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

This is a picture of what Henry's room looked like before there was a thought of Henry. It was a guest bedroom. And it was used on a fairly regular basis.

Once there was a thought of a child in the home, we gave this child a code name of Harley. So now this room became "Harley's Room". Oh, and it was so much fun decorating. At this time, I didn't know if Harley was going to be a girl or a boy, but I was pretty sure it was going to be a boy. But just in case, the room needed to be decorated in such a way that it could go either way.

The first thing I decided was to have built-ins put in the room. I designed a unit to go across the back wall of the room that would include a window seat, a dresser, and an adjustable "desk" that could do double duty as a changing table.

I scoured the web to find a set of bedding that I loved and found one that had cartoonish bugs in "baby" colors. I was "lent" a crib by my dear friend Joyce. It had been Hailey's when she was a baby. I researched and found the best brand of glider. The key was that I wanted a glider that didn't look like a glider. And other various accoutrements were added until the room was ready for Harley to come home and occupy it. Here is what the final result looked like:

After a bit, Henry transitioned from a crib to a toddler bed that was a fire engine. The bug decals came down and new decals of firemen and policmen and firetrucks and police cars were put up.

And last year, as he began kindergarten, his room was upgraded to an official "Big Boy Room" complete with a regular bed. The glider was removed, the decals were taken down. The theme of "travel" was selected. He now has icons from various places around the world, like the Eiffel tower, the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben. His bedding matches with additional icons from around the world, like the Kremlin, The Great Wall of China, The Sphinx, Taj Mahal, etc.

It fits him.

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.

Now Taking Orders

It's a little late in coming, but I finally have the electronic copies of Henry's 5 year pictures. They were taken again by the wonderful Ivan at Bella Vista. I feel like he really has a knack for catching Henry's personality. I'm absolutely thrilled with the package I get from him, especially because it includes a CD with all of the images.

I am including several of my favorite shots. I would be more than happy to print and distribute for anyone who wants one. Either post a comment with the information of the shot(s) and size(s) you want, or drop me an email with the information. If interested, I can even send the you the digital file.

Photobucket Album

Wordless Wednesday

Mama, can I snuggle?

Henry has truly been a real trooper through all of this upheaval. But I think yesterday, it started to sink in that something big is just not right.

When he awoke, he came running in my room, just like he does EVERY morning. The first things he asks: "Can I watch some TV?". I explain to him that we still have now power so nothing works. Okay, he crawls into bed with me and rolls over to go back to sleep. After a few minutes, he realizes he's awake for the day, so he quietly gets up to go potty and gets some toys and sits and plays next tot he bed. When I finally come to the same realization (that I am awake for the day), he runs back to my bed. He asks "NOW, can I watch some TV?"

Unfortunately, I snapped at him. "It still doesn't work, honey. NOTHING works." A few minutes later, as I apologize for being sharp with him, he falls into my arms and starts to cry.

Later in the car, he is a whiny mess. Everything little thing leads to tears. He picked a tiny little scab on his knee and then cried for 10 min about how much it hurt. He claimed his "invisible mouse" scratched his hand, and cried for another bit about that.

When we arrived at our accommodations for last night, he played basketball outside for quite some time. I think this help him burn off some of that nervous energy. After that, he found some toys inside the house and played and played.

When I put him to bed, I let him watch a DVD, an almost totally unheard of privilege (and it took me quite some time to figure out how to hook it all up since I brought the DVD player with me from home). So this meant that when I came to bed later, he was still awake. As I crawled into bed, he asked "Mama, can I snuggle?" He instantly shifted so that he was laying right next to me. I put my hand on his back and he fell almost instantly asleep.

I just asked him about how he felt about today. His reply: "I feel happy, I'm a happy guy." And to prove it, he made Vladdy (his stuffed monkey) do a happy little dance. And he wanted to type the word apple. And so, he did. May the rest of the day go so "happily".