Max was so blessed on Christmas....

Everyone...including Santa was very generous to Max this Christmas.  I was overwhelmed by the many wonderful gifts we received for Max.  He got lots of neat toys, ornaments and keepsakes. 

For the first time since we have lived in our house Santa paid us a visit!

Both of us took turns opening Santa's gifts and took pictures of everything for Max.  Here are a few...

Mommy with some cars...

Daddy with a Helicopter...

All of Santa's gifts...

Sorry some of the pictures are fuzzy...

I-600 Approved!!!! (this is a good thing)

We got the letter today that our I-600 was approved on 12-22-2010.  Which is the United States side of the paperwork, the timeframe on this document is all over the board anywhere from 1 week to 16 weeks.  We waited a little over 4 weeks once we were logged into the system, which is not so bad.  We were also supposed to be re-fingerprinted since our prints expire on 1-2-11.  So I think we do not have to go back again.   There is one more document that we need in order to get the US side 100% done and we are thinking it may already be done.  This will mean that we will be only waiting on the Korea documents.  We are certainly relieved to have this step done.  Remember to follow the timeline on the side to see what we have left...the list is getting shorter!

Our Christmas was wonderful and I will post some pics and tell you all about it later this week.  This was one of the best gifts we got for Christmas....the gifts just keep coming!

Special Christmas Ornament for Max

A few weeks ago I was shopping at T*rget...looking at the ornaments.  There were a few cute "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments.  I was conflicted.  Yes, it is Max's first Christmas.  But he is not home with us. 

I posted a question on my adoption message board looking for advice and what others in this same situation have done.  I got lots of responses, mostly others  thought that I should buy one this year and one next year. 

Shortly after this I got a message from another Adoptive Mom, Misty.  She wanted to make an ornament for Max!  She was already making one for her daughter that is waiting to come home and offered to make one for Max.  I gladly accepted her offer and sent her our address.  About a week later there was a big envelope in my mailbox, a very beautiful ornament with Max's picture on it.  I did not know what to expect...but it surpassed my expectations.  It was a wonderful gift, at a time of the year I am finding difficult to get through. 

Here is a photo of the ornament on our tree: ( the picture does not do it justice)

It says:

Born in Our Hearts Our Blessing Max

Waiting for us in Korea 2010.

What a wonderful gift from one waiting momma to another.  The Friends I have met during this journey have helped me in so many ways.  I am truely thankful for the blessings of this support system!  Thank you Misty!

New pictures of Max!! and a medical update!

On  Thursday we received two new pictures of Max!

The first is a picture of him with his foster mother and the care package items we sent him.  It is a wonderful yet strange feeling to see your son half way around the world wearing an outfit you picked out for him and send him in the mail.  We had to block out his foster mothers face for privacy reasons, but let me tell you she has the biggest smile on her face.  He is most definitely being well taken care of :)

The other is a picture that was  taken the same day, He had hand surgery (they often send pictures with new medical information)  As many of you know, he was born with an extra thumb on his right hand.  He has surgery to remove the extra thumb on November 23rd.  These pictures were from November 26th.  We did not know he was going to have surgery.  It was just as well that we did not know beforehand, I would have worried for weeks.  His eyes are just as bright and he looks to be doing well.

These new photos made our week Month! I was certainly having a hard time believing it was all real.  This was just what I needed to carry on!

Max is now 8 months old and he currently weighs 17.41 pounds up just a little from last month and is 27.28 inches, he also has 3 new teeth on top! for a total of 5, 2 of them are his bottom teeth.  he can stand on his own, crawl and walk along the furniture!  Wow things are just passing us by.  We will definitely have to chase him by the time we bring him home.  He had gained almost 2 pounds last month and I was a little worried he would be a BIG baby by the time he comes home.  He is a healthy, happy growing boy! We cannot wait to bring this little guy home!!! So far 2 months waiting, hopefully only 3 or 4 to go, we shall see.