Transformation

This picture was taken in the orphanage on trip #2

A look we saw often

Eyes already starting to sparkle... our last day in Moscow

A smile we see all day long now!
It 's hard to believe it has almost been a month since Gotcha Day. C continues to do amazingly well. The transformation he has undergone in just four short weeks is nothing short of miraculous. D and I are in awe. It has happened so quickly!

C really is a completely different child now. He has gone from a restless, distant, and unattached baby to a joyful, loving, and attached 2 year-old. Not that things are perfect... we don't want to set up false expectations for those who are in the process of adopting. We still do see flickers of anger and sorrow, and understandably so. To be sure, C still has moments where he seems to revert back to his orphanage self. To name some examples, he still occasionally refuses to be comforted (arches his back) and he will still occasionally hit the nearest body if he feels his food or a toy of his is threatened. But gone already are the days of refusing to sit in Mommy or Daddy's lap for any period of time, of eating food more quickly than we ever knew any human being could, of hiding in a far corner with food or a toy... the list could go on...

In Russia, we dreaded having to take C out, as an outing meant guaranteed fit-throwing (all-out, screaming-on-the-floor fits) and regular time-outs (which were no fun for any of us, as a time-out meant holding a screaming child who was fighting to get away with all his might until his will was broken and both parties were sweaty and exhausted, while perfect and disapproving strangers who don't even speak the same language or ascribe to the same culture looked on). I am thrilled to report that since we arrived home two weeks ago, C has never had a fit in public (of course now that have written this, it pretty much guarantees us a fit in public really soon- LOL!!!!!). Now, going out has become something we look forward to :0)

Praise God C's little spirit has been freed now! He is so full of life and just seems to love everything and everyone. Even the most mundane tasks are fun to do with C, as everything is a new adventure for him. It is such a thrill to see life through his eyes! We are blessed beyond measure to call him our son!

A Week of Firsts

I wanted to post before now, but I caught a nasty bug that wiped me out for three days... I was really out of it... I even forgot it was Father's Day when I woke up on Sunday. Not good. Sincere apologies to my husband, my father, and my-in-law :0(
By the grace of God, I recovered, our kids lived, our house survived, and I was forgiven. Praise God for all of those things! Oh- and praise God no one else in the house has gotten sick!!!!!

Sickness aside, the past week has been wonderful! I just love the way a 2 year-old lives life full tilt! There is nothing like having a front row seat to that joy! C has experienced so many firsts in the past week, it would be impossible to list them all. Some of his absolute favorites are catching lightning bugs with his brother and sisters, playing the piano, swinging, kissing his sisters, watching Mickey Mouse (Misha Maow) Clubhouse (this is fitting, since we are Disney freaks), going for walks in the stroller, scanning the sky for airplanes (air-pains), meeting the neighbors, patting the dog (yes, he finally decided yesterday that he and the dog are friends now), making pancakes (he says pan-kins) with mommy (and then eating them, of course!), and going to Wal Mart (hmmm... is something wrong with him?).

So much to do, so little time! Of course, we have to be careful not to allow too much fun in a given day, or overstimulation will cause bedtime to be difficult. C is still learning to let Mommy or Daddy soothe him, so if he is too overwrought, he will still fight cuddling a bit. We are in awe, though, that he has allowed most of his wall to come down so quickly. He is already a far cry from the little boy who did not not allow any human touch at bedtime just a few weeks ago. At that point, we had to force him to be held and loved (the experts advise this). This is heartbreaking to do, and would cause him to scream his poor little heart out... the deep-down-in-the-throat kind of scream that would rattle his entire body, just as a newborn who cannot be soothed would scream. He can fight much harder than a newborn (and he has a better set of lungs), though, so we would both end up drenched with sweat by the time sleep would come to rescue him.
This kind of screaming has not been heard in our house for a few days now, which is a huge relief not only to us, but to our girls, whose little hearts would just break every time they would hear it. We have noticed C's crying has become more 2 year-old like at bedtime now. We know it is normal for crying to occur at bedtime, so we don't expect this to subside. After all, we are putting a stop to all of the day's fun. We know any 2 year-old would be a little put-out by this fact :0)

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for our son and for his little heart- it is opening now to the love we have to give, and we are looking forward to filling it to overflowing! God is faithful!!!!!!!!

Lucky guy!!!!!

Say cheese!

We're Home!

We made it home late Wed. night after 24 hours of travel and only 5 hours of sleep for C during that time. He and A did amazingly well! Only a few fits- and a few of those were thrown by D and myself!

Words cannot adequately describe the flood of emotions D and I felt as we walked into the airport... Home sweet home... there is nothing better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God bless the U.S.A.!!!!And the 2 most beautifull sights of all were the faces of our precious girls! The tears of joy flowed. Thank you, Jesus, for watching over them while we were away!

Since we've been home, C is adjusting well and seems to bask in the love and attention of his new family. He is absolutely thrilled with his backyard, in particular. Yesterday he got to help daddy and the other kids fill up the pool- he had a blast! Playing with the hose just thrilled him.

This morning it was off to the Dr. for a check-up this morning and was so well behaved- the Dr. and the nurses just fell in love and were so thrilled to finally get to meet him in person (they had done quite a bit of paperwork for us during the adoption process). C also got his hair cut by daddy just now. He looks so cute! He was so proud of himself and kept saying mala dyets (good job) to himself for about 5 minutes afterward. All in all, C has had quite a day! We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...

Before... After... Sooooo handsome!!!!!!!!!!!

Almost Time To Go HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've been here in Moscow since last Wednesday and all is well. C is doing extremely well! He has really made amazing strides in the short time he has been with us. We don't have a stroller here, so we hold him quite a bit throughout the day (we go to the market, out to eat, sightseeing, etc.), and this really has seemed to help with attachment. He seems quite comfortable being held by one of us now, and even seeks to be held when he is tired, scared, hungry, or hurt. He is such a sweetheart- he loves to give and receive hugs and kisses regularly! It is amazing how quickly C is learning English. His favorite new words are car, bus, choo-choo (we rode the subway several times), dog, uh-oh, more, all gone, hi, bye-bye, and come on. C has also seen the serious side of having a mommy and daddy- THE CORNER! He has visited it quite regularly and is not too fond of it! Now when he is being naughty and he is asked if he needs to go to the corner, he replies quickly with a strong "NYET!". He is also learning that he can eat slowly and that no one will take his food if he sits down to eat (he used to inhale his food as quickly as possible and would often hide in a corner while eating). He has tried many new foods and has decided he LOVES corn-on-the-cob (on a stick at KFC) and ice cream, amongst many other things. He has attempted to drink our soda several times and makes the worst face you have ever seen while shuddering- it is quite funny! We have found ourselves offering it to him several times just to see his reaction- what cruel parents :0(

We've had a lot of fun here and have met a lot of wonderful people here! There are many adoptive families here at the hotel. Andrew even made a friend with a little 7 year-old girl being adopted by an American family here. They had a blast together jumping rope and wrestling! He was thrilled to be her first American friend and even more thrilled that she will live only a few hours away from us.

Despite all the fun, we are ready to come home. Only 2 more days! All of our paperwork should be finished up by tomorrow. We will post lots more pictures as soon as we get home- it is expensive to pay for internet service, so I am posting this on the lobby computer.

Please pray for us- especially for the plane ride home!!!!