Update Time!

I got an update e-mail from our adoption agency. Things are looking even better than they did last month! The wait for boys seems to have shortened by a few months - and the wait for girls seems a little better than we expected too! Such great news and just what I needed to make it through these last few months. Our agency has had so many referrals and travel calls in December! Hope it keeps this pace for a bit longer!!!

Spaghetti Slurpin'

Tonight Justin was mad that we cut up his spaghetti. I should have known, he likes everything the way his brothers do these days. He is in full parrot mode. If they jump, he jumps. If they say No, he says No. Wait, he says No all on his own! If they want soda, he wants soda. If they go outside, he wants out. If they get a bath, he wants in! You get the idea.

So, for the first time he got spaghetti au natural. He had so much fun! He must have some of his grandpop's Italian in him. He dug right in and started slurping away. He thought this was so funny. He even ate some meatball, which was a first for him. He has not really eaten much red meat - he is a chicken kid.

I had to get out the camera. Then Brian and Sean wanted to join in the picture taking fun. Which is rare since they have been around long enough to want to run from the camera most days!

enjoying the spaghettislurp, slurpone more little bitthis is GREAT!Brian's poseSean trying to slurp Rotini with ketchup

(didn't go so well)

Fun on the Beach!

I finally got some pictures downloaded from our mini vacation.We did get about half an inch of snow, but the weather soon cleared. It was nice enough one day to get down to the beach. It was chilly but not too bad. The bigger boys had fun playing football. Sean liked digging in the sand. Brian walked around with the dog, and I took pictures!

Brian being tackled by his friend N

J and N getting BrianBrian with the ballBrianSean diggingRoc loves the beach

Eight Months Waiting!

So excited! Eight months down in our 10-12 month wait for a baby girl! The wait was pretty easy for the first few months. Then it got tough a few months ago. I felt like we had so long to go, but there was nothing we could actively be doing to help the process. At least early on you have paper work and fingerprinting appointments. Just busy work to keep you mind off the wait. Then we hit 6-7 months and I found it tough. Now getting to 8 month mark is exciting to me. I can see the end of the tunnel! And knowing that she has most likely been born is exciting!

I wonder what she is like. What does she look like? I do know that if the birth mom has already signed over her rights that the baby is being very well cared for. One thing that remains constant in all the information I get from those that have traveled to Korea is that those babies are so loved and very well cared for. This gives me so much comfort. To know my future daughter is happy and healthy and loved. I will never be able to thank them for the care they will have given to her by the time we pick her up.

Oh, and how my heart goes out to her birth mom. I cannot imagine how she is feeling. I hope that one day she can find peace with her decision. I also hope that she will one day be able to get the letters and information that we plan to send to the adoption agency there. I want her to see just how loved and cared for her baby will be. Okay, before I start crying.....

We cannot wait to meet you Kathryn!

Wild Card Game!

Ravens over Dolphins 27-9. They played great and Joe was 9/23 for 147 yards with a rushing touchdown! This is so exciting! I hope that they make it all the way!

Happy 20 Months Justin!

Wow. Twenty months. That is close to twenty-four months. Which is actually two years old. How can my baby be so close to two!!! Justin is still such a happy kid, although he is working on perfecting the temper tantrum. He is so independent. I love his squeaky laugh. His favorite word, by far, is no. He loves to make car and plane sounds. He loves to say Wheee! He can jump with two feet of the ground at the same time. He can do a really great forward roll. His speech is improving, but not quite where I would like it to be. He does understand everything though. And even reacts to conversations that I had no idea he was listening to. He also likes to play with his hair while he is drinking his bottle. It is so cute!

Yes, he is still on a bottle. And no, I am not telling the pediatrician! My mom made a good point about the whole no bottle after age one debate. When I was a kid, there was no such thing as a sippy cup. Kids drank from bottles for much longer - juice, water, milk, iced tea. There was no choice unless you wanted liquids spilled all day long. So, Justin gets his milk from a bottle because it is the only vessel he will accept it from. He can drink from a sippy cup, a straw and even from a cup with no lid. All the skills are there. And he sits with me - and cuddles for a few rare moments in his busy life - and drinks the bottle and that is it. He doesn't beg for them all day long. Or walk around playing with it hanging out of his mouth. I really don't see the difference between him sitting with me and drinking from a bottle or a cup.

But that is just my two cents.

HSTK!!!

HSTK - otherwise know as home study to Korea in the adoption world! I don't know if anyone remembers, but our approved home study was being held at our adoption agency's main office. The home studies were being kept in strict chronological order and we were told that they would be sent to Korea when Korea asked for more. At the time, back in May, I really thought it would be a few months before it was sent. The agency that our agency works with in Korea was moving office buildings that summer and I thought after they got settled that our would be sent. Well, almost 8 months later...we are HSTK!!! Yea!

This does not impact our wait time. We are still expecting an April/May referral, but it is just exciting that our file is actually in Korea! If the time lines remain the same, our referral will come when Kathryn is about 5-6 months old. That means she has definitely been born by now. That is such a strange and wonderful feeling. Our baby is out there, somewhere.....

Happy New Year 2009!

Oh my. How in the world can it be 2009? I remember being in grade school in the '80s and we had to draw a picture of what we thought the world would be like in the year 2020. Of course we all drew flying cars. Space ships. Houses on the moon. Aliens. Huge no gravity playgrounds. Jet packs. Skateboards with rocket boosters. Yep, we had the future all figured out.

Well, we do have the Segway, but that is more of a cool scooter than a space ship. I doubt that in 11 years our world will become a space station that rivals the sets of Star Wars. Funny how when you are kid that 40 years seems like eons away, and as you age, 40 years seems like the blink of an eye.

I am excited for 2009. I guess first and foremost - we will add a daughter to our family! And we get to travel to Korea. I cannot wait to experience it!