AJ attended his very first hockey game last night. Steve snagged tickets at work and at about 5pm our evening plans changed from “absolutely nothing” to “we’re going to a game!” We put on our Canes gear (AJ finally got to wear his jersey from Auntie Jen and Uncle Mike!) and headed out.
Though he was a bit squirmy, I think AJ really enjoyed himself. He quickly made friends with the people around us. He didnt care much for the action on the ice, but clapped  when everyone else did, and by the end of it (we won in OT) he had his hands up in the air cheering. It was a fun night for all. You can see pics here.

AJ’s feeling mucho bettero, thank you. Boy finally has his fabulous appetite back, and I’m glad. As much as I enjoyed a week off from preparing his meals every night, I’d rather him be eating healthy meals than a smidge of baby food.
I’ve been meaning to blog about something that AJ does regularly that warms my heart to melty chocolately sweet goo. Though I didnt realize it, I most often kiss AJ on his forehead. Occasionally on the cheek or playfully elsewhere, but most of the time, the meaningful kisses land on his forehead. And for a couple of months now, when I request a kiss, I do not get lips in my direction, but a lean in of the head. Its got to be the cutest, sweetest thing ever. He completely associates kisses with his forehead to someone’s lips (he does it to Steve too). He even makes a “mmmmaaaah” sound when putting his head down and heading towards my lips. Its so precious, I dont even want to correct it. Even though I sometimes get head butted before I realize that he wants a kiss…

I knew AJ’s lack of real sickness wouldnt last forever… and this weekend turned into prime time sick at our house. He woke up Saturday afternoon with a fever and by Sunday afternoon he had a terrible cough and general unhappiness. The worst happened Sunday night, when he had a febrile seizure due to his high temp. I was asleep at the time, but Steve was awake and with him. Thankfully, he had been reading about them online, and knew exactly what to do for AJ. It lasted less than two minutes. He woke me up so that I could help comfort AJ. It took awhile for him to calm down, but eventually we got his fever down and got him back to sleep. I, however, didnt sleep much at all. Every move or sound that he made, I was up and straining to see if he was okay. My mind was constantly racing. It wasnt until somewhere after 4am that he woke up enough to open his eyes and make eye contact with me that I felt calm enough to try to sleep a little.
Thankfully, we already had a doctors appointment scheduled for this morning. AJ will be 15 months old on the 20th. But no vaccines and routine check up for him. Instead, he went home with an antibiotic for an ear infection and the likelyhood that he also has the flu.
I feel especially bad about the flu part, we opted not to get him vaccinated when we were offered because we were flying to Florida the next day (and they didnt have the mercury free one on hand). I was supposed to take him back when we returned, but didnt. And now my little baby has a terrible fever, cough and general yuckiness. I sure am getting lesson after lesson on how decisions I make affect way more than just me.
Hopefully AJ’s fever will break soon and he’ll start to feel better. I hate seeing him so miserable….

I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile. And since nothings new in AJ land… here you are.

With the paperwork for our finalization, I had to submit a disclosure of the fees and expenses associated with the adoption. Other than my handy excel spreadsheet, I haven’t really seen all the numbers written down.  I want to share them, because I think it’s important for people to know, if they’re considering adoption. I had no idea it would cost this much. My heart was already invested in the idea by the time we found out the details, and so we just decided to take a leap of faith. Because we believed God was calling us to adopt at this time, we had faith that He would provide the means. And He did. Not in the ways I would have hoped (no bags of money on my doorstep). But AJ’s here and that’s all that really matters.
However, if you prefer to be outstandingly responsible in your adoption process, I suggest you save a buttload of cash.

Before I give the fancy numbers… let me say that I in no way regret any of the money that went towards the adoption process. Though its big money and hard to part with, I know exactly what it was going towards and feel that everyone is well deserving. Though we sometimes joke, I know the money sent to Korea did not “buy” my son. There were many many people involved in the this process, and the fees we paid barely cover their time and effort.
Also, these numbers are specific to adopting through our agencies with a specific agency in Korea. Though I think it gives an accurate average of what an adoption from Korea might cost, pricing definitely varies depending on the country and who you work with in the states. In addition, since we had to pay them, many US Gov fees have increased.

Here you go. Broken into the catergories requested by Durham County.

Application and Homestudy Fees - paid to Carolina Adoption Services and Family & Children’s Agency - $3,170
Placement Agency Administration Fees -  paid to Carolina Adoption Services and Family & Children’s Agency - $9,775
Documentation, Authentications, Mailings, Certication and Authentication Fees- paid to a lot of different places - $1,037
International Facilitation & Placement - paid to Social Welfare Society in Korea - $14,540
Travel Expenses - paid to Korean Air - $3,138
In-Country Expenses - paid to Renaissance Hotel and various businesses in Seoul - $1,000
Post-Placement and Legalization Fees - paid to Durham Clerk of Court and US Homeland Security - $470

Total -  $33,130

How did we do it? Not in the way that we would preferred. We saved a little money (like less than $5,000) and paid cash where it was required. We used a credit card when cash wasnt required. The large fee to SWS needed to be cash (a check) and we wound up taking a line of credit on our house to pay for it. Again, in no way ideal, and probably our last choice of how to do it, but, it worked. We’re paying it all off as we can, and hope to get some reimbursements and money back on our taxes in the future (once we finalize) to pay off larger chunks.

And thats it.

AJ and I are taking our first road trip together. We leave this afternoon for DC, to visit my good friend Emily and her 18 month old, Evan. Should be a fun weekend. I’m a little nervous about the drive… but we’ll be leaving at naptime, so that should buy me a couple of hours of peace. I’ve borrowed a portable dvd player, just in case. My only other concern is being on my own with AJ at night. These past two nights have been horrible. I’m not looking forward to the same, without relief.
But other than that, it should be good times. Wish me luck!