Since June?

Holy Cow! It's been since June that we posted last. Well, a lot has happened in the past 2 months. Our house in VA is on the market and we traveled to Seattle and purchased a new home. Not to mention, Carter turned a year old (he has had 4, yes 4, birhtday parties). Paiges' parent's stopped in for a quick visit on their way to Texas at the beginning of July and stopped again on their way back at the end of July, we followed them to CT a few days later for Paige's mothers retirment party and one of Carter's 4 birthday parties. My parents were here for one last visit to VA this past weekend and on Monday we received our letter in the mail from the Hartford (CT) Probate Court letting us know that our hearing date to finalize Carter's adoption is on September 21st. This is the day after our anniversary and 5 days short of 6 months that Carter came home with us. Now that we have this confirmed we scheduled the movers to come pack us on 9/16 & 17, once the house is packed we can leave for CT and finalize the adoption and from there begin our drive to Washington state with the dogs. We'll work at getting some pictures up from the summer so everyone can see how big Carter is getting, at last check he was 28 pounds and 32 inches tall! - John

Can't believe its time to go back to work :(

This is my final week home. It hard to believe that Friday it will be 11 weeks since we brought our precious boy home. It has been such a joy to be home with him as long as I was able to. I feel like he turned a corner a few weeks ago and now really looks at John and me as 'mommy' and 'daddy'. There is just this different look in his eyes, its hard to explain. Those of you with adopted children probably know what I'm talking about. When he sees either one of use he just smiles and beams happiness!!!

He loves to play with this house. The picture above was him and I playing peek-a-boo through the door. One other thing he loves is Sesame Street. I try not to let him watch too much TV but when you have to get things done around the house there is nothing like putting him in his excusaucer and putting an educational show on. This day he just started cracking up at one of little sketches. So I played it over and over again just so I could hear him laugh.

He has also started to really walk. He took his first steps while we were in CT, it was very special that the grandparents were able to see this. Although my dad was on a trip, he did get to see a video of him. He is now all over the place, its rare that he is able to stay in one place for any period of time. On tuesday this week I went to Fair Oaks Mall and we went into their play area there. There is no more put him on the ground and be able to sit for a little while, nope he was all over the place, trying to climb up on thing like the big kids were doing.

We have quite a lot of changes coming up in the very near future. As John mentioned earlier there was a strong possibility that he would be offered a job and we would be moving to Seattle. Well that time has come or will be coming. John was offered a new job and has accepted. He officially starts on June 15th. Usually when things like this happen in his company the employee has to move within about a month. But since we are unable to move until Carter's adoption is finalized we will not be leaving VA until mid-September. We will be able to finalize Carter's adoption in CT which will be very special for all of us since that is where both John and I are from. The main agency (FCA) that works with the agency in Korea is based in CT. Carter just continues to be a blessing in our lives time and time again. If he wasn't here or his adoption already be finalized we would be moving sooner then later. But now we get to spend the entire summer in VA with our friends, and hopefully our families will take advantage of us being so close to DC and come to visit before we go. HEAR THAT FAMILY come visit before we move!!!!!

Carter will be attending a very good daycare. We stopped by on Monday afternoon so he could experience what its like to play with other babies. He did really well, I put him on the floor and he just started playing didn't even notice I was there. Today I will actually drop him off and leave for a little while. I'm sure this will be harder on me then it will on him. Then John and I will both drop him off on Friday and go have some adult time just the 2 of us. It will be the first time since he came home. Saturday night we will also have our first night out. Our good friends the Lopresti's will be watching him as we attend a 40th birthday party . It will be good for us to get out and enjoy each other again. Part of me is looking forward to this and the other part of me knows I will miss Carter so much I'm sure it wont be a very long night at all.

So that's it for now. I'll write again next week after I'm back at work.

We've met lots of People this month....

I know. I know. It's been a while since we have updated. Life gets pretty busy with an active toddler and you are traveling for work and just trying to keep up with your life. Lots has happened since our last post, we went to Connecticut so Carter could meet the rest of his family, Paige spent her first week alone with Carter when I went to New York and then her second week alone the following week when I went to Seattle and Carter is now walking.

While were in CT our Joanne who is a photographer took some unbelievable pictures of Carter. Joanne has been "Chomping at the bit" to do this for us, she has been there for us for the entire journey, from Paige and I dating, our move to Virginia, our marriage, the IVF process and Carter's adoption. These photos an unbelievable collection photos to be cherished forever, here is the link to Joanne's blog with some of the pictures she took.

http://pictureperfectusa.com/blog/?p=138&preview=true

Last weekend we attend the 1st birthday party for a friend of mine son, Jaime and I used to work together and we have watched as her family has grown over the past several years, first to her marriage to Steve, the birth of their daughter Christie and their son Andrew. Parties at Jaime's are always a great time, her sisters are amazing cooks and her whole family is so welcoming. It was so great to be a part of Andrews 1st birthday since we are planning on a tradition Korean Birthday for Carter's 1st birthday in July. Also last weekend, we had a visit from Paige's best friend Michelle's family. Michelle's parents who live in North Carolina and her sister & niece from Rhode Island were in DC for a few days. It has been some time since we have all seen each other, maybe since Michelle & Toph's wedding and since then Cheryl, Michelle's sister (and her husband Wil) adopted a beautiful little girl from Ethiopia, Astor. Bill, Sue, Cheryl & Astor spent the afternoon with us and we had a great time hanging out on our patio cooking out and catching up.

We've Made it to Connecticut!!

We took our time this morning getting on the road. The car was packed and Carter had his breakfast so we hit the road at about 9:00 this morning. Go figure we hit traffic on the Capital Beltway in Maryland and that slowed us down about 40 minutes, we had smooth sailing up the NJ Turnpike (Carter even slept just about the whole length), even the GW was open. The Merritt Parkway was a little slow too once we crossed over into Connecticut; all-in-all it wasn't too bad, we arrived at my parents at close to 4:00. We had a nice visit with them, Auntie Dana, Uncle Scott and cousins Jimmy and Kyle. We had some dinner and hung out in the back yard for a bit before heading over to Nana Bainie & Papa Los's house, our home camp for the next few days.

Tomorrow will be a get together here at the Wild's for family & friends to come meet Carter and then we will repeat it again on Sunday at my parent's house. We'll post some pictures and chronicle the events of our trip after we get home. Hopefully Maddie & Preston are enjoying having their house back and having fun with Chris while he stays at the house while we are away.

Have a great weekend. - John

1st Post Placement Visit Done, 2 to Go

Last week we had our 1st post placement visit with our social worker. She met with us for close to an hour. She wanted to know how we were all adjusting and what we feel is working in our routine and what we feel is not. With one visit behind us we now have two more to go over the next 5 month. Here in Virginia the adoption is not final until 6 months after we return home and have 3 visits from our social worker and they say we are fit parents and the child is happy. Once all that is approved we can go to court and "re-adopt" here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Once we are able to complete the process we can move on with our lives as a family. We have a lot going on, I have mentioned before in a previous post that my job as I know it will not exist in the very near future, if I want to stay with the company, on the merchant side of the business we will have to relocate to Seattle. Until the re-adoption is final we can not completely move, that is if a job offer comes my way in the new structure.

Last Saturday we attended an Asian Cultural Event in Bethesda, Maryland. It was a Dol celebration for two little boys who are cousins. They graciously invited adopted families to come experience the 1st Birthday Celebration (Dol). It was a great experience and the food was terrific. Later in the day we also attended the 7th birthday party for our friends Andrew and Michelle's son Dylan. It was an Indiana Jones themed party, Andrew created a snake pit in the back yard and hid a treasure for the kids to find. They all had a great time.

Next weekend we are going to head home to Connecticut so Carter can meet the rest of the family. He has already met his grandparents from both sides but he has yet to be introduced to his Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and Great Aunts & Great Uncles and a host of family friends from both sides. My grandmother passed away a year ago this week, Carter would have been her 6th great grandchild (the 5th boy). She would have gotten a kick out him, she loved babies, always looking at the shape of their heads, she loved C-Section babies because they had perfect shaped heads. If she was still with us, in the state she had been in the last few years of her life she would have laughed at Carter and and just smiled. Writing this bring tears to my eyes, just picturing it and remember her near the 1st anniversary of her passing is a little emotional.

We'll update again after our trip to Connecticut, I think the dogs are looking forward to us giving them some time at home with Chris (our dog/house sitter), give them back their space. -John

Easter Week

We continue to experience new events as family each and everyday. In the last week we have celebrated Easter, had a marathon teething experience, had our 1st night of sleep without waking up, our first restaurant and standing on our own.

The weather has been absolutely spectacular this past week, we actually hit the 90's for a couple of days and had to turn the air conditioning on. Easter Sunday was beautiful and we had a very nice dinner just the 5 of us and we then had a nice visit with Carlos for the first time.

I went back to work this week, since my mom and dad are still here Paige wasn't on her own yet. Everyone came out to Tysons Corner to meet me for lunch one day, our first trip to a restaurant, Carter was sleeping in his stroller when they met up with me and slept for a short time once we were seated. Once he woke up he was a "pro". He sat in a highchair, we had his food warmed in the kitchen and he eat with the rest of us. Afterwards he came by my office to meet everyone.

I think it's only a short period of time before Carter is walking, he has been standing on his own for short periods of time for the past couple of days, he is over being held and wants to be on the ground and moving!! At least he will force us to be more active ourselves.

This will be our last weekend with grammy and papa, they are leaving to go back to Connecticut on Monday. Paige will be on her own for the first time from here on out. Mom and dad have been a huge help over the past couple weeks, making meals, doing laundry and shopping and doing yard work. They really helped make the transition home with an addition much easier for all 3 of us. I think Carter might be a little confused after they leave since they have ben here since he got here but in the long run I think he will be ok since he has adjusted so well to everything else. Paige will also have her 1st overnight this week on her own since have to go to NJ on business, it will also be good practice since I leave for England and Germany the following week on a buy trip. It will also be test for me, leaving my little guy for 1st time. Not seeing that smile of his everyday will be a challenge!

1st Week Home

Sorry we haven't updated much, or at all, this week. Our first week home has gone by with a blur. Paige came down with a stomach bug on Sunday night and was down all day Monday, I came down with it Monday night and was out of commission all day Tuesday and then my mother came down with it and was in bed all day Wednesday and was back up and around for her birthday yesterday (not an April Fool's Day joke). Somehow my dad has escaped it, lucky him. Thankfully, you only have symptoms for 24 hours but you still don't feel well for another 24 hours after.

Carter had his first doctor's appointment on Tuesday and received his 9 month check-up complete with all his vaccinations and boosters. It was all good news, he is on target for a 9 month old and is in the 95th percentile for weight and 91st in height. He's good for another 3 months until his 12 month exam.

Spring has definitely sprung in Northern Virginia this week, it's been 80 degrees the last few days and we have all the windows open and we are enjoying some time outside. Carter got to meet a bunch of the neighbors this week since we had taken a couple walks and some have come over to visit and meet him.

The dogs continue to bond with Carter too, Madison really gets concerned if he's crying for too long and will lay at the foot of whatever chair we are sitting in with him and Preston like to lay as close as possible to protect him ( see photo).

This morning he had his 1st Cheerios! At first he wasn't quite sure what they were all about or what to do. Once he finally picked one up and put it in his mouth it was all over! He loves them! He also had his first picture taken with the Easter Bunny tonight at the Mall. He was so serious for his picture and he was kept turning his head up to look at the bunny, kind of like, "WTF"...

As we get more and more into our routine (figure it out) we'll try to do our best to update more frequently. I know what it's like when you following one of these and you're waiting and waiting for updates, on the flip side I now have a greater understanding for all those adoption journey stories I have been following and why the updates slowed after they returned home with their babies.

Happy Easter everyone! - John