Meet Our Daughter: Lauren MeeHyeon

Approximately 1 month old

Approximately 5 months old

Approximately 5 months old being held by foster mother

After 12 months, 2 weeks, and 6 days, we finally got the call we had been waiting for and our lives will forever be changed for the better. Thursday, December 10th brought to us an early Christmas miracle...our daughter Mee Hyeon Kim. Mee Hyeon was born in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do in South Korea on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 9:12 AM. She came into this world at 6.72 lbs and 18.9 inches. Her birth parents named her Mee, meaning "beautiful" and Hyeon, meaning "brilliant". This was their hope for their daughter. We will be forever grateful for their choice to give Mee Hyeon life and make an adoption plan for her.

We have chosen to give her the name Lauren MeeHyeon. We have a very long time until we can travel to bring Lauren home to us. Travel normally comes between 6 to 10 months after acceptance goes to Korea (edit to add Acceptance to Korea was December 17th) with our agency CHSFS. It will be a long, hard wait, but in the end all the waiting will be worth it and she will be our daughter forever. In the meantime, Lauren is being cared for by the most loving and selfless foster family. She has a foster mother and foster father, and even a foster sister and brother - both of whom are in their early 20s.

Here is a little about Lauren that we learned in a report prepared by Eastern Social Welfare Society: She...

• Drinks 5.4 oz of lukewarm formula every three hours. She loves to hold the bottle with two hands.
• Goes to sleep around 10 PM and wakes once for a bottle around 2 or 3 AM and returns to sleep until 6 or 7 AM. She often gets cranky before going to sleep, so the foster mother wears her on her back until she falls asleep. She takes an hour nap in the afternoon, then plays for three hours, then naps again around 4 PM.
• Takes two baths a day and loves the water.
• Whines when wet and turns happier after being changed.
• Babbles when her foster mother talks to her. She laughs out loud when in a good mood.
• Raises her top half of her body to look around in a prone position.
• Sometimes rolls over.
• Has started to crawl on her tummy.
• Dislikes lying down.
• Can bear weight on her legs when made to stand and loves to move to desired places in her walker.
• Shows severe stranger anxiety and bursts into crying when in new places. Once she starts crying, she will cry for 30 to 40 minutes.

We love you baby girl, and can't wait for you to be home with us. We have added the third star in our constellation.

Turkey, T-Rex, and Trains

So November was surprising quiet for us. We had a couple of visits to the dentist for cleanings plus some work done. Cameron had to have 5 cavities filled. His mouth is not able to get rid of those "bugs" that cause cavities. So now we are all trying a new technique that the dentist recommended to halt the cavities. After every meal we are chewing gum or sucking on mints that contain Xylitol. Please work!!!

Both boys were able to get their first dose of the H1N1 vaccine. Mommy had to look long and hard to get these. Now they just need another dose around Christmas and we hope that mommy and daddy will eventually qualify to receive them.

Cameron had over a week off of school for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Thanksgiving day we all headed to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al's house for a few days away. We enjoyed a really yummy meal at Great Grandma Betty's house and got caught up with some members of the Sand family. Grandma and Grandpa now have a Wii and we all enjoyed playing it especially Cameron. On Friday, November 27th we went to the Stearns County History Museum to see the special exhibit "A T-Rex Named Sue". It was on loan from Chicago. She was a really huge dino.

We headed back home on November 28th and had a really busy day. We did some baking, decorated the house and tree, attended the Minneapolis Holidazzle parade and topped off the night by watching Its A Wonderful Life.

On Sunday, December 6th we went to Choo Choo Bob's train store in St. Paul to play with and watch all the great trains. Santa and Mrs Claus were there and the boys were able sit on Santa's lap and tell him their Christmas wishes. Kyle asked for trains and Cameron requested legos. Mrs. Claus gave each of them a Christmas activity book. Such a fun evening.

Grandparents Day Sing Along

Since Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Bill were not able to join Cameron at school for grandparents day, here is a short performance from Cameron from that day. Enjoy the show.

October 2009 Highlights

Hi All - October is done and what a month it was. Beside Cameron's 6th birthday, here's what happened...

Cameron and Daddy finished up their fall soccer season. It was fun but this month we had few weird things like a buy week, a canceled game due to snow and then reschedule game (where the other team didn't show due to rain), and the final game which Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al attended. Cam can't wait to start up soccer again next year.

Yes, I mentioned snow in the paragraph above. We at least two measurable snowfalls in October. Mommy says she can't remember this happening before. Our first was on October 10th and the second and biggest one (over 4 inches) was on October 12th. Cam and Ky had lots of fun playing in the snow...making snowmen and having a snowball fight.

Mommy and Kyle went to Como Zoo on October 9th to meet her new friend Tara and her son. They are also adopting from Korea and have just received their referral for their daughter. It was so much fun to meet her in person and put a face to the emails they exchange.

Cameron had his first school field trip on October 13th. They went to a pumpkin patch where they got to pick their own pumpkin and Indian corn then go on a hayride. Cam also had his first mini school vacation for MEA on October 15 and 16th. We didn't do anything special but it was nice to spend time at home with him again. This month mommy and daddy attended school conferences with Cameron's teacher. She had nothing but glowing remarks to say about him. She said she needs to come up with ways to challenge him since he knows so many of the kindergarten information already. He is excelling in math, doing wonderfully on his writing and has started reading. Mommy and daddy are so proud of their little man. Then on October 30th Cam enjoyed a really wonderful Halloween party at school. He loved wearing his costume to school and all the fun games and treats.

Daddy was gone a few days this month to attend an annual conference for work. We had lunch with him before he left and delivered his luggage to him on October 21st. He was off to Duluth later that day for the rest of week. While he was gone Grandpa Al and Grandma Judy came to stay with us so they could attend a few school functions with Cameron. On the evening of 22nd, Grandpa and Cameron went to "Dad's Night Out". Mommy worked there by helping out in the Home Depot building room. They had such a fun night together - building projects, having dinner, playing games, jumping in the inflatables, watching cartoons, and sitting in the cockpit of a real F-4 phantom. It was so nice of Grandpa to take Daddy's place for the night. The next day was grandparents day at school. The kindergartners put on a show and showed off their room and enjoyed cookies with their grandparents. That week Cameron was also star of the week in class. He loved telling everyone more about himself and bring in a few items to share.

Cameron had his 6 year old check up this month and is doing great. Both boys finally had their annual birthday photos taken. Kyle wasn't so sure about the whole thing and didn't really smile and even cried at one point.

Daddy and Cameron had a fun night out together at the end of the month. They went to a private performance of Doc's Kids. Cam had fun listening to the silly music and hanging out with just his daddy.

On October 24th all of us went to Ann and Mike's house for a Halloween costume party for the kids. They did such a wonderful job hosting and had so many fun games and treats for the kids. Cameron thought the best part was hanging out with his friend Noah. Earlier in the month mommy and Kyle enjoyed coffee with Jody, Ann and Ella. It was fun to catch up with them.

On the night before Halloween we carved the huge pumpkins that Grandpa Al grew. It was lot of fun. Halloween night was a blast. The boys enjoyed trick or treating in the neighborhood with their friends and handing out candy too. Kyle was a black cat and Cameron was bumblebee (transformer).

Adoption note: Since we are approaching the one year mark we did our home study update with our social worker the last week of October. We also had to do another background check (this is also a yearly requirement). Really hoping we hear some good news soon about our daughter.

Cameron is Six

On October 8th, our baby boy turned six years old. Where has the time gone? We remember like it was yesterday the 48.5 hours that mommy was in labor and the struggles to bring him into the world and how we longed to hold him during his stay in the NICU. We love you and are so proud of the young man you are becoming.

We celebrated many times the fact that Cameron was turning six. Our first party was a small family party on a rainy October 3rd with Grandpa Al, Grandma Judy, Great Grandma Betty, Uncle Dan, Tina, Wyatt, Uncle Steve and Aunt Angela. We began the party by watching Cameron play his Saturday AM soccer game. It was a cold wet day but Cameron was so proud to be showing off his excellent soccer skills to his family. After the game we headed back to the house to warm up and enjoy a pizza lunch. Cameron received the game Sorry (which is loves), Knex, and a really cool Hot Wheels track. Mommy made him a soccer themed cake - a green soccer field with players and nets.

Cameron celebrated in school on October 8th. He brought fruit snacks for the class - one of his favorite treats. The class sang him the underwater happy birthday song. That night Cameron choose his favorite meal for dinner...tomato soup and garlic bread. He opened his presents from us and received a new leap pad book and another Hot Wheels track. He also opened his presents from Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Bill...a new soft Transformers blanket and the game Connect 4. He also received the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends" from Uncle John and Aunt Ali.

Then on Saturday, October 10th, Cameron celebrated with his friends. He has a such a wonderful group of friends. In attendance were Noah, Blake, Matthew, Max, Jacob, and Andrew. Jacob's mom, Amy, stayed to help which was wonderful. His party was sports themed completed with a soccer cake made by mommy, a soccer pinata, medals, and many sports games. The boys enjoyed a pizza dinner. Cameron of course loved all the presents most of which were Lego related. They had such a wonderful time together and just laughed and laughed.

September 2009 Highlights

We had a busy September but aren't we always busy. Here's a little of what happened last month...

All of us finally got long overdue haircuts including mommy who hasn't had her hair cut in over a year. She loves her new look and its so easy to do - which is a must for her.

Cameron began fall soccer with his team the Falcons through the city of Shoreview. Daddy is a coach and they both love it. Cameron and Abby on his team are born forwards and really go after the ball.

Mommy had the wonderful opportunity to escort Cameron to his first school dance on September 11th. We went with several neighborhood friends and had a blast even if we didn't do much dancing because the band was way too loud. Mostly we played outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather and our company.

Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Bill came to visit us for a week. While they were here they were able to cheer Cam and his team onto victory at the soccer game. They also enjoyed playing with the boys. Mommy was able to go into Cameron's class twice while they were here. What an experience for her. Mommy also celebrated her birthday and enjoyed a yummy dessert prepared by Grandma. But the highlight of their visit would have to be spending the day in Stillwater. We played at Teddy Bear park, walked along the waterfront and watch the boats then enjoyed a wonderful lunch at really great burger joint.

Zachary and Lilly have begun coming over to our house to play so that their mommy can go into the kindergarten classroom to help out. Kyle will be going over to their house this school year so mommy can go in to help out too. Kyle is not so sure about this whole deal.

On September 26th, Cameron had to miss his soccer game which is was sad about but he had such a wonderful time at the Mall of America. Mommy, Cameron, Sam, Matthew, and Hunter went to Lego Land to attend a Lego Club meeting. You get to go in before the store opens, get a tour of the store, receive a really cool t-shirt based upon the monthly theme (Bionicles this month), and have about 30 minutes of building time. Plus whatever you build you get to take home with you and you also get a little goodie bag. Cameron can't wait to go back again and participate in another lego club meeting.

Cameron the Kindergartener

Cameron had his first day of kindergarten on Tuesday, September 8th. He attends Island Lake Elementary in the mornings with Mrs. Sosniecki as his teacher. He woke up very early on his first day and has ever since because he is so excited to get on the bus and go to school. He loves the bus ride and science class is his favorite. Mommy was very sad to see Cam get on the bus that first day. She says he has grown up too fast. But Cam didn't look back and its a good thing or he would have seen mommy's eye filled with tears. Kyle is also missing having his big brother around.

Much to mommy and daddy's dislike the class is huge. There are 28 children in class with quite a few special needs children. It makes it hard for any learning to go on. Cam has told us he is learning less now than in preschool. We hope that with the hire of an additional certified teacher and an aide for the classroom that things will change. Many parents have stepped up to help in the classroom including mommy. It was quite an experience for mommy. In the afternoons, Cameron is working on his own with mommy and Kyle on workbooks to increase his learning opportunities. Well, here is to a life long love of learning for Cameron!!!

Kyle is Three

Kyle turned three on Monday, September 7. Happy Birthday Big Boy. We love you so very much!!! You are such a blessing to us.

We had a few parties to celebrate this big day for him. As mentioned in our previous post, Kyle had his buddy, Zachary, over to celebrate over pizza and cupcakes on Friday, Sept 4th.

Then on Sunday, September 6th, we hosted grandma Judy, grandpa Al, great grandma Betty, Uncle Steve, Aunt Angela, Uncle Dan, Tina and Wyatt for a fun afternoon party. Kyle's menu of choice was grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and soda. We also enjoyed cupcakes that he wanted mommy to shape into a triangle. It turned out looking like a Christmas tree but Kyle loved it. The gift Kyle loved the most was his new tool set from Uncle Dan. He loves to fix things.

On Monday we had a small family celebration including more present. He loves the new spider man scooter he received from mommy and daddy. Later that day we went to the park and out for ice cream at the Village Scoop. We also bought bunk beds for the boys.

So it turns out that if Dr. Stang is correct Kyle will turn out to be a really tall man. Kyle went in for his three year old check up on Tuesday, September 8. According to his height now of 41 inches (98 %) he should be 6' 1.5 '' when he is done growing. Kyle weighs 35.5 pounds (84%). He was also diagnosed with a very, very minor thing...venous hum. Its sort of a murmur that a lot of kids have but outgrow and is not worth putting on any medical forms because its such a non concern. Kyle did wonderful on the eye sight test and was such a trooper with the seasonal flu vaccine.

End of Summer 2009 Fun!

The end of summer was excellent. We did lots of exciting things. On August 20th, mommy took us to Choo-Choo Bob's train store in St. Paul. We met our friends Amy and her children (Cam's buddy Jacob) there to play with and watch the trains. Can't say enough good things about this store...its totally hands-on and so kid friendly. Too bad it is a bit of a drive from our house, or we would go there more often.

On August 22nd mommy and daddy took us to Como Zoo and Park. It was so fun to go on the rides. Kyle's new favorite is the frog hopper. He loved how it took him way up high and dropped him down only to go back up and repeat this drop several more times. We also saw a few of the animals and really loved the beautiful butterfly exhibit. We could have spent all day in there. Kyle happened to take a nasty spill in the playground area and ended up with a nice scab on his chin. Hope it doesn't leave a scar.

On August 24th we had the pleasure of meeting Cameron's kindergarten teacher for his assessment. Mrs. S is super friendly and we have heard she is the best teacher. Cam did great on his math questions but struggled alittle with the spelling and reading section. Lots to learn this year!

A few days later on August 26th Cameron went to Max and Elizabeth's 6th birthday party at their new house. He had such a good time playing there and exploring their big backyard.

The following day we went to Island Lake County Park to meet our friend Olivia and her mom Jody to play and picnic....our last play date with them before the start of school. It was so much fun to meet up with them and others from preschool this summer. That night was the first soccer practice for the fall season for Cameron. Daddy is coaching his team this year and looking forward to this father-son experience.

The next day on August 28th we got up bright and early (but waited for the rain to stop) and headed to the Great Minnesota Get Together (aka MN State Fair). Grandma and Grandpa joined us for this fun family day. We had such a good time seeing the baby animals, riding on the sky glider with mommy, going on the giant slide, being little farm hands, playing with legos, watching the parade, and eating all sorts of yummy food on a stick. It was a long day but so much fun. Daddy stayed after we went home because he had to work in his agency's exhibit.

On Saturday, we stayed with grandpa and grandma while mommy and daddy went to test drive a new vehicle in Burnsville. We loved our Saturn Vue but it doesn't have enough seating for baby sister while we are all in car seats. Much to mommy and daddy's surprise, they loved the new vehicle, and bought it and traded in the beloved Vue. So we now own a 2008 Honda Odyssey EX in Ocean Mist Metallic color. The new car was a good deal and only had 9,800 miles on it plus a dvd player...a must according to us. Can't wait to go for our first ride in it.

Thursday, September 3rd we went back to Island Lake Elementary for meet the teacher night. We got to see Cam's classroom, bring in his school supplies, and meet his teacher. Immediately following, we headed to soccer practice.

On September 4th, Cameron and daddy went to a MN Thunder soccer game along with Chris and Matthew. The Thunder are the professional men's soccer team for Minnesota. They had such a great time. While they were gone mommy and Kyle had his friend Zachary over for a small 3rd birthday party. We had pizza, cupcakes, and played.

Adoption notes...our friends Amy and Todd were pleased to accept the referral of their daughter Olivia. And Robin and Ray accepted the referral for their son. Congratulations to everyone!

Waiting Nine Months and Counting

Today, we have officially been waiting nine months to see our little girl's face for the first time. Its been a long nine months and we are preparing ourselves for a much longer road. Although we hope to know more about our daughter soon, we will not be able to hold her and bring her home for a long time. It took me a while to post this because we needed time to process some news we received from our adoption agency. On August 3rd, our agency informed us that any referrals received between July 15 and January 4, 2010 (that should be us) should expect to wait up to 10 months for our travel call. When we first started our journey to our daughter, the wait to travel after referral was 10 to 14 weeks, and now we are faced with a long 10 month wait. Instead of bringing home a baby around 8 to 10 months old, we will be bringing home a toddler around 16 to 18 months old. In case you are wondering why that is, the basics of it are that Korea only issues so many emigration permits (EPs) per year (aka visas allowing children to leave the country) and they have already run out of them for this year. In addition, they do not process paperwork at the start of the new year due to staff change over and training. The hardest part for us is that she will be growing up without us and we will be missing so much with her - so many firsts. But we do know she will be extremely loved and cared for in Korea by her foster family and that we will have other firsts with her and a lifetime to share. We love you baby girl!

Kyle's Motorcyle

So it's been a busy month since our last post...

We went to Amy and Todd's house for a play date. Mommy and Amy became friends because we are both adopting little girls from Korea through the same agency, and they live close to us. And Cameron and Jacob (her son) became quick friends at soccer camp. They love hanging out with each other. It was such a great play date. Cam discovered the Wii video game system and now wants one. Cam can't wait to see Jacob again.

Daddy had to go back to NH for a long weekend in mid-July because great grandma Mary King passed away. It was hard to have daddy gone again but we understood that he needed to be there for his family. While he was gone we went to the park, for a bike ride, out to Stillwater to see Uncle Dan's new house, out for lunch, and had a wonderful date with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al. On Saturday, July 18 we all went to Como Park in the AM. We saw the animals, and best of all, went on tons of great rides. Then later that day we played mini-golf at a local course. Cameron really loved it but all Kyle wanted to do was throw his ball. Luckily it wasn't too busy.

Cameron attended a three day mini basketball camp. His friend Blake from preschool also attended. Cameron had a wonderful time learning a few new skills. The coach was wonderful...giving all the kids Mounds View High School basketball t-shirts, college basketball caps, and basketball trading cards.

We had a very busy day on Saturday, July 25th. In the AM we watched the Shoreview parade and got lots and lots of candy. Yummy! Then we packed up the car and headed up to Albany to go to great uncle Jim and great aunt Jean's house for the annual Sand family party. It was cold that day so we didn't do much swimming, but we did have fun with yard games and we ate lots of yummy food (including a fish fry). We planned to stay at grandma and grandpa's house that night, but Kyle was not cooperating and we ended up packing up quickly and driving back home late - we got home after 10 PM. What a long day.

Mommy and Daddy celebrated their 9 year anniversary on July 28th. We spent a quiet evening together and had a good dinner out at Chili's.

Our local park - Sitzer - was torn up at the beginning of August so they can built us a new and improved park. We miss going there but are looking forward to new the playground and are having fun watching all the construction vehicles.

We had some great friends, Wendy and Kendall, over for dinner on August 1st. We had lots of fun playing with their children and mommy and daddy had fun catching up with them.

August 4th was Night to Unite. Our neighborhood held a potluck. We were able to meet with the sheriff's department and some local politicians. The fire trucks didn't come until after we had gone home for bed. We had lots of fun playing with all the neighborhood kids.

The next night Kyle learned how to ride his bike. He is doing wonderfully. At first we had a few issues with him watching his feet and not looking where he was going, but now he goes great and mommy and daddy have to run to keep up with him. He is very proud of himself. He calls his bike his motorcycle.

We held our fundraiser garage sale for our adoption the first full weekend of August. It was so much work to get ready for and then it rained most two of the three days. Ugh. Mommy was still happy with the sale but wonders how much better we could have done without the rain. Cam had lots of fun selling lollipop and freezee pops. On that Saturday, August 8th, we got more than 4 inches of rain that AM. Then that night after we were asleep the tornado sirens sounded. Mommy, daddy, grandma, and grandpa scooped us up and we all headed downstairs. We made a cozy bed in the closet under the steps and we waited for the storm to pass. It was scary for awhile, since they said the tornado was headed right down Hwy 96 (just three blocks north of us). It was an adventure and luckily just that...no damage.

On Sunday, our friend and neighbor, Masyn and her parents, held their annual summer fun party. They had tons of yard games, slip n slides, and a huge bouncy castle with slide. We also enjoyed a potluck with all our neighbors. It was so fun. Our favorite part was the zip line.

This past week we had a few play dates and a pizza lunch with Cam's preschool buddies. We also had the neighbors over for a water party. Plus we went to an area kids pool. It was finally warm enough to do some of those water related things.

Cameron and mommy went out for Happy Meals and to see the movie Ice Age 3 on Sunday, August 16th. We had a good time together. Cam even opened mommy's car door since he said we were on a date. Wow. We didn't make it through the whole movie (only about 50 minutes) before we had to leave because Cam was scared.

We have a pretty quiet week this week and then its time to start thinking "back to school"!

Bye-Bye Diapers, Hello Fun!

So here's our recap from the past few weeks...June 19th, Cameron attended a preschool buddy's 6th birthday party at the Community Center. Little brother, Kyle, tagged along to check out the new indoor play center. While Cameron loved the new play center, Kyle got kicked in the face on his first trip through and refused to try it anymore. He spent the rest of the two hours on mommy's lap. Oh well, he is a mommy's boy and mommy enjoyed the extra cuddles.

We had a low key father's day for daddy. We grilled and played tennis. Perfect day by daddy's standards.

On Monday, June 22nd, Mommy attempted to take us boys to Snail Lake since it was so hot. Well, it was a bust. There was about 5 feet of water that went up to Cameron's knees. The water is so low this year but we did have a nice snack at the lake.

Cameron attended a two week swim class. He did wonderful this year and made such progress from last year. He is now putting his face in the water and doing deep water bobs but he did not pass this year. He needs to get stronger in his strokes and work on his breathing. Maybe next year. Kyle was such a trooper sitting there during lessons. The lollipops and books helped.

We have been enjoying the weekly puppet wagon shows put on by the city. Going to the library and farmer's market weekly. And have been meeting up with Cam's preschool buddies for park play dates each week. We have also had a few play dates with the neighborhood kids.

Daddy was gone the first week of July to help Uncle John move from NM to NC. He had a wonderful time on his road trip but we missed him lots. Mommy took us to Como Park for amusement park rides as something special while he was gone. The photo is from our day there...yes it was freezing that day. We loved all the rides.

Daddy came home on the 4th of July. We had a great BBQ that evening and played some yard games. The next day our neighbor, Tony, had us over to watch his display of backyard fireworks. We got to stay up late to enjoy the show. We loved it but were tired the next day.

Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al have been down here a lot lately but we haven't really seen them much. They are just sleeping here and eating a few meals but have been working on Uncle Dan's new house in Stillwater all day. Its been hard to know that they are around but that we can't play with them since they are working so hard.

Kyle is now officially a big boy. He is learning to use the potty. We started potty training on Friday, July 10th and he is doing great. We hope this progress continues so we can say bye-bye diapers, hello fun!

Top 10

Well we caved and checked again with our adoption agency yesterday about where we were on the "list" for our baby girl. They have a new policy where they will not tell you a specific number but a general range. We were excited to learn that in just three weeks we moved from number 15 to into the top 10. We don't know specifically where in the top 10 we are but if we had to guess based upon other referrals coming in and what other families have been told we would say we are around number 7. We are starting to get really excited and nervous too about getting the big call with our girl's information and seeing her face for the first time.

Thunder Cup

Jacob and Cameron

Going in for a goal

Dribbling

Cameron attended the MN Thunder Soccer Camp this past week. He attended half days in the Rugrat group. The Thunder is Minnesota's professional soccer team. He had a really wonderful group of coaches who are members of the Thunder and really know their stuff and work great with the kids. Each player recieved their own soccer ball, two pairs of socks, shorts, two t-shirts (blue and white) and a backpack. They had to wear their uniforms each day and really learned how to be good members of a team. In addition to learning the game of soccer, they had fun events throughout the week like jersey day, water fun day, wacky dress up day, a juggling contest, and a ball decorating contest. Cameron worked hard on the ball decorating contest and covered his soccer ball with flags of some of the countries in the international soccer league.

On Friday, Cameron competed in the Thunder Cup. His team (Team Korea) came in second for his division. He played hard and scored two goals (one in the semi-finals and one in the finals). Here is a video of one of Cameron's goals.

Cameron quickly became friends with a boy named Jacob. Jacob's family is also in the process of adopting a little girl from Korea. Mommy and daddy met his parents at the Korea Night program last month but the parents didn't introduce the kids they just bonded on their own. Everyday they were so excited to see each other and play soccer together. Jacob was on Cameron's team and therefore they were named Team Korea.

Cameron is already looking forward to next year's camp and maybe playing soccer this fall too.

Wedding Fun!

Hi everyone - We are back to posting again. My how time flies in the summer. So here's what you missed the past few weeks...

Daddy turned 34 on June 3rd. He came home early that day and we all played tennis at the park. We then had a great meal which mommy cooked followed by cake. Yummy. We bought him a new pair of headphones for his mp3 player.

We have had a few playdates with preschool buddies and neighborhood pals. We love playdates.

Cam really started to learn to read these past few weeks. He is enjoying it so much!

The first weekend of June mommy went away with her girlfriends to Tofte. It was a long drive but worth it. They left on Friday afternoon and returned Sunday afternoon. Daddy stayed with us for the weekend. Mommy enjoyed catching up with Kristi, Wendy, Kathy and Tricia. They stayed at Kathy's parent's cabin. She told us they slept in, took a nap, ate well, had a bonfire, played card games, and walked along the lake. Some of them ran into Genevieve from TLC at the local pizza place. Small world! While mommy was gone we played with daddy, went to the library and just had some special boys' time.

On June 11th we attended the Taste of Vadnais. We enjoyed some yummy food, listened to music and playing on the inflatables. It was a beautiful evening out with our neighbors.

On June 13th, mommy's cousin Liz got married to Jon. We attended the wedding with mommy and daddy. We loved the reception. They had a kid's table with activities to keep us busy, kid meals, and we even got to drink kiddie cocktails. We loved them. At the end of the night we danced with mommy, daddy, and grandma. It was so fun. The photos are of us being goofy at the reception. After the reception we stayed over night at grandma Judy and grandpa Al's house.

Next post: Cameron's soccer camp!

Cameron's Preschool Graduation

Cameron's Preschool Graduation Performance:

Best Buddies: Charlie, Cameron, and Blake

To continue on our busy spring topic...On May 11th Mommy and Daddy along with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al attended the Korea Night program at the adoption agency. We stayed with some really wonderful babysitters and had lots of fun. Mommy's cousin, Laura and her finance, Blake, stayed with us. Korea night began with some yummy Korean food, followed by presentation about Korean culture, foster family experiences, and post adoption scenarios. There was also the opportunity to purchase items from Korea. Mommy bought the book "Count Your Way Through Korea" and "I Wish For You A Beautiful Life".

So grandma and grandpa almost didn't make it to the program that night. They had a flat tire on the way down and then their headlight switched was jambed so the lights wouldn't shut off once they made it to the agency. To top it all off on the way home someone pulled onto the interstate going the wrong way and almost hit them. What a night. Glad they are safe and sound.

Cameron has been very interested in writing his Korean numbers since reading the "Count Your Way Through Korea" book. He is very good at it and loves to practice.

The following day brought Cameron's preschool teacher conferences. It was fun for mommy and daddy to hear about what a wonderful boy Cameron is in class and how well he is doing.

On May 15th, mommy took us along with Charlie to Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater. It was so much fun to play there. We really liked climbing the rock walls and jumping or hiding out in the tree house.

On Saturday, Mommy and Cameron attended the Chang Mi Korean drum and dance performance in White Bear Lake. The clothing was beautiful and the performances were amazing. We both loved the three drum performance. Wow! Cameron picked out a five piece set of metal chopsticks for our family. Metal chopsticks are common in Korea.

May 19th brought Cameron to the dentist again to have his third cavity filled. He did such a wonderful job and it was down so quickly. He also had sealants applied to the two six year old molars he got in recently.

Wednesday, May 20th was Cameron's big preschool graduation day, last day of school, and Charlie's last day with us. So to celebrate mommy took us out to eat at Mansetti's Pizza before school. It was so yummy. At 3 PM Cam's graduation ceremony began. Grandma Judy surprised Cameron by showing up with mommy and Kyle. Hope you enjoy the video of the little performance we did that day and the photo of Cameron with his best buddies. We also wore graduation hats, and received a certificate and goodie bag from the teachers. We topped it off with ice cream and cookies. Can't believe preschool is done and kindergarten is coming up. Mommy said she cried alittle at the graduation.

The following day was so much fun. It was Cameron's end of the year preschool picnic. It was great to play outside for two hours with all his buddies. They had great music that we danced to and lunch was good too. While Cameron was off with his friends Kyle hung out with grandma Judy and mommy and played ball or blew bubbles. Cameron will miss my friends so much.

On Saturday, we went to Uncle Steven and Aunt Angela's house to grill and celebrate Grandpa Al's birthday. Kyle loved playing with their new cat, Bella.

Yesterday we went to Snail Lake Park to meet up with some of our preschool friends. Since it was so cold out we had the whole park to ourselves. We hated to see it end but look forward to next week's playdate.

Sorry for the long post but we have so much going on. Take care.

Adoption Journey: Good and Bad News

Have some good and bad news to share on our adoption journey. Yesterday, we received an email letting us know that the wait time to travel after referral will be expanding yet again. Currently it is 3 to 5 months after referral for travel. When we began with the Korea program it was 10 to 14 weeks. Yesterday, we were told to expect at least a 6 month wait to travel. But the worst is if we receive our referral in the fall (between October and December) the wait will be at least 9 months to travel. This was devastating news to us because we are expecting our referral call in the fall. Now for the good news. We checked our status on the list for girls and we moved up to number 15. This is up from number 31 two months ago. What great news and movement!!! If we continue at this rate we should have our referral before the dreaded October slow down for travel.

Busy Spring!

Wow, can't believe its been a month since our last post. We have had so much going on that we didn't have time to update everyone about what has been going on in our house. So here goes! We will do a few weeks at a time to try to get everyone caught up. Look for more posts in a few days.

We had a really fun playdate with our friends Charlotte and Ted and their new baby brother, August. We met for a windy park day and picnic on April 23rd. A few days later Zachary and baby Lily came over to our house while their mommy went to the dentist. It was like our Mommy was running a daycare since Charlie was here too. It was fun.

Over the weekend (April 25th) we went to the Mall of America for the Passport to Korea event. What a huge place, and noisy too. We met grandma Judy and grandpa Al there. We watched a Korean cooking demonstration, some instrumental music and singing. Then we played at Lego land for a bit before heading home.

On April 27th, Cameron lost his second tooth and that night the tooth fairy made her 2nd visit to our house. We also noticed that he has two more loose teeth.

The following day we discovered 5 baby bunnies living in our yard. Their mommy made them a nest in our landscaped rock area. We had so much fun watching them hop around the yard. They were so tiny and cute. A few days later they disappeared with their mommy.

At the end the week (May 1st) we went to Como Zoo with mommy and Charlie. It was great!!! We even had mini donuts...yummy!

The first weekend of May we headed up to Albany to stay with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al for the weekend. Sunday was Great Grandma Betty's 80th birthday party. Mommy made a wonderful slide show for the party. There were about 150 people there.

May 6th brought a fun surprise. Our neighbor stopped by to give us his copy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Cameron and a preschool friend, Marion, were featured in the newspaper ad for our Community Center's new indoor play center, as you can see above. He was also featured the following week, for at least two times that we know of. Daddy says since they're using Cameron's cute face to sell the play center, Cam should get a free pass or two.

The following day both of us had our dentist appointments. This was Kyle's first official dental visit and he did wonderful. They were all impressed at how great he did.

On May 8th, Mommy took us with Charlie to Tamarack Nature Center. We walked on the paths, played indoors and learned lots about nature.

For Mother's day we took mommy out to eat at her favorite place, Bambu. It was so yummy. Cameron and daddy made her the cutest book...the ABCs of Mommy. It made mommy laugh and almost cry.

Well this is enough for now. We will post more later to get you all caught up.

First Tooth Fairy Visit

Hi All - Lots has gone on these past few weeks. First of all we had a wonderful Easter. The photo above is from Easter day. We had so much fun on our egg hunt in the backyard. We were lucky to have lots of family at our home that day to celebrate. Both sets of grandparents were here along with Uncle Steve, Aunt Angela and Uncle Dan. We loved our Easter baskets.

Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Bill came to visit us for the week before Easter from New Hampshire. We had a fun time with them. They even went to Cameron's preschool to be the special readers of the week. Cameron was very proud that day. We also went out to dinner which is a nice change. We got to spend some one-on-one time with them while mommy and daddy went out for dinner and a movie. They went to see Gran Torino and ate at Bambu.

We also got to spend some extra time with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al. They have been here helping us with the bathroom remodel. Its 99% done now and is fabulous. Its such a change and seems so much bigger now. Thanks to them for all of their help.

One AM when Charlie was here and we had just gotten back from the park we saw a family of 4 bunnies in our backyard. We all loved watching them and being so close. They were building a home behind our backyard but we must have scared them off because we haven't see them back since that day. We miss them and look for them everyday hoping they will come back.

The biggest news of these past few weeks is that the Tooth Fairy made its first visit to our house. Cameron lost his first tooth on April 15th. He was so excited!!! She left a dollar for him under his pillow that night. There isn't much of gap in his teeth because his grown up teeth had come up behind his baby teeth. He is working on wiggling out the other tooth that is just barely hanging in there and looking forward to when the tooth fairy makes her visit again. On other related tooth news...we also noticed that Cameron's 6 year old molars on the top had come in. Mommy says he's growing up too fast for her taste.

Knex Ferris Wheel

I wanted to show everyone the fun Ferris Wheel I made with Knex this morning. I love Knex. Have a good day.
Cameron

Movement on the "List"

I know we just posted yesterday but we got an update on our adoption of our little sister to report. Mommy checked our status on the famous "List" with our adoption agency. Two months ago we were number 46 and as of today we are number 31. So we have moved up quite a bit in the four months we have been on the list - we started at number 47. As we discussed in a previous post the list isn't a tradition list in any sense. Its sort of just gives a general reference as children are matched with their forever families based upon a number of factors. So we could get a call later today that matches us with our sister or it could be a year from now. When the time is right it happens.

Spring Break Happenings

Its been a busy three weeks since our last post. Two of the weeks Cameron had Spring Break so we had lots of free time.

Cameron attended Matthew's 5th birthday party. It was a Knex party and boy did Cameron love it. While Cameron was gone to the party, Kyle and Mommy has the car fixed. Ouch that was painful on the pocketbook. We had the front struts replaced.

Kyle has been going through some sleep issues lately but its all perfectly normal for his age. He decided not to nap one afternoon and is of course stalling and wanting us to stay in the room with him. Overall he is still a wonderful sleeper. He is often comforted by the numerous stuffed animals that join him in bed.

We've gone to several friends houses for play dates over Spring Break. We visited with Nancy, Sam, Ann, and Rochelle. We love play dates!

Mommy and Daddy have been working on remodeling our main floor bathroom. Grandma and Grandpa have been a huge help. We couldn't have done it without them. There are still a few minor things to do but boy the change is drastic. We have been such good boys while they have been working.

Mommy attended her cousin Liz's bridal shower in Albany yesterday. She said it was nice to see family and catch up with everyone. We had a fun day with daddy.

Cameron has been into building with Knex lately. He plays with them for hours. He says that he wants to be a Knex engineer when he grows up. That way he can play while he works. Sounds like fun to mommy and daddy. Cameron also loves to read books from the Magic School Bus series. He loves learning all about science.

Kyle has a new saying lately. We all laugh so hard every time we hear it. He loves to say "Sweet Man". Future surfer alert. Kyle loves Clifford lately...hope you enjoy the photo of the boys with Clifford from our last trip to the MN Children's Museum.

Adoption update: Mommy and Daddy received word from USCIS that their I600A application was approved on March 16, 2009. It took 90 days for the US government to research our family and make sure we would be a good family for our new sister. One less paperwork issue is now out of the way.

A bit of bad news on the adoption is that we received word from our agency that the wait time between referral to traveling to bring our sister home has increased. It normally was 10 to 14 weeks but now the wait could be up to five months. Mommy says this makes her sad because we will miss more time with her. But who knows things could change again.

Growing Up So Fast

Its been awhile since our last post. This past month has just flown by. Here's some of what we have been up to: growing up too fast.

Thanks to grandma and grandpa Cameron is now a wiz at the game of Sudoku. He has is own book and can stay focused on it for hours. The photo is of the two boys working on one of the puzzles together. Kyle thinks he has it all figured out too.

Kyle is into telling knock, knock jokes. Although they don't always make sense we all get a good laugh when he has a new one to share.

Mommy gave both of us a haircut. She said it wasn't as good as the professionals but a whole lot cheaper.

We visited the Korean supermarket in Fridley. It was fun to walk down all the aisles and pick out some new things to try.

Mommy and daddy went out on a date to a movie. They went to see "He's Just Not That Into You". We had lots of fun with grandma and grandpa while they were gone.

We also had our friends Kristi and Rob and their daughter Hayden over for dinner. Hayden is 8 months old. Mommy says that is how old our little sister might be when she comes home. It was fun to play with her.

Cameron had his second visit to the dentist to get his last of two cavities filled. It went so good this second time around. Mommy said he might have helped that they now have videos you can watch while having it done. Cameron watch the Charlie Brown Christmas movie.

Cameron went bowling for the first time at his friend Blake's 5th birthday party. He loved it and wants to try it again soon.

We all had a fun family night out on Friday at the MN Children's Museum. We met daddy there after he was done with work. We loved the Clifford exhibit. Clifford is one of Kyle's new favorite characters. We then had a picnic dinner there before heading home.

Off to do some more growing!!!

Kindergarten Roundup

Last night Cameron went to Kindergarten Roundup at Island Lake Elementary School with mommy and daddy. Kyle stayed at home with a new sitter named Rachael who he loved. He couldn't wait for us to leave. Cameron had a great time at the school. We all started in the cafeteria and heard from the new principle. It was fun to sit with all the other families from our neighborhood. We were a huge group. Soon afterward we broke up into small groups with about 25 children per group with parents. We got a tour of the school beginning with exploring the art and science rooms, followed by listening to the school's string orchestra, and meeting the gym teacher. Cam and his friends think the gym will be a great place to play. Next, we headed to the library where the principle read a story to the group and we saw the huge computer lab. After that we went to one of the kindergarten rooms and met the teachers. They read us a story about kindergarten and gave us airplanes to take home. The best part came next...the bus ride. We all boarded the school bus, listened to some basic safety rules by the driver, and went for a 15 minute ride around town. The last part of the night was cookies and juice in the gym while mommy dropped off the registration materials. I had such a wonderful time and can't wait to go to school there next fall but mommy says she could wait and that I am growing up too fast.

Here's a few more highlights from the past week. Kyle fell out of his big boy bed for the first time. It only happened once. He was scared and that was the end of his nap but he was not hurt.

We went out for dinner at a great burger and ice cream place called Snuffy's. It was a fun night out.

Cameron learned how to play grow-up Monopoly and loves it. He even won over both mommy and daddy. Plus he loves to do all his own math. Cam also learned how to tell time this week.

Next up on Kyle's injury list was a cut to both his bottom and lower lip plus his gums after falling head first into the corner of the toy crest. What's next?

Sorry there are now pictures this week but hope you enjoy our update.

Mommy's First Time Cooking Korean Food

Hi Everyone - Hope you are all staying warm. Here's what has been happening in our part of the world lately.

On Saturday, Jan 24th we went to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al's house for the weekend. Mommy and daddy attended a banquet in mommy's home town that honored the her family (the Sand family). We stayed with mommy's cousin Taylor while they enjoyed a night out. They had some good stories to share about the night like the sad one of how the Police Dept honored three people that helped to save her cousin's life after an ATV accident. The whole room was crying due to the incredible kindness and quick thinking that these folks had. The funny story of the night was when mommy's uncle Jim burned a hole in his nice suit while accepting an award in the front of the room...candles can be dangerous. I think Great Grandma Betty loved having most of her family there for the night including nearly all of her grandchild (mommy and her cousins). It was a huge deal to get a family photo of the whole bunch. For the local newspaper article and photo check out this: http://www.albanyenterprise.com/articles/2009/02/03/news/1sand%20family.txt (oh, of course our last name is wrong)

Cameron has been very interested in playing card games lately. Mommy says he is a card shark. He loves UNO, solitaire, golf, war, and now Rat-tat-cat.

Kyle is in love with Dora and has to read his Dora books from the library at least three time a day. He also loves Winnie the Pooh now. He is really into putting together puzzles and learning things like his colors, shapes, letters, and numbers.

We enjoyed watching the Super Bowl game this past weekend. We wanted Arizona to win but it was a good game by both teams. Mommy made her first attempt at making Korean food for the big game. She made Bulgogi (really yummy steak that you wrap in lettuce), Jap Chae (Sweet Potato Noodle Veggie Stir Fry) and Pa Jon (Scallion Pancakes). It was all very good. Kyle loved the Bulgogi, Cameron's favorite was the Jap Chae and mommy and daddy loved it all. The photos are of us that night at dinner.

An update on the adoption. We checked our placement on the list today. There hasn't been much movement over the past two months. It was way less than what mommy thought. We only moved up one spot to number 46. The list is a weird thing that we don't really understand but just have to have faith in that things will happen when they are suppose to happen and this is all out of our control. Adoption is a total leap of faith.

Kyle the Bruiser

Hola amigos, Cameron and Kyle here. We've been watching lots of Dora lately as that is Kyle's latest obsession hence the Spanish. We've been keeping ourselves busy during this long cold winter. Check out some of our latest art work in the photo above.

Daddy had off of work on MLK day so it was nice to spend a long weekend with him and mommy. We didn't really do too much - just some shopping for the bathroom remodel and some new appliances. Our dryer finally gave out and died on us and the washer was close behind. Mommy was very happy to have something that worked and will hopefully save us some money.

On Tuesday we watched all the inauguration events for President Obama. Kyle loved chanting "Obama, Obama, Obama..." and Cameron was very interested in learning more about all the days events and history. What an amazing day!

We had a big scare on Wednesday. Kyle was rough housing and hurt his left arm. He was in such pain and would not move his arm so we rushed him to the doctor to see if he broke his arm. Cameron and his friend Charlie (who mommy babysits) were such good helpers during all the activities. Dr. Stang examined Kyle. He had three x-rays to his wrist area. The doctor couldn't be sure about a break so we put his arm in a splint and had a specialist read the x-rays later that day. Mommy and daddy were very relieved to hear that his arm was not broken. But Kyle still wasn't moving his arm and cried alot so he wasn't out of the woods. After a good night's sleep Kyle was moving his arm and so much happier. Kyle decided he had enough of the splint on Thursday and took it off himself and proclaimed "See all better". He was then back to his old bouncing off the walls self.

Thursday we had mommy's friend Rochelle and two of her children over for a playdate. Cameron really enjoyed playing with Adam who is four. And Kyle liked to watch 1.5 year old Katie play while he hung onto mommy since he was being shy.

Brrr, its cold!

Cameron, Grandpa Bill, Grandma Maggie, Mommy, Kyle, and Daddy

Aunt Angela, Uncle Steven, Wyatt, Tina, Grandpa Al, Grandma Judy, Uncle Dan, Daddy, Kyle, Cameron, and Mommy

Baby its cold outside. Its now 21 below zero right now. We are having an indoor day and currently enjoying the movie CARS. The last few weeks have been good. We have spent a lot of time with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al lately.

Mommy and daddy had to get their fingerprints taken for the USCIS to process their I600A application for the adoption. The agent said mommy's fingertips were worn so she might have to have her prints redone. Too much washing dishes, cleaning and changing diapers according to mommy. We stayed with grandma and grandpa while they had this done.

A few days later we went up to Albany with mommy to stay at grandma and grandpa's house. We had a fun few days there. We played lots of card games, put together a big puzzle, and went sledding. This was Kyle's first time sledding and he loved it.

Then a few days after this grandma and grandpa came back down to our house. They went to look at houses with Uncle Dan and Tina. Mommy tagged along too. She said it was a fun day since she loves looking at houses...might be a good career for her once we are all in school.

Cameron finally started back to school after a long three week break. He is happy to be back and to have Charlie at our house in the mornings.

Hope you enjoy the photos of us at Christmas with our loving families.

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year and welcome to the year 2009. We celebrated with mommy and daddy last night by ringing in the New Year early at 6 PM (this is when London's clocks strike midnight). We drank soda from wine glasses and had noise makers and danced. It was very fun.

Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Bill left yesterday to drive to New Mexico to visit Uncle John, Aunt Ali and cousin Maddox. They are driving there and made it all the way to Cameron, MO yesterday. We will miss them.

A few days ago we went to Como Zoo and Conservatory. We had a great time seeing all the pretty flowers and a few of the animals. Our favorite is the monkeys. They are so cute and funny. Hope you like the photo of us posing at the Conservatory. We also went out for dinner with everyone to Panino's in North Oaks. It was very yummy and we would highly recommend it.

Well off to do some wrestle time with daddy. Happy 2009!