Merry Christmas 2009

It was a good Christmas even though Jaemin remained sick through most of it.  He's still sick today.  He was actually better for Christmas Day and then late last night his temp came back.  I took him to the doctor today and they said it was just a really bad sinus infection ( 103 degree temp).  So he's on round 2 of antibiotics and she gave him a nose spray so he can breath.  He's not struggling with his lungs, so no neb or anything thank goodness!  But, my boy still enjoyed his first Christmas.

Christmas Eve was a little weird.  Since little man was still running a decent temp I insisted Brian and the other 4 go to his grandparents as planned.  They made a short trip there and came back a couple of hours later.  Jaemin and I ran to Wendy's for Christmas Eve dinner and I just held him; which is pretty much all I had done for the past 3 days.  Santa came while we went to Wendy's, so when Brian and the kids got home we had presents to open.

The boys came upstairs and Cole stood there and stared at Santa's gifts he'd left.  See, at our house, Santa doesn't wrap.  He just leaves them in birth order with name tags on each item.  I asked Cole what was wrong and he said he just couldn't believe it.  I asked what.  He said  he couldn't believe Santa really brought Guitar Hero and one for each of them....the two big boys.  The big boys also each got a game; dominoes and a little dice game.  They also each got a watch.  The girls each got an MP3 player, in pink of course.  Kaelin also got a card game and a watch.  Chelsi also got a card game.  The 3 older ones found silly string in their stockings to play with this summer.  Jaemin got 2 books, a stacking toy and a mega block truck.  The kids LOVED their Santa gifts.  Chelsi's MP3 player had Toes and Chicken Fry already loaded.  Her two favorite songs, so she really thought Santa "knows" her.

Mom and dad gave Cole a KU hat and Bass Pro card, Chase got mom's old camera and a football, Kaelin got zubber, Chelsi got a microphone, Little Pony and Little Pony movie and Jaemin got a baby baseball and tee.  The kids were in absolute Heaven with their loot.  Really it was the least expensive Christmas ever since grandma found the Guitar Heroes at Sam's for under $20 including the guitars and games and MP3s were under $20 too.  We may have spent $60 on the most expensive child.  Thank goodness our children are pretty simple.  I realize just how simple after hearing one of the nephews brag, at age 8, about getting a plasma tv in his room for Christmas.

But, this is not where our kids' Christmas ended.  They stayed up until 10:00 just playing with all their new things on Christmas Eve.  Could hardly get them in bed that night.  Then, on Christmas Day Jaemin's fever was gone so we went to the grandparents for breakfast.  All together, everywhere else, Cole got a RC plane, MP3 speakers, Walmart gift card, hoodie, PS2 game, hat, gloves and thermal shirt, Chase got a RC helicopter, 2 sets of magnetix, PS2 game, hat, gloves, thermal shirt, 2 hoodies, a journal and a Bass Pro card, Kaelin got so much cute clothes it was unreal, snow boots, rings and necklace, Chelsi got a RC car, robe, travel aqua doodle, Strawberry Shortcake backpack, puzzle, Barbie, baby pony, I Spy sort of game, monkey rainboots, a wagon and Christmas ornament,  Jaemin got grandpa's handcrafted toybox, fridge farm toys, a wooden puzzle, a play camera, truck, a wagon and money for his savings account.  All 5 kids got Cardinals shirts as requested.  We went to grandmas for dinner on Christmas Day with the whole family.  Yummy food and the kids played hard!  I think they're all pretty worn out, but they all have so much to do now, it almost seems they don't know where to start.

I think our favorite (mom and dad) gifts were the Bass Pro card and Kohls cards.  It's nice to feel like we can spend money on ourselves.  We generally don't.  Brian even saved his aluminum money and bought me a $50 Kohls card just for me.  It was really sweet considering we had put a $20 limit on what we were to buy each other.  He got me some headphones for my new MP3 player (from mother in law) and I got him MP3 speakers for his old MP3 player so he could listen at work.   One of my favorites are the new kitchen rags we got.  I was so tired of looking at the holy rags I had that were unraveling. And my new digital picture frame  LOVE IT!

I'm so thankful for my kids.  We may not have a lot of money to spend, but we have happy healthy kids that love their Christmas's no matter what.  They always think they're the best and I'm glad to have those kinds of kids.

The wagon for the littles, from grandpa



Playstation game, hats, gloves and thermals for the big boys from grandpa.









Chelsi had to use her new doctor's kit on daddy.



Jaemin found his belly, which was very full.



Going through sissy's backpack.



Jaemin and cousin A, eating monster cookies.

Checking off our adoption list/Baby Update for Christmas Illness

Adoption decree....done.....this makes Jaemin a US citizen, officially and legally our son, and changes his name (which we opted to keep his Korean name as his first name)

Birth certificate.....done.....Brian went with the adoption decree and picked up the birth certificate today.

Next, we'll go to SSA and get a new social security card in his new name (with our last name), so it will match on taxes.  And after we get our tax refund in 2010 I'll have the extra $500 to pay for the Certificate of Citizenship.  Yeah, that's a lot of money, but in order for them (the government) to officially change his status from legal resident to US citizen we do this.  It's better to cross all your t's and dot your i's while they're little and it's easy then when they are older and you have regrets for not completing everything possible.  After this we are completely done with every piece of paperwork possible!

I now have 5 little US issued birth certificates which will allow all of my children almost all of the same rights.  I won't even go into the ones our Korean-borns won't have 'cause it's kind of a sore point with most adoptive parents of internationally born children.

And, btw, my little man is still sick.  Not much on Christmas Eve I believe.  He's still got a slight temp and is a little crabby.  He mostly just wants mommy, so I literally sit for hours just holding him.  And he is sleeping in his toddler bed like such a big boys!  Now that he's in there he realized it's not so bad because before he goes to sleep mommy can crawl in with him and lay by him.  He does like that.  He just rubs my face and arm while I lay by him.  So SWEET!

Can you believe this is the same little guy who completely rejected me just a few months ago.  He's trusting us now.  That's a lot.

Lisa

Please give him a good Christmas

My poor baby is sick......again.  Hopefully, nothing major.  He started running a fever this evening and it progressively got higher, to 102.5, when I finally gave him some ibuprofen.  Brian ran to the pharmacy to refill some azithromycin.  He seems to chronically get these little sinus and airway problems like Chase did as a baby.  I swear it was every month with him and it is with Jae too.  I just pray he's not sick for Christmas.  His fever is warm enough to give him the really bright red cheeks since he's flush. He coughed up snot this morning (gross I know), but no fever, so I wasn't sure he was really sick.  He coughs a lot....poor baby.

My poor baby was sick on his first birthday, please don't let him be sick on his first Christmas with us.  I've been looking so forward to Christmas this year because of him.  Please make my baby boy better.

Lisa

YUM! sigeumchi namul

We had spinach side dish with sticky rice as our supper tonight.  We ate an aweful lot for lunch after finalization (Chinese) and were still pretty full at supper time, so we just made a light supper.  It was really good!  And for dessert we had Lois' Christmas cookies.  :)

Lisa

Wahooo!!! It's forever and official!

He's ours forever and ever.  I'm so glad to be done.  Only the certificate of citizenship to go, but I can do that at my leisure this Spring.  I'm just so happy that he's officially Jaemin William Park *******.  The judge and attorneys signed Jaemin's Happy Adoption Day book like they did with the girls too.  That was great.  She said we're still the only ones to ever have brought that book in for this.  She liked the idea.

He seemed to almost know what was going on all morning.  He's been all smiles all day.  Just happy with everything including the car ride, which is not normally him.  I could just look at him and he would smile real big for me.  When they say he's our responsibility forever now it just fills me with happiness because if we're responsible for him then he IS ours and we just love him so much!

What a happy day!  What a blessed mother I AM!!!!!!!!!






On the way to eat after court.





On the way home from everything.  Our newest American citizen was tired and so was big sis'.

Goofy bunnies

The girls wanted their picture taken since I was messing with the camera.  I told them to give each other bunny ears, assuming they both knew what that meant since big brothers do it all the time.  Well, apparently, Kae knew what it meant and she gave bunny ears, but Chelsi gave them to herself.

Too cute!



What a beautiful girl!

YES!

This is Jaemin's newest.  He's been shaking his shoulders and saying "uhuh" when he doesn't want something, but he really doesn't answer when it's yes.  Tonight, I asked him if he wanted to eat and he just looked at me.  I asked him to tell me yes and he, as big as he could, nodded.  Now when you ask a question he very honestly answers with either a huge nod or shaking his entire body for no.

He's is so funny.

Lisa