Naps are good.

When I put Harry down for his nap this morning I didn't really think it would stick.  I thought he'd roll around on the floor for awhile and then knock on the door to be let out, perhaps with a not-so-pleasant odor emanating from his behind.  But, wonder of wonders, he stayed put.  And slept. 
Usually while Harry naps I try to straighten the living room and corral the clutter, do some laundry, watch a TV show, read a book...anything that helps me get more organized and lets me relax.  But today I laid down on my bed, thinking it would be nice to have a 15 minute power nap before I began my usual naptime routine.  And I didn't wake up until naptime was over, 2 hours later.
This afternoon I am feeling so very refreshed.  It's that cozy feeling you get when you have slept in very late on a Sunday morning, a luxury I have not felt in a long time.  I have accomplished nothing today, but it feels really, really good.  I am off to make some coffee, to call a very good friend whom I have not spoken to in a long, long time, and to make some pretend eggs and sausages with Harry in his brand new kitchen.  Which he loves.  

Falling down the stairs, knitting, and...waiting.

We still have no news on the arrival of the much anticipated Hee Seon, a.k.a. Emma.  Just thought I'd get that out there instead of making you wonder if there is good news at the end of this post.  There isn't. 
Unless you count the fact that I am relatively unscathed after a tumble down the stairs two nights ago.  My socked foot slipped on the third (from the bottom) tread, and I went splat.  Scraped and bruised my thumb on the way down (of all things) because I made a feeble grab at the newel post.  Only my knitting has been affected by the scraping, and even that hasn't suffered much.  I did also manage to pull several muscles, which makes me sore but reminds me to laugh at myself.  I did mention that I am accident prone, did I not? 
To keep busy I have been knitting.  When asked what he thinks of all of my knitting projects, Brendan replied "Who are you?"  I've been making bags, sweaters and a dress for Em.  But mostly bags, and lots of them.  I'm working on number seven now, a bright red Paton yarn that I intend to add some glass beads to before felting.  I hope that glass beads can survive the turbulent atmosphere of my washing machine.  If not my afternoon may very well be spent picking shards from the knitting.  Some of my finished pieces:





I made a bag yesterday that far surpasses my previous efforts in construction, execution of design, and just plain fun.  Behold:

That's not a great picture.  The bag is made with Lopi wool, then felted.  I even made the button! 
************
Waiting for that elusive travel call is getting to me.  Whenever the phone rings I jump and my heart begins to race.  We're ready.  She could come home in an hour and we'd be fine.  We'd be elated!  She'll be six months old on Saturday, and I am beginning to wonder if I should pack away the little baby clothes, and bring out the next round of sizes.  I find myself wishing that we had the option to pick her up (our agency only has babies escorted, no travel for the parents) because then I would have a million details to oversee with packing three people for a trip, trying to figure out travel plans and flights, and wondering if we could survive the airplane with two kids in tow.  Instead I buy yarn, and knit around and around, row after row, keeping my hands busy but allowing my mind to work in endless circles of wondering. 

He's TWO today!

Happy Birthday, Harrison!

I just can't believe he's two already.  Where does the time go?  Wasn't it just yesterday that he came down the hallway in the arms of a woman we'd just met, who gently handed him to me and made me a mother?  Wasn't it just last week that he was six months old and demanding to be held at all times?  Wasn't it just a month ago that he was eight months old and taking his first halting steps across the floor, his smile so big and delighted that we couldn't help but cheer?

But it's true, he is two.  He is two and talking up a storm, making jokes, playing soccer and basketball around the living room, brushing his own teeth, saying please, thank you, and excuse me when appropriate, and asking for favorites at mealtimes.  He is two and loves to help cook, loves to dust the furniture, and asks for a napkin when he spills his milk on the floor.  He is two and every day he makes me proud to be his Mom.

Even last night, when we went through a certain rite of passage for parenthood:

We had corn for dinner, a favorite of Harry's.  He eats corn in a very specific manner; as studied and practiced as a speed eating champion he picks up one kernel at a time and places it in his mouth, which he has shaped into an 'o'.  Then he swings his hand out to the side a bit as he chews and swallows the kernel in his mouth, before swooping his hand down to the plate of corn in search of his next victim kernel.  It is funny to watch, and we usually crack up at his methodical technique.  So last night he's eating his corn, we're having fun watching him, and suddenly Brendan notices that Harrison's finger is near his left nostril.  Pointing at it, in fact.  And Harry says "Uh oh!  Popcorn booger."  And we start to laugh because we think, in  our naivete, that Harrison, our two year old, is much too smart to have stuck a kernel of corn up his nose.  Hah.  Sometimes we are idiots.

What ensued next can only be described as carefully controlled panic, as we tried to figure out what one should do when one's toddler has purposely placed a foreign object in his nose.  We got a flashlight to verify the situation.  Yup, yellow kernel wedged in very small nostril.  Tweezers were found.  They were unable to grip the slippery, rounded edge of the yellow kernel.  A discussion about the pros and cons of calling a doctor once again reduced us to panicked giggles, because no one ever wants to call the doctor and admit that their child has done something so...normal.  In  a stroke of desperation we stuck him in the shower, and doused his face with water.  I thought that perhaps the water would lubricate the kernel and make it come out.  No deal.  When we were drying him off Harrison shivered and in a stroke of pure genius: sneezed!  Out flew the yellow kernel!  Cheering was heard throughout the house, and we had a long conversation about why one should not place things up one's nose.

That's my kid.  I'm so proud!

We got our approvals!!!!!!

It is now official...we're just waiting for a phone call to tell us Emma is on her way!  Somehow I knew that if I e-mailed the USCIS we would find something good in our mailbox today, and I was right! 
For those wondering, Harrison came home 1 month after we received our approvals.  This doesn't mean it will be a month before Emma comes home, though.  It could be shorter, or longer, but let's hope hope hope that it is shorter!!
Have a good weekend, everyone!  I am off to spin and dance around the room in glee!

Hello? DHS? Are you out there?

Today a woman who also adopted through our agency went out of her way to help me find the e-mail address and phone number for our local Dep@artment of Homel@nd Security office so I can check on the status of our case.  A huge huge thanks to J! 
About an hour ago I wrote to the officer in charge of adoption paperwork, and hopefully we'll hear something back early next week.  I just want to know that they at least have everything they need to process it, since we had that little snafu with the state fingerprints. 
Please keep your fingers crossed that they'll e-mail me back saying we've been approved!!!

Picture post

Bed Head

Harry's evening "run-about" before bed

Macaroni and cheese smile

The date he was due

In seven days the H-Man will turn two, and I will become the mom of a two-year-old.  Because he was born a week overdue today was Seung Min's (Harrison's) due date, and I keep finding my thoughts turning to his birthmother, and also his birthfather.  I wish they could see him, the beautiful boy whose smile automatically makes the corners of your mouth tug upward, whose eyes twinkle mischievously when he's about to do something funny, whose hair rises in tufts on the sides when he wakes up, whose hands grasp our fingers in a strong little grip when he is pulling us to see something new he has discovered.

I wonder how his mother felt, two years ago, when her much awaited due date came, and then went.  I wonder how much she struggled at that time, what her thoughts were, how she coped, if she felt secure in her decisions.  I wonder if she knew that the life she sheltered within her body would make my life so very fulfilled.  I wonder if his birthfather knew about him, and if he did does he wonder about his baby now?

If I could meet them, the two souls that came together to create the child I know as my son, there are a million things I would love to ask.  I'd love to know whose eyes he has.  Where did his great belly laugh come from?  And his love of running?  Did his mother dance with him while she was pregnant?  Because he has very good rhythm and loves music and dancing.  Most of all I would love for them to be able to see what a great kid he is, how happy he is, and how loved he is.  I want them to know that he has changed our world in a million subtle ways, good ways, and that every day we feel blessed to share our lives with him.

See? See? See?

It's the world of a chatterbox within these four walls.  A constant dialogue of discovery, excitement, and the occasional whining spews forth from the wee one's mouth all day long, ceasing only when Curious George is on t.v. or when our boy is sleeping.  And while I have no idea what is normal for an almost two-year-old, I think his speech is very good for one so small.  I can understand 95% of what he's trying to say and I think others can probably catch 40-50%.  I remember back a few months when I was wondering why he never said any meaningful words, and I worried we might need early intervention.  Hah!  Oh, Former Self, you worried too much. 
This morning Harry is obsessed with the snow:
See?  Snow Mommy.  Snow.  See?  Outside snow.  Riley Charlotte outside snow.  Snowing!  Is Snowing!!  Yahoo!  Yippee!  SNOW!!!! See?  See it?  Snow.  Hmmmm, Snow.  WOO HOO!
In my moments of finding his new speaking abilities really fun, I taught Harrison the exclamations yahoo, yippee, woo hoo, and yay.  And how they have come back to haunt me! 
In the car Harrison points out the things we pass, and sometimes adds counting to his repertoire.  He can count from one to ten correctly by himself, but he really favors the numbers 6, 7 & 8.  He sees to throw them into his counting randomly, as if for emphasis:
See?  See?  See?  Cars!  Cars.  One. Two. SIX, Cars!  Digger.  See?  Digger!  Digger, see?  See? SEVEN!!
He seems to need to know if we can see what he sees.  He will repeat 'see?' until we say, "Yes, I SEE the CAR" at which point he'll give a satisfied nod of his head and start asking us to see something else.  Around and around we go.  Did I mention he only has two speeds?  ON and SLEEP.  There is literally nothing in between.  When he is tired he speeds up, running faster, talking more, being more clumsy and more demanding.  When he has just woken up he makes demands even before his eyes are fully open.  He shouts for juice, milk, crackers, bananas, and the favorite lately: raisins.  This week we ran out of raisins and I forgot them when we went to the grocery store.  From the crying and whining and general dragging about of one small child, you would have thought the world had ended, or was about to.  He very much knows what he wants and when he wants it.  So this is what people mean when they speak of the age two!
And here is where I will discredit all of my seeming annoyance and general tiredness of the constant chatter:  I love this age.  I love that he can ask for things and I can understand him.  Even when he whines and cries because I have said 'no' to his requests, I love that we are having meaningful conversation.  I am really enjoying watching his personality take shape and I find myself chuckling at the things he points out and asks for.  And he is funny!  At my mom's house the other day he said "please sit down", grabbed each of us by the hand, dragged us to the floor, and patted the spot in which we should sit.  When we were all sitting on the kitchen floor, he smiled and giggled a little.  He is able to understand reasoning and sequence of events, to a certain extent.  If I tell him that we're going to leave the house, so first we need shoes, a coat, gloves, and a hat he will (sometimes) collect those items and bring them to me.  Or he will point it out if I do things in a different order than  I said I would.  And while it is tough to have him constantly checking my work, my schedule, and what I'm seeing, I really enjoy him as a person and I love watching him grow. 
Now, if only we can get him to use the potty!  He's wearing pull-ups today, and somehow he knows who Buzz and Woody are, even though he's never seen Toy Story.  Interesting.  And per Brendan's request I will try to post more pictures soon.  We have a new camera and the learning curve, for me, is wide.