We met our Son!!!!!

Wow, I don't even know where to begin. We are filled with so much happiness right now. Our first meeting with Jackson (Yongkee) went better than expected.

We arrived at Eastern way earlier than we anticipated but, we had no clue our hotel was a short 10 minute cab ride away. For some reason, we thought it was more like 45 mintues away. But, we planned our route to Eastern after a 12 hour flight and no sleep for 24 hours. We will venture out later today and figure out the subway for future trips and sightseeing excursions. We were a little nervous about getting there early. We had been told by other families that there is really no waiting room if you arrive early....which is true because they are so busy at Eastern. Babies, Foster families, new adoptive parents, are constantly coming in and out. What wonderful, amazing people these Social Workers are. They are just go, go, go. Anyways, we decided to just to go in and see if they would take us early. This worked out quite nicely, they let us fill out our paperwork and then sit with a few other couples while we waited for our turn to meet our son.

When we first walked into the room, he was scared and clung to his Foster Mother. It was very clear, he has a tight bond with her. She is so loving and happy and full of life. She quickly tried to hand him off to us and kept exclaiming "Omma" (momma) and "Appa" (Dadda) but, he was having none of this and wouldn't stop crying. So, she went and pulled in his Foster Father and and to our surprise, his Foster Brother...we had no idea he had a foster brother....more on that later...we really hope to find out who his adoptive family is at some point. That little boy is going home to his family next month.
He then sat in FFather's lap, he seems more attached to him. FFather pulled out some snacks and I pulled out a toy car we had brought. After some more crying and questionable stares to us, Jackson started to calm down a bit and just looked as curiously for awhile. His Foster Mother took this opportunity to pass on some information about Jackson. She said he is very smart and loving. He likes to wake up early and is a great eater. She said he has been calling our pictures Omma and Appa and points to his Gracie's pictures. She then pulled out FOUR jammed packed albums filled with pictures of their time together. We couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and scour through them. We have looked at every sweet one. It is so clear how loved this sweet boy is and was during all the time they have been together. Words can't even begin to express the gratitude and love I feel for this family.....so amazing!!
After playing and snacking while keeping us at a distance. He started warm up and run around with his foster brother. They are really sweet together....all boy. We took this time to jump in and get close to him. You'll see from the pictures, he was feeding us his snacks (oniony Funyun type rings and baby cookies) and getting close with his toys. I also tried some Puffs and Yogurt bites we had bought but, he didn't want them. We are going to pick up some recognizable snacks for him before Friday. He was sure to keep his Foster Family in his view but, but we got some smiles, laughs out loud, and even managed to grab some quick hugs before we left.

Enjoy these pics, I know his hair is going to bring you some smiles.




Not so sure of us yet...(look at those cute spikes)


Warming up to Daddy..

feeding Mommy...

...and playing

Sat for a bit in Daddy's lap....

Starting to smile and move around happy...

he loves to smile for the camera.. "Kimchi"
:)

and play some more..

Our meeting was pretty short today because we had to head into our meeting with Dr. Kim, the director of ESWS. We sat in the Chaplain room with eleven other families and two Korean Adoptees. She gave us some background on Eastern and adoption to the States and Australia. She talked about the baby hospital; which we learned is currently holding 5o or so babies :( until they are placed with their Foster Families; she discussed the push for domestic adoption and why this is difficult. We then ate lunch at Eastern with the other families. We enjoyed this time. It's so neat to hear other's stories and how they were led to Korean Adoption.
We meet Jackson again on Thursday morning with his Foster Family and then on Friday morning we will pick him up. He will spend Friday and Friday night with us. We fly home mid-morning on Saturday.

Happy Mother's Day to my Amazing Mom and all the wonderful Mommies I know!