Gotcha! Forever Family Day

How else would we celebrate Jee's "Gotcha! Forever Family Day"??? With photos, of course! I am so, so, so beyond blessed by my friend, Angel. Check her out, here. She captured Jee in Jee fashion. What a cutie pa tootie, this kid of mine. She's an amazing artist, a great friend (even if we have only met face to face a few times!), and an incredible adoption advocate. I can hardly wait to see the rest of the photos, but I just needed to show you these soooo bad....I couldn't wait!!

We have decided to call the day we brought Jee home his "Gotcha! Forever Family Day". We are hoping to have little traditions that we have every year. We would like to spend some time with just Jee and Mommy and Daddy. This year I took him to get his photos and to the asian market. He loved it, of course. Once he saw the seaweed we needed to go ahead and bolt on out of there because he didn't make it to the car before he had eaten an entire individual packet (he loves the stuff). It really is so much fun to just hang out with him all by himself. At the asian market they have these big marble buddha statues. Immediately upon seeing them Jee says (in a loud clear voice with many people around) "HO HO HO" and grabs his belly. He thought they were santa....nice (so adorable!).

Then, each year we hope to have a Korean dinner/lunch. This year we tried out a new place and loved it (Thanks, Kimberly!). I am serious when I say Jee loves Korean food. It is really true. He loves it. He ate his weight in bulgogi and kimchi (it was super spicy which he didn't mind a bit).

Finally, each year we hope to have a little family celebration with Jee and his big "bubba" and "noo-nah". This year we did chocolate fondue. It was yummy and they all loved it. We also gave him his little gift we got him in Korea for his first "Gotcha! Forever Family Day." It was a little Korean boy doll ornament dressed in a hanbok. While we were in Korea, we got him a small gift to open at momentous occasions; each Gotcha day, his wedding, his graduation, and the time when he trusts the Lord as His Savior.

It doesn't seem right that Jee has been home a year. In many ways it seems like longer, in some ways it seems like just a few months ago that we were having sleepless nights and bonding at home with the family. I remember clearly the nights we spent walking the halls loving on each other. He insisted that I wore a tank top because he wanted to be close to my skin (yumm-oh, man, i love that kid). I would go days without bathing because I didn't want to be out of his sight. I remember waking up next to him, his sweaty little self. He hated it when I wore a hat, it confused him so I stopped wearing hats (of course). I remember when his sort of half smile that he gave us in the beginning turned into a full face smile, eyes and nose scrunching up. I remember when I let Ree give him a bottle for the first time (I was very protective of that!). I remember laying out a "buffet of pacifiers" and letting him choose the one he wanted to try. I remember being so careful to introduce his pureed food slowly and then finally realizing he had had just about everything he wanted to eat in Korea. I remember moving from being in love with a photo to being in love with my child.

We love you, Jee Jee, and are so blessed that we get to call you our son.