Getting Ready!

Now that we have approval from the Waiting Child Committee at Holt, we are in high gear to get ready! Our social worker thought it would be about March (2 months earlier than I expected) when we travel, so we need to get moving with the house let alone the immigration paperwork! Four months sounds like a long time, but once spring classes begin, March will be here before we know it.

The goal for this month: Finish Registry.
Now that we know how much Rai weighs (19.1 pounds in Nov.) and approximately when we will travel to Korea, we can start to estimate what he will need when he arrives. The Holt Forum is a wonderful first start, and the books in the What to Expect series have been really helpful. Now that we have the baby quilt fabric chosen, we have the furniture chosen, but there are few things that match black/white/green/red. The panda theme will definitely come in handy, though. We're hoping we'll get a flood of panda things for Christmas to get us started. I say that because I've been told that I am not allowed to buy anything until after Christmas. :-)







































The goal for next month: Baby-Proof.
Somehow, we never end up at home on the weekends. Although Aaron did start baby-proofing the house, we still need to think about office solutions (primarily computer cables) and slowly putting away furniture/small items that will need to go when the baby gets here. I'm thinking the glass top living room tables need to go in the garage... I've also been told that preparing space for the baby (especially in the pantry, fridge, and cabinets) takes a while. We may need to reorganize little by little to make room.

The goal for February: Finish Rai's Room!
I can't imagine we will get the travel call any earlier than March, so I think February is a safe month to finish Rai's room. Of course, it is now primarily bare with the exception of Christmas presents and a few items that need to go to Good Will, but it will take several weekends of furniture assembly (Aaron's favorite) and decorating to get everything together.

But first, the goal for this week: Get Immigration Paperwork Moving and Make To-Do List

Immigration Paperwork
Our social worker is finishing our homestudy this weekend to push the immigration paperwork through. Until we get our formal referral from Holt, that will be the next step in getting Rai home as quickly as possible. We'll try to keep everyone posted on the various immigration form completion dates as we proceed. It's this incredibly long list of paperwork that prevents us from going to Korea any earlier.

To-Do List
There are several things that will go on the bottom of the priority list once Rai arrives, so I'd like to start writing down this To-Do list before the wait is over. Some of these things include:
- Prepping summer classes: Music Appreciation & Asian Music
- Finish video/audio editing from summer fieldwork in Japan
- Read several articles and books related to summer fieldwork in Japan
- Finish all photo albums! (I've done nothing since I returned from Japan!)
- Play a few more rounds of Quake with Aaron & Mark
- Take a few naps :-)

Well, that is all for now. I'll post updates as soon as we hear anything.