Friday Flashback

Today is November 20, a day that is etched in my memory. It was a day of comfort of finally being at home and being a mommy. I felt like my new life could finally begin.

We had along journey from Vladivostok back to Russia and I don't have a lot of pictures to document it. Here are a few, though.

Here we are with the wonderful Irina at the airport in Vlad, before checking in for the first of 3 flights that would take us home.


Here is Henry and Nana peeking out the window before we took off on our first flight.


And here is Henry sleeping on the seat between me and Nana on the longest leg of our journey, the segment between Seoul and San Francisco.

Overall, Henry was a trooper on the flights. For the first segment (about 2 hours long), he fell asleep and they had a little bassinet that hooked to the wall in the bulkhead seat. However, being untrained as I was, I accidentally bumped his head while putting him in there (already asleep). This woke him up and that was the end of him being in the bassinet or sleeping for the rest of that segment.

For some reason, we had very little time between our connection in Seoul. We had to go through Security again, and we were concerned that we would miss our next flight. So we were pretty much running from the time we got off the first airplane until we finally sat down on the next. Henry was starving and I remember him gnawing on his Robeez shoes while he rode along in his stroller.

As soon as we got settled on the flight between Seoul and San Francisco, I asked the flight attendant to fill his bottle with warm water so he could eat. He gobbled that bottle down as if he hadn't eaten for days. I think he ate it so quickly, that a few minutes later, he vomited it all up...all over him and all over me! Fortunately, I was prepared with a few changes of outfits for him...not so much for me. However, I was wearing layers, so I removed my top layer and was in pretty good shape.

He slept off an on during that long flight. I don't remember exactly how long that flight lasted, but it was an overnight flight. However, we passed over the international date line coming home, so we arrived on the same evening that we left...even though the trip exceeded 24 hours.

As we landed in San Francisco and went through customs, Henry officially became a US Citizen. Unfortunately, the US Government doesn't allow cameras/picture-taking in that part of the airport, so I have nothing to share with you. San Francisco is where we parted paths with Nana. After customs, she went one direction for her flight to Chicago, and we went another for our flight to Houston. Henry and I freshened up a bit, ate a bagel and waited for that final leg that would take us HOME.

I don't remember much about that last flight. I don't think Henry slept, but he was quiet and content on my lap playing with the few toys and books that I had packed for him. When we arrived at the airport in Houston, Leslie was there waiting for us. Again, the details are a bit fuzzy, but it seems like it was late on a Saturday night. By this time, Henry was DONE. I buckled him into the car seat, which was a whole new experience for him and he was cranky the whole way home. The only thing that seemed to sooth him was for me to hum the theme to Batman. If I stopped, he started crying. So all of the way home, I hummed "na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na BATMAN" over and over and over. Whatever it took.

Based on the recommendation of my pediatrician, and with the help of my wonderful best friend, Leslie, we had an open house the following day. Now, you may ask why it was recommended by my pediatrician. In fact, I had decided that we would "nest" when we arrived home to allow us both to bond to each other and to allow ourselves to begin settling into a routine of becoming a family. I wanted to limit external stimulation and allow Henry and I to merely focus on each other. However, I had a bunch of close friends that were just so excited to meet my new son that I couldn't put them off. So we decided to go with the "big bang approach" and let them all meet immediately. Then, we could settle down and focus on bonding and attaching.

Again, I don't have a lot of pictures from that evening as we were all just enjoying each others' company. And I can't say enough how nice and comforting it was just to be home. Here are a few:

And Henry seemed to instantly bond with Hailey!

That rest of November continued to be a steady stream of firsts, documented below with some of the pictures I have:

Wearing a "hand-me-down" outfit from his cousin, playing with some of his new toys.

Taking his first bath at home...he wasn't a fan of baths when he first arrived home, now I can't get him out of the shower!


His first piano recital!


Hanging out in his high chair while I prepared the next meal.


Attending his first book-study, back when we met in people's homes.


Being sized for his first pair of "good shoes".


Attending his first meeting at the Kingdom Hall.


Playing in his first box...favorite toy. Having a kid around 24/7 was new for Dolly, too. She's not quite sure what to think.


Having his first doctor's appointment with the wonderful Dr. Singhal (adoptive mother herself and featured on Discovery's Adoption Stories)


And all tuckered out after that doctor's visit, that involved drawing several vials of blood for all kinds of testing.

Reviewing these pictures to put together this blog post brought back all kinds of memories and reminded me of things I had totally forgotten about.

What I haven't forgotten is how grateful I feel to get to be Henry's parent! Prospective Adoptive Parents go into the journey called adoption, not knowing what they are going to come out with on the other side. For me, I can honestly say I have no regrets. My journey to Henry is THE best thing I've done in my life. He has become my heart and soul. And as we celebrate 5 years of being HOME, I wouldn't change a thing. That boy is my life!

Friday Flashback

The Box! Yep, one of the all time favorite toys. Forget what came in the box, just give me the box. That was Henry's attitude. This box happened to contain diapers. It served as entertainment for him for many months until he outgrew it.

Also, you might notice that he is playing with a Matryoshka doll. I brought this home as one of his souvenirs from his birth country.

A Matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other.

This is actually one of the two that I brought back for him. This is a traditional one, almost identical to the one featured in "The Littlest Matryoshka" by Corinne Demas Bliss. Henry received this book for "Family Day" in 2008 from Nana. At first, he wasn't too sure about it. He didn't want to be bothered with it. Undeterred, I started reading it aloud at the dining room table. Before too long, he had joined me and was avidly following along. Now, it is often selected as a favorite bedtime story. However, when it is told, we must have at hand his matching Matryoshka doll so that we can make the comparisons of how much alike they are.

The other set of Matryoshka dolls that I brought home is much more elaborate and has many more dolls (10, I think). It is kept in a safe place of honor on the trophy shelf that surrounds Henry's room. On occasion, we get it down and open them all out and make a big deal about counting them all. Then they are all stacked neatly once more inside of each other and placed back into the safe place of honor.

I feel it is important to keep Henry connected to his Russian heritage. He asked me one day this week what an "alien" was. Boy, how do you answer that as there are just too many contexts to cover. But it did bring us back to the definition of someone that is visiting another country. It was a great lead in to explain that he obtains dual citizenship. He thought it was pretty neat that when I take him back to Russia, he won't be an alien, but I will. Of course, this conversation also prompted him to announce that he knows how to speak Russian...afterall, he is a Russian citizen!

And so the education continues...for both of us!

Friday Flashback

This may be a familiar picture for many of you. It is the one I used when I sent out my Adoption Announcements. It was taken only a few weeks after we were home and after Henry's first trip to the Kingdom Hall. My dear friend John (Jack's dad!!) has quite the photography knack, and he snapped many pictures for me that day. It was really hard to pick just one, but I finally chose this one. I loved how it reflected Henry's personality. And I loved that is showed me looking at him instead of at the camera.

After my veeerrrryyyy long 3-week stay in Russia, I was glad to arrive home on November 20th. It was a very long travel day. We left Russia after lunch on Saturday. We arrived home very late Saturday night. However, in between there we crossed the international date line. So what seems like a couple of hours on the clock was probably closer to 24 hours of real time.

As I said, we left Vladivostok after lunch. It was a flurry of activity at the airport as the courier that had taken our paperwork to Moscow arrived off her flight while we were waiting in line to check in for ours. Our coordinator in Russia did a great job of getting us checked in and getting us bulkead seats, at least for the flight from Vlad to Seoul.

After we got all of bags checked (whew, I never thought it would all fit!), we had to hang out in the gate area for a while. Then we had to board a bus that took us about 20 feet to the steps to board the plane. (I'm still not sure why we couldn't just walk over there, but I wasn't about to question it at the time!)

Henry fell asleep shortly after takeoff. They have these cool things on the Korean Air flights...a bassinet that hooks to the wall in the bulkhead seats. So after he fell asleep, I tried to transfer him to the cute little bassinet and proceeded to bump his head and wake him up. That was the end of the bassinet. He fell back asleep but woke back up every time I tried to put him back in there.

Our connection in Seoul was very tight. I'm not sure how it happened, but by the time we got off our first flight, got through all of the checkpoints we needed to get through, we were at the very tail end of boarding our flight from Seoul to San Francisco. At this point, I was sweating like a pig.

And Henry was starving. He had chewed on his shoes all of the way through the Seoul airport. I had a bottle that had formula already in it, and quickly asked a flight attendant to add some water for me. Shortly after he finished it, he promptly vomited it all over me and him. Now, I had been smart enough to back a backup outfit for him (2 actually), but I hadn't thought of packing anything extra for me. I changed him and cleaned myself up the best that I could. I wasn't sure if he was airsick, or if the formula had soured, or if he'd just eaten it too fast. Either way, I kept a very close eye on him for the rest of the flight.

Fortunately, we were in the middle section of a wide-body airplane and it wasn't full. So Mom was able to scooch over a seat and let Henry have his own. I had saved some of the toys that I had brought and bought so that they were fresh to him on the way back. He did pretty good playing with his toys. And I know my body was really confused about what time it was...the flight crew treated it like it was overnight and turned all of the lights off in the cabin. Henry layed on the seat between my Mom and I, but every time I looked at him, he wasn't sleeping...he was just looking around quite contentedly.

When we arrived in San Francisco, it was a momentous event. This was when and where Henry officially became a US citizen. So we had to go through a special line in Customs and Immigration. Because he was actually an immigrant. After that process (sorry, no cameras allowed in that part of the airport) we had to retrieve our luggage, have it checked, and then recheck it. From there, my Mom and I parted ways as she was going on to Chicago and we were headed home to Houston. She had volunteered to take the plastic bag with Henry's stinky vomit clothes and blanket. She later shared that she got selected for extra baggage screening and when the guy opened that bag, he decided my mom's bag was just fine and quit checking.

Henry and I headed in the direction of our gate. When we got there, we found it was delayed. No worries. We took some time to go freshen ourselves in the bathroom. Henry got another change of outfit...I did the best I could with what I had.

And then we picked up a bagel. I didn't have much left to feed the boy, and I figured the bagel would help him feel full. He nibbled on it and so did I. Eventually, our flight left and we were on our way. Again, he did pretty well on the flight from San Francisco to Houston. I think both our bodies were very, very confused and neither of us had slept much since we left Vladivostok.

It was quite late when we arrived home. Aunt Leslie met us at the airport. It was so nice to finally see a familiar face. Henry was strapped into his new car seat...probably the first time he had ever ridden in a car seat before. He wasn't too happy about it and fussed most of the way home. The only thing that seemed to calm him was if I hummed the tune to Bat Man...you know..."na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na Bat Man!"

When we got home, we both crawled into bed. Whew. However, at about 4 a.m., Henry's body decided it was daytime and time to get up. I spent a couple of hours in his room cajoling him back to sleep. We would repeat this pattern for the next week, except each night, it was 2 hours earlier that he would wake up. Eventually, it merged with his bedtime and he quit waking in the middle of the night.

The day after we arrived home, Leslie had coordinated a "meet and greet". All of my closest friends stopped by to meet Henry. My doctor had recommended this approach, followed by a period of "cocooning" to allow Henry to adjust to his new environment and begin grasping that I was his family. And that's just what we did. We stayed in, we kept things low key, we spent our days together on the floor playing.

After we were home a few weeks, he seemed to be adjusting well, so we headed out to our first meeting. He handled it great, and we even went out to lunch afterwards, and then on to the park for this photo shoot. Here are a few more of my favorites from that day:

Friday Flashback

Here is my little man in the bath tub shortly after we got home. It may not seem so, but this was a "BIG DEAL" at the time.

For whatever reason, Henry hated the bathroom and hated taking baths. It was horrible the first time I tried to give him a bath in the hotel in Russia. He screamed and cried as if he were being tortured. And remember the "turning blue and passing out" incident I documented. I was trying to do everything I could not to let him get upset so as to try and prevent that from occurring again.

So, after trying only the one time, I resorted to sponge baths for the rest of our stay there. Now, a sponge bath, he didn't mind at all. I'd lay him on a towel and have a tub of nice, soapy warm water. He'd lay there quite content and let me wipe him down. And he loved it even more when I got the lotion out and slathered him up with that.

During the day, when we were playing, I would put one of his favorite toys in the middle of the bathroom floor. He would be very curious, and get to the doorway of the bathroom, but couldn't quite get himself to go in there to retrieve his toy. At other times, I would take him in there and we would turn on the faucets or flush the toilet while he was safe in my arms so he could start becoming familiar with bathroom and learn that there really was nothing to fear.

After we returned home, I was feeling a little more confident, rested and overall, just thrilled to be home. So I decided it was time to tackle the bathroom issues.

I had a little bathtub that I would fill in my shower and place him in there. The first few baths were a bit iffy, but it didn't take long for him "get over it" and gain a comfort level. Eventrually, he graduated to Leslie's bathtub (normal sized), and then finally, into my bathtub (garden tub). And then, he learned about the shower, and now that is his preferred form of bathing.

Bath/shower time is now his favorite time of the day. Many times, when I let him know that it is time to get out, he begs for 5 more minutes. He has a basket of toys in the shower and every day, his imagination takes him somewhere else. Many times he refers to the shower as the "rocket" and the bathtub as the "boat", when trying to decide which one to use for the day.

I hardly recognize that scared little boy in the baby bathtub.

Friday Flashback

Well, these Friday Flashbacks aren't really in chronological order. Oh well, I guess you'll just have to deal with that.

This picture is from the day that I officially received custody of my boy. It was November 4. I had packed the diaper bag that morning for it's first official use. We had finished at court and received a favorable outcome. Then, we had to stop at the store and buy cakes for the caretakers at the baby home.

When we finally arrived at the baby home, we were ushered into the Director's office. I was on pins and needles waiting for them to bring me my son. He finally arrived wearing some kind of pink snowsuit and crying his eyes out. Poor little guy must have sensed that his life was about to take a turn and that must have been very scary for him.

I began stripping him. See, you have to bring everything with you for your baby to leave the baby home. I had a complete outfit for him to change into. As I changed his clothes, I remember whispering in his ear that he never had to wear pink again, unless he wanted to. (Turns out that he does like wearing pink.)

While I was changing him, he did begin to calm down. Not sure how that happened since I was a nervous wreck. I wanted to get him and get out as quickly as possible in case anyone changed their mind.

While we (me and the other family that I traveled with) were getting the kids ready, the Director came in and gave a little speech. At this point, I have no recollection of what he said. All I know is that he gave each child an envelope with pumpkin seeds in it. I'm not even sure what the relevance of the pumpkin seeds were. But you can believe that I still have that envelope tucked away with all of my important keepsakes from that trip.

To this day, I still remember what Henry smelled like when I would visit him at the Baby Home. Later, I would learn that smell was linked to him sweating because of the many layers of clothes they place on the children. It still surfaces once in a while when he is snuggled in and a little warm in his bed at night.

It's hard to believe that little, anxious boy is the same as my grown up boy who is going to graduate from kindergarten in a few short weeks!

Friday Flashback

I never know what I am going to post here, until I start scrolling through my pictures. This morning, this photo caught my eye.

This picture was taken while we were still in Russia. To be exact, it was taken on November 16, the legal date that I became his mother. The process in Russian court cases involves what is called a "10-day wait". It's a waiting period to ensure that none of the parties involved in the court case change their minds.

The good news for me was that I was able to get custody of Henry during those 10 days. I will readily tell anyone who asks, spending those 3 weeks in Russia after I went to court was probably the most difficult 3 weeks of my life. I was a new mom, stuck in a hotel room in a foreign country far from everyone I loved (except my Mom, who was a lifesaver). I wasn't sure what I was doing.

To add insult to injury, on the very first night, Henry pulled a fast one on me that I thought I would never recover from. See, when I was treating him with scabies cream, he didn't like it too much. As I would learn, when he got really worked up, he had a tendency to "hold his breath". You know when a baby is getting ready to wail, they suck air to maximize the output. Well, Henry got "stuck" on the sucking air phase. Stuck to the point that he started to turn blue. Talk about freaking out. I felt like a chicken with it's head cut off. I didn't know what to do. My first thought was to turn him over and start slapping him on the back...until I realized that would be appropriate if he were choking, which he wasn't. Then I tried blowing into his face. Then I ran to the bathroom to sprinkle some water on him with the hopes of startling him into breathing.

Before I could get to the bathroom, he passed out in my arms. He "woke" immediately and the trauma was over (at least for him). It left me scarred. I couldn't sleep and barely ate for days, worrying about what was wrong with him and asking what I had done wrong. My saving grace was the email exchange I had with my doctor back in the states. You can read more about it here. And the good that came out of it was that I came home 10-15 pounds lighter.

Anyway, I've majorly digressed here. Back to the process. So, those three weeks were the most difficult, but I wouldn't give them back for anything. I am convinced that having those three weeks cemented the bonding process for Henry and I. Yep, we were stuck in a hotel room in a foreign country with no independent transportation and no ability to communicate with the outside world.

But, the flipside of that dilemma is that there was nothing else to do but focus on each other. If Henry was awake, my focus was on him. I was sitting on the floor playing with him and focusing 100 percent on his needs. I didn't have to worry about what I was going to make for dinner, or doing a few loads of laundry, or cleaning the house. It was all about him. And I saw the fruits of this situation. Each day, he warmed more and more to me. He laughed and smiled more. He began to thrive. He took his first steps and began toddling around the room.

I, too, got to know my son. I learned what made him giggle, and what a bossy-pants he could be. I eased into becoming a Mommy and to reading the signs my little boy was giving out. I learned how much he hated the bathroom. I learned how much he liked to eat. I learned how much he loved to be read to, and how much he enjoyed looking at pictures and being told what he was seeing. I discovered his inquisitive nature.

At the end of the 10-day wait, there was a flurry of activity to finalize all of the paperwork. Most families that adopt from Russia pass through Moscow on their way out of the country to visit the Consulate and get the final approval to bring their child home. Part of this final approval involves a cursory medical exam.

Well, from where we were, a trip to Moscow was further away than travelling from the tip of Florida to the furthest tip of Alaska. Fortunately, our agency was able to arrange for a courier to take our paperwork to Moscow on our behalf. One of the activities we needed to complete was to obtain that cursory medical exam by a local doctor so the courier could take the results with her to Moscow.

That is what you see in the picture above. It was quite an interesting experience. When we arrived, we soon discovered that the "clinic" did not have any electricity at the moment. Not to worry, that didn't slow us down a bit. The exam involved me stripping Henry down to nothing and the doctor poking a prodding him a bit. Henry didn't like it one bit, as evidenced from his demeanor in the photo. The doctor thought it was hysterical that I should ask for a picture of her as a testimony to part of the entire process. She said that no other families had ever asked for such a thing, but obliged none-the-less.

After the flurry of activity, we had a few more peaceful days before we left to go home. Things were cut very close for comfort. We were about to pass through the ticket gate at the airport when our courier arrived from her flight from Moscow and rushed to hand off the paperwork we needed to enter the United States with my new little soon-to-be citizen.

PS: For those that worry, Henry has finally outgrown the "turning blue" thing, much to my glee.

Friday Flashback

To continue the story of last week where I met my baby boy, here is my journal posting for the day I officially became his mommy:

November 4, 2004: Wow! What a day! Our court date was set for 9 a.m. The other family went first, and I followed at 9:30 a.m. By 10 a.m., I was a mom. The judge asked why I was adopting, why from Russia, how I would care for Henry. The prosecutor asked if it was okay that Henry was older than I originally asked for. She smiled when I commented how special it was that we shared our birthday. Then, out of the room and back in to hear that my petition was granted but that the 10-day wait would not be waived.

Next, it was off to the store to buy cakes for the caretakers and then on to the baby home. Henry was brought to me in a pink snowsuit. This was removed and he was dressed in a blue overalls outfit from Aunt Leslie. Then bundled in his blue snowsuit. Henry cried some in the car, mostly because the other little girl was crying. But he calmed quickly and fell asleep. That should be his only nap.


When we returned to the room, we played with his toys. Surprisingly, he took his first steps. He also seems to want to talk. He seemed to say "uh-oh" and would grunt twice in imitation of woof-woof. He enjoyed playing peek-a-boo. It was apparent that he was not used to one on one attention, but he sure loved it.

He went down at about 8:30 and slept until 6:30 a.m. He woke briefly at about 10:30 but it seemed he had a tummy ache. After a few minutes of consoling him, he settled right back down. He ate well and loved his bedtime bottle.

Yep, I know, not the same warm and fuzzies from the last post. But at this point, I was stressed to the max. I'm glad I got even this little bit documented. I was a new mom to a 15 month old baby and had no idea what I was doing. So far, it seems that I haven't damaged him much. I was so grateful that my Mom was along to provide assistance and moral support.

Friday Flashback

I recently came across a notebook that I had used to make different notes about milestones and such during the adoption process. I also took this notebook to Russia to journal some about my experience and feelings. Among the things I found in this notebook, was a outline of Henry's foot that I had traced, along with his measurements...taken on 9/30/04.

I also found where I had written myself a list of questions that I wanted to ask his caretakers. Underneath, in a different ink, I had written the answers. There were a few gems I thought I would share to demonstrate just how early Henry asserted his
personality:

Q: What does he eat?
A: He is not a picky eater. He will eat whatever we give him.

Q: How does he interact with the other children?
A: He is very inquisitive, he needs to know what is going on.

Q: What is his favorite toy or activity?
A: He likes music. When the music teacher comes, that is his favorite.

And now, to go with the picture above, here is what I wrote in my journal after meeting my Henry for the first time:

September 28, 2004....My stomach drops as Irina announces that this is the turn that will take us to the baby home. She has spewed out what little she knows about his short history. I almost cannot absorb and comprehend every thing she tells me. It hasn't really sunk in that she is telling me about MY SON. But now, with butterflies in my stomach, it is finally real. She tells me he is the best one in his age group. I am sure she tells every new family this, but no matter, I still believe her.

Now we are standing in the hall waiting for the caretakers to bring me my son so that I can take him outside. Every set of footsteps creates more butterflies. Finally, Irina calls "Paula, your son is waiting for you to come and get him." I walk into the room. My immediate reaction is to notice the strong resemblance he has to Kody and Caleb. He looks at me uncertainly. I do not immediately pick him up because I do not want to scare him. Instead, I begin talking to him and touching him. He is still not too sure about me.

Finally, I pick him up. He begins to whimper. I just keep talking to him, softly but confidently, and he calms down.

He's wearing a cute blue sleeper with a train on it. It looks brand new. Because the caretakers strongly feel that the kids need to be bundled up, I don't hesitate when they bring me a purple knit sweater sleeper. They also give me green knit booties, which I put on over the feet of his sleeper. Finally, they give me a Winnie the Pooh yellow cap to put on his head. I don't want to cover his precious blond curls, but even more, I don't want to bring on the wrath of the caretakers. So I put it on him. And we're off...

After disgarding the thought of using a stroller, we head to the playground in the back of the baby home. Irina and the other family head off to find their daughter. At last, I am alone with my little bundle of son.

I want to know everything. What color are his eyes? I try to look. In the bright sunlight, they look grey with flecks of gold.

I break out the snacks I brought for him. He is not shy to take them and eat them. He likes the little fruit puffs and he seems to relax a little. I bring out the photo album and he seems curious looking at the pictures. He points to the subjects in each shot and really seems excited when he reaches the picture of the dogs. I know I am practicing wishful thinking, but when I ask him where Mama is, he actually points to me in the picture.

We are together for almost an hour before he actually smiles and laughs. He responds the same way as Jack when I take his arms and throw them in the air, exclaiming "YEAH". And this earns me my first laugh. By now, I have made him show me his teeth. He has 4 on top and 4 on the bottom, and 4 more crowning.

Towards the end of our first visit, he allows himself to snuggle. He lets me hold him like a baby. He has his face against his blankie. And he just lays there calmly and lets me rock him. It was perfect. He is perfect.

Thanks for joining me on this journey down memory lane. To my loyal readers, I will admit I have been a very bad blogger as of late and have missed many good stories to share. I promise that I'll bet back to a regular routine of sharing the hilarity of Henry.

Friday Flashback

These pictures was taken while we were still in Russia. They were the only two that I sent before I arrived home. During the adoption process, I was warned to keep quiet about the details of my adoption as nothing was final until 10 business days after court. Afraid to rock any boats, I did my best to keep the most exciting news of my life at a low-key level. My friends and family were dying to see my son, so I sent these two pictures. The first demonstrates how happy he was, even if there was a bit of a devious look in his eyes. And the second showed what a good sleeper he was. He took these two items to bed with him every night...his Vladdy (the monkey) and his photo album. Most times, after he had fallen asleep for either bedtime or naptime, I would fine one or both of these items under his head. He still uses Vladdy as a pillow on most nights, even today.

Friday Flashback

I am going to try a new "feature" on my blog, called the Friday Flashback. Each Friday, I'll display an older picture. Unlike Wordless Wednesday, I'll tell the story of the picture that you see.

This picture is the first "family portrait" I have of Henry and I. It was taken in the studio of a professional photographer in Vladivostok, Russia. It was taken on my first trip to Russia where I met my little boy. I think this trip to the photographer was the first time he had been in the car and away from the baby home since he had arrived 7 months earlier. We "needed" to have this photo taken due to the fact that we would not be visiting the American Embassy in Moscow in person. Instead, we used a courier to go and complete our paperwork that allowed me to bring my little Russian back to the US. Since we didn't appear in person, it was necessary to bring a "family portrait" to show the embassy staff as some kind of proof. Regardless, I cherish this photo very much.

Recap of our Family Day Celebration

Henry and I played hooky Tuesday afternoon. I picked him up at lunch time and asked him where he wanted to eat. What do you think he picked? McDonald's? Chuck E. Cheese's? Chik-Fil-A? Nope! The boy picked Sweet Tomatoes. Now that was a choice that I didn't mind at all.

Our intention was to go bowling (again, the choice that Henry made since there were no kid movies playing at the theater). We arrived at the bowling alley to find that they had upgraded their software and couldn't figure out how to get the lanes to work. We waited around for 15-20 minutes to see if they could get it working, but no go.

So we headed off to the next bowling alley we thought of. We arrived there to find that they were only open on the weekends. By this time, the only other bowling alley that I knew of was a good 20 minutes drive away.

Instead, we headed home and decided to watch a movie from Henry's vast DVD collection. He chose "Sound of Music" and we crawled into my bed and enjoyed a lazy afternoon.

All day, he begged me to tell him different stories about 'when he was a baby'. We talked about my two trips to Russia to visit him, the trip home from Russia, our ride home from the airport, our first week of dealing with jetlag, our trip a month later to Chicago to meet the rest of the family, and his subsequent stay at the hospital while there. Even so, he kept begging for more. It was fun reminiscing about those days.

Last night, we celebrated with our annual dinner at The Melting Pot. It was fun to see Henry get so into his "Family Day" celebration this year. It was fun that our celebration included Papa this year. And of course, Leslie and Nada were there as well. Our favorite courses remain the cheese and the chocolate.

As I mentioned earlier, Henry and Leslie had been conspiring to get me a gift this year. Henry tried really hard to keep it a secret. Here are things he did tell me:

Mama, it is your favorite color. But, I'm not going to tell you what animal it is because I want that to be a surprise. And I'm not going to tell you about building it.

Hmmm, I wonder what that could be? To give him credit, he didn't tell me. And he insisted that Leslie wrap the house/box so that I wouldn't peek in the window and see it. Here is what Henry got for me:

It is a white bear with blue (my favorite color) accents. He added on the accessories of a box of chocolates and a flower, and a heart that says "I Love You!". He also insisted that it needed to have shoes. He named it Sugar. His reasoning for picking a "build-a-bear" to get for me was that when he visited me in my bed in the mornings, there were no stuffed animals. So now, with Sugar there, he won't need to bring any from his own room. Makes perfect sense to me and is really just the sweetest thing ever.

Henry enjoyed the gifts he got, and especially liked that Papa brought more gifts. Here he is opening the gifts from Nana and Auntie Margot:

And here are a few more pictures. One of the group minus Nada (she was taking the picture), and one of me and my boy:

Henry had grand plans of reading some of the Berenstein Bears books he got from Aunt Nada, and trying on the new Nascar costume from Auntie Margot when he got home. However, he totally crashed and was sound asleep when we arrived home.

In the end, a great time was had by all. And thus, another grand year of being a family comes to a close and another spectacular year lies ahead of us. I can't wait to see what this year brings to us.

Greetings on my last Wed in Russia

Another email update to Aunt Leslie:

Things went well today. We went out at 11:30, so I was in a panic about what to do about lunch. I decided to feed him as soon as he got up from his nap. So, at 11:15, he was lunching away, and then out the door at 11:30. First we went to the passport office and picked up the children's new passports. Then it was off to the doctor. That took a while and Henry HATED it, cried like the doctor was trying to kill him or something. All she did was listen to his breathing, look down his throat and feel him up a little. I guess it was the whole 'getting naked' thing he disliked.

Then, it was off to the American Consulate. It was about 2 when we got there. I figured we would be there awhile, especially since our appointment wasn't officially until 2:30. So my mom rocked Henry and he was sleeping in about 5 minutes flat. He ended up getting to sleep for about 45 minutes, which is a liittle shorter than normal, but still not bad.

We were then going to go out to lunch, but the other little girls had had enough, so it was back to the hotel. It was almost 4 by the time we got here. So my mom and I snacked a little, and then went down for dinner at 5. We even ordered dessert tonight. We always say we will come back later for dessert, but we never do, so we just ordered it tonight.

I was telling my mom how much Henry has progressed in the time we have been here. The first few nights in the dining room with him was really not very much fun. After he was done eating, he had no interest in sitting in the high chair any more. Tonight, he sat (rather quietly) until my mom and I were both done eating. And he was in a very good mood. Mom went to check her email and he and I headed upstairs. He giggled all the way up!

Anyway, we are really on the countdown now, and they finally fixed to the TV tonight! A few more days and we will be on the airplane to head home.

Hope you have a happy Wednesday and I look forward to talking to you in the morning!

An email update to Miss Anne

Just a quick note for you to let you know how we are doing. It feels like we have been here forever and we are now counting down until we get to come home (11/20).

As you saw from my other email, I got to pick Henry up right after court on 11/4. It all becomes official on Tuesday. We should have a busy week finalizing the paperwork and then we need to do some paperwork with the US Consul to get his passport and visa all lined up. A courier will take it all to the US Embassy in Moscow for us. She arrives back on Saturday morning, and we leave out on Saturday afternoon -- arriving back in Houston on Saturday evening. I am sure by the end of it, Saturday will feel like the longest day in my life!!!

Henry and I are adjusting so well to each other. In the beginning, he was totally a Mama's boy and did not want anything to do with grandma. It took him a good 4-5 days before he warmed up to her and allowed her to hold him and snuggle with him. So I guess that just goes to show that he did remember me from my previous visit. He is a sponge and seems to learn new things every day. Of course, some of the old tricks fall off for a while to make room for the new ones, but I am sure they will re-surface again (like saying uh-oh).

It is hard being cooped up here day in and day out. My coordinator has been kind enough to make sure we have what we need and take us to the market or baby store when needed. She has also taken us to lunch several days. It is hard to try and coordinate these activities between nap times - something I never had to consider before. I cannot imagine having done this trip without my mother. She has been so helpful in playing with and distracting Henry when I need to prepare his bottle or meals. Also, there have been times when I think she knew I just needed a few minutes for myself. And then we also trade off when it is naptime so we can check our emails.

Hope things are going well there for you and the boys. Can't wait to call when I get home so we can catch up on everything!! I miss our chats.

Is there anything more perfect....

An email update sent to Aunt Leslie, Aunt Nada, and Papa:

Okay, tonight I decided I am breaking my rule and sending a few pics for you guys to look at. Please feel free to print them out and show them to whoever you want, but please, I still ask that you not forward them on to anyone via email until after we are home. The first one captures his playful spirit. You can see the gleam in his eyes (probably was snapped just before he threw his sippy cup on the floor faster than mom could catch it!). The second is of him settled down for the night. His favorite crib toys to take to bed include his photo album and monkey - both of which you can see how close he keeps at hand.

Enjoy, and more to follow once everything is official and we are home!

A request for help from Aunt Cor-Cor

Hey Girlie Girl. Sorry I couldn't make your Mary Kay party, but I heard it was a blast....

Okay, tell me please what the secret to mixing bottles is. I cannot make Henry a bottle that we don't get to the bottom of and there are clumps and clumps of baby formula. It is maddening. It doesn't seem to matter whether I mix it in hot or cold water, or how hard I shake, I just can't seem to get it to mix. Of course, maybe it is the cheapy Russian formula that is to blame and not my mixing skills.

Also, what is a typical day like for Jack as far as what he eats? Henry starts the morning with a 6 oz bottle. This is followed by about 1/2 cup of cereal about an hour later. For lunch, he can easily down a jar of baby food, as well as a piece of bread (without the crust) and 4 crackers. For dinner, he usually will polish off two jars of baby food, as well as a piece of bread. Besides this, he snacks all day long! He gets another 4 oz bottle before bedtime. And then the next day, he gets up and eats it all again!

He knows the corner of the room where we keep his snacks, so he is all day long pointing over there and demanding "Dah!" (Dah means everything to him.) Then he will open his mouth and say 'ahhhh' while pointing to it to show me it's empty and needs some snacks. How funny is that???

Anyway, I really hope I am not overfeeding him, although I didn't think that was possible. And I am almost certain that my pediatrician said to let him eat as much as he wanted in the beginning. It hasn't started squirting out his ears yet, and he usually only has one BM a day, so I am guessing this is okay.

Anyway, we can't wait to get home so Henry can play with his buddy Jack. I can't wait until their first photos together. Jack will be the tall skinny one, and Henry will be the short fat one. (He isn't really fat at all, but he is solid for his size.)

And the wonderful response I received:

You didn't miss much at the MK party? We missed you though.

You are doing the formula perfect. Warm the water and then mix in the formula. Worked for me. Possibly could be the formula.

Jack eats a full bottle of 5 oz whole milk watered down with 4 or so ozs of water. I top off the bottle and then immediately a jar of baby food mixed wiht a heaping tablespoon of cereal. Nothing again til lunch. Then at lunch another full bottle of the same mixture of milk and water, and as many jars of baby food as he will eat. But usually only 2 mixed with cereal again. For snack just cheerios or veggie puffs. As many as he wants. Usually about 15-20. He is offered a water sippie cup all day and usually drinks 5-8 ozs thru out the day. He eats bits and pieces of my lunch. Not much, though. He will eat mash potoates, bake pototoe, mac and cheese, french fries (Can you tell he is definately my child) Not much meat. I offer whatever I eat. He will eat rice as well. Then at supper another bottle and maybe two jars of baby food/cereal. Then I usually give him a small lite yogurt. He always has room for that. Oh yeah he will hash browns from Whataburger and McD's. So all toll 3, 8-9 oz bottle and 5 jars of stage 2 babyfood. Just started stage 3 and has yet to finish one at a meal. He actually eats very little in comparison to others. And I ask alot. His ped said anywhere from 7-10 jars was normal. That seemed a little much to me. But what do I know.

O.k. Keep in touch. I am NOT mad that I didn't get a picture. I will wait for the real thing!! I love you so.

Aunt Courtney and cousin Jack and Uncle John

Bleeny - yum, yum

Another email update to Aunt Leslie:

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Sorry for the minor interruption, Henry wanted to say hello.

Henry doesn't seem to mind being around people so much, as long as there is distance. He loves looking at new things. When we got out of the car at the aquarium, he was looking everywhere at everything and pointing and saying 'Dah!'. I think on the inside, you have to get so close to the glass to see what is in each tank, that is what unnerved him. It was too close. So as long as people don't all crowd him and get in his face, I think he will be fascinated to meet new people.

I can't wait to hear all of the other little things that have gone one while I've been gone. It is so weird to think that by the time I get home, I will have spent most of the month of November in Russia. Who would ever have thought that would happen.

Something seems to be going on at the hotel. I told you the English cable channels quit working. Well, for a while yesterday, we had no water. It really didn't impact us because it was at a time where we didn't really need water. But it seems that the water heater or something is out. It also seemed like the heating system was out for a while. Nothing ever to the point of causing discomfort (other than the tv!). But we sure are counting down -- the last Sunday we will be in Russia.

It is cold outside, so we will not have any major outings today. The sun is out, so we are contemplating a small walk after our afternoon nap. We shall see.

We have discovered Bleeny on the menu. They are like crepes and are served with jam. I finally feel like myself when I am eating them. Yum yum. Tonight, we will have left over spaghetti from last night. It will be good - at least it was last night.

Okay, gotta run. Henry is getting antsy and I think they are done cleaning our room.

Baskin Robbins - Russian Style

It is 3 p.m. here and we went to the aquarium today. Henry liked it, but at some level, it also scared him a little. He was just squealing the whole time we were there and you couldn't really tell if he was extremely excited or on the verge of tears. He was READY for his nap when we got back, was sleeping within 5 minutes of walking in the door. Poor little thing.

B&R was good. Very similar to the ones at home. I had a scoop of jamocha almond fudge in a cone. They did not have pralines and cream - bummer. There was a person dressed up as Minnie Mouse. How "ironic" is it that Henry's first picture with Minnie Mouse is in a Baskin Robbins in Vladivostok, Russia?

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night! Okay, Morning!

Another email update to Aunt Leslie:

Good Saturday!!

It is about 10:20 and Mr. H is down for his nap. He had a hard time going to bed last night, but went down easily for his nap this morning. Go figure!

Not much to report here since the last time I wrote.

Glad to hear that it has cooled off there. It is cold here again today, although I haven't been out yet. I am glad your workweek is over. I'm glad it kept you busy but didn't make you crazy!

As far as the bathroom, he is a little less afraid. We go in there a couple of times a day and turn the water on and flush the toilet, so he can see that it isn't the end of the world. He will crawl up to the door and look in, but hasn't gotten the guts to actually go in there on his own yet.

Nada called this morning. It was nice chatting with her for a few minutes. And Dad called too, and talked to mom for a while. He said that he had printed the last Henry Update I sent and took it to bookstudy with him. The overseer read it to the entire bookstudy at the end. Imagine that! (He's the husband in the family that sent the stuffed monkey that Henry loves so much.)

Hey, you know what? Tonight is the LAST Saturday night that I will sleep in this hotel! Yeah! They had a big party here last night, and the way the hotel is built, the music drifts up the middle. It was so loud, no wonder Henry wouldn't go to sleep.

Okay, I'm off to check on my little man and see if Mom wants to send some emails.

Friday afternoon....

Another email update to Aunt Leslie:

Well, we did not make it to Baskin Robbins today. It is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Today, Irina did not pick us up until 12:30, so it was tricky to keep Henry happy until we got to the restaurant, since he usually eats lunch at noon. But I gave him snacks in the car and then fed him immediately when we got there. They had a high-chair, so he did pretty good. I made him stay awake in the car, because if he falls asleep, he will only sleep for a few minutes, and then will not take a nap in the afternoon.

So, when we got home, I took him out of his snowsuit and straight into the crib. He was not too happy with that, but then I gave him his picture book and within 5 minutes, he was sleeping. (I forgot to take his shoes off!)

Irina said that on Tuesday, we will go to court with the other family that is here, and then all of us will go to the office of vital statistics to finalize everything. Then they will bring us back to the hotel while the other couple go to the baby home to get their children.

On Wednesday, we will go to the doctor and to visit the consulate. Then Anya will FLY to Moscow (a 7 hour flight, so I can't imagine what it would be like in a car). I am not exactly sure when she will go or return, I just know that we are good to come home on Saturday.

So we are on the countdown now. One week to go, with lots of things to do to keep us busy.

It was only 38 here today. I think this was the chilliest day we've had so far. But it is supposed to warm up. We haven't had snow yet, so that's a good thing. And we can still go outside and walk, although Henry wasn't too happy about that this morning.

Thanks for taking care of those things in Henry's and my rooms. It will be nice for all of that to be fresh when we get home. I am still struggling with how to handle the flight and whether to treat Henry (food and naps) like it is the time here in Vlad, or the time at home, or when to switch between the two. I guess we will take it one hour at a time and figure it out together.

I thought some more about what we might need. I think I brought all the snacky food I had for Henry with me. He really loved the vegetable crackers (same brand as the fruit and veggie puffs). If you could pick some more stuff like that up, I would really appreciate it. I think we will be able to switch him to more table food once we are home. He loves bread and crackers. And he's eaten a few french fries, too. He eats so much I don't know where he puts it all (although I do know where it eventually goes!).

It will be nice to watch american television again. I think that may be one of the hardest things is that you cannot even turn on the tv for some distraction. The two english stations have been out of service for the last 3 days. One of them is BBC and it hasn't worked for over a week. So we were stuck with one station for several days, and now none. It doesn't help to turn it on if they are speaking Korean or Russian.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to go to the aquarium and Baskin Robbins after lunch. So it should be interesting to see how Henry reacts to the fish. Anya says there is a crocodile there. He loves watching the birds, so hopefully he will find the fish just as exciting.

Thursday Evening / Thursday Morning

Another email update to Aunt Leslie:

Greetings! It is about 9 p.m. here and the little man just fell asleep a few minutes ago. He was a wild one today. He was playing so hard after dinner that I had to put him in the stroller and take him for a walk just to calm him down. He was practically running to all of the areas in the room that he knows that I don't like him to play in so that I would chase him. If I did follow him, he would giggle and giggle. He thought he was just so funny. But when he gets like that, he starts throwing himself around and I was afraid he was going to crack his head open on something. So, off for a walk and he calmed down some. But he did not want to go to sleep tonight. Finally, clutching his stuffed monkey, he wandered off to sleepy time's house!

He has become such a little power-hungry man! When I was feeding him dinner tonight, I was feeding him a meat combo and a vegetable. Well, he decided he would only eat if I was holding the jar he wanted me to hold. So if I was holding the combo, he would point to the veggies and say 'Dah!'. If I didn't switch and pick up the veggies, he would keep his mouth closed. So then I would switch and he'd take a few bites, and then 'Dah!', he wanted the combo again. Too funny! He has really started teasing mommy and thinks he is just got me wrapped around his finger (which he does).

I know it doesn't really work for you, but the best time to call us is first thing in the morning. We are almost always up by 7 a.m. and in the room until 9. Then we may step out for a little walk before our morning nap. Even if you called during his nap, he usually sleeps well and we have the tv on (when it is working!) and it doesn't bother him.

Irina is probably going to pick us up around 11:30 tomorrow, too. I don't know what we will do tomorrow, but we passed a Baskin Robbins today and suggested a stop there would be most welcomed. So we shall see.

My appetite is so-so. I eat every meal, so don't worry that I am undernourished or on the brink of dehydration. I just can't eat very much yet. I am excited that maybe by the time I get home I will have lost 10 pounds. Won't that be a nice little side-effect. I should have brought some of my Ramen soup -- that would have tasted good on several occasions. At least my stomach no longer knots up every time Henry cries. I am getting used to him and even when he gets really worked up, I am just focused on calming and comforting him. He really is uncomfortable when he gets a gas bubble and screams bloody murder.

He looks at the little photo album that I had made for him all of the time. I put it in the crib when he goes to bed, and it comforts and calms him and many times he falls asleep looking at it. So I am hoping that he will come home feeling like he already knows you.


So yes, they changed our tickets to the same flights on 11/20. We find out tomorrow for sure when our consulate appointment it. We go on Tuesday next week to finalize all of our paperwork for the adoption (the 10-day wait is up). Then we have to have a doctor's appointment for the consulate, and meet with the consulate, and then 'Big Anya' will take our stuff to Moscow, and then we will come home. So next week may be a little busier than this week (which would be good to help the time pass by).