I am still not sleeping but again Kathryn slept well! We went to bed at about 8:30 and I woke her up at 9:30! This girl sure can sleep! Not that I am complaining! Kathryn woke up happy again and drank her bottle and ate breakfast. I got her dressed, took Brian to school, and went out to run some errands. I left Sean, Justin, and Kathryn with their dad! It felt so good to get out! Even though I love Kathryn so much already, I had spent about 6 days with her. Since we are sleeping together, well she is sleeping, that means I have had her next to me for about 23 hours a day! Give or take a few minutes for bathroom trips and showers! I went to Target and Buy Buy Baby, nothing too exciting but it was nice to have a bit of personal space!
Kathryn is still a bit clingy today and definitely still prefers me, but she is doing better and better. A friend came over today with her daughter to visit and drop off an exersaucer for me to borrow. It was great to see her! Kathryn did well with the new faces and seeemed sad to see them go!
After they left, I decided to try something new. I wanted to see, just for fun, what would happen if I put Kathryn down for a nap in her crib. She is adjusting so well, that I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I put her down with Justin a little after 12:30. She cried froa bout 2 minutes and was quiet. I am assuming she was asleep because she was quiet but there was no way I was risking going in to check! She slept for a little over an hour! I was shocked and amazed to say the least!
Things went so well with her nap that I decided to try her in the crib at bedtime too! Again it worked like a charm. And again it only took her a few minutes to stop crying! I couldn't believe that she was doing so well, or that I had been suffering on the floor for nothing! Although, I wouldn't change a thing. It was nice to be with her sleeping those first few nights, maybe it was what she needed then. Maybe it has helped her bond to me and adjust to life in our busy family!
She went to bed at about 8pm, then about 10 pm she started whining a bit. My heart sank! Was this too good to be true? Thankfully she only fussed a few minutes and then went back to sleep!
Kathryn slept well again last night - about 13 hours! The problem is that I am not sleeping well at all! Even though I have the floor well padded, it is still not a bed. Kathryn moves around so much when she is sleeping! I am so afraid she is going to hurt herself or that I will hurt her by rolling over on her, so that makes it hard to sleep. And I am a very light sleeper, so everytime she moves I wake up!
She woke up happy to see me again and drank her bottle in record time. We decided to brave an outing and took her to Brian Jr.'s basketball game. After she fussed a bit in the car seat, things went well in the car. I was prepared to take her back home if she got overwhelmed, but she couldn't have been happier with all the attention! A few ladies tried to grab her from me and I had to put a stop to that! She was smiling and blowing raspberries at everyone! A few lucky little girls even got some kisses blown to them! She seemed interested in the game and even clapped along with the parents! When we were leaving, she waved goodbye to everyone as we walked across the gym. It was as if she were a princess waving as she rode in a parade! This little girl is too much!
After basketball the grandparents stopped by, and she was all smiles for them too! She handed and took toys from them and was such a flirt! She ventured out of my lap for a bit too, but quickly returned for some comfort! It is great to see her becoming more and more comfortable with her surroundings as the days go on. She is one amazing little girl and I am so proud of how well she is adjusting!
She also ate well again today and is interacting more and more with her brothers! They love her to death, although Justin has a few small issues about being displaced from his baby position in the family. He wants to be spoon fed, he wants a bottle, and he wants to be held more but all this is perfectly normal. Brian and Sean did the same types of things when I brought a new baby home too. If I only could get some sleep, things would be close to perfect!
Well, I almost cannot believe I am typing this, but Kathryn once again slept like a champ! She fell asleep right at about 2 am when we went to bed, and I woke her up at a little after noon today! She whined a bit when she woke up and then was all smiles! We woke Brian Jr. up at 1:30 pm! She took her bottle from me, made good eye contact and smiled too! She has definitely attached herself firmly to my hip. I know a lot of it is that she has been through so much in the last few days, and some of it is normal behavior for am 11 month old. My boys were with me from birth and all went through a stage right before a year where they cried whenever I left the room.
As the day went on she continued to do better. She didn’t cry after the initial hand-off to Brian, as long as I left the room and she couldn’t see me. She could be laughing and clapping and so happy and then if she spotted me, she lost it! She would start crying, pushing Brian away, and reaching for me! Her swift change was almost funny! I am glad that she is attaching and bonding to me, but it is hard to not be able to do anything!
Kathryn ate well all day and really began interacting with us and the boys. She copied their hand motions, clapped, laughed, smiled, waved, blew raspberries, and clicked her tongue! She was pulling out all of her tricks! She makes a dog barking sound whenever she sees our dog Roc, and even made a monkey sound when she saw a monkey in a book! She says num, num when she wants something to eat and sometimes also rubs her belly while she is eating. I guess she is saying the food is good? I cannot believe how well she is doing after only a few days! I never expected her to be this well adjusted this quickly!
At dinner time, our good friends stopped by to say hello. Kathryn was a little skeptical at first but never cried. They brought her presents and she had fun pulling tissue paper and ripping the wrapping paper. She got a really cute jean jumper and an Asian baby doll. Our friends have three kids, and I was afraid all the commotion would scare Kathryn. Nope, she seemed to thrive on it. She didn’t leave my arms at all in the beginning. Then I sat with her on the floor and she ventured a few inches from me to retrieve a toy! When she got it, she turned to look at me and immediately cried. This went on for about an hour, each time she got a little further and each time she came back to me crying!
She interacted well with our friends, she took toys and snacks from their hands, and went closer and closer to them as the night went on. She still came back to me for comfort every few minutes, so I made sure I stayed very close by. It was so wonderful to see her real personality emerging and to see her trusting enough in us and her surroundings to leave the safety of my arms once in a while, even it was only for a moment or two! She just seems to have such an outgoing personality and thrives when she is around people and receiving attention, again as long as I am holding her or very close by! I really hope things continue to go this well!
Even though she moved around the whole night, Kathryn slept better than I could have ever imagined. We went to bed about 8:30 pm and she woke up at 7:30 am! She cried a little bit when she saw me but was okay after a few minutes. She drank her bottle and we headed down to breakfast. She ate some rice and scrambled eggs and drank a little apple juice.
After breakfast a car came to pick us up to take us to the Boeing offices in . We were meeting with my father-in-law’s friend. He and his administrative assistant we a big help with the adoption and provided us with a lot of information about ! We talked for about an hour and then headed back to the hotel. Kathryn was great the whole time and even smiled and waved to people in the office. The driver took us back to the hotel and we decided to go for a walk again. I wanted some pictures of Kathryn in . We went down to the closest small palace, it was a nice day again, not quite 60 degrees, but warm enough and sunny!
We ate lunch at Dunkin Donuts (for Brian Jr) and found out Kathryn likes bagels with cream cheese! She was taking huge bites of my bagel! We finished packing and Kathryn had another bottle before the van arrived to take us to the airport. It was so sad to be leaving , I really hope the we can go back one day soon! Well, not too soon, it will be awhile before I want to spend 24+ hours traveling again!
The van ride went well and Kathryn fell asleep for about 30 minutes. It was great to see , on the way to the hotel it was dark and we couldn’t see very much. Kathryn was wonderful in the airport! But as soon as we boarded the plane she started to cry. I think she was over tired and fighting sleep. She took her pacifier, which I was glad because I didn’t want her ears to hurt. After about 20 minutes of pure screaming, she finally gave in and fell asleep. She slept for about 8 of the 10 hours to ! Which was wonderful for us, and the other passengers, but my back and butt were in serious pain from being in one position for that long. As a friend said, those soft cushioned seats seemed to turn to granite!
We sailed smoothly through immigration, customs, and security, or so we first thought! Then we were told that we had to get our checked luggage and re-check it onto our flight! No one ever told us this and it would have been nice to know! In they asked if our luggage was going to and we said yes. On the way to we did not have to get our luggage in , but apparently the wants you to recheck luggage from international flights. But once we passed through security we were not allowed back in and had to wait for someone from Singapore Air to escort us back to the luggage area. The security guard told us to walk down the long hallway and upstairs to find someone. I told them no, how about you call someone down here! Someone arrived shortly and about fifteen minutes later our luggage was rechecked in!
Then we had to go downstairs to get our boarding passes. I went to the automated system and Brian and Brian Jr.’s tickets printed with no problem. When I tried to do the same for Kathryn and I, we ran into trouble. It said something about rechecked luggage on the screen and told me to go to additional services. I asked someone where that was and they pointed to a long line of about 30 people! Just what I needed! My back was already throbbing from having Kathryn in the front carrier for so long, and now I needed to stand in another line!!! When it was finally my turn, after about 20 minutes of standing in line, the man took our passports, typed something in his computer, and then printed our boarding passes! I have no idea why I had to wait in line for that!
By the time we got to , I was done. I was in a lot of pain, hadn’t slept in way too long, and was getting delirious. I felt sick and dizzy and ready to just crash on the floor in the middle of the airport! I did manage to eat some lunch and laid down on a bench for about 10 minutes before we had to board the flight. Even though she cried for a bit, I had to hand her over to Brian and catch a little rest. I slept for about an hour and a half and felt much better. I guess it was the power nap that I needed! Kathryn again slept most of the flight home – this time a little with me and lot with her dad! Thank goodness because I might not have made it with her the whole flight!
Many of the passengers on the flight, and the flight attendants made a big fuss over Kathryn. They made the typical comments about how lucky she was and what good people we were. I assured them that we were the lucky ones to have her! They all could not believe how happy and adjusted she was, especially after hearing we had only picked her up the day before! I have to say the trip was difficult at times, but so much smoother than I ever imagined. If I had more sleep going into the flight, I think things would have been perfect! I never slept all night in and most nights I went to bed around 10:30-11:00 pm and was wide awake at 4:00 am!
Kathryn was all smiles when we got off the plane and was waving and babbling to everyone in the airport. She was laughing and seemed so happy, it was almost if she knew she was home. Either that or she was so overjoyed to be finished with airplanes! Lots of people on the plane were saying goodbye and wishing us luck! The flight attendants were all in love with her too! Our journey out of this airport was smooth as could be. We got off the plane, found our luggage right away, and got into our friend Denise’s car within about a half an hour of landing!
Kathryn cried when we put her in the car seat and then fell asleep within a few minutes. She cried and cried when we got back to our house. My mom was there with Sean and Justin, she said hi for a minute and then went home. Because Kathryn was crying so much, Sean and Justin woke up and came downstairs. They were really cute with Kathryn! Justin suddenly looked so old to me! I got tons of hugs and kisses from the boys, we showed them the gifts that we got for them, and had some Korean candy. It was almost 2 am when we all went back to bed! I was so sure that Kathryn would not sleep because she had slept most of the trip home. But we went upstairs and after a minute or two of fussing, she went right to sleep once again!
Today we woke up to the sound of rain! I couldn’t believe it, rain on the day we pick up Kathryn! It was a light rain though, so I guess it could have been worse. Because of the rain we decided to visit a mall and go to the place where we could get name stamps for Kathryn and the boys. In , most people have a name stamp. They use it for signing their names. We took the boys’ and Kathryn’s names in Korean and had the man make stamps with their Korean and English names on them. As he worked we shopped in the mall. We got some great things for Kathryn when she gets older – a jewelry box, some celedon vases, a purse, a cosmetic case, metal chopsticks, a pillow cover, and a wall hanging. Brian got a Korean Air plane, he picked our Mario and Luigi key chains for Justin and Sean, and we found a small Korea Red soccer jersey for Justin!
The women in the shops were crazy. When they saw us walk by, they ran to the front of the store telling us things we cheap and asking us to buy whatever they were selling. It was nuts! When the man was finished making the name chops, we quickly grabbed a taxi to our hotel. We had just enough time to grab a few things, freshen up before we had to catch another taxi to pick up Kathryn! We brought a plant for Kathryn’s foster mother – something from Kathryn to say thank you. We thought of flowers but didn’t want her to watch them die, so decided on a nice plant from a flower store.
As soon as we walked into Holt, I started to tear up. I could tell her foster mom was getting emotional too and that made my eyes tear up even more. The nurse showed me over to a baby and insisted that it was my friend’s baby. I thought maybe the baby looked familiar from the Holt forum, but I wasn’t sure. So, I decided to go with the flow and take pictures of the cute little boy! He was shy at first but soon warmed up to us and even gave us a few smiles! I figured it was best to take pictures and ask questions later, I know I would want someone to do the same for me! We waited around for about 15 minutes downstairs until we went upstairs to sign papers and get all our stuff to leave.
I had to really hold back the tears upstairs. We signed our paper work and were given Kathryn’s chart – her medical reports, and schedule and other important papers. We got a big blue diaper bag with a carrier, a can of formula, two bottles, a pair of pjs, socks, some snacks, and Tylenol. Her foster mother gave us a bag with her pacifier, some baby food, snacks, and spoons. We gave the foster mother her plant and DJ said it was about time to go. The foster mother asked for a moment to say goodbye. I handed her Kathryn and she walked to the other side of the room and turned around to talk to her. It was really hard to watch. After a few minutes she handed her back to DJ, who handed her to me. DJ translated that the foster mom said she knows she is going to a good family and that we will take good care of her. I told her that we love Kathryn already!
We headed out the door and her foster mother asked if she could carry her to the taxi. I said of course and handed her back. We were both crying in the elevator – both tears of happiness and sorrow. When the taxi arrived, she kissed Kathryn on last time and handed her to me. Then she took my hand and squeezed it tightly as she bowed and said thank you to me in Korean. I did the same and also told her thank you in Korean. We got into the back of the taxi with Brian Jr. and Brian Sr. got into the front. I held Kathryn up to the window to wave goodbye and to blow kisses to her foster mom.
We were all pretty quiet on the ten minute ride back to the hotel. I was crying and so was Brian Jr. Kathryn was still very happy and content and did not cry at all. I was so surprised! We got back to the hotel and she was fine for a few minutes. Then she really started crying. After about an hour, we decided to take her outside for some distractions. As soon as we left the room and walked toward the elevator, the tears stopped. We took a walk around the block and then sat out front of the hotel for a little while. We decided to go back upstairs and as soon as we got in the room, her tears started again. Her foster mom did say that she loves to be outside, so we thought maybe that was part of the problem. It was strange because outside she was full of smiles and giggles, and inside tears! I tried to give her a bottle and she wanted no parts of it. So, again we went back outside and she took a bottle with no problem while sitting out front of the hotel. Crazy girl!
And when we got back inside the room, I bet you can guess what happened, more tears! The boys ordered room service and as soon as the food came, she was distracted by that. She reached for French fries and flashed a cute scrunched up face smile as if to say I’m so cute, you have to let me steal your fries! She was good and even ventured away from me for a bit. Then when the food was gone, she got upset again. It was getting close to 8 pm, so we put her pajamas on and I got her a bottle. This time she drank it right away and seemed happier.
I pulled the mattress off the bed onto the floor since she is used to sleeping on the floor with her foster mom. I took her in the room and turned of the lights. She cried for a bit and was really fighting against me when I tried to lay her down. I gave up and she immediately sat up. She whimpered a bit more, and then leaned over to put her head down. A few minutes later, she was fast asleep. I was so surprised! And she slept on her belly and wouldn’t take her pacifier at all. Which was opposite of what we were told! Her foster mom said she slept on her back and needed her pacifier to fall asleep! But she was right about her moving a lot while she was sleeping, I don’t think there is an inch of the mattress that she didn’t cover. Since she was so active, I got very little sleep!
We started off the day with another great breakfast and then met our tour guide in the lobby of our hotel for a city tour. She is in college and studying business. We met up with another adoptive parent, John, and headed for in a taxi. This was the same palace where we saw the changing of the guards on Sunday. We took a tour of the grounds, and along the way met up with our second tour guide! She was also very nice. Both girls spoke English so well! The palace was amazing, the buildings and the colors and the architecture were so neat! The pictures do it better justice than my words ever could! We also went in the art museum on the palace grounds, it was very small but great to experience.
After the palace we took a walk, we ended up at a small stream, Cheonggyecheon, through the middle of . The guides told us that the Japanese filled in the river when they occupied , and it was hidden for decades. It was restored in 2003, and it means a lot to the Koreans to now have the river again. It was really beautiful. It started with a waterfall and then flowed down the street. In many places there were small bridges (22 total), and even stepping stones to get to the other side in a few places. Brian Jr. really liked hopping on the stones across the river. There was a small marble box under water at one place along the river, after the tour guides went down and threw coins in, Brian followed. He missed on his first one, and then got the next two tries into the box. It meant that he got two wishes. He told us that he wished for McDonalds!
We went back up to street level and continued to walk a bit further. Brian Jr. wanted to go to a book store, so the girl took us! Brian got paper model of the N Seoul Tower or and I got two books for Kathryn. One was a story all in Korean about a Tol – the celebration of a baby’s firs birthday. And the other one was Aesop’s Fables – one page was in Korean and the opposite page in English. One of the girl’s friends caught up with us too. He was from , and the two of them met in . He was in for a few weeks to visit – his English was just about perfect!
After the bookstore, we looked for a place to have lunch. The girls lead us down some back alley and made a bunch of turns – we would have never found the restaurant without them, let alone ordered he spread that appeared. The food was incredibly good, and seemed to never stop coming! We had bean soup, a shrimp salad, fish, pork with hot peppers, seafood pancakes, crawfish, bulgogi, gelatin noodles, huge mushrooms with beef wrapped around them, and kimchi. I know I am probably missing a few things. But I took pictures of everything! We ate sitting on the floor in a little house. It was so much fun for the first twenty minutes and then our western legs became very sore!
It seemed like the food just kept coming and coming and coming! I don’t think I have ever had a better meal, or had so much food and so many different foods on the table at once! The girls told us it was a king’s meal. After the meal, they brought us two kinds of tea – they were both cold. One was a rice tea and the other was a fruit tea. They were both very sweet and refreshing. One of the girls told us that the fruit tea was good for your liver and that her dad always had it after he drank alcohol.
We were all very full, so the walk around Insadong was just perfect. There were so many shops, and so many people. We saw small trees with tiger tags on them. People were writing wishes on the trees and hanging them in the trees. We visited some stores and got some souvenirs to take home – chopsticks, spoons, a Korean flag, small cups, a Korea Red soccer jersey, and wedding ducks. One store was selling a honey candy. A young guy started with a block of honey and stretched it and twisted it until is became very fine. Then he wrapped it with a nut filling. The guys was so funny and did his talk about how to make the candy in English. He kept saying OMG, Oh My God whenever he twisted the honey another time. It was so funny! The candy was delicious and kind of reminder me of peanut chews! As we were leaving the guy said – See you late alligator! We explained to the girls that one kid would say “see you later, alligator” and another would answer, “after a while, crocodile.” They thought that is was very funny!
Then we took a taxi up to the tower. Historically, it was used as a post for defending . The taxi ride was a bit crazy – as they are in any major city! But we made it to the mountain! After he let us off, we had a pretty good steep hike up to the tower. When we got up there, we walked around outside to look at the city from the observation decks. On one side, there were five stone smoke stacks. They would light fires inside the stone stacks and the smoke would warn people in the city that danger was near. The more smoke there was, the greater the danger. So, if one smoke stack had a fire it was a small warning, but if all five were billowing out smoke, then it was a huge emergency! We wondered it this came to be the five-alarm fire!
We took and elevator up to the observation deck of the tower. The view was incredible! The tower is in the middle of the city, so by walking around the tower, you can see the whole city below! It looks different from the cities I am used to seeing because there were mountains dotting the landscape in between the sky scrapers! We got lucky and it was a clear day so we could see everything. After the observation floor we walked down and to an outside deck. All along the fence there were locks. We laughed because some of the locks were combination locks – I guess those couples were not too sure about their relationships! It is a tradition to come as a couple, put a lock on the fence, and then throw the key over the side. But, there were signs every where that said not to throw keys off the tower! The girls said it was a very popular spot to get engaged.
We walked back down the tower and by the time we caught the bus, all of us were exhausted! We took the bus and then the subway back to our hotel. The tour was supposed to end at about 2:30, but we didn’t get back to our hotel until about 7:00! Earlier in the day, the girls had offered to take us anywhere we wanted to go – even after the tour ended.
As we walked in the door to our room, the phone was ringing. It was Holly – we met online through the Holt forum and have been together most of the process! We even got our travel calls the same day! She has three, soon to be four kids! Her oldest is adopted from and the other three from . We decided to meet for dinner in front of Holt. She knew of a great restaurant and I was excited for more Korean food! We also met Olivio – he is an adult adoptee and from . It was simply amazing to meet him and to hear his story about traveling to his birth country.
We had bulgogi for dinner and our waitress cooked it right on the table. It was served with rice and lettuce leaves. You could take a leaf, add rice, bulgogi, and side of a hot red pepper sauce, garlic, tofu, kimchi or whatever you liked! The food was really good and it was nice to meet Holly in person after only communicating online! I was so tired when I got back to the room at about 10:00, and very proud of myself for navigating the city alone! Don’t worry I was careful and the city is very busy and safe at night! The subway and streets were almost as packed at 10:00 last night as they were at rush hour! I have never seen full subway cars, crowded crosswalks and bumper to bumper traffic at 10:00 pm before!
We were all up very early this morning! I was up at about 4 am and the boys at about 6:15! I guess we were all too excited to sleep knowing that we would be meeting Kathryn today! Brian Jr. was very crazy and going crazy in the room! We finally made it to breakfast at about 8:30 – it was about the same food as yesterday.
After breakfast, we went in search of the Kyobo bookstore. We actually found it, but didn’t realize that we had found it until much later! We did see some neat statues and had a good walk though the city. Now that we know where the bookstore is, we can go back soon! We had our map out a few times and a nice man dressed in a suit said hello to us and asked if we needed any help. At that time we were fine, but it was really nice of him!
We stopped, again, at a Dunkin Donuts and ordered bagels to bring back to the room for lunch. We also went to a 7-11 convenience store to get some drinks for the room. We left for our 3 pm meeting at Holt at about 1:30, we knew we would arrive really early but didn’t want to be late because we got lost! And it turns out we did get lost once, and had to ask someone for help. We got bad directions because we were sent to the old Holt Office building, not the new one!
We went into the building, after taking some photos of the outside! We asked for DJ, and were directed to the second floor. She met us with a smile, and let us wait in a room until our meeting at 3 pm. She gave us some bottled water and showed where the bathrooms were. We looked around the room, there was a Holt calendar with cute baby photos, some books, baby toys, and lots of seating.
While we were waiting, I just happened to look out the window and saw a baby boy joining his family forever. The baby was asleep on his foster mother’s shoulder. She handed the baby to his mom and she carefully got into the cab with him. The dad went into the front seat, and they drove away waving. The neat part is that I got to see what happened after the family drove away!
The foster mom was smiling and waving until the taxi drove down the street. Then DJ took her arms, they looked at each other, squeezed arms, and smiled! It is like they knew that things were going to be wonderful for that little boy! Of course, by the time they went back into the building, I was a mess. I could not control my emotions and just started crying tears of joy! I wondered how I could ever get through the meeting with Kathryn without a huge box of tissues!
A few minutes later, DJ came to get us and we moved to another room. She asked us about our flight, the weather, our hotel, our stay here, and golf. She said her husband is a single digit handicap! She asked Brian if he would want to play with him, and then quickly remembered that it wasn’t really golf season! DJ then asked if we were ready to meet our daughter and said that she was here! DJ would be back to translate for us and the foster mother.
She left the room and came back with Kathryn! She was so cute! I knew she was cute from the photos – but nothing can compare to seeing her in person! Kathryn was happy and smiling and friendly with us. Brian held her first and she seemed okay for a few minutes. She was looking to make sure her foster mother was around, but apart from whining a few times, she was great!
I got to hold her and so did Brian Jr. She really liked her big brother, or oppa as he would be called in Korean. I even got to feed her a bottle, she let me, and she made and held eye contact with me! She drained her bottle very quickly and then cried for more. Her foster mom said she always does that but she never gives her more. Well, almost on cue, the bottle was finished and Kathryn whined for more. Her foster mother had to hide the bottle before she would stop whining! Then DJ came back with some potato puff snacks. Kathryn loved them! She handed one to Kathryn, and then handed the bag to Brian. It was so great to see them interact with one another! Brian kept feeding her the snacks, and if he wasn’t fast enough she screamed and let him know she wanted more! Brian was talking to her and playing with her feet, she was smiling and laughing the whole time. Well, when she wasn’t screaming for more!
Her foster mother said she likes her bottles warm, she loves all food and would eat all the time if she could! She eats rice cereal and rice with tiny pieces of vegetables in it. She can even drink water from a cup without making a mess! She eats 3 meals a day and gets 2 bottles a day. She doesn’t get one in the middle of the night anymore. (thank goodness)
Kathryn sleeps on the floor on a mattress with her foster mother. She usually sleeps from 8 pm to 6 am, but needs a pacifier to go to sleep and sometimes needs it in the middle of the night also. She told us that she moves around a lot in her sleep. Kathryn usually takes one nap for about 1 ½ to 2 hours. She always sleeps on her back. She can say omma and appa too! And her favorite toy is the photo book that we sent her. Kathryn also really likes a Winnie the Pooh phone that the foster mother will send with her on Thursday. She told us that she doesn’t like her teeth brushed at all!
Her foster mother kept saying how smart she was. She told a story about playing peek-a-boo with her. Kathryn kept anticipating where her foster mother would appear next based on the pattern from before! She also told us that Kathryn is advanced for her age in so many ways. And she had fostered 9 nine babies before Kathryn – 2 were adopted domestically and 7 were adopted internationally.
We heard a story about Kathryn in the walker. We were told that she is so fast in it that they joke she is flying. Then she showed us photos of Kathryn in a Superman outfit! They dressed her in that because she is always moving so fast! Her foster mom said she was really fast when she crawls too, and that she likes to climb! Kathryn doesn’t like to wear shoes – darn, I have some really cute ones at home! We were also told she is a Daddy’s girl!
We also learned that Kathryn likes to do things herself and is very independent. She is spoiled and likes to be served her food before anyone else! She is very active and never stops moving! She is walking, and because she wants no help, she falls all the time. Then she showed us a cut on her head from falling! Her foster mom kept apologizing about the cut! I told her that we were used to from raising three boys! We were told that Kathryn likes to sing, and use her voice a lot. From the screaming she did over the snacks, I couldn’t help but wonder if the singing comment was a nice way of saying she liked to scream!
After about an hour, her foster mom put her in the carrier and got ready to leave. Kathryn seemed so happy to be getting in the carrier and we learned that she loves to be outside. She loves to go for walks in the stroller too! Her foster mom told us that she has never been in a car seat. We exchanged gifts, and she left. It was so hard to watch Kathryn go, but so wonderful to have held her in my arms. I have such a good feeling about her, it all is just perfect. Everything we learned about her just proved that she is the right baby for us! The foster mother told me that Kathryn resembles me!
We talked with DJ a little while longer, and I gave her the gifts for the agency. DJ told us that she has a daughter in 3rd grade like Brian, and she would love for them to meet! She kept complimenting us on what a nice, sweet boy that Brian was. I think she told us that at least four times! DJ then walked us downstairs. We got to see the clinic – the well baby visit room, and the sick visit room. There were a few babies there with their foster moms! We also got to meet Dr. Cho, and took a photo of her in her office! It was an honor to meet her! We also got to meet the nurse, but I cannot remember her name.
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We walked back to the subway for the hotel. Since today is Brian Jr.’s birthday we asked him where he wanted to go for dinner. He said he wanted a steak from Outback! So, we went back to our room, I downloaded the photos, and we looked at the gifts from Kathryn’s foster mother.
She gave Kathryn a really pretty hanbok, a tea set, and a beautiful fan. We also got our disposable cameras back, the disposable video camera, and a whole book of photos! We got photos from her first foster family too, and there were even a few professional ones! She also gave us pajamas and told us they were from the nurses in the hospital when she was sick at about a two weeks old.
On the way back from meeting Kathryn, three teenagers got on the elevator with us. The two girls immediately started smiling and waving at Brian Jr! He waved back and they told him that he was so cute. Then they gigged among themselves, and from hand motions that they were doing, we knew they were talking about his nose being cute!
Then we headed out for Outback, luckily it was only a few blocks walk from the hotel. Brian Jr. had ribs, I had a steak, and Brian had crab pasta. The food was good, and the waitress and hostess kept smiling at Brian Jr. and saying how cute he was! This kid sure it popular here!
On the walk home at about 8 pm, there was still a lot of traffic in the city. Motorcycles and mopeds were driving on the sidewalk to avoid the traffic. The people here acted like it was no big deal to be sharing the sidewalk with motorcycles! Brian Jr. likes that there are pigeons in too!
The streets were definitely more busy today since is was a work day. Everyone was walking so quickly and seemed to be in a big hurry to get places. Traffic was crazy, buses were full, and the subway was packed! It was good to get back to our room and relax! We go on a city tour tomorrow, we see Kathryn for her pre-flight physical Wednesday morning, and then pick her up for good on Thursday afternoon!
I forgot to write yesterday how surprised I am that there are so many signs and words in general in English! Even the controls in the van from the airport were in English!
We all went to bed by about 9:30 last night, sleep came very easily! I woke up at about 3 am and was wide awake. I watched some of the Olympics and then read through a travel guide and made some notes about sites to see! It is great that the Olympics are on, we can all watch and enjoy without needed to understand anything! There are a few English channels on the TV - and two Disney Channels too!
After a few hours, I fell back asleep and work up at about 8:30, took a shower and got ready for breakfast! The hotel has a wonderful buffet - eggs, bacon, ham, rolls, biscuits, muffins, cereal, yogurt! And - kimchee, rice, some kind of tofu soup, and some other veggies! The food was all good! Brian Jr. wanted to go to the World Cup Stadium, so we thought it was a good place to start!
We went back up to our room to gather the cameras and stuff. Then we headed to the front desk to confirm the right subway stations to get there. We were pointed in the direction of the subway station and still had a little trouble finding it! Then we had to navigate the underground world, and figure out how to buy tickets from the machine! We were really lost getting to the first and second trains, and then things came a bit easier - especially when I remembered that I had downloaded an app with a map of the subway in Seoul on my iphone!
Once we had bought our tickets and made it through a few subway stops and train transfers, we felt like pros at the metro! It seemed so easy now that we understood it! There was an older man on the first train that kept talking to Brian in Korean, we didn't understand him, so just smiled and tried to be polite. Then on the next train there was an older man who kept trying to get Brian Jr. to sit next to him. He was teasing him in a nice way and it was really funny! Then when someone else took the empty seat next to the man, he gestured for Brian to sit on his lap! We all got a good laught at that. It was great to interact with someone and to share a joke together even when we didn't share a language.
The stop for the World Cup Stadium let us off right at the stadium! We first went into the gift shop. Brian Jr. took forever to make up his mind about what he wanted to buy! There were so many jerseys and coins and banners and statues and socceer balls and key chains etc! he finally decided on a jersey from the 2006 World Cup in Germany - Korea won that year!
After the gift shop we headed into the stadium and the museum. The stadium was huge, the grass was covered with a tarp because they had snow recently. We got to walk in the stands, onto the edge of the field and into the locker rooms. There was a guest book and Brian Jr. signed his name - proudly in cursive. The museum was neat - they had uniforms, cleats, and soccer balls on display. Brian Jr.'s favortie part of the museum was a picture of a guy with a soccer ball cut and colored into his hair on the back of his head! He also liked posing for photos with the team cut-outs!
After the museum, we went into the Home Plus store. It was like a cross between a Macy's and a Target. They had everything and anything you could ever want! we got some much neeed drinks and a few snacks. Brian Jr. was excied to find a bag of Cheetos! We went outside to sit on a bench and eat our snacks. The weather was just gorgeous! It had to be about 50 degrees and mostly sunny!
After the snack, we walked across the street to the park. There were a lot of people out because of the mild weather. Kids were riding bikes, jumping rope, rollerblading and playing soccer. There was a small bridge across a stream. We walked out onto it and below there was a path around the water for riding bikes and a separate lane for walking/running. Brian Jr. said he wished he had brought his bike!
There were a few street vendors on the bridge too. A little girl that couldn’t have been much older than four was riding her bike across the bridge. She was laughing, full speed ahead, and aiming for the street vendor cart. Her scared dad came running up behind her and then she turned to keep from crashing at the last second. She looked back and laughed again! So funny!
We crossed back over the bridge and walked through the park to the other side. We followed a path near what looked like a practice field and found some interesting exercise equipment. Brian Jr. ran ahead and had fun trying out the different machines. There was a little boy also playing on the equipment and they soon became silent friends – exchanging only smiles.
There was a lot of noise and voices coming from further up the path, so we walked on. We saw that all of the commotion was from a boys’ soccer practice. They looked about Brian’s age or a little older, and were really good! Brian Jr. pointed out that they did some of the same drills and exercises that his soccer team did at home! He also wants to know why he cannot practice next to a World Cup Stadium!
On the way back to the subway, there was a family kicking the soccer ball around. One of the kids was not aimed so well and it rolled over near Brian. With a little coaxing, he ran over and kicked the ball back to the little boy. It was a nice pass, with the inside of his foot. His coach should be proud!
We were just strolling around and taking in the beautiful park and the people. I had been told most Koreans are really dressed and did not find that to be the case wherever we were. Most people were in jeans and sweats, maybe because it was on the weekend? And there were a lot of babies and small children in strollers. I was under the assumption that babies were almost always carried on their mother’s backs. I think I saw one baby in a carrier for every 20 I saw in a stroller. And all the carriers were the more modern type with buckles, not long straps or covering the whole body.
Brian and I looked at all the babies and couldn’t help but wonder what Kathryn was doing. She could be out at a park like us, even this very park! It was very strange to think about how she is out there, some where close by! I cannot wait to meet her and her foster family tomorrow!!!
Then we saw an entrance to what looked like a mall and went in. There was a big movie theater downstairs. Kids were laughing at a display for the Disney movie in Wonderland. They had a wall of hand prints from I guess famous people, and a lot of the kids were putting their hand on top of the prints. We saw a cute little girl that had to be about one year old, she had on shoes that squeaked every time she took a step. And it was like an annoying dog toy squeak! Kathryn will not be getting them!
We took the escalator upstairs and there were a few shops up there. I got Kathryn a wooden Korean girl with a hanbok on. It was some kind of popular collectable thing. There were about 10-12 different ones, and a few different sizes. We saw video games being played – Brian thought Mario Cart in Korean was great!
The subway back was a piece of cake, now it was the above ground that had us confused! There was a little boy on the subway that kept smiling at Brian Sr. and then hiding behind his mom! It was so cute! We got off on a different subway stop because it looked closer to our hotel. But when we got up on the street, we went the wrong way. Then we got directions back from a tourist information booth and got lost again. We took a hard right instead of regular right. The good news is that we found our way back, and the bad news is walked miles longer than expected!
The detours were also good because we found a KFC, a few Dunkin Donuts, , an Outback Steakhouse, a Kyobo bookstore, and saw a lot of the city! We got bagels and donuts at Dunkin Donuts. The bagels were similar but the donuts had a lot more varieties – with pistachios and yogurt filled, and all different kinds of berry flavors. The one we went to also had the bagels and donuts in a case with trays on tongs – self service! There was again an older man that talked to Brian. He said, “No donuts in , rice cakes!” He then started laughing and so did we! We also saw a lot of street carts that sold walnut shaped dough balls and some that sold all kinds of what looked like dried seaweed, dried squid, seeds and various nuts. One stand had something that looked like really skinny French fries! We will have to try some tomorrow!
We walked right by right as they were doing a changing of the guards ceremony. It was really interesting and they were dressed in ornate costumes with drums, horns, symbols, weapons, and flags. They came marching up the street and turned into the palace. Then they back out the opposite way and down the street. It was so funny to have pictures of something so ancient with a Dunkin Donuts in the background, and to see the guards marching down a modern street in the middle of traffic!
We finally made it back to hotel room and all three of us crashed! It was a full day and we were tired, hungry and sore from all the walking! As I thought about the day, I remembered seeing all the people that were wearing masks, how clean the city and subway was – there were men cleaning the streets everywhere, even in the middle of the street, and how few non-Koreans we saw. I would say maybe 10 people the whole day were not Asian. Everyone was so helpful and friendly when we asked for help.
I was also surprised by how many people knew at least a little English. I thought about if the situation were reversed. Someone in from would have no one to help them if they got lost, wanted to buy something, or be able to read any signs if they didn’t know any English. Store owners could not communicate with them like here in . Even in small stores I was shocked when they told me prices in English and things were labeled in English too. Many items like journals and calendars were also in English. In Dunkin Donuts they asked if we wanted our order to go, if we wanted the bagels toasted, and if we wanted cream cheese!
This city is truly amazing and I cannot wait to see more of it!
The whole flight was great, only a few minutes of mild turbulance here and there. The landing was a wobbly, but still fine. We touched down in Seoul at 5:54 pm! I had tears as the wheels made contact with the runway, I was so close to Kathryn now! I was finally in Korea! We were seated in the middle of the plane, so we really couldn't see much out the windows. I did see some mountains, and small islands in the water around the airport.
There was another really long walk to immigration and customs. We breezed through both and Brian Jr. was so excited to have a stamp in his passport! Another long walk led us to the baggage claim area. All of our bags arrived safely! We headed to the bathroom and to the bank to exchange our dollars for Korean won!
As we exited the baggage claim area, we spotted the van driver with a sign. It had our last name, flight number, and Holt on it. I asked the van driver if I could have the sign and he handed it to me. I want to save it for Kathryn! I will be saving everything I can get my hands on for her - ticket stubs, money envelopes from the bank, receipts etc! We were loaded in the van quickly and left for the hotel at 7:08 pm.
The drive to our hotel was a little over an hour. We saw a lot of bridges, went through a tunnel, and saw a lot of traffic - even late on a Saturday! Before we got out of the van, the driver gave us some maps, and wrote out directions for getting to Holt. He was very nice and went out of his way to help us! He helped us into the hotel and escorted us to check in. He showed us there was a 24 hour convenience store down the street, some points of attraction on the map, and how to get to them on the subway. He bowed to us as he left, so we did the same and said thank you!
Check in only took a few minutes and then we were up to our room. I mean apartment! The room is beyond amazing! It is much nicer than our first apartment, and except for the jacuzzi tub and tropical weather it is nicer than the hotel on our honeymoon! It is a suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and full kitchen complete with washer/dryer and dishwasher!!! It is so modern and really clean!
By the time we got to our room, it was about 8:30 pm and we were all exhausted. We opened the curtains and had an amazing view of the city from the 22nd floor! The city was so busy - lights and traffic. There were lots of cars and buses and trains and people walking around. I stared out the window for a while, watching the city before me and wondering what Kathryn was doing.
I have heard that people fall in love with Seoul, and I have already! I know I am going to miss it, and we just got here! I cannot wait to get out to see the city tomorrow!
I wasn't able to sleep much at all last night. The alarm went off at 3 am and I think the last time I looked at the clock it was 2:14 am. So, I got about 46 minutes of sleep! The bags were all packed and ready last night, so all we had to do was double check a few essentials and get dressed! Rapid Rover arrived at 4 am sharp, we loaded our bags, picked up one additional passenger and headed to the airport!
We arrived at the Philadelphia Airport at about 4:30 am. We quickly checked in, checked our bags, and went through security. We went to our gate for departure to wait intil we could board the plane. To pass some time, we had bagels and donuts from Dunkin Donuts in the airport! Brian Jr. was especially excited about that! The boarding call came at 6:00 am, and flying economy made us among the last to board!
We were supposed to take off at 6:32 am, but were about 15 minutes late. We were not all seated together on the flight, and asked someone to move so that I could sit with the guys. He refused to move his seat because he was on the aisle and I was not! The plane was so hot - I was in a t-shirt for the whole flight and still too warm!
The 6 hour flight seemed to take forever! I was alone, hot, and tired! They only served us drinks twice and no food. If you wanted a snack or breakfast, you had to pay for it! And a bag of chips was like $3, so I am really glad that we ate on the plane!
We landed smoothly in San Francisco at about 9:50 am, California time. The airport was huge and modern. Our flight to Seoul was at 12:45 pm. The plane landed a little ahead of schedule, so there wasn't a gate ready for us. we had to wait on the plane for about 25 minutes, and then by the time we were able to get off the plane it was close to 11:00 am. We had a very long walk to the other side of the airport to get to Singapore Air!
We checked in and decided to get some lunch. Since none of us was up for any more walking, we found a sandwich shop close by. After lunch we boarded at about 12:20. Once again, our seats were not together but a nice man switched with us! The flight was amazing! I don't know how, but the 11 hour and 30 minute flight seemed shorter than the 6 hour flight! The flight attendants were all dressed in Asian style uniforms and so friendly!
Again, we took off about 15 minnutes late. I think I am sensing a pattern with planes taking off 15-20 minutes late! As soon as the plane was in the air, the flight attendants came around and handed everyone steaming hot towels with tongs. It really felt good, after the long day we had! A few minutes later, the collected the towels and began preparing to serve a meal! This was more like it! Brian Jr. was served first and he chose the Asian dish - bulgogi, white rice, and japchae! He let me try some and it was really good!
By the time the adults were able to eat, they were all out of the Aisan meal! I guess that is all the kids and those in first class wanted to eat! Brian and I had fish and potatoes - it was okay, but not as good as Brian Jrs meal! I still felt full from the meal, and the flight attendents were back with drinks refills and ice cream sandwiches! After we ate, we explored the TV in the head rests in front of us. It had movies, music, video games, and flight information! You could track the flight on a map and watch details such as outside temperature, speed, altitude, distance to go, and time to go. It was really neat!
For the rest of the flight, we got served drinks and snacks so many times that we actually started turning them down. They came around with an assortment of chips, pretzels, and cookies and apples too! Even thought this flight was almost twice as long as the first, it seemed much shorter! When we got to crusing altitude, temperatures ranged from -60 to -80 degrees, altitude as between 32,000 and 38,000 feet and air speed was between 400 and 500 mph! We had tail winds almost all the way there and when we got close to Japan, it switched to a head wind.
I just wish I could only fly Singapore Air from now! Everything was wonderful and I don't think there was anything they could have done better. Well, maybe have more of the bulgogi! Brian Jr. started to feel sick on the desent and got sick about 15 minutes before we landed. I think it was the different style food and being exhausted. He only slept about 3 hours on the whole flight! Brian and I only about an hour!