Making Room for Baby

The crib arrived yesterday and I managed to put it together, along with a dresser and a glider chair. Of course, I ended up putting the sides of the crib on backwards the first time around, which probably wouldn't have been a big deal, except that all the warning stickers would have been on the outside of the crib instead of on the inside. But by the second try, I had it all figured out. I did a lot of research on crib mattresses and I drove 45 minutes to a specialty store over the weekend in a snowstorm to pick up a mattress that was recommended, but when I got it home I didn't like it and drove all the way back the next day to return it. What a waste of time. I picked up another recommended mattress at another store, but now I'm not sure it fits the crib as well as it should, so I may end up exchanging that one, too. Hopefully, the 3rd time's the charm! I also finally decided on crib bedding and decor after exchanging another set. So Leah's little room is finally starting to take shape. Talk about waiting until the last minute...

In a video flashback, here's one of the very first videos we received of teeny, tiny Leah Jin-Ri at 6 months, right after she received our first care package. She's wearing one of the outfits we sent, and she's showing off her new creeping skills. She looks so determined!

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Getting ready for baby

Our travel call could come very soon. Possibly in the next 2 weeks. So we've been working hard at knocking things off our very long list of things to buy in preparation for bringing Leah Jin-Ri home. It's pretty amazing how much stuff you need for just one little baby. I've been at the Babies 'R Us and other stores almost every day buying things, changing my mind, exchanging things, getting price adjustments, etc. At least I'm finally in the buying mode. For a while there, everytime I'd go, I'd wander around the store aimlessly for hours looking at everything, but leave empty-handed and confused. It always seemed that we had plenty of time to make these decisions. Now suddenly we're running out of time!

Meanwhile, this is what Jin-Ri's been up to. She loves playing with all her toys. She really enjoys that talking, musical bus that honks and says "an-nyong-ha-se-yo", which means "hello" in Korean.

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Strollin' in Style

I found this cute stroller online and it arrived today. It's lightweight at only 18 lbs., folds up easily, and has a cute giraffe pattern.

Some of our latest acquisitions

Nothing too exciting. But now we can start checking things off of our long, long list.

Let the babyproofing begin

I've started babyproofing the house little by little. Yesterday, I did the fireplace and some table corners. We think Jin-Ri will be about 9 months old when she comes home, and given that she is already creeping and crawling so well, sitting up by herself, and standing in her crib and with support, we have a feeling she'll start walking early. So we'd better be ready.

Cribbin' in Style

We are starting to gear up for Jin-Ri's arrival. We took the plunge and and went out and bought a crib this evening. Until yesterday, we weren't sure whether Jin-Ri had even seen a crib before. I know that some babies in Korea are not used to being in cribs, let alone sleeping in their own room all by themselves, and being placed in a crib can be very scary for them. Since we now have direct contact with her foster parents, I asked them what her sleeping arrangements are and found out she does sleep in a crib in their room. We even got pictures and videos of her standing and giggling in her crib. She's just too cute. We went out tonight planning to get a white crib, to keep things as familiar as possible for her, but we didn't see one we liked that seemed sturdy enough for our little amazon. So we ended up ordering a modern, dark, espresso colored crib that seemed really solid and strong, and she'll stay in our room in the beginning. Hope she likes it.