First Birthday Tomorrow

Yes, tomorrow is Rai's first birthday, and we have mixed emotions. It's an exciting time since he will be celebrating Tol, a Korean traditional first birthday http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/tol/tol.cfm, sometime in the next few hours (it is almost the 23rd is Korea now). At the same time, we're sad that we'll miss his first birthday, and without an official approval from Holt at this time, we still feel uneasy announcing his adoption just yet. The good news is that this week, we've had many updates and even though things have been slow, they are moving along!

UCP Visit
Our visit to United Cerebral Palsy was Wednesday morning, and it was definitely an eye opener! We visited with the pre-school director who reviewed Rai's medical records and introduced us to a variety of children with CP and/or other needs. Each child was between 2 and 5 and their needs ranged from a tight heel cord requiring the use of a brace to keep the child from tip-toeing to much more severe needs. It was great to see such a caring staff and technology to help children with even severe needs communicate, walk, etc. The director also provided additional resources that might be helpful depending on Rai's needs when he arrives. They all seem to be very excited, so we will need to keep them posted as well as we continue on this adoption journey. So one task down, two more to go!

Video Coming Soon!
I bugged Holt once more this week after our updates from UCP and was promised a forward of any response they receive from Korea regarding the video. Friday morning, I received an email stating, "We took the video, but it is too short. He was not cooperating. We can try again. Do you want us to send the video as is?" Hmmm. This is REALLY vague, but I could imagine what happened. Requesting a video from Korea is fairly rare, so it sounds like they asked Rai's foster mother to bring him to the agency. Since the original request (from Sept. 28) asked for a display of his development, they may have asked that he demonstrate everything on the development checklist. As many of you with young children realize, children do not respond well to on-to-spot performance, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. It sounds like he got tried/frustrated/etc. and started crying. I called Holt for clarification, and our contact agreed. We both decided that unless the video was only a few seconds long, it was probably enough to move forward with the second task. WHEW! They have asked the Korean agency to send what they have. Once Holt receives it, they will overnight it to us for viewing. Ok. Almost two down...

Pediatric Neurologist
I was even more excited yesterday when the pediatric neurologist's office called. Earlier appointment? No. :-( The office staff only need additional information to complete Rai's file before our appointment. We're on the cancellation list in case an earlier appointment is available, but with the holidays approaching, it looks like we may have to wait until Dec. 17th. *sigh*

Committee Dates
When we first learned of the pediatric neurologist appointment date, we were frustrated that we may have to wait until January for a decision. The committee only meets on Thursdays, and we didn't think they would meet one day after our appointment. The next two Thursdays are holidays. :-( Luckily, our Holt rep. said they could meet the following day since they have already reviewed our file once before or the Tuesday after. This means we'll know before Christmas! (As long as we get the video before then, too.)

First Birthday Gift
We completed most of our Christmas shopping last weekend, so we have Rai's first birthday present! Since he won't be here this year, we'll wrap it and put it in his room. We'll do the same for his Christmas present, so he should be loaded with toys before he arrives!