What Do You Do. . .

What do you do after your son gets a bad haircut because he threw an "Over-the-Top Almost 2 Tantrum" during the haircutting session?

Fauxhawk Time!

I'm not going to lie, the haircut is still horrible, but for a brief moment today, both Wesley and I laughed about the whole "incident."

Wordless Wednesday

Our dear friend Shannon never comes to our home without her camera. And, recently I have been extremely thankful because I have been "bad mommy" in the photo-taking department. Easter would be a prime example of that. Shannon and her husband Jose came for a visit Easter morning and here is a sample of the great photos she took - thanks Tia.

Spring Roundup

Spring has sprung and changes are coming to the Fuller household. We closed escrow on our house at the end of March and are working to close on our new house (which is really old – built in 1984) by the end of this month. So, we have been busy with house inspections, packing, getting paint/contractor quotes, more packing, paperwork, etc. Never a dull moment!

Last month after Wesley’s exciting finalization, we had a small celebration at the house that following weekend with our family and two couples/families (also great friends) that provided references for us on our homestudy. We brought in some food from a local place that we love and had some custom cupcakes done from a local gal that does amazing work.

Congratulations Wesley!

Celebrating USA Citizenship.

One of our reference families/friends, the Willetts.

Our other reference family/friends, the Torres Family.

Custom cupcakes - South Korean flag surrounded by USA flags.

Wesley Fuller initials to symbolize the "official" name change.

Do you think Welsey enjoyed his cupcake?

Me and my goddaughter, Kira.

Kira, Wesley and cousin Brooks.

Me and my brother J.

Brian and Jose (who is basically family).

Cheers!

Jess Torres and sons Jack and Joe (who both contributed to the homestudy reference)

Alison and Jen hanging out.

My adorable nephew Brooks.

The day couldn’t have gone better – up to this point, we purposely haven’t had more than a handful of people at the house at one time out of fear that Wesley would be overwhelmed. There were about 20 of us in total with kids and adults and he did great. The house was filled with people that love him and that he was comfortable with and it’s like he could tell.

I loved having a house full of kids. It was a wonderful feeling. When I was a little girl, it was all I dreamed about. I know, I know, putting the cart before the horse. Baby steps. We haven’t even been home a year. But, I can’t help but think about another. . .

Moving on. Update on our little peanut that is rapidly approaching two years. As I read a fellow adoptive mom’s blog tonight (K) I felt awful because I’m so far behind on not only my own posts, but my fellow blogger’s posts. And, I know that I’ve written this before, but it bothers me. I’ve become THAT mom (right now). My only excuse – and I’ve probably posted this before too – is that something has to give at some point and unfortunately, the blog gets it. As I read K’s blog, I had to laugh a little bit to myself because we were experiencing literally the same thing with our sons. Tantrums. Throwing EVERYTHING. Crying at the drop of a hat. Stubborn.

But, then there’s this amazing little boy inside that I absolutely adore. He’s funny, cuddly, sensitive, loving, smart (sometimes too smart) and the best thing that’s ever happened to Brian and me. We love him to pieces and I couldn’t imagine what our lives would be like without him. I look forward to picking him up every day from daycare and seeing his smiling face when he runs over to me. He is my light, he is my love.

Adoption Finalized!

As my last few posts have indicated, life has been non-stop around here. And ever since our adoption finalization took place this past Monday it has continued to be crazy so that’s why this post finally comes Saturday. After waiting 7 ½ months to get to this point, ironically the entire process of finalizing only took about 10 minutes. Brian, Wesley and I headed to the Superior Court of California, Sacramento County early Monday morning to meet up with my parents for Wesley’s 8:30am hearing. As we headed upstairs to our assigned courtroom, we passed by other families that were clearly waiting to finalize their adoptions as well. We look at one another’s children, smiled and gave a nod of the head; it’s like we instantly shared a common bond.

After waiting for almost a half an hour, we are called into the courtroom with another family. The other family is on the docket first so we patiently wait. Then, it’s our turn. They call “Fuller Family.” It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for after almost 22 months. The five of us proceed into the judge's chambers. Again, kind of ironically, the judge is Asian and he immediately lights up (as does Wesley) when we walk into the room. We all introduce ourselves and then take our seats. We sit in silence as the judge reviews our paperwork checking off some sheet as he does so. He asked us to sign one of the forms we had filled out prior to the hearing and then, he smiled and said, “Well, you’re all set. Congratulations.” What? That’s it? We’re done? I thought I was going to cry but I didn't; it seemed as if it was over before it began. We thanked the judge and took some photos out in front of his bench before we waited for copies of our paperwork to be handed to us and we could leave to really celebrate.

Waiting inside the courtroom to go into the judge's chambers.

Adoption Finalized!

Proud parents (Brian is proud even though he looks a little freaked out or mad)

VERY proud grandparents

We left the courthouse and decided to go have a celebratory brunch at one of our favorite places in Sacramento called The Tower Café. They have the most amazing award-winning French toast. It’s soaked in rich house made custard and it’s unbelievable! Both my mom and I got the French toast. Wesley got cornbread pancakes and he scarfed those down in no time – I guess finalizing your adoption works up quite an appetite! After our fabulous meal, Brian, Wesley and I headed to Social Security to apply for Wesley’s SS#. That process was painless thank goodness and his Social Security card just arrived in the mail yesterday with his American name – sooo exciting! We are having a finalization/USA citizen celebration Sunday with family and the close friends that provided references for us for our homestudy; we couldn’t have made it through the last 22 months without any of these individuals. We will be thinking of our family back east (especially Nanie) and wishing that they could be here with us to celebrate, but lot of photos and video will be taken and we know you’ll be with us in spirit.

7 Months Home

Wesley is now 21 months and the beginning of March marked 7 months since came home to us. Our biggest “news” as of late is that we FINALLY have a hearing date to finalize his adoption. California is anything but fast in processing paperwork when it comes to the State. Then, there was some miscommunication or misinformation or something when it came to the actual assigning of the hearing date. But my wonderful hubs went down to the courthouse and straightened it all out and (drum roll) we head to court Monday, March 21 at 8:30am in the morning. Whooo Hooo! After all the home visits, paperwork, etc. Wesley will legally be our son and he will become an “official” citizen of the United States. We can’t wait!

Wesley showing his U.S.A. pride in preparation for his adoption finalization.



In other “news” we are actively looking for a new home. Our house has been on the market for a little over a month and we accepted an offer this past week and we are now in escrow. We’ve had a tough time finding a house with the right mix of what we’re looking for at the right price. Plus, it’s actually quite competitive out there and we’ve run into some situations where the house has already gone into “Sale Pending” status before we even saw it. Hopefully, we’re getting close.

We continue to work with Wesley on his speech on a daily basis. He is all about “Da Da” right now and starts in with it from the moment he gets up. Our favorite is what we call the “Machine Gun Da Da” which sounds exactly like you would think. He does show Mommy some love with the occasional “Ma Ma” or just “Ma.” He also loves saying (and taking) “bubble bath.” The volume switch on our little peanut seemed to be turned up substantially over this past month. Everything is on HIGH. There’s screeching, screaming, giggling, singing and more all at ultra-high levels. Our neighbors are probably thankful that we’re moving soon.

Wesley has become quite the “ladies man” at his day care. I typically pick him up in the afternoon (Brian handles drop off in the morning). When I’ve been picking him up these past few weeks, he’s been the only little boy left (and it’s seriously not late in the day) surrounded by 4-5 little girls. They all love him. Especially one in particular who is a little aggressive. Brian actually busted the two of them holding hands one afternoon. She always says “Goodbye Wesley!” when we leave. It’s a riot.

On another note, I woke up this morning to the awful news of the earthquake in Japan. Such devastation. When I turned on the news the earthquake had set off a tsunami that was making its way through Hawaii and headed up the West Coast of California. I have to tell you, it really puts things into perspective. My patience has been tested these past few months between putting the house on the market, house hunting and Wesley continuing to behave as a typical pre-2 year old toddler. I’m not going to lie, it’s been hard. There seem to be so many things to worry about and so many things to do. But then, something like this tragedy hits and immediately, you want to grab your child, hold him and never let go. Nothing else matters. All these “problems” or “issues” in your life are trivial. Nothing can be THAT BAD. There is nothing that can’t be worked out. Hug your loved ones before you go to bed tonight and be thankful that we're all safe and sound.

Update, Lunar New Year Event & 20 Months

So, I feel like a broken record as I’m typing that it's been WAY too long since I've posted. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by. We went from having quite a few months of sickness to deciding to put our house on the market and then back to sickness. Combine it with work craziness and a toddler that is hitting his "Terrible 2's" a wee-bit early and WHAMMY! It's February 16th. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, it's just overwhelming at times and it's kicked my butt. I'm a control freak and I'm not used to anything really kicking my butt. THIS has. However, I've learned a lot. I've learned to let a lot go. I've learned to accept help. I've learned to get my priorities in check - especially when it comes to work - family comes first. So, in all of this - my beloved blog has suffered as well as my blogger friends' blogs. So, once again I apologize. I know that there are friends and family that check in to get updates on our little peanut and to see photos. I will do my best to make more time to keep it current. When I set out to do this initially I also wanted it to be something that Wesley could look at/read when he was older - and that is equally important to me.

Now, on to the updates. Two weekends ago (February 5), Wesley and I attended a Lunar New Year event put on by a group called "Friends of Korea." The group is comprised of local families with children adopted from Korea and Korean adoptees. I was invited to join the group from a fellow adoptive mom friend (Candace) who worked with the same adoption agency as us. Wesley and I arrived at the event to find a room buzzing with positive energy and joy. The smell of Tteokguk soup cooking filled the air. I introduced myself to the first smiling face I saw and immediately Candace came over and introduced herself. It was a very friendly, welcoming group. The children in attendance were all older than Wesley by quite a few years, but he didn't seem to mind.

The first order of business was to get Wesley into his hanbok (traditional Korean outfit warn on birthdays and other Korean holidays). His hanbok from his first birthday actually still fit – it was a bit big the first time he wore it in Seoul. The top portion was a little snug, but it would do the trick. Then, we made our way over to a special area they had set up for the children to pay their respects to the visiting elders. We took a few minutes to learn how to bow or saebae to the elders and to say “Happy New Year” in Korean.
Getting instructions on how to bow or saebae and say "Happy New Year"

The elders arrived and it was time for the children to show what they have learned. Each family went one by one until it was our turn. I had to help Wesley since he was so young, and it was a challenge but adorable. Once the child successfully performs the bow; the elders reward them with an envelope that is filled with money as a New Year's gift (parents were told ahead of time to provide envelopes for their children).
The visiting elders anxiously await the next group of children.

The beginning of the bow.

And we're still doing the bow. Oops! Wesley's hanbok hat is in his face.

With Wesley being the youngest child by at least 3 years, he was a sight - but a big hit. We did our best to get the bow done without offending anyone. Thank goodness he’s cute is all I have to say! After we “performed” the bow, Wesley accepted the envelopes from the elders and then as if on cue, Wesley knelt down on the pillows in front of us and did his own version of a bow. Priceless. . .



Showing Wesley that the elders have something special for him.




The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting with the other adoptive families, enjoying the Tteokguk soup (which was really good by the way) and watching the kids play outside; it was a beautiful day. I look forward to the next FOK event. Thank you Candace for including us.

Wesley turned 20 months January 28th and we celebrated 6 months being home on February 4th. We are still waiting our adoption finalization. California does things a bit different than other states in that they require 6 months post placement. All of our forms and our court report were sent in to the court in a timely manner, however in true Fuller fashion, we had a "delay" of sorts (not our fault), so we most likely won't be able to have Wesley's adoption finalized until the end of March or beginning of April.

We can't believe that our little peanut is growing into the "big" little boy that he has. He's literally "in" to everything in the house. We don't know whether to call him a whirling dervish or a bull in a china shop, but he's non-stop, constant motion, energy-driven little man on a mission. It's like someone wound him up and let him go. But on the flip side, he's so cuddly and sweet and gives the BEST hugs! His personality is really shining through. He loves to imitate. He is so smart and observes everything. Although he's still taking his time with some of his speech, he comprehends all of what we're saying. And then comes the disobedience. And, the temper tantrums. We think that we're hitting the "terrible 2's" a little early. And, let me tell you that when these "tantrums" hit LOOK OUT! They're awful. Like, hand me a HUGE glass of wine awful. NEWS FLASH!!! Wesley said "Mama" tonight (and it was for me, not "food" as it is in Korea) for the first time EVER since we've been home. My heart melted. With that, I'll leave you with some photos from our "20 Month" photo shoot in our backyard. Cheers!

새해 복 많이 받으세요 - Happy Lunar New Year!

Today marks the first day of the Korean Lunar New Year or the Seolnal, which lasts for three days. Like many aspects of Korean life, the holiday centers around family. Many pay their respect to their elders, travel great lengths to see family and honor those that have left this life. Food always seems to be a big part of any holiday or celebration and Seolnal is no exception. The traditional meal is a soup called tteokguk -a beef broth with thinly sliced rice cakes.

Children typically wear traditional hanboks and adults purchase new clothes to signify the start of a new year. The children bow (saebae) to their elders to show their respect and then are rewarded by an envelope with money as a New Year's gift. There are also traditional Korean games played to add to the festivities of the day.

Wesley and I will be going to a New Year's event put on by a group called "Friends of Korea" (or FOK) on Saturday to celebrate. The group is comprised of families around the Sacramento area (and surrounding areas) that have adopted or are adoptees from Korea. They get together throughout the year to share their adoption experiences, celebrate Korean culture and to simply be social. This will be our first FOK event so we're really looking forward to it!

I'll post afterward with photos and tidbits on the event. In the meantime. . .
새해 복 많이 받으세요(saehae bok man-hi ba-deu saeyo) - Happy New Year!