Final Care Package

We hope the title of this post rings true and we are finally sending our final care package to Korea, although I realize  we have been saying this for a long time. This is the 9th care package C has received from us. (I’m so glad we were’t limited to 1 like we were originally told.) Since we know we won’t be traveling for at least another 2 months and we were given the opportunity to send something to C we really couldn’t resist. All of our previous 18 month clothing was for colder weather, but according to my iPhone app Seoul is currently in the 70s during the day and our little boy needs to have some cool styles for the new spring season! 🙂

Care Package #9

This package was heavy on the clothes.  C will be receiving 6 tops and 3 shorts/lightweight pants, and two pairs of socks. The green onesie that looks washed out in the photo is very adorable. There is a little martian and underneath it says “Hello Earth.” Too cute. We hope that we might receive some of these clothes back when we pick up C because it would be the icing on the cake to see him IN PERSON in these clothes we picked out just for him.

J really, really wanted to find some toys to include, but we have sent over so many toys I really don’t think C needs anything else to keep him entertained. Plus, so many of the toys which are made for his age range are way too big to fit in a one gallon size bag. Not to worry, C has an abundance of toys waiting for him already at home. More on that in an upcoming room post.

We also included some toddler snack puffs as we anticipate having these around the house when C arrives. We thought it might be helpful if he had a taste of home while in Korea so at least one thing would be familiar.  I won’t kid myself into thinking my recent dabble into Korean cuisine will live up to the real deal made by his foster mom.

We are hopeful we are nearing the end of our long, 13 month wait to pick up C!

Advertisement

Protected: 18 months and care package items

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Protected: Magic words

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Care Package #6

Our sweet little boy turns 16 months old this month and a few days ago C received his sixth care package from us. This package was actually assembled way back in October, but it sat at our adoption agency for about 6 weeks before being shipped to Korea.  From there it has been at ESWS for close to a month just waiting for C to have it!

Since our update at the time of compiling our package mentioned C knows how to turn pages of a book, we made sure to include a fun animal book for him to enjoy.  This one has tails of each animal that he can pull on and touch as he learns about all of the jungle animals he will see in his themed room once he gets home.  If that wasn’t enough, we also sent over a counting “book” that makes noises with each turn of the page.

This most complicated thing I have knit yet were included in this package…socks! South Korea gets very cold in the winter, and I hope these little socks help keep him warm. Hopefully I get some great pictures of him wearing those socks. Each little knit and purl stitch was made while thinking of him.

I have oodles of fun looking at clothes for C and this care package was full of some warm clothes for winter.  I absolutely love the little jammies we sent over, and I know C will like playing with the feet on these as I’ve seen him do in a picture we received of him.

Of course no good Christmas package would be complete without some toys.  C loves objects that make noise, and we think he will have lots of fun with these musical instruments. I think there’s enough here to keep him busy for awhile.

Happy 16th months, little C! We love you!

St. Nicholas Day

December 5^th is St. Nicholas day. Well at least in Milwaukee and in the H household. For those of you unfamiliar with St. Nick’s, it’s the day before all the good Milwaukeean girls and boys get to open their stockings.

I introduced K to the holiday when we were married and for the first time, we got to put together a stocking for C. Because he’s not home yet, we stuck with things that we though would be good once he got here, and — at least for this year — left out any of the candy that’s normally found in a stocking.

We got C a few things that we’ve read should help with attachment: bubbles and a slinky. We found a good deal on a multipack of play dough, and even though it says 2+, we thought it would be fine for C with a little adult supervision. For his birthday C got an easel/whiteboard/paper-roll combo from Ikea, but we C doesn’t have any art supplies yet, so we got him some colorful chalk. We also got him a little sock monkey, which satisfied my need for nostalgia, while fitting in with his bedroom’s jungle theme. Finally, at the toe of C’s stocking is the most important stocking ingredient: a big, juicy orange! No St. Nick’s stocking would be complete without one!

When I pack C’s care packages, the conversion between K and I is always the same. She always tells me I’ll never fit it all. Well, we’ve learned that stockings are no different :D. It was a bit of challenge (it wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t), but I got it all in, and we even hung it over the fireplace with care — at least long enough to take a picture to remind us how we were thinking of C this Christmas season.

Wall Art

K has mentioned that we are decorating C’s room with a jungle theme. We’re tying in bits and pieces from everywhere, but the anchor of the theme is the Jungle Time Toddler Bedding Collection by J*oj*o designs. We bought the wall hangings that go along with the set but wanted more things to hang on the wall with a personal touch and without breaking the bank. I suggested that we try making some paintings to add to the collection.

With our pallet set for us, we only had to come up with a theme. It had to be something easy enough for us to do (neither of us are art majors), look good when we were done, and be cheaper than just buying some wall art. We settled on an animal tracks theme and figured we could paint some canvases and make some stencils to come with something original and fun.

We found four 18×24 white canvases on clearance from Michael’s. We took the pre-made wall hangings to the store and picked out four colors which matched as closely as possible to the colors in the decorations and also picked up some foam brushes and sticky back foam sheets to make the stencils.

First we painted each canvas a solid color, one for each of the colors we bought.

Next we found some footprints online: a lion, an elephant, and a frog. Originally I was going to make vectorized versions of the footprints to print out and transfer to the foam sheets, but that seemed like a lot of work, so I ended up just drawing them freehand based on the images we found. I cut out the stencils and stuck them to another foam sheet to keep them in place.

We started with the elephant and did a test print on a paper bag. It looked really good, so we were ready to commit to the plan. Once the elephant was done, we did the lion and finished with the frog.

But there’s one blank canvas left. That one’s for C when he gets home. We’ll paint his little feet (and maybe hands), and he’ll be our king of the jungle.

And if you didn’t notice, the last two colors to be matched are near and dear to K’s heart. We have a little Sun Devil fan in the making.

Protected: Birthday gifts

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Protected: 10 months!

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Gifts for babies

I am definitely *not* a good sales person, so please excuse my awkward tone in the following post! 

Because babies are coming home so much later, our adoption agency in Korea does not have many toys for older children (12 months+).  We had talked with our social worker about our desire to help ESWS out, and since she was going to Korea we were told we could provide her with some toys to take over. J and I hit the sale racks at stores and found a bunch of toys she could fit in her suitcase. We remembered to take a quick picture of the toys before handing them over, but unfortunately the toys aren’t very well displayed… but you get the idea. 🙂

When she returned, she asked if we had any more toys that could go over with a family because the need is so high. So, in the spirit of the Midwest Mohr’s great toy drive of spring 2011, we are going to try and put on a Summer 2011 toy drive for ESWS in Korea.  If you are interested in participating, e-mail us at parents@heartsandseoul.com and I’ll give you my address to mail the toys.

Eastern is looking for new toys for children age 12 months to two years, and any donation would be so appreciated.  With that being said, the toys need to be smaller in size as we are trying to fit as many as possible into a checked suitcase.  Thanks for your consideration!

On the home front

Unfortunately we have a lot of time to prepare for C arrives home about a year from now, but we have been slowly working on getting his room ready.  A few weeks ago J assembled the toddler bed we purchased for him, and we also found an organic mattress we liked at Costco.com that fits perfectly inside (gotta love Costco!)  J did a great job putting everything together, though it took him longer than expected. Now we just need C home so it can be used. 🙂

We also bought a little table and chairs for C at I*KEA. J spent several hours this weekend sanding and finishing the wood and we think it will need about six coats total before it will be finished. Again, time is on our side and summer is finally coming in the PNW so we can hopefully have some cloud free skies for J to finish the job.

We also have purchased some cute clothing items for C to have when he comes home that aren’t going over in a care package. These were actually bought way back at Christmas time when we were at home and got some items harder to find in the Pacific Northwest.  Our son is going to be a big ASU fan, so we had to have the track suit and sweater to support his team.  As you might recall, an ASU onesie left in the first care package.

When we bought these items we thought C would be coming home at about 14 months, but now that the wait has increased so much he might be a little big for the 18 month tracksuit. *sniffle, sniffle* When we get an update (we hope!) this month, it will help us gauge how big he is getting.  Hopefully he’ll get a little use out of it.

Some good friends of ours from church also have helped to add to C’s wardrobe. They got C this adorable sweater and the cutest pants.  Honestly, how will he NOT rock in these?  They are also staying home until C is here for good.

We also have started to amass a collection of good children’s literature.

Honestly, I have SO MANY books I want to stock for C’s library being a school librarian, and the grandparents have not disappointed. My parents bought C the classic The Hungry Caterpillar and a cute little plush caterpillar to match.  J’s Mom and step-dad bought God Found Us You, a beautiful story about God’s role in forming a family made through adoption. Makes me cry every time. Good, good stuff. C’s great grandmother also knitted him this little wash cloth, his first gift. So precious.

C should be getting the *first* care package we put together in April THIS WEEK when he goes in for his 9 month check-up. It will be the first time he will see our faces smiling at him. Oh, I pray he looks at our pictures a lot and loves the little lion we picked our especially for him. We hugged that thing so many times, and I hope he feels our love when he receives it.