Wednesday in Seoul (a perfect day) - Part 1

It's now been three months since we traveled to Seoul. Someday I'll finish up these posts about our trip...

On Wednesday, we enjoyed one of those absolutely perfect, all-is-good-with-the-world sort of days. I even remember thinking to myself mid-morning that it was going to be an amazing day and that I should really focus on soaking it all in. Seriously, the day was incredible!

For starters, the weather was amazing - clear, sunny skies and wonderful spring temperatures - a lovely break from our home in the upper Midwest, where it was, for all practical purposes, still winter. We had been in Seoul for four days, so we were past the misery of jet lag and the unsettled feelings we had the first couple of days from being in a totally unfamiliar place. We were comfortable getting around the city and had learned how to function despite the fact that we speak *literally* only about three words of Korean. And Wednesday fell right between two of the most important days of our lives - meeting our son on Monday and taking custody of him on Friday. Although Calvin was obviously the main focus of our trip to Korea, we absolutely loved the time we spent as tourists in Seoul as well.

Our friends who live in Seoul, Ted and Hee Young, had graciously offered to be our hosts for the day - and what spectacular hosts they were! They planned a wonderful day for us, filled with fabulous Seoul sites, delicious food, and great company. What could be better?

Brad & I started the day like most others - on the subway. We left our hotel around 9, hopped on the subway, and headed just a few stops down to the station where we were meeting our friends at 9:30. This was the earliest we had been on the subway, and we immediately noticed how thick the crowds were! It was past the height of rush hour, so I can't imagine what it must be like earlier in the morning. I wish I had been able to take a picture, but it would have been nearly impossible to get my camera out of its bag on my back while also navigating through the sea of people.

We met up with Ted and Hee Young and quickly realized just what a treat it was going to be to spend the day with locals. For an entire day, we didn't have to think about subway stops, read maps or signs, or try to communicate across a language barrier. And of course, it was wonderful to tour Seoul with people who really know the city.

Our first stop of the day was the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Well, let me back up...We actually started at the Gwanghwamun subway station - at least I think it was Gwanghwamun. Remember - we didn't pay attention that day. :) As we walked up a long ramp leading out of the station we could see the palace in front of us. Ted spotted a kiosk just outside the station where tourists could try out traditional Korean royal clothing and asked if we were interested. I immediately said yes and convinced Brad to follow suit. :) A very sweet couple helped us get all dressed up...

Ted then took some pictures of us. Think we pass for Korean royalty? :)


We then spent some time walking around Gwanghwamun Square, which is just outside the palace entrance.


There was a movie or tv show being shot that morning. Our friends told us that the guy under the umbrella is a famous Korean actor (so of course I had to take a picture!). I didn't catch his name but was later told by an adoption friend that this is Lee Min Ho.


There were two large statues in the area - one of King Sejong, who created the written language of Hangul in the 1400s --
and the other of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, a famous military leader from the 1500s --

We then made our way to the palace, and the first thing we saw were the guards standing at the main gate.

Ted and Hee Young had booked the 11am English tour for us all. We looked around and took a few more pictures while we waited for that to get started.

A group of school kids approached Brad to visit with him and practice their English skills.

The tour lasted about an hour, and the guide told us all about the history of the palace. As we walked through the grounds, I took a *lot* of pictures....




We also got a few pictures of ourselves around the palace.
And there were a few kids that asked for a picture with us too.


After our palace tour, we left the grounds through the back entrance, which leads right to the Blue House - the home of the South Korean president.























After taking a few pictures and some video (which Brad was quickly told by a police officer wasn't allowed-oops!), we turned right and walked down a sidewalk that ran along the back wall of the palace. There were various government buildings on our left, and we passed a sign that indicated no photos were allowed. The next 10 minutes or so just might have been my longest stretch all day without snapping a single picture. :)

After we exited the area of government buildings, we turned to the left and started walking down a street that I found to be absolutely beautiful. It looked so different from anything else we had seen in Seoul. I was struck by how and scenic, peaceful, and relatively quiet it was. (I'm convinced nothing in Seoul is really quiet...the city is just "going" all the time.)
As we were walking, Hee Young pointed to a sign and told me it said bibimbap, which is one of our favorite Korean dishes, so I snapped a picture of it.
After I learned a couple of Hangul letters later in the week, I realized that I could actually read the word myself. :) Ok, so I can't really read the word so much as I know the character that looks like an upside-down capital a makes a b or p sound, and the word bibimbap has four such sounds. Genius, I know. :) At this rate, I'll have the language mastered in no time. (joking, joking...)

We walked a little farther until we reached the restaurant Ted & Hee Young had chosen for lunch.

(I have absolutely no clue what that says. I see m, s, and b/p sounds, I think. And the single lines with lines or dots beside them are vowels - again, I think.)

As we walked up two narrow & steep flights of stairs to the third floor of the restaurant, we noticed pictures and autographs on the walls. Ted & Hee Young told us the restaurant is very popular and is frequented by celebrities whose photos and autographs are displayed on the wall....wow, just like in America!
When we reached the third level, we removed our shoes and sat down on the floor around a short table. Hee Young talked to the server as she walked through, and soon our food appeared. (That was one thing - of many - I found to be different in Korea from the US. It seemed that servers never really stopped and took orders like they do here in the US. Instead, they simply talked to customers as they walked by while doing something else. Like so many other things in Korea, it was fast, efficient, and not terribly personal...which is all fine with me!)

This was, hands down, the best meal we had in Korea. Honestly, I think it was one of the best meals we've ever had anywhere. It was that good.

some kind of soup with noodles - so good!!

salad

side dishes

kimchi - a staple at all Korean meals - Ted & Hee Young told us that it's sometimes served in large pieces like this that have to be cut. This is to "prove" in a sense that it's fresh and not reused.

main dish - beef with rice cakes - AMAZING!!!

a pizza of sorts - also absolutely INCREDIBLE!!

two very full, but very happy, Seoul tourists

After lunch and a quick bathroom break as we were leaving restaurant (in what just might have been the world's tiniest bathroom...to go along with the tiny water cups in Korea and SWS's tiny elevator!), we continued on with our wonderful day. More to come in part 2...

First post-placement visit

Nine days after we returned from Korea, we had our first of three required post-placement visits. Our social worker was at our house for about 45 minutes to meet Calvin and ask us questions about our trip to Seoul and Calvin's adjustment, personality, and health. It was very simple and painless - actually more like chatting with a friend than anything formal. We also had to submit five photos and get Calvin's pediatrician to fill out a form for the report.

We'll have two more visits over the next few months, and then this fall we will formally adopt Calvin. Unlike most other countries, when adopting from Korea, there is no legal proceeding or adoption done in-country - that is all done back in the United States upon return (and after a short waiting period to ensure the child is adjusting well to his new home).

Easter

So, I realize I'm a few weeks late here, but I'm still playing catch-up from those first few crazy weeks of parenthood.

I've been saying for months - even a year or more - that I hoped we'd have our baby home in time for Easter this year. And God blessed us with just that. We arrived home six days before Easter. We weren't really planning to attend Easter services - we thought it would just be too much for Calvin. But when we saw how well Calvin was adjusting, we decided to give it a shot.

In fact, we also went to the Good Friday service two days before Easter. That service is very quiet and dark, so we thought it would be a good service for Calvin - less overwhelming that all the sounds and activity of Easter morning. I wound up spending most of the Good Friday service standing in the back of - or even outside - the sanctuary with Calvin, but it was nice that we were able to attend.

So, Sunday morning rolled around, and aside from the jet lag Calvin was still experiencing - and the resulting very tired set of parents - we felt like we were in good shape to try church. Calvin actually had an appointment at the urgent care clinic that morning to have his TB test read (gotta stick to that 48-72 hour rule), so Brad took him to that while I got ready. When they returned, we gave a Calvin a bottle and got him dressed for church.

We could tell when we got to church that Calvin was just a bit overwhelmed by everything - not that he was upset at all. He was just very quiet and checking everything out. We sat in the very back, which is the unofficial designated spot for young families at our church due to the easy get-away option through the back door!

Calvin did great! He just looked around during the song service and behaved wonderfully. Then we put him in the Ergo, knowing he was ready for a nap. He was a bit restless, so I left the sanctuary and walked the halls for a few minutes to help him go to sleep. I returned to the service, and he slept until after the it ended. Then there were many people wanting to meet Calvin - and he did so well! Brad or I held him the entire time, and he was perfectly content.

We headed home after that and gave Calvin his Easter basket. It wasn't so much "giving," I guess, as it was just setting it down beside him. Honestly, there really wasn't much in it - grass, empty plastic eggs, and a chocolate bunny that quickly melted and was eaten by Mom later in the week. :) We most likely wouldn't have even done an Easter basket with him being so young, but since it was his first holiday with us, I wanted to. It was a gorgeous spring day, and I lots of fun taking pictures!


Some of our friends from church have an Easter afternoon gathering each year, and we hadn't known whether we would try to attend this year or not. But Calvin seemed very happy, so we headed over there for a bit. We enjoyed some amazing food and wonderful fellowship with friends for about an hour and half before deciding we should call it a day. Calvin did well, but we could tell he was getting pretty restless and would be more content at home.

Honestly, I can't remember what we did for the rest of the day, except Calvin took a nap, and we talked to both sets of grandparents on the webcam - I think. My brain has been through a lot over the past three weeks, and I just can't recall everything. :)

We had a wonderful Easter with Calvin, and we look forward to many more years of holiday celebrations with him!

Four weeks as a family of three

We have been a family of three for four weeks now. Where does the time go? I've been intending to blog about how things are going, but there's a cute little 10-month old around our house that keeps us pretty busy these days. :)


The first three weeks of parenthood were something of a blur to us. We didn't have any particularly major challenges with Calvin, but recovering from international travel and learning how to be parents at the same time kept us pretty busy -- and fairly stressed as well. Brad and I feel like we all three turned a corner late last week and are thrilled that life seems to be settling in a bit.

We are very pleased with how Calvin is adjusting to his new home and attaching to us. We knew that the adjustment & attachment phase is different for each child, and we wanted to be prepared for whatever Calvin might need from us during that time. But it seems that Calvin's easy-going nature is helping him adapt fairly quickly to all the changes in his life. (Although, while he is fairly laid back, he also certainly has a strong-will and stubbornness about him at times...I guess all kids do.)

Our biggest challenge was Calvin's sleep, and even that wasn't just awful - although a few nights at 1am, it felt awful. The first issue was jet lag. For the first week or so after arriving in the US, Calvin was wide-awake for 2-4 hours every night and ready to play. (Due to the 14-hour time difference, the middle of the night was middle of the afternoon to Calvin.) This is common for children who have been moved half-way around the world, so I got some advice from friends who have also adopted from Korea, and in just a few days, Calvin was on US time.

The next sleep issue was that Calvin was waking up multiple times every night and having trouble going back to sleep - even with one of us holding or rocking him. And instead of getting better with time, it was getting worse. This was incredibly frustrating for all of us. We did some research and decided that he needed to learn to soothe himself back to sleep when he wakes up. After just a few nights of relatively painless sleep training (Ok, the first night was pretty bad - the others were much better.), Calvin is now sleeping through the night with us going in his room no more than once a night for just a few minutes. And and it seems we've also successfully eliminated his 3am bottle. This all makes for a better night of rest for the entire family.

In fact, it seems he may even enjoy sleeping in - which could not make his parents any happier. :) He typically wakes up when we start stirring around 6am. But we're enjoying a 4-day weekend together now, and both yesterday and today, Calvin slept until 8 or 9 am. Maybe, just maybe, our days of sleeping in on Saturdays aren't over!!

Aside from the sleep challenges, we are extremely pleased with how Calvin is doing in every other area. He was almost exclusively on formula in Korea, so we've been working to add more solid foods to his diet. He loves most anything we feed to him, and he's learned to use a sippy cup for water. His diet consists of rice & oatmeal cereal, mashed up bananas, applesauce, avocado, and yogurt. We're working on adding more foods with time. He still gets about three bottles of formula a day, and we'll continue that for the next few months.

Calvin naps twice a day - a longer nap in the morning and shorter one late in the afternoon. He doesn't mind being strapped into his booster seat at meal time or the car seat for outings. (We did have a bit of trouble initially with the car seat, but he quickly got used to it.) He loves baths!! I think he would stay in the tub all day playing if we let him. He started crawling in the first week or so after he was home (He was doing the "army crawl" in Korea.), and he's also pulling himself up on anything he can find! He doesn't have any teeth yet, but he's been teething since a day or two after we got him in Korea, so we keep expecting to see one or two break through any day. Sometimes he's ok with diaper changes; other times he fights us through the whole thing. He doesn't mind getting undressed, but putting clothes on the little guy is like trying to wrestle jello!!

As soon as we returned from Korea, we made an appointment to get Calvin's hair cut, so he had his first US haircut two days after we got home. He sat very still for the haircut and didn't cry or fuss at all!!


The next day Calvin had his first visit doctor's appointment in the US. Our pediatrician was recommended by several other adoptive families in the area, and we love him! He has a lot of experience working with children adopted internationally - from Korea and other countries, which is very helpful. He said Calvin is in very good health, which we expected, but it was still nice to get that confirmation. :) Calvin did have to get two shots and a blood draw, which wasn't fun for any of us. The shots weren't too bad since they were over quickly, but the blood draw was simply awful. I watched as Brad and a technician held Calvin still while another technician put a needle in his arm and drew a vial of blood. It was horrible to watch - and I know it was even more horrible for Calvin, especially with all the other stress in his life at that point.

As far as Calvin's attachment to us, we are thrilled with how things are going. He's definitely learned that we take care of him, and he looks to us when he needs something. He's affectionate toward us and seeks us out when he wants a little mommy or daddy snuggle time. At the same time though, he's comfortable playing alone for a few minutes when we're busy with other things around the house. He enjoys our brief outings to church, Target, the zoo, or wherever, but he's generally very reserved right at first in a new place or when new people are around and clings a bit more tightly to one of us during those times.

We are so blessed to have our little boy home. We're enjoying getting to know him, and now that life is settling in a bit, we'll be posting more updates soon we hope!

The first three weeks in pictures

Things are going well here -- just not much time to update the blog lately. I'm working on a post with an update on how Calvin's doing, but for now here are some pictures of our first three weeks as a family of three.



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