IT'S OFFICIAL!
Piper Fallon Chae arrived home
to her forever family on April 30, 1999!
Hard to believe, but just a few
short months past the year we adopted Spencer, there we were again at Dulles Airport
waiting for our baby to arrive. We accepted her referral in early February, a week or so
after my mother unexpectedly took sick and passed away. Fallon is for my mother. Piper was
chosen to honor a promise I made to my paternal grandmother that I would name a #3 child
for her mother. (Mind you, I was 16 when I made this promise, but I didn't want to
louse up my generally good karma.)
The original three of us, Dad, Mom, and big-sister Hilary,
drove to the airport on a breezy coolish day for April. (Spencer was at home with our
nanny tending to his big brother duties at home - all 20 months of him.) I felt happy
and relaxed. (After two kids, I packed spare for the trip - a fresh diaper and a change of
clothes, a bottle, a bib, a hat and sweater.)
We got to Dulles in good time and discovered the plane was actually going to be early!
We also had surprise company. A fellow member of the AOL Korean Adoption board and her two
children joined us for the wait. Hilary was anxious for the plane to arrive, worried that
maybe Piper wasn't coming after all. We amused ourselves by taking photos with my new
digital camera.
Finally, we saw the two escorts and their two babies exit customs. Rob caught a few seconds
on tape before the camcorder battery died. We weren't sure which one was Piper at first
because all we had was her referral photo at three weeks of age. But when we saw her up close,
even though she was crying hard, we knew it was her. And I thought, "My God, how lovely
and tiny she is."
Hilary was in love, too. Rob quickly acquainted himself with his new daughter. Our
agency director joined us just a few minutes before Piper and her companions arrived and
remarked how sweet our baby was.
Within a few minutes, we composed ourselves and got ready to return home. The new baby
hat I bought was huge on her but serviceable, so on it went. Along with the way-too-big
sweater. We said goodbye to our visitors, the escorts, and hurried out the gates. I wanted
our daughters - for the first time a plural noun - home!
All three of us girls sat in the back of the truck as we headed back home. Piper and Hilary
soon dozed off. I sat quietly admiring our new daughter and thinking how glad I was that
we went for #3 before we got cold feet.
I think we're done now, our family -- after much pain and disappointment -- is
complete. We're a little long in the tooth for all this - two kids under two with parents ages
44/43 - but who needs sleep? The sweetness of 3 pink and squirmy bodies in our family bed
is a blessing far more joyous than a restful sleep (at least I say that today.)
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Piper sitting on the hood of her Foster Parent's car
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Piper with her Foster Mom safe and sound in her Korean
"snugli" or podaeggi
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Here's Piper in her baseball outfit on the "famous"
Eastern chair.
This is the first time I've ever seen the chair in context to the rest of the room.
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Peaceful on her sleeping mat at her Foster Mom's |
