Happy Birthday Xavier

Today is Xavier's birthday. He's 8 years old. It doesn't seem possible that he's that old. He is funny and sweet. He love to snuggle and give love. He is such a boy though too. He loves to hunt, and play outside, and tease his sister. He is also so in love with his baby brother. To see them interact the first time was priceless. He is so proud and excited to show him off to everyone. Today he went to Jump Zone which is a huge building full of inflatable bouncers. We took him out to a special dinner and then came home for cake and ice cream. He was so full and tired from today he didn't even eat any! Paxton missed out tonight too, b/c he was taking his evening nap.

Adjustment is going great. He's actually starting to sleep through the night a little more. We've had him outside a lot this week! It's really helping. He is eating everything that we give him. He won't eat any plain baby food veggies, but stews or broccoli and chicken type baby food he loves. It has to have flavor! He refuses to eat baby rice cereal! Even when mixed with juice. And he won't drink juice. He drinks water from a sippy cup(somewhat!) and from a bottle. He is full of smiles. He is about to cut his top front teeth. He is so sweet! He does have a bit of a temper when we've seen while trying to get him to sleep at night!

Naia is doing great too. Right now she's upset b/c she wants to play with Xavier's new Nerf 2-in-1 double shooter gun, and he doesn't want her to play with it. She loves Paxton. She has been a big help the past week! He loves to play with her in his room. I'm not really sure what she does in there, but it keeps him entertained, so it works for me! She is determined not to help with a poopy diaper, but just wet ones she's all for it! She loves taking a bath with him and he loves it just as much.

This is what's happening in our household right now. It's been an exhausting week, but we are so thankful to have him home. It gives us both such a peace knowing that all our babies are here in our house with us.

First day at church

We made it back to church today. It was so exciting going and getting to show off our new family to people that have supported and prayed for us the past year! He was an absolute doll today as well! He smiled and played and cooed accordingly and to all the right people! He even slept perfectly during the service! Now if we could just get him to sleep during the night.....

What time is it...?

So, we're still working on the time adjustment. Its the biggest issue right now, we've had some long nights. We shortened up his naps today quite a bit, so we'll see how he does tonight. Other than that, Paxton is doing GREAT. He plays well and is such a good natured baby. The kids are in absolute love with him and that makes us very happy.

Christmas has been really good. He has done well during all the craziness, and hasn't made too much of a fuss during all of it. He got lots of presents and was pretty interested in all the paper, at least putting it in his mouth part. So biggest thing is we're still trying to get on some kind of routine/schedule, mostly during the night. Before, he was waking up once a night, and I would gladly take that over what we're going through right now.

Pictures.

So, here are a few pictures that i said i would upload. My most sincere apologies for the wait.

Paxtons foster mom right before we got him.

Our plane for the ride home.

Our first family picture!

Another family picture.

First bath at home.

Gotcha Day and beyond...

Paxton is now HOME with US! We are so excited right now (not to mention tired). We haven't slept since 5am Korea time Monday morning. I don't know how many hours that puts us being up straight, but it is a 15 hour time difference. I saw a lot of the hours of today twice today, if that makes any sense.

Gotcha day was fun. We started out taking some GREAT friends out to a market that they hadn't been to yet, along with the Korean war memorial, which is a must-do. It was really cold that day. We got a guy to write scrolls for the kids while we had a 'massive quantities of food' lunch at hard rock cafe. After that we showed them where to get a decent priced hanbok, and we took off to get ready to get Paxton at 3 that day (Sunday). We were almost late, because we were trying to find his foster mother flowers, and everything is closed on Sunday apparently. We finally found a small flowered plant, and took off back to the room. Whenever we got ready, we went down to the lobby for the wait. Another couple was down there recieving their baby as well. We exchanged a few gifts with the foster mother, and the tears started rolling whenever she gave us a packet of about 20 pictures that she had taken of him for the past 8 months. This was truly that toughest experience that we have ever had. She loved him so much and we are so thankful for a great foster mother that Paxton had. She will always be special to us.

That night started off a little rough. He grieved for just a little while, and I was able to get him to sleep. We got some pizza delivered around 830-9 or so (again by some awesome friends), and before, we caught Paxton in the greatest mood ever. He was so happy and has been an excellent baby ever since. He sleeps a little crazy, but we'll see how he does in a crib. The flight was good, we didn't really have any issues with him, and we are glad that it was only 12 hours instead of 16 hours to get back.

We had a great welcoming at the airport, so many people there to see our little guy, and he was in a great mood too. Now we're home, and trying to get everything in order a little bit. You sure can find out how well your house is baby-proofed after about 30 minutes of him running (crawling) around!

Pictures and more to come... Bye for now,

BRENT

This is the day

Well we met with Paxton again today. We got to spend 30 minutes alone with him in our room. He cried about 15-20 minutes of that time but did finally calm down and just rested in our arms. It was so sad. I know that tomorrow will be really hard for him and so will the nights to come. After we returned to his foster mom he was all smiles. We even got a laugh out of him! So sweet. He loved to just cuddle us when had calmed down, but he never came back to us. We had our prayer meeting yesterday as well. We had looked forward to meeting the senior Dr. Kim, but his health is very bad and he's in the hospital. Someone else came and said our prayer for us. It was very neat. We also signed our papers saying that he has been delivered to us and he is free from physical illness and defect! Our baby is ready to come home!

Today we are meeting up with three other couples and are going sightseeing together. If the weather clears up that is. It's very cold here today. 32 is the high for the day. It also rained/snowed last night so it's going to be a COLD day here! For those of you about to travel, don't forget rain gear!

It's way to early...

It's about 6:30 a.m. here. I've been awake since about 2:30. I finished reading the last of my two books. I've spent thirty minutes in the computer room, I've showered and gotten dressed. I've made breakfast. I've made a list of all the gifts we are going to try and buy today. And now I'm bored. We're going to try and hit another market today. Yesterday the one we went to wasn't what we were expecting, so hopefully today we'll have more luck. I did buy Naia a beautiful hanbok yesterday though. Today I hope to find some practical gifts for everyone.

We get to see Paxton again at 3. Too many hours for me to figure out how long that is. My hips hurt today from walking so much yesterday! We walked and walked and walked. Today will be more of the same. I'll be taking some tylenol for sure tonight. It still seems a little surreal that we're in Korea to bring home our baby. Other than the language barrier, it doesn't really feel like we're in a foreign country. I'm sure that on Sunday night when he's crying and wants to go back to his foster mother the reality of everything will set in! For now I guess I'll just live in bliss and have a good time!

Introducing...

We finally got to meet our sweet Paxton! He is precious. He has the sweetest smile that he only shows rarely. We got to meet with him about 50 minutes or so. As we were walking down the stairs to meet our social worker here, we saw his foster mother come in the door. She recognized us right away and we knew that "she has our baby!" She was carrying him in a sling on her back, underneath her coat! He was asleep when he got here, but she handed him right to me. Oh he smelt so good. And so small. Not really small but small, he now weighs a whopping 17 pounds! He was just adorable. Then he started crying so I gave him back to his foster mother. She sat him on the table in the room we were in and he played with the toys. Every time I would touch him or try to get him to hold my fingers, he pulled back very quickly! Not with Brent though. He loves his papa. He didn't cry either of the times Brent held him unless the foster mom left the room. Then he screamed. He screamed every time I held him! She told that he loves his foster dad, so I'm sure that's why he loves Brent so much. We played with him about 50 minutes then it was time for them to leave. She wrapped Paxton back up on her back and they left.

So here are the pictures. The real reason I'm sure you're still reading! Without further ado...

Paxton Sol Efird


Isn't he precious?! He really loves his foster mother. He is probably her last foster child b/c of her age. He's been with her since he was 20 days old.

I also went and held babies this morning. So sweet! I walked in and washed my hands and put on a gown and they just handed me a baby! She was 8 months old and so cute! I even got to change a dirty diaper. We're about to go back there until a couple we met is finished meeting their baby and then we're all going to go do something together.

Awake and Ready to go

I actually slept most of the night last night! Our room is right next to the nursery so we heard teeny baby cries most of the night. I can't wait to go hold them today. The bed is really really hard! Kind of like sleeping on a pallet on the floor! We were so tired though that it didn't matter!

We get to meet Paxton in just a few hours! I cannot wait to see him. In his passport picture he looks so sweet! He's finally getting some of the crazy hair that other babies from Korea seem to have! Too cute! We just met a lady from the US that is leaving today with her baby. She's the first adopting family that we've met so far!

We both slept decent last night. We were so tired though. We walked around and had dinner at Outback last night! There are some intersections that don't have crosswalks and we couldn't figure out how to get across to eat at KFC! Today we'll know to just get on that side of the street early! Dinner was good, but we can't wait to eat some real Korean food. Maybe we'll get brave when Emily and Nathan get here and all eat out together!

Are we there yet?

We finally made it to Korea! Our flight ended up being over 16 hours long. We're exhausted! We do get to sleep in just a little in the morning though! We get to meet Paxton at 10 a.m. We are soooo excited!

It's very cold and windy here. We went walking after we checked in this evening and are still trying to thaw out. Our room is right next door to the babies room at Eastern! We've heard teeny baby cries each time we've gone back to our room. Tomorrow we get to visit with Paxton and his foster mother for one hour. Then we have lunch with the Drs. Kim. After that we are going to go hold babies! I can't wait. I couldn't talk Brent into it tonight, but he said that's what we would do tomorrow!

Xavier and Naia, I hope you had a great day at home with Juby yesterday. We miss you so much!! You wouldn't have liked flying over here at all! It was very very long! We'll post more tomorrow after we meet Paxton and we'll try and get pictures on here as well!

Ice, sleet, rain, oh my!

Please pray that the weather holds off! It's been sleeting here all morning and the deck is covered in ice! The sidewalks and roads are all probably pretty slick!

We're almost packed and getting ready to leave! Brent is packed up for the most part. I've not even started packing yet! I've got the bathroom stuff packed up......almost. I keep emailing my mom and Brent's mom for last minute instructions for the kids! AND

My friend Jennifer might be having her baby today! She's bringing their youngest over here to play so she can go to the doctor and get checked out to see if it's labor or not! Keep her in your prayers as well!

Good day today

We had a much better day today than yesterday! The kids played really well most of the morning. We didn't leave the house until this afternoon and that was great for both of them. We've had some really good quality time with them before things get crazy starting tomorrow. Sunday's are always busy for us with church. Also tomorrow I'm going to Ft. Smith the finish shopping for clothes and boots(!!!) for Korea! I love it when my mom takes me shopping.

Today we took the kids to see the movie Bolt. Too cute! It's all about friendship and being there for your friends. Very very good movie. I'm so glad that it was good. And it was really funny for everyone without all the "adult" jokes in it! We loved it. "awesome"

And of course today we made our daily trip to walmart to get the things on todays list. One thing I forgot was undershirts for Paxton. He's used to wearing at least two layers of clothing, so I don't want him to be chilled as soon as we get him! So we got those and we've gotten two suitcases packed. Not big ones, but I did get the diaper bag packed so I could use it as a "carry on". Then we packed our bag full of donations and gifts. We've got the big suitcases laid out and I'm sure we'll start packing those tomorrow. Well okay let me admit, I probably won't start packing until Monday!
Have a great rest of the weekend!

Transition question for my older kids...

Both of our kids are in a mood today! And it's only 7:47 a.m. I know that Naia is feeling slightly insecure b/c of all the excitement yesterday when we got our travel call. She was very clingy to me right afterwards, and then after school just a brat towards me! Then at home last night she was very much a mommy's girl. Wanting just me and to be held a lot. Completely understand that. Xavier is also having some issues today. Not minding, being grumpy, wanting me to do little things for him. Not that I mind doing things for him, but he is nearly 8 years old. I don't have to pack his backpack for him in the mornings. I didn't expect him to be this way. We're going to take them both to a movie tomorrow and spend some time doing stuff with them, but does anyone have any other ideas on helping, Naia especially, adjust to having a new baby in the house?

Brent here...
ALSO, today marks 'Day 400' of the wait since we turned in our first application. It is also our 100th blog post today. Funny thing the way things work out because my blood pressure has went up by either 200 or 300 over the past few days...
We're excited beyond belief right now. We get to be there next week whenever Paxton turns 8 months old!!! I've been looking at strange stuff on the internet lately, well, you might think its strange, i don't though. I've looked at the Airport websites for Dallas and for Seoul. I looked up the exchange rate too. Just to figure out what it will take to make me a millionaire. I looked at the TSA website to see what has changed since the last time i flew. And looked at the forum to see how much money we need to take over there (still not 100% sure on this one either). And being the engineer that I am, I had to also look up the Boeing 777 that we will fly on over there. That thing is pretty neato, especially some of the testing that they did on those planes. Youtube is a wonderful thing.
SO, those of you who have gone before us, please let us know if there is anything that we need to take that we aren't thinking of right now, because our minds are pretty scattered!

**** giveaway at http://www.goodhappenings.com/

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

We are leaving to go pick up Paxton!!! Isn't that the most exciting news you've heard all day!!!!

As of right now we are leaving on Tuesday the 16th and coming home Monday the 22nd. We are over the moon!!! Our sweet baby boy will be home for Christmas!!!!! Which means today will be spent finishing up ALL Christmas shopping! And tomorrow will include making a bajillion lists!

I've got tons of baby laundry to do, b/c at my best I'm a procrastinator!! So I'm off to wash sweet baby things! Have a great day everyone!

Exciting News!!!!

So today I got an email from our case worker Jan. WE have EP & PP!!!!!!!! We are just waiting on our travel call!!! It could still be between 2-4 weeks before we travel but we are praying for a quicker travel time than that!!!

Hope everyone is having a great day!!! Go look at www.goodhappenings.com for great giveaways again!!

Giveaways...

There are still awesome giveaways on www.goodhappenings.com !!!! check them out.

Not much to report here yet again! Outage is over, so we get to return to normal life for a few more months. We celebrated Brent's birthday on Saturday with his family. It was fun to see everyone. Even though his brother only lives about an hour away, we don't see them very often. They have three girls and all the kids had a great time playing together. They all had a great time shaking presents under the tree too!

This weekend we are planning on going to Silver Dollar City. We love to go at Christmastime to see all the lights. I just hope it's not bitterly cold! It's always fun though, lots of hot chocolate, way to many sweets, and lots of fun just the four of us!

Leap Frog 2

Today's giveaway at www.goodhappenings.com is the Leap Frog 2. Go check them out!

12 Days of Christmas

over at www.goodhappenings.com there's an awesome giveaway! check it out. she'll be doing a giveaway every day for 12 days, hence the 12 days of christmas!!

Dreary Day

Today has been a great kind of lazy day! It's cloudy outside, dark, and damp. It was supposed to storm and/or rain today, but neither has happened. Naia and I both had nice long naps today.

Not much is happening in our household right now. We're rather impatiently waiting for any kind of update on Paxton. We were told our paper work is at the NVC, but that EP is taking longer lately, so a December travel date is pretty much out of the question. We'd like any kind of update though. We only have a couple of pictures and a short video of our sweet baby and the last developemental update was mid October. Anything at this point would be nice.

Our neighbor and good friend is 9 months pregnant. Her baby will be born on the 18th. We can't wait to meet their newest little boy Matthew.