We get to keep him!

During this journey, it has always been exciting when the Fedex man rings your doorbell. And that happened yesterday. I wasn't expecting it at all, but what was delivered was BIG!!! We received our consent to adoption form from our agency. This means they approve of the placement and we are cleared to go to court to finalize the adoption. I got the last few papers ready for our attorney, dropped them off this morning, and she immediately went to the courthouse to petition a court date for us. You have to petition 30 days in advance and since we are flying home for Christmas we needed to make sure this happened today. And it did! We have a court date. On December 19th, we will officially adopt Neylan, he will legally have his new name, he will automatically become an American citizen, and he will be able to get a new birth certificate. Big steps!!!

The other exciting news of the day is that I finished Neylan's photo book and got it ordered. His little foster sister was issued her visa today, which means that her family should receive their travel call on Monday. So, in order to ensure that they got the book to hand-deliver, I just had it printed in their town and the mom is going to go pick it up and pack it. So, unfortunately, I won't get to see how it turned out unless I order one for myself. The book is simple, but I think his foster mom will really like it and appreciate it.

We're learning- slowly

This week, my goal is to have a few structured "learning" activities for the boys to do. We had gotten these two little pumpkins a few weeks ago and now, I finally have to time to do something with them. We started by just feeling the pumpkins and talking about their texture.

Then we wiped them off

We took the lids off and let them have a spoon

Then this OT mama took the spoons away! Neylan jumped right in with his hands and started pulling seeds out.

Grayson was much more hesitant and needed a lot of convincing that this was fun. Had no idea he had such texture issues. We will definitely have to continue some messy play activities!

Mr. Touchy-Feely was all about playing in the seeds

Then we rinsed the seeds in a bowl of water

and got them ready to roast.

We ended up with a pan of roasted pumpkin seeds and 2 roasted pumpkins for pureeing

We have been home now for 5 months and are slowly learning what Neylan likes and dislikes. This was a fun activity with him. He has no hesitation touching different textures. We have even had people comment on how much he likes to touch things. He's a tactile sensory seeker for sure. So, what will we learn next?

Another cool story for you

After a very long week and a long day yesterday, I finally got home and settled with a chance to check my email. In my mailbox was a facebook notification and an email from a stranger. I opened the facebook message to see who it was and how they found me and then read the email. It was another adoptive mommy with a cool connection. Wanna know?! She is the mommy of the little girl who Neylan was living with when we picked him up. She had posted a picture of her daughter and her foster mom on facebook and another adoptive mommy that I am friends with on FB recognized her and made the connection that we had the same FM! She emailed her to tell her to get in contact with me. This family is expecting to get their travel call at the end of the month to go pick their little girl up. When we picked Neylan up in June, his foster mom told us that she also had a little girl in her home who was a few months younger than him. We never got to see her though. Well, now I know who she is and where she is going. She is going to a city in GA not too far from where we already have family!

So, when I saw that they are expecting to travel soon, I emailed her back to ask if she would be willing to take something to their foster mom for us. I had begun working on a digital photo book for her in September and had planned on sending it with a family from our area who was traveling. Unfortunately, I never finished it before the family left. Now, I know the reason why! It was meant to travel with this other family who can personally hand it to our foster mom, not just to the office staff. How cool is that!!!!!! So, I best get to working on it so I can make sure they have it before they leave in a few weeks.

I am quickly learning how wonderful the adoption community is and how many friends with different connections can be made. It's been wonderful to get to know so many people we never would have had we not gone through this process. It's such a blessing to be on this journey with so many other families who share the same passion.

My new Christmas ornament

Someone posted on our adoption forum that Hallmark was coming out with this ornament this year. So I waited patiently for months for it to be in stores. And, I got to buy it this week. It's a little hard to read, but the door says "forever family" and the heart says "held together with love". So true. What a perfect ornament for anyone whose little one became part of a forever family this year.

October Friend for Adoption

Julie and I have completed our first month as "Friends for Adoption". We have been talking through email this month and have exchanged our first gift. I sent her this cute fall mug and made her some spiced friendship tea.

And she sent me a Starbucks gift card.

How funny that we both got each other "drink" gifts this month. But perfect gifts as the weather gets colder.

If you are in the process of adopting or have already come home and would like to have a "friend for adoption" check out the button on the right side for more info.

November is National Adoption Month!

This video is one that a mom on our forum put together to celebrate the many children who have come home to their forever families. Many of the families are ones that we have gotten to know and share in their journey. We have waited with and watched many of these families travel within the last year and they have celebrated and supported us in our journey too. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to get on the forum anymore, so I missed the memo about getting a picture in for the video. I'm bummed we missed out on it, but will try to remember to do it next year.

Do you have room in your heart for one of these?

meeting a new friend

Remember this very cool story that I told you about when I got to meet another little girl who was raised by the same foster mom Neylan had? Well, this is her. Neylan got to meet Grace today to get a few pictures to send to their foster family. Since we had our last visit with our social worker, I was encouraged to write a letter to his foster mom. I thought it would be fabulous to send a few pictures of these two with it, so we arranged for a short meeting today- just for pictures. We'll get together at a different time to play and get to know this wonderful family better. Grace just turned 3, so they never lived together. She also has two older siblings who were adopted from Korea. They are two cuties for sure and I know their foster mom will be so excited (and likely shocked) to see them now- together!!

A Little Procedure

Neylan had a little boy procedure this morning. We got to the hospital bright and early, got all the paperwork done, got dressed in his fun gown, and were ready to go. (He has never taken a pacifier until yesterday when the teething was so bad I popped it in just to try- and he didn't let go. So, I brought it with us today for some added comfort-maybe)

Right before heading back, he discovered a little parking lot full of fun cars. He picked his out, got in and drove off to the OR. Didn't even want to give me a hug or a wave. So glad he went this way and not screaming and crying with strange nurses.

His procedure went well, but the recovery. Oh, the recovery! AWFUL!!!! Not sure if he was just having a hard time waking up, in a lot of pain, mad becuase he had an IV in, an arm board on, leads on his chest, etc, etc, or just plain uncomfortable. Bottom line- he couldn't calm down. I couldn't calm him down. He refused to eat or drink anything, even though he hadn't had anything since last night. He didn't want to play with my phone. He didn't want to be held. He didn't want to lay in bed. So, the last resort it was- more meds through the IV to bring instant comfort and calming. It wasn't quite instantaneous, but he did calm after the nurses left and we went to another room where a small tv was playing cartoons. At one point after all the tubes and restrictions were removed, the nurse tried to hand him to me. He wouldn't turn towards me, look at me, and acted like he wanted nothing to do with me. A bit of panic ran through me that we had just lost the last 4 months of hard attachment work. Once he calmed down some, I was able to get him dressed, gave him his snack cup and get him to the car. He ate all the way home and appeared relieved once we walked in the door. He played for a little while, ate a big lunch, took a 3 hour nap, played some more, and went to sleep easily tonight. So, for now all seems well. He is back to his mama-loving self and was more cuddly today! We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Almost Done- or one step closer

Our social worker came for our third and final post-placement visit on Sunday afternoon. This is supposed to be a six-month visit, but she came a little early- like 2 months?! We didn't argue because we really want to finalize this year. And, we should be able to now since it's still October. She was able to see Neylan and Grayson together this visit. She was pleased with how well Neylan is doing and commented that he had "filled out in his face" since we came home! What!!! I remember him having chubby cheeks from the beginning! I think we have all settled a bit since our last visit with her. We are in a better groove now and Neylan is better adjusted (aka- not screaming all the time). We have been sending pictures back to the agency and foster family with each of our post-placement visits. Now that we are done with these, I will have to keep reminding myself to send stuff. I know his foster family would love to watch him grow. So, we are one step closer to officially having a permanent foster child with the Foster name!

Fall Family Fun Day

I have always loved getting pictures of Grayson in the fall at a pumpkin patch- and today was my opportunity for the year. And boy, did I get some good ones. So, this post is the most pic heavy post I may have ever done, but I just couldn't weed many out.

We spent the morning at Weston Red Barn Farm, about 45 minutes away from our house. It's a very popular place in the fall, but surprisingly, wasn't too crowded while we were there. We went with our KC family, GG, Bill, Shannon, and Megan.

Grayson loved looking at all of the animals. They had chickens, goats, pigs, a lamb, horses, geese, and turkeys.

Neylan was the only one brave enough to feed the goats

Grayson brought along his camera to snap a few good pics too

We all got to try a pumpkin fritter- yum!

After the morning at the farm, we went back to the campground where Bill and GG were spending the weekend. We let the boys play, ate lunch, roasted marshmallows for smores, and brought two tired boys home. What a fun fall day.

15-month check-up

Last week Neylan had his second doctor appt since coming home. His 15-month check-up (just prior to his 16 month birthday). We talked about going to the doctor all morning and Grayson was excited. He has been playing doctor a lot at daycare and loves giving people shots. So, he asked if he could have a shot today. I told him that the shots today were only for Neylan. So, off I go with both boys by myself.

First, Neylan was weighed. A whopping 26 lbs 14 oz. Then Grayson wanted his turn, so he hopped on the standing scale. He was 29 lbs. I was a bit surprised, because I thought they were a bit closer in size.

Then the doctor came in. She did her exam and then washed her hands. Neylan quickly walked over to her and did his sign for washing hands (rubbing his hands together). She was so impressed that she picked him up to help him wash his hands.

Next it was time for shots. The doctor went over everything with me and Grayson looked at her and asked if he could have a shot. She said, "Did he just ask if he could have a shot too?" I said he probably did because he had been asking for it all morning. She is so nice that she granted his request. We all got our flu shots! So, Grayson picked the order. Mommy first, Neylan second (with 4 shots total) and Grayson last. He was so brave and barely cried. And as soon as these suckers were brought in, all tears were gone.

We had a great visit. Both boys did fabulous and impressed the socks off the doctor and nurses.

So, here's the stats:

Height: 32"- 75th %ile

Weight: 26lbs 14 oz - 70th %ile

Head circumference: 18.7" - 55th %ile

Basically all of that means- He's HUGE!!!!

I Have a New Button!

Did you notice it on the right? Friends for Adoption is a fun little thing that was started by two friends who are in the process of adopting from Taiwan. Since the adoption process can be daunting, exhausting, stressful, exciting, etc, etc, they thought it would be fun to be paired up with other mamas, or mamas to-be, to share in the joys and heartaches of the process. No matter what kind of process a family goes through to have children, support and encouragement are needed for all of us women to get through. So, you are matched based on where you are in the process with another woman who has similar interests or situations. Then each month, you send each other a small gift or note of encouragement. It's also a great way to meet someone else who is walking in your shoes.

Although our adoption process was rather short, comparatively speaking to other countries, we reached out to others on our agency's online forum. I "met" lots of moms who were walking in my shoes and who had already walked the adoption road to Korea and back and were full of advice and tips. It was fabulous and we gained a wealth of knowlege throughout the process. Now that we are home and getting pretty settled, I still want to stay in contact with other APs and honestly, there are just days when I need some encouragement and a friend who is walking in my shoes. So, when I found out about Friends for Adoption, I asked if the creator had anyone who was on the post-placement side of the process. Within a few weeks, I was matched. Yay!! I now have a friend! Her name is Julie, she lives in VA, and has a little boy who was born right in between Grayson and Neylan. I have heard from her once by email and I have her first little gift ready to be put in the mail tomorrow. I know very little about her, so I bought something I really want to keep for myself! I hope she likes it!! One of the criteria about being involved with Friends for Adoption is that you blog about your gifts you receive each month. So, every month I should have a fun little post about what is going on with my new friend, Julie!

So, for all of you out there who are in the process or are already home and just want another friend or some encouragement, click on the button and get involved! Doesn't it sound fun?!

Beach Bummin' big boys

Last week the boys and I set out on Neylan's first trip to the beach. My grandparents live in Charleston, SC and I really wanted to make sure they met Neylan, so off we headed for nearly a week to squeeze in lots of family time. The flight was easy-breezy. I have such good little travelers.

The weather was perfect our first day at the beach- 87 degrees, sunny, and few clouds in the sky. Grayson was eager to get in the water immediately. So, I ran out with him and Neylan in my arms. I think optimism took over and I set Neylan down. Oops! Wrong move. He HATED the water, the waves, the sand, something, everything! So, he calmed down as soon as I put him in the sand with a bucket and shovel. This was more his style for a while.

After lunch the tide had gone out and left shallow pools of water with sand on each side. This allowed the boys to go in and out whenever they wanted and there were no waves. Neylan warmed up to this quickly and the boys played in here for hours.

Neylan, the dog lover, enjoyed this furry little visitor

On Friday, we headed to a nice park to burn some energy.

The park was next to a pier, so we took a walk to the end of it to watch the boats

Mr. Independent wanted to push Neylan. It worked fine as long as someone gently guided in front, since he can't see anything in front of him

Back to the beach Friday night. It was quite a bit colder, so we didn't last in the water near as long

The boys' cousins, Lauren and Asher, were also there last week and they thoroughly enjoyed playing with each other

On Saturday morning, we spent some time with my grandparents and the rest of the family. Good thing for Neylan, there was a dog there

It was great to see everyone. We don't get to see this side of the family very often and it's been a VERY long time since we were all together.

We had a great trip and the boys did a fabulous job the whole time.