Grandma comes to visit!

When we found out I was pregnant, my mom, Karen, started making plans to come visit us in Korea to get to meet her first grandchild.  Since my due date was March 18, we decided it would be best for her to come two weeks later, in case I was overdue (the natural birthing center won't induce until you are at least 42 weeks!) to not chance her coming and missing out on the baby.  Plus, Michael would have 5 days of paternity leave and then the last week of March was our school's spring break, so if she came on time, we'd have two weeks at home with Michael and then my mom would come and be here the next week when he'd have to go back to work.  Of course, Elliana could have come early, but thankfully she came right on time, just one day before the official due date!  So the timing could not have been better.  And I actually honestly was glad that she was waiting to come and wouldn't be here for the birth (well, I mean if she lived here I would have been happy for her to be around but since she only had 9 days, we had to pick a good time)--just because I really just wanted to have time with Michael and Elliana and just be a family, without anyone else being around, so we could have some time to bond as a family, adjust, and figure things out for our little family on our own.  Plus, I thought that if my mom was going to travel across the world to be here, we could at least let her wait until we were a little more settled and sort of getting the hang of things so we could actually enjoy the time we had together and maybe my mom could actually get a little sleep at night. :)

Well, the timing was seriously perfect!  Mom got in to Incheon airport on Sunday night.  We borrowed a school car and drove to pick her up (our car is really small and there would be no space for the luggage that she was bringing--she was bringing us a duffel bag of stuff and a piece of art for Elliana's room). 

 Snug in her carseat on the way to the airport.

With Mommy.

With Daddy.

Sleeping peacefully waiting for Grandma.

 We had Elliana all ready so that when Grandma walked through the exit of the terminal at the airport, we could just hand her over. :)

I think this was Grandma saying, "oh my goodness!  You are so small!" :)

 Grandma is in love!

We had a great week together.  Mom picked up where Michael had left off...changing diapers, sometimes multiple times before I would feed Elliana (she was in the habit of pooping about 3 times in a row, over a span of about 10 minutes, so as soon as you'd get a new diaper on her she'd need another one!)...

Look at that happy face!  Elliana loved Grandma!

..burping her afterwards for me, changing her again afterward since she poops before, during, and after eating (haha)...entertaining her while I showered and/or ate breakfast, and just talking and snuggling with her as much as she could.  Grandma was really great at calming Elliana if she got upset or worked up.  They really got to bond, spending lots of time together on the couch! 

Grandma talking with Elliana.

Cuddling together.

Sleeping on the couch while Mommy stayed up late 

one night trying to finish a big project for work.

Burping her.

 One of Elliana's favorite things to do with Grandma was to lay on her tummy on Grandma's lap!  This would always calm her down and relax her.  I am still trying to get her to do it with me...but it just isn't the same. :)

Happy Grandma!

 

While my mom was here, we had a visit from our doula, Lisa, checking in to see how things were going.  Another doula who works with Lisa and was also at our birth, Donna, came with her.  It was nice to get to introduce my mom to the people who helped me through my labor and childbirth!  My mom was really thankful for Lisa helping to bring her granddaughter into the world!

Lisa stamped Elliana's feet in the baby book for us 

since they didn't do it at the birthing center.

Donna, Lisa, me and Elliana

 Then, our good friend Ji Yun came over to spend some time with us on Thursday evening.  She brought us Papa John's pizza and some homemade lemon shortbread (YUM!) and hung out with us for a bit.  She had met my mom and hung out with us two years ago when my mom came to visit us in the summer time and we went shopping together and stuff, and she was excited to see my mom again, as my mom was to see her!  Ji Yun is seriously the most awesome person on the planet. :)  Here are some photos that she and I took that night.

Happy Elliana!

 

Okay, so Ji Yun has this fear of babies that are not Korean. :) She normally thinks they look like aliens and is afraid to go near them until they are like a year old...but she somehow decided that Elliana does not look like an alien with huge eyes and she wasn't scared of her!  So, Michael decided to just put Elliana in Ji Yun's arms, and she didn't freak out!!  She was nervous, but she did great.  We were so proud of her. haha

What do I do??

Hanging with Grandma again.

Resting with Daddy.

Comparing the baby girl's tiny size to a 1.25 liter bottle of Coke!

Bouncing on the ball with Mommy.

Sleeping beauty.

We love you, Ji Yun!

 

We had a really great 9 days with my mom here.  She and I got out a few times to do some grocery shopping, went to Costco, took Elliana to the doctor because her belly button wasn't looking good, and took her up to school to meet Daddy one day so he could show her off.  She cooked for us and helped us freeze a bunch of food, and baked around 8 dozen cookies for my sweet tooth cravings!!  We Skyped one morning with Grandpa, Great Grammy, and Uncle Andy & Aunt Serena in San Diego.  We also took Elliana to church for the first time on Easter Sunday, which we honestly probably wouldn't have ventured out if Mom hadn't have been here (we drive about 30-45 minutes to Seoul for church, without traffic).   We also had the same photographer who took our maternity photos come over and take some newborn photos for us, which I'll share in another post.

On Monday, the sad time came for Grandma to leave.  Here are a few photos of the last times hanging out at home before we left for the airport.

I drove us to the airport and my coworker, Michelle,  joined us so that I wouldn't have to drive back by myself with the baby (Michael had to work).  I'm thankful she came along because I honestly had no idea that I would be so emotional saying goodbye to my mom!  She saved me from having a breakdown on the way home because I had someone to talk to about things.  Then after I got home, I just cried and cried. 

 I love my mom so much and I am so thankful she was able to come out and spend a little time with us.  It was just really good to have her here, not only to help us out, but also to just see an experienced mother to model how to take good care of a baby.  She was so calm all the time, even if Elliana was fussy, and she interacted with her so well--she was just a great model for us to have here at the right time.

Thanks, Mom/Grandma, for coming to visit us!  We love you and can't wait to see you again this summer!

Here's one last photo of Grandma and Elliana...I think Elliana had been crying, but its still a cute photo.