a BRAVE one

We made it safely to South Korea... and we are in one piece... there were quite a few moments where we felt like HUGE failures, and were SO thankful NOT to have the superpower of being able to read people's minds. However, that all aside... looking on it (I've had 2 days to write this post... trust me, I probably wouldn't have been too kind with my words, had I typed this blog post up the moment we landed)... I can say this:

Charlotte is one... BRAVE girl.

We could only imagine the confusion, frustration, nervousness that this little one faced... and she did it... she made it to Korea.

Pardon my lack of photos from the experience... there's definitely a few reasons why I didn't take more than 2... I wasn't feeling it... at all.

A special thank you to the Ajima (Korean for: Older Woman) who "stole" Charlie for 30 minutes and let Mama and Papa have a bit of a "break"... My utmost respect goes out for all the Moms out there traveling with more than one child... oh, and if you're a Mom traveling by yourself... even more kudos to you... seriously, I applaud you!

Need Your Help!

Hi friends... just wanted to send a little request your way. I'm in a contest for a free photo session, from a local photographer here in Korea (Close to Home Photography) and would love to win... it's for this Mama to receive a "Glamour"/Portrait session... and lets face it.. I didn't really have style before I became a Mama... and now that I am a Mama... I could really use some help!

All you have to do, is "like" Close to Home Photography's Facebook page, here.

And "like" my photo that I entered into the contest, here.

And you'll have helped me out BIG TIME...

Thanks a bunch!

Charlie is still sleeping... she slept last night from 9-12 (midnight) woke up... had some snuggles and song time with Mama, and went back to bed from 1 am- present (10 am!!!) and is still passed out. What's a person to do.. wake her? I'm not sure how to get her past jet lag... but I know her body is probably trying to play "catch up" with her lack of sleep from yesterday.

Bed Head

One of our early morning routines (after snuggles, butt changing, and more snuggles) and probably Charlie's favorite part of getting ready for breakfast, is watching a music video, Laurie Berkner's "We are the Dinosaurs", while Mama prepares her oatmeal (people, it's only a 3-5 minute prep-instant all the way!). Her favorite part... the big "ROAR" at the end... my favorite part... her cute little "bed head" hair... This girl could watch it over and over again, but Mama has to limit it to 25 times a day, for her sanity. More than likely, by now, we will have already touched down in Korea, and will be heading to our house... where we plan on having LOTS of "bed" time... I plan on there being lots of "bed head" hair to love on...Happy Monday everyone!

Knock Knock... Who's There?

The time has finally come... for you all to FINALLY meet Charlotte Wray Davis... our sweet little girl... face to face. We head off today, back to Korea... please pray for us and our travels and sanity.

This picture was taken while at the orphanage...playing, "knock knock" with our little one. It was one of the first times we actually saw her "play" at the orphanage. Since this picture: Mama has fixed her crazy piggy tail hair (she has crazy split ends-from having the same "do" each day), we're replaced her crazy clothes with some simple basics, and I'm pretty sure that this girl has already gained a few pounds... she's tiny... but she's starting to get a little Budha belly over her diaper... just the way I like it.

...Not the Bieber kind...

Yup, our little girl has her first fever with us. Poor thing woke up from her nap an hour and a half early (only got 30 minutes in today), to a HOT body, and boy was she cranky. Apparently there's a fever bug going around here... some have it paired with vomiting... I'm happy to announce, as of right now, it's only a fever. It was at a 102.9... and after administering some drugs to the little girl, it's down to 100.4... For now, it's plenty of cuddle time with Mama and Papa (when Mama isn't photographing!), plenty of fluids, and plenty of Music Videos...

Wednesday Farmer's Market

Today we ventured to a local farmer's market in Kiev... you can always tell where they are, because all the old "babushkas" (grandmas) flock to them, and there are LOTS of huge umbrellas (to shade the vendors from the sun). At this market we found YUMMY raspberries, beautiful baskets (too bad I have no room in my suitcase to bring some home... I'm sure my hubby is happy about that!), a butcher shop (don't read any further if you're a vegetarian)...

We are loving all these open air markets... definitely something we'll miss when we head back. Talking about heading back... we'll be leaving Ukraine on Sunday afternoon to head back to Korea. We are so excited to get back to "normal" life and show her a different side of the world. Seriously, I have this horrible feeling she's going to stare at all the Koreans (a sight she's NEVER seen...)

Impatiently Perfect

Every time I cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner for Charlie... she sits down on the bar stool, here in the apartment, and impatiently sits like a lady (crosses her legs), and waits for her food, without even complaining... I know, I have the perfect child... Poor thing even has to wait longer than most kids, because her Mama has to document this occasion. The price you have to pay to be a Davis...

Shadow Puppets

Everyday, Charlie seems to find her shadow... it's one of her very favorite things to do... and each time she "sees" herself... she CRACKS up! Yesterday, I tried to show her how you can make shapes with your shadow..and she just stared at me in awe. Since I showed her my outstretched hand... she went to it, to give it a high five... always something new with this little girl!

Choo Choo

We received Charlotte's passport yesterday (can I please tell you how cute her picture is... wish I could share it all with you), so we left for Kiev today. We decided to save 200.00 (travel expenses for our drive out to the region where we were), and only pay 58.00 for a train ride. Yes, it was 5 hours long... yes, it was a little warm (but not unbearable), yes, we were nervous as can be about Charlotte's first experience on a train (scared we would run out of food to fill up our little one since she eats so much). We thought of the worse case scenarios, and ended up pleasantly surprised. We had a little bit of rainfall during our trip, which ended up resulting in a beautiful fresh smelling breeze throughout the train. Sweet little Charlie even gave us about an hour and 15 minute break, when she took a nap. All she needed was her iPAD and Laurie Berkner music videos... it only took 2 renditions of "We are the Dinosaurs" before her little lids closed.

Another blessing-we were hoping to be in a cabin all by ourselves... didn't want to disturb anyone that had intentions on sleeping... and we ended up with 2 of the sweetest Ukrainians EVER (one younger married guy who spoke perfect English, and an older woman). They asked why we would be on a train traveling through Ukraine (the parts of Ukraine where we were, apparently aren't vacation spots!) When I told the gentleman our adoption story, he lit up... told us that he and his wife want to adopt and are hoping to in 2 years (I told him he should move up that time line!) and was really happy to hear that we chose Ukraine over other countries. He then translated everything to the older woman, and she smiled HUGE and told him to tell us, "What a good thing we were doing... that no one else does things like that, and that we are heroes..." She then looked at me with the sweetest smile and said "Hero" over and over about 4 times. She also helped us take care of Charlie the last 5 minutes on the train (while Mama and Papa had to get all our luggage shuffled together and ready to "hop" off the train).

We made it safely to Kiev, and are tucked into our apartment, and ready for our US Embassy appointment tomorrow. Hoping to get a better timeline as to when we'll be heading home.

First Set of Wheels

A few weeks ago, we purchased Charlotte's first set of "wheels" from the local children's/baby store. We had high hopes on getting her used to it in the orphanage (taking her out for some strolls around the grounds) before "breaking her out"... however, when we showed up with it, it ended up being one of the most difficult tasks ahead for ourselves...

She finally gave in for a few minutes... and when I say a few minutes, I believe it was a collective 5 minutes while she was reading through a book (that I handed her to help redirect her initial cries when we first sat her in the stroller.) I believe it was right on the 5 minute count that she started WAILING and wanted out immediately.

We tried a few times after that day at the orphanage, and each time she would WAIL and FLAIL and wouldn't let us stick her in there. We were a bit worried... the main reason we purchased her stroller here in Ukraine was to help out with the transitions between the airports and travel that we would be doing to head back to Korea...and that Charlie would be a little more for us to "lug" along with our luggage.

After we "broke" Charlotte out of "jail" (Gotcha Day), we decided we really needed to crack down on her stroller riding. Every where we went (grocery store, passport/police station, park) we tried putting her in her stroller, and she would whine and complain for a few minutes, but would be okay for about 15 minutes after, and then would start whining and complaining again. Let's just say, we got a lot ugly stares from everyone around us, but we just felt we had to STICK it out! Finally, we decided to try strolling with a friend. Since the Coleman's brought their 2 year old daughter along, we decided to try an outing to the park with her and Charlotte in their strollers. It was GENIUS.. at first Charlotte whined a little, but then she saw how could she sit back and enjoy the ride, and she was all set. No kidding, from that moment on, Charlotte's been fine riding in her stroller.. in fact, sometimes she points to it to let us know she wants to go outside.

Although she's been great at strolling without her friend some of the times we've been out, strolling is much more fun, when you have a friend along for the ride... (especially when Charlie FINALLY understands what a "high five" is).

To My Papa...

Happy Father's Day to my Papa...

... a Papa who makes first time experiences WAY fun! I might not say it yet, and I definitely might show more favoritism towards Mama... but you know I love you, especially if I trust you enough to take me to a fountain and not throw me in.

Love,
Charlotte ... your Charlie.

I Spy...

Today, for a day outing, we headed to the local market. We've been here for weeks, and we just recently noticed it... so we ventured out with the stroller (a post is coming up about our new set of wheels), and enjoyed an hour and a half just taking in all the different sights. Tons of vegetables, fruits, grains, babushkas (Grandma in Ukraine), and even live animals. A person could truly have a field day playing, "I Spy" at this market... Charlie just stared at everything in amazement... another first "new" experience...