We met Ellie for the first time and it went really well. She is really beautiful. She has super long eye lashes that curl. She is MUCH bigger than we expected. She weighs 22 lbs. and has the chubbiest little thighs. :-) I don't know if the clothes I packed for her will fit. She eats a lot and her favorite snack is something similar to cocoa puffs (just like Gabe she is coocoo for cocoa puffs). She sits up well and rolls around but is not yet crawling.
She was very interested in both Phil and I and liked to touch our faces. The foster family is so nice. They stayed for the first 40 minutes of the meeting and then they left us alone with Ellie. She did really well initially and was happy to play with us and let us hold her. Toward the end of the meeting she got upset but the foster mother said she was due for a nap.
Our social worker had warned us in advance that Ellie had some stranger anxiety and was prone to crying very loudly. She also said, "all the time she is so smart." We didn't find her to be particularly anxious around us and for that we were glad. We get to spend time with her again on Monday morning and then it is our decision whether to get her on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning before we leave. Our social worker is encouraging us to wait until Wednesday. We can see advantages both ways - one way gets us and Ellie a good night's sleep before a long trip - one way lets us start bonding with her and start her grieving process before we get on the plane. If we understood the social worker correctly, the foster mother intends to come to the airport to see us off. If that is the case we may wait for Wednesday as all the hard work we would do on Tuesday night would have to be done again after she sees her foster mother again.
We are now off to Insadong to do some shopping and grab some lunch. No pizza hut for us today we are going to eat native cuisine.
We miss you Abby and Gabe.
We are all praying hard that you have a good trip home. Glad the first meeting went well and Ellie sounds like she is pretty well adjusted and may do well on the flight. Tiffany survived the two days and the transition to Grandma went fairly smooth. We are very excited to meet Ellie (on your schedule, of course). Have fun, and remind her that I will be the "silly" one.
ReplyDeleteHi guys I tried posting a comment, but I don't think it worked so I'll try again:
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that your trip to Korea went well, and that you found the Pizza Hut. Have you seen any street vendors selling squid? If so you should really try some!
That is great that your meeting with Ellie went well. Julie, I told you to expect Ellie to be big!
My advice on whether to get Ellie on Tuesday night or to wait until Wednesday is to get her Tuesday night. We didn't have the night before option with Andrew and the reality was that I didn't sleep at all the night before we left anyway. To yank him crying out of his foster mother's arms and then get on a plane and travel for 22 hours with an extremely angry baby was NOT fun. Who knows if the additional hours of bonding before getting on the plane would help, especially if she is going to see her foster mother at the airport anyway, but in opinion it couldn't hurt!
Enjoy the rest your time!
Lisa
Phil.. your Mom just sent me an e-mail telling me about this web site! I'm so glad you made this site... it's been fun catching up on all the happenings... Ellie's room looks beautiful and I definately have to agree with the comment that Gabe looks just like his Daddy! :-) Can't wait to read more... I can't believe you are heading home already on Wednesday.... I'm sure the week will go by fast.... Oh, and I couldn't sleep on the plane to Africa either... and it was an 18 hour flight if I remember right! :-) I know how you feel! I've been thinking about you guys all week and praying for you!! We're praying the rest of the trip goes smoothly!! Thanks for sharing this experience with us! :-)
ReplyDeletePhil and Julie,
ReplyDeleteYour new little daughter looks like such an angel. I can't wait to meet her. I know you will be so happy with your new part of your family. I hope your trip is going well and I know Abby and Gabe will fall in love with her and show her all the ropes in her new American home. I hope you all have a safe flight home. Take care and God Bless!
All My Love,
Heidi Meyer (SACC Friend)
P.S.
Your Grandma gave me this e-mail I hope it was okay. I loved seeing all the nice pictures you posted, it is really neat. Good Luck and Congratulations!