The adoption is finalized!!!!

Henry's adoption is final and he's officially Henry Joon Seong Kohlenberger!!!! He's not a US citizen yet, but he is irrevocably ours. :) We went to the courthouse in Nashville, IL where we, along with another family, went through court proceedings with our attorney and a judge. The whole thing was very quick and the judge was very kind. Henry was his adorable and friendly self throughout the whole proceeding. He had a tough time staying in one place and wanted to explore the whole courtroom. When Henry escaped from me and I went to go after him the judge said to let him go and that he was fine. Later, in the middle of the attorney's questioning, Henry got a huge grin on his face and started waving and shouting "Hi!" to the judge. The friendly judge just smiled and waved back at Henry. When both families had finished everything the judge came down from his bench and took pictures with us.

After we were finished at the courthouse we went outside and there was a local Farmers Market set up on the sidewalk. When one of the women at a cookie table saw the kids in their hanboks she sized up the situation and gave all 3 of the children a cookie pop as an adoption gift. The kids were thrilled and I was touched. Then we went across the street to a little pizzeria for a celebratory lunch and it was delicious. Nashville, IL may be a tiny town but it was perfect for our family's big event. It was a lovely time all the way around. :)

Henry's First Haircut

This is fun!

What's happening?

This isn't so bad!
Hey, what are you doing?

My handsome boy!

When we first brought Henry home he had very little hair. Now, seven months later it was finally time for Henry's first haircut. His hair was short in many spots, yet on the sides his hair was long and wispy. Even though I cut the girls' hair, I did not trust myself to cut my very busy and active boy's hair. So I made an appointment with my friend Jessica who owns a children's haircutting salon. The children get to sit in little kiddie cars while they watch a movie. I knew Henry would not be interested in the movie, but I had a feeling he would like sitting in the car and that Jessica, with all her experience, would do a great job on Henry's hair. I was right on both counts. Henry started out really happy to be sitting up in the car, then he was unsure of what was happening. He decided that it wasn't so bad getting his hair cut, but then Jessica brought out the razor. That was not his favorite, but by the time it was all said and done Henry was quite pleased with the whole experience. What a big boy!

Family Reunion

Uncle Bill & Henry

Aunt Toni & Henry

Henry finally got to meet my family. My aunt had a family reunion so that everyone could get to know Henry. Henry fit right in and, as usual, didn't know a stranger. He's very friendly to everyone. Henry loved meeting his young cousins and this time he was drawn to my Uncle Bill (who looks very much like Uncle Larry who looks very much like my dad). We had a lot of fun playing and some people had fun swimming. Since the water was freezing not everyone went in the pool, but all the kids did. It was a fun day and I liked seeing how well Henry fits into my family. :)