Aubrey is 1!!!!

I can not believe I'm typing these words, but, our daughter is turning one today! To make it even a more special day, she is walking!! She has decided that crawling is getting a bit boring, and is now more confident in her walking abilities,lol. I do have it on video, I just have to figure out how to download it for you all to see.

Aubrey had a beautiful Birthday party this past wknd and we thank everyone for making it such a special day for her and us. She looked so pretty in each of her outfits that she wore (she wore 3,lol) and she was glowing all day long. We did perform the traditional Tol/Dol Ceremony and Aubrey chose the rice cake and the money. She also hung on to the globe for a while, so, let's see....that means she'll be prosperous, wealthy, and a world traveler, right? Sounds good to me! It was such a special day and we just feel so so blessed to have our daughter. She just brings such joy to our lives. I would like to ask each of you to do something special for me if you would??? With Aubrey's Birthday here, it reminds me of her Birthmother and how she might be feeling on this day. What a strong young lady she must be to have given up her baby so that she could have a better life, I just want to say a prayer for her that I hope she can and will find peace in her brave decision. I thank her always for giving us such a little blessing. So, with that, enjoy the pictures, and....Happy 1st Birthday Aubrey! Mommy, Daddy and Austin love you with all of our hearts my sweet angel.

Our Baby Girl Has Been Home for 6 Months Now!

Can you believe it? It's been six months since that glorious day that we met our daughter for the first time! She has now been home here longer than the time she had in her birth place, Seoul, S. Korea. It's so bittersweet just thinking about it, ya know? Just knowing that she probably has no memories of the Country that she was born in is just weird enough, yet, how many of us have many memories of where we were born, right?

My little pumpkin is just thriving these days! She now has 5, almost 6 teeth, she's taking steps now, and talks,talks, talks! Imagine that...a girl that talks a lot? A girl after my own heart! I won't say too much for now since I'll be updating this blog in the next couple of weeks when Aubrey turns 1!!! Yes, she will be 1 in about 2 weeks! We'll have weight,height, and all of those fun milestones to fill u all in real soon!

Austin just finished his soccer season, and he did so good! What a difference a year makes! Last year he was kind of standing around picking up grass and playing with it, and this year, he's scoring goals! He loves it so much that he wants to play indoor soccer this Winter. Hhmm...could he be the next David Beckhman (is that his name?LOL)?

We did go to Milburn Orchards today so, here's some pictures of our beautiful 80 degree day, it was so wonderful! The kids had such a blast, the big hit was certainly the Hay Ride where we had hay fights with about 4-5 wagons, we were covered in hay, I mean covered! Aubrey had it down her diaper, Austin had it caked into his head, it was great! We ate apple cider donuts, ice cream, and drank apple cider. Austin loves that place so much that he wants to have his 6th Birthday party there w/ a bonfire and all! Oh, and for those of you who do not know, Austin will be a Black Power Ranger for Halloween this year, and Aubrey will be a beautiful flower!

So, check out the pics, know that we're all doing well, and I'll update in a couple of weeks, after Aubrey's Birthday Party and Halloween!

She's 10 Months Old!!

Well, she's now 10 months old, can u believe it?? I can not believe that my little girl will be turning 1 yr. in just 2 months, that's crazy! She's definitely giving me a workout everyday between crawling and cruising, she's on a mission! I'm actually surprised she's not walking, however, she stands on her own, just doesn't want to take any steps by herself, it's so cute! Aubrey has 3 teeth and it looks like she's about to cut another one any day now. At her check-up, she was off -the-charts for her height, measuring around 30.5", that's very tall! She is in the 95% for her weight, weighing in @ a whopping 23lbs, big baby!! She is as healthy as healthy can be, and is just such a cutie-pie, we are soooo blessed!

Now, Mr. Austin started Kindergarten last week, and it was a very emotional day for Mommy. I had a lump in my throat all day long! He is loving it, and is very enthusiastic about getting up in the morning and going, thankfully! Austin started soccer last week for his 2nd year, and loves it! He is soooo fast on that field, and, all he is concerned with is scoring goals! I am so proud of him, and while I do miss him during the day, it sure is nice having some alone time w/Aubrey. Couldn't have planned it better, having Austin all to myself for 5 yrs, and now Aubrey all to myself! ;o)

Enjoy the pictures!!!

And another tooth!!

Just wanted to share with everyone that not only has Aubrey cut the 1st tooth I mentioned, then the 2nd tooth about 2 days later, but now she has cut another one on the top!! Well, now it all makes sense as to why she wouldn't sleep,eat,and is clinging to me for dear life!! What a big girl getting 3 teeth within 2 weeks!!Now let's all pray she starts sleeping well again ;o)

Our Baby Girl is Turning 9 Months!

Can u believe it? Aubrey will be 9 months old on Tuesday Aug.7th! She has now been home for almost 4 months and it feels like she's been here all along. We have had a very busy Summer and a lot of fun, but, I'm definitely looking forward to my big boy heading off to Kindergarten and getting back into a routine. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll b holding back the tears on his first day, but, it will b good for him too. He'll be a great Kindergartner!
So, I'll give u all a lil' rundown on what's been going on in the last few weeks....let's see....we had my lil' sister's Bachelorette Party (which was a blast!) and she got married!!! We had an absolutely wonderful time @ the Wedding, as u can see in the pictures. Everything turned out perfect, and could not have been more beautiful, she was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen (other than myself, of course ;o) The pics r a little distorted, but, u get the idea, just look how beautiful everything was! I was her Matron of Honor, and am just so excited for her & Marc's new life together! As far as the kids go....let's see....Aubrey crawls everywhere, gets into everything, loves sleeping in her crib, pulls herself up onto everything, and is just doing wonderfully! She just cut her 1st tooth, and her 2nd will probably b cutting tomorrow or the day after. Let me tell u, she is not a good teether, and she has been extremely clingy, poor thing. It will b nice once all of those teeth r in, in another couple of years!LOL She is our little angel, and like I said at the beginning, it feels like she's been here all along, we r so in love. As for my lil' man Austin, he has learned to ride a 2 wheeler, and can't get enough of it, he also swims and dives all on his own now w/no help at all. In fact, he is such a great swimmer, he could join the swim team! He is a big boy weighing in around 45lbs and 45" tall! I still can not believe he is starting Kind. in 3 weeks! He and Aubrey r getting along wonderfully and he thankfully can't get enough of her, except when she wants something of his, of course! As for Cal and I, we're having a great Summer enjoying our family. We r getting ready to book a cruise for just the 2 of us in April, and then all of us will b going to Disney in June for our Annual trip, we can not wait! Our family is definitely complete, unless God has something else planned up His sleeve,lol! If you've made it this far, thank you for checking out our blog. It's been hard keeping up w/it, but, I figure once Austin is in school and Aubrey and I r hanging out @ home, maybe I'll get to it once a month instead of once every 2 months!

Aubrey's Been Home 5 1/2 Weeks!!

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted,but, things have been busssssyy!! Busy in a good way, actually a wonderful way, but flat out busy! LOL Let's see, for starters Miss Aubrey has been home for almost 6 weeks now, and boy oh boy have things changed in all of our lives! She looks different to me than the day I met her @ the Airport. I'm not sure if it's that her hair isn't as wild and out-of-control, or the fact that she has now lost a few ounces, but, something has changed about my lil' angel. The way she looked @ all of us the day we met her was with such excitement and curiosity that she was almost delirious. Well, now, when she looks at me, I can see her more @ ease and definitely more content. Don't get me wrong, when she wants something, she screams bloody murder, but, she has a more content look about her, like she is certain I am her Mommy and now she can relax!! Aubrey has brought more delight to this family than I could have ever imagined. She is beautiful, and when I say beautiful, I mean flat out gorgeous, everything from her demenour to her outside appearance! Her eyes are so filled with gentleness, and her lips, well, they still look like rosebuds, absolutely sweet! I can't imagine our lives without her, and still can't get over how incredibly blessed we are to have her!!



So, enough of me bragging, let me tell you what she has been up to in the past weeks. Well, she came home already able to roll over both ways. Well, now she is also able to crawl/hop/slide. It's not a full on crawl, but, she's almost there! She can, however, go from a laying down position into a sitting position all on her own, it's too cute to watch. I think she even shocks herself when she ends up in sitting position. She is eating lots of solid foods, veggies, meats, yogurt, you name it, she's eating it! I've been working on getting into a routine, and so far it's been working, so as anyone knows the routine/schedule thing works wonderfully, and so far so good!! She definitely knows her Mommy, Daddy and Austin for sure. Whenever somebody wants to hold her, she looks around to make sure I'm watching and close by. If she isn't too tired, she'll usually go to just about anyone, but if she's tired....forget it!! She is a screamer, and I mean, loud screamer! When she is hungry, tired, or just plain "over it" she screams!! We never went thru this w/Austin, he just whined a lot. So, the screaming thing is all new, and I'm thinking it's a girl thing?? Well, all in all, she is doing remarkable. When we are in places w/large groups of ppl, you definitely can tell Aubrey is not at ease, I'm assuming this has to do with the whole attachment thing. As some of you may or may not know, this is VERY common in babies whom r adopted, and more likely in babies that r not w/their family from birth. So, this is something we r very aware of, and r working every day on. We just need her to trust us and for her to know we r not going anywhere. We r her Mommy, Daddy & brother, and we love her! By the way, Austin is absolutely in love, as Aubrey is too! He is the best big brother and son, and I'm so proud of him and the way he just is, he's perfect too!

I'll try not to take so long next time to post!!

So, with that.....here's some recent pictures of Aubrey!!

Tomorrow Aubrey Comes Home!!!

Well, I thought the day would never come! However, tomorrow we will go meet our daughter for the first time and become a family of 5 (yes, we do include our doggie, Maddie)! I can not explain the emotions that are running thru me right now. I am excited to the point of feeling nauteous, I have so much adrenalin that I think I can lift mountains, and I'm sad because the thought of our daughter leaving the only place she's ever known and the people that have loved her and taken care of her for the past 5 months will also be sad when she leaves. I will never be able to repay her Foster Family for the love they have given Aubrey, I just hope one day, I can explain to Aubrey how wonderful they were to her. Please say a prayer for Aubrey, her Foster Mother, and the wonderful escort (the lady bringing Aubrey across the world) that this journey in all of their lives is just beginning and none of this would have been complete without each one of them! Aubrey-because she is the center of this journey, Fost.Moth-for taking care of Aubrey, Escort-for bringing Aubrey home to us!!
See u soon my sweet baby girl, Mommy, Daddy and Big Brother are coming to get you!

She's Coming Home!!!

We received the phone call @ 9:09 am Tuesday the 10th!! Aubrey will be arriving in Dulles @ 6:54pm on April 20th. That's next week! I can not believe this day is almost here and we FINALLY will be a family of 4!! This process has been such an amazing journey and I can't wait to share this with Aubrey when she is old enough to understand and appreciate it. Our angel is comin' home to Mama!!!

My Baby Shower!

It was the most wonderful celebration I could ever have imagined! Few people were missing that I would have loved to have been there ( u know who u r ;o) but, the circumstances were beyond their control. I know that they were with me in spirit for sure. Everything from the food, to the favors, to the unbelievable board that my sis-in-law made, was perfect! Aubrey is so well loved and we feel so blessed that she is ours, we just need her home NOW! Thank you to everyone that made the day so special.

We Got Our Approval!!

So, after the mix-up at CIS, we finally have our I600 Approval,woo-hoo!!! I'm telling you, things have gone very smooth, and even with them losing it, we still had our approval in a month,wow! Let's just pray that Aubrey's Travel Call comes soon because that is all we are waiting on now, that's it, just a call to say, "Heiyoung Park is ready for travel, she'll be arriving on (whatever the date is,lol". So, everybody keep your fingers crossed, say your prayers, and let's get her home soon!! As u all know, the Nursery is complete, well, the playroom is just about finished too. Cal has been working so hard, he needs a break big time!!

Still No Paperwork,but....the Nursery is Complete!

So, still no word on our p/w that is MIA, however, I still know that it either will turn up or we'll resend all of it! The "head" lady at CIS is still away from her desk, so, another day, with nothing accomplished :o( I just hope that once the head honcho gets to her desk and receives the e-mails and voice mails from our Agency, that she speeds up this approval because of their error. Keep your fingers crossed.

On a brighter note, the nursery is complete! Other than a few odds & ends for the shelves, it's finished! Cal did such a beautiful job, he is so talented. Now, let's get Aubrey home!!

USCIS Has Lost Some Paperwork!

So, I have to start off by saying, we've had a pretty smooth ride so far on this journey, so I guess we were up for a little bump in the road, right? Well, it's here!! That's right, the United States Immigration in Maryland has lost some very important forms! Ugghhh! These are called the I-600's and basically they're the last step here on the U.S. side. After this is approved, it goes back to Korea and we wait for "the call" that Aubrey is coming home! Our Agency, whom I looooove, has assured us that this is fixable and we will get to the bottom of it come Monday. Apparently, the lady in charge over there at CIS is on vaca. til Monday morn. So, I'm up for a long weekend ahead of me, but, I am confident that this will be resolved and then we'll move forward. Like I said, we were past due for a little glitch on our journey,right??

Ahhh...Patience

So, as I'm learning, patience is becoming one of my strongest qualities. No, really it is! I have learned in the 3+yrs that we have been trying to build our family, all about patience. You know, every month that goes by, I get stronger and weaker at the same time, still, my patience even surprises me. Stronger, because everyone and anyone that can handle the whole adoption journey has GOT to be strong with all of the uncertanties, and weaker because, I yurn for my sweet angel, the thought of her growing without me, makes me weak. The reason I bring all of this up is because today is Aubrey's 4 month Birthday! I can not believe my little girl is 4 months, time is flying!
This whole journey has been such a learning lesson about how everything truly is in God's hands. He has a plan for all of us. Just when I think I can't take the waiting any longer, something really wonderful happens. Or, just when I start getting really down in the dumps, I remind myself, that Aubrey will be home. No more wishing...she really is coming!!

Our Beautiful Aubrey Grace

Journey To Aubrey

If you are reading this it is because you have been following our adoption journey. This is just one of the many exciting things that we're doing to keep our families and friends updated on the whole process of our journey to Aubrey. This whole blog thing is new to me, so, if it all seems out of sorts, my apologies.

To start off, we are in the process of adopting our daughter from South Korea. Our Agency is Barker who works with SWS in Korea. We received our Referral on January 22 and are now awaiting for more of the "legal" stuff to be processed. After all of that, we await the travel call that tells us our daughter is on her way home to us!

As you follow our journey, you will get to know us, The Oliver's, if you don't already. A short run-down...we are Cal and Jenn, we have been married for 8 years. We are the proud parents of our wonderful son, Austin, who will be turning 5 soon. We love Disneyworld and are Disney Vacation Club Members, we love the beach, skiing, and just hanging out with family! Have fun following our journey!