GOTCHA DAY!!

The day that we have been waiting for is finally here! This is by far the longest delivery I have ever experienced! LOL! It was definitely harder than the boys, but its almost over and soon I will be holding my baby girl!

With hearts beating, we left our apartment and met our social worker who would show us the Baby Reception Center. This was where Adelyn spent her first months of her life. Since she was born in the southern part of Korea, she was placed with a foster family for one month until she was brought up to SWS in Seoul and placed in the Baby Reception Center. The reception center has two parts to it- the first part is for newborn babies until they are one month old. The second part is for babies one month until about four months old until they are placed with foster families. Addi would not have stayed in the newborn part, but we know she was in the other part until the beginning of December when she was placed with her current foster family. It was so special to see this place where she spent the beginning of her life. There were many babies there- itty bitty ones and little bit older ones. There were many nurses caring for the babies, holding and playing with them. It made me feel so good seeing how well Adelyn would have been cared for!

Nursery: Newborn




























Nursery: Older babies (1-4 months old)


























































Then we walked over to the SWS offices next door where we would meet Daum and the foster family. They were there when we got there. The foster mother was there and also the foster father (who I think took off work to be there!). They gave us a HUGE bag of things for Adelyn. Bottles, diapers, formula, some clothes that were hers, the items we had sent her in our care package, and
even more gifts for us- rice cakes and candies and Korean tangerines. The foster mother had made some rice porridge for us for Addi's baby food and we also received care instructions from SWS. SWS also gave us a beautiful Korean flag for Adelyn. These gifts were so special! The foster mother took Adelyn downstairs to visit with the doctor for one last check-up and then we received the final visa and immigration papers for Adelyn. When the foster mother returned, she handed Adelyn to us who went right to us without any crying. She was starting to get tired and the foster mother made her up a bottle for us to feed her. While Addi ate, we talked a little to the family. The social worker would translate for us. She said the family was very happy that Daum was going to us and that they had prayed she would have an easy transition. They could see we were a good family and it made them very happy for her. That made us feel so good! Then it was time to go. We took some pictures together and then the foster mother asked to hold Daum one more time. That is when she started crying and also the foster father started crying as they all held onto Daum. It was heart-wrenching and of course Jeff and I started crying! I get teary-eyed just thinking about it and about how hard it must be for her to have to give Daum away. They both really loved Daum. We walked out to the elevators and the foster mother was crying pretty hard. She asked to hold her one more time and of course we let her. Then I just went up and hugged her. She clung to me with Daum in the middle. We promised to send pictures. Then we were hussled into the elevator as a forever family. It was so bittersweet and so surreal! Definitely both the hardest and happiest part of our journey. I have never experienced such opposite emotions and feelings at the same time! We walked back to our guesthouse holding Daum and couldn't believe this was really happening! We were a FOREVER FAMILY!!

June 22, 2011 will forever be our GOTCHA DAY!!

As soon as we walked back to our guestroom, we were expecting her to start crying, but she didn't!!! We gave her the rest of her bottle and she drank about half of it, laid her head on my shoulder and fell asleep! It was a moment I will remember forever! I laid her down in the crib and she went to sleep for about an hour!! Just like her foster mother had said! What a doll and what a brave little girl. Jeff and I are both in love. We had a wonderful GOTCHA day and are finally a forever family!




















































































Adelyn slept for about an hour (just like her wonderful foster mother said she would!). When she woke up, she definitely was confused and crying, but she went to both Jeff and I for comfort. It is such an answer to prayer that she is not favoring one of us over the other. We have heard of so many times where a baby will take to the Mom and won't even look at the Dad or vice versa. That is so hard on new parents and although we tried to prepare ourselves for it, we were dreading it. She will go to each of us equally and reaches for both of us. It is precious and amazing that she is forming trust so quickly with us.

Since she liked to be held, we thought it would be a great idea to get out and go for a walk or do something where she could be in the carrier. We knew this would also help with bonding. So we strapped her in the front of my carrier and off we headed to a huge mall called the COEX mall. The weather has been beautiful all week, but was raining today so we headed out with umbrellas and rain jackets. About a block away from our guest house, she started crying. Not little whimpers, but all out screaming. We tried to move her to my back because we knew the foster mother carried her that way, but the crying continued. We just kept going, hoping that it was the rain bothering her and that once we got in the subway, her crying would stop. Did you know that subways echo? Did you know that a baby's cry can be heard throughout the ENTIRE subway? And on top of that, did you know that a Caucasian couple with a little Korean baby screaming makes people turn and look at you? This has been the first time in four days that we felt like we stood out. I felt so bad, as if they were judging us and thinking we weren't fit parents. I'm sure that's not what they were thinking, but that's where my mind was going. At one point, she started screaming on the subway and Daddy finally picked her up out of the carrier and guess what? She stopped crying! I think the people around us were pretty shocked to see that! Addi definitely got a lot of attention, even when she wasn't crying- especially from sweet ladies who would come up to her and talk to her and pat her cheeks. She is such a pretty little girl and a charmer too!

Once we got to the COEX Mall, she stopped crying. The subway has an entrance that leads right into the mall so it was perfect since it was still raining. We walked around and she would look all around and take in all the lights. We found her a little teddybear that she wouldn't let go of (I told you she LOVES anything she can snuggle with!) and we headed to the COEX Aquarium. Yes... you heard me right... an AQUARIUM in a mall! And I'm not talking a little aquarium with goldfish. I am talking a huge aquarium with crocodiles, monkeys, bats, manatees, seals, sting rays, pirannhas and sharks! BIG sharks... more sharks than SeaWorld! It was very cool. There were some very interesting exhibits and Addi really liked seeing the fish. She kept trying to touch them all in every aquarium! Once we were done with the aquarium, we found a little Italian restaurant in the mall and we both had a bowl of pasta (I know... I know... eating Italian food in Korea... but all the Korean restaurants we saw had WEIRD dishes that Jeff and I weren't brave enough to try!) While we ate our pasta, we fed Adelyn some of the rice porridge her foster mom had made, some pear baby food and Gerber puffs. This girl can eat! She is not picky and she ate great! She even drinks water out of a cup which is so funny! She can also drink through a straw! We grabbed some smoothies before heading into the aquarium and this little peanut drank half of our smoothies! She would grab the whole cup and hang on for dear life if we tried to pry it out of her hands! It was the funniest thing! On the way home, she was all smiles and not a single cry! She was even trying to imitate us when Daddy curled his tongue at her! She curled her tongue back! We laughed so hard- it was so funny! When we got back to the room, she was giggling and laughing and climbing and playing. This little one is a busy body! We might have our hands full! She gets into everything! She played with her books and toys and climbed on the couch and crawled on the floor and pulled up on anything she could reach. Her favorite game was playing the drums on the formula cans on the floor! She is just a joy! It has been such a blessing to see her personality blossom before our eyes! I can't wait for everyone to meet this little peanut when we get home! She is going to charm the socks off our families and friends! Well... time for bed... her foster mom says she sleeps all night... we will see how our first night goes!! What a perfect GOTCHA DAY!