November WBC & New Pics, too!

I have been struggling lately with blogging. I started out doing so well and blogging about the process and my feelings, but lately, it's just been hard! Hard to figure out what to write. There hasn't been a lot of movement on the adoption front lately. The last of the 2011 babies are coming home and there isn't any new news from Korea. We haven't been doing much around the house to get ready for Jaxson to come home. We have just kind of stalled for lack of a better word. Heck, I haven't even been shopping for him much lately and that is NOT me! Just when I was starting to give up hope, we got an email from Holt that had not only Jaxson's November well-baby check in it, but also some new pictures! 

We got the email on November 17, but wanted to send out Thanksgiving cards to our families with new pictures, so we are just sharing them now.

First his well baby check:

* Jax now weighs 24 lbs. and is 31 in. tall

*He has 8 teeth--4 on the top and 4 on the bottom

*He tries to tower cubes and bangs two toys together

*He plays pat a cakes and like to help dress himself

*He says Umma and Mama

*AND my favorite...He walks alone and then in parenthesis is says RAPIDLY. 

Oh, brother, are we in trouble!

I love the picture of him by the blue chair. He is just chillin'! The funny thing is I have wanted a picture of him with that blue chair for a while. I have the perfect scrapbooking paper to match it and have been thinking how awesome it would be get a picture of him in the chair.  I love how he is sitting next to it, not in it. I can imagine that they were trying to get him to sit there and he was just not having it! 

Well, now I'm a momma on a mission! I am rejuvenated and more excited than ever for 2012 to get here! I shopped on Friday and got a bunch of gifts for our trip to Korea. Steve and I updated our Christmas list with things that we think we need for the trip. I didn't have to work today and so I went through each room of the house making a list of stuff I need to do before Jax comes home. 

There is only one month and 3 days until New Year's Day and the reset of the EP quota!

2 months, 3 weeks....

Well, we found out last week that our agency has ran out of exit permits and Jax will not be coming home this year. We pretty much knew this information already, but it didn't hurt any less when I opened the email and saw it.

So, now it is 2 months and 3 weeks until the new year and more importantly the reset of the EP quota. I realize that this time will go fast...we've already been waiting over 5 months, we can do this!

I remember while we were waiting for our referral, every morning I would wake and wonder if this was the day. Now, every night before I go to sleep I'm grateful for the day and thankful that we are ONE DAY closer to bringing Jax home!

We've got a walker!

We got Jax's 2nd physical exam last week. I was excited to get some new info, because we didn't get a well baby check in August. I was told this is common because of the rainy weather and the fact that many foster families go on vacation during August. Either way, I missed hearing what our little man had been up to!

*He gained about a 1/2 pound and is about 3 cm taller.
*He got 2 more top teeth and one more on the bottom.
*He is playing peek a boo, imitates some behaviors, and drinks from a cup with help.
*He is saying umma, mama, and dada.
*He crawls up and down and is throwing a ball.

And the biggest news of the month....Jax is walking alone!  


Watch out world, we've got a walker!

We got a new picture this week also. Jax got a new haircut and is beginning to look more like a little boy than a baby.

Jax and his birthday gifts.

A close up of our little man!

We probably will not be getting monthly well baby checks since Jax turned one. I think that we can expect them every other month. Although each email makes me a little sad because of all the things that we are missing, I know that soon the wait will be a memory and I'll be running ragged after our little guy.  But you know what, I CAN'T WAIT!

Happy Birthday, Jaxson!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Boy! It is such a mix of emotions that I'm feeling today. I'm sad, because we can't be together. I'm excited, because I know that you are going to have such a wonderful day with the only family you've ever known. I'm thankful for the wonderful gift that I have been given to be your mommy. I'm grateful that I have many, many more birthdays to spend with you.

To celebrate your birthday, your daddy and I decided to try our first Korean restaurant. WOW! Chopsticks are hard! It was very, very good. I ordered the curry udon and Daddy ordered the bulkoki, but really we both shared it. As we were walking out, we were talking about what we are going to order the next time we go.

You are soon going to find out that your mother takes LOTS of pictures, so of course there are pictures of our night out.

So many choices!

YUMMY!

Curry udon

Definitely struggling with the noodles!

While we were at the mall, we had to stop in the Hawk Shop and guess what.....they have a University of Iowa t-shirt in KOREAN! I just had to have it....love it!

Hopefully, you have gotten your birthday care package that we sent last month. Hope that you are loving your new clothes and toys. In couple of weeks, we are going to Chicago to celebrate our anniversary and I plan on doing lots of shopping and picking out some pretty awesome gifts for you! My "for Jaxson" list at Ikea is pretty long!

We hope that you have a great day and love you more than you'll ever know. See you soon :-)!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Care Package #2

I sent Jax's latest care package today. It was very hard because I wanted to include as much as possible in this package because it will be for his first birthday. It took Steve and I to get it closed.  I held it shut and he taped it! 

I'm hoping it gets to him when he goes in for his birthday party at the Holt offices. I'm worried with the hurricane hitting the east coast this weekend that travel might be slowed down a bit. 

The one good thing about care packages is that you usually get some pics of your kids with them, here's hoping there's more pics in our future!

New Photo Friday

We got 4 new pictures of Jaxson today!  Here are two of them.

One of the other ones is a picture of him with his whole foster family and the last one is of his Mongolian spots. In his latest well baby check, it was reported that he had a couple Mongolian spots on his back. We were curious and requested pictures.

Summer Projects!

There were many projects that I wanted to get done this summer.  #1 was getting the room that had been our bedroom and turning it into a toy room for Jax.  I had a lot of fun with this project. Finding ways to organize his toys. Deciding on pictures and colors, I found two great alphabet prints on etsy and framed them.  I chose a gray for the walls and I love how it turned out.  I realize that once Jax is home it will never be as clean and organized as it is now, but I don't care, I can't wait for the mess!