A word from Mom

I desperately love my son.

In the seven weeks we have been home with Owen, he has sprouted a lovely head of hair that actually sticks to his head (as opposed to sprouting out like peach fuzz), developed a delightful vocabulary of sounds ("mama," "dada," "nana," and "boom boom" are his favorites), and learned to wave, clap and eagerly look at books. All on our watch.

It's encouraging as well as breathtaking to see that the love and care we are giving him on a daily (and nightly) basis are somehow making a difference. Admittedly, Chip and I spend most of our waking hours in a daze from getting up with Owen in the night, so it's very difficult for me to see the forest for the trees. But when I am able to step back for just a moment, I get a clear view of how my son has grown, and how his confidence, humor and independence have flourished. I can also see how he has changed me.

I am humbled every day by Owen, as he teaches me about patience and tenderness. Because of him, I am learning to slow down, to enjoy the holding/rocking/bouncing that he requires so much of, to laugh more, to not sweat the small stuff.

I thought I knew what it meant to parent a baby, but Owen has challenged that and made me a better mother. He's also made Chip a better dad and Jane and Caroline incredible big sisters. He happily watches the flurry of activity in our household as he sits and drools over his blocks and stacking cups -- and I get the sense there is nowhere else he'd rather be. This is no small thing, seeing as though we took him from the only home and family he'd ever known. He has come so far. I'd like to think that I have, too.

Ode to Owen

I find myself with a bit more energy than usual, which I attribute to Owen sleeping late this morning (5:30 a.m.)... While I have this rare burst of clear-headedness, I wanted to share some updates about our precious little guy.

Aside from a few sleeping issues that we are working hard to straighten out (some days with success, others not), Owen is thriving. I sense that he finally feels at home with us, confident to explore our house and get into everything possible. He finds endless entertainment in his toys, sisters and dog, and he watches the flurry of activity around him with great intent. He is very happy and well-adjusted, and I'm grateful beyond words that he has attached to Chip and me with no apparent problem. He is absolutely delightful, and he has a mother who is officially in love with him.

Owen loves to move around and crawl, and he is already standing on his own for up to 30 seconds. This leads to me to believe we might have an early walker, which I have mixed feelings about. (Just one more little creature for his tired mom to chase after!) Man, is he quick. More than once, he has crossed the kitchen floor with his speedy crawl and gotten very close to consuming Mookie's dog food.

On our very first day with Owen in Seoul, he got his first tooth. (Thank God we've been able to experience at least one major milestone with him so far.) In the short time since then, he is now preparing to cut his fourth tooth, which Chip tells me is rare and also explains why Owen stuffs everything he can into his mouth -- from newspapers to Mookie to my very own nose -- and drools without ceasing. God love him, I can tell he has serious discomfort from such intense teething, but he continues to go with the flow.

According to our pediatrician, Owen is a very healthy baby who is in the 85th percentile for weight and 90th for height. Finally, Chip will have someone in the family to see eye-to-eye with! He is a darling little chunker with yummy rolls of fat on his arms and legs, but he is not nearly as huge as we thought he'd be. In fact, he's just perfect.

Love from the Birds.

Settling in...

Eight days home and we're starting to settle into a family with three kidlets. It's been exhausting, exhilarating, messy, frustrating and fabulous.

Repeatedly, I breathe a sigh of relief as I look at the precious little faces climbing/crawling/running/singing/dancing/shrieking/drooling underfoot and thank God for the opportunity to be their mother. My life with them is chaotic and good.

Owen is doing amazingly well in his new home with his new family. He has had so many changes hurled his way in the last week or so, and he continues to take them in stride. We have had some predictable bouts of grief along the way (for his foster family, etc.), as well as some significant sleeping challenges, but overall our son just might be the most mellow little boy around. He is observant and interested in all that's happening around him; once he feels secure, he begins to babble and explore, which is great to watch. He loves his sisters but possibly adores Mookie even more... He crawls as fast as he can to keep up with him, and if given his way would do all his teething on Mookie's back and ears.

Caroline and Jane are hanging in there. All things considered, they, too, have taken this huge adjustment quite well. I think Caroline spends a lot of time contemplating and analyzing the new "arrangement"; whereas Jane approaches the situation with her usual aplomb and indifference. They all seem to be comfortable around each other, which is all I can ask for at this point, and I know that their affection for and protectiveness over each other will continue to grow.

Thanks to all for the support and love over the past few weeks. We've needed it. Everything still feels so strange and new, but I'm confident in the days ahead we'll fine-tune our crazy, wonderful life together.

The Family Is Finally All Together

Jane and Caroline gave Owen a "Hello" kiss The family all together

First meeting with Mookie
Going out for a walk (and Dad looking jet-lagged)
The Bird kids (and Mookie)

Today was a big day for the Birds, as Owen got to meet his dog Mookie first, and then later his big sisters Jane and Caroline. They were excited to see him and wanted to play with him and show him some of their toys. He was just staring at them (they are absolute bundles of energy and constantly moving) and getting to know their voices. It all went better than we could have expected and they wanted to hug and kiss him to welcome in to the Bird Clan. Laura and I were of course relieved that it went smoothly, as we were concerned about how they view this new "guest" in the house. We all sat down to dinner (with Grandma Cindy and Aunt Liz too) and got to all know each other again. It was quite a night.

Sleepwise, we are only doing OK. Poor Owen's schedule is all off after the 14 hour time difference, so Laura and I have taken turns sitting up with him. We got him out for a walk today in hopes that the sunlight would help reset his body clock a bit (and ours, too). Once he gets on schedule, we all should have a chance to catch up on the lost hours. I'm sure that there will be some adjustments on everyone' spart to come, but I'm glad to say that the first meeting and few hours of interaction exceeded our expectations!

Day 6/7: The Trip Home

Owen waiting to be checked in at US Immigration
It felt good to get in to the bath and some new PJ's
Jane and Caroline had made welcome home signs for us and Owen

Well, we made it. Our last 24 hours in Seoul was spent by having us all get to know each other, and preparing for the long trip home. We took a few more walks around the "neighborhood", taking in the sights for the last time. It was a bit bittersweet as we knew this would be the last time that Owen would be in his homeland until several years down the road when we can return with him.

We had a two hour ride through Seoul traffic to Incheon airport (to our delight, Owen is a good car sleeper!), checked in for our flight, and had our last bit of Korean food for a while. Our flight left right on time and was very full, so we were glad that our request for a bulkhead seat with a bassinet was granted, and we all settled in. Owen was a bit fussy at first, but a bottle and a walk around put him to sleep and we placed him in the bassinet and all got some decent rest.

We landed at O'Hare a bit early, and made it through immigration and customs without incident. We got into the car around 7:30pm (Owen took a bit of time getting used to sitting in a car seat for the first time, but nodded off again), and we made it home after 9pm. We got unpacked, gave Owen a bath and got to sleep (sort of).

The time change and jet lag has gotten to us all, and the first night at home was spent with Laura and I taking turns sleeping and sitting up with Owen. On the bright side, we got all of our mail opened and laundry done, so it wasn't a total loss. To add a bit of extra confusion, the daylight savings time change happened last night. It wil be interesting to see how long it takes all to get back on track sleepwise, as I return to work on Wednesday. The girls we will be back home tomorrow, as we had them stay an extra day with Grandpa and Grandma Merritt since we knew getting back home would be a big adjustment for Owen. I am really glad that we did this, and hopefully it will be easier for all.

We will post pictures of the girls first meeting with their brother, and his first meeting with Mookie. It sure feels good to be home again!

Day 5 (Part II) More Pictures

As I write, it's about 7am on our last day here. Owen (and Laura) are still sleeping and we made it again through the evening and night OK. Owen got to sleep around 9pm and got up once in the night for a bottle, which he has each night and is normal for him according to his foster mother. Once he can eat more during the day (ie more solids), we are hopeful that he makes it through the night. He seems to have taken to us and generally has a very good disposition. That may change a bit on a 13 hour plane ride, but my disposition isn't great after that either, so you can hardly blame him.

We got to give Owen his first bath with us and he did not fuss a bit. Eating has gone well also for the most part, and he makes some great cooing sounds. He sits up easily and pulls himself up to a wobbly stand. His legs seem quite strong, and he has a death grip when he wants to hang onto something. He likes to nod off in the baby carrier when walking and we have heard that he likes to sleep in the car, which is something new to us since the girls never really have.

Korea has been such an adventure for us and we will miss it. At the same time, we miss our girls, and of course all of you. For trips, it is always good to go, and always good to come back. The Korean people have made our stay something special and we will relish the chance to get to come back here someday.

I thought I would just put some more pictures up since I am not sure if I will get to post again before our flight leaves. We head to the airport this afternoon and our flight leaves at 7:30 (Sat. night). What is strange is that we get in at 6pm Saturday night, which is "before" we will leave. We are hoping for as smooth a flight as possible and a chance to get back on a halfway normal sleep routine (yeah, right).

Our first 24 hours: a bit of a rollercoaster but with some success!

(by the way, you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them for easier viewing)

Whew.

As I write (Friday at 1pm, Seoul time), Chip is on the bed in our hotel room with Owen. They are playing and "talking" and actually having a good time together. I say this with not a little relief, because yesterday, after we got him, things were pretty hard-going for awhile.

After returning to our hotel room with Owen, it was about 4pm. He was really into the rattles and teething rings we brought with us, and he appeared to be interested in us as well. He was curious and engaged and seemed pretty content. Until he remembered that we were strangers and not his foster mom. Then, the screaming began. He refused to take a bottle from us and was inconsolable. We spent the afternoon trying to get him to nap and eat; some things worked (the rice cereal & banana baby food were a hit, so was when Chip put him in the Baby Bjorn and walked back and forth in our hotel room to soothe him), some things didn't (changing his diaper, trying to put on clean clothes, etc.). It was touch and go for hours.

I was especially worried about bedtime. We were told that with his foster family, he would take an hour-long nap at 7pm (??) and then would go to bed for the night at midnight (!!), sleeping with foster mom on a mat on the floor (!!). None of these things are really in the cards for him with us, so we had no idea what to expect from our first night together. I'm glad to report it all went swimmingly. He fell asleep in my arms (finally taking a bottle, I'm sure out of desperation because he was so hungry) around 8:30, and when we placed him in the pack and play by our bed, he didn't budge until 7:30 this morning!

Since getting up this morning, he has seemed in much better spirits than yesterday. He has taken bottles from both Chip and me (although not as many ounces as he's used to), and he is in love with the stacking cups and Mr. Worm we brought. He has napped twice in the Hip Hammock Chip wore while we went out for a long walk. And now he is babbling and playing happily. He can sit up very well and really wants to stand up on those super chubby legs of his. We're not sure how well he can crawl at this point, but he seems like he wants to move around and explore.

He is darling - so precious. He looks at us very intently when we talk and seems so mild-mannered. I know we're going to have some ups and downs in the attachment process, but we have high hopes that he will rally. He is already doing so, I think.

I must point out that I had forgotten how cute Chip is with babies. As Chip was bottling him this morning, he started in with the sort of presentations he used to give our girls: "Owen, today we're going to talk about fishes that are native to Wisconsin." And sure enough, that's what they talked about. (I learned quite a bit myself.)

So, that's where we are with things right now. I feel good, so does Chip. I think Owen wants to feel good himself, but he's a little wary (understandably). Oh, he just started crying right now, and Chip announced, "Well, when you cry like that, I have a great view of your gum pads." Um, OK...

Oh, and some shout-outs to specific people:

MARI - Owen LOVES the taggie you bought 3 years ago for J & C! He slept with it all last night and buries his face in it for naptime, and he's obsessed with the tags. Woohooo! Love you!!
JULIE T - We were able to get hanboks for Sara & Alex, and I just hope they are the right size, etc...They seemed really pretty, and I loved the colors. We got them at the Itaewan market.
MIYA & DANA - We successfully delivered your packages to the foster families at SWS. The ladies who took them seemed to know what to do with them, so I'm assuming they'll get in the right hands. ..
CAROL, CINDY, LIZZIE & BETSY - So so great "chatting" with you online. You have given us a good dose of family (and sanity and perspective) when we've needed it most. We love you!

Sending thanks and gratitude across the miles to everyone. Thanks again for your tremendous support.

L & C

P.S. As I write, Owen has practically downed an entire baby food container of green beans that Chip has been feeding him. Seems like a step in the right direction. :)

Day 4 (Part II): Owen!

We arrived at SWS at Hansuh Hospital about 15 minutes before our scheduled appointment, which gave us a chance to get settled and calm down a bit. It wasn't long before we saw our Owen coming into the office with his foster mother and father, looking great in his Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sweatsuit (it seems that Christmas is his early-on favorite holiday).

After a brief medical exam, they brought him back into the meeting room and we got to hold him and play with him again. He seemed to be in a very docile and calm mood, and was loving all the attention from his new parents and foster parents alike.

We filled out just two forms and opened the gift bag that SWS had put together. His foster mother also had a couple of outfits, some formula, diapers, and bibs for us as well, along with his favorite toy. Some tears were shed, and before long it was time to leave. We got in the car with him and our gift bags, and were glad that we had bought some flowers to give to his foster mother, since we didn't want her leaving empty-handed. The whole thing was over in probably 30 minutes. We thanked Owen's foster parents profusely (through the interpreter) and before long we were at the hotel. Things were going well for Owen as he got acclimated to his new surroundings, but as we feared, he got very fussy when it was time to give him a bottle. I think that is when it was kicking in for him that the lady that he knew as his mother for so long was not there to feed him. On a positive note, I can assure you that his lungs are in good working order, and he carried on so long that he only stopped when he cried himself to sleep when I put him in the carrier and walked around.

A one-hour nap later, he fussed for a while again and we have just been able to get some baby food and rice cereal into him, but still no bottle. We will try again soon.

One thing we are a little nervous about is that he did not usually go to bed until midnight. What they did for him is give him an "evening nap" at about 7pm, and then get him up for several more hours. This is obviously not the schedule that we want him to have, so we'll have to see how that goes. These could be some long first nights, but we are very happy to have our Owen with us now.

Day 4 (Part I): Changdeokgung Palace and Insadong

We caved in today and had breakfast at McDonald's and got on the subway to head to the palace. There are several royal palaces in Seoul, but we had heard from our guide yesterday: "if you can go to just one, Changdeokgung is the one to see". We heeded her advice, especially since it was Thursday, the only day of the week where they open the Secret Garden to visitors. This is an area that only the royal family was allowed inside, and very beautiful.

The palace was last used in 1989, and since then has become a historic landmark, and it was just breathtaking. It is awesome to see something that is so old, and has been around for hundreds of years.

The garden was as great as advertised, with small ponds and pavillions all around the property. The fall colors were out in full force and made it even more special. You felt like you were walking out in the woods in the middle of nowhere, not in the middle of a city of 12 million people. The air quality is supposed to be the best in Seoul from all of the trees. We took so many pictures, Laura's camera actually crashed.

It was then on to Insadong, which is a more quiet shopping district than some of the loud street markets. We saw lots of artsy things for sale and managed to purchase a few souvenirs.

It was in one of the restaurants/tea houses that we were served the best Korean food that I have ever had. The waiter brought out two big wok-type cookers with their own burners and we had beef bulgogi (in the foreground of the picture) and bibimbap (in the back of the picture). There was a great seaweed soup and all of those side dishes that you see. We actually made a pretty good dent in the whole thing and were getting filled up before getting back on the subway to get ready to meet Owen.

DMZ Tour and Itaewon

Had a very interesting day today learning about a lot of (recent) Korean history and the predominant political issue here (namely, North Korea), as Laura and I went on a guided tour to the DMZ, or demilitarized zone. This is the border between North and South Korea, and the tension between the two sides was palpable. You are not allowed to take pictures in several of the areas, but one of the highlights of the day was the trip into a tunnel that the North Koreans had secretly dug under the border. The tunnel was big enough that 10,000 soldiers could go through in an hour to start a surprise attack on South Korea, but it was discovered somewhat by chance and blocked off. 4 such tunnels have been found to date, and our guide speculated that there are maybe 15 more. Anyway, there were several monuments to the US soldiers that died during the Korean conflict, one of which Laura and I posed in front of.

The next picture is as close as you can get to taking a picture of North Korea. I stood behind a line and held my camera up as high as I could reach. It is hazy, but those mountains in the distance are part of North Korea.

Laura posed between two South Korean soldiers for the next picture, which was taken at the "last station", the end of the train line.

After the tour, we headed to Itaewon, which was a shopping district that focused mainly on clothes and leather goods. We had fun going in and out of some souvenir shops and along the way ended up talking to four Americans (separately) that we met. What was funny is that they happened to be from Minnesota. There must be some Minnesota-Seoul pipeline that we don't know about.

The bottom photo was taken in front of a park in Itaewon. The fall colors are really out here, especially the Japanese red maple trees. This is the peak tourism season here from what we have heard.

We are planning to go to one of the royal palaces and the art district tomorrow to kill time before we get to go and pick up Owen (which will be at 3pm). That should be an exciting and emotional time for us and his foster family alike.

Photos from an incredible day!

We met Owen!

Owen hitches a ride on his foster Mom's back The view from the N Seoul Tower
Laura navigates the market

Unforgettable, our day.

At 9:30am, after a lovely breakfast buffet (nearly as good as the ones we've had in Vegas, I might add) at the Renaissance Hotel, Chip and I walked to the SWS office in a state of nervous excitement (=nausea). We headed to the 7th floor and met our social worker there, who loaded us into a mini van and told us we'd have a 30 minute drive to meet our baby at his foster family's apartment. After about 7 minutes, we were there. (Note: as some of you may recall, this is precisely what happened to us when we met our girls in China. We were told to prepare for a 30 minute drive, and we got there in minutes. The second time around didn't make it any easier. I still felt like vomiting.)

The foster family lives in a large apartment building that is clean and bright and surrounded by tennis courts and playground equipment. We took the elevator up to room #908, and before we knew it, the social worker had knocked on the door and Mrs. Kim (the foster mother) had opened it, with Owen strapped to her back. All we saw at first was his head of profuse peach fuzz, but then he lifted up his precious face -- and it was him, the baby we have stared and stared at in the photos. I started to cry, but my tears lasted only seconds, because then we were ushered into the apartment, removed our shoes as is local custom, and were seated on the floor in one of the apartment's three small rooms. Owen was set in front of us. We didn't know what to do (hug him? kiss him? etc.), so Chip rubbed his back and I rubbed his little foot. It seemed like the right thing to do as we didn't want to scare him.

He is such a happy, mild-mannered, curious baby! No stranger anxiety at all, thankfully. He had this smile on his face while he checked out Chip and me; he was definitely interested in us, and he listened to our English words with a look that seemed to indicate he was giving us a chance. We offered him a rattle we brought, and he loved it. No teeth in that little mouth yet, but with the drool and the chewing on everything in sight (he especially wanted our cameras), Chip announced that a tooth would soon be on its way. (No matter where we are in the world, it's always about teeth...)

We feasted our eyes on our baby and talked to Mrs. Kim through our social worker, who told us about his eating and sleeping (and pooping) schedules. I couldn't get enough. It was incredible to see where he has lived for so long, and meet the woman who has loved and cared for him. She even passed on to us a photo album of pictures she has taken of him over the months, which is invaluable to us.

Owen is a healthy, robust baby who apparently weighs 22 pounds. Like in China, the Koreans dress babies in layer after layer, so I'm not sure what was clothing and what was actually him! Mrs. Kim did take off his socks at one point, and there were his fat little toes that I wanted to kiss right then and there, but I managed to contain myself.

So. the great news is that we get to have Owen forever on Thursday at 3pm! We will meet Mrs. Kim and our social worker at SWS and the "hand-off" will occur. Like this entire experience, we have no idea what to expect but are going into it with an open mind and high hopes. We are ecstatic that we will have him to ourselves in our hotel room for two nights before leaving on Saturday to come home. This is a real gift for us in the bonding and attaching process.

After an hour at the apartment, it was time for Owen to have a nap, so we said our thanks and quietly left. It was a glorious, glorious experience.

We didn't quite know what to do with ourselves afterward, so we ended up taking the subway (which, incidentally, is the cleanest and nicest mode of public transportation I have ever ridden) up to N Seoul Tower, which is a tall structure similar to the Seattle Space Needle, that overlooks Seoul from high atop a mountain. We took a cable car up the mountain, and then took an elevator to the top of the tower. It was exhilirating to look down on this gorgeous city and see buildings, hills and mountains (and great fall foliage just reaching its peak) for miles and miles.

Afterward, we walked through a crazy mishmash of tiny streets known as the Naemendong Market, which is where locals go to buy everything from Q-tips to octopus tentacles to roasted chestnuts to pajamas. Spectacular spectacular!

Dinner was Italian for us (there are Italian restaurants everywhere here), followed by ice cream at Cold Stone (yes, there are Cold Stones everywhere here, too). We're exhausted and will soon be fast asleep in bed after a long and satisfying day. Tomorrow, we will be taking a day trip to the Demilitarized Zone between N. and S. Korea, which sounds fabulous.

Thanks as always for your great love and support during this exciting time. Love to all!

A great first day

We had a great first day in Seoul and love the city so far. We spent a lot of time walking, and Chip posted pictures directly below of our trip to the COEX mall and the Hyundai Department Store. We had heard these places were incredible; we can confirm that they are.

The people here are beautiful -- literally. They wear lovely clothes and are all done up with shoes/makeup/cool hair, etc. Very dressy and cosmopolitan -- great people watching. (Emily, you would be blown away by all the good-looking businessmen in their suits and groovy haircuts.)

We had a delicious dinner of noodles and vegetables and meat tonight (thankfully no eels or other small items with eyes), and then took a soak in the hot tub at the Ritz. (We were disappointed initially that we couldn't get a room at the Social Welfare Services Guesthouse, where most adopting parents stay, but now we're pretty pleased with our fate.)

Tomorrow at 9:30am we will be meeting our social worker at SWS and going to Owen's foster family's home. I have to say that I can barely wrap my head around this right now. I start getting butterflies in my stomach and have to take some deep breaths. I'm sure we'll have some stories to share afterward.

Off to bed for us, while you all back home are just starting your day. Love to all. Thanks for your prayers tomorrow on what promises to be an unforgettable experience for us.

Some pics of our day

Here is the view from our hotel room. We are staying in the Gangnam district, not too far south of the Han River.



We figured out the subway system without too many problems. It was quite crowded but very orderly, something we have found to be true of Seoul itself.

We ate a traditional Korean lunch of bulgogi, kimchee, a seaweed salad that had small eels in it (we didn't realize that's what they were until we were almost done with it), miso soup and a beef with rice dish. Tasty stuff, and check out that Coke can.

Made It!

We are happily in our room at the Ritz-Carlton Seoul, which by the way is an awesome hotel. A hot shower, a small rest, and some water went a long way to rejuvenating us after a long flight over here. The flight itself was as good as it could be, with good food and great service. It was just a long grind without much quality sleep, though.

We are heading out soon for a day of shopping/exploring, and we get to meet Owen at his foster parents' house tomorrow morning, so of course that has gotten us excited as well. No word as of yet when we actually "get" him, but it will likely either be Friday or Saturday morning from what we have heard thus far.

Looking forward to checking Seoul out-- it seems to be a very large but clean city. People everywhere have been very friendly and we have enjoyed good service. Hope to post some pictures later today.

At The Airport

Greetings from Gate M13 at O'Hare! Chip and I got here safely and are now staring out the windows at the Asiana Air plane that will soon take us to Seoul -- and to our son.

We enjoyed dinner tonight in Wauwatosa at the Merritt's house, and by a stroke of good fortune, every one of my three sisters was visiting from out of town, which meant that my entire immediate family was able to see us off. (Not a dry eye in the house.) Jane and Caroline and Mookie will be in good hands, traveling back and forth between Wauwatosa and Madison with their Grammie.

We've had a lot of time to get ready for this trip, but nothing quite prepares you for the feeling you get when you park your car in the O'Hare lot and think to yourself, "My God, next time we get in this car, our little baby boy will be with us."

Owen, here we come!

Finally, Travel Approval!

We were very excited to get "the call" this morning from our social worker Julie that Owen's travel paperwork was all complete and we are able to go get him anytime now!

Today was spent in a whirlwind of making last-second travel plans since we are leaving late Saturday night (actually 1a.m. Sunday morning). That's only like 48 hours from now, but we wanted to go as soon as possible.

We will be in Seoul until Saturday, November 3rd and will fly back into O'Hare then. We are taking Asiana airlines, #235 on the way there and #236 on the way home. We will be able to check email there since we are bringing a laptop, and hope to update this page daily. Check back often, and we will tell you about our adventure to bring Owen home!

One Encouraging Sign

We were very happy to see some more progress on our journey to adopt Owen on Wednesday (Owen's 8-month birthday). We got word from the US government that his visa has been approved and was sent to Seuol on October 1st. This means that his U.S. visa will now be issued and his South Korean passport as well; when the two are finished, then we'll get our travel call to go over and pick him up. We are hoping of course that this occurs within the next two weeks.

It's getting close now, and hopefully our next post here will be with our travel plans!

No News

As you can see, we are passing the time by trying to do some fun things with the girls. We thought that we would throw in some answers to the important questions:

No, we have no news about Owen.

And yes, it's really excruciating.

As I write, on this last day of September, this is what we're waiting for:

1. We need U.S. Immigration to approve Owen's visa into the country (since he'll still be considered a S. Korean citizen when we fly home with him).

2. His U.S. visa needs to be processed.

3. His S. Korean passport needs to be issued.

How long do these steps take? Good question. We have no idea, nor does our social worker, since the government chooses to work at whatever speed it feels most comfortable with.

I really had thought we'd be traveling to get Owen in September; clearly, I was wrong about that. If it's not October... I don't know what I'll do. It's hard enough to sleep as it is, and I never stop thinking about him. This is a true leap of faith, this whole adoption thing.

Hope we have news to share soon.

More Waiting

We got an update late last week about Owen's six-month check-up. He is a robust 21.6 pounds and is 27.2 inches long. This seems huge to us after how petite Jane and Caroline were at that age, so his foster mother continues to do a good job of fattening him up! These pictures were included with the packet, and we love looking at his spiky hair. There was also a picture of him holding and looking at a picture of Laura and I, which really hit home.

This last part of the waiting is going to be a grind, that's for sure. Once the travel call comes, I know that there will be a crazy flurry of activity, but it's chaos that I welcome gladly. The new stroller and car seat have been purchased, so now all we need is our (not so) little guy to go in them. Hopefully our next post will be with the big news!

Plans are coming along for Baby Owen

It's nearly 10 weeks after our referral, and we're feeling ready and anxious to bring home Owen!

Unfortunately, we have no update regarding when we might be traveling to Seoul to meet our son. Thankfully, after what seemed like an excruciating wait, some key paperwork from S. Korea is now in the hands of the appropriate U.S. bureaucrats, but we haven't a clue what that means regarding the precise timing of our trip. Our agency told us to expect to travel in September or October, so we promise to keep everyone posted as soon as we get our "travel call." (When this happens, we'll have just a week or so to make our flight and hotel arrangements, among other things. It will be an exciting time for us. And did I mention the girls start nursery school on September 13? It's going to be crazy for them, too.)

It's been a busy summer, planning for a third child. After hours of cleaning and purging, Owen's room, which used to be our guest bedroom, is finished and waiting for him. It looks great, and the girls enjoy spending time there and talking about him. As you can see from the photos, they even got in the crib today to make sure it's comfy enough for him. (They agreed it is.) His toys and books are all in place, and I have had perhaps a bit too much fun buying, washing and folding his adorable little baby clothes. (Well, "little" might be a stretch; I suspect he's going to be wearing size 12-18 months, which Caroline and Jane didn't wear until they were 2 years old.) We even went out today and bought Owen a new stroller and carseat, so things are feeling more real to us.

Caro and Janie seem to be growing used to the idea of having a baby brother on the way. In particular, they love their own new room, which we updated with "big girl" pink and green bedding, rugs and curtains when we moved the animal nursery stuff out. Check out the picture of them relaxing in their beds. They sure know how to smile for the camera.

Thanks to all for your continued love and support during this unforgettable time for us. We can't wait to bring home Owen to meet all of you, and vice versa.