Still waiting...

Natalie's paperwork has been in Milwaukee at immigration for almost 5 weeks now and no news. In fact, we are now hearing that we might not receive the approval notice for another 7 weeks. Apparently there is a new procedure to process these visas most likely due to the new Hague (international adoption) treaty, but since S. Korea isn't under Hague, you would think that wouldn't impact us too much but apparently, it is. And after we do get the approval notice, it is unclear how long it might be until we travel. So, needless to say, I am beginning to go a little nuts. Paul and I were doing pretty well with the wait until about a week or so ago but the thought of another another 2-3 months until we travel is definitely testing us. Especially since we can't make it go faster; all we can do is wait.

We will stay busy in the meantime (it seems we never have a problem with that) but as time passes, our daughter is learning and doing new things without us and we are staring at her picture wondering what she will feel like in our arms, what her laugh sounds like, what makes her smile...and praying that we will find out soon.

Vacation and an Update on Natalie

Paul, Andrew, and I enjoyed a wonderful and much needed week of vacation - we camped for 5 days/4 nights on Madeline Island, WI and then joined Paul's family in Whitewater for the 4th of July. We all enjoyed time together and time outside. Andrew especially loved being in (very cold) Lake Superior and (not so cold) Whitewater Lake and he is particularly fond of boats, so both lakes were a hit. We hiked, explored, spent time on the beach, shopped a little, and took a 2 hour boat tour of the Apostle Islands. Paul and I have been wanting to travel to northern WI for years and were glad to finally get there. And it was nice to have time just the three of us before Natalie comes home. We met a family of 7 while camping - they have 5 kids from Korea. The oldest is 9 and the youngest is 2. We always love meeting other families blessed by adoption and we enjoyed talking about traveling to Korea, camping with kids, and the adoption process. And they also have the ergo baby carrier so that was another area of mutual interest!

After 7 days away, we came home to an update on Natalie. We were very relieved to receive it, because the information provided us in her referral was from the end of March and we know that a lot can change in three months. And a lot has - Natalie is still a peanut at 13 1/2 pounds but she is rolling over, holding toys in her hands, sitting, crawling, sleeping for long stretches at night (up only once), eating rice cereal, and, most surprising to us - pulling herself up on furniture and taking a few steps. We are thrilled to hear that she is growing well and continues to be a healthy and happy baby, but hope that she saves her first steps and next big milestones for us! She is starting to have some stranger anxiety, which we expected, but apparently she loves being with people, listening to music, and really enjoys being outside. Given that we just spent a week on vacation outdoors, it is a good thing that she already likes being outside!

Here are a few updated pictures of our daughter. These were taken about 2 weeks ago, at 6 1/2 months old.