Happy 1st Birthday 돌

Today is Wesley 1st Birthday! Although, with the time change being what it is, he celebrated his birthday yesterday. But around here - it's Happy Birthday Little Peanut!!! If you read the post below, you can probably guess that it's been a bit of a somber week around the Fuller home. I've been absolutely slammed at work (working until 9pm+ two nights in a row) which normally isn't good, but in a weird way it was OK since it kept my mind (somewhat) off of being sad and disappointed.

So, tonight. . . BULGOGI! We're going out to eat with my parents and some dear friends of ours to the Korean BBQ place that we tried about a month ago to celebrate. I had Brian buy some party hats today when he ran out for lunch. We're going to video tape parts of the evening so that someday when Wesley is older, he can see that we celebrated his special day even though he wasn't physically here with us.

In Korea, the 1st birthday is a HUGE deal. It is called a "Dol." Dol is a big milestone for a baby in Korea and is celebrated with a huge party called the doljabee. Food plays a big part in a child’s doljabee. Special dishes are served and the highlight of the festivities occurs when it’s time for the doljabee ritual. During this time a low table is brought out for the baby with several items on it which represent the path the child’s future life will take if she or he grabs it. Some of the following items are examples of what is used:

A pencil: Which means the child will be a scholarly academic.
Money: Which means the child will be wealthy.
A string: Which means the child will live a long life.
A bowl of rice: Which means the child will have food and shelter.

The child also wears the traditional Korean celebration outfit, the Hanbok which is very colorful. I thought of Wesley yesterday wondering what his foster mom had planned for him and hoping that she took lots of photos! What item did he choose? I bet he looked so cute in his little (or not-so-little) Hanbok.

Well, anyway - Happy, Happy 1st Birthday my Little Peanut! We love you and we'll be celebrating you and your life tonight :)

Big Disappointment

Well, this isn't the post I thought I would be writing this week. I was hoping to be tell you all that our EP (exit permit) had been submitted and that we were on track to travel in July. After learning that other families had been submitted, I contacted our agency this afternoon. I was told that although we were in the right timeframe, for some reason the agency in Korea broke up the batch and we were not submitted this month. There is really no rhyme or reason as to why we weren't submitted, it's just one of those things that "is what it is." There are literally days separating us and those that were submitted in terms of when adoption paperwork was received in Korea (this is what determines EP submission).

I'm blown away. I was at work when I contacted our agency so my mini meltdown afterward in my office was a wee bit embarassing, although I don't think anyone really knew (we've been so busy everyone's in their own little world). I called Brian and broke the news to him. Poor guy had to listen to me sobbing on the other end and couldn't do a thing about it. All he needed to do was listen and he did. That's just one of the reasons I love him. :)

After I composed myself and made my face look as presentable as humanly possible, I went and told my boss so that she knew that she'd have me for another month. She was very supportive and sorry for both me and Brian. I think there might be some more crying coming. Just a feeling. Especially since Wesley's 1st birthday is Friday.

Anyway, I know that he's going to be here when he's meant to be. And I know that it's only one more month. But, it just stinks to be this close and not have it happen. It stinks and I'm sorry if I'm a little bit "Debbie Downer" but it really stinks. . .

New Photos, Video & Updated Info FINALLY!

Brian and I have been on pins and needles waiting for our package from our agency. They recently took a trip to both China and South Korea to visit the adoption agencies there and while in South Korea, they get to see the waiting children and take photos and video for the waiting parents. The photos and video mean so much to Brian and myself but to tell you the truth I was equally DYING to have a health update. We haven't had any info since his referral in November.

Well, this past Friday afternoon we FINALLY received our package (like I always say to my adoption friends "Good things always seem to happen on Fridays"). It was great because I'm lucky enough to be able to work from home on Fridays and Brian works from home so when he brought in the mail (with the package) we could share in the excitement together. We went immediately to the DVD player and popped in the video. It's the best. Words can't describe how surreal it is to watch this little boy and know that soon (hopefully very soon) he will be home with us, sharing our lives, letting us love him. He's grown so much. We started to count how many times the members from our agency and the korean agency said, "Big Boy!" We LOVE it! Here is the video.

I must warn you, the quality isn't the best - this time they took more video than last time and we had to compress the video in order to be able to upload it, thus the quality suffers.



Now, for the stats. I'm assuming that they took this information around 11 months or so, his 1st birthday is at the end of this month - we've got a little chunk on our hands. . .

Height - 30 3/8"
Weight - 25.8 lbs. yes, more than 25 pounds. Whoa!
Teeth - 4 on top, 4 on the bottom
Walking - not yet, just crawling. You'll hear on the video that foster mom is afraid of him pulling up and/or walking because of his size. :)

Here are some photos of our "Big Boy" or as someone on the video calls him "Sumo."


This photo is actually my favorite. I could stare at this sweet face all day long.


Here he is thinking about going for the truck. Hmmmmm.


I love this photo - here's foster mom unloading Wesley from her "carrier." No Baby Bjorns, No Baby Becos here. It's pretty amazing.

We're still waiting on an update regarding our EP (exit permit). We don't expect to hear anything until the end of this month or beginning of June. We're hopeful that we will be in the next batch. Fingers & toes crossed, lots of prayers and anything else we can think of. . .

Counting Your Chickens Before They Hatch. . . One Step Closer

Today I received an email from our adoption agency requesting that we re-fill out a document we had submitted after we had accepted Wesley's referral (last December). Apparently, there was a typo on the original document (the agency's mistake). We had to sign and notarize 4 copies and get it back to them ASAP. At the end of the email it said, "Eastern is gathering the necessary documents for your son’s exit permission filing, so we need to get this to them immediately." Eastern is the adoption agency in Korea working with our agency to get our Little Peanut to us. Soooo, I immediately forward this email to Brian and call him. I tell him that I'm pretty sure now that we're going to be in the next batch to be submitted for exit permits. He asks me how I know and I tell him about the email. He's floored. I tell him that we HAVE to get this paperwork taken care of at lunch. Luckily, it's something that only needs his signature so he's "on it" and will have it wrapped up and on it's way before I take my lunch break.

Just because I'm a wee bit anal-retentive, I email our agency back and ask her if this means that we're going to be submitted in the next batch. This is where the "chicken" comes in. You have to understand that no one and I mean NO ONE over there wants to commit to anything in terms of predicting travel times, etc. Which I understand, but when you're on the receiving end, it's hard. So, she says. . . "I assume Eastern is working to submit your paperwork in the next filing, but we won’t know for certain until after it is filed. So please try not to “count your chickens before they hatch.”

Well normally, I would err on the side of caution and not get my hopes up. But, all signs point to YES in this case. The last batch went earlier than expected and my gut is telling me YES! This means that we could travel as soon as the beginning of July. JULY!!! What's really bizarre is that I had a very vivid dream of Wesley last night. I had met him for the first time and he was laughing and playing and we were all getting along really well. My Grandma Girsch, my dad's mom (who is no longer alive) was there as if to say she's watching over him until we can get there. Anyway, I feel really good about this - we'll know for sure if we've been submitted at the end of this month/beginning of June. Soooo, stay tuned!

"Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)"

Dragon tales and the "water is wide"
Pirate's sail and lost boys fly
Fish bite moonbeams every night
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

The rocket racer's all tuckered out
Superman's in pajamas on the couch
Goodnight moon, will find the mouse
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

God bless mommy and match box cars
God bless dad and thanks for the stars
God hears "Amen," wherever we are
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Godspeed
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

-Dixie Chicks