Our dog Daphne may be certifiably crazy. It's been a pleasant surprise therefore, that Daniel really seems to like her and she seems to like him. Daphne has also been rather helpful in keeping food off the floor these days!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Laughing Daniel
Daniel loves his Grandma and Grandpa Engelhardt. Grandma figured out a funny game to play with Daniel and he laughed and laughed. Grandpa continued the game and Daniel laughed some more! However, as soon as Daniel sees the camera, he turns very serious -- just like his big sister!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A Stroll to the Park
We had a brief spell of warmer weather and made it to the park for the first time in months. Abby insisted on pushing Daniel in the stroller "all by myself."
Abby was rather impressed with her ability to stroll Daniel to sleep!
Sunshine
In an attempt to help Daniel adjust to the new timezone, I moved him from one patch of sunshine to another over the course of the day. It's a good thing our house has a lot of windows! (I didn't move Will, but he's got that natural cat-like instinct to follow the sun patches!)
Daniel and his Daddy
Daniel loves Will! He also loves his new Amish rocking horse from Grandma and Grandpa Engelhardt!
A Day Out on the Town
Daniel made his first trip to Noodles with us. I'm not certain why he is covered in baby food (he really likes to eat real food), but I guess I was still trying to figure it all out.
After lunch, Will wanted to get his hair cut. Abby announced that she really wanted to get a hair cut as well, so up into a chair she went. I loved her hair long (after all, it took forever for the girl to grow hair, why cut it off once she had it), but she had her heart set on hair that "is too short to pull back in a rubber band."
Daniel and I waited patiently while the two Stotts had their hair cut. You can't tell from this photo, but Abby's hair is really CUTE!
After lunch, Will wanted to get his hair cut. Abby announced that she really wanted to get a hair cut as well, so up into a chair she went. I loved her hair long (after all, it took forever for the girl to grow hair, why cut it off once she had it), but she had her heart set on hair that "is too short to pull back in a rubber band."
Daniel and I waited patiently while the two Stotts had their hair cut. You can't tell from this photo, but Abby's hair is really CUTE!
Prepare to Laugh
This video is simply too funny for words! We were trying really hard to get Daniel turned around to Minnesota time -- Korea is fourteen hours ahead of us. We were attempting to limit his naps during the day, but as you will see, we were having a really difficult time keeping him awake!
Getting Settled
Our second full day back felt just a little better. We were starting to wake up a little and Daniel wasn't crying "Eomma" (mother in Korean) as much. 
Our friends the Ebberts brought dinner (and wine!) and the adult conversation was a welcomed break from a long day spent with two very jet lagged children!
Our friends the Ebberts brought dinner (and wine!) and the adult conversation was a welcomed break from a long day spent with two very jet lagged children!
Passed Out
Two days after we got home from Korea, jet-lagged Abby wanted to watch Star Wars. We still had Tonto's DVD player, so Abby went to her princess tent and set up camp with her animals and started the movie. We hadn't heard from her in quite a while, so Will went to investigate. He came back upstairs and said, "You've got to come see this!"
A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa and Tonto
Grandma and Grandpa Engelhardt came to meet Daniel and to see Abby on the day after we got home. Abby was as excited to see them as they were to see her and meet her new baby brother.
Tonto also came over to meet Daniel. She was able to get him to laugh on a day when he cried a lot.
Tonto also came over to meet Daniel. She was able to get him to laugh on a day when he cried a lot.
March 10, 2009 -- Three Really Tired Stotts
As mentioned in the previous post, Abby and Daniel did not have any interest in going to sleep when we got home from Korea (even though it was 1 AM)! I however, very much wanted to go to sleep. I don't know when, but we all did finally fall asleep. Will apparently, was up and at em' before we were. How he felt the energy to find the camera and snap this little lovely is beyond me!
And in case anyone looks really closely, that is NOT a double chin! It's just a really unbecoming angle -- right?
And in case anyone looks really closely, that is NOT a double chin! It's just a really unbecoming angle -- right?
Post # 1 -- March 9, 2009 -- A Great Day, But Perhaps the Longest Day in History (or Post #1 -- The Longest 1st Post in the History of Blogging)
At 3 PM on Monday, March 9, 2009, we arrived at Eastern Social Welfare Agency to receive Daniel. We were nervous and excited. Mrs. Lee -- Daniel's foster mom -- handed us Daniel and we spent a bit of time together. We then gave him back to her to allow her to say her final goodbyes.
The agency director prayed for Daniel and another little boy -- wishing them safe travels and long, healthy lives. It was very sad knowing that these were their final moments in their foster mothers' arms and their final moments seeing Korean faces and hearing Korean words.
We were then packed into the agency van. Mrs. Lee handed Daniel to Will and urged him to give the baby his bottle. We then zoomed off to the airport. Daniel drank the bottle and fell asleep. Needless to say, it was a rather surreal experience. (Let's hope it's the last time Abby and Daniel ride in a car/van without car seats!)
Daniel cried quite a bit at the airport, calling, "Eomma" (the Korean word for mother). Abby did a great job of amusing him and he eventually fell asleep once we had taken off.
Daniel eventually woke up and got to know us a bit more.
Abby was able to sleep quite a bit as well. When she wasn't sleeping, she watched at least 1,235 in-flight movies and cartoons, but did take a break to hold her brother. If you are looking for a perfect travel companion, I highly recommend Abby. She has a great sense of adventure and is just a joy to experience new places with.
And at the moment we touched down in Chicago (and Daniel was finally in the U.S.), he was once again asleep in his Dad's arms.
Getting through immigration was much easier than we anticipated. Daniel traveled on a Korean passport with a U.S. visa. We also had a large mystery envelope for immigration that we were warned to not open. That of course was really tempting for me, but I did practice self-control.
After lobbying on immigration issues for two years, it was interesting to experience part of the process on a very personal level.
Thanks to several time zones and the international date line, we landed in Chicago on Monday, March 9, 2009 -- two hours before we took off in Seoul. By the time we arrived in Minneapolis, waited for our bags (they missed the connection and arrived on another flight), and drove home, it was about 1 AM Tuesday, March 10th. Unfortunately, Daniel and Abby both thought it was the middle of the day and did not want to go to sleep!
The agency director prayed for Daniel and another little boy -- wishing them safe travels and long, healthy lives. It was very sad knowing that these were their final moments in their foster mothers' arms and their final moments seeing Korean faces and hearing Korean words.
We were then packed into the agency van. Mrs. Lee handed Daniel to Will and urged him to give the baby his bottle. We then zoomed off to the airport. Daniel drank the bottle and fell asleep. Needless to say, it was a rather surreal experience. (Let's hope it's the last time Abby and Daniel ride in a car/van without car seats!)
Daniel cried quite a bit at the airport, calling, "Eomma" (the Korean word for mother). Abby did a great job of amusing him and he eventually fell asleep once we had taken off.
We had the bulkhead seats which made things so much easier for all of us. Daniel slept in his bassinet for a good portion of the 12.5 hour flight.
Daniel eventually woke up and got to know us a bit more.
Abby was able to sleep quite a bit as well. When she wasn't sleeping, she watched at least 1,235 in-flight movies and cartoons, but did take a break to hold her brother. If you are looking for a perfect travel companion, I highly recommend Abby. She has a great sense of adventure and is just a joy to experience new places with.
And at the moment we touched down in Chicago (and Daniel was finally in the U.S.), he was once again asleep in his Dad's arms.
Getting through immigration was much easier than we anticipated. Daniel traveled on a Korean passport with a U.S. visa. We also had a large mystery envelope for immigration that we were warned to not open. That of course was really tempting for me, but I did practice self-control.
After lobbying on immigration issues for two years, it was interesting to experience part of the process on a very personal level.
Thanks to several time zones and the international date line, we landed in Chicago on Monday, March 9, 2009 -- two hours before we took off in Seoul. By the time we arrived in Minneapolis, waited for our bags (they missed the connection and arrived on another flight), and drove home, it was about 1 AM Tuesday, March 10th. Unfortunately, Daniel and Abby both thought it was the middle of the day and did not want to go to sleep!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
