More news from Seoul!

Last week we received more pictures of Hudson and an update from our agency!

This was written for this 9 month update. It takes about a month from our agency's rep to get there, visit, process updates and forward on to us. So he is now 10 months old.

"His foster mother gives him a bath every other day and does not use soap due to sensitive skin. He can be quick tempered and does not like strangers. He goes to sleep at 11 pm and gets up at 7am, waking several times throughout the night as he is very sensitive to sounds and wakes up immediately. He sleeps on the floor by his foster mother. He is able to sit unassisted, crawl on his hands and knees, pull up to stand, and can stand without support. He can say omma (mom) and mamma (food). He likes new toys, especially toy cars. There is another foster baby boy age 3 months in the foster home.

As of May 20, weight 8.8kg, height 73cm, head 44.3cm, chest 42.8cm, teeth 0/2"

I'll be honest, there are a few things about this update that make me nervous...

1) he has extreme stranger anxiety... yikes, this is going to be an 'eventful' bonding period.

2) he is very sensitive to sounds and wakes up immediatly...with 3 dogs, one of which being a barker, this could be bad..

No matter how nervous I am, I am still ready to go get him! Getting the pictures is so bittersweet. I love to see how he's growing, but I'm sad not to have him home. Anyway, on to the pictures...

He is holding the stuffed rattle horse we sent in our last package in May. Jonathan was not impressed with Mrs. Choi's wardrobe decision of bright pink socks... We're still planning on October timing to go pick him up. I watch for news from families ahead of us hoping some revelation will happen and we will get a call tomorrow...

So... A lot has changed...

Hello all!!

Since the last post, we have got 2 more updates on Hudson... One good, one not so good. I always stick with bad news first, so I can end on a high note...


The first one was to all waiting families as an update on timelines. Here's some background: S. Korea is reducing the number of foreign adoptions and encouraging more domestic adoptions (which is not a bad thing by any means) however, this means that every year the government regulates the number of babies that can leave the country. Last year our agency met their 'quota' of babies early- around August. What that means is that no families can travel to pick up their child until the following new year. So in February 2010, those families finally started to be able to travel. They had a long wait- around 6-7 months. Typically they tell us the wait should be around 3-6 months, but it is almost always 4 months.


Jonathan and I expected to be closer to 5 months given the backlog of families from 2009. Then we got a letter from the agency. They have moved all waiting times from here on out to 8-12 months. After working with the Korean agency/orphange, Eastern, it was just not realistic to believe the original timeframe could be kept in light of the recent goverment announcements. So now we've been told to expect our baby's age to be 14-18 months instead of the original 9-10 months.


This was pretty upsetting news to us as we thought we were so close. We have plenty of things to thankful for though. Nothing has changed with our baby. Hudson is still ours, we will just get him a little older. His foster parents are taking really good care of him and love him to pieces. He has a foster baby brother (I think around 3 months) that is probably entertaining him a lot. And now we just have more time to get the nursery together and save $$.

The second update we recieved just yesterday. Hudson apparently has eczema (doesn't every baby though?) Heck, I still get it on my hands every once in a while, huh must take after me... Anyway, that is why we got the update and pictures! It was a really nice surprise to see his face! He is getting so big! Here are the updates on his 8 month progress report:

• He is about 18.5 lbs
• He eats apples, rice and bread
• He is a night owl and goes to sleep at 11
• He tries to crawl, can roll over and uses his pincer grasp
• He responds to his name and 'no'
• He plays in the sitting position
• He imitates speech sound "umma, appa" meaning momma, papa

Hudson's first video appearance

Well, we finally got the video to accompany the pictures below and Jonathan got it loaded onto YouTube. We also got a short update:

"He has been doing well. He takes 75cc of formula at first and then takes 75cc in 20 minutes. He only takes forumula now. He does not eat much. He tends to spit up after formula. He wakes up almost every three hours at night. He sleeps by this foster mother on the floor at night. He is fussy around one hour before sleeping. The foster mother carries him on her back to make him sleep. He rolls over and over. He holds his hands together. He is loud and quick-tempered.

He likes any toys."

As of Feb. 19, weight 7.7kg, height 69cm, head 41.8cm, chest 41.2cm

We thought his behavior sounded a bit different than when we got our first information. In the first email they told us how he was sleeping mostly through the night, he was quiet and mild-tempered, so we were somewhat surprised reading how much he had changed...and then we read the last sentence, "There is also a one month old foster baby boy in the home". Well, no wonder! he is probably a little jealous trying to figure out this new 1 month old that is getting some of his attention! Poor little guy!

It is so funny to watch this in Korean, especially when they are opening the stuff we sent! I would LOVE to find someone to translate especially when they are looking through the picture album and start busting out with laughter! I'm hoping they're looking at the photo of the dogs and not laughing at us...

Anyway, it is so good to see how well he is being taken care of, we can tell Mr. and Mrs. Choi give a lot of love to him and other babies. We are so thankful for them and their kindness.

Hudson Joon Hart

We just recieved new pictures yesterday from Korea! The director of the program at our agency makes frequent trips for updates, pictures, etc of the children. She snapped these two photos and we'll be getting a video and written update on his development in a week or so! He is almost 7 months now! I can't believe it!

We are naming him Hudson Joon Hart. Joon from his Korean name and Hart is Jonthan's middle name.

He is holding the snuggly I made and sent to him!

Look at that crazy hair!!!

Him and his foster mom along with his social worker

DRUMROLL PLEASE....

That's right, folks... We have a SON! We got the referral of a baby boy on 2/5!! His name is JoonSeong Lee. Joon means excellent and Seong means achieve. We are still deciding on his American name, but planning to keep a portion of his Korean name. Mr. and Mrs. Choi are his foster parents and they are 64 years old!! They have two grown kids of their own and have been fostering babies for over 20 years!! Here are pics of him at his 5 month check-up.

He is about 16 lbs . His Birthday is August 20. In his medical reports, amoungst other things, the doctor described him as "Cute and Alert".

Joon and Mrs. Choi

According to Mrs. Choi, he loves baths, is babbling a lot, and laughs often. Could it get any better than this?!

So, for those wondering what's next: We continue to work with the Immigration office while the agency works with the Korean government to start the process of bringing him home. We recieved his birth certificate last week and are still in a whirlwind of paperwork and notaries... All in all, it is another 3-6 months until we travel to Seoul to get him. June would be a lovely time to travel...cross your fingers!

Since the last post...

Ok, so the guest bathroom redo went so well, I decided to do our Master bath... As a result, I will probably not want to paint anymore for a long time. 2 weekends in a row is a lot...I didn't paint the room, but I did paint the vanity and made the frame for the mirror. I think the frame looks really good on the large mirror so I wanted to post the pics.

In other non-related news, Jonathan and I have decided to read the entire Bible. Call it a resolution if you want, but it's something that always seems terribly overwhelming to do. Well our pastor at FBC is leading a 'class' on "The Bible in 90 Days". Yes. You read right-90 DAYS! It will be intense, but we each got a special Bible that has numbered pages telling how many to read for that day. So skipping a day is not really an option, it would be so easy to get behind.. But we have a great group and we're meeting weekly, so that provides a lot of encouragement.

My parents are also doing this challenge in their church and my Dad has already bought all the audiobooks off iTunes so he can listen. I thought they were kinda cheating at first, but now it seems pretty smart.

Either way, whether you listen or read, I don't think God will mind. I'm proud of myself for finally doing it and excited that someone has found an easier way to make it manageable. I'm really excited and feel pretty motivated about it, but then again I've only been able to check off Day One so far...

Bathroom Re-do

So let me preface this post by saying I love craft projects. I love creating new things from old junk. I love finding treasures at garage sales. I also love home improvement projects! Home Depot is my home away from home. For Christmas, Jonathan bought me a nail gun. Not just any nail gun. A super SWEET nailgun that uses staples or nails. I love it.


On to the point... Last Thursday, out of the blue, I decided I wanted to try something with my guest bathroom mirror. In both of our bathrooms we have those oh-so-boring plain mirrors adhered to the wall. Nothing special. I decided I wanted to give it a new look by 'framing' it. And, while I was at it, why not paint the walls... and the vanity??

It was decided. I went to HD (Jonathan would think at first glance this stands for High Definition)-Home Depot-Duh! I bought primer, a miter box, a door trim kit and two gallons of paint-Millstream blue and Dark Truffle brown. I used the trusty miter box to saw the trim pieces (thanks to Jonathan for the measurements!) and sanded them down. I painted the walls and ceiling blue and the vanity and trim pieces brown. With a little Liquid Nails and Hot glue, Wha La! A custom framed mirror!! Maybe next weekend I'll tackle the master bath...Check out the before and after pics below!!

BEFORE

AFTER:

Buster is always a great helper!

yes, I have dorky oranged striped house shoes...