three and a half

I am not quite sure where the last year has gone.  It seems like a big hazy, foggy, dream…or maybe more aptly, a stand-still.  Obviously, that is from my perspective because if you’d ask Drew and Leo, they’d probably tell you they’ve done a lot in the past year.  They’ve made new friends, grown out of clothes, traveled to both new and familiar places, and soaked in more knowledge and skills than I ever thought possible.  But nevertheless, it’s been a year since I’ve documented any of that.  Thankfully, there is reason a reason to post again…today, Leo reached the half-way point to four.  

How "three and a half" is here already is very hard for us to believe.  But, it must be true since we were recently requested to schedule Leo for his kindergarten screening.  That sure was a wake-up call!  Despite my big hazy, foggy, going-through-the-motions year…life has been forging ahead.  Full steam.  And, suddenly, I don't want to forgot a moment of it all.

Today we celebrate Leo. 

To know Leo is to love Leo.  He is smart and sensitive.  He is determined and imaginative.  He is independent and curious.  He is caring and daring.  He thrives with music and art.  He is anything but hazy or foggy.  He is bright and shiny and beautiful.  We love him more and more each day. 

As Leo heads towards four, there are a few things about “Leo-At-Three” that I never what to forget:

That a mohawk is a “ho-mawk”.

That a marshmallow is a “smashmallow”.

That “show you somethin’” is a phrase he never gets tired of saying.

That he can draw the most awesome catfish; and is proud of each and every one of them.

That not a day goes by that his coloring and puzzle-putting-together abilities do not amaze me.

That he insists on changing his clothes (all by himself) upon entering the house – into sports shorts and a jersey and self-declaring himself a “new player”.

That he has the most sincere and enthusiastic way of saying “that’s great!”.

That his love for all things outer space has not diminished.

That he has built himself a fort of sorts behind a chair in the family room (and has stashed the essentials…paper and colored pencils…in it).

That he is an eager helper.

That he tries so hard to keep up with his brother.

That he is a natural in the water...swimming and floating unassisted.

That he has mastered the voice and motions of the robot that Eddy built in Pororo and Friends.

That his life as a three year old would not have been complete without the music of the Okee Dokee Brothers (may they win a Grammy Sunday night! for their album Can You Canoe? - it truly is excellent), Adele, Michael Buble (it's still Christmastime - "the best time of the year" - in our car), and of course, Psy.

Here's to the next six months...I can only imagine all the wonderful things that Leo will discover and accomplish by then! 

Happy Half Way to Four, Leo!!  You are one amazing kid.

Until next time...stay warm!

previously at all accounted four

curious as to what we were up to over the past five months…no need to be anymore!

kindergarten.

despite all my worry and stress around when to send drew to kindergarten, getting him into the everyday program and adjusting to school life, things are going pretty darn good.  drew has an amazing teacher. he loves being part of an advanced math “team”.  he’s on the very verge of a serious reading break-through – i am already so impressed with all the words he’s already reading! he made the coolest christmas gift in art class – a beautiful and functional green clay bell. he has made a lot of new friends…and lives to play football on recess.  and, if chicken patty is on the hot lunch menu…he has to have it!

heading into kindergarten open house

drew and his crazy-fun teacher

first day of school

family day.

kindergarten started on september 6^th…and the next day we celebrated the first anniversary of being a family of four.  some call this Gotcha Day or Family Day.  we are still looking for a term that fits our family.  no doubt, this day is super duper special day.  but, quite honestly, we found it a little difficult and awkward to celebrate.  we all understand that leo officially joined our family on a day other than the day he was born.  but, yet, it’s still hard to explain or justify why leo gets another whole day for him with gifts and cake and attention.  i did my research…looking up and checking out how other people celebrate this important day.  a special korean meal.  gifts of korean heritage or adoption related given.  paying respects to birthparents and foster parents.  but nowhere did i find a resource for how to celebrate a “gotcha day” for families that have both biological and adopted children.  for me, it’s a tricky day to celebrate.  do not get me wrong, i really don’t what to lose sight of the importance of this day for leo…i just want to make sure we also celebrate it in a way that recognizes both my sons…of us as a family - all accounted four.

we still need to find that balance and come up with our own traditions for this day.  hopefully by this september 7^th, we’ll have thought of something really good.  as for 2011…we took a picture.  we ate cake.  chocolate cake.  and, most importantly, we were happy to be eating it together.

that was one yummy cake

school pictures.

this fall we sent both the boys to school one morning looking handsome and ready for pictures…hoping and praying they still looked good by the time it was time for pictures to be taken.  they turned out better than ok, don’t ya think??

dallas.

in early october, i did the unthinkable…i took a spur of the moment, last-minute solo trip to dallas, texas to hang out with my college roommate and cheer on the detroit tigers during american league championship series.  those that really know me understand how out of character that was for me.  it was too spontaneous.  but, i decided to go…and the next morning before the sun was up, I was on my way to the airport.   i still cannot believe i went!! but i am so glad i did…even if the tigers lost the first game in the POURING rain (oh, the rain delays) and I missed game two due to postponement due to rain.  it was so great to see kristen and re-connect.  thanks, again, kristen for helping make this wonderful trip possible!!

fall break.

after two road trips to the cottage already under our belt for the year, we thought “what the heck! let’s do it again!” so, we packed up the vehicle and made the 10 hour road trip.  it was the first time the boys (damon, drew, and leo) had been to the cottage in the fall…and it was just beautiful!  while we couldn’t go swimming, we still had a lot of fun while there running on the beach, playing baseball, riding bikes, playing in the leaves, going to the zoo, shopping and hitting some brew pubs.  but, i think best of all, damon and i got a whole evening out to celebrate our anniversary.  it was perfect.  absolutely perfect.

hockey.

i am officially a hockey mom! (i’ve even got a button to prove it.)

drew has been enjoying hockey immensely…and i seriously cannot believe how much his skating has improved in just a few short months.  jumping over the blue line, skating on one foot, stopping without “superman-ing” onto the ice, learning to skate backwards…there is no doubt he is now a better skater than i am!

#4...my self proclaimed defenseman

not wanting to leave the arena...even after a 2 hour practice

thanksgiving.

call us crazy, but we made a fourth trip to michigan over thanksgiving break. this time we made it to detroit…and we flew.  we were the picture perfect, happy and experienced traveling family – until we had to circle and circle and circle detroit before landing…it was during that time that leo’s terrible screaming two’s came out in full force.  and, to be honest…so did my tears. passengers did not like us – oh, those stares. and the flight attendants threw FAA regulations out the window – sitting down, trays up, seat belts…no need!!  good times.  luckily, the flight home was much more uneventful.

it was good to be “home” for thanksgiving. and, really good to finally meet little jjb!!  jj is just the sweetest and cutest little baby boy – we just love our nephew/cousin!

we ate A LOT in Detroit…i felt like every fb status update was about the great eating or drinking establishment we were at.  besides my mom’s fabulous cooking (there’s not a better Thanksgiving dinner), we got to eat my all-time favorite pizza (twice); we enjoyed a yummy coney island breakfast (twice); damon and i started a date night at a highly recommended korean restaurant – which i still find myself craving; and a trip of ours to michigan would not be complete without stopping in at a couple microbreweries (as one of damon’s beer club members said, upon seeing yet another beer related fb post from michigan, “you guys take the best vacations!” – the people at Pure Michigan would be so pleased to hear that!).  yet, i feel like there are even more places we could have gone to eat while there – we totally missed greek town, mexican village and our favorite polish place.  next time.

besides eating and drinking we did a lot of fun stuff…built marble runs, checked out my elementary school playground, went to a Whalers hockey game, cheered on a friend’s son at his youth basketball game (way to go Luke!), braved the cold and enjoyed the balloons, floats, bands, and clowns at the detroit thanksgiving day parade, had fun learning at two of our favorite museums – the Henry Ford and the Ann Arbor Hands-On, played euchre with an incredible couple we are so blessed to call our friends, introduced my gymnastics coach to my family (while the boys jumped in the pits and swung on the bars), and really just enjoyed hanging out and relaxing with my side of the family.

christmas trees and santa’s preferred mode of transportation.

we love kicking off the christmas season with a trip to our favorite tree farm. thousands of trees to choose from, kettle corn to eat, carriage rides to take, hot dogs to roast, a big straw fort and maze to play in, and the arrival of santa claus – by helicopter.  [to this day, when leo sees a helicopter he points and shouts “santa!”.  at least he knows it’s santa now, for the first two weeks of December he was calling santa “noah”.]

so…there you have it…phew!

All Accounted Four is all caught up.

until next time…

where the story really started

one of the most difficult things about any adoption journey is lack of information...be it about when you'll get a referral, how long it will be until you can hold your child, how all the paperwork is being processed, how your child is growing and being cared for, your child's birth parents and their life and circumstances, or your child's family medical history.


way back in may of 2010 we were presented a gift...the possibility of the opportunity to learn, firsthand, more about where leo's life began.  WOW!!  (click to read) aptly describes what we were feeling at the time.  and WOW!! still seems appropriate today.  we were given such a wonderful gift - the chance to travel to the city leo was born...to talk to the people who cared for leo's birth mom...to see where she lived...and to gain further insight into the culture and way of life of leo's birth families.  when we realized that we could actually do this, it was like a dream come true.  and, today it still feels like an amazing gift.  we are so glad we ventured out of seoul to see the place...the actual place...where leo's life began.  it's huge for us...and, i know it will be huge for leo when he's older.


despite how happy we are with having gone to busan, the trip down there was not exactly what we had planned.  last minute changes had us travel down there the same day we met leo - our first day in korea.  we would have liked to have been more prepared for the meeting (in terms of prepared questions, activities to entertain drew, and in hindsight, should have hired a translator). and, we would have liked more time there to check out the infamous beaches, the aquarium, and other shopping districts and markets.  but, in the end, all that really matters is that we got to explore more of leo's story.  what we did see and hear, we loved.  and, cannot wait to go back.


[i just pray to god that our lack of preparation, jet-laggedness (if that's a word), and wild child did not put a big stop on allowing other families after us the opportunity to travel to 'mo sung won'.  i hope they liked us.  i hope they understood that we were there because we care...really care...about leo and his birth mom.  i hope they know that the time we spent with them was absolutely priceless to us.  i hope that know how grateful we are.]

from the three & counting blog, 9/2/2010:

Korea: Day One - the day we met Leo (part 2)

After we said goodbye to Leo and his Foster Mom, it was time for us to continue our Korean adventure.


Chapter 3 - Busan, back to the beginning
We learned from the agency staff that Busan was not affect by the typhoon and that our trip there could continue.  Up until the night before we left home, we thought we'd be going to Busan on Friday the 3rd and be able to spend the entire day there.  Plans changed.  We'd take the 11:40am fast train out of Seoul Station and arrive in Busan at 2:20pm.  At 3:00pm, staff from 'Mo Sung Won' would pick us up and take us to the campus that Leo's birth-mom stayed at and delivered Leo.  And, we'd head back to Seoul that evening in time to be back to our hotel around 10pm.

We got to Seoul Station, got our tickets and enjoyed a delicious lunch of New York hot dogs (Damon's at least had bulgogi on it) and strawberry smoothies while waiting for our train to depart. It was Drew's first train ride and it was obvious he was very excited.  He talked really loud and could hardly sit still.  Trains are not like planes.  Traveling on a train is like sitting in the quietest library you can imagine.  Drew's loudness stressed me out.  I so did not want to be the loud and rude Americans with a bratty kid.  I so wanted him to nap so that the odds would be in our favor that he'd be good and patient at 'Mo Sung Won'.  He did not nap.

Other than Drew really just being a kid and most likely annoying the other passengers, we really enjoyed the trip down to Busan.  Seeing the some of the Korean countryside drew me even closer to this beautiful country.  With the mountains and green vegetation, Damon even commented that it reminded him of Hawaii.  I totally agree.

Busan is the 4th largest port city in the world.  The city is built into the mountains.  We loved it instantly.  The city kinda reminded us of a huge, European-like, warm climate Duluth.  Or, something like that.  We had a bit of time to spare before being met to go to 'Mo Sung Won' so we just hung out at the big fountain by the train station.  While hanging out there Drew drew the attention of many older Koreans...smiles, pats on the head, and high fives.  He was a good sport about it all and suddenly my own annoyance with his behavior on the train disappeared.

At 3:00pm we were picked up and taken to 'Mo Sung Won' by the director and her intern, who kindly translated for us.  Her English was a million times better than my Korean, but often it was still difficult and we were lost in translation.  We were told before we left home that we'd get to meet some staff and get a tour of the campus.  (The campus was HUGE!  Not only is 'Mo Sung Won' a mother's home, but it is a full service social welfare organization with schools, housing, hospital, etc.  It was an impressive sight tucked up in the mountain side.)  Well, as you can guess, things did not go as we thought.  We were taken to a hot and humid small room with a table and six chairs and not much of anything else.  The director, her intern and the head nun (Sister Monica) were basically just there to answer any questions we had.  Oh how I wish I had prepared some questions!!!  And, Drew.  He was not a happy camper...not much sleep in 2 days...in a hot room with no toys...whining, pouting, pushing the roller chair around the room.  It was a sight to see.  I thougt for sure they were going to call Seoul and put a stop to our adoption due to our obvious poor parenting skills.  I tried to be funny - "I have no idea how I am going to handle two boys....please pray for me!" (Sister Monica just rolled laughing...that means she'll pray, right?).  And, I explained our recent travels of basically a 24 hour travel day for Drew with no sleep.  We talked for about 45 minutes.  And then Sister Monica offered to show us the room Leo's birth mom had stayed in.  We went upstairs and took a few pictures and then headed down stairs to leave.  It was a short visit - but an important one for us.  We have the beginning of Leo's story...even if it's not the specifics of his birth mom and situation...and that will go miles in helping Leo understand who he is and where he comes from when he's older.

Since we didn't have too much time before heading back to Seoul, our tourist options were limited.  But, the staff recommended that we go to Busan Tower and the infamous fish market.  So, that's exactly what we did. Those two places gave us a wonderful insight into the city and its people.

As soon as we started up the path to Busan tower I put Drew into the carrier - it was more than obvious that he was way beyond tired.  He fell asleep almost instantly...and that gave Damon and I a few hours for a "date" with Drew strapped to my back.  We loved exploring a little part of Leo's birth city...it was a great way to spend the day after just meeting him.

(Drew slept...and slept...and slept.  He does not remember much of Busan, the train ride home from Busan, or the taxi ride to our hotel.  And he continued to sleep for about a total of 10 hours.  Wish I could get 10 hours these days!!)

So...here is Busan...through our eyes...we hope we captured it well...enjoy!

in seoul station ready for busan

first train ride...with daddy & a strawberry smoothie

see all those white building - they're what drew calls 'lego city'

welcome to busan

the statue that greeted us coming out of the train station. pretty cool!

the room leo's birth mom stayed in with another woman
(i don't think we were supposed to go in, oops!)

with sister monica at 'mo sung won'
(on the bulletin board are pics of birth moms and all the activities they do while there)

looking up at part of  'mo sung won' - all the buildings with blue roofs

heading up to busan tower

still heading up busan tower!
(this climb should really be on the amazing race)

from the base of busan tower
(which is as high as we went)

fishing supplies

that's a lot of fish!

part of the harbor

you name it- clams, octopus, muscles, all kinds of fish

on the public walkway in front of the fish market

still sleeping at a cafe in busan station

{{i love busan}}

Until next time...hanging out in our temporary neighborhood circa 2010