Punchlist

The Punchlist is growing by the day- stuff to do around the house, stuff to do for the baby, people to see and visit with, Lake time, Beach time, Music Concerts to attend, Amusement and Water parks to go to. Three weeks until the end of summer, it is already cooler in the evenings and we have had a cold snap, it is starting to feel like Fall.

So Overdue

It has been a whirlwind- sorry for the delay in posting. The good news is that Cecelia called Korea yesterday on our behalf and all of Bo's paperwork has been completed and they are getting her ready to travel. They expect it could be as soon as 2 weeks, but I think it is more likely 3-6 weeks. All is a go though, nice to have the reassurance. I am not sure I really believe it yet, and won't unitl she is in my arms at the airport!
Camping was great, but it went by too fast. Kip brought a picture of Bo with us - we brought her to the lake, on the boat, to the pool. We bought her a little Danforth Bay shirt to wear next year. We have been reading the storybook Katie-Bo - An Adoption Story by Iris Fischer to the boys. They are pretty much fed up with the wait and ask every day "when will she be here!" We hope to have her home and settled before school starts, but who knows....

Happy 9 month birthday sweet girl

Happy 9 Month! Hoping to have you home for your 10 month....

Off to Camping

We are off for our last baby free camping trip for a while. Hoping to have great weather, and lots of fun. When we get back I am going to take the suggestion of another LTC waiting family and start calling Washington D.C. to find out about her "exit" interview. I am not really sure what that means, but it will help me feel proactive...

On track

I spoke with Jean, and all looks good for Bo's arrival in September. She said that in Korea they are applying for her Korean Passport, aligning an escort, scheduling pre-flight medical exams, preparing the foster family for her departure, packing her belongings, etc. Once they have flight information they will fax it to Cecelia and she'll track us down with that information. Usually a family is notified 2-4 days in advance of the itinerary. Best case 6 weeks to wait, worst case 10.

We have been keeping busy keeping cool in glorious summer weather and preparing for our annual camping trip with the Dilworth's. We leave in exactly 10 days. Yippee! I called our social worker Jean today and left her a message to try to figure out if we are all on track for a September arrival, I'll post once I hear back from her.

Henry has been flourishing this week at his grandparent's house in Maine. Holden's gets his turn next week. Henry has been moved up to the bigger kids arts and sailing programs. We are all so proud. Tomorrow he sails in the Small Point sailboat races. He has also been "working" for family friends earning $2 a hour, what an industrious 7 year old we have. 7 going on 17. He is enjoying himself, and I am sure he is being spoiled. On Friday night he'll be in a "revue" where we'll enjoy watching him on stage.

Generalizations

I have been reading and re-reading the book that the agency sent with the referral, it is mostly a compilation of stories, resources suggestions, and some interesting facts about asian babies. Did you know that most asian babies do not have the enzyme to digest milk sugars? They recommend a soy based formula. More later on the bottle/nipple dilemma that goes with this common lactose intolerance problem. As well, Asian babies are prone to perspiring more, and need to be carefully watched for dehydration. We have been reading about home life in Korea quite a bit and are getting prepared for her to have been carried most of the time by Mrs. Kim, so we look forward to pulling out the old baby sling and Bjorn carrier. As well, in the Korean culture they generally sleep in the same room as the babies, so we expect we'll do the same for at least a little while. I'll share more later.

When up in the middle off the night

This is one of things I think about when I am up in the night. I want to start fillling in the baby book I bought for Bo. Both boys have complete baby memory books we filled in, from birth-5 years old. Both Kip and I get a kick out of reading the books our parents made for us. I look forward ot working on this soon.

Posting at 4am

Do you think this is nature telling me something? I have been up now four times tonight -----------twice with the dog wanting to be let in and out, once with the cat stealing my pillow, and once with Holden sleep "climbing" into our bed. I am supposed to be relishing my sleep these last couple months.....

Enjoying the summer, while waiting for Bo

We are all keeping very busy, enjoying lots of outdoor time, beach, boats, lake, pool, etc. This week I will start to put Bo's books and toys on her shelves...

Another Love the Children family

Another Love the Children Family who I met on an Adopt Korea board, has been now waiting exactly 4 months today. They are hoping to have their baby boy home this month. They also have a waiting 5 year old in their household, patience is not common in most 5 year olds. Both Jean and Cecelia have always quoted 4-5 months from acceptance of the referral. They received our signed and notarized paperwork back on 4/29...That brings us to somewhere between August 29th-September 29th. But this timing is not a science. Such a busy time of year with Back to School - Holden starting full day Kindergarten at a new school, and Henry starting 2nd grade at the old school. Life as we know it is going to be really changing, all at once.

Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day!

8 months old!

Happy, Happy Birthday Baby Bo. We cannot wait to meet you.

With love from your Momma, Dadda, Hen-o and Holdy!

Waiting Game

Trying to not wish the time away, but this waiting is starting to really kill me. Luckily we have lots of family and friends plans coming up over the next week or two. We look forward to visiting with the Dilworth's and the Glynn's next week. The Fourth of July holiday helps...Kip and I leave for Sunny Isles Beach in Florida for 3 night tonight...trying to squeeze in some couple away time before Bo arrives. Her new curtains are hung up and look great.

Thank You Aunt Kathy!

Aunt Kathy sent Bo this beautiful asian babydoll today. The boys have her swaddled in the crib. Henry and Holden also received a toy from Aunt Kathy... fun with marshmallow shooters. I think Maisy dog is going to gain weight from cleaning up all the dropped "bullets"!

Miss her today

Today is one of those days that make me wish she was here, and we were strolling outside listening to the birds and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. Yesterday was Holden's last day of school and today was the Henry's last day of school. It will be fun to enjoy some unscheduled summer fun and I am sure time will fly by as we wait until she gets here.

Wow! That is my only reaction. Today Kip came up to the office with his hands behind his back...In it was a legal size brown envelope from the USCIS Boston office. We have been "approved". Our I-600A received a "favorable disposition" in one I-797C, and we received "approval of a relative visa petition" on our I-600 in a second I-797C. The visa petition has now been forwarded to the National Visa Center, Department of State in Portsmouth, NH. As well we received a copy of our visa transmission to the US Embassy/Consulate in Seoul. That office nows needs to complete a I-604...We are on track for a late summer/early fall arrival day. Jean was surprised by how fast we got the approval after our prints. We couldn't be happier.

Some shopping

I bought Bo's curtains and rods today, as well as a few bath things. The boys had fun opening the packages. Dottie dropped by a super soft teddy bear blankie, and a homemade crocheted baby blanket. She is a lucky baby.

The boys helped my put up Bo's window shades tonight- it was important since the hot sun was streaming in and heating up the house...We have measured for curtains, our next step. It has been over 80 degrees here for the past 3+ days, it is really feeling like summer. The boys get out of school next Wednesday.

Easy as pie to complete our fingerprints today. The boys went to play and garden with Gammy and Chard and we got to the Applications Support Center in Boston and easily found parking on the street across from the entrance. We arrived ten minutes before our 10:00am appointment and were out and in the car on the way back home at 10:05am. We spent the rest of the day on the boat and on the beach, since the weather was perfect.

Clothes...

Starting to get ansy to buy some basics - pajamas, socks, play clothes, etc.

I600 received by Boston Dept. Of Homeland Security

I received another memo today that USCIS has now received all the paperwork. This includes the Massachusetts home study report, the I600A (Advance Processing of Orphan Petition) and the I600 (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative). Fingerprints are the last step and they are happening this Saturday morning. Good news in the mailbox, yet again.

Happy 7 month birthday!

Today Bo will turn 7 months old- we hope she is playing lots of peekaboo with Mrs. Kim. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Her baby nursery is now setup...

Gammy and Aunt Lippy came over today and helped us arrange the furniture for the nursery, it is looking great.

Carseat - simply over the top

Couldn't resist this...

Biometric Fingerprint Appointments

Today we received our I-797 appointment notice for our fingerprints. Luckily for us the appointment falls on a Saturday. We have an appointment for next Saturday morning at 10am at the USCIS office at 170 Portland St. in Boston. Moving ahead.

US Citizenship & Immigration Services - mail call

Holden came up to my office about a half an hour ago with a very important looking letter from the Boston Department of Homeland Security USCIS office! It is a letter confirming the receipt of our I600-A form, and a notification that we should receive an appointment for our fingerprints in the next two weeks. I called Jean and she said this was a new courtesy letter. Our home study and this form will allow the USCIS to process the next step. The letter indicates that the maximum processing time for this part is 45 days, but often it is shorter. Think short.

Bo's written report

Pictures of Bo with Cecelia and Mrs. Kim