Still Smiling...

Makin' sure daddy is still there...yep, he isCheck out the drool....man, this kid is a drool box. Have I mentioned he has SEVEN teeth!!!! Give the boy a steak, for heaven's sake. 

First doctor visit with our doctor, who happens to be a dear friend. That's a major plus. To know that Jude will know his doctor as a buddy will really help. Plus, he spent like 45 minutes with us talking about international adoption, about Jude, and taking time to really answer my crazy nutso new mom questions and worries. No painful procedures today and Jude had the time of his life. Dr. G said his burns look good and he doesn't think he will need anything further. He mentioned we could put Vitamin E oil on them to help with the scarring and that there will indeed, be some scarring but that they should not effect his dexterity. We also talked a lot about whether or not we really need to do the blood tests that our adoption agency strongly recommends. You may not know this about me but I am a major non medical interventionist (except for taking medications...I used to be a pharmaceutical rep, remember! I love myself some drugs). But, other than meds, I don't like lots of pricks and prods and stuff like that especially on my babies. I'm actually kind of a hippy in that manner (remember, my name is Sunshine and I may have been born in the 70's). So, I was thinking maybe we would opt not to do the blood tests that our agency recommends. But, our dr. really thinks that we should and his list of tests were the same as the recommended list for our agency. So, I am not thrilled about doing blood work on my poor baby boy but in a month, I think that is what we are going to do. Seriously, I think I may have to ask Dr. G for some valium for the day of and the day before. This could be bad, really bad. 

Jude is 18.5 pounds and nearly 30 inches LONG!!! His little body type is soooo different than our other two. He just feels so different and sweet in my arms. He is in about the 75% for height and 25% for weight (US chart). And, in case you were wondering....(I do have the Gap size chart memorized) and he is barely in the 6-12 mo size for weight and just in the 12-18 month for height. He has been wearing mostly 6-12 mo. b/c that is what I have out, and I have SOOO many cute new outfits from showers in that size but I do know that the 12-18 month clothes will be coming out soon. FYI: Creed was always in about the 10-20% chart and Rinn has hardly ever been on the chart once she was about 2 months old she dropped off and has nearly been off ever since...little pa-tooty. Jude wears a size FIVE shoe. No wonder the kid wants to walk with those boats! Hilarious. 
Micah and I just had Jude (thanks, Mrs. Woodard!!!) and so we went out to eat after our doctor's appointment. It was Jude's first real trip out in real public. He did so well and we kept him really close to us. This little guy is just a little sugar bear.
Three days ago, outside.

Today, outside. This is insane. Jude's first walk around the block (below).
I think Rinn is doing better, still a bit emotional but really interacting better with her brother. She is starting to learn how to act toward him. She even lets him pull her hair without freaking out. It was hard to get this girl to look at the camera and not her brother constantly.

Quick, New Update

The little guy getting adjusted to his high chair. He is pretty happy in it as long as you are stuffing his face really fast, as soon as you slow down..uh oh. You really needed to see this little rat's nest he has every morning and after every nap. It cracks me up. 
Do not walk on the ice outside (note the big huge goose-egg on the top left...it really was way worse than it looks.)
The hat stayed on for .2 seconds. So cute, though.
These brothers are buddies...yes, they did still have their Christmas jammies on, give me a break...we are enjoying our time bonding, not worrying that we have had the same clothes on for a day and a half!
Okay, here is the main question for this blog: Are you a middle child and did you turn out okay? Rinn is the one I am worrying about. She is so sweet and so gets lost in the mix. Our conversation (while I was doing her nails) went like this...

Me: "So, Rinn (pretending I barely know her)...I hear you have a new brother...tell me about that."

Rinn: "Yep, he's cute."

Me: "So, does he get a lot of attention?"

Rinn: "Yep, he gets lots of attention and my brother, Creed, he gets ALL the attention."

Kind of true, actually but we have been trying so hard to make it not true. That little sugar is the sweetest little thing in the world. A bit emotional, but sweet none the less. 

So, I was a middle child.....hmm...welp, we better move on but Micah was also a middle child and he ended up okay. I really don't count myself as a middle child, though, because my personality was a bit like Creed's, I demanded attention and my older sis, Sky, just laid down and took it, always taking up for her little sis. So, it is kind of like I was a first child, in some sense. So, let me know....tell me she will be okay. 

I honestly know she will be okay but I just worry about her little sugary self. So, in this picture I am doing something I swore I would not let ANYONE do for months after Jude was home. I let her feed him. Mind you, Micah has barely fed him because I am so possessive of this time, but Rinny needed some bonding with him and it was sweet for a second (until he started arching his back for his mom). 
Family photo...this is as good as it gets, friends....I am pretty sure once you have more than 3 children you never get a photo of everyone smiling (unless, of course, you are a Woodard and then your kids are perfect and do whatever the photographer says! Well, come to think of it a Duncan too, not so much an Anderson thing though :)!!!!)

Christmas in January!

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! Merry First Christmas, Ju Ju. 

We have had a fantastic day. It even appears to be a white Christmas (in fact, it is an icy Christmas, but appears to be white none the less). 

Although Jude was awake most of the night he was incredibly happy. What was he doing most of the night? Let me answer that question: Clap my hands, examine my hands, pat dadda's pillow, play with momma's hair, flex legs and say "ahh", Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. It was so cute, even at 2 am. 

I think I am being so much more patient and understanding of the little guy for so many reasons. One; we have wanted this day of him being in our bed for so long that I want to eat up every moment...even in the middle of the night. Two; he is just so cute. Three; I am just happy he isn't grieving and he is having the time of his life at 2 am. Three; I have prepared for this sleep deprivation for months and months by not getting enough sleep before he came. Four; Micah is letting me sleep when Jude sleeps, it is awesome. Four; I have no other responsiblities b/c people around us are treating us like kings and queens, food just shows up on our doorstep, literally...it's awesome. 

Oops.. I hear a baby in the other room, gotta go. 

Still having fun...

Everything goes to the mouth....
Our friends brought Rinn over a Tinkerbell wand while she was asleep...so, of course, we have had to dress up like tinkerbell yesterday and today. The makeup artist is mommy and I am not quiet sure what the black lines on the eyes are, but she went for it. 
Wrestling with "bub" (his first word) on the couch. 

More of tinkerbell...
The homemade apple pie I whipped up last night. Ha. Our friends brought us over a yummy dinner and these dinners sure are appreciated....I would in no way have time to make dinner so, it is sure nice to have yummy homemade dinners each night! Plus, my dinners aren't near this fancy....
Still doing good. Last night was awesome. The night before, tough. Last night Jude only woke up once and was happy when he did...went right back to sleep. He then woke up for good at 5 am...happy as could be. It is so great when he wakes up smiling. He is working on about a 2 hour nap at this point :)

Jude is definately coming out of his shell more. Little sugar booger. He is much more energetic than first thought so, he fits in perfect. He is also becoming very vocal and would probably be walking by the end of the week if we allowed him too. Currently, when he starts to try we sit him down on his bottom!!! I am not ready for my baby to walk....so, instead, I will just carry him. 

We are pumped about Christmas tomorrow. We will see how it goes, I am pretty sure Jude is going to enjoy unwrapping the gifts, since he has already tried multiple times. 

Day Two, Home Forever

Little snapshots of the sugar.....



We found that he likes the red bucket that is supposed to hold toys. Instead, lately, it has been holding a little black haired boy. 
Jude and his mommy bonding at midnight last night....
Jude and mommy at 2 am, Mommy won :)This morning...doesn't it look like he got a full nights sleep? Ha, that's funny, real funny.

Bathtime tonight. We tried it in the sink tonight. Fun for Jude, wet for everyone else involved. 



I don't have tons of time to post b/c all my babies are in bed and asleep. Therefore, I should get to sleep. Jude had a tough night last night. The first time he slept from 8:30 to midnight. He woke up happy and just kind of ready to love on each other and check in. Loved every second of it (see pics above). 

The second time was from 3:30-5. It was tough. He was grieving. He is still so sweet even when he is so upset. You can just tell he is so confused. He still allows us to love on him and does not refuse our cuddles but you can tell we are not the right people offering love to him. He will arch his back, close his eyes, then bury his head in my chest. Then, he opens his eyes looks at us and cries, closes his eyes again. Then, the cycle continues. If we can finally get him to open his eyes and figure it out that we are the same people who have been around for awhile and that we are indeed pretty nice to him he is fine. In the mornings, Creed has woken him up both mornings with love and sugars. That is the best way for him to wake up because he will open his eyes to see his brother and then he doesn't get that confused feeling. 

Most of the day (really, like 99%) he is incredibly pleasant and very smiley. When he gets tired or when I am changing his clothes or diaper he gets real upset and lets me know about it. He kind of doesn't like to be put in one position and have to stay there. We are finding a little more out about the description that they used to describe him in the notes we got about him as "busy." It's funny.

FAQ's:

How's Rinny doing? Umm...well, I would describe her as needy and emotional. She is happy and doesn't demand attention but you can tell she is adjusting. She loves her brother but isn't as vocal about it as her brother and not as touchy feely with him. 

How's Creed? Demanding, wanting attention, and really fond of his brother, very good with him, I must say. It just seems like he is trying to make up for the fact that Jude is getting lots of attention by doing things to get attention himself...either bad attention or good. 

How's Daddy? Good. Feeling Jet Lag still. Sleeping more than mommy (by mommy's choice, I have to say.)

How's Mommy? Tired. In love (with four people in this house). Exhausted. Wanting to take a shower and brush my teeth. Sad for the little boy. Sleep deprived, which is totally normal for me (even prior to baby boy), feeling the effects of it now, more short than normal I think. Pray for that for my other two babies (Jude receives all the patient side of me I think). 

When is Christmas finally coming to our household? We are going to celebrate on Lunar New Year, which is this upcoming Tuesday. This is a huge holiday in all of Asia basically so we thought that would be fun to celebrate with gifts and then we can FINALLY take our tree down....kinda getting tired of this thing. 

Shout out to the Nev's...dinner was yumm-o and they are true friends to see me in my un-showered, un teeth brushed self not to mention that I haven't changed clothes in two days. Hmm...maybe I should go work on that now instead of blogging. Night-night friends.

Day One, at home

This is back in Korea...our first afternoon and evening together. This is about an hour after we got Jude. He had been grieving for about 45 minutes and finally went to sleep. I had heard from so many people that you could tell when they were grieving...you would know it by their cry. So true. It was like an infant cry, and terrible breathing...like he was hyperventilating. He would look around, look at us, and then close his eyes and sob. It was just so hard. He slept for about an hour, mostly on my chest and woke up doing okay. That first evening was just precious. He slept great...like 6 hours straight. I, however, didn't sleep at all. I stared at him and played with his hair all night. Yummy.This is your new home, Ju Ju. This is also his favorite thing to do with dad.
Bonding at 2 am this morning with mommy, taking a picture with photo booth. He slept GREAT last night. He went to bed around 8:45 and slept in his crib once he was asleep for like an hour while we got the other two babies in bed. Then, we had promised Creed he  could sleep with us (you know, of course, Rinn chose to sleep in her own bed...by herself) and cuddle with Jude for a little bit. So, we moved Jude into our bed (while he was still asleep) and they got to cuddle. After Creed fell asleep, I moved Jude to the floor with me on a pallet in the living room, so it would be like he is used to sleeping with his foster mother. 

He slept until 1 am, and I fed him a bottle. I kept it dark in the house, hoping that he would go back to sleep. We cuddled, loved on each other, and then he stared into my eyes and started grunting....you know what that means, of course. His first BIG MAJOR blowout. All over his pants, back, onesie, head to toe basically. So, we had to turn on the lights and get him all cleaned up. He was awake at that point and stayed alert until about 3 ish. Went to sleep easily and slept until 8 am when his brother came in to cuddle up with him. So awesome. Jude and I took a nap today for about 2 hours and I feel great now. He is taking his second nap now with daddy and we will let him sleep for another hour or so. 
Can you tell he kind of likes his big brother?

His little sister, who is about his size, loves to talk to him like a baby and is obsessed with his feet, who really are nearly the size of his sisters. The kid has HUGE feet and hands. 

Bath time with brother and sissy. We did his mohawk hair and Creed got him to say "HIIII YAH!".
Cuddlying with bub this morning on our pallet. Notice his little lovey blanket. His foster mother said she has had it for many years, but Jee Han just loved it so much, she thought he would need it for the transition. I am so glad she thought of that, he really does love it. He sucks on the edge like it is a pacifier.