Reid's Official!

We went to the Noble Co. courthouse in Albion Friday November 18th.  We waited 10 minutes for the court room to free up.  In the meantime, 2 prisoners in orange jump suits wearing hand and leg chains passed by us.  Ava took it all in!!  And then of course, loudly, she says "what did that bad man do?"  And that "bad man" was a mere 4 feet away from where we were sitting waiting on the elevator.  Once we got into the courtroom, it was a very quick process.  We just had to testify that we could take care of Reid and then we verified our names and address.  That was it.  We took a couple pictures with the judge and then he hands us our adoption decree.  And we were on our way.  So Insung Lee is legally and officially Reid Cavanaugh now.  And he is a U.S. Citizen!

We're on the docket!

On November 18th Insung Lee will officially become Reid Cavanaugh and a U.S. Citizen!  Thankgoodness we are able to finalize his adoption in 2011.  We will now be able to claim the adoption tax credit in 1 lump sum!  It will be nice to put a large amount of money towards paying off Reid's adoption loan!

Halloween

We took Ava and Reid to the Zanesville Halloween party a week before Halloween.  I used to go to this party when I was little.  There is a costume contest for different age categories, hotdogs and nachos and bingo.  We stayed for the costume contest and Ava grabbed a hotdog.  Ava won 1st place for her Candy Corn Witch costume.  She won $5. (Remember this is super small town America!)  There were more kids than ever before at the contest this year.  I bet there was 20 kids in the 0-2 age category when usually there are 6 or 8.  Reid loved watching everyone. 

On Halloween we went to a Trunk or Treat in Ossian, we hit the retirement appartments, and then we went into Ossian's large housing addition.  Once he saw Ava trick or treat at the first house, he was set.  From then on he ran and screamed the entire 2 hours we were out.  He had the time of his life.  He was an absolute riot.  We never laughed so hard.  Next year, oh man, watch out!  Oh, and everyone thought I made his scrubs and Ava's witch dress.  LOL!

Ava's first day of Kindergarten

Ava freaked out when she saw the bus pulling up to our driveway.  She couldn't wait to get on.  She is the last one picked up on the morning bus route, so she has a 1-2 minute bus ride to school.  She gets picked up at 8:45 am and gets dropped off at 3:45 pm.  She came flying off the bus saying she had the BEST day!  Her bus buddy, the girl she sits with, was in her preschool class last year.  However, this girl lived in another town.  They moved to the street behind ours.  We had no idea!  Then, of course it had to be an eventful first day.  Ava tripped and skinned her knee at recess and had to go to the nurse.  Then she lost her lunch ticket that her teacher gave her in class, and finally, when Ava was done eating and was cleaning up she dropped her tray and some applesauce fell into her crocs shoes.  She said the janitor helped clean up her mess and her shoe.  Only Ava!!  She loved school!

Lake fun

We spent yesterday at Crooked Lake with our good friends, Shawn & Teresa Nicholson...and their 2 girls.  Our friends have a small place up there 1 block from the lake.   After 2 years they have finished the renovations, and invited us up.  What a great time!  So great to re-connect with friends again and the kids had a wonderful time.  They took us out on the lake in their boat.  We parked at a sandbar where the water was only 3' deep.  Our friends took all 3 girls out swimming, plus Reid.  Ava and Reid had no fear!  They had the best time ever!  Looking forward to next time!

Reid's 1st haircut

Reid got his first haircut tonight.  His hair is pretty thin.  He didn't have very much around the bottom of his head, just the upper back and top.  So, that is what got cut.  Now it doesn't look like he's wearing a wig.  ha!  He screamed bloody murder as soon as the apron was put on him.  It didn't matter that he was sitting in a race car that made noise.  So, I held him in a headlock and our hair lady cut fast.  Now his hair has a little texture to it.  Looks better~!

Starting off Summer

Last week we got Reid a water table.  He loves the water and can't get enough of it.  He's out there splashing everyday.  This weekend we took a trip to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.  Reid LOVED the zoo!  He was amazed by everything he saw.  He would point and scream and just had a good time.  He calls every animal he see's an "Eddie"....b/c our dog is named Eddie.  lol!  His favorite thing at the zoo was the Great Barrier Reef aquarium.  He went crazy for the fish.  And Ava's favorite thing to do at the zoo is brush the goats.  That just makes her day!  Reid wasn't afraid of the goats, even though they were eating his shirt, as long as I was nearby.

Ava's preschool graduation

Ava's preschool graduation ceremony was tonight at her school, Ossian Presbyterian Church.  She attended this school for 2 years and had the same teachers both times.  Miss Laurie and Miss Jacque.  Great teachers!  We will miss them.  Ava walked down the aisle by herself, stood up in the front of the church and recieved her diploma.  The class also sung several songs they have been working on for several weeks, like "If I were a butterly" and "My God is so Big".  In two more years, Reid will go to this school and have these teachers!

Reid's 1st Birthday

Reid's birthday was kept simple.  I only made one dol tower.  I went to an Korean market and got a couple kinds of Korean candy (that was very good) and some Korean moon pies.  That was all the more adventerous I could go with Korean treats for family members!  Reid's hanbok was big on him.  He wore the top and the hat.  The pants don't even fit my 5 year old, so it will be awhile before he can wear them!  Out of the doljabi items we had Reid choose from, he chose a ball....this is supposed to mean that Reid has a future in sports.  Reid was a little slow at wanting to get his hands in his birthday cake, so I pushed his hand in for him.  Once he tasted the frosting, it was all over.  Reid has a major sweet tooth.  He loved frosting!  He had frosting in his ears and nose too.  Daddy hosed him off in the tub!

Birthday Pictures

Reid turns "1" on May 24th.  Wow.  He's been home for only 6 weeks.  So glad we get to celebrate this special moment with him!  Ava turns "5" on June 23rd.  Her birthday is a sad one for me.  We accepted Ava's referral before she was even born and she didn't come home until she was 22 months old.  And now all the sudden she's 5!  What?  I tell Ava almost every single day to stop growing, but she doesn't listen to me!

Ava's news

Ava has started swimming lessons. She goes 2 times a week for the month of May. She has so much more confidence this year. Last year she would panic if her feet didn't touch the bottom of my aunt's pond. But this year, she jumps into the pool to her instructor. She trusts herself and the instructor enough now to float on her back and float on her stomach. She slipped off of a pool noodle in the deep end of the pool, which was 12'. She didn't freak!! I could see her trying to get to the surface of water. I bet she was under for 5 seconds before her instructor saw her and helped her up. When she surfaced, she was laughing! OMG!

And Ava got glasses. This came as a total shock. She went to get her free kindergarten eye screening, and the doctor said her eyes were bad! She has 'severe' astigmatisms on both eyes, and she is far-sighted. Poor kid, no wonder she had trouble writing and why she always sat 3' away from the tv. She loves her glasses and that she can SEE now. She's doing great with them!

Paper lanterns at last!

Well, 5 weeks after coming home from Korea, I finally found the time to hang up Reid's paper lanterns.  This is one of the things I've wanted to do the most in his room.  Now he has something to gaze at when he's on the changing table.  ha!  4 teeth so far, but very soon there is another tooth on the bottom going to pop through!

Life at home

We have been home from Seoul for 3 weeks now.  Reid screamed since the minute we got to see him at the foster mom's apartment.  He wanted nothing to do with us.  I was okay with it, but it was really sad to see him grieving for a couple weeks.  After 2 weeks home, that was the turning point.  Reid realized that we were his mommy and daddy and his grieving seemed to stop.  He would wake up around 5 times a night, and get a bottle for 1 of those times.  But now that we're into our 3rd week home, he's doing so well.  He sleeps a lot better.  On average he only wakes up 2 times a night.  He loves our puppy dogs and his big sister.  He can't get enough of her!  He's turned into such a mellow, happy little guy.  He is so content most of the time to just play with his toys.  His favorite thing right now is the Little People Barn.  He does NOT want held or carried unless he is having a bottle.  He's just too busy to be held.  Yeah for my back!!  Life is good!  Here are a couple pictures from Korea and a couple from home.

We are home!

From leaving the hotel in Seoul to pulling into our driveway, we were in transit for 31 hours!  That was a lot to handle.  I have never gotten the feeling of having motion sickness until now...until the long flight over the Pacific!  Ugh.  Seoul was cold, and I didn't have my winter coat.  I didn't care for the food and lost weight.  Starbucks just wasn't enough to keep the pounds packed on.  lol!

From the moment we got Reid, he has been screaming.  He screams nearly 20 hours a day.  He has been good about eating for us.  He likes strawberries, kiwi, and banannas for fruit and he's tried a jar of turkey and rice and cinnamon granola.  I've started switching his formula over from the SWS formula to Similac.  For this week, he gets just 1 scoop of Similac.  Will increase it each week.  Reid only wants my husband to hold him.  He is the only one who can somewhat passify him.

We are not sure what name the foster mom called him.  Reid does NOT respond at all to his Korean name of Insung Lee.

So, so glad we were in Seoul and the same hotel as our new friends...Daniel and Elisabeth.  We have NO idea what we would have done without them.  Seoul would not have been enjoyable.  So happy to have people to talk to, to eat meals with and to sight see with.  What a blessing!

Couple items of advice for upcoming people going to Seoul:
-check the weather very good before you leave...so see if you need warmer clothes like gloves or a coat
-take lots and lots of snacks with you...there are no chips of any kind there that resemble chips from the U.S.
-do not travel to Seoul Tower at night by Taxi without knowing how to get back to your hotel
-do not mention to any Korean people, other than the hotel, that you are adopting.  They are very ashamed that we are 'taking' their babies...I got some weird looks and silence
-be prepared to have Koreans cut in line in front of you, push you, and pretty much anything else they want to do...the younger generation is more mannerly, but the elders think they have the right of way in every situation.  I was holding Reid, who had a very dirty diaper, waiting in line to use the bathroom on the airplane and this old Korean lady tries to go in ahead of me.  She came out of no where.  She was no waiting in line.  After a week of dealing with rude people (mostly on the subway), I was at my limit.  So I pushed her aside and went in!
-you do not have to dress as formal as your agency makes it appear when you have to go to SWS and FF house.  Dockers are fine!

Travel Call!!!!!!!

We got our travel call today.  Late today.  My agency was supposed to CALL my social worker when the travel notice came in.  My social worker had her phone glued to her all day.  And then she thought she'd better check her email.  And there it was...our travel notice!  UGH.  When you say you're going to call, then you'd better call!

We are leaving Indy tomorrow morning at 7 am!  We are taking United Airlines for part of the flight and then taking Asiana for the 2nd half of the flight.  We are staying at a Ramada in Central Seoul.  This was an amazing feat as all hotels are sold out in this area!  We are staying 1 week.

Reid, here we come!

Ugh.

No travel call, no response from our agency, and can't get ahold of the Dept. of State.    Blah!!

P3!!

I called the U.S. Dept. of State Visa Office in Washington D.C. this morning and got good news.  They said yesterday, 3/16/11, our P3 packet was sent from the Embassy in Seoul to SWS.  Travel is near, very near!! Any time now!  :)

NVC OUT!!

Holy smokes!  We are NCV out!  I called the National Visa Center tonight and they informed me that they had forwarded Reid's paperwork to the Embassy in Seoul!  We are literally waiting for the phone to ring now with our travel call!!!  It could be any day now.

NVC IN!!

I called the NVC (National Visa Center) tonight.  They are open until midnight.  That's insane, but good for all of us who are waiting! They said our paperwork was logged in sometime between 9:30 pm and midnight last night.  I am hopeful that by Monday we will be NVC OUT!  This means when we are "out" that Reid's Visa is sent to Seoul and our travel call is SOON to follow!!

I-171

We got our "Official" I-600 approval today.  USCIS approved our I-600 on Friday March 4, and we got our I-171 letter in the mail on Monday March 7!  WOW!!!  Hurry up travel call!!!!

WE'RE APPROVED!

I was supposed to get our I-600 approval letter in the mail by today.  When it didn't show up, I decided to call USCIS.  So glad I did!  I spoke with my officer and she said that our I-600 was approved at 11 am today!!!  Yeah!   Our paperwork will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) this coming week.  The NVC will issue Reid's visa and then send it to Seoul.  We should be traveling soon.  Maybe in 2-3 weeks!

pbs news hour Guatemala

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/02/preview-picturesque-guatemala-overwhelmed-by-violence-poverty.html

Milestone

Today, our baby boy turns 9 months old.  We are thinking of you Reid and wish we could give you a big hug!........and hop on a plane to come get you right now!  You will be home soon!

Locks (not hair) of Love

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2010/09/181_34302.html

Craig and I are so excited to do this.  We planned on going to the Seoul Tower anyway.  Craig is going to etch Reid's name on the lock with his tools.  He said writing a name on a lock with a sharpie will only last a years time. Can't wait to take a picture!

A little update...

I called Immigration today and spoke to the officer handling our case. This is the first time I've ever called Immigration for this adoption or our previous one. Our officer said our I-600 would be processed today! It was the last file she grabbed for her short stack and put on her desk this morning.

When she approves our case, she will mail it (2nd day air) to the Visa Center in New England. It usually takes them 4 days or so to do what they have to do. Then, finally, they will send our stuff to the Embassy in Seoul. So, it's not out of the question to have our 'stuff' in Seoul for Reid's Visa within 10 days! Our travel notice should come a couple weeks after that! Wow, we're getting down to the wire!


Oh, the lady said Immigration loves to process Korea paperwork because everything is in order and nothing is missing. It's very easy for them. Yeah!! And because our pictures and info on Reid is 5 months old now, our agency emailed Korea today to ask for a progress report. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to get that. In 2 days Reid turns 9 mo. old!

Reid's blanket

My grandma made every grand child and great grandchild a blanket like this.  I thought it was only fitting for Reid to have one too.  I just finished it.  Whew!  I believe Reid would have been the 27th great grandchild.

Another Guatemalan journey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wevi-IGJfRA


The lady who wrote this book, is sending me an autographed copy!  Watching this video clip brought back every memory and emotion I had during Ava's process.  Craig and I are convinced after reading the book that the agency used is the SAME one we used.  Every detail, 100% of them add up!  100%!  This is the best book we've read!!