Here Comes Santa Claus!!

That was the song that I was seeing when we took Kaiden to see Santa Claus. I know I was more excited than everyone. I had been waiting 10 years for this moment to share with my child and it just felt like a dream. Aaron and I both teared up while we watched him watch Santa come in on his helicopter. ( I know not so real to the story, but really exciting for the kids.)
Anyway, Kaiden pointed at the helicopter and smiled and laughed and we were both just giddy with excitement waiting for Kaiden to get to finally sit on Santa's lap for the first time. Here is our picture of the wondrous event.









You can see that Kaiden and Santa are probably not becoming friends anytime soon. He would not go anywhere near him without one of us holding him. Aaron got to be the lovely one in the pictures. Isn't it just precious though? I hope everyone is having a happy holiday!!

Time Sure Does Fly By

Well,if you are still reading my blog,I am sorry about not posting in forever.It seems like time is just flying by. Kaiden will have been here 5 months this Monday and we still can't believe how blessed we are. It has been a crazy month.
First, I have had to take Kaiden to the emergency room twice. Both times running a fever over 104 degrees. Needless to say, that was pretty scary for me. The first time he had a double ear infection. This visit sent us to a specialist and he also got tubes in his ears this past Monday. The second time he just had a virus. Luckily,crossing my fingers, the fever is gone for a while. Now we are concentrating on trying to get rid of his cold. It seems that my poor baby just lives with one.
Anyway,in better news, we got to take Kaiden to see Santa for the first time last Friday. Now Aaron and I both had tears in our eyes and we watched our precious poor point as Santa's helicopter brought him in. Then,the fun part started. We tried to get a picture of him with Santa,but he screamed like a banchee. Aaron ended up having to hold him by Santa while he screamed. Of course, we can't wait to show him that one day and see what he has to say about it.

Finally,wish us lots of luck tomorrow. We have our final post placement visit. We are so excited. We can't wait to finish our finalization and this brings us one step closer!! Yeah!!

4 Months Home!!

Well, As of today Oct. 30th, Kaiden has been home with us for 4 months. Man does time fly!! So to honor this occasion, I thought I would do a post that is to him to let him know what he has been doing these past few months.
So Kaiden,

You have been walking everywhere. It has been absolutely amazing to watch you grow and succeed more each day.

You call your Daddy, "Dada" and even sometimes "Daddy"

You call your Grandpa, "Ga" and point at his picture on the piano and laugh.

You recognize all your grandparents and love to go and play with them.

Your favorite toy is a cardboard box, or Mama's cup and a toy to drop in it and take out over and over. It is so much fun to watch.

You are finally fitting into 18 month clothes. 12 months are finally getting a bit too short!!

You still will not sleep in a crib, but you are sleeping all night next to Mama and Daddy in bed. You will also nap in bed by yourself which is a huge step.

You love going to daycare. Your favorite friend to play with is MacKenzie. She even waves and will try to follow you out the door when I pick you up.

You decided three days ago that baby food is for wussies and have started wanted big people food. Now we are going to work on using a fork and spoon.

You have the most amazing, loving, and fun personality. You smile and make everyone's frown turn upside down.

You love to play with your cousins. You are finally starting to learn how to really play with others and figure things out.

You love to watch the Wonderpets, Mickey Mouse, Special Agent Oso, and especially Baby Einstein. You watch this on your portable DVD player in the car all the time.

I could keep going on, but I will only add one more thing.

You are a social baby and absolutely love to have everyone's attention especially your Mama and Daddy's. I can promise one thing. You will always have our utmost attention because we love you so much.We can't imagine what life was like before you became a part of ours. Now our lives are full of so much love, because we have blessed by God with the gift of our wonderful baby boy.
We love you with all our hearts,

Mama and Daddy

Happy 4 Months Home Kaiden!!

Surprise Mail

I bet you can guess what this post is about, huh? Let me share with you this neat story. Aaron and Kaiden always go outside and get the mail together. it is usually the normal stuff. Well, today we got a pakage from Holt. Aaron handed it to me and I opened it up and there was a package from his foster family inside.

They sent us his umbilical cord and a beautiful Korean necklace. I am just in awe. It makes us so happy to know that his foster family loved him so much to keep that and send it to us. I sat here and thought today I wonder if his foster mom is thinking about him today and wondering what he looks like and how much he has developed. I am going to work this week on getting a photo album ready to send to her by this weekend. I want to share with her what a wonderful, adorable, caring, loving, and sweet little boy she helped guide and raise before we could get there. We just thank her everyday for taking such wonderful care of our little boy.

Kaiden's First Pictures

I got Kaiden's first birthday pictures done yesterday. He is such a busy little fellow that I felt for the lady taking his pictures. She had to work to get these shots. I think they are absolutely priceless. These are some of my favorites of the day.












There are not enough words to describe how much we love our little baby. We have been so blessed to get to be his parents. Honestly though, how could you not love that adorable pudgey face??? It is just too cute!!

Kaiden is 1!!!

Kaiden turned one yesterday. It is absolutely amazing how time flies by. It seems like just yesterday we were picking him up at the airport and giving him a hug and kiss for the very first time. He is just so wonderful. We threw him a Baby Einstein party and all our close friends and family came. It was very special. I will do my best to post pictures tomorrow as soon as Aaron gets them downloaded for me. It was just the best day.

Happy 1st Birthday My Sweet Boy!!!

3 Months of Joy!!

I can hardly believe I am saying this because it feels like just yesterday that we were getting frustrated with waiting for him to come home, but Kaiden has been home for 3 MONTHS!!! It has been the best 3 months of our lives. He is such a blessing!! I am not going to say we haven't gotten frustrated learning how to be parents along the way, but the rewards of getting to be his mom and dad outweigh everything else. He has got to be the cutest, sweetest, most wonderful boy ever!!!

Anyway that's enough gushing. Let me give everyone an update on my sweet boy. Right now, he is starting to walk. He will walk 10 - 12 steps. He gets so excited for himself that when he falls down he waits for you to clap for his accomplishment. It is so sweet!!

We also took him out for his first big outing. We went to the fair. We were a little worried, because he does prefer to be held, but he stayed in his stroller and just looked in awe of everything around him. We just sat back and watched him. We thought he might get dizzy from watching the roller coaster, but he sure did love it. We took him to the petting zoo. Now, he loves to pet and love on our dogs so we were really expecting him to love the petting zoo. We were wrong. He was not impressed with feeding the goats. He would watch me feed the goat, but there was no way he was getting near them without getting upset. I think it is just because he had never seen one before. I think next year when he is older he will like it a lot more. We did get him to touch several animals, but he still wasn't overly impressed. I will post pics of that later when I get them downloaded.

We do have one special day coming up next week. Next Friday, my baby will be 1!!!!!
We are having a cookout for his party out near a playground. We are actually going to do his Tol celebration the next day in a more quiet setting with just the grandparents. Now, just to make sure he was ready for his birthday, I recently made sure that durig his cousin's party we stood right behind her while they were singing, "Happy Birthday" so he won't get scared next week. Anyway, he bounced up and down in my arms during the whole song because he loves music and then when we clapped and said "Yeah", he started clapping louder than everyone else and said, "Aah." It was absolutely adorable. We all wish we had been filming it that day. The other thing I was worried about was whether or not he would even eat cake and icing. So he actually tried some. At first he tried to spit it out like he does with everything new,but then when he actually got a taste of the icing he just opened his mouth wide waiting for the next piece. He got unhappy when I said we had had enough. So my two biggest fears about his party have been solved. I can check that off my list. So now I am off today to finish getting things ready for his party. But first I just want to say again, Happy 3 Months Home Kaiden!!!!!

First Haircut

Kaiden got his first haircut yesterday. It was really fun for us to watch. The sweet little girl who did his cut did so well with him and was so patient. I had to hold him the entire time and his head squirmed from side to side so many times, but my baby looks like a sweet little boy. Check out the transformation!!! He is just the most handsome cutest baby in the world!!!

Kaiden's First Day of School

That's right. My boy has officially had his first day of school or daycare whatever you want to call it is fine. I prefer to call it school.

Anyway, I am still off on leave for 3 more weeks, but we decided that we needed to start transitioning him into school. We don't want him to be scared going everyday or upset. We also really wanted him to get to know the workers there and of course vice versa. Well, this Thursday I decided was the big day.

I guess I was more nervous than he was. I just knew he was going to cry and pitch a fit. Maybe I was hoping for it, who knows?? But once again, my darling surprised me. He is such a social butterfly that as soon as I set him down on the floor with the other kids, he was fabulous. He LOVES to play with other kids. It is probably his favorite thing to do.

So I left him for 3 hours that day thinking that he would probably get upset later when he realized I was gone, but no again. They said he just played and laughed with the other kids until he got tired. When I walked in, one of the workers was holding him while he slept. When I reached for him, he smiled in his sleep like nothing had happened.

The next day the exact same thing happened. In a way, I wanted him to really be so attached that he would be extremely upset when I left, but I truly think this is better. So far he actually likes to go!!! I guess I couldn't have asked for more!!!

Now when I pick him up, he is still all mine and loves on me and wants me above all others. So I think our attachment is still working strong!!! I am so proud of my boy!!! He is just the most wonderful addition we could have ever made to our family!!! We have truly been blessed beyond all measure!!!

WOW!!! Has it already been 2 months??

Yep that's right, it has been two months since we brought the love of our life home. All I can say is it has been a wonderful two months. I know I haven't blogged in a while, so I will catch everyone up on what has been going on the past few weeks.
Well, I am a teacher first of all so naturally it is time for school to start back. But since Kaiden has only been here two months, we felt he needed a few more weeks at home to bond with us and transition slowly to daycare.But as any teacher will tell you the first week of the year is critical for your year to go smoothly so I didn't want to miss it. Well, as a family we worked it out. I have been home with Kaiden for 7 weeks by myself and it has been wonderful. He has really attached to me and is just growing more comfortable in his house and with us everyday. His daddy hadn't really gotten the chance to bond with him so he took vacation for one week and my sweet mother-in-law and her wonderful twin sister helped us out for a few days as well.Now, this is the first time I have been away from him for any length of time so I was really expecting tears and my heart to break because I was making him so sad. Naturally, Kaiden surprised me. Since he was still at our house and with his daddy, or his mother-in-law who he knows, he was happy and just did his normal routine throughout the day. Now, when I got home he made me feel better because he reached out and smiled and wanted his Mama but I am still in shock at how wonderful he is doing. Also, he has really bonded with both his daddy and his Grandma Sandy which is a fabuous thing.

So what is Kaiden doing since my last blog???

Well.....

Kaiden is such a happy baby. He will laugh out loud for no reason at all other than to hear himself. The only time he gets upset is when he is in the car to long. So for those fun car rides, we got him a portable DVD player. Kaiden loves his Baby Einstein videos, so now we can take it with him so he will be happy. It has already been such a life saver. He actually enjoys the car now!!

The newest thing he has learned is his own voice. He has recently started screaming. Not a sweet deep scream, but an ear piercing shrill scream. Now, he is not upset just talking, but when we go out in public I am really starting to feel that other people don't appreciate it. But he is just a baby and will grow out of it soon enough, so I am not too worried about what others think right now. He is just communicating. Right????

He is also starting to stand on his own and is walking across the floor with his Step & Ride. It is so cute watching him. He gets so excited and laughs.

Finally, Kaiden has really started dancing. He LOVES music. Yesterday he turned on the big radio and started bouncing up and down to the music. Then, he decided to grab the side of the radio and dance with it. We truly wish we had had the video camera out, but we couldn't quit laughing long enough to get it. Our little boy will definitely put A BIG SMILE ON YOUR FACE!!!

He Is Smarter than a Fifth Grader

I don't know if I have mentioned this in other posts but my little Kaiden is really smart. He amazes me everyday with all of the things he can already do.
For instance,

1. He can mimick what you do.
2. He has learned how to put and pull things out of objects.
3. He has been learning new syllables and we are slowly teaching him how to put them together as words. We taught him how to say Bye Bye last week and wave his hand. it is the cutest thing.
4. He knows the word "No" and will look at you when you say it, stop, and then turn around and try to go get the object anyway.
and finally my favorite one is

He LOVES his Mommy and Daddy. My baby is 100% in love with our family. He is the absolute perfect fit and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful baby.
God really knows what is best!!!

I Feel Lucky

What can I say other than I feel like the luckiest person in the world. It has been 5 weeks since Kaiden has been home and he is doing so wonderful. He is still VERY attached to me, but he is also becoming extremely attached to his Daddy who he loves so much and also loves to play with. He is so social and absolutely LOVES to play with other children. He will play for hours with my nieces and nephews as long as he can still see me in the room. He really cracks me up with how he watches out of the corner of his eye constantly to make sure I haven't left the room.
We had our first post-placement visit on Saturday and everything went great. Our SW asked if we thought he was regressing. I know the look on my face was, "Are you crazy?", but we talked through all the 10 month developmental skills. Now, Kaiden will be 10 months in a week and can already do everything on the list plus some on the 11 month list. I am such a proud Mama!!
The only thing I would definitely prepare other first time moms like I am to get ready for is teething. When Kaiden got home, he had 6 teeth. He cut two more teeth simultaneously and didn't really have a problem. But now we are on the first molars. I feel so bad for him. His drooling kicked up about 300% and looks like he is just slobbering out his mouth constantly. We have to change his outfit at least twice even with a bib. He is also in such terrible pain and tries to bite on EVERYTHING to make himself feel better. Unfortunately, that also includes me. Yesterday, my sweet boy actually drew blood with a bite. I am slowly working on putting his pacifier in his mouth when he tries to bite and telling him "No Bite" in a firm voice. I will blog later and let everyone know how this went. Hopefully, it will go well.
Well, my baby boy is starting to wake up from his nap so I will have to blog more later. I also want to congratulate my bloggy friend Joanna and getting sent to the P3 Lounge. Hopefully it won't be to much longer until your sweet Gabe is home.

Pictures!!!

I have been promising pictures every post since he came home, so here are some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy.


Here is one of Kaiden when we took him swimming. He had so much fun!!

This is Kaiden and Daddy all dressed up for our first church visit.

Kaiden all dressed up for church,


This is one of my favorite pictures of Kaiden. Isn't he just adorable?


Here is Kaiden playing in the dog bowl. He insists that this is one of his toys.

2 Weeks

I still can't believe it, but Kaiden has been here for 2 weeks tomorrow. It really seems like forever when you are waiting and then WOW!! The 2 weeks that seemed to drag on forever before just flies by.
Right now, I think Kaiden is doing really well on his bonding. It took him a while, but he finally is starting to turn to his name when you call it. We worked for hours on peek-a-boo and saying his name over again. Every sentence we directed at him had his name in it. I think it is finally paying off. He is also starting to get really comfortable. He is still extremely clingy to me, but we expected that in his early days. We are actually extremely happy that he is so bonded to one of us. He waves bye-bye and laughs and plays a lot. He still can't sleep in a room alone, but I can now lay him down on the bad and sit beside him while he is sleeping. I think that is definitely a step in the right direction on that. Also we took him to church for the first time yesterday. He did really well. We held him the entire time, but with all the people coming up and talking to him, he was exhausted and passed out before we left the parking lot.
I will post pictures as soon as Aaron gets home to download them.

9 months old and Here

Well, I just want you let everyone know that I wrote a really long post the other day about Kaiden being home for a week. Well, now that we are almost into 2 weeks I decided to trash it and gove you another one.Yesterday, Kaiden turned 9 months old. It is still a shock how big and productive he is.
He loves to pull up on anything and is starting to let go.
He is teething extremely bad. He tries to use me as a chew toy often.
He seems to be bonding very well. He has chosen me above everyone else and gets exremely upset when I leave the room.
He really loves his Daddy too. He laughs and lights up when Aaron comes in the room.
He is the biggest ham!! He loves to entertain everyone with his laugh and smile.
He does not like to be in a room by himself and will not sleep in his crib.
He has made his own sleep schedule for us to go by. He loves to nap in the morning and afternoon.
His sleeping is doing pretty good. The first few nights he went to sleep between 8:30 - 9:00 and woke up for comforting at around 2:00am then slept till 8:00.
For the past two nights, he goes to sleep at 9:00 and sleeps until 6:00am. He still wakes up for comforting about every 3 hours, but after I hug him for a minute to let him know we are still there, he falls right back to sleep. I honestly think he would sleep all night if we could move him to a pack and play, but he is just not ready for that move yet.

Needless to say, this has been a surreal week and a half. Every time I look at Kaiden, it just blows my mind that he is really here and he is mine. I also know what people mean when they say that time moves fast. This time with him has just flown by. Here are a few more pictures of our boy. Happy 9 Months Kaiden!!

Kaiden and I making funny faces

Kaiden Playing

Daddy and Kaiden

Kaiden Is Here!!!

I don't have time to post much, but here is some pictures to tide you over. I will put the whole story on my blog later, I promise, but it has been a whirlwind of a day. All I can say is he is absolutely precious!! I don't think anyone could resist loving my boy.

Only 3 More Days Left!!

The countdown to Kaiden has finally begun. I honestly can not believe our good luck in getting him so quickly. We have truly been blessed by how fast several things have moved in this adoption. That being said I will say this for anyone who is waiting, this last month was true HORROR!! It seemed like everyday was a week and it just kept dragging on and on and on... Anyway, I think you get my drift.

Now, I am working on the list that I waited to do until we got this call. I have to get everything ready for my baby. I have been cleaning and scrubbing, etc. I am getting a play area in our den set up for him. It seems that these days have just flown by so far. Only 3 more days and we become a family of three.

Well, off to do the next item on my list....

My Baby Is Coming Home!!!!

Hooray!!!! Happy Day!!!!

I got the phone call at 11:08am. This is the call that is going to permanently change our lives for the better!!! Kaiden is coming home!!!

That is right!! You heard me!!! Kaiden will be traveling from Seoul and will get here Tuesday June 30th at 10:05pm. I am still in awe!!

Honestly, I almost didn't answer that phone call because I didn't recognize the number. Aren't I glad I did now???

Now I am off to make final lists to make sure everything is ready for his arrival!!

YEAH!!! Thank you God for this gift!!!

To The Dad-To-Be on Father's Day

Aaron,

I just want to tell you that you will be a wonderful dad. I can't wait to get our son home so that you can love and cherish him as much as you have cherished me over the years.
You will be that awesome dad that everyone talks about because of the love you will have for Kaiden. I wish he could have been here for your first father's day, but he will be here for many more to come.
Congratulations on becoming a dad!! You are going to be the most AWESOME one ever!!!

I LOVE YOU!!

Jennifer

Changes

Kaiden will be our very first baby. We are so very excited about him getting here that of course it is very sad and frustrating that he is not here yet. Anyway, while I was dreaming of all the fun things we will do when he gets home like swimming and playing, etc., it dawned on me that we have watched our nieces and nephews overnight but never more than two days at a time. And of course when we got really tired, we brought them back to their parents and we took a nap.
So after 10 years of it just being the two of us and having a routine that just suited us, we will be adding a wonderful baby boy to that routine. I will tell you it does scare both of us. We were discussing how we are set in our ways like an older couple that has been married for 50 years. It is going to be a huge adjustment for both of us. But you know what? Every time I think about getting to celebrate Christmas with him, his first birthday, just practically every day with him, my heart expands. I know that it might be hard when he gets here the first month or so, but I know that our lives will be richer with him a part of it. Our lives have been led toward him.
Our new goal in life will be to love him, care for him, and to teach him what he needs to be a productive responsible citizen later in life. I KNOW we are up to challenge!!!

Transformers and GI JOE's

As my husband and I were walking through the aisles at Target yesterday, he stopped on one of the toy aisles and very seriously looked at me and said , "I think we need to get Kaiden some transformers and GI Joes. You know by the time he gets here he will be old enough to play with them." This started the everlasting weekend joke.

The newest comment is , "I went out and bought Kaiden some car insurance yesterday because by the time he gets here he will be driving."

I did laugh when he said them because I know Kaiden will be home soon, hopefully way before he is able to drive. After seeing his latest new picture and finding out he has four teeth and creeping and starting to crawl, I feel like I am missing out on so much.
Seriously though, this wait seems absolutely HORRENDOUS!!! I am off school and we are ready for him to be home!!! so I am literally BEGGING,
"Korea, please let my baby come home soon!!!!"

Another New Photo

Today while I was watching the Holt BB anxiously waiting to see who got their VI or TC, I also was wishing and hoping for the same thing. I called the DC number, but no news. Unfortunately, no news is not the good news I was hoping for.
But I did get some other good news today. At around 5:00pm, I got an email of a updated picture of Kaiden with the care package that I sent him. His foster mom is also in the picture but I cropped her out for privacy. I am so very happy to receive another picture of my boy. I can't believe that soon he will be in our arms and home where he belongs.

Updated Picture

Well, after being sad all day today, at 2:30pm we got an email from Holt that just said, "Updated Photo." I was so excited I was shaking again to see what our baby looked like. Our last picture of him was taken when he was four months old. I think he is more adorable now than he was before. So check out our lifeline of Kaiden until he gets home in the next month, HOPEFULLY!!! I am praying for that every night!!!


Also Kaiden's shower was awesome. My teacher friends really outdid themselves. I just can't believe how much everyone is so excited about him coming home as well. It really means a lot. I don't know if people truly realize how much it means to know that people care about us and are thinking about us. It really helps us out to know we have that support why we are waiting for our adorably cute baby boy!!

Happy 8 Month Birthday Baby

Well, today June 9, Kaiden is 8 months old. According to his last Well baby Checkup, he is starting to sit on his own, grabbing for items, and rolling over. These are just a few of things he is doing right now that unfortunately I am missing which I absolutely HATE!! I am happy to know that he is with a family that is loving and caring for him, but I really wish it was OUR family. I am not a fan of bureaucratic red tape right now. I am heartbroken knowing he could be here already but because it hasn't been 3 months yet, he is still in Korea.
I have people ask me everyday, "When is he going to be here?" I really want to say harsh and mean things because that it how I am feeling about the situation, but then I remember these people care about Kaiden and are just excited for us. I am still hoping it will be the first of July when he is home and I know that when he gets here it will be the right time, but it still hurts!!!
Anyway on a good note, school is finishing for me tomorrow, YEAH!!! I am going to spend a few days doing things that I know will be more difficult when he gets home. The teachers at work are also throwing Kaiden a shower today. I am excited about this afternoon and will post about it later. So finally,

HAPPY 8 MONTH BIRTHDAY BABY!!! WISH YOU WERE HERE!!!

Meet the Grandparents

When we finally get the coveted Travel Call (Hopefully Soon!!), I know one extremely important thing. Kaiden is being brought home to the best family EVER!! He will have the best nieces and nephews to play with as well as Aunts and Uncles who are dying for him to get here. He will also have the Bestest Grandparents EVER!!! Seriously though, I promise you Kaiden will never want for love and hugs while the Grandparents are around. We have all been waiting for him for so long, it will be so very exciting to get him here. So now let me introduce to the famous duos.....

First up is Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Leon



These are Aaron's parents who I claim as mine as well. They are the best!! They have always been so wonderful to me and supportive. I can't wait for Kaiden to get home so that they can shower their love on him too!!

Second is my parents "MA" and Granddaddy. My mother will always be referred to as MA now because my sisters' children gave her that nickname because they had trouble saying Grandmama. Both of them are so excited about him coming. I always thought we would have their first grandchild, but evidently we were always destined to have their last. (Of course that is at this moment)









All I can really say is Kaiden is one really lucky young man to be joining the best family ever!! Now all we need is for him to actually get here!!!

The Transformation

The Beginning of the Transformation



Beginning the Painting


The Painting is Completed!!

After we completed painting and cleaning up the room, we completed Kaiden's Nursery. I can't wait to have him here so he can actually see his own room!!

2 Months and Counting

Today, we reached the 2 month mark in our wait for Kaiden. These past two months have just flown by. It feels like just yesterday when we got the call and found out that he is our son.
Well, we have been exremely busy getting ready for our little one the past 2 months and I am very excited to report to everyone that we finally have our nursery completed!! We have everything on the walls, the furniture done, toys and clothes ready, etc. I will hopefully have the pictures up by tomorrow!!
I finally ordered the car seat, and bought a stroller this weekend. We only have one major item left which is the high chair. We are still debating about whether to get the new Graco 4-in-1 Blossom Bombay chair or the Spacesaver high chair. I figure we will make our final choice by this weekend and get that taken care of. I have been trying to hold off on getting everything ready because I need to have something to do these last few weeks of waiting.
Now in my opinion, he should be ready to travel in at least two weeks, but we will have to wait to see what Holt says.
It still feels unreal that we have a baby boy. I sometimes feel in awe that we have been this blessed. Hopefully it won't be too long until we will get to meet him, love on him,and grow together as a family!!

EP, YEAH!!

Well, just about an hour ago, I got an email from Holt letting me know that our EP has been APPROVED!! This is absolutely wonderful news. Now what does this mean in the great scheme of getting our baby home. Well, Holt has to have 3 things to send in with our P3 for our VI which is the final thing before our Travel Call.

1. EP(We have this now!)
2. Travel Certificate(Should be here a few days after EP)
3. Visa Physical

So now all we are really waiting on is his Visa Physical. This could have already taken place or we could have to wait another month for this to happen. Unfortunately, we won't know until we find out that his VI has been scheduled. I am really praying for some quick movement for us and other Holt families as well. Let's get our babies home!!

P3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right. I called the DC info line today and we have P3 as of Friday May 15. We have almost completed his nursery and are getting the house all ready for him. I think we are going to do Safety locks on all the cupboards this weekend. We already have all the outlets done. But these are just the things we do to keep this part of the wait from getting unbelievably unbearable!!!
Unfortunately, I keep watching the Holt BB and there are a lot of people that should have already received their Travel Call, but they are still waiting. This really scares me because they don't know why. I feel so sorry for those babies and their new families. Everyday is precious and not having their child here is heartbreaking especially when you know they should be. I really feel for them and I am praying that Travel Call's start early tomorrow. This could also happen to us. Now I have my mind set for no later than June 25th which would be exactly 3 months. If I don't hear the good news by then, I might start getting a little antsy. So hopefully in less than 1 month, Kaiden will be here with his family. That is my plan, hopefully it is God's plan too.

We Have a SEO #!!!!!!!!!

I just found out today that we have an SEO number. In case you don't know what I mean, I will explain. All of our info that our government has to approve has been sent to Korea. This is REALLY BIG!!! We only have 2 steps left until we reach the coveted Travel Call. There is a good chance that Kaiden could be here in early June. Oh that would be AWESOME!!! We are almost done with his room and Aaron and I are finally getting to go out of town to go shopping together this weekend. I am so EXCITED!!

Can anyone tell?!?!

Dakota and Shelby

Meet Dakota and Shelby. Shelby is the white shih tzu and is 9 years old. Dakota is our yellow lab that is 4 years old. My husband made this little slide show of them. Just wanted to share today.

7 MONTHS

Today, our baby is 7 months old. I spent today doing some much needed retail shopping for my precious boy. The past 6 weeks since we have gotten our referral have gone by so fast we have hardly had time to catch our breath. I am still in awe that we have a son. Now that he has hit 7 months old, I am really dying for an updated picture. I want to know how big he has gotten, how much his hair has grown, if he is sitting up yet, etc. I need an updated WBC and pictures like yesterday. I am truly hoping that when they receive his care package that it will coincide with his Well Baby Checkup and I can see how he is filling out the clothes I sent and of course I can't wait to see how he looks in them. He is just so cute!! I am really looking forward to seeing that smile for real. Hopefully, it will only be a few more weeks!!!

Also I hope to have his nursery pictures up by the end of the week. So be sure and stay tuned.

Sweet Surprise

Just to give a little background about this post I want to let everyone know that I teach two college classes at night. Well, this was our last night before the final. I got to school to teach my class and on the door to my room it said that my class had been moved to another room because my room was under construction. I was a little confused because no one had let me know, but I just gathered my stuff and headed to the other room. Well, when I got near the new room I could see from the window in the door that there was a table decorated with blue gift bags.
My class decided to throw me a Surprise Baby Shower. This was my very 1st shower and it was awesome. It was such an honor to have them throw this shower for me that I will never forget it. I will have to put pictures of the cake on here tomorrow. Anyway, needless to say I had an absolutely great day!!

WE FINALLY HAVE.....

I-600 APPROVAL. I was starting to get really worried last week and stressing out over the fact that we haven't heard anything from USCIS. Well, I emailed them today and got a response back in about 2 hours.(Thanks Mary Jesse for the help with that :) ) She said "It had already been processed and mailed to us." Of course, when I read the email, I didnt see the word approval and that worried me a little. But when I got home from work, it was sitting in the mailbox.

So now I can officially order all of the crib bedding and decor for his room. We have had it picked out for a month, but didn't want to order it until we got this form completed. It would break my heart to see his room completely done and still just sitting there waiting on one person to complete a form.

I do want to take a moment to extend my thanks to the Dallas USCIS office for doing a good job!!! Thank you. You have really made my day!!!

New Clothes for Kaiden

Recently, my sister Amanda has been shopping like crazy for our son. She has been buying the cutest outfits and shoes for him to wear. She has already shown them to me because she can't wait until I have my shower. It is so sweet of her. Thanks to Amanda, Kaiden is going to be one well-dressed baby!! Here are a few of the outfits she has bought.

One Month!!!

Well, today marks the one month stop in our journey to Kaiden. I have to say it has been a really quick month. Both Aaron and I have been so busy at work that time has just flown by. I still think about the I-600, etc everyday, but as my husband puts it, "There is nothing we can do right now except wait for others to do there job."
Now, I am about to go and paint my baby's room for his Baby Snoopy decor. Hopefully, I will have awesome pictures to put up by the end of next week. So off to work I go.......

My Sisters

Well, I thought I would use this post to introduce my beautiful sisters, Amanda, Lisa, and Emily.

I am the oldest of the clan and Amanda is 19 months behind me. Lisa is 5 years younger than me. And then my parents surprise, Emily, is almost 11 years younger than me. All three are happily married and have given us the most adorable nieces and nephews anyone could ask for.

The order in the picture is Lisa, Me, Emily, and Amanda. We had this taken at my sister Emily's wedding in September.

Just Another Day

Well, it is getting close to being a month of waiting and that is what it feels like. Just another day. Nothing seems to be happening.
I have been watching the Holt BB avidly and noticed that a fellow BB friend got her I-600 approval from the Dallas USCIS. That really got me excited. The main reason it got me excited is that we should be getting closer to getting ours approved soon too. We should be almost right behind her in line.
So let's take a moment and pray for the health and speedy work of the adoption officer at the Dallas USCIS office.
Also, I want to congratulate Jo and her husband on their new referral , a baby boy named Gabe. She just got the call yesterday and I am very excited for her!! Congrats Jo on this awesome news!!!

Work, Work, Work

Well, if the title of the post says anything I guess you can tell I have been working. For the past two weeks, I have been getting ready for a garage sale. I am a gigantic packrat and very sentimental. I tend to save everything. Well, I have been cleaning out Kaiden's room, so for the first time ever I actually had my own garage sale. It was a lot easier than I thought. I still kept a lot of my sentimental things, but I actually cleaned out closets, rooms, shelves, etc. it feels really good knowing that is done. My stress level really dropped after we finished cleaning everything out.
I also decided that every dime we made went to our "Buy Kaiden an awesome dresser" fund. We looked at the ones that actually went with the crib we bought, but were not satisfied with the quality. We want to purchase one that will last a long time. So that means the dresser will definitely not be cheap by any means. Well, I would have been satisfied with $100, but I am guessing that luck was really on our side. I ended up selling $340.00 worth of our stuff. It was a really nice feeling.
Now, even though I said all the money was for the "Buy Kaiden an awesome dresser" fund, when I realized how much money we made, I decided to pick something up for my husband that he has been wanting. If you read from my previous post, Aaron loves heavy metal music. Well last week, Guitar Hero Metallica came out. I just couldn't help it. I felt like he really needed it. It will help him keep busy during the LONG wait for Kaiden. (It will almost be a month on Friday, I still can't believe it!!)

All About Aaron

I thought I would use the next few posts to introduce my husband and family to everybody.

So let's talk about Aaron.

Aaron and I have been married for 10 years.

He is currently working as a manager.

He absolutely loves our dogs, Dakota and Shelby.

His favorite color is green.

His favorite toy is his Yamaha motorcycle that I got for him last summer.

His favorite music is Heavy Metal especially Metallica, Disturbed, Shadow's Fall, etc.

His favorite movies are action movies especially ones by Michael Bay (Transformers)

His nickname for our nieces and nephews is Uncle Biggie.

So here is Aaron.

Next I will talk about my sisters. So stay tuned........

Gearing Up for Baby Part 1

Well, if you read my previous posts, you wll see that I have started cleaning out Kaiden's room. I hopefully will have everything cleaned out of there by this Friday night. That means that next weekend, we will commence with the painting of the room. So since we now have a timeline for when the room will be cleaned out, we have started purchasing the furniture for his room. We picked up the crib last night and instead of a changing table, I got a bookcase. I wanted to have somewhere to store odds and ends as well as books. The only thing we have left to purchase is a dresser. We are really trying to find something that will last for a long time, so we have been out shopping at furniture stores. Hopefully, we will have something picked out in the next 2 weeks.

In the meantime check out the crib. It is simple but we felt like it would be more manly looking than the original one I had picked out.

So anyway, I think we had our first reality moment on Thursday while shopping for the furniture. It really dawned on me while we were actually buying furniture that we have a little boy that will (hopefully) be ours in a few months. I have been waiting for this moment for 10 years, but it feels like everything just attacked me at once. I had my little personal panic attacks just thinking about everything that needs to be done. We feel like we have been blessed beyond reason to receive a referral months earlier than we expected. We also feel that he is ours for a reason. I am going crazy trying to pick out little things to buy. Things keep going through my head like, "well he might not like that kind," "what if I buy him the wrong diapers," and all other little "what if" questions. I have talked to many people and they all say this is common in first time parents, but I want everything to be wonderful for him when he gets here. Aaron just keeps telling me that he is the luckiest child in the world. He will have the most loving parents and grandparents in the world. That we already care beyond reason for him and that is the most important thing he will need. (I really love my husband!!) Of course, he is always right, so maybe I just need to calm it down and go with the flow. I am definitely going to start working on that!!

6 months old!!

Yesterday, Thursday April 9, 2009, Kaiden's six month birthday occurred. Of course, he is still with his foster mom at this time, but Aaron and I were definitely thinking about him all day. I would absolutely love to have him here now or no later than 2 months time. But unfortunately, I have done all that I can do. Now, we have to be patient and pray that he will get to us as soon as he is ready and able. I really believe things happen for a reason. So I have to keep reminding myself that everyone is not on my timetable. (They should be though, LOL)

I wish he could be here for Easter though and stare at the plastic easter eggs in the yard just like all the other kids his age. Watching that scene will definitely bring a smile to your face!! But I keep reminding myself that I might miss this year, but I won't miss the next one!!!

NEW WELL BABY CHECK

Well, I was very surprised to open up a email about Kaiden yesterday. He had another Well Baby Check on March 26, but it takes about 2 weeks to get them translated and sent out. So since our first acceptance 2 weeks ago, we now know that he is 17.6 pounds and 25 inches long. Now since I will be a first -time mom, I had no idea if this is normal or what. So naturally, I Googled my information, I mean who doesn't?? Well, it turns out that he is a perfect weight and height for his age. I know we just got pictures of him 2 weeks ago, but I am already wishing for some more. He has got to be really cute and chubby now!!
But on a more serious note, I sent the I-600 and according to the USPS, it arrived at the PO box at 9:23am. Hopefully, they will open the package and see the neat surprise that I sent them, an "8" by "10" picture of Kaiden. I really hope that the adoption officer will pick up my envelope of info and find the picture and rush to do our I-600 right then. A girl can wish!!!!

Cleaning Kaiden's Room

Well, I have decided that I am going to clean out Kaiden's room tonight and tomorrow. Of course, I am writing my blog post, instead of doing that right now. Procrastinating much???? I am excited about actually getting to have a room for my baby, but at the same time I tend to get a little scared. I already love him and have only known him for a week, but at the same time this is my first baby!! My excitement and scared level has been skyrocketed this past week. I think I woke up every hour for the past week just having crazy dreams, being excited, or worrying. I am so ready to be a Mom and I couldn't be happier.
There is one thing I have been doing everyday since I got "The Call" just to help myself believe that we are this lucky!!!
I have been making sure I say at least to myself, "KAIDEN IS OUR SON." I know that doesn't seem like much, but until he is here and in my hands, sometimes I feel like last week was a fantasy and we can't be that lucky. Saying that tells me and everyone else that I know who my son is and in a few months he will be OURS FOREVER!!!

I-600 and ALL ABOUT ME!!!

Well, I sent off the I-600 today. I sent it express mail from the post office. It is supposed to arrive in their P.O.Box at around 3:00. I will be checking to make sure it gets there every hour until 3 throughout the day. I just want to know that all my paperwork has arrived. It makes me nervous when things are out in the unknown.

Well, anyway, for anyone who doesn't know me, I thought today would be a good day to introduce myself. My name is Jennifer and I have been married to my wonderful husband Aaron for 10 years. He is the best husband ever. He really does treat me absolutely wonderful. I couldn't be more blessed.
I am also a middle school math teacher. I LOVE my job. Teaching is an absolute joy!! I have three sisters, Amanda, Lisa, and Emily. All of my sisters have provided Aaron and I with 5 nieces and nephews that we have been using as training practice for our big day. I will tell you about them in another post later with pics, of course.
Anyway, for the past 9 years we have been trying to get pregnant. Well, as you have probably already figured out, nothing has worked. According to all the doctors, I have what they refer to as "unexplained infertility" which in my terms means they have never been able to figure out what the problem is. So last year we decided that adoption was the road we were meant to take!! We ended up deciding on International adoption because after lots of thought and prayer that is what we were led too!! Everything just fit so perfectly, like it was really meant to be!!! Now, that we have our referral of Kaiden, I can truly see that it was. It still feels like a dream!!!!

LEGALS FOR REAL!!!

I can't believe it. They called me and told me they would be here sometime Friday.Well, guess what???? They showed up today at exactly 12:00. Aaron just happened to be home today and he emailed me and told me why I was at school. Now, I am going to get everything together and send it off to the USCIS office in Dallas/Fort Worth. So, let's say a quick prayer that everything goes quickly and smoothly at their office. I have my fingers crossed!!!!!

LEGALS!!!

Well as I said before, I sent all the acceptance paperwork off on Friday and it got to Holt on Monday. Well, today I found out it was all approved. YEAH!! So then I got an email telling me that our LEGALS should be here by this FRIDAY!!! I am so excited. We really expected it to take a month as that it was what I was constantly seeing on the Holt bulletin board. I will post as soon as I receive them of course and then when I send out the I-600. I can't tell you how excited I am to be finishing up the paperwork within a week!!!! YEAH!! I guess that means it will soon be the Dallas USCIS job to help get my baby home quickly.

Baby Bedding

After the initial shock passed that we finally got our referral, I decided of course on Thursday to start looking for crib bedding. I have been looking off and on for months now and have been able to find nothing that really stood out to me. Well, I found it and Aaron likes it as well. So now all I have to do is purchase it. It is Peek-A-Boo Baby Snoopy crib bedding and I think it is absolutely adorable and I LOVE the colors.

First Shopping Trip

Today, I went shopping for a care package for Kaiden. We definitely want to send him a piece of ourselves so that he can get to know us. We also want his foster mom to see who his parents are and give herself some comfort getting to know us as well. I decided to send a photo album. Here is the one that I picked.

It is the Baby Einstein Baby Photo Book. It will hold 6 4" by 6" photos.

I am excited about picking the pictures in my album for MY baby to look at!!

I also picked up two outfits and 3 of the cutest pair of socks. I am still unsure about what to get the foster family, but I am working on it slowly. If you have any ideas for me, please let me know.

Congratulations Mommy and Daddy!

On Wednesday March 25 at 2:15pm, we got the call that would change our lives forever. I was teaching students when the receptionist called from the office that there was a call from Holt International and would I like to take it. I sat in my chair and was shaking. When I picked up the phone, she evidently was ready for speechless excited people and just told me that we had an assignment for a baby boy and that she was going to send the information to my email in the next few minutes. She asked me if I was there after she told me this and I said yes. Then, I asked her was she sure she wasn't joking. She laughed at me and said she wasn't joking. I immediately picked up the phone and called Aaron. I just blurted out on the phone ,"WE HAVE A BOY." He told me I had better not be messing with him. I told him I wasn't and there was complete silence on the phone. I can say this, the rest of the afternoon and the following day was a complete blur. Between crying and screams of happiness for us, I don't remember much of anything except our prayers have been answered in the form of a tiny wonderfully adorable baby boy.

Kaiden's actual Korean name is Seo Eun-jun, but we have decided to name him Kaiden Seo. Aaron actually really helped with the naming process. We have always known if it was a boy we were going to name him Kaiden, but Aaron helped pick the spelling of his first name and his middle name. I have never seen my husband so excited and happy. We are both just unbelievably thrilled.

I turned in all the acceptance paperwork today. And boy, that was a load of paperwork. That should all get to Holt on Monday so hopefully soon our paperwork will be on its way to Korea.