parenting of him, but gosh its hard. This mommy stuff is tough some times.

One Month Down!!!!

Yesterday we celebrated one month down in our wait for Jae-min's brother/sister, or KB too as we refer to this sweet little baby. If you have been following along for awhile you may remember that when we were waiting for Jae-min we named him KB. So...this little one is KB too. Jae-min got in on the action and was excited to go to the playground and for a picnic last night in honor of this special day. I think it hit me yesterday that we are waiting again. If you remember from before I was always a little slow on the uptake and was always waiting for something bad to happen, not really believing this process would really end up with us having a child. But.....look, it works!! So this time around I can believe with my whole heart that things will work out in the end. Yesterday I realized that WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY and I sort of wanted to shout it from the rooftops. We really are doing this all again. We're really waiting, and going to Korea, and feeling those feelings of seeing our babies face for the first time, and trying to comfort a baby who doesn't know us, and seeing a smile and hearing a laugh and meeting a foster family who instantly becomes a part of our family......we're really doing it all again.

How amazing is that? We have one month under our belts. One month closer to getting that call. That call that will change our lives again.
I started thinking of all the hard times that will lay ahead for us. All the sleepless nights, the tears, the feelings of overwhelmness (if thats even a word). But this time I have a different view. I have the view on the other side that all of those hard times make these times that much sweeter. And I know we can do this again. And I think yesterday as I cried for the first time for this new child, I realized that I already love them. They are already very real to us and with each passing month we'll grow closer to having our next baby. So, one month down KB too.

The Negotiation....From The Negotiator

Last night we ate dinner on the back porch to enjoy the beautiful weather. Jae-min was dilly-dallying about eating his chicken, potatoes, and veggies. We were all talking and laughing throughout dinner, and then noticed that Jae-min still had lots to go. Joe and I began talking about yummy oatmeal raisin cookies that we could eat after dinner. Then the negotiation began:

Jae-min: "Ooh, cookies"

Me: "You can have a cookie after you eat up some more of your dinner"

Jae-min raises one of his chunky little fingers

Cocks his head to the side

And says:

"First cookie, then chicken!!!"

Um, no little man

"First cookie"

We just couldn't help but burst into laughter. That's our little negotiator. And no....he did not get that negotiated cookie until he ate his chicken. Silly silly boy.
From these pictures, I'd say that Mr. Potatoe Head has a run for his money. Wouldn't you say so?

Squiggles and Giggles....

Yesterday Jae-min and I went to a story/song time at our local library entitled Squiggles and Giggles. At the end of the class was alittle art project. It was so much fun!!! Jae-min loved all the stories and songs about rainbows and colors (and an owl, not really sure the relevence on that one) At the end of the class all the kids sat at little tables and made their very own rainbows. Jae-min loved using the sticky glue stick and the crayons and gluing the colors onto the paper. As you can see he was very proud of his finished product!!!It was such a fun and surreal experience to sit next to MY child in a little kid chair and create this awesome rainbow. During my teaching days, I sat next to so many kids and helped with projects that this moment was truly awesome!!! The fun we had was amazing. And this mommy let her little man do the project mostly by himself (with just alittle assistance) All of the other kids walked out of the room with perfect rainbows. But my little man walked out with the BEST rainbow of all.
I guess our saying really is correct. SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE!!! And one of my silly dreams came true in a library back room with the cutest little man ever!!!