Baby brother where are yoooouuuu?????

[BillK]

So that's Zach's new thing to say. Every time we're upstairs he walks over what will be Ben's room and pokes his head in and says "Baby brother where are yooooouuuu????"

The other day I went to Barnes and Noble and bought a "Lonely Planet: Seoul" book so I could prepare for my trip (surprisingly the ONLY travel book on Seoul I could find). Well Zach spied it and asked me what it was so I told him it's a book about where Ben lives right now and that daddy is going to go there to get him soon. Well now Zach won't let go of the darned thing and keeps carrying it everywhere in the house saying "Baby Ben in Korea - coming home."

I thought it was pretty funny.

[brittone2]

That's so sweet :) Sibling love will melt your heart :)

Hopefully it won't be long now!! Do you have an official travel date or are you waiting for a phone call?

[BillK]

Still waiting unfortunately.

I-600 approval is supposedly going to be 1/2/08 (assuming the ONLY officer in Pittsburgh CIS that can do the approval is back from vacation - I'm still amazed they have only ONE person that can do this there) - then off to New Hampshire NVC (a new and VERY annoying step for those adopting) for Visa approval - then off to the US Embassy in Korea (by MAIL :32: - no clue WHY they can't just fax, email or whatever) for the Visa interview - then a travel call.

All in all - most say about a month from I-600 approval before the travel call.

[mommy111]

Bill, sorry about all the official hassles, hope you get your new arrival soon. And that's such a cute reaction from Zach!!! What are you doing to prepare him? We're expecting a new one when DD turns 3 and a half, and I remember from your old posts Zach being about the same age, except I have no clue how to break to DD that she's going to have a sibling! You guys are obviously doing such a great job!!!

[BillK]

Bill, sorry about all the official hassles, hope you get your new arrival soon. And that's such a cute reaction from Zach!!! What are you doing to prepare him? We're expecting a new one when DD turns 3 and a half, and I remember from your old posts Zach being about the same age, except I have no clue how to break to DD that she's going to have a sibling! You guys are obviously doing such a great job!!!

Thanks - Zach will be three in February. We just keep telling him about Ben coming home soon - and reminding him that daddy is going to go get him and be gone for about a week.

We show him pictures of Ben and make sure he "helps" us when we do things in Ben's room. We have lots of big brother books and are trying to do our best to prepare him for the coming storm.

He says he wants to be a big brother but I have my doubts once it actually happens. He's used to being the center of our universe - so I'm not sure he's gonna dig sharing mommy and daddy. :)

I suspect that Ben will be more attached to me than my wife initially once we get home since I'm the one going to Korea to get him (I hope 19 hours of flight time will help him start attaching to me and help with the grieving he's no doubt going to experience) - so I'm not sure how Zach will like that once I'm back. We'll see - he's always proven to be a LOT more resilient than we give him credit for.

[JustMe]

Aaaw, so cute! The adoption wait is so crazy making for us adults (except for those who are lucky enough to have a super smooth and speedy process), I cannot imagine how confusing it is for a child I can't wait to read your post that baby brother is home!

[Emmas Mom]

What an exciting time for you all! Please keep us updated with the dates as you find them out. And here's hoping it comes sooner than you think! :)

[mommy111]

Bill, thanks for the reply/advice, so I guess I should stop avoiding bringing up the subject with DD, huh? :) That's a great idea, though, to get her involved in the baby's room etc and that should be fun for her. She is very mothering and loves babies, always wants to change their diapers etc (which is NOT something that I'd be willing to let her do on the new baby :)) Maybe this will go better than I expect...
I am sure with parents like the two of you, Zach will do fabulously with the adjustment as will your new little DS.

[ShanaMama]

How cute! It's great that he's anticipating his new brother with such excitement- hope the transition does go smoothly.
Good luck with the rest of the process. It sounds so aggravating to jump through hoop after hoop.

[crayonblue]

Hi Bill,

Zach is going to be a GREAT big brother!

Lauren turned three in December and we brought 5 month old Carmen home in January so we have similarly age-spans. Despite all of Carmen's special needs, Lauren thinks she is the best sister ever.