One Year Later...

It is hard to believe that one year ago I was in Korea, frantically making sure everything was packed, doing last minute shopping and trying to keep busy until it was time to catch the bus for the airport.  My travel companion Amy and I were trying to keep busy - and sane, while knowing in a few hours our kids would literally be handed over to us at the airport and we'd be with them for 24 hours on a plane. With 6 other little ones who had also been taken away from what they had come to know as their family.  Want to catch up? You can read about my experience my last day in Seoul and the journey home.

Flash forward a year. Joe Sung Min seems like he has always been a part of our lives, that he has always been with us.  And it amazing to think about all that has happened in the past year, how far he has progressed - and how he has brought so much joy to our lives.

Over the past year Joe Sung Min:

• Started walking (and hasn't stopped since): 

• Gradually overcame his grass aversion:

  

• Experienced some new holidays:

 

• Went on his first vacation to NY, CT, NJ and PA, where he rode his first merry-go-round, experienced his first amusement park, went to the ocean and slept through his first (and second) concerts:

• And became infatuated with the alphabet and the "Itsy Bitsy Spider":

It has been an amazing journey so far and we look forward to seeing what happens next.  To our friends and family (and Omma and Appa) who have been with us from the start, thank you for your continued support and encouragement.  To those we've met along the way, we're glad you've joined us.

Almost.

It is hard to believe that Joe Sung Min is almost two years old.  He has almost been home with us for a year. We can almost see the dining room table. I am almost done working for the day. We are almost, but not quite ready to go ... anywhere.  The over riding theme in our house lately seems to be that we are never fully ready for anything.  What we've realizing, however, is life goes on whether or not we're prepared so we might as well get out there and enjoy it. 

(Almost) ready or not ... here we come.

Joe sleeping through the Movers concert at Sesame Place

Joe's First Vacation - Part II

Ok, finally getting back to finishing up about Joe Sung Min's first vacation.  I was a little concerned how he would be after the long drive and around so many new people.  In all, he exceeded my expectations.  We had packed some of his favorite toys from home (and his blanket) and he had his big sister around to make him feel comfortable.

Miss Olivia had quite a list of things she wanted to do while we were on vacation and Auntie Jen made sure we hit as many of them as possible: Adirondack Animal Land, Hoffman's Playland and most importantly, the pool in the backyard.  Although we didn't get to see the parade or fireworks on the 4th of July, we DID travel to Connecticut to a party at Auntie Bev's house where we got to hang out with all of my siblings, their husbands and kids. Yay!  We also squeezed in a visit with my friend Robyn and her girls and a trip down to Hudson, where I grew up, to visit my dear friend Kathleen and her kids and stop at the cemetery to see my mom's grave.

Feeding giraffes

Joe was more interested in snacks

Chased by camels. Liver-lips got a little to close for comfort

Joe-Ji LOVED his cousin Sarah!

                         

Joe and his new friend Robyn. :)

The girls getting their craft on at Michael's

Rides! 

  

Zach's 17th birthday. Ice cream cake!!

Greg showing Liv how to ride her bike sans training wheels

Putting flowers on Grandma Hendricks' grave (she picked them out!)

Playing with my BFF's little one. :)

My little fish (just like her dad!)

Tired from their swim, Liv and Dillon relax on the lounge chair

But wait... we're not done yet.  The third installment of our great vacation is coming soon.  You don't want to miss our adventures in New Jersey, the kids' first trip to the ocean, seeing the Imagination Movers at Sesame Place and the long ride back home... Stay tuned!

Joe's First Vacation

A big apology to Omma, Appa and my family and friends for neglecting this blog.  The past few months I have been insanely busy with work, moving and getting settled in to our new house (no end is in sight, but that is another story entirely) and haven't found the time to update you all on Joe Sung Min and his progress. He is doing VERY well, by the way. :) I think I've successfully cleared all the cobwebs and tumbleweeds from this page and am ready to do this.

For the past 5 years, I've packed Liv up each summer and driven the 8+ hours to visit my family in upstate New York.  This year was going to be a new adventure: me with TWO kids. In a car. For hours. One kid (Joe) who does NOT like to be in the car for more than an hour at a time.  This was going to be interesting.

Liv was up bright and early and helped me finish packing up the car. We were hitting the road a little later than I had hoped (6:15 am) but there were no tears so I considered that a small victory.  Unfortunately, I realized I had Brian's keys with me so we had to turn around but we were back on the road in no time.

We sailed through Ohio, Pennsylvania and through Buffalo before taking a break.  The kids were relaxing in the back seat watching movies, snacking, coloring and zoning.  I was quite pleased with how smoothly the trip was going.  After we took care of business inside the rest stop, the kids ran around and let off some steam.  Liv was a very sweet big sister and helped her brother run up and down the little hill over and over again. And then, we were off to continue our journey.  Luckily for everyone involved, it was a quick ride to Rochester to the incredible Strong Museum of Play, where we were meeting Liv's little buddy, Owen.  Owen was the ring bearer in my niece's wedding over Thanksgiving weekend.  You can read more about that here.

First up was the carousel in the lobby. As you can see from the picture below, it was a big hit.  For the next two hours, the kids shopped, built and destroyed, climbed, learned, played some old school video games and ran in different directions.  I'm glad I was there with another family because Mr. Man has his own agenda and was not, surprisingly, attached to me at the hip.  Let me just say that this kid is fast.  And it is a good thing he is so cute.

Sadly we had to move the museum and continue our drive to Auntie Jen and Uncle Dave's house. Surely the kids would sleep in the remaining four hours. Who was I kidding? Joe may have slept 45 minutes, a far cry from his 2 -3 hour naps. Liv? Nothing. She was too excited to see her cousins, their dog and, most importantly, the pool in the backyard.  At this point I need to give a shout out to our friends the Imagination Movers.  Were it not for their Rock-O-Matic CD/DVD (and their others), we would not have survived the remaining hour and a half of the ride. Works WONDERS on the little man, he is mesmerized by them and loves singing along with his big sister (and me,too!)

To be continued...  

9 Months Home!

Wow.  It is so hard to believe that Joseph Sung Min has been home for 9 months.  On August 31, 2011, my friend Amy and I were doing picking up last minute souvenirs, triple checking our bags and getting more than a little nervous about the trip home. Our poor kiddos would likely be in shock going from the safety and comfort of their foster families to the orphanage to the airport where we picked them up in the nursery. What emotions we were all experiencing. You can read more about that major adventure by clicking here.

Flash forward nine months and it seems as if he has always been a part of our family.  He has fit perfectly in to our quirky household with his quick smile and silly nature.  He has been such a trooper through his surgeries and the results of both have left us amazed.  Looking back, his progress has been incredible.  When he first came home, he was not able to (or didn't WANT to) hold his own bottle or feed himself to insisting on feeding himself and holding his cup on his own.  He didn't stand very much and had NO interest in walking. Now we can't keep him in one place unless he is watching the Imagination Movers, Backyardigans , Charlie and Lola or reading some of his books.

He is talking up a storm and as of today has more than 50 words in his vocabulary.  He is even able to recognize a few shapes, colors, numbers and knows (at least) 9 letters and their sounds.  Each day his sissy listens for new words so she can add them to Joe's word list.  We need to get him set up with OT and PT to bring his fine and gross motor skills up to where they should be, but all things considered he is doing remarkably well.

I could brag for hours about this little fella, how much we love him and how blessed we are to have him in our lives but I'll stop. For now.  I know the pictures are the real draw here.  For your viewing pleasure, here are a few from the archives of his first moments with our family and some recent ones.

Then...

And now...

We appreciate your support as we continue on in this journey and look forward to sharing our next adventures with you. Thanks for stopping by - and please come again!