More cooking

Friday was a long afternoon to be at home because the weather was rainy.
So I made more cookies with the help of my little boy, that also helped
"washing the dishes" after baking.

Here are some pictures of the cookies, some of them are made with
chestnut cream and chocolate.

South Korean photographer

Today I saw on a magazine the photos of a Korean photographer,
Jeong Mee Yoon.

I liked them very much, most of all obviously the ones with cute
Korean babies:


( Jeong Mee Yoon "The pink project-Dayeun and Her Pink Things" - 2007 )

Good news!

Today our agency put on its website the new waiting list
and I've discovered that we have 13 couples before us.
I thought they were 15 so I'm quite happy!

I'm doomed

My mother has a collection of masks,
while my grandmother has one
of little vases and jugs.

What I've discovered?
That the best items to buy in Korea are...

Traditional masks



and the famous celadon vases!

Coincidences

I opened this blog on 14th February, when the Lunar Year of the Tiger -
백 호 호랑이 - started in Korea.
This is more specifically the Year of the White Tiger, the first one in 60 years!


I was also born in a Year of the Tiger.

Let's hope these coincidences will bring us some luck in our journey!

Life is surprising

Yesterday I was talking with an old friend of mine.
She said that life is surprising because now she's speaking to everybody
about his husband that would be chosen in the next Regional elections.
She never imagined something like that for her life.

Well, that's right also for me. Sure I'd never thought when I was younger
of finding a child into another part of the world...

The second toy

Some time ago I decided to "create" something new for the Korean baby
with the help of my first son.

I've read about an Italian retailer of beds
that will give a toy called "Sleepy" to every child that will send a coloured version of it.

You just have to download and print it, than send it all decorated.
Well, I've done it and with the help of my son I coloured the drawing.

After some weeks I received a big packet with our new Sleepy!


My son obviously wanted to play with him sometimes and he
decided anyway that the name Sleepy didn't fit the toy and he called it "Napy".
It's a cute name because it looks like something for "nap time"...

The first toy

This Christmas my dear hubby bought a Panda toy from Ikea.

He did it to help Ikea's Christmas project for the children hospital.
We decided that it could be the first toy for our second baby and hubby
suggested to call it "Aglio" (= garlic) because we read that Korea is the garlic's country.

My son, that in the first moment didn't want to see it, when he understood
it could be for the other baby decided that Aglio would be his favourite toy.

Poor baby, maybe you're not yet born and you already have to share your toys
with your big brother!

This is funny!

Missing pizza won't be a problem for us in Seoul:
apparently this is one of the best restaurants in the city...
http://www.viadinapoli.co.kr/

Our St Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day wasn't very romantic because my boys (husband and son) are sick.
The son is slightly feeling better but the hubby has still flu and fever, so we forgot
the first idea to a sweet afternoon to the theater seeing "Avatar" and we instead remained at home.
But I like cooking and I at least made they illness better preparing a special meal:
focaccia and pizza home made (well, we're Italian, pizza is the best medicine... ), heart shaped cake, and cookies.

Here are my dishes:
Focaccia and pizza

Heart shaped cake made with chocolate and pears

"Coffee sugar cookies " (I've got the recipe here http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/, that blog is amazing!)

(one note: the cookies were only for me because hubby doesn't like coffee - while I'm a coffee addict - and I can't eat chocolate due to my migraine)

Well, let's hope that our future Korean child would love cooking: I'd like to have a new little helper!

How adoption works in Italy

• In December 2008 we followed a two days of training then we presented to the Court our request of adoption, both for domestic and international adoption.
• In January 2009 we started with a lot of medical exams, as x-rays at the chest, blood exams, sight and hearing tests...
• In March and April 2009 we had eight meetings with the social assistants and the psychologist, they also visited our home and met our son.
• In May 2009 we had a final meeting with the Court and then we started waiting for our dreamed piece of paper: it will say if you're able for international adoption. For the domestic one we have less chance because there are - luckily! - few children and they are usually given to childless couples.
• In September 2009 we got our precious piece of paper: now we must find an Agency that works with international adoptions. Our paper says "one child born not before the 1st January 2008". The date made our dream seeming real! This date was set because our first baby was still little. Waiting for the paper I've already asked at many agencies and most of them said that they couldn't take us because of our first child!
  
• In October and December 2009 we went to the meeting of an Agency that works only in few Regions of Italy, but I liked it at first sight (and the psychologist also spoke very well about it). We were taken!! The better countries available for us would be Burkina Faso in Africa and South Korea. We liked most Korea because we would like to bring our baby boy with us and a journey to Seoul would be safer for him.
• In February 2010 we signed all the papers with the Agency and we're officially starting our adoption to South Korea!

Now all is done? No, we have more waiting: the Agency works only with one Korean group and the waiting list is of 1,5 - 2 years before getting the referral! So now we have to wait the end of 2010 to start with all the papers to send in Korea...
Our love for our baby grows every day of our long waiting!

Our story

We are Italian, friend from 1990, together as couple from 1999, married from May 2004.

We had a baby boy, Francesco, at the end of 2006. In 2008 we decided to give him a brother/sister. Unluckily the doctors said that I couldn't afford another pregnancy
due to medical issues I've had with my first baby.

Without thinking a lot we decided to adopt a child. Before starting a family we were already sure that adoption would be the way if we couldn't have children.

My journey to Korea

This will be a sort of diary for our adoption in South Korea!
This blog will be full of random posts about kitchen, children, adoption...
These pages will be written sometimes also in Italian because we live in Italy.
These news will be in English because I like the idea of an international diary for my baby.
These words will be a first gift to a child that will join us from another part of the world.

I don't know if you are already born or if you're still on the moon waiting to come,
but we already love you, little chicken.

I love you = 당신을 사랑해요, 너를 사랑해요