I gotta wear shades

One thing we noticed in Korea is that Koreans hate the sun. Andrew is no different. He'll start whining when we have him out in the sun. So, we tried to solve the problem with sunglasses. We think he is starting to like them.

Holy Baby

Here we have Andrew praying, saying his rosary, and attending his first mass. What a baby!

Happy Baby Boy

Hi, all!
Our good friend Yeonhee translated all the little notes that foster sister made in Drew's photo album. (Foster Mommy gave us a photo album from his months with her.) He was one well loved boy! It's really hard to read all the notes without feeling sad for the family and for little Drew, who loved them as well.
On the bright side, all that affection combined with his fabulous disposition makes for one happy 9 1/2 mo. old baby. Thought I'd attach some of his smiley pictures here!

First Week

What a sweet boy! We know Andrew was well loved and cared for during his first months because he is such an affectionate, calm boy. He is even easing himself into a routine of sleeping all night and taking a couple of naps a day. His favorite toys are not toys at all, but us! Toys are fine for a few minutes, but his favorite activity is climbing on us and being silly, or "getting funny" as his paperwork had told us last month. To date, he has met and enjoyed David's parents, my mom, sister Karen and sister-in-law Sandra.
We have had so much support throughout the week! David's parents, Bruce and Cindy Parker, and Becca Atkins met us at the airport--how sweet! They came to see two zombies and a sleeping baby! We hope we were appreciative--neither of us is sure what we said or did! :) David's parents fed us the first couple of days, then my mom arrived with a homemade chicken pot pie, Sandra made a delicious shrimp dish, and Kera brought over a spaghetti pie! We are still enjoying that spaghetti pie--mmmmm! Good stuff! Don't know what we'd do without all this help. Karen arrived yesterday (Sunday) with roses, a box of homemade sweets, and a pack of diapers! What a good auntie. We went out for our first car ride just to a little restaurant about 3 minutes away and David and I both agreed that Andrew takes 3 people to keep up with him. We tried to convince Karen to move in with us.
Mr. Lovie is sleeping now--second nap today. If we can count 40 minutes as a morning nap, that is. I'll try to attach some pictures. :)

Settling In

Drew is getting more used to his new surroundings. Last night, he even slept through most of the night. What a joy he has been! It is hard to imagine life without him at this point. We just wish he would get used to the college schedule that we prefer! There is no use in getting up at 2:30 AM, son!

My Old Kentucky Home

We made it back! Drew was such a little trooper. That 20+ hour flight was hard on us adults, so I can only imagine what a baby is thinking during that ordeal. But, he did better than expected. He cried very little, even though he only slept about 3 hours of that 20+ hour endeavor. The worst part for him was the first, short flight from Incheon, ROK to Narita, Japan.

One of the worst parts of the trip was, strangely enough, Chicago O'Hare. We had to go through baggage claim, then Immigration to bring him into the country, then Customs, then we had to re-check the baggage, and then we had to go from the International terminal to the Domestic terminal. And, we had less than two hours to make the next flight. And, in spite of the "always looking to not help you" staff at O'Hare, we somehow made it. This is going to sound like a joke, but we both agree that the English spoken was better in both Korea and Japan than in O'Hare. Through all of the lines and poor English, Drew never complained.

Christine is such a great momma. Andrew has not attached to his old man, yet, and he will only let his momma hold him for long periods. We unfortunately left our stroller in the guest house in Seoul. Christine held him, rocked him, kissed him, fed him, and walked with him from Seoul to Lexington.

We are attaching a picture of Andrew's first time at home. He has been such a good and happy boy!

Still Sleeping

It is 7:10 AM in Korea, and Andrew is still sleeping. Around midnight, he became really happy and content. Then he got a massage, and that knocked him right out. He went to bed around 1:00 AM. Whew! We leave here shortly for Incheon. We should be back in Lexington in around 24 hours.

Thanks so much for all of the support. We truly found it helpful, especially in the difficult times. When we get back home, we will post pictures for the old posts. I never did find an SD drive!

Getting to Know You

Typing with a baby on my lap! He's up too late, but he's not crying! So far, this is what we know:

Likes:
My left hip
yogurt
stealing yogurt spoon
chewing on yogurt spoon
swinging yogurt spoon around
riding on David's back
Korean baby formula
books that contain about 4 pages--a nice, quick read
massages
Baby Einstein (for 5 minutes)
his toes
toys that make music and light up
running water--absolutely fascinating to him

Dislikes:
being set down (although he just sat in his crib for a few minutes)
sleeping, apparently

More later--maybe!

Seoul has Soul

This is probably the last post we will make from Korea. It is night here in Seoul, and we will be catching a flight tomorrow morning out of Incheon. The time has flown by while we were here. We kind we had stayed longer. If we had, however, we wouldn't have Andrew yet. We really enjoyed our time here. It is a massive city (from the looks of it probably the largest we've ever been to - we need to check Wikipedia on that one) and yet the people are as nice as or even nicer than those in Lexington. It is an amazing place. We read several books on Seoul and Korea before coming, but it is truly one of those things that you have to witness to fully understand. This may sound strange, but we think we'll miss it when we leave.

We Have Him

We went to the Social Welfare Society Office today at 11:00 as scheduled. It is located a couple buildings from where we are staying, so the social worker came over and walked us over. Before taking us, she took us to the nursery, which is in the same building as the guest house. This is where orphans are cared for during their first 3 to 4 months. The caregivers there remembered Hyun. It is quite amazing seeing all of the caregivers, dressed in pink, picking up the newborns, rocking them, changing them, and then moving on to the next baby.

We went to the social worker's office first. Andrew was going over a last minute physical prior to handover. There were several foster parents coming in and out. I was fascinated at how one picked up her foster baby, literally threw him on her back, and then wrapped him tight so that he could ride on her back. The baby somehow instinctively knew to hang on.

The foster umma and Andrew came out to greet us after a short period. We moved on to another room, where all of the last minute details (i.e. Hyun's passport, papers, medication, diapers) were ironed out. The foster umma gave us a Pororo bus that Hyun is particularly fond of. We talked for a short period, and then it was time to separate. I can assure you that there was not a dry eye between the three of us. We told her how much we appreciated her, and she asked that we send updates on Andrew as often as we can. She loved him so. We entered an elevator, and the door closed, and that was the last we saw of her.

Andrew did well for the first hour or so. After that, the mourning set in. Poor little Drew. It has been a little difficult. He has cried quite a bit. It helps to carry him in the back carrier and walk him around town. We walked him to the subwat station and grabbed a bite to eat this afternoon. He hates being in the guest house. I guess it is because it is not home. We are a little concerned about the plane ride tomorrow, but we will have to do it.

Feeding times have been fun. He smiles a lot when eating, and he just gave me a yogurt smile. :) He also screams in delight when he passes gas. Hahahaha! Thank you God for such a happy boy!

Today is the Day

Hi, all! This is the day! Less than four hours from now!!
If anyone was wondering why our posts about the weekend were longer than our posts about the baby, let me explain! We didn't used to have a room with a computer. Now we do! The agency claimed that there were internet cafes everywhere, so we didn't bring a computer. We couldn't find a single one, so on Friday after we had seen the baby we knew we had to post to you guys somehow. So, since I had befriended the night watchman, "Mr. D", he snuck us into rooms that had computers and were unoccupied. I think he enjoyed the excitement of it all! Fri. night we were posting things as quickly as we could, and then he ran in and said, "Have to go! They're coming!" The room was going to be rented that night and they were on their way. Exciting times! Last night, Mr. D. hooked us up with our very own big room with a computer!
Since our baby posts were so clandestine, we had to leave things out, like...
Andrew is now an expert crawler. Our last update from SWS included the summary from his last "interview". (I love that they call it an interview--I'm glad he didn't get the job--he'd sleep on the job chew up all the supplies around the office!) At that interview, he was not a crawler, but he is now. He even crawled on David for a minute before he got scared. He also likes to stand up and hold onto things. His favortie toy was this DJ machine. Wait til you see the video. I don't know where we're going to find one of these, but we must. He's got two bottom teeth and he screams when he's really happy. He also knows how to arch his back and yell when he's mad! Quite dramatic! Peek-a-boo puts makes him deliriously happy. He can't get enough of it.
Busia, you and foster mommy have something in common: bundling! It was somewhere around 65 degrees and sunny and the boy was wearing his warm shirt and "happy baby" overalls, which might seem sufficient, but before going outside, she bundled him in a giant fleece blanket. Sound familiar?? She also asked what the weather was like by us. She's very concerned because he does have a cold. As she and the baby were walking us to the car, she showed us how he was chewing the blanket. She said his favorite thing is to ride on her back and while he does, he chews her shirt. I can't wait until I'm walking around with a big wet spot on my back! Then I'll know he's adjusting. :)
I've been trying to catch up on my journal for Juju this morning. May as well--I don't sleep past 4:30 anymore! That baby already has me on a new schedule! We're a little nervous, but it will all work out. Thanks to all of you who posted such encouragement; it really did help!
Happy Mother's Day, Busia!! You are the best mommy anyone could have ever had. I hope to be half the mommy you have been!
Love to all,
Christine/Chrissy/Mookie/Blabbs/Kerteenie/Soups

Adoption in Korea

This post is what is on my mind this morning. You would think that hours before you are to get your son, you would be thinking about that moment. To be honest, I'm thinking about Korean culture. Most of the culture I find totally fascinating, and there are many aspects that I find better than my own (i.e. people are formal in dress and always look theit best, they eat healthier, they don't tip, they love spicy food, they put their children first, etc.). But there is one aspect of the culture I will never, ever understand, and that is their view of adoption.

People are very nice here. They approach you and try their English skills out on you. They ask you what you have seen, and want to know where you are from. But when they ask you why you are here, and you tell them it is for an adoption, things get weird. Really weird. They stop talking. They will turn their backs to you. I mean, the discussion is over. We've simply stopped telling them. We say we are here on vacation.

The people here at the Social Welfare Service get it. Even the attendants get it. They are happy for you. They congratulate you. They say the child looks like you. But, outside of the SWS, it is cold on this topic. It bothers me to post this, but I felt like I had to. I have to admit, it is kind of hurtful.

Tomorrow is the Day!!!

We don't know what to say. Tomorrow at 11 we meet with the social worker and from then on he is ours!

Sunday with the Chois

Today, Yeonhee's parents came to Seoul to take us out on the town. They brought us a ton of gifts, including some really good soju (Korean liquor). What sweet people! Then they took us on the Seoul City Bus Tour. It was a really great way to see the city. We stopped at the National Museum of Korea, where we "experienced the 5000 year history of Korea and the everlasting cultural legacy of Asia", as the brochure says. It really was an impressive place. Almost as impressive was that the museum restaurant served up a first-rate Korean lunch. Contrast that with the lunch you get at an American museum. Christine even took a picture of her plate of food.

From there, we visited Cheongwadae, the official residence of the president of South Korea. The Chois bought us even more gifts there! We entered another dimension when we were electronically super-imposed onto a photograph of the president and first lady. Not Obama, but Lee.

After that, we visited the National Folk Museum of Korea, where we learned about daily life in Korea through the ages. I read recently in an article that the worst tourists were from China. I never understood it until today. We were minding our own business, looking at a display, when a crowd of about 50 Chinese hillbillies knocked us all out of their way to see the display. They had a tour guide that shouted a few words at them before they thundered off to the next display, hurling bodies to and fro, destroying everything in their path. The good news is that they went so fast, that within five minutes, they were back on their bus and on to the next museum.

Saturday with Terry

On Saturday, we met up with Terry (brother of Christine). First, we took the subway to Changdeokgung Palace, which was built in the 1405. The place was in amazing condition. We had a tour guide who didn't care if we heard her or not, but that was OK.

We had lunch at a great Japanese restaurant, and then headed to N Seoul Tower, which is located on top of a hill/mountain. Tons of people were hiking up the hill to the tower, and I swear to you, we saw a gal hiking in high heels on the route. Korean women, we have noticed, are all about dressing up, whatever the occasion. High heels are a must, and it is unusual to see women without them. Over the weekend, it seems like the thing to do is to dress your children up and take them out. There were children everywhere, dressed to the nines, each one cuter than the last, and all of them behaving well. Wild stuff! Anyway, the view from the top of the tower was amazing. You can't really appreciate how big Seoul is until you go up there. While on the observation deck, a man sat next to David, put his arm around him, and had his wife take a picture. That was interesting.

After the tower, we went to Insadong, an open market. Terry bought a dragon, David bought some stainless steel Korean chop sticks and spoons (which is all they use in restaurants), and Chrissy bought scarves. We went to a traditional tea house and discovered that we both actually like chrysanthemum tea. We bought some street food on the way home, and it turns out, that when they ask you if you want it spicy, they mean it. Christine couldn't eat it, and David needed something to drink immediately after finishing it. The Koreans can bring the heat.

Speaking of food, the Jim Cho laws are apparently in effect in certain parts of Seoul (that's a reference to the old Jim Crow laws of the South, if you didn't get it). For the first time ever, we were denied service on the basis of our race. The gal would not seat us, and told us to leave, after we answered that we did not speak Korean. David tried to arrange an old school sit in, but we couldn't find enough white people to take part. As Terry said, some Koreans really like Americans, and some really don't. Now, to be fair, everyone else has been exceptionally nice, but I thought this was an interesting story to post.

So, we found a place that would feed us, but they specialized in live octopus. Everything on the menu had octopus on it. Christine would have none of it. Somehow it offended the owner, but we ended up with a beef dish that was quite good.

The adventure continued. Terry came back to our room to chat for awhile. He was leaving a little after ten, but the doors were locked with a chain and lock, and the watchman was nowhere to be found. On top of it, the whole lobby was pitch black and we couldn't find the light switch. Long story short, we finally found a nurse who called the watchman, who was sleeping soundly in the basement (and none too happy - he will be supporting the Jim Cho laws from here on out).

Meeting Terry Today

We will be meeting Terry in a couple hours. We will be seeing more of Seoul today. It is a beautiful city with great people and good, spicy food!

We can't wait until Monday. I am just worried that it is going to break little Drew's heart. He loves his foster umma so much. We prayed and prayed that he would get good care, and our prayers were answered. She is just such a great mom.

That was from David...
This is from Christine...

Shraders, you WILL NOT believe how much the baby's pictures that we got from his months with foster family look like Sammy. I am telling you, there are some that I could slip in Sammy's baby album and no one would notice!

Wish we could post the little videos we made yesterday. David made him laugh by flying him up in the air and I made him laugh with a wild game of peek-a-boo.
Sandra, I don't think I held him--isn't that terrible to say? I'm not even sure because it is all such a blur!!

Happy Baby

I (Christine) told a bunch of you about how I had been praying for a happy baby after wondering if that was too much to ask for or even pray for. The paperwork that we got starting in Feb. and ending in April kept emphasizing how happy he was. That was so great to hear! But, get this: today, when we visited him, guess what he was wearing??? A pair of overalls that said "Happy Baby" on them! What do you think of that?

Monday in Korea, Mother's Day Night in USA

On Monday, May 10 at 11:00 am, social worker and foster mom will be coming to the SWS Guest House with Andrew. From then on, he is ours and we are his! Wow! That is Sunday night at 10:00 pm Eastern Time or 9:00 pm Central Time--Mother's Day!

Our Little Celebrity

We were with our social worker today, and on the elevator she pointed to a large poster of a Korean celebrity holding a little baby (it was promoting domestic Korean adoption). She said, "Do you know who that baby is?" We didn't know. She said, "That's Hyun." It was! Our boy is all around Seoul promoting adoption! I wish I could post the picture, but it will have to wait.

The Big Day

Today we met Andrew in person at foster umma's house. Wish we could post pictures and video, but I don't have an SD drive on the computer I'm using. It's really hard to put the moment in words. Suddenly, his foster umma was running in the street to meet us. And then, he looked at us. That's when it became real. We visited with him at his house and even got some smiles and laughs out of him. We also were able to see him pitch a fit. :) We have some really nice pictures and video footage of him with us and his foster umma. We might have to wait until we get home to post.

I can't say enough how much we are impressed with the foster umma. I think that she has given him the greatest care anyone could ask for, and we will always be grateful for that. Her house has enough toys for a daycare center, and he is the only baby there. She has given us photo albums with pictures going back to November.

We also received another surprise. The birth mother's mother (Hyun's birth grandmother), had sent baby clothes and traditional Korean clothes to the agency for him!

We made it!

Wanted to let everyone know that we are in Korea. Finding a computer might be problematic, so the posts might be erratic.

The people of Korea have been so nice! Someone even gave us a ride to the guest house. I think I'm falling in love with Asia. Ask Christine about the toilets in Japan. :)

Andrew's Room - Pre-Andrew

This is one of the last times we will see the room without the little man.

Friday Morning Seoul = Thursday Night Lexington

We get to meet Andrew on Friday morning, Seoul time. That is Thursday night Lexington time. So, that means that we will meet him in two days!!!!

We are meeting our son THIS Friday!

We just received word from the Social Welfare Society in Korea that we will be meeting Andrew on Friday. That's this Friday! It is now Monday!

The Day We Meet Our Son

We just received news that we will meet Andrew this Friday!

Less than a week!

I can't believe that we might meet our little guy as early as next week!

Getting Ready for Baby

Hi, all! I just decided to set this up for our trip to baby Andrew!
Today is Sat. and we are leaving on Wed. Lots of shopping to do today!