Haircuts!!

Well, it was haircut night at the Paul house. This is always an interesting endeavor. The boys need haircuts about every 3 weeks. So, I moonlight as a barber for the evening. I usually strip them to undies, set them on a kid chair on top of the table, arm them with a sucker and a movie if possible. I get my Wahl clipper with safety guards set up and go to work. I've gotten pretty over the past 5 years. Especially since they've all needed haircuts since they were newborns. Henry came with a shaved head so my dad, a real barber, trimmed it up. His hair is so thick and coarse it feels like brillo pad. Charles came home with hair most mothers of girls would be proud of. He could practically wear a ponytail. I thought it looked like a troll doll. We tried to trim it, but it only stuck up more. So, my dad pulled the clippers out for him too. His hair isn't quite brillo pad status, but close. Andrew came home home with the finest, thinnest hair ever. What he lacked he quantity he made up for in length. However, he received a haircut tonight as well. I talked to our hairdresser last week (a Korean woman) who said she couldn't trim it because it would just stick straight up. I asked what people in Korea do with hair like this, and she said they would just shave it off. So, we did. It was sort of sad to shave his head. But, I kept all his hair in a little baggie. Henry cried and said he wanted Andrew back. Charles followed suit only because he does whatever his big brother does. They are now all fine, but I'm sure Andrew will need to wear a hat for a long time. His head must be so cold. We think the boys must feel like their wearing fur blankets on the tops of their heads--their hair is so thick. But, poor Andrew. Well, I've always loved hats on babies so now I have an excuse.

The storm seems to be over. We had a wonderful time watching the snowplow nearly get stuck on our street, and a very close call with the mailbox.

Charles' Gotcha Day!!

Charles had climbed up on the cupboard to sneak something out of the cupboard. Look at that face. Doesn't it just scream 'mischief?'
Henry is painting a picture for Andrew's room. This was how we decided to decorate his room...with his brothers' artwork.
Mmmm...chocolate ice cream!
Mmmm! This cone is great!

Greetings all!! It was Charles' Gotcha Day today. Wow! I can't believe it's already been 3 years since he came home. We can remember it like it was yesterday. Henry wore his dalmatian dog shirt, and my mom and dad came with. Henry and my dad bought treats from the vending machine while we waited by the baggage carousel. Henry says they bought peanuts. Charles was sleeping when we got him. But, he opened his eyes long enough to look at his big brother and give him the nicest smile. Then he fell asleep again for a few hours. It always amazes me how you can be handed a strange baby and feel immediately like their parent. As if they had always been with you. Its always striking to me when people say, 'Oh, it's too bad you couldn't have had them younger?' In my mind I think... 'you mean I haven't always had them?' 'They weren't born to me?' No, I did not carry them for 9 months, and they were not born to me. But, I guess hearts are easy to confuse because it certainly feels as if I did.

The weather here has been crazy all day. Rain, sleet, snow, rain...the boys bedroom window is coated with ice. You can't see out. However, since we're of such strong North Dakota stock, we ventured out this afternoon to take Charles to supper. He wanted to eat rice, mandu, and ice cream. The only place you can find all that is at Sky Dragon buffet. The boys ate multiple mandu (it's not actually mandu, Korean mandu. It's Chinese fried dumplings. However, they are similar enough to be interchanged in the minds of 3 and 5 year olds). Charles picked cupcakes for dessert at home. Yes, I let him have ice cream at the restaurant and then a cupcake at home of which he only licked the frosting off. (This is not a typical day...it's a very special day and then it's okay to do things like that.) The boys did well until evening. Andrew had trouble going to sleep. I think he was over-tired and hopefully not getting sick. Henry was sad because he misses his family in Korea. Henry has a little trouble at his birthday and his gotcha day. We have a week or two of atypical behavior, sadness, and missing his family. This from a boy who is normally so happy and well-behaved. And, then about a week after his birthday/gotcha day, he seems better. This is the first time we've noticed it at Charles gotcha day. We'll have to watch as these special days arrive and pass and see if we continue to note this trend. Apparently, from things I've read this is not uncommon in kids who are adopted.

A thunderstorm in February?

A smiley boy
Watch out, Henry! I'm going to kiss you!
Me and my big brother.
Charles loves to do puzzles. And, play with trains as you can see in the back.
This is me in my new monkey towel. Appropriate since my mom and dad call me a monkey. Thanks Steve and Kelly for the towel!


Well, as a matter of fact, we are having a thunderstorm tonight. Complete with lightening. I really like thunderstorms...in April. This rain is going to freeze. We will be going out tomorrow though. It's Charles Gotcha Day. In the adoption world, gotcha day is a celebration of the day we gotcha. Tomorrow is the day Charles came home. We've had some interesting conversations about that lately...with both boys. Travis and I were talking about how glad we were to let Henry wait to start kindergarten. Travis commented that it was nice to have all the boys home at the same time. Especially since it will likely be the only time they'll all be home with no school requirements. It was good reminder of having perspective. One thing I learned when I was sick is that there is no guarantee, and that we need to enjoy life and the people around us as much as possible while we're here. So, I decided the most important thing is to spend time with my kids. With this as priority, it places things like housework a little bit lower on the totem pole. Just so everyone knows, if you come to my house try not to notice the dust on the shelves, the dog hair on the couch, or the dirty shoe prints on the floor. There will probably be sand on the rug, fingerprints on the window, and pictures taped to the wall by little boys and moms. There may be train tracks set up on the floor for weeks, and the laundry may take a few days to get folded. But, we'll be having fun, playing, and hugging, snuggling for books, and making grass and rock soup outside. We'll probably have pet worms, and the refrigerator may look like a giant collage of stuff. All visitors are welcome, but I hope you don't mind a lot of chaos and little dust. We're going to be having fun.

I have a great Charles comment today. All the boys had baths tonight. Travis was taking care of Andrew, Henry was taking care of himself, and I was helping Charles put lotion on. He was staring at his hands, and then yelled, "Mom! Mom! My hands are squish!" He had been in the bathtub too long : )

Also, baby James got out of the hospital today. I was relieved and thrilled to see his smiling face.

Question of the day

We had a relatively unproductive day. We did manage to go outside for about an hour. The big boys were bouncing off the walls, and we needed to get out before they spent the whole day in time-out. It worked!! They were much better behaved when we came in.

At bedtime tonight, Charles asked the question of the day, actually questions of the day.
Charles, "What if we had no food, or sink, or pans, or stove?"
Mom, " What would we do if didn't have any of those?"
Henry, "We could buy food."
Charles, "We would have no glass."
Henry, "We could buy vegetables and plant them in the garden and grow food. And, we could buy a cow for milk."

Next question"
Charles, " What if our silverware were corn?"
Mom, "What would we do if our silverware were corn?"
Charles, "I would have to eat my spoon."

These were asked with all seriousness and after a great deal of thought. I've gotten very good at keeping a straight face.

Sorry, no pictures today. We have some but will post tomorrow.

Slimy kisses and baths

Andrew has been into this open-mouthed, slobbery kissing thing for the past few days. If you let him, he will try to suck on your cheeks. Henry is getting the treatment here.
And, another kiss for big brother. Henry's face was soaked with spit after this.
Ahh. A kiss for mom. Yes, open-mouthed and slobbery. This our happy boy after his bath. He's particularly happy because I haven't put clothes on him yet.
And, when he's particularly happy he gives us a smile that looks like this.

We had a regular day at the Paul house. That is, after waking up at 5 and realizing Andrew hadn't woken up in the night. Of course, I had to go check and make sure he was alright. Then I went back to bed. Yes!! Another few minutes of sleep. He woke at 6. We'll see if this continues. I think it won't. We received a call from a colleague of our pediatrician (he's on vacation) with the results of Andrew's urine test. Apparently, it's growing E. Coli. He has a bladder infection. It's not so common among infants, especially boys, but the bacteria is common. We received a prescription for Bactrim. And, when our pediatrician returns next week, we'll be set up with some tests to make sure that all is well. Even with an infection, Andrew was in good spirits. He was laughing and wiggling around and giving kisses. I guess it is a new definition for a 'spit bath.' The boys all had baths...with water and soap. Andrew gave a great show after his bath when I got the pictures. Nothing else new at our house. We're all home tomorrow, and are hoping to enjoy the weather again.

A beautiful day!!

The joy of running water. We had multiple buckets and even a plastic bag filled this morning.

Little man is all ready to go out. He didn't even complain about his snowsuit.

Well, it really was a beautiful day today. But, we didn't get to enjoy it quite like we had hoped. Since we were all home today, we were going to spend most of the morning outside. However, we got a call from our pediatrician at about 8:30 am saying that Andrew's blood work was abnormal and that it showed his thyroid hormone was low. He wanted to run a repeat test just to make sure. I told Henry that Andrew needed to have blood drawn and he cried for 10 minutes. He thought Andrew was going to have an operation. Oops! We headed out the door, and were relieved that Travis was able to meet us. Andrew first had to have urinary catheter to recheck his urinalysis. Of course, they got they cath in but he had just pottied and there was no urine in there. Instead, they stuck another bag over his privates to catch any urine/potty that may come out (the cath was removed.) The other day I was thinking about the indignity of having a plastic bag stuck on to catch urine. But, today I thought it seemed so much more pleasant than being catheterized. Then we headed down for blood work. This went very smoothly, and they were able to get blood on the first stick. Then we returned to the pediatricians where, to our delight, Andrew had pottied in the bag. Yaaaay!! We went home to wait for the results which, thankfully, came back negative. So, he does not have hypothyroidism.

We did make it outside this morning while Andrew napped. The boys spent about 45 minutes catching water from the gutter spout in sand pails. What glory!! They mixed rock soup with some added greens... grass. Then Henry started asking questions...'Why does water come out of this spout (in the sun) and not that one (in the shade)? Why won't all the snow melt in water? We had a short science lesson including: standing in the sun and then in the shade to see which is warmer and concluding why one gutter has running water and the other doesn't, and then leaving the bucket of snow/water mixture in the sun while we went in for lunch and rests and returning to find it all melted. It was beginning to remind of the days when Henry pelted me with questions about God and heaven. 'What does God look like? Does God sleep? What does God eat? Where will we live when we're in heaven?' We did go out again this afternoon with Andrew. He didn't say much, but at least he didn't complain. It was so great to be out in the fresh air.

*****Please, please, please pray for Baby James. His surgery did not go as they had hoped. There is still some remaining cancer that they were unable to remove without removing the little remaining kidney. This little guy has been through more in his 11 months than most people go through in a whole lifetime. Again, the link to his website is in my links area.*****

Rolling over!!

Our three sons. The boys are certainly bonding.
Charles was asking to hold his baby. It's the first time he's asked since we got home. Charles was loving it.
Kisses for mom. If Andrew gets his mouth on your face, he tries to chew on your cheek. We call them kisses. We tried to get a picture of the four of them. Charles, Andrew, Henry, and Sofia. It was not easy.
I rolled over!! I didn't really like it on my tummy anyway.

Well, our little Andrew has reached a major milestone. He can roll from front to back. Of course, he doesn't particularly like lying on his tummy since it's so much work. So that is an added incentive. But, he can flip over with the best of them. Rolling from back to tummy is coming along, but he needs a little more time on that one. We had a very nice weekend. Dad studied all morning on Saturday as he always does. But, decided to stay home the rest of the afternoon and evening with the family. It meant he had to skip church, but... we had a really nice evening. I did manage to swing getting all 3 boys ready for church on Sunday. And, we made it on time... at least the boys made it to Sunday School on time. Andrew and I hung out in the lobby until the singing was done before we went into church. We didn't want a repeat of last week. He did great! He had a bottle and fell asleep during the prayer. He slept right up until the end. Our good friends, Aaron and Lexie, and daughter, Sofia, came to meet Andrew that evening. We had a wonderful time. Lexie is due to deliver her second baby any day. She must be close because she had so much energy she made supper for us and brought it over. We're lucky to have such good friends. My guess is that we'll provide the same favor when she gets home from the hospital.

Andrew and I ventured on our first outside trip this morning. It's finally warming up!! We made it about 15 minutes. He wasn't terribly impressed, but it was a little breezy. We'll try again tomorrow. Charles has been into a new stage of drawing. He says he's drawing streets, and then colors them brown. I love to see that intense concentration when he's working on something new. Henry is learning to read words from a game that he received from Ja Neal for Valentine's Day. He's very proud of himself.

Dad has another busy week, but he and Andrew are going to get haircuts on Wednesday. Charles Gotcha Day is on Saturday so we'll have a family party that night.

***To all the prayer warriors out there, Baby James went to surgery at about noon today. He and his family would appreciate your prayers. This little guy isn't even a year old and he's fighting very hard for his life. ***

We love our baby Min Seong!!

This is what I've been hearing from the boys for the past couple days... 'We love baby Andrew. We love baby Min Seong.' I hear myself in their words when they come up to him and say in a high-pitched, sweet voice (as Henry calls it)..'Hello, sweetie! Hello, my Min Seong.' They seem to be really bonding. Even Charles was instigating a picture today. Thus, the first one downloaded. If they hear one peep from him, they say, 'Mom, baby Andrew is crying for you.' They're the first ones to run upstairs when they hear him awake, and, if they get there much before me they crawl in the crib with him. Poor boy. He seems to be adjusting well though. We're getting a lot more laughs, and an all-around more relaxed baby. Like most babies, he loves to be without clothes, at least most of them. I do insist on a diaper since I got a small shower one morning : ) (Thank goodness it was just on my pants.) But, he loves to wiggle and laugh when he gets those clothes off.

Henry and Charles have been great. They're usually pretty helpful, but they are still kids. I took them to Target today to pick up a few things. Charles threw a fit and we left with only a package of pacifiers. Yes, in my haste, I did pay for them. And, yes, we have a pacifier boy. They told me in Korea that he didn't really take it. He usually sucked his thumb. This would have been fine, but he was having trouble finding it. We tried the pacifier and he seems to do okay. It makes him happy to have it, but I don't really like it much when we get up in the middle of the night to find it so he can go back to sleep. So far, we haven't lost it.

We got to meet our good friends baby boy last night. They left the day after me to get their son in Guatemala, and came home the day after me. This is also their 3rd child. We had a house full for supper, but the kids played great. Zachary is the smiliest baby I've ever seen. What a happy boy.

***Again, please pray for Baby James. He is having surgery on Monday to try to remove more of his kidney tumor. A link to his site is in my links list. ***

The baby is still here!!

Sorry, I don't have any pictures this time. The battery on my camera was dead so I'm recharging. Yesterday, when Travis got home from work, Charles came running up to him. He was all excited and said, 'Dad!! The baby is still here.!' We've been so happy with how they've adjusted to having a baby brother. Henry did very well when Charles came home, and has done fabulous with Andrew as well. We were a little worried about Charles, but he's been kissing and hugging him for the past few days. Andrew seems to have finally settled in. He's always been good and smiling a lot, but we've been hearing a lot more laughing over the past couple days. I think he's figured out who we are. When he's around strangers he looks for us, and if he fusses he quiets when we hold him. It's been only a week and a half since we've been home, but it already seems as if he's been here forever. Aside from taking longer to get anywhere, we're all doing well. I did manage a solo trip to Target yesterday with the 3 of them. Thank goodness it was a quick trip...it only took 1 1/2 hours from leaving the house to returning. The boys did as well as can be expected. Even when it was just Henry and Charles I was forever telling them to ...'sit down, watch out for people, don't run into the man with a walker.' I can't believe we've not knocked down an elderly person and sent them to the hospital. Andrew hung out in the front pack and was happy the whole time. Of course, watching his brothers is like watching a comedy act. They insisted on the limo cart. You know, the one that's a regular cart with two extra seats on the back. It's horrendous to try to steer down the aisles and around the racks. They kept sliding off the back because it's impossible for them to sit still longer than 5 seconds and they didn't want to walk. Thank goodness for the cookies at the bakery.

****I'm sending a prayer request out to all of you. Please pray for baby James and his family. James and Charles have the same foster mother, and they are friends of ours. If you look in my links section you will see a link to his site. Please read it. Baby James has cancer. They are going to have a busy and stressful week with medical tests and surgery. THANKS!!!!****

Boys! Boys! Boys!

This was after church on Sunday. Andrew was not impressed with church. He started to cry at the first hymn. Travis took him out, and then every time they tried to come back in he would cry again.
Dad and big brother, Henry. Charles wasn't in the posing mood. Henry has been such an awesome big brother. What a great helper, and he can always get a smile out of Andrew.
Another after church picture. Don't you love that hair?
Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub. Does anyone know where I can find a copy of that so I can frame it for the bathroom? Andrew was tired on this day, and didn't like a bath with two noisy brothers. However, tonight was a great thrill for them all , until Andrew peed in the tub. Oops!
We call this the Mad Scientist look. He was laughing at Henry, but had to post it because of that hair. I love it!!

We've had a busy day and weekend. Andrew ran a fever all Friday night and Saturday from his immunizations on Friday. His appointment went well, however, and our pediatrician seemed happy with his development. We had company on Saturday to see Andrew. He was not too perky because of those shots. Then again, neither was I. I was still tired from the trip, sleepless nights with Andrew, and then a sick boy the night before. We had a quiet day on Sunday which was nice for us all. This week proves to be busy. Andrew was in for blood work, a urinalysis, and TB test this morning. He wasn't very pleased with that at all. He wouldn't potty in the bag, so now I have a urine specimen in the refrigerator. Travis is at school tonight, and then has some other school-related engagements on Tuesday and Thursday night. We won't see him much this week, and I'm so relieved the big boys have adjusted so well. Henry has proven to be the epitome of a big brother. He gladly gets things for me, entertains Andrew whenever possible, and has been taking his plate to the sink after meals without being asked. Charles has also done much better than I expected. He has suddenly hit a new cognitive level, and thinks so much more like a big boy. He initiated picking his toys up all on his own today. And, has been playing so well with Henry...even sharing without being asked. Of course, he is 3, so this changes quickly and at any whim. I feel so badly tonight. Charles has been crying whenever I say goodnight and leave the room. He wants me to stay and sleep with him. I finally figured out that he's afraid I"m going to leave again. We talked about it, and when it was time to say goodnight tonight, he let me leave without a fuss. Bless their hearts!! They've been real troopers through all this chaos and change. It's been good to get back on a regular schedule.

A new brother

Oops. I see I got two of the same picture on here. This is Charles feeding baby Andrew. This was the first day we were home.

This is Andrew on the second day he was home.
Andrew and his big brother, Henry.
Travis and Henry couldn't get Charles to wake up yesterday afternoon when I had gone to run errands. This was how they got him to wake up...piling baby toys on his head. Poor boy!!

Things have gone pretty well since we got home. Andrew is gradually switching to our time zone. He is sleeping his longer hours at nap. This does not mean that he doesn't wake up...sometimes for 2 hours. My mom helped me out the first couple nights because I was so tired, and Travis had to work. Bless her!! I was sorry to see them go yesterday. I had had help for awhile and all of a sudden I was on my own....with 3 boys!! We actually did pretty well. We had only two time-out episodes...not for me. But, I think I would really like a time-out sometime. 30+ minutes alone on the couch or in my room. Why don't moms get time-outs? Andrew has his first doctors appointment today...and he was deemed very healthy and on target developmentally since he was born a few weeks early. He weighs 14# and is 25 inches long. He did have 3 shots, and was absolutely livid for about 5 minutes and then periodically after that he would let out an angry cry. We have blood work, TB test, urinalysis on Monday. We hope for a really great lab tech for drawing blood. All else is well for us. We're a little tired, but adjusting well. The boys have been fantastic and really seem to be bonding well with Andew. Henry likes to sing to him, and they both come and play and talk to him when he's sitting with me. No jealousy so far, we'll hope it continues. I'm heading out to have a small party with Dad and the boys. We're all tired so we're watching Lady and the Tramp with popcorn. Sounds good to me. I hope I don't fall asleep before the boys : )

FIgured out the pictures!!

These were some other families at the guesthouse. We went out for supper the night before I left Seoul.
Mrs. Kim, Charles foster mom, came to the going-away ceremony. She spent some time talking to Andrew, because he is Charles brother.
Dr. Kim founded the agency. He is here for the ceremony.
This is Dr. Kim praying for the babies as they get ready to leave with their families.

This was a very emotional experience for everyone. It was especially for me, because Mrs. Kim came to be with us. She had a special card for Charles with a message for when he is older.

Still on Korea time

Well, Andrew has done great getting home and being sorrounded by two wild older brothers. The boys are loving him, but are at times a little over-helpful. They both want to feed him, hold him, talk to him, etc. He's a little overwhelmed by all the noise and attention. I managed to sleep for about 3 hours before he woke up last night. My mom and dad were still awake so they played with him while I updated on our trip. He was up for a couple hours and then back to sleep. I just slept in the bed with him which is what he's used to. He slept like that with his foster mom. He was fine, but I woke up at every little noise, and then he would wake up hearing me. At one point, he slept on my chest for a couple hours. That was when we moved from his room to mine, and then Charles and Henry ended up with as well. A little crowded...I guess that's what they mean when they talk about 'family beds.' We moved back to his room and then slept until about 6 a.m. My mom got up and took him and I went back to bed for awhile. After lunch, Andrew fell asleep and the boys laid down with me to read books. We all fell asleep for 3 hours. Wow!!! That was the best nap ever!! I'm feeling pretty good. Andrew has a stuffy nose and a little cough. We're hoping it doesn't turn into anything more. We have an appointment with our pediatrician on Friday.

It was Travis' last day at his old job today. He starts his new job tomorrow. I feel badly that I'm so distracted I haven't even been able to think about the stress he must be feeling. The boys will be going to Ja Neal's tomorrow...the first time since we got home. They seem excited to tell all their friends about their baby brother. I have a few errands I need to run tomorrow as well. My mom and dad are leaving on Thursday, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I go from having 2 kids, to having 3 kids that are all being cared for by others (vacation for mom in Korea), to having 3 kids with 4 adults around, to having 3 kids with just me. Travis has to work on Thursday. Yikes!! I'm not sure what I'm in for, but hopefully we won't have to leave the house. I'm going to add some more pictures. Hopefully, it turns out better than yesterday. Now that I've already written, I'm wondering if I should add the pictures first. Oh well. Here goes!!

Annyong haseyo!!

This is Andrew and I in the van on the way to the airport.

Well, I made it. The flight was long, but Andrew was a little trooper. We met downstairs at the agency at 7:45 a.m. on the 5th (the Korean 5th which is about 14 hours ahead of us.) There is always a going-away ceremony where the elder Dr. Kim, who started the agency, comes to pray over the children who are leaving that day. We were prepared for a sad occasion. I was not, however, prepared for Mrs. Kim (Charles foster mom) to also come. This was especially sad for me, because I know how much she misses Charles. She spent some time talking to Andrew before the ceremony. I'm sure about his brother. Dr. Kim prayed over the children and then we left in the van. 3 families, who have become close friends, left that day. The driver helped us unload our luggage and load onto carts. Then we were on our own. I managed to push my cart, with Andrew in the front pack, into the airport, check in, make it through security, and to my gate. God bless many Korean people along the way who helped me, especially Andrew, out that day. The flight from Seoul to Tokyo was uneventful except for a puking episode, by Andrew, not me. A wonderful dad and his son were able to distract Andrew during the descent when he was a little fussy. I made it through the Tokyo airport and to my gate. Andrew took a short catnap. The flight to MSP was packed. I had requested a bassinet but wasn't able to get one. Needless to say, from the time I left the agency to the time I arrived in MSP, I didn't put Andrew down. My arms are a little achy right now. I had some fabulous help from the people at the airport, and made it down to the gate where Trav, the boys, and mom and dad were waiting. What a welcome!!! Andrew seems to be handling all the attention from the boys fairly well. He took a great nap this afternoon, a bath, and then fell asleep again. He woke up at 10 pm, thank goodness I had already slept for 2 hours, and is wide awake with my folks right now.

He has done great since we've been home. He only cried when he woke up just now.

This is us at the airport.

I'm having a little trouble getting the pictures in right, and in the right size. The one with Andrew alone is taken in the agency van. The one where he is sleeping was taken on the plane. Yes, he slept. I did not : )

This is us with my mom and dad at the airport.