skip to main |
skip to sidebar
We arrived home to a very welcoming sign and balloons - thanks GranJo. It felt SO nice to get back to the house after the long day of travel.
Daddy and mommy took turns grabbing a shower and a change of clothes....Gram and Pa gave Paul a bath. We decided that given the long trip and the new house to explore, we wouldn't attempt a bath for Lillie at that point and instead just changed her clothes and let her play. She settled in nicely and enjoyed all of her new toys. We have seen so many great smiles and laughs while getting to know her.
She did surprisingly well with our animals....we weren't sure if the dog would scare her given her size but she she was just fine letting Maya come right up to her and sniff her. She seems to like to watch the cats but hasn't really gotten too near them yet.
She ate a good dinner and both kids went to bed about 7:30.....and proceeded to sleep until 9:30 (Lillie) and 10:30 (Paul) the next morning. All night long. We ended up letting Lillie sleep in her bed in her room by herself with a monitor right next to us in case she woke up. No issues at all. I heard her stirring this morning and went it to sit with her - she seems to like to wake up slowly and cuddle while she is waking up. I obviously obliged!
We headed down for some breakfast....she was loving her milk in her sippy cup! She had oatmeal, some banana, some cheerios and a little yogurt. The only thing she hasn't liked so far is the yogurt.
GranJo came over at lunch time and we all had a nice lunch.....Lillie ate cheese, bread and chicken. She's a great little eater so far! After lunch it was time for that bath. Paul hated bathtime when he first came home so we were apprehensive.....but she loved it. Wasn't scared a bit and had a great time splashing around. She was perfect when I got her hair wet and washed it. She seemed to know when to tip her head back to avoid water in her eyes. Her foster mom bathed her every day so she was clearly used to this by now. She screamed when we took her out of the tub....clearly wanted more tub time! Her hair looked so much nicer after it was washed.
Gram and Pa joined us in the afternoon and we cleaned up a major freezer issue.....our house sitter left our freezer drawer open a bit and the whole freezer was frosted over - the food, the freezer, everything! Most of the food was still frozen solid (like all of the casseroles that I made before we left) but it was quite a mess to empty, disassemble, clean, dry and put back together. After that was done, it was time for dinner! Decided that a good grilled burger sounded good so that's what we had....along with corn on the cob. Little Miss had her first taste of US corn on the cob and she loved it!
We celebrated with yummy cake from our favorite QC bakery....thanks GranJo!
And Paul got a special Big Brother cupcake...
So great to be home again and to settle into life as a family of four. The grandparents are all headed home tomorrow so we can settle into our normal routine. It's been great to have them here to meet their granddaughter (the only one) and it will be great to see them again when they can interact with her a little more since we are following strict rules about who can touch, feed, etc Lillie for a while.
We reached the end of our trip and it was time for the LONG ride home. We met our new friends and their new daughter at 8am for the 45 minute van ride to the airport. It was a gloomy morning (another typhoon/tropical storm was closing in on Seoul) but we made the best of it with some fun in the van. There were three sets of little eyes peering back at Gram for this shot!
We arrived in plenty of time to navigate the check-in line, head through immigration and security....and had about 2 hours to entertain the kids.....which then became 4 hours due to a flight delay. We did our best not to completely annoy the other passengers. At least they had a little play place for Paul and we had plenty of food for the little ones. Paul had found his new favorite way to make Lillie laugh....showing of his belly!
We finally boarded the plane and got all settled in for our 12.5 hour ride to Chicago. I was nervous but I will say that the flight went REALLY well. Paul slept for over half of it (a big change from the flight to Seoul) and Lillie slept twice as well. It's a good thing he was small enough to crinkle up in his seat to sleep this time since we had Lillie on our laps.
Time for a meal....rice, tofu and a blended fruit chaser.
A little brother/sister play time on the flight. How sweet is this?!? Makes this momma's heart melt all over the place.
More sleeping....this time Paul wanted to cuddle which gave me an extra seat. Lillie was sleeping at this point as well...on the floor in front of us. The first time she fell asleep, the flight attendant told me that I had to pick her up because it was a safety violation. We had laid a blanket down and had a pillow down there for her so it wasn't all that gross and if there was an emergency we clearly would pick her up before attempting to exit the plane. I gave the lady quite the stink eye when she made me wake my finally sleeping child....who then promptly began crying again. Classic. So I held her on my lap and got her back to sleep, but she didn't sleep as well or as long as she would have on the floor. She was too big for the bassinet that we used for Paul's flight home. Funny part was when Lillie fell asleep again on the floor in the same position/same place we got no comment or request to move her. Clearly the stink eye and my tone was enough to keep the beautiful flight attendant away. She slept much better and much longer that time as you would expect.
In flight high five (one of the things that makes her laugh/smile every time).
Even though our flight was 2 hours late, our Chicago welcoming crew was right there waiting for us! We originally had plenty of time to hang out before heading to catch our flight back home but due to the delay, it was a quicker visit. We are so appreciative that Auntie Jen and Uncle Dan spent time waiting for us at the airport. Check out the cool banner that Auntie Jen brought to welcome us.....
Our crew.....the kids were plotting and scheming something here!
Uncle Dan brought stuffed bears for the kids.
After our quick visit, a quick jaunt on the airport tram, another trip through security and a fast paced walk to our gate - we made it with 10 minutes to spare! The flight from Chicago is only an hour and Paul got to sit in a seat across the aisle from us by himself. Such a big kid and he knew it.
I am so pleased with how everyone did on the flights.....it went amazingly well even though the trip is long. I can't tell you how great it was to get home....oh, yes I can....in the next post!
The moment finally arrived that we were able to go to Eastern to meet with Lillie and her foster mom and then take custody and head back to the hotel. Darn that typhoon for delaying us, but I will assure you that it was worth the wait!
Someone was feeling sassy today.....check out her cool new kicks and her purse.
Loving on daddy.
It is clear how much she loves her omma and her omma loves her. We received a beautiful letter from omma to Lillie and another from omma to us. Our social worker ran down the jist for me since they are written in Korean. Sob. She is such a special woman and my heart broke a little for her today when she had to say goodbye. She held it together and is a very classy lady.
Big smiles for a cool electronic book that lets Lillie beat a drum with drumsticks.
Lillie's omma clearly loves Paul just as much and he was hamming it up with her as well!
Gerber Puffs transcend all languages.
The hand off was emotional but it went very well. Lille didn't cry at all. We rode in the Eastern van with another family from Wisconsin - they daughter was screaming for her omma. It is always heart wrenching but each child handles this in different ways. Lillie sat on daddy's lap on the way back to the hotel and Paul hung out with mommy.
When we got to the room, Lillie acted like she owned the place! It was cute as she checked everything out.
She enjoyed the toys we brought from home for her.
She is just so sweet.
Paul was parched so he had a little fruit punch in a coffee mug.
Swoon....we are in love!
She was so happy and good while we played in the room. She ate some lunch and had some milk. We then had our first accident while she and Paul were racing around the room together....she fell and bumped her face pretty hard on a cabinet. The edge hit her from her right eyebrow to her lip.....ugh. Makes you feel like a terrible parent. She cried for a few minutes and we were able to comfort her....likely she will have a bruise. Great start, huh! Glad to have gotten that mishap under control. Jason and I took her on a quick errand and she slept for a while in the carrier. Paul and Gram hung out at her house and were planning to head to the pool. Lillie is now napping in our bed - she is still as can be and snores a little when she sleeps.
Our hearts are full and we are hopeful for a decent night of sleep and a decent flight tomorrow. Continued prayers for our travels will be appreciated.
We arrived at Eastern a little early and headed up to the infant room. This is where the newborns hang out until they are assigned to a foster family. It is so amazing to look into the eyes of these little babies and know that they are just waiting for their foster families and ultimately their forever families to love them to pieces! The ladies that work and volunteer in the infant room are truly angels. We took Paul with us to explain the room and show him where he was when he was just a little baby.
There were so many babies there - this is just a very small portion of the room.
We were planning to just stay behind the glass and not hold any babies this time since we had Paul with us. Once of the nice women working in the infant room brought a little boy out so that Paul could see him. Paul proceeded to tell her that he was 4 years old.
Counting his toes.....Paul thought this was so cool.
Checking out the infants with Gram.
It is a weird mixture of emotion to see all of those babies without families. So sad that their birth parents were unable to parent them and yet so happy that they made such a selfless choice and the babies will ultimately find loving homes.
So Typhoon Bolaven was predicted to hit South Korea today and was supposed to be a very strong storm. The government decided to close the schools and even the US Embassy closed early. We got a phone call from Eastern that they were cancelling our visit and custody transfer with Lillie today which was extremely disappointing. They just didn't want her and her foster mother out in the storm. Completely understandable but darn you typhoon for messing with our schedule! This also meant that we felt that we should stick pretty close to the hotel today and not head out for adventures since we didn't know what to expect. So here is our Top 10 List of Things to Do During A Typhoon.
10. Send daddy out in the rain and wind to get us lunch.....without an umbrella!
9. Hit the hotel pool with goggles and some killer stacking cups that mommy bought for Lillie.
8. Try out the ball pit in the small kids play area on the 2nd floor.
7. Play with our new Poli robocar toys.
6. Make microwave popcorn in our underwear.
5. Play with our new wooden snake.
4. Watch a LOT of videos including Pororo and Poli.
3. Go to the hotel pool with goggles and empty soda bottles.
2. Hang out at Gram's house.
1. Order Pizza Hut for dinner and spend the evening with our new friends and their new daughter.
Trip number 1 to the pool - just Paul and mommy for this one. We had the place completely to ourselves most of the time. It is a nice swimming facility as it has a kids pool adjacent to the normal pool.
Having fun in the ball pit - I was cringing thinking about how disease laden that ball pit must be.
Our second trip to the pool....this time with daddy while mommy sat and read a magazine and took a few pictures.
P....U......daddy's feet STINK!
Nothing better than microwave popcorn in the semi-buff!
He loves that cheapo wooden snake! And he loves the view of the trains that wizz to Seoul Station. He spends a fair amount of time looking out our windows.
We decided it would be fitting to have one final date night since we won't be having one for quite some time! Jason picked out an italian place he wanted to try so we got dressed, kissed Paul and said have fun with Gram....and off we went! It was kind of far from our hotel (on the other side of the Han River) and it was rush hour traffic so it took a little while to get there. We twisted and turned through crazy alleys and finally our driver just dropped us off and said it was somewhere within 10 meters of where we were. We walked around and couldn't find it....so we ended up picking a different italian place that was in the same area. We found out later that the restaurant that Jason had chosen was actually closed which explains why we couldn't find it!
I wanted to order just a glass of wine instead of a bottle....with a little language barrier, we got it figured out with the help of 2 waitresses. Turns out that they were having a special buy one get one free....so Jason had a glass as well. Red for me and white for him. And it was the nastiest wine I have ever had. Looks pretty.....doesn't taste so pretty.....
And maybe this is why....the house wine event that is buy one get one free was only 8,000 won which is about $7.20. Explains a lot. And would you know that 1+1 means buy one get one free? That was lost on me.
The highlight of the meal was the caprese salad....beautiful and tasted yummy too.
Jason ordered seafood risotto with tomato sauce. It was pretty good.
I ordered steak and mushroom risotto. It was just okay - needed more seasoning for sure.
The meal wasn't the greatest - we decided we didn't want Korean food and instead went with a little change of pace. Sometimes risks pay off and sometimes not. It was nice to get out together and just talk and relax a bit. We walked around a little after dinner as this was a hopping part of town. A view from the street the restaurant was on......
I was so tired that I actually fell asleep in the cab on the way back to the hotel....ha! It was only 8:30 I think. Lots of walking and the heat really take it out of you. We hit 7-11 for some supplies (including a yummy ice cream treat for me) and then enjoyed our quiet hotel room for a while before heading to bed. Paul stayed over at Gram's "house" last night.....and had the best night of sleep he has had since we arrived. He went down at 8:15 and she woke him up at 7:15 this morning to get ready to head to breakfast. I hope all that sleep means a good mood today!
Typhoon Bolaven is supposed to hit today. We are still unsure if we should be worried but it appears that most of the people of Seoul are just going about their business. I inquired of the front desk if we should be doing anything to be prepared and they just smiled and said no - all will be fine. It is supposed to hit this afternoon which is right about the time that we are headed to Eastern to take custody of Lillie. We'll see how that goes!
I think Jason and Diane are headed out to pick up a few things we forgot yesterday and Paul and I might hit the pool in the hotel while they are out. I want him relatively rested before our meeting and the excitement of bringing Lillie back to the hotel with us today. It's Gotcha Day for our sweet girl!
