New Hampshire in October, Pumpkin Patches and Halloween!!

Tae has had a great Fall of Firsts!! Tae and I went on our first plane ride together!! We went to New Hampshire to see my mom and dad and for Tae to meet his uncle Matt and cousin Delia!! He had a blast. While there he met his first horse and cow up close, saw beautiful fall foliage and Mt. Washington, went to his first soccer game and saw a moose!!! Back at home we have enjoyed taking him to 2 pumpkin patches, carving our first pumpkin and watching our little monkey on Halloween. What a joy it is to experience these things through his curious eyes. Here is alot of new pics of 16 month old Tae!!

Almost home 6 months and getting so big!!

Tae is coming into his own, talking more, showing more emotion (like saying no, ha ha), going to gymboree to meet some friends, and he has finally learned to chew real food!!! At 15 months now, he continues to amaze us everyday. Soon Tae and his mommy will make their first plane trip to New Hampshire! He will finally get to meet his Uncle Matt and Cousin Delia! We can't wait. Love, The Hobbs

Summer with Grammy, Tedderfarm, and Tae's Baptism

Tae has had a great summer so far. Tae's Grammy Carstens was here most of the summer to help me after my ACL repair. She just left on Monday. Tae loves his Grammy and I know Grammy is sad without her Tae!!! Tae is doing so well. He is reading several words after using Your Baby Can Read, he makes the sounds of over half the letters of the alphabet and uses a ton of baby signs, all at only 14 months!!! He is so smart and so funny too, he loves to laugh and be silly with his dada. He recently went to my sister's house and picked apples on Tedderfarm. He loved doing this with his Papa Tom. He was also baptized on August 8th and it was such a beautiful sight to see our little Tae become one of God's precious angels. Enjoy these pics of the summer!! Love, The Hobbs

Tae's Birthday

Tae has been home 3 months.....and a couple days!

Tae has been home three months and continues to amaze us everyday. I know you probably won't believe this since he is only 12 months old, but he knows the sounds for several letters of the alphabet, actually he knows 10 letter sounds!!! It's just crazy! He absolutely loves to learn and continues to be a little book worm. He would probably be perfectly happy to sit down most of the day and just listen to us read to him. His grammy has been staying with us for over two weeks now to help me take care of him after I had my ACL repaired on June 18th. I never could have taken care of him at first without her help. Here are just a few new pics of the little man!

Tae is 1 year old!!! Happy Birthday Tae!!!

Our little boy is already one!!! He had a great party with family and the Tuckers!! My friend Dawn made a beautiful cake that looked like the emblem on his hanbok, which is the tradtional korean clothing that children wear on their first birthdays. Tae's foster mother sent a hanbok with him when he arrived in America and it is just gorgeous!!! My friend Megan took beautiful pictures of him in his hanbok when we were at the beach a few weeks ago. You will see these phenomenal pictures above as well as pictures from memorial day and his first birthday. We also followed another Korean tradition at his first birthday and had our guests light a candle for Tae to have good blessings in the next year and in his life. Ben and I also lit a candle for his birthmother who we are so thankful to for giving Tae life and for his foster family who took such good care of our son. We would like to continue this tradition every year. Thanks also to Aunt Jill, for taking over 400 pictures of Tae at his first birthday and taking hours to photo shop out a boo-boo on his face. We love you Aunt Jill!! As always, we hope you enjoy looking at our beautiful son!!!

Two Months Home!!!

Tae has been home two months and he is such a joy! It feels like it has been longer than two months with our son. He is doing beautifully. He has gone to the swimming pool for the first time, and a wedding at my sister's house, where he was just the star of the party!!. Last weekend we went on our first family vacation to Oak Island with our friends Megan, Shane and their children Rique and Reece. We had a blast!! Tae started taking a few steps the week of May 7th and now he is walking all over, but still a little wobbly at times and very accident prone!! He is talking more, (maybe only words a mom and dad could understand) but he says juice, baba, mama, and dada, ball, bubbles and more. He is so fascinated by everything always pointing and chattering. He is also sleeping in his own crib now, what a big boy!! Mommy still sleeps on the floor in his room though....I probably need it more than him. We hope you enjoy the pics of Tae's firsts!! Love, The Hobbs Family

Freedom Park with Friends!!

Today we had a great morning with our friends Lisa and Alan and their beautiful girls Halli and Sam. We went on the swings, had a picnic, and the dads played a little football. Lisa and Alan and their children are like family to us and they will be known to Tae as Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tuck. We plan on having many more outings together!! It was perfect weather and we had such a great day. I love springtime!!

Almost 3 weeks home!

Tae is still doing awesome. He is so sweet and smart. At 10 months he has already learned how to put shapes in the shape sorter, play a little ball with his mom or dad, stack three blocks, points, and is beginning to wave bye-bye. When I ask him to hand me something he will and he loves to share food with his mom and dad and will reach up to put it in our mouths. The language barrier doesn't even seem to be an issue! I think it is because he is just so smart! He even likes to get strapped onto mommy in his ergo carrier to watch me vacuum the house. He loves to watch!! He is so funny. He is sleeping through the night with us and taking at least a two hour nap everyday. He wakes up smiling and clapping. He loves to eat and harass his dog siblings. I wrote a letter to his foster mother this week and sent her pictures of his first two weeks home so she could feel at peace in knowing that he is very  loved and well taken care of. We continue to feel so incredibly blessed everyday and I just love being a mom!!! Enjoy the new pics of our Tae!

Tae's first Easter, Home one week today and I'm 10 months old!!!!

Yesterday, Tae had his first Easter and it was a wonderful day. He had met his Papa and cousin the day before and of course he just melted his Papa's heart. For Easter, he got lots of toys from his Aunt Jill and Uncle Sam, his cousin, his Nana and Papa and his mom and dad in the morning and in the afternoon he took a little nap while we had Easter dinner. Then when he woke up we went to the park and then for ice cream. He has adjusted so well, that it seems like he has been with us from the beginning. He is such a loving baby and now he seems to know that Ben and I are his mommy and daddy. Just wanted to update everyone with some new pics of Tae's Easter. Enjoy our little baby boy!

TAE IS HOME!!!

Our baby is home and he is amazing!!! We feel so incredibly blessed. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect child. He is just undescribable. Maybe this is just a new mom talking, but I think there is something very special about our little Tae. He has a beautiful little soul. He is adjusting very well. I knew his schedule in Korea because his foster mom had given us that information through our agency and we are trying to get him on that schedule and he is doing better everyday. I think today he is on American time. Right now while I am updating this he is playing with his daddy in his playroom. He really loves his daddy. He loves to sit with him in the recliner. It is so funny! They are just like two little old men. He also loves his doggie sisters and they don't seem to mind him much either. Here are some pics of us picking up our sweet angel in Washington DC and some pics of him in his new home. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Prayers have led us to our beautiful boy.

Hobbling Along

In less than a week Ben and I will be parents and we will get to finally hold our sweet angel Tae. Today I went and bought a musical drum for him just like one that I sent to Korea for him. We were told by his foster mother that he loves to play with the drum and I thought it would be great for me to have one at the airport when we meet him. It will be something familiar and hopefully it will help a little. I can't imagine how scared he may feel. I am so nervous for him. I just pray that he adjusts well and begins to love us as much as he we love him. I also bought a gift for the escort that will be bringing him to the United States. A man is bringing him and we thought it would be a good idea to get him something sports related. Now don't get mad Red Sox fans, because you know we are Red Sox fans, but I got him a NY Yankees hat. The ONLY reason I got a Yankees hat is because Chan Ho Park (a pitcher from Korea) just started playing for the Yankees (was with the Phillies last year). He was the first Korean ever signed to the MLB in the United States. I am getting Chan Ho Park monogrammed on the back of it and Tae's initials so he will never forget the precious gift he is bringing to us. Oh, and I forgot the reason I am "hobbling along" is because Ben and I went skiing last Thursday, I fell and heard something pop in my knee and I'm pretty sure I have torn my ACL. Great timing huh??? I will go to the orthopedic doctor on Thursday to find out for sure. Until later, just 6 MORE DAYS..........

TRAVEL CALL!!!!

Tae is coming home!!!!!!! We got the call this morning and our little boy is coming home on Monday, March 29th!!! We couldn't be happier and this call couldn't have come at a better time. I could not have made it through another weekend without knowing when my baby was coming home. Thank you to everyone that prayed that this would come quickly. Please pray for Tae's foster mother to enjoy every minute with him and to give her peace in her heart when he has to leave her care. I know this will be so hard for her. We love you all!!! Alli and Ben

Come on Travel Call!!!

Tae was issued his Visa yesterday in Korea which was the 16th there. I thought I would get the travel call this morning but I did not. Please please please pray we get our travel call tomorrow so our baby can come home.

It's Monday in Korea

I pray that this is our week for our travel call. Our agency in Korea is open now on Monday morning and I pray that they are working on paperwork for our son to come home. Please God let us get our travel call this week. Please let others who are waiting for referrals, travel calls, or approvals get good news this week too. While looking at another Korean adoption blog, I found this quote written below which describes exactly what is in my heart......

"My life was spent in a holding pattern awaiting the happiest landing ever made…so wonderful I'd do it all over and over again if each flight led to you. But I still wouldn't be able to tell you how much you mean to me. I just want to start each day by opening my eyes and seeing you and end each day seeing you before I close them. In between times, I'll just look in my heart. You are always there."– Ronald Reagan

Tae is 9 months old today!!!

Today our little Tae is 9 months old. I wish he were here to celebrate this milestone with us! I do know that he is being very well taken care of in his foster home in Korea, so I feel very grateful for that. I never worry about his safety or if he is being loved, I know he is. I pray that his foster mother will be given many blessings in her life for taking such wonderful care of our baby. I also pray that his birthmother will have peace and that she will know in her heart how loved her son is by so many people. It's so amazing how much you can love someone who you have never met. He was in my heart before I even knew his name or saw his picture. I love you Tae!! Come home soon, your daddy and I want to hold you and kiss you!! Enjoy these pics of Tae. These were taken less than a month a go. He is getting so big!

The Wait Is So Hard.

Well today, it has officially been 4 months since we got our referral for our sweet boy. I know I haven't posted in awhile. I began posting before when I was so stressed and needed an outlet and now I really need it again. Last week we became so hopeful because we finally found out that our son had made an embassy appearance in Korea and had his passport photo taken. That was last Thursday. Generally a Travel Call comes soon after that, but first he has to have what is called a Visa Interview, which is when the Social Worker from the agency in Korea returns the paperwork to the embassy (I think) and then he is cleared to leave. I can find out when the Visa Interview is scheduled by calling the State Department in DC. I have been calling everyday and they tell me it is still not scheduled. I am getting very frustrated and have no interest in doing anything. I know I sound terrible, but it is so hard to wait.

On a more positive note since I haven't even posted anything since we got the referral for our sweet baby boy, we have named him Tae (like Ty) Haze Min Hobbs. He is absolutely beautiful!!! He is also described as being a very smart and gentle baby. On February 16th we received updated pictures of him and his cheeks are just huge. I found out last week that at nearly nine months he weighs 21.3 pounds and is 28.7 inches tall...a big boy! We are so in love with him and we feel so blessed, we just want him to come home. Please pray we get our travel call VERY soon.