Stripes

Memorial Day weekend, 2013, will go down in the history books as the weekend of stripes. Blessed by good friends who are creative, willing to help, dedicated and just generally awesome, we set aside some time over Memorial Day weekend to plan and paint the room that will be Oliver's. Lacking a desire to do any interior designing as well as experience painting anything beyond a solid color, I desperately needed help.

Enter Kate (creative team lead and experienced painter), Julie (pretty darn creative too, and experienced painter) and Rachel (amazing team encourager and experienced painter). Saturday morning brought brunch and sketching (by Kate) as we brainstormed some fun ideas to decorate Oliver's wall. Our inspiration: his Pottery Barn Kids bedding:

The Madras Quilt; Planning to partner it with navy black out curtains

The Plan: Paint three of the walls a light tan; paint the accent wall a light blue. Add stripes. STRIPES? I couldn't fathom how to paint vertical stripes on a wall. I'm sure there are a million online tutorials on how to do it, but if I was left to my own devices the decorating would have ended with tan and blue!

Saturday was our planning, purchasing and primary painting day. I will say, painting a room with four people goes much faster than my doing the second coat solo. Good thing I had my trusty audio book to keep me company!

The Stripes: After the walls dried and frog tape was purchased, we reconvened Monday afternoon to begin laying out the stripes. I'll admit -- panic ensued when our trusty creative director texted that she couldn't make it. What? The designer of the whole plan wouldn't be there? Oh no... but as luck would have it, Julie knew exactly what to do too. Whew. Double whew! She had us drawing lines in no time flat. 

The drawing of the lines was pretty easy, thanks to a few levels and eager participants. Deciding what colors go where...let's just say I'm extra thankful to some creative helpers! After a long tapping session we got down to business, painting all sorts of fun colors. 

When Tony initially saw the taped and painted wall, I think he was a touch leery about the how the whole thing would look. He kept saying "those are some bright colors". Early Tuesday morning I couldn't wait, so before he was even out of bed I had all of the tape removed. Wow! Amazing! And Tony agrees.

Here's the full wall -- sorry that the colors are off and the overhead light is playing into the photo.
It's the best I could do with a cell phone camera. You get the overall idea, though.

What a fun room this will be for a little boy! I cannot wait to meet him and get to know him -- once we know more about his interests and likes, we plan to add more themed stuff in his room. For now, we'll keep the decorations simple and let this awesome wall be the focal point.

Navy, green, orange, red and bright white -- all excellent matches with the bedding.
Now it's time to find some furniture!

Thank you! Thanks again Kate, Julie and Rachel (and Jen...while you couldn't be in there person you were there in spirit!). You blessed Tony and I with your willingness to help and I am so very grateful.

Package #8 and an Update

Since my last post we celebrated Mother's Day. For some of my friends it was their first day celebrating as a Mom (and more than one ended up with sick kiddos! welcome to mommy-hood), and for others it wasn't their first year as a Mom but the first year celebrating with a new little one in the family. Congrats to all of my Mom friends!

I was blessed to celebrate with my Mom in person this year, though earlier in the month when she came in for the adoption shower. We enjoyed luxurious facials (almost two hours of pure bliss) and had our nails done. It was wonderful! On Mother's Day we celebrated with Tony's family, enjoying brunch and some family time -- I think his Mom enjoyed the day. For me it was year #2 as a "kind of mom"...not actively being a Mom to anyone, but yet having this little guy that I already feel protective of, worry about and love deeply. Barring anything completely unforeseen, next year we will (finally) celebrate fully!

There are a few minor updates on the adoption process, though they could change at any time. Things are still very much in flux and I'm trying to take the updates with a grain of salt. More of a "yeah, we'll see what actually happens" kind of attitude. Here are a few things we've learned recently:

1. The family court judges have come together and decided that all families will be required to appear in court (both the adopting mother and father). The first group of families to fall under this decision will begin traveling soon as they have court dates in June. These are some of the families still remaining from 2012.

2. Given the requirement to appear in court, it is believed that we will need to make one long trip (4-5 weeks) or two trips of about 1 week each, with 3-4 weeks in between. Either way, we will only get to see Oliver 2 or 3 times; he won't be able to stay with us in Korea even if we chose to stay for the 4-5 weeks.

After this first group of families goes through the process, more will be known about the travel needs and whether the adoption will be finalized in Korea or here in the U.S. Since the beginning of international adoption in Korea, adoptions have been finalized in the family's home country (and for the U.S. this happens 5-6 months after coming home). With the addition of the Family Court process, it is possible that we'll be able to finalize everything before returning home, which would be fantastic.

So, we continue to wait. Long ago our goal was to celebrate Oliver's 2nd birthday with him here in Minnesota, but we have had to let that dream go. There's just no way we'll be with him for his special day. Therefore, we have put together a 2nd birthday package that we hope will be there in time for his birthday. Here's what the package includes:

• "Good Night Moon" and "Guess How Much I Love You" children's books; both in Korean and both books we also have here in English. We hope that the pictures and overall feel of the book will be similar and might help him feel comfortable as he learns English.
• Remote Control learning toy with songs, numbers, phrases and more
• Puerto Rico frog brought back from a cruise his Oma and Opa went on this past spring.
• Tube of toddler toothpaste (which was actually a shower gift!).
• Happy 2nd Birthday Card. 

Package #8 for Oliver's 2nd Birthday

Poor Simba...he'll just have to wait

What wasn't included? Simba. We were very sad that Simba didn't fit, though we had high hopes of stuffing him in! Instead we will keep it for him and give it to him in person. Or, if the wait is still several months long, we will try to send just Simba to him (he might fit if he's the only thing in the bag!). 

I could barely seal the bag!

I never thought I would have to stuff so much into one small bag. Package #8....wow!

Adoption Shower

Over a year ago, when Tony and I shared our news with his family, one of the first things they said was that they would like to throw us a shower to celebrate our new little one. I was so touched that they wanted to do this! Throughout our journey to parenthood there have been a number of things I've mourned. One of them was the opportunity to share in the various aspects of having a baby that most of my women friends have gotten to experience (and talk about with other moms). While there's little I can do to experience pregnancy or to have my own "birth story," celebrating with an adoption shower was just what I needed (and wanted)! Plus, let's be honest. A shower is far easier than growing and delivering a child! 

Fast forward to Sunday, May 5th. Adoption shower day! Hosted by four fabulous women: Kris (Tony's Aunt), Sarah (Kris' daughter-in-law and the one who bravely offered her home as the location), Britta (Tony's cousin/Kris' daughter), and Kristina (Kris' other daughter-in-law). Here's a photo of the lovely hostesses:

Left to Right: Kris, Sarah, Tonya, Britta, Kristina

Joining in the Minnesota celebration was a lone Missouri representative...my Mom (a.k.a. Oliver's Nana). I was so excited to have her visit, and so glad she could be part of the shower. Here's a photo of the "Moms": Barb (a.k.a. Oliver's Oma; Tony's Mom), the mom-to-be, and Debbie (my mom!):

Left to Right: Barb, Tonya, Debbie

There were quite a number of people at the shower and Sarah was an unflappable hostess! The food was plentiful, the decorations personal and adorable, and everyone was having a great time. As I've posted a few times recently, Tony and I have been on a roller coaster lately and it's been difficult to keep things moving, putting one foot in front of the other. This shower, and the chance to celebrate with and be encouraged by a mass of people who love our family, means more to me than words can express. Tony and I are truly blessed.

And Oliver...he's truly spoiled! Here are just a few photos of what our family and friend's generosity looks like:

Duplos!

Bath toys (we got a lot of those!)

His first fishing rod

We're going to start him early...

Now he can look like dad with his own flannel shirt

Hand knit socks, made by a friend. Very special!

He now has at least 6 different hats!

Outdoor fun!

Last but not least, flannel pants so he can lounge with us in style

Not only did we get a chance to celebrate Oliver's (eventual) arrival, but we had an opportunity receive so many blessings from so many people. Amazing. Thank you to all who were able to join in the festivities! I know that most of my family and some of my friends live too far away to make the trek north, but we're also appreciating all of your support and encouragement during this roller coaster ride, too. 

Oliver is certainly loved!

**Note: there are photos with actual attendees featured (not just me and gifts!), but not everyone likes to have their photo up online (sorry, Becca...I didn't ask you first! You're such a good friend, I figure I can buy you a drink next time we go out!). 

22 Months and Growing!

This morning we received an early Mother's Day gift -- three new photos of Oliver! 

He turned 22 months on Tuesday, which is when these photos were taken. He still has a full head of hair, is now over 30 pounds and is nearly 3 feet tall. WOW! How in the world am I going to be able to carry him around? It's not as if I've gotten used to carrying a baby...then a one year old...and now a 30lb little man. I'm going from zero to 30+ overnight! I may need to look at buying a sack of sand or something. :)

Here's a sneak peak, click on his page for more. Also coming soon -- a post on the adoption shower Tony's family hosted last weekend. What a blessing it was to be able to celebrate with friends and family in the midst of all the craziness.