First Christmas Photo shoot

I am so excited and proud to post this pic of Lily in her Christmas dress. She actually followed direction and posed for me!

Our family photo for our card this year is a nice surpise even though I thought the kids were awful during the session...Lily, who smiles all the time, refused to even crack one that night but it still managed to turn out ok. Completely my fault for making them do it at 5:00 at the end of a long day. I just finished an update letter to Lily's foster family. Really can't believe it was 9 months ago that we met. Hopefully it reaches them soon.

Snow

Just a few shots of the kids and the snow. Not sure if Lily saw snow in Korea, but if she did she was only around 9 months old.

Ten Years

Nov 29th marked the 10 year anniversary of the birth and death of our first baby. An experienced that has changed us forever. Unbelivable to me how time has accelerated. The years have filled up our lives in ways we never could have predicted. We use this day to dress our whole house for Christmas in her honor. We also visit the cemetary. She really is the messenger, an angel who briefly touched us so that we could have the family we now have.

This year is different, however, with the addition of Lily. Her first Christmas home is exciting for all of us. This time last year we were so anxious for that travel call and wondering how she was growing and spending her days in Korea. Here is a pic of her with the ornament we hung last year. It contains her Eastern referral photo. Talk about a rollar coaster of emotions, but overall the day was ok.

I really have to become a better blogger. These posts seem to have more and more time in between them. At this point in our life as a family of 5, I must get Lily to the pediatrician for her 18 month exam, not to mention that I noticed a bit of swelling at her left ear piercing. She took a fall in my bathroom and cut her lip open and scratched her face with her fingernail on the same day. Both of which are just in time for our family photo session scheduled for Thursday!! I am sooo excited to have these done. The photographer who got such great shots of our homecoming at the airport will be shooting them (with some cooperation from mother nature so we can do them outdoors.)

Lance has us under the spell of Yughio and given his obsessive personality, it's pretty much all he talks about, thinks about and cares about. That card collection is like gold to him. Tomorrow should be a blast as we head to his class trip to Maryland Science Center. Screaming 8 year olds on a school bus for 1 hour there and back...what was I thinking??

Luca is my pre school champ! I was worried about him pulling this screaming bit he does at home as well as the typical defiant 4 year old attitude. His teacher raved about him and had not one negative comment about him! Being that I often feel I was absent when they handed out the parenting manual, this was nice to hear. Maybe I am actually doing something right.

Little Lily bear is still climbing on everything and starting to want to do things on her own like put on socks and feed herself with a spoon. She has started to say her name which really is the cutest thing ever! She has this new pout face, something I am not used to with boys and cries huge tears when it appears that we have offended her in some way.

Here are some pics from the last 2 weeks. We had a great time at the National Italian American Foundation gala which is headed by my brother in law. We actually got to meet some celbs like Jimmy Kimmel, THE Italian cooking show legend Lidia, and actress Carla Gugino...so gorgeous and friendly too.

Yea !! A Girly Costume.

Just a few shots from Halloween. The rain was on and off, but nothing could deter the little ones from getting their candy. Trick or Treating doesn't really happen on our block since the distance between the homes isn't friendly to little legs so they just went to our immediate neighbors and off to our party we went. Lance was cool with his hair sprayed black and dressed as a Bakugan brawler, Lily was Snow WHite and Luca had the cutest pirate costume ever (Old Navy..$20!!!) We spent the night at friends and went to a nice brunch on Sunday. The boys are already counting the days until Halloween 2010.

Lots going on over the last 2 weeks! We had our cousins visiting us from Florida and taking advantage of the sites in DC. The kids really warmed up to them quickly which was so nice to see. Then it was off to NY for a sweet sixteen party for a dear friend. We got to squeeze in a visit with more family that weekend and stuffed ourselves with pizza and bagels...the only foods we really miss from up there.

We are praying for cousins who have been on their own adoption journey for way too long now and we hope they are placed with the baby that is meant for them very soon.

Finalization has Begun

So the 6 month mark has passed and we have consulted an attorney to begin the finalization process. Seems pretty straight forward, papers from the agency, a meeting to discuss our background and how the adoption thing all came to be. We don't have to actually appear in court and the attorney basically takes care of everything( for a small fee of course...LOL).It should take around 3 months for the Korean name to permanently become her new American name. I have to admit it feels a bit strange to write that, almost as if we are taking something from her but I guess that's natural. We can then file for a birth certificate that reads "certificate of foreign birth." Then a social security card and an American passport.

Lily these days is quite the climber. I can't turn my head for a second. Here is a pic of how I often find her. Notice the bruise on her forehead. September is a big month for birthdays in our family and we just celebrated Lance's 8th!!

Lily's Room

Some pics of how Lily's room is progressing since we moved in. Still a few more things to do but pretty nice so far. She seems to love her crib. I know the big girl room is right around the corner!

6 Month Visit

Today was Lance's first day of 3rd grade and our final home visit with our social worker. Yes Lily will be home 6 months on the 10th of September. Does anyone know how to make the time slow down just a little bit? In the blink of an eye these babies will be driving cars and off to college! Not that I don't look forward to these wonderous developing relationships I am so blessed to have, it's just that I could use a bit more calm to savor these days that are flying by. I think Lily is like a poster child for Korean adoption sometimes and wonder how we were chosen to be her parents. At 6 months home and 16 months old she is: climbing on everything, chasing her brothers around the house, still doesn't say more than "mom" or "da." She does, however, understand so much and knows how to point to her belly, nose and toes when asked. She loves to put my shoes on ( accessorizing already...yea!) and even tries to draw with crayon! Hide and seek and peek a boo create shrieks of laughter from her tiny body.

After hearing about the first day of school, we headed to pick out flowers for our social worker which Luca proudly gave her along with our family photo. We are grateful to her and the agency for everything they have done for us... truely a life changing experience.

Meeting Cousins

This weekend, we had a great time with Amy and her two boys who were visiting from NJ. It was Lily's first time meeting the boys. They brought us 3 pizzas from NJ!! How we miss the GOOD pizza. Those of you who grew up in NY and NJ and have moved know what I mean. She also brought homemade coookies, scones and pie!!

We only had 2 days but we packed it in... Air and Space Museum, some DC monuments, The White House. Today, it was Burke Lake Park lunch and ice cream after. So great to have them down to hang out with as we close out the summer.

Hanbok Photos

Ok, so her first birthday and baptism were 3 months ago but we have had quite a busy year. I finally got around to having photos done of Lily in her hanbok which was given to her by her foster parents. Boy was she a trooper. So much going on, the dress, the slippers, the headpiece, and all during what should have been her naptime too. Overall she did very well. Can't wait to send a copy to her foster family.