Yesterday we went to a high school graduation party for one of my husband’s cousins. It was a nice party (though a little hot). My mother-in-law had come with a big bag of cars for my son so he was a happy camper and enjoyed himself immensely.

We don’t do a lot with this side of the family – my husband’s father’s family. I don’t know why. They seem like very nice people, but I suppose that kind of things just happens as families grow bigger.

I recognized a few of the people there right away, but for the most part they were all strangers. Some I thought I should remember,... more

I found an article “Americans look for their Korean past” by Tonya Maxwell on SanLuisObispo.com the other day and I was reading through it tonight. For the full article, follow the link at the bottom of this post.

It’s about the trip to Korea for Korean Adoptees and their families that is sponsored by the Chicago Arirang Lions Club. I found the article to be interesting.

I have always planned to travel back to Korea. We discussed it when I was younger and still living at home, but it didn’t work out and, truthfully, I lost some interest while I was making my... more

My son arrived from Korea exactly two years ago today.

My son on 06-22-04.

My son at zoo on arrival day 06-22-05.

My son recently.

Today is his Arrival Day. On one side, I’m having a hard time believing that it’s been two years and, on the other side, I keep marveling at how much he’s changed.... more

I remember when I first realized that there were different types of beauty. I was in high school and my mother was writing an article about a man who had traveled to Korea to teach English. He was at our house and telling my mother all about his adventure. I was sitting quietly out of the way because I knew that my mother was working. He talked about teaching and getting a small part in a Korean soap opera.

He made a comment about there being a different type of beauty in Korea and he looked right at me. He told my mother that I would have very nice features to a... more

Nancy, the Reactive Attachment Disorder blogger, made a comment on one of my earlier posts (They Forget I’m Asian) and it brought back memories. She said that her daughter makes comments that she wishes she looks like her mother and sister.

I remember this. I lived through it. My sister lived through it. There’s a whole variety of possible reasons for that statement. • I wanted to be just like my mother. Many little girls would... more

In the adoption world, there are generally more women on the adoption forums. We hear things from the female point of view and there tends to be much more emphasis on birth mothers. I understand that mothers tend to identify with other mothers.

With the onset of Father’s Day, I’ve been thinking of birth fathers. Just like what I wrote for Mother’s Day, I don’t think about my birth parents a lot and when I do it’s only the vague, “I wonder what they are like” thoughts. I... more

The first time we took my son out of the house was really a trial of errors. My husband had taken two weeks off to spend with us, but we were still hesitant to make the trip in anything other than the stroller for the first few days. On the fourth day, we were suffering from cabin-fever so we decided to take our chances.

We grabbed our son and carefully buckled him into his car seat. We were still fairly new to the whole process so it took both of us and several long minutes to figure out how all the various buckles fit together. We were half way down to the store before I remembered... more

On the Korean Adoption forum, someone asked what size the babies were when they came home. What I learned was that the babies were all sizes and shapes when they arrived.

Link: Adoption Forum

Before my son came, people were always asking me what size clothes they should buy. Some people expressed disappointment that I hadn’t put any clothes on his registry. The problem was that I didn’t want anyone to buy us clothes because I had no clue what size he was going to be when he arrived.

I... more

After my family left, we spent the next several days bonding. We had lots of firsts…first bath…first walk in the stroller…

First Stroller Ride

First Bath

We took several days to ourselves before we let people come visit again. For us, it was less about bonding and more about getting used to being parents. We know that many people try to limit contact for the first few months and discourage... more

Awhile back, I wrote a post about the “where should the baby sleep” question. I am a huge advocate of SIDS awareness so I have very strong opinions, but I have learned that what is right for me is not always right for everyone else. But this post isn’t about where they sleep, it’s about actual physical sleep (or lack there of).

That first day home was fairly chaotic. Everyone left fairly early (thank goodness). My parents and my sister stayed over one night because they were coming from Ohio. Everything seemed to be going well that night. ... more