One Particular Harbor

A Monkey in a Tree

2011-02-24T21:20:00.002-07:00

This little monkey loves climbing palm trees!! He also loves swimming in the swimming pools and the ocean (with Mama or Daddy holding him, of course). We had such a whirlwind of a month in February.

It all began with my beautiful niece getting married to her handsome groom and Bradyn was one of the charming ringbearers. He was rather precious, interrupting the ceremony to yell out to Grandma and blowing her a kiss, I think everyone's heart melted. Then he proceeded to stomp on the petals that the sweet flower girls had placed so gently on the ground. His fellow ringbearer, and partner in crime, Jo, tried to get him to move back beside him instead of standing BETWEEN the bride and groom, (yes... I was panicking the whole time). Bradyn would have nothing to do with it though and continued to ignore Jo. Thankfully he managed to walk down the aisle without losing the rings. And I guess it doesn't matter what you do when you look this handsome....

Our weekend continued to get even better with the big SUPERBOWL win from our very own GREEN BAY PACKERS! We have definitely been relishing it. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of us during the game, as I was a little out of it from being sick.

There was no time for laying around being sick because the very next day after the Superbowl we got on an airplane and flew to the beautiful Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. We met our friends Tom and Marissa there. It was absolutely heavenly.

Bradyn loved the water, but I think he may have loved Tom and Marissa more. He definitely charmed Marissa winning her over. Her favorite quote of the vacation was when Bradyn said to her "Excuse me, Marissa, you have to try this donut. It is so delicious".

People got around using golf carts and whenever B saw one, he would make Tom get in and ride with him and they would "golf". According to Bradyn, his shots landed on the green and poor Tom's shots always ended up in the bushes.

We truly relaxed and enjoyed ourselves, lounging around everyday with nothing to do but eat and drink and soak up the rays.

We are already looking forward to returning next year, Bradyn has decided that he is going to pet the dolphins that we saw at Ocean World.

Rudolph of the Reindeer...

2010-12-21T08:35:00.004-07:00

Bradyn has been cracking me up lately, so I needed to post some of these funny things so I don't forget them!

First off, this morning I went to get Bradyn out of bed and he says, "Mama, I want to play while you workout". Upon first reading this, you may be thinking...what's so funny about that...Well, first of all, I NEVER workout! Second of all, the first time and LAST time that Bradyn played while I worked out was probably last year on New Years Day when I made a resolution to lose weight. So...does this mean it's time for me to make another resolution if my 3 year old son is telling me it's time to workout! Ugh! I guess I've had too many holiday treats.

Another funny conversation we had yesterday...
Mama: Let's go potty Bradyn.
Bradyn: I only need to go pee, my poop is sleeping.
5 minutes later after going pee, washing, and drying hands..
Bradyn: Mama, my poop is awake now.
Back to the bathroom...

A conversation with Grandma Taresh (who, by the way, knows my cat that I've had for at least 13 or 14 years)
Bradyn: This is my cat. Her name is Nee Nee
Bradyn (while petting her): She is getting old...she pees a lot.

And finally, Bradyn's rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed-Reindeer:
      "You know Dasher and Dancer and Answer and Woodson
        (wait...Woodson? Doesn't Woodson play football for
         the Green Bay Packers?)
       But you call the most famous reindeer all
       Rudolph OF the Reindeer had a very shiny nose, Mama
       you sing it"...

Christmas Has Begun...

2010-12-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

We are spending Christmas in Wisconsin this year with Grandma and Grandpa Lee and we are preparing for our trip (Bradyn told me he needs to start packing - even though we aren't leaving for several days). Because we will be gone, we decided that he could open his presents from Grams and Gramps Taresh now. Grams Taresh came down for the weekend and we started the Christmas festivities. We made sugar cookies...

Well...Mama and Grams made sugar cookies and Bradyn made "balls" for throwing in the air and what was supposed to be "Pizza Pie" that Bradyn kept calling "Bake a Pie".
Then we opened presents...

Go Badgers!

And had to immediately play with them (Bradyn's new "shaving" kit). Bradyn had fun with Grams and cousin Hillari and couldn't quite understand why they had to go. At least he has his "Rescue Pack" to keep him busy until the next round of gifts!

2 Years...

2010-12-13T16:28:00.001-07:00

In October, we celebrated our Gotcha Day! Two years ago three lives were forever changed, we became a family. Each of us has grown in so many ways that would not have been possible without the others. If you have ever met Bradyn, you now how infectious his spirit is. It is not possible to look at him without becoming drawn to him; family, friend, or stranger...people fall in love with him. Mike and I are the blessed ones to be able to call him our son. Mike and Bradyn share a special bond that is impenetrable...it's almost as if they speak their own language and they most definitely share lots of giggles and laughs. Bradyn has become just like Mike...just the other day Bradyn said, "Hey Pop, this is how you walk". Then he proceeded to show Mike how he walked...they were identical! Bradyn looks up to Mike and idolizes him and Mike loves and adores Bradyn beyond words. Bradyn and I share our special bond as well and any concerns of attachment have been laid to rest for a long time now. Despite the fact that he is 3 years old wearing 5T clothing, he is still and will always be my precious baby. He knows how to melt my heart! I don't think any of us could imagine our lives without the others and for that we are so very grateful.

Where did Fall go?

2010-11-14T12:13:00.001-07:00

I don't claim to be the best blogger, by any means, but I can't believe that fall is almost over and I haven't blogged once! I guess it's because we have been so busy, but I also think it is because I've been enjoying the fall so much that I haven't taken time to blog. Since we last left off...papa hiked the beautiful Tetons with his friends. This was the first time he has been away from Bradyn for more than 2 nights in a row.

We missed Papa and were glad of his safe return, especially after hearing how close those bears came to him!
Once he got home, we all had to venture into the Utah mountains in search of snow....

And we found some...

Bradyn's first time on a ski lift...

We also enjoyed our time at the Pumpkin Patch this year. Bradyn petted the farm animals, played on the slides and even sat on a toy bull (much to mama's chagrin).

Then it was time to carve the pumpkins. Bradyn likes to call the insides "ooey gooey". He didn't like to touch the ooey gooey at all and mama and papa had to scoop it out. Then I picked him up from daycare one day and they were carving pumpkins. Bradyn had his hands elbow deep in the pumpkin pulling out all the ooey gooey by himself!

Bradyn has been obsessed with spiders this Halloween season. A kind of love-hate relationship. So, we decided to make spider treats. He loved making them and eating the marshmallows, but then when it was time to eat the spiders, he wanted nothing to do with them.

Bradyn enjoyed dressing up for Halloween. Every time you asked him what he was going to be, he would tell you something different. We finally settled on SuperWhy (his favorite) for his school daycare and his old school carnival. Then we settled AGAIN on Dash from the Incredibles for Halloween. He had a blast at his cousins' Halloween party and then he went trick-or-treating for his first time. Not only did he say trick-or-treat, but he charmed everyone by flashing that big smile and saying Happy Halloween as he left.

We can't forget about the most important thing of the fall season...football! Bradyn has been practicing his tuck and rolls when he gets tackled, throwing the football consistently at the lamp, and kicking off. Not a football game goes by without Bradyn having to act out all the plays. He even tells us which team he is and then we have to cheer for that team. But he remains ever faithful to the Packers.

The other exciting thing about fall season...getting ready for snow!! We visited two ski swaps this year and Bradyn is all ready for skiing. Bring on the snow!

Captain Adorable!

2010-08-10T22:14:00.000-06:00

Leaping from tall buildings (couches) in a single bound, lifting heavy buildings (tents) with no effort, flying (running) faster than the speed of sound, melting peoples hearts with a smile full of dimples..is it a bird? a plane? no....it's CAPTAIN ADORABLE!

These are Bradyn's new FAVORITE pajamas!!

A Birthday Blast!

2010-07-05T16:42:00.001-06:00

We had a Toy Story 3 Water Birthday Bash for Bradyn! He really enjoyed his birthday party this year! From running through the rocket sprinkler...

To slippin' and slidin'...

Having a water gun fight...

To falling in the pool from excitement and exhaustion...

Fun opening presents...

Enduring the birthday song...

And finally enjoying the cake....

Happy 3rd Birthday Bradyn! You are our pride and joy!

Golfing with Papa for Father's Day

2010-06-20T21:04:00.000-06:00

Bradyn's first golf outing.

Putting on the green.

Sinking his putt.

Bradyn had a great day celebrating his Papa! He started the day by making Papa breakfast...well, he tried to help, but got distracted and Mama had to finish. Then he gave Papa his presents (which he had already told Papa what they were 3 days ago). He "helped" papa screw some screws with the power drill. Then it was off to golf. He had a blast, he is quite a good little golfer!
I'm always in awe at the relationship these two have. Bradyn adores Mike and vice versa. They definitely have something special and sometimes they are in their own little "Bradyn and Papa" world laughing about some silly thing! Bradyn doesn't need a "designated day" to let Papa know that he loves him....he lets him know that everyday.

2 Years Ago...

2010-06-16T20:45:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe that it was 2 years ago today when we first met this precious soul!! It seems like he has been in our lives forever! I can still remember sitting in the director's office waiting with anticipation and excitement to see his sweet face. We had spent countless hours staring at his pictures, knowing this was our child. Then we finally got to meet him and every moment together confirmed that he truly was meant to be in our family.

Big Boy Bed

2010-06-12T18:50:00.000-06:00

Well, it was time for us to change the crib into a toddler bed, mainly because I am not strong enough to lift our big guy into his crib, but also because he was ready. The excitement began on Monday when we started talking about it and we made small changes to the room. We added a cute lamp that he loves to turn on and off and on and off and so on... Slowly each day we moved the furniture around and then Friday night was the big night! Bradyn kept saying "I'm so esscited!" He even "helped" Papa change the screws (as well as grabbing the wood with a pair of pliers...uh, that part was not so helpful). Once the change was made we "practiced" when to get out of bed. Then the big moment came...going to bed. He truly was SOOOO "esscited". Mama and Papa were a little concerned that it may be a long night with him getting in and out of the bed. But Bradyn shocked us, as always! He stayed in his big boy bed until we went and got him up this morning!! Naptime was as equally easy, Bradyn stayed in bed the whole time! I wonder how long this will last?

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

2010-05-05T08:04:00.001-06:00

Yes, Easter is over but Bradyn loves this song! He sings it when going to sleep, when he wakes up, and throughout the day. Our favorite part is when he says "hoppin down the bunny chwail". When we ask him what songs he sang at daycare, he inevitably says....Peter Cottontail. I guess the thrill of Easter can last a little longer, especially since Bradyn still talks about Frankenstein, even though Halloween is long past!
We had a lot of fun this Easter. It began with the Easter Bunny visiting Bradyn's daycare. Reports indicate that the door opened and all the toddlers in Bradyn's class ran towards the Easter Bunny...except for Bradyn, he ran the other direction and started filling his Easter basket with goodies! He collected so many goodies, that his teacher had to divide them up with the other kids.

We celebrated Easter at Grandma and Grandpa Taresh's house. Bradyn said that the Easter Bunny brings money...what? How does he even know what money is? Well, he was right the easter eggs were filled with lots of coins! Bradyn loved looking for the eggs, but in true Bradyn form, he was really excited to find a basketball that was laying in the yard...and better still...Grandpa's riding lawn mower!

What Happened?

2010-03-28T07:57:00.001-06:00

The title of this post is appropriate for several reasons...
1. That is Bradyn's FAVORITE phrase!! Not only does he ask it once, or even twice, but MANY MANY times per minute, per hour, per day! It doesn't really matter what happened...he just has to ask it. And then when something REALLY does happen...he is thrilled that his favorite question works!
2. What happened to blogger world? It's been so long since I've created a post that I had no idea what to do because the formatting of things has changed!
3. What happened...or what's been happening in our world that has kept us from posting? Well, many things, but one has been laundry!! Yes, laundry duty has turned into a 24 hour cycle. One of the biggest reasons is that Bradyn just keeps growing!! So, we are constantly in need of longer pants! I am not a summer person, but I look forward to summer so B can wear shorts!! Also, daycare has said that Bradyn is ready for full-time potty training. So, we are full-time in cute boy undies. With the accidents, the washer is constantly going. He is doing really great though!! He rarely has accidents and has decided that he LOVES standing up to pee!
The lastest thing... We put Bradyn on skis!! He LOVES it! He was a little frustrated that we wouldn't let him go to the TOP of the mountain or off the edge of the little hill we were on! He calls himself Shaun White. He wants to do flips and twists like Shaun, so Mike has to hurdle Bradyn in the air with little skis kicking him in the face!

We went to Mexico again this year. Bradyn had a blast and remembered the ocean, beach, and sand. This year was much more relaxing though...Bradyn realized that you can sit and play in the sand, instead of running up and down the beach like he did last year. (It was also probably more relaxing for mom and dad, because we have 15 months of parenting under our belts!)

We also made a trip back to Wisconsin to see Grandma Lee...she broke her ankle/leg! Now both Grandmas are having a hard time walking!! It was nice to get back there, since we didn't go at Christmas! Luckily both Grandmas are healing well and will hopefully be chasing Bradyn again soon!

Santa Claus or the Big Balloon Bear?

2009-12-22T14:42:00.003-07:00

Bradyn got to enjoy his first hockey game with Oomba and Oompa Lee...well, he enjoyed the "hockey" part of the game, but not the opening of the show. When we arrived at the game, he was SO excited (as most of you know...he's obsessed with ALL sports), he could hardly contain his excitement. They started preparing for the opening of the game by inflating this large bear that the hockey players would skate through. We sat and watched them inflate this thing and Bradyn was so excited and then...he started screaming and crying uncontrollably when the bear was about half of the way inflated. We had to take him out of the arena to try and settle him down. Once the bear was deflated and off the ice, we were able to return and he loved watching the rest of the game. This all happened around Thanksgiving...still to this day he continues to talk about "The Big Balloon Bear" with concern! So, we were very concerned when we found out that Santa was coming to visit Bradyn at his daycare...we figured if a Big Balloon Bear got that kind of a reaction, Santa may bring on the same fears. When I picked him up from daycare, I asked him if he saw Santa and he said, "Yeah...big guy." Oohh boy, I thought I knew where this was headed and then his teacher said, "He LOVED Santa! He RAN to him and jumped on his lap, and grabbed his santa hat and wore it!" Yes, I was floored, he loves the "big guy". So, this weekend we headed out to see Santa again and get his picture taken with him, something we never imagined we'd be doing this year! When we got there, he was so excited to see Santa again, but even more excited to see the 3'x3' bag of candy canes next to him! Santa really made Bradyn's day when he asked Bradyn about Mater...one of his favorite "Cars" characters! Ho Ho Ho!

A Little Behind on Posts...

2009-12-13T10:40:00.007-07:00

Wow! So much has happened since my last post, so get ready for updates:

Gotcha Day!
We celebrated our "Gotcha Day" with Bradyn on October 28th. Hard to believe that it has been 1 year since we have been blessed with his presence. We decided we would go out to dinner for our celebration especially since Bradyn does so well in restaurants. Well, that didn't work so well, he showed his true 2 year old colors and made for a very fast dining experience. We had cake when we got home and he opened a gift that we got for him in Russia. We also put together a package to send to the baby home.

Our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary!
We spent the weekend in Park City with great plans to play in the snow with Bradyn. Well, it didn't snow and the ground was completely bare! Plan B...we enjoyed ourselves in the swimming pool and did some window shopping.
/a>

Thanksgiving!
Oompa and Oomba Lee joined us for Thanksgiving this year! Bradyn got his usual "A Present A Day" gifts from them. We had lots of fun with them and even took Bradyn to his first Hockey game. He LOVED the hockey but didn't care for the large inflatable Bear that the hockey players skated through at the beginning of the game. We also went to the zoo and Bradyn showed Oomba and Oompa around.

My Dad's 75th Birthday Celebration!
Our whole family surprised my Dad with a birthday party for his 3/4 of a century celebration! Everyone in the family wrote letters to him on their memories with him, then compiled it into a book. We succeeded in surprising him and spent the time reminiscing about good times.

Now here we are in the midst of the holiday season and counting down the days until Santa comes. Bradyn has become obsessed with the characters from Toy Story and says that Santa is bringing him a Buzz Lightyear. He has enjoyed getting ready for Santa with our daily advent calendar countdown. We've also made cookies and gingerbread houses. And Bradyn has even helped wrap the presents...well, he has added about 5 or 6 gift tags to every gift. We are so excited for Santa to get here...he comes to Bradyn's daycare on the 18th and he says he's going to sit on his lap...we'll see.

Potty Time

2009-10-24T13:51:00.005-06:00

Well, we are knee deep in potty training...not because Mike and I wanted it, but Bradyn has been SO excited for it! So, we went out and bought him a potty chair. Bradyn picked it out and it is, of course, a baseball chair! The chair is equipped with a baseball "flusher" that cheers for you when you push it. Well...we pushed it and the sound scared Bradyn SO badly that he started "shushing" it and telling it to be quiet. After that he wouldn't go anywhere near it. So, during naptime, Papa dissassembled the baseball flusher and now we have a potty-loving baby! We had plans of keeping him in diapers for quite awhile, but he kept showing such an interest, that I guess we are now full on potty training. He is so proud of himself when he uses it and then we get to do the potty dance! Even Eiger joins in the dance, and when Papa is at work, he gets to listen to us do the potty dance on the phone! Such exciting stuff!

1 Year Post Placement Completed

2009-10-11T15:10:00.002-06:00

When you adopt from Russia you are required by their government to give the courts reports on how your child is doing. We had to do a report at 1 month, 6 months, and now at 1 year. This isn't just a report that you write yourself, but you have a social worker come into your home and assess the conditions of the home, child, etc. Then the social worker writes the report and sends it to our adoption agency, who in turn sends it to Russia. Well, our 1 year report is done! Woo Hoo! Our social worker was amazed at how well Bradyn is doing and how he fits into our lives so perfectly. His comment was "You guys really do have a perfect family". We agree!

Not only have we been working on our post placement report, but we've been very concerned about Bradyn's Oomba (Grandma Taresh). She wasn't feeling very good and then got progressively worse to the point where her foot went numb and she was in great pain. She ended up being admitted to the hospital and was there for 9 days. They finally figured out that she had vasculitis. Luckily they were able to catch it in time and she is on the mend, although she is taking some pretty serious drugs. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers so that she is back to chasing Bradyn.

The Dog Days of Summer

2009-09-08T08:47:00.005-06:00

It's hard to believe that summer is coming to a close, but Bradyn has thoroughly enjoyed this season! He loves the great outdoors and can't seem to get enough of it! From playing golf or baseball to exploring ponds and the ducks that reside there, to playing in the dirt while camping! Bradyn also took swimming lessons with Papa this summer and he LOVES the water! It's hard to believe that less than a year ago, we couldn't even get him in a bathtub and now we can't get him out of the water! Bradyn enjoyed swimming lessons, but I think Papa enjoyed that time with Bradyn just as much, if not more! Their swimming lessons are over now, but both of them still play the games and songs they learned... "5 Little Monkeys", "Motorboat", and more!

Bradyn's vocabulary seems to increase daily. He has started saying sentences...granted, his sentences are a conglomeration of the words he knows, so they usually don't make much sense, but nevertheless, he's trying to string words together. His other great speech accomplishment this summer is saying the "s" sound! He likes the sound so much that he puts it at the end of everything, "Papas", "Mommys", "Bye Byes". Not only does it sound cute, but he looks so cute when he says them...he uses his back teeth to make the sound, which means his adorable dimples take center stage!

With summer coming to a close, fall is approaching quickly. That means the mark of our 1 year anniversary of Gotcha Day is close at hand!! So much to celebrate!

So Much to Blog About...So Little Time to Blog

2009-08-12T15:18:00.006-06:00

Wow!! I can't believe that it has been a month since I blogged. So, much has happened in that time and I have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to blog about it.

First of all, my wonderful husband threw me a SURPRISE 40th birthday party! He thought of everything and pulled it off without my having a clue!! It worked out for him that I had scheduled to get my hair cut and he decorated the house in an island theme! Bradyn was thrilled with the theme, as Papa got him a swimming pool and that is where he stayed all day!!! Even Eiger and Sierra joined in the fun by wearing leis. Family and friends traveled from afar to help celebrate the big day. I'm still in shock that Mike pulled this off! Thanks to everyone for helping me turn 40 in a fun way! And a HUGE thanks to my husband for making me feel so special!!

Mike had his birthday, too! Yes, the three of us are summer babies! I feel bad that I didn't give Mike quite the same kind of celebration that I got!! He did get to golf on his birthday though, and golfing is always a welcomed thing with him.

Speaking of golf...that is all Bradyn can think about! Golf, golf, golf!! He plays it, talks about it, and likes to watch it on tv! He's getting pretty good at it, too! It's all sports with him!! When he isn't talking about golf, he's talking about baseball, basketball, soccer, or hockey!

Luckily, Mama and Bradyn will have some time to play these sports together!! It's official, I am job sharing with another teacher. That means that I am now working part-time. I work Wednesdays and Thursdays and then alternate every other Friday. So, I get really long weekends with Brady! I'm thrilled that I will be able to spend more time with him, as time seems to go by so fast!

Journeys with a Jeep

2009-07-10T08:23:00.003-06:00

It's no secret that Bradyn loves jeeps. From the moment we landed in the States, he's been able to spot them a mile away! His obsession with jeeps has even made Mike and me question whether or not we should trade our car in for one. I guess when you are constantly forced to look for jeeps, you start thinking "hey that one is cute" or "oooh, I like that color". Therefore, it made sense that his first birthday gift from us should be a jeep. We would have preferred it to be a YELLOW jeep, as those are B's favorite, but we had to settle for a green one. Regardless of the color, he loves it!

When he first got it, he'd get in, press the gas pedal, lurch forward, and then jump out!! This went on for several days and the poor lonely jeep would spend a lot of time outdoors not being driven. So, we parked it in the garage. One day, the three of us were in the garage, Mike and I were talking. Next thing we know, Bradyn is in the jeep with the pedal to the metal backing up and almost ran me over. I got out of the way in time, but my car was behind me...near miss! No damage, luckily! We hurried and switched it to forward instead of reverse and he was off! Down the driveway, over the rock bed, through the grass, and into the fence! No more lurching forward and stopping I guess...now he throws the pedal down and goes!

Other moments with the jeep have been fun, like experimenting where you sit...he's sat on the roof and with Mama's distaste...standing on the roof!! He also likes to feel the wheels when he drives.

My favorite moment though, happened yesterday. He had driven the jeep to the side yard, stopped, and just sat there! Impatient Mama wanted him to get a move on it and get back to the backyard. After much prodding I said, "Give it some gas, let's go". Next thing, I know he gets out of the jeep and starts pulling at the grass. I said, "What are you doing?" and he said "Gas, gas." Then he throws some grass into the jeep and then jumps in and takes off. It took me a few seconds, but then I realized what he was doing...I said to "give it some gas" and that is how he says grass - gas, since he can't say the r sound yet. So, he "gave it some gas"! If only gas were that cheap!

Bradyn's Big Birthday Bash!

2009-06-29T20:40:00.010-06:00

He's 2! He's 2!! Yes, our baby turned 2 years old and to celebrate we held a big birthday bash...this was his first "American" birthday celebration, so we had to make it extra special! We began by inviting our family and friends. Then the decorations...we had a Mickey Mouse celebration and Mickey himself attended (okay, maybe just the balloon version of Mickey, but Mickey nonetheless).

We decided to have the party when he woke up from his nap, so that we could decorate while he was sleeping and then he could be surprised. Well, his nap was a short-lived one and once he came downstairs he wanted to start in on the festivities...even though most of the guests had not arrived. Here he is trying to open his presents and the party hadn't even started yet:

We finally lured him outside to detain him until people could arrive.

Finally, the bouncy house we ordered arrived and the set up of it had Bradyn mesmerized and a bit scared. As a matter of fact, he never got in the bouncy house...luckily the other kids were thrilled by it and they were entertained all afternoon!

Then the gift opening began...paused...began again...paused...and began again. I say this, because Bradyn had to get each gift out of the packaging and play with it before the next gift was opened...needless to say it took a long time!! You can tell that family and friends know him so well...he LOVED every gift and now we need to get a new house with a 3 car garage, just to fit all of his new vehicles, sports equipment, and art supplies!

After a bit of dinner (and a diaper change), we moved on to the Mickey Mouse birthday cake! Bradyn was SO excited and he even blew out his candles! He thoroughly enjoyed his cake, so much that he forgot about his fork and hands and did a face plant bite into the frosting!

The long day ended with a very happy (and a bit overwhelmed) baby sleeping peacefully. The next day was like a party all over again as he discovered and played with all his new toys! Thanks everyone for making Bradyn's 2nd Birthday so special!

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

2009-06-24T22:09:00.002-06:00

Here's our little Muffin Man with his first baking experience. He is such a great helper and we made yummy banana bread. Then I found out that at daycare today, he made cupcakes for his birthday! I guess we have a little cook on our hands!

Like Father, Like Son

2009-06-21T09:42:00.004-06:00

Happy Father's Day!! Yay, we get to celebrate Papa!! And if we didn't have Bradyn, we wouldn't be able to do that!!! Mike is a wonderful father...sweet, caring, kind, fun, and the list goes on! The look that is on Bradyn's face when he sees his Papa is a testament to the kind of father Mike is!! And when Bradyn doesn't see his Papa, he's always asking for him! We've waited a long time to be parents and I always knew that fatherhood would suit Mike perfectly! Now that he is a father, he has not only stepped into that role, but embraced and flourished in it! Bradyn is blessed to have Mike as his Papa and I'm blessed to have him as my husband! Happy Father's Day Mike, we love you!

And of course, Mike has a wonderful role model, his Dad! Happy Father's Day Dave (Oompa), we love you!

And my Dad has always been my inspiration and rock! Happy Father's Day Dad (Oompa), we love you, too!!

Look Out Brett

2009-06-17T21:08:00.003-06:00

Will Brett Farve be seeking the quarterback position for the Green Bay Packers in the year 2028 or will he finally retire? Well, all we have to say is look out Brett...Bradyn Lee is getting ready! Go Green Bay or as Bradyn says "GO Gogoomba!!

Firsts....

2009-06-09T21:36:00.007-06:00

It's hard to believe that a month has gone by without me posting! Time flies when you are having fun and when you are sick. Bradyn seems to be building his immune system. After he finishes one daycare cold, he gets another!! In the meantime, we have had the chance to provide Bradyn with some more "firsts".

He went to his first baseball game. He didn't realize that he was supposed to sit and watch the game, he thought he was supposed to climb on the chairs and run around the bleachers. In his typical fashion, he enjoyed the ball park foods.

Bradyn went on his first overnight camping trip. He had a great time! He loved playing in the dirt, exploring, and throwing rocks in the river.

And of course...he had to enjoy his first S'more with his friends Anika and Kendal.

And we have another big first coming up soon! Bradyn will be having his very first American birthday party to celebrate him turning 2!!

Blessed Baby, Blessed Life

2009-05-10T20:14:00.004-06:00

We are so blessed! I can't tell you how many times I think this on any given day...but I think today I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for all the blessings in our life! First off, look at these two beautiful women...

they are beautiful inside and out and Mike and I are blessed with being able to call them Mom. Happy Mother's Day Moms...we love you!
Adding to the blessings...I get to be the Mama to a wonderful baby boy who has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives! The blessings continue as Mike and I acknowledge what caring and thoughtful families we have! And not only do we have so many wonderful friends, but there are so many people who have supported us through this amazing journey!
Today we celebrated Bradyn's baptism and what a day it was! Bradyn did a great job in church and kept both sets of Oombas and Oompas busy during the service. All in all he did really well during the baptism. Afterwards, Bradyn relished in all the attention that was lavished upon him from family and friends. We are so blessed!

A Week In Wisconsin

2009-05-08T21:43:00.003-06:00

Bradyn, Mike and I boarded a plane on Tuesday with Oomba and Oompa Taresh. We landed safely and tear-free in Minnesota and drove to Mike's hometown in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Oomba and Oompa Lee's. We made the voyage to Wisco so that Bradyn could get baptized in the church that Mike was baptized in. We are especially excited that it will happen on Mother's day with both sets of Grandparents and his soon-to-be Godparents Aunt Lora and Uncle Bob. Bradyn is beside himself with love, affection, and attention from both grandparents, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins! He has made himself right at home at Oomba and Oompa Lee's house! We've had a fun-packed week already visiting a cheese factory, an Eagle preserve, Oomba's work and Leinenkugels! More fun is in store for the remainder of the week...stay tuned!

Take Time to Stop and Smell the Roses

2009-05-04T20:33:00.008-06:00

Sometimes we all just need to stop...

and smell the roses (or tulips).

Or the bushes!

And if you just can't get enough of them...just grab the things!

So precious!

First Post Placement Report

2009-04-27T22:14:00.004-06:00

Our first post placement report should be in the hands of the Russian officials by tomorrow. April 28th marks 6 months that Bradyn has been in our arms. Russia requires follow up reports sent to them by our Social Worker. We have to do this after the first 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months. It is hard to believe that 6 months have already passed! Our social worker gave a very nice report on us and Bradyn won him over with his charm and good looks!

And what a handsome boy he is!! Here he is enjoying his first ice cream cone!! He used to say "ice cream" until he actually tasted it...now he calls it honey!

What A Week! And It's Only Wednesday!

2009-04-15T15:10:00.004-06:00

Our week began on Saturday night with Bradyn waking up in the middle of the night coughing and crying. He seemed miserable so we moved him into bed with us. He fell asleep for a bit but then woke up and threw up all over Mama! Which wasn't that big of a deal, but Mama was experiencing bodyaches and fever!

Easter Sunday morning came bright and early at 5:30 since Bradyn decided he didn't want to go back to sleep but would rather wake up Oomba and Oompa and play with them! He had lots of fun looking through both of his easter baskets, finding easter eggs and playing with cousins. He thinks that easter eggs are for throwing as opposed to collecting! (They do look like a ball!)

We all went to school and work on Monday, and when I picked Bradyn up from daycare he had a fever and a rash on his legs. I took him to urgent care and we learned that he has strep throat! Poor little guy! That means no daycare for at least 24 hours! Well, Mama HAD to go to work the next day and Papa HAD to make a daytrip out of town for work...so, we called Oomba T and she drove 2 hours to babysit Bradyn for us.

Tuesday was an exciting day for Bradyn, despite feeling crummy, as Oomba was here and he didn't have to go to daycare! Mama had to go to school because she is working on the 2nd grade program that will be performed in 2 weeks. While she was showing the students the dance steps, she came down on her leg the wrong way and pulled her muscle!! (I guess I'm not a BlazerDancer anymore!) Mama wasn't even able to drive home, let alone, walk! Luckily Oomba was here to help with Bradyn. Papa arrived home in the evening with a sore throat and bodyaches!!

Oomba stayed today to help out and then the snow came...looks like she will be staying another day!!

Despite the tough week, we are all managing. Here are some pics of Easter:

Our Little Reader

2009-04-07T20:42:00.004-06:00

Bradyn was running around playing with his usual full-force energy, then all of a sudden he grabs this book and a blanket and starts reading. Neither Mike or I knew that he was so interested in this chapter book!! He loves reading books, but this book took us by surprise!! He sure knows how to make his "avid reader" Papa and his "teacher" Mama so proud!

Bradyn Loves the "Chicks"

2009-03-29T21:13:00.009-06:00

We hatched 12 baby chicks in my classroom, so I was so excited to take Bradyn to see them! Here was his first response:

Then the next response:

This lasted all of 5 seconds...then he was off and running around my classroom. He finally decided to make his way back to the chirping sounds...

He decided that he REALLY liked the chicks. He liked them so much he just had to kiss them! Mama and Papa had to supervise, as Bradyn's love is very "enthusiastic"!

Daycare Battle Wounds

2009-03-22T21:36:00.004-06:00

Aside from the daily heartbreak from being left at daycare, Bradyn endured other wounds! One day he was scratched by another child because he wanted the toy Brady was playing with. He didn't put up with the scratching though, apparently he pushed the boy back. The next day, Bradyn took a toy from another boy and the boy bit Brady on the arm!! It left a pretty good bruise. I was excited to get a picture of Brady in his St. Patrick's Day outfit when I picked him up, but he was wearing his backup clothes that were black sweatpants and a white shirt. It seems that Brady had too many St. Patrick's Day goodies and he had a blowout in his diaper! So much for the cute picture and the St. Patrick's Day post on the blog! Finally the weekend came and you think the little guy could get some rest and relaxation in his safe home...but no, he fell and hit his ear on the corner of a side table. So, he has a black and blue ear. Then he scraped the back of his leg while trying to climb down the side of our deck. Poor little guy! He did get lots of extra love and attention though because he met his Great Uncle Dan and cousin Abbie, who he fell in love with! Uncle Dan and Abbie got Bradyn some new Air Jordan shoes so he can show the kids at the daycare who is Boss! Hopefully next week will be free of injuries!

Bradyn is also very excited about mealtimes because he is know sitting in the big boy chair at the dinner table.

TGIF!!

2009-03-13T20:17:00.005-06:00

We're going home?!

There's our car!!

Let's get out of here!!

You can tell from the pictures that Bradyn survived his first trial week of daycare!! He had a much better day today!! He even let them take his shirt off for lunch. He seems to be settling into daycare...just in time for the weekend. So, we'll have to start over on Monday!! In the meantime, we've got one happy camper that loves to be home!

No Poopka for the Daycare

2009-03-12T20:13:00.003-06:00

Well, Bradyn has survived another 2 days at daycare. Day 3 was great...Day 4 not so great! On Day 3 he cried for about 10 minutes and was fine after that. The daycare made a big mistake of telling me that I can call as often as I'd like...and I did! They thought it would be best if I left him for as long as possible to help him get in the routine of things. I guess he did fine, but I didn't! I was a mess...I didn't know what to do with myself, so I resorted to shopping and chocolate (the two things I knew best in my Pre-Bradyn days). It wasn't very fun shopping though because I was so worried about Brady. When I went to pick him up yesterday, the daycare was having a fire drill. Of course I panicked thinking he was freaking out, and then I saw him walking out, holding his teacher's hand. He looked so cute! Once we got home, he immediately went to the fridge and pointed to it. We had quite the hefty little snack and when he was done, he filled his shorts...not once but twice! It seems that he doesn't want to go poopka at the daycare.

Today was a rough day. When I was taking him there, he did great, almost seemed excited. But, when I left he supposedely cried off and on for an hour! Ugh! I kept him there through naptime again and the teacher said he was doing much better after awhile. She said that he ate 2 plates of food! They did sensory time again, but this time they didn't go to the scary tactile room...they stayed in his room. She let them play with shaving cream and she said he LOVED it. He kept signing and saying "more, more". When she was done she was wiping the table off and he came over with his blanket and helped her wipe off the table (using his blankie). He's such a good helper! He was relieved to be home again (literally and figuratively). He had 2 poopka diapers for me within the hour! As we were leaving today, we walked down the hallway and the teachers would all say "Good-bye Bradyn". He wouldn't do or say anything. Then we got outside and some random lady was walking by and Brady said "Bye-Bye". I guess he wanted to make sure we were really leaving before he said his good-byes. Only one more day left and then I start full-time next week. I have applied to the district to see if I can jobshare with another teacher for next year and go part time. Waiting to hear if it has been approved....keep your fingers crossed!

Day 2 Daycare Trial Run...

2009-03-10T21:06:00.002-06:00

Well, we stayed a little longer at daycare today. I stayed with him for an hour and then left for about 1/2 an hour. The teachers told me he did well, but then they took him down to the sensory room and he was not too happy about that. The sensory room is a big room with a drain and the kids get to do fun tactile activities, like play with rice, beans, whipping cream, water, etc. The kids dress down to diapers and then have fun. Today was rice day and I thought Bradyn may have liked that because he loves playing with rice at home. Unfortunately, I think it may have reminded him of bath time at the baby home and he cried uncontrollably. Luckily, I had come back during that time and was able to calm him down. We then stayed until lunch time. That didn't go over so well either. He kept getting bites of broccoli and carrots and his taste is just like Papa's...NO VEGGIES! So, we ended up eating another lunch at home. He does enjoy playing with the toys and enjoys the other kids. The other kids were all concerned about Bradyn and kept bringing him his Mickey Mouse toy. He even gave his teacher a hug goodbye today. So, hopefully tomorrow will continue to get easier.

Thank Goodness for Girl Scouts...

2009-03-09T20:53:00.004-06:00

Thank goodness for girl scouts because they deliver girl scout cookies and I consumed A LOT of them today! Why did I consume so many cookies? Stress!! Today was Bradyn's first day of daycare. I start back to work full time next week, but I wanted to slowly transition Bradyn into daycare this week. We went to daycare together and I played with him for about half an hour. He was doing great and having fun with his new friends and teacher. I went down to the office to pay and give him some independent time. When I came back he did great!! So, I figured, well, I will give him a little more time and I went out and sat in my car. I was probably gone for 15 minutes. When I came back in, I heard him crying. The teacher said that he noticed my purse was gone and he couldn't stop crying and looking for me. Yes, my heart broke! So, Bradyn and I returned home after our very short visit to the daycare. I know it will get easier for him as time goes by, but I wonder if it will get easier for me. The good news is that I know Bradyn is attaching to me, otherwise he wouldn't have been so upset. The bad news is that I will most likely gain a lot of weight from all those cookies!

Papa the Hero

2009-02-28T14:22:00.005-07:00

They say there are only two kinds of people in an emergency situation, those who help and those who don't. You never really know which one you are until you are presented with an emergency situation. Mike proved that not only is he one that helps, but he runs to the emergency.

We were enjoying our last day on the beach before we had to pack to leave. The beach was lined with red flags, which means danger...no swimming. We were enjoying the sun and listening to the huge waves crash. Tom and Marissa said they were heading back to the condo to get ready and Mike said we were staying another 15 minutes. Just after Tom and Marissa walked away, I heard someone yell "help" and I asked Mike if he heard it. We looked down into the surf and saw two people way out in the big surf. Then we both heard the yell for help again. Within seconds Mike threw his hat and glasses off, while I yelled at him "Don't go, don't go!" Mike said "I can't just leave them" and he was off running 100 yards down the beach and jumped in swimming out to help.

He swam out to the crashing waves and grabbed the woman from her husband and started swimming back to shore. He kept telling her "Hold on, help is coming". Another man on the beach had swam out to help, as well. Finally, lifeguards arrived and threw a buoy out. Mike got the buoy to the woman and pulled her in. I was on the beach panicking and crying. I couldn't see that Mike had made it back to the beach. Tom and Marissa had heard the screams and came back to see what was happening. They told me that they saw Mike and he was okay and they came and grabbed Bradyn. The lifeguard came over and shook Mike's hand. The woman that Mike saved came over to us and thanked Mike and apologized to me. Everyone was safe, although extremely fatigued and waterlogged.

Luckily, through all of this, Bradyn was oblivious to what happened, even though the rest of us were shaken up. It was a slow walk back to our beach chairs and once there, all the bystanders applauded Mike. Bradyn can be proud that his papa is a hero.

Where's the Water?

2009-02-27T06:45:00.004-07:00

Bradyn thinks he's the king of the beach, he has studied every inch of it! The truth of the matter is...if you are basing this on looks, he truly is the King of the Beach! Well, our little King of the Beach stumbled upon this jetski and realized it is like a motorcycle for the water! So, of course, he had to get on it and the engine revving sounds started coming!! Don't worry Oombas...the jetski never left the sand!

Surfer Dude

2009-02-25T17:40:00.002-07:00

Ready for the surfboard!

Hola!

2009-02-25T05:56:00.003-07:00

Hola from Cancun! We decided that, not only did Mike and I need some rest and relaxation but, Bradyn needed to experience the Ocean! So, here we are in Mexico soaking up the rays with our friends Tom and Marissa (well, some of us soaked up a little more rays than the rest…Tom is now called “Lobster Boy”).
Getting here was a bit of a stress…Bradyn started crying when we were heading down the tunnel to get on the plane, not sure if it brought back memories… Once we were in flight, he did great, and I think he may have actually enjoyed it! While we were in the air, I was trying to get him to say hola, but it didn’t happen. We landed and when we got in the taxi, the taxi driver said “Hola!” and clear as day, Bradyn said “Hola” back to him! He continues to impress the locals with his Spanish speaking abilities! Bradyn loves the sand, surf, pool, and has no fear! He isn’t too fond of the bus though…go figure, since all he talks about back home is the bus!! But when he is on the beach, there is no stopping him! He had his first taste of the sand (literally), as well as, a couple of face plants into it! So much fun in the sun!

One Happy Valentine

2009-02-17T14:35:00.003-07:00

Bradyn's Valentine's day was similiar to Christmas...it lasted over several days with lots of gifts from Oompa's and Oomba's (Grandpa's and Grandma's)! He has figured out what "presents" are and now when he sees a wrapped present, he points to it and says "Oompa, Oomba!" This holiday was a special one for us, considering this holiday is all about LOVE and this little guy is LOVED!! Not only did Bradyn get a lot of love for Valentine's Day, but he also indulged in chocolate! Yep...we paid the price come bed time!! And the numerous poopka diapers the following day!! All worth it though, to see that precious smile!

Bradyn's Synonyms

2009-02-13T12:19:00.006-07:00

Bradyn's vocabulary is developing quite well, but we are learning some very interesting synonyms he has created. Here's the list:
Clock = Neck
Cheeks = Jeep
Hockey = Yucky
Mouse = Mouth = Couch
Elbow = Elmo
Yes, we discovered these in the following way...every time we say "where's your neck?" he points to his neck and then the clock...mmm?? Or if he sees a clock, he points to his neck. Then whenever he sees a jeep (he can spot them a mile away!), he grabs his cheeks. When he sees hockey on the tv, he makes his yucky face...not because he doesn't like hockey! When we see a picture of a mouse, he points to his mouth. When he sees a picture of Elmo, he points to his elbow. As an educator, this is exciting, as this is an example of some very early stages of phonemic awareness...as a parent, it is quite confusing, but so adorable!!

BOO!!
One of Bradyn's favorite games to play is Boo! Basically, it is a hide-n-seek game. We chase him or he chases us and then we hide, when we are spotted, we say boo! When he plays the game with Papa, I help him out by pointing to where Papa is. Now, he has learned this, he will look to me and point questioning where Papa is. He has also noticed that when Mama and Papa play around the island in the kitchen, we have to duck down so he can't see us. So, of course, Bradyn has to duck now too! Failing to realize he is too short that he doesn't need to duck! Too cute!!

A Weekend of FIrsts...

2009-02-02T14:19:00.003-07:00

Bradyn's first "American" haircut. He wasn't quite sure why he was sitting in only his diaper, and he wasn't quite sure what was falling on his shoulders, but Bradyn took no time at all to enjoy his first haircut. It probably helped that Aunt Jody is one of his favorite people and she was the one cutting his hair. He did so good and sat relatively still for it! I had to laugh at one point though, because his hair looked just like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber. But look at the final result...so handsome!!! I will miss those baby curls, but I collected them for keepsake!

Bradyn's First Superbowl...well, he stuffed himself on munchies, just like everyone else on Superbowl Sunday! We had friends over to watch the big event and Bradyn spent his time doing everything EXCEPT for watching the game. At one point, he attempted to woo one of the little girls that was visiting by trying to kiss her. Yes, he is quite the charmer! Well, the Superbowl is over and even though the Packers weren't even close to being in it this year, we are ready for football season next year! Go Packers!

1st Painting

2009-01-28T20:23:00.001-07:00

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Bradyn enjoyed (kind of) his first attempt at fingerpainting. In true artistic form, he became a little frustrated with his work. But, alas, he ended up creating 2 beautiful pieces of artwork! His favorite color is boo (blue) and he kept asking for more and more boo!

One Word...

2009-01-22T13:24:00.002-07:00

DIMPLES!!

Bradyn Lou Who?

2009-01-17T13:45:00.003-07:00

Is this Bradyn Lou Who from Whoville and the Grinch or is it just the cutest little boy with the most precious bed head? Wouldn't you love to have your hair like this when you get up everyday? Actually, Papa and Oompa Taresh keep saying that Bradyn needs a haircut....but how can you cut such precious curls? I guess it will have to happen sooner or later.
Life with Bradyn has been such a joy! He has been adjusting so well to his new life. Each day he impresses us with another thing that he has learned!

Crusty Nose

2009-01-08T16:42:00.003-07:00

Well, I think we are finally getting over the cold. Bradyn's nose has stopped running, and now we have a crusty nose! I can also tell he is feeling better because today has been a day of pushing the envelope...he insists on testing me by doing the things he knows he's not supposed to. Today is my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom), and Bradyn told her on the phone "Happ Btee"! Oh yes, so endearing and impressive, then he went back to throwing his food on the floor! I think he knows he can get away with anything, especially when he flashes that dimpled smile! Even while he is pushing the envelope, he is still such a good baby!! Mike and I are continually amazed by him!

So Much to Celebrate!

2008-12-31T21:28:00.003-07:00

Happy New Year!! It is hard to say good-bye to 2008, with all the wonderful things that happened! In May, we saw pictures of our little guy and fell in love. In June, we met him for the first time! In October, we traveled back to Russia and became a family forever! In November, we brought him home! December was full of celebrating with family and friends. And now, January 2009...we look forward to the new year and all the new things that Bradyn will experience. Starting with the first New Year celebration. Complete with party hats, leis, and horns, Brady got to celebrate the New Year with his first American cold! Despite not feeling well, he enjoyed learning how to blow the party horn... All the fun was a bit too much and he was ready for bed by 8:00! So, Mama and Papa are bringing in the new year together with a little Guitar Hero, we'll see if we make it to midnight...I have a feeling us two new parents will be in bed well before the clock strikes! Hope your 2009 is filled with all you desire!

12 Days of Christmas

2008-12-25T21:43:00.004-07:00

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Now I finally understand the meaning behind the 12 Days of Christmas...Bradyn has been opening presents for 2 days now and we will be continuing the festivities tomorrow! This has been our best Christmas we've ever had, complete with our beautiful Bradyn and both sets of grandparents joining in the fun. Santa was successful in delivering an inflatable fire truck with play balls. Brady wasn't quite sure what to do with it, until Papa jumped in! Bradyn enjoys tearing little tiny bits of wrapping paper of the present, making sure EVERY piece is off before he looks at it. Then the joy of discovering the present, getting it out of the packaging, and then playing with it. Once the initial thrill of the toy has subsided, then he moves onto the box the gift came in...sitting on it, sitting in it, or pushing it around. He truly knows how to embrace and enjoy every aspect of every little thing. Oompa (Grandpa) and Oomba (Grandma) from both sides have made the day even more fun with lots of love, cuddles, kisses, oohs, and aahs. Bradyn soaks all of it up, laying on all the charm with those big blue eyes, and big dimples. We'll tackle the next round of gifts tomorrow, but for tonight the snow is blowing, while our little one is sleeping...we are so blessed. We hope you had a Merry Little Christmas yourself!!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2008-12-16T15:57:00.002-07:00

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Bradyn got to enjoy his first Utah snow! I say "first Utah snow" because we have no idea if he was ever able to go outside in the snow while he was at the baby home. But this was definitely a first with us and we all enjoyed the white stuff...even the sabakas got in on the action! Bradyn seemed to love it and didn't want to come back inside even though the rest of us were cold. I think skis will be in order for next season!

Oh Christmas Tree

2008-12-09T09:30:00.005-07:00

We drove to the local Christmas tree lot and picked out what we believe to be our best tree yet. Bradyn wasn't too keen on the whole idea....until we got home! Then it was pure excitement that we were bringing one of those green things into our HOUSE!! We couldn't keep him out of the tree while Mike tried to secure it down. Once it was decorated it wasn't all that interesting to him anymore, probably because the lights kept going out. After several blown fuses and many extension cords, we FINALLY have the lights figured out...and now he is interested again. Last night the three of us climbed under the tree and looked up to see all the lights. Now it is a constant struggle trying to keep him out of the tree. It doesn't help that the cat has taken up post under there! Oh Christmas Tree!!

A Fair Weather Fan?

2008-12-02T15:49:00.003-07:00

What is this? Our baby dressed in a 49ers outfit? It is true the Packers lost on Sunday and the 49ers won...but rest assured...Brady is still a Packers fan. So, why the outfit? That is what we keep asking. My brother, Dolan, is a 49ers fan, and he constantly tells Mike what horrible colors the Packers have. So, he got Brady the 49ers outfit. Look at the slideshow below...note the wrapping paper. Yes, he had it wrapped in Green Bay Packer wrapping paper...now, check out Mike's expression! The difficult part is that we can't get even with my brother. Every team hat he has ever worn, that team loses terribly that year...so, we can never get him a Packers hat!

Niners or Packers...Brady still looks adorable in them all!
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First Thanksgiving Dinner

2008-11-27T18:43:00.005-07:00

We discovered that Bradyn's favorite holiday (so far) is Thanksgiving...this makes sense, since this holiday involves lots of food. And if you have learned anything about Bradyn, it is that he loves food! Not only did he love the food today, but he wanted to feed himself! Actually, there was one thing he didn't like and surprisingly that was the turkey. The meal ended with Brady licking his plate clean. 2 hours later? Nananana...yep, that means more food!! Grandma and Grandpa Taresh got to join in the fun! Definitely a day of Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we have SO much to be thankful for! We are so blessed to have Bradyn in our lives. We are so blessed to have a loving family that supports us! We are blessed to have so many friends that cheer us on! Yes, we are so thankful for each and every person that has touched our lives and that includes everyone that reads this blog. So, please know that we are so thankful for all of you...many blessings to you!

First Zoo Experience!

2008-11-23T12:38:00.002-07:00

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Bradyn loves animals, so we thought we'd take him to his first zoo experience...he loved it! He really loved the monkeys and made "ooh ooh ooh" monkey noises. We thought we'd have to make it a quick trip, trying not to overwhelm him too much. But that wasn't a worry at all, we ended up seeing all of the animals. He even stayed in the stroller! Grandma Lee was able to enjoy the experience with us as she flew out from Wisconsin for her first visit with him. They have really enjoyed getting to know each other. My only disappointment of the day was that there wasn't any Kettlecorn available!! It will be fun to take him to the zoo again next year when it is warmer and he's a little bigger.

SuperDad!

2008-11-18T17:51:00.003-07:00

I always knew that Mike would make a wonderful father. Kids are always drawn to him! Now that he IS a father, he is everything I thought he would be AND more!! Brady adores him and gets so excited every time he sees him! In addition to having fun with Bradyn, he's also willing to get help out with the not so fun stuff! He changed 3 poopy diapers in one day and this was unsolicited from me! He helps with the meals and bathtime, too and always knows when Mama needs a few minutes to herself! Yep, Brady and Mama love our Mike!

We made our first road trip venture to meet aunts, uncles, and cousins! The 2 hour road trip there went smoothly. Then meeting my very large family went well! He was the center of attention and he absolutely loved the spotlight! We were worried that he would be overwhelmed and overstimulated, but he wasn't! The difficult part was the road trip home. He was great the first 15 minutes in the car and then screamed and cried the remaining hour and a half. We tried everything to console him, but it didn't work. When we were 15 minutes from home, he fell asleep. Needless to say Mike and I were the ones that were overwhelmed! When we got home, he had a big smile on his face and went and greeted all the animals, as if he hadn't cried for an hour and a half straight! All in all we were very pleased with the way the day went. I think he stole a few hearts that day!

Transitions…

2008-11-13T11:42:00.002-07:00

While we were waiting for Bradyn to come into our lives, we had lots of time to dream about parenthood. Our head was filled with Kodak moment images of big, happy smiles, and being dressed to the hilt in the cutest clothes. A Martha Stewart-esque home with big bouquets of flowers everywhere and beautifully presented gourmet meals. You know…the picture of the beautiful family in the photo frame that you bought at the store.

Fast forward to reality…yes, we have Kodak moment images of Brady, but heaven forbid a camera to be pointed in my direction! A shower is a coveted act now and if a shower does happen, my hair still looks a mess! No such thing as a Martha Stewart home when you have a layer of dog fur on the floor because you don’t have time to vacuum. And the beautifully presented meals? What was I thinking…I couldn’t even boil eggs before Bradyn, why did I think I would magically turn into a gourmet cook once we had a baby?

Yes, reality…it is actually more beautiful than what we dreamed. Despite the lack of personal care, Bradyn still comes to me and Mike still loves me. The dog fur…Bradyn likes to pick up little piles and bring them to me, so little by little that is being taken care of. As far as the food goes…I’ve actually cooked meals every night this week, it may not look good or taste good, but we are all eating! The best part is laying my head down at night, seeing a precious little face peacefully asleep, and Mike and I looking at each other with nothing but gratitude in our eyes. The added bonus…hearing my boys snoring in harmony.

AND...this photo is proof that not all perfect Kodak moments have to be big smiles...isn't he beautiful?

A Week In Review

2008-11-10T10:29:00.005-07:00

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I don't quite remember a whole lot from our first week home as I was suffering from jetlag and extreme dehydration or I may have caught a bug. So, everything was a bit of a blur the first few days. I don't know how I would have survived last week without Mike and my Mom, but I'm feeling much better now.

We were finally able to bathe Bradyn once we got home. In Moscow, our hotel room didn't have a tub and the sink was too small for our hefty 23 pound, 16 month old! So, we had to wait until we got home to brave the bath ritual. We feared that he'd scream constantly like he did with the last bath, but the kid has got to be cleaned! So, Mike came up with a great idea to let him play in the tub without water and make it really fun. Genius! It worked! We spent some time playing in the tub during the day and then that evening we filled the tub with toys and bubbles. We played with the toys before we got in and next thing we know, he's wanting to get in! He splashed and laughed and tried to slide around! He loves it!! Yay!

The next day, while Mike was at work, Bradyn filled his pants with, you guessed it, poopka!! Poopka was everywhere and he decided he'd help me by grabbing at himself! Oh boy! My solution was to give him a bath...especially since he loves baths! So, I had my mom hold his hands while I ran and filled the tub. Well, we have one of those handy plastic tub spout covers that go over the water spout so he won't hit his head. I failed to notice that it had turned and the water spout was covered, so all the water that was supposed to be going in the tub, was shooting backwards and pouring all over the floor. It took me a second to realize what happened...which added more water to the floor. My wet socks finally made me realize what was wrong! Finally the tub was filled and I ran to get my poopy boy. He was thrilled to see it was bathtime and all was well again...until, he started crying to get out within minutes. So, I got him out started drying him off and then he started peeing all over the already wet floor!! Once he finished he wanted to get back in the tub...I guess swimming pools will love us!

Other special moments...Papa had to start back to work and we said bye-bye to him in the morning. The rest of the day, whenever I would talk about Papa, Bradyn would wave bye-bye. Once Mike got home from work, he was SO excited to see him and practically leaped out of my arms to get to him!

Neenee, our cat, is the big obsession. He talks about her while he's eating, when he wakes up, while he's playing and so on. Luckily, Neenee is really great with him and puts up with the obsession.

Machinas...boy does he love cars! We were worried that he wouldn't like the car seat, considering he had never been in one before. He loves it though...I think just the fact that he gets to be in a car, he'll put up with anything.

He experienced our backyard for the first time, and we believe it was his first experience with grass. He was thrilled! He ran and ran and ran and giggled and giggled some more!

Papa taught Bradyn how to do high five for his first Packer game. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do it very often during the game, but he's got it down! He looked so cute in his Packer jersey!

Now, it's on to week 2 and so far so good! Life is good!

Home Sweet Home

2008-11-08T20:57:00.006-07:00

There's no place like home! We arrived home last Sunday night to a nice clean house that was decorated for our arrival and a home cooked meal! Thanks to Mom, Dad, and my sister Tami. Our day of traveling was long and exhausting...during our 29 hours of travel and layovers Mike got about 10 minutes of sleep and I got about 30 minutes. Bradyn did pretty well for it being such a long day, but there were quite a few tears, mainly when we tried to change diapers! We discovered that he will only go poopka in his diaper if it is clean and dry. We learned this on our flight to SLC from Chicago on a tiny airplane. He had a wet diaper, so I walked down the narrow aisle knocking people in the heads, finally getting to the bathroom only to learn that there wasn't a changing table tray. He was screaming and crying as I tried to figure out what to do, alas, we changed the diaper standing up! We made the trek back to our seats, got buckled in, and you guessed it...poopka! Back down the aisle! Oh well, at least we were on the flight and it was our last leg home. Our layover in Chicago was only 2 hours and we had to go through customs, recheck our luggage, immigrate Bradyn as a US citizen (which we were told would take at least 45 minutes), and make it to the domestic terminal! It was a close call, but there was nothing that was going to keep us off that plane!

So, the big question has been "How will Bradyn do with the dogs?" I think this picture answers that question...

He was SO excited to see the dogs and continues to be! He really loves the cat and spends his days saying "ow, ow"...which we think means "meow". The dogs were a little jealous at first, but now they've learned that Brady is a walking treat dispenser and they follow him constantly!

Our transition home has gone fairly well, although we've hit a few bumps in the road. My Mom stayed with us for the week, which was a HUGE help for me, especially since Mike went back to work. Thanks for everything Mom! Oh, it is so nice to be home!

Somebody's Ready to Come to the USA!

2008-11-01T10:16:00.004-06:00

Yes, that's our boy inside the suitcase!! While Mike and I tried to pack our bags, Bradyn decided he would help by unpacking and climbing inside the suitcase. We had another busy day today registering Bradyn at the Russian Consulate. Then we went to the infamous Arbat Street for some shopping. Obviously we looked like tourists, because we were suckered into buying a drawing from an artist. We were fussing over Brady and the artist walked over and started drawing a picture of him. Yep, we are new parents, we spent WAY more than we should have for the drawing but it was just SO cute! Well, tomorrow is the big day, we leave our hotel at 4:00am and fly for 3 hours; layover for 4 hours in Frankfurt; fly to Chicago for 9 1/2 hours; 2 hour layover in Chicago; and then fly to SLC for 3 1/2 hours. Chicago will be the official place where Bradyn becomes a US citizen once the plane lands on US soil. It will be pretty hectic to make our connection. We have 2 hours to immigrate him, as well as going through customs ourselves. We are praying that we can do all that and make it to our gate in time. Needless to say, we look forward to seeing our family, friends, and our animals! We are also longing for some good american food and our own comfortable bed!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T13:52:00.003-06:00

We are undecided on the Halloween Costume...which do you think? Green Bay Packer or Ralph Lauren Model? Well we are safe and sound in Moscow with 2 sick boys and 1 exhausted new mama. Despite the runny noses, Mike and Bradyn are getting in lots of playtime! As a matter of fact, we all woke up at 2:00am this morning and didn't nap until 4:00pm...yes jetlag is tough on a little 16 month old, for that matter it is tough on us all. We were starving as we waited for the restaurant to open for room service. Brady had a lot of snacks while waiting and that didn't prevent him from eating all his breakfast. He can't seem to get enough food...it feels as though he has been eating all day!! We were able to see red square this morning, although it was fast because it was windy and cold. What amazing architecture! We headed over to the US Embassy to do the paperwork there and we were told that he is officially a member of our family. There were a lot of families there waiting to do the same. I even ran into an email friend and finally got to meet her! It's a small world after all! Now for bragging time...he is so smart... already learning and saying papa and mama appropriately. He gets his own bib on, as well as telling us when he is hungry (all the time). He even cleans up proudly on his own...we've never asked him to clean up. The plane ride went very well! He was sound asleep during take off and landing and endured the 9 hour flight across 7 time zones. Now only 3 more flights on Sunday and we will be home Sunday evening SLC time. We love Russia but look forward to being home!

Life as Parents

2008-10-29T05:25:00.002-06:00

Here is a photo that we took on the "Fog, a Shovel, and a Cookie" day.

Mike and I slept on both edges of the bed last night as our little one tossed and turned. I wasn’t able to fall asleep from all the excitement and Mike wasn’t able to stay asleep, waking up at 3:30 am. We both relished in the little sucking sounds Bradyn made. He sucks his first two fingers, while rubbing a pink hankie from the baby home on his face. Our morning call began with the smell of overloaded diaper. So, a bath was in order, however, he DOES NOT like baths even though he loves playing in the bathroom. The bath lasted about 2 minutes and then a struggle to get him dressed. Once he was dressed, the tears stopped and he was off playing! Breakfast is a favorite time, as well as, snacks, lunchtime, dinnertime, and car rides. After breakfast we had to go and pick up his passport and take him to the doctor. The doctor wanted us to take his clothes off…yeah right…we just got his clothes on!! (Remember, Russian culture has you dress babies with MANY layers). We all survived the doctor visit and then we were off to get his passport. What a treasure his passport is!! We returned to the hotel for lunch and lots of playing. Mike is getting sick, so he decided to take a little nap, but Bradyn wouldn’t let him. Brady would open the door to the bedroom and wave paka to Mike, over and over again. So adorable! The evening time became a struggle, as Brady isn’t feeling well either. Hopefully the boys will be feeling better tomorrow because we leave Vladivostok for Moscow. Each day brings us closer to home.

GOTCHA!!!

2008-10-28T05:42:00.002-06:00

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Introducing Bradyn Michael Lee, OUR sweet little boy. He was born in June 2007 and now he is in our arms forever. There were tears at the baby home, but getting him ready went quickly. Soon we were in the car (machina) and he really enjoyed the ride. There were some tears at the beginning of the ride, but pretty soon we heard him munching on the cookie we gave him. Next thing we know he is playing games with Papa in the car and really enjoying himself, even making machina sounds. It took a little while to get used to the hotel room, but then it was time for dinner and boy does he love food AND juice!! More food is expressed by the terms "Nananana", along with some fingering gestures. We even had some big smiles after dinner time. Then we attempted a bath…oh boy! That didn’t go over so well, as a matter of fact it didn’t go at all! Just getting the diaper changed and putting jammies on was absolute torture to him…at least that is what the other people staying in the hotel must have thought. Now, he is cuddled between us in bed and dreamland is quickly approaching. The Green Bay jammies look adorable on him, but he is too tall! So, we had to cut the feet off in the 18 month size!!

As far as Mike’s day in the city…it was all business (as usual). They were stuck in traffic most of the time and drove from place to place getting all the documents that we needed. No Russian bathhouses this time! It has been a long and emotional day for all of us, and now the only sound we hear is sweet baby breaths and all is well...Thank you God!

ANTICIPATION....

2008-10-27T20:42:00.002-06:00

Oh boy!! Today is the big day!! Mike is with our facilitator getting the adoption certificate, birth certificate, and court decree. He left at 8:30 this morning and it is now 12:45. I was told that I would be staying behind at the hotel. Hopefully Mike isn't at some Russian bathhouse having to jump in ice cold water after taking shots of vodka. We highly doubt this is the case, but it is just the 2 of them...no interpreter!! Meanwhile, I stayed behind at the hotel and moved rooms to a suite, so that we have a kitchenette area, living area, and crib. He definitely won't be sleeping in the crib...I wouldn't even put our cat in it, as it looks like it will fall apart just by looking at it. Nonetheless, it is nice to have the extra space for Bradyn, even though we will only be here for 2 more nights. Now, I am frantically pacing, knowing that the biggest change of our life is only an hour and a half away. They are supposed to be picking me up anytime now. Pictures will be posted when we get back to our room and settled...settled is the key word. We are expecting quite the emotional ride home to the hotel as this will be his first car ride ever. Tears or no...we just can't wait to see that little face again...and this time it is forever!!

Day in Vlad

2008-10-26T17:41:00.002-06:00

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We got out of our hotel room yesterday and braved the train to Vladivostok. We went with another adoptive father, which really helped, as he had visited downtown Vlad before. He had never ridden the train, so that was a new experience for all of us. It was a beautiful ride, the train travels right along the bay. Once we got there, we walked around getting lots of pictures and experiencing the culture. Whenever we are with our facilitator...it is all business and no time for taking pictures. So, we were glad that we were able to see Vlad from a tourist viewpoint. We even got a picture of the outside of the courthouse. We spent about 5 hours sightseeing (including train rides), so it really helped our wait time go by. We had a great meal (Italian...I know, we aren't very brave trying out traditional Russian cuisine). Then we headed back. Catching the train to Vlad was easy, but we were not very sure of our return trip. There were 4 platforms to leave from, and we had no idea which one to go on. I was able to use some of my basic Russian and asked a local if we were on the right train. She was helpful and said we were on the right train, and we were back to our hotel safe and sound.

Getting Closer

2008-10-24T04:46:00.001-06:00

The days are slowly going by while we wait for that 11th day. The last 2 days have been filled with a whole lot of nothing! It is especially difficult when the internet goes down and the same shows are repeated over and over and over again. We spent today coordinating with my Mom to have her fax us copies of our last 3 years of taxes. We weren’t aware that we needed these, so Mom was a lifesaver to drive 2 hours and 2 different places to fax them to us. We also did laundry today…I know, not very exciting, huh? Luckily, Mike and I are best friends and we enjoy each other’s company. Especially considering we haven’t been apart from each other for the last 2 weeks straight. We are starting to get a little loopy though, things are either very amusing to us, or not amusing at all! We are going to take the train to downtown Vladivostok on Sunday with another adoptive couple. We are looking forward to that, not only to see more of the city, but to fill our day. We are sad that two other families are leaving that we have met here. They were here on their 1st trip and we really enjoyed visiting with them. Well, it is time to start our nightly showing of “Lost”. Only 4 more sleeps!

Waiting…again!

2008-10-22T01:34:00.000-06:00

Today was the last time we were able to see Bradyn until our “Gotcha Day”. That means 5 days ahead of us trying to figure out what to do in our hotel room. Bradyn was very upset when he was brought into the room today. Every time a caregiver would try and distract him, he would get even more upset. The only thing that seemed to console him was holding him close and walking back and forth. Easy enough, however, he has no idea how to sit on my hip and wrap his legs. We think this is because they aren’t held very often. So trying to hold 23 pounds with stiff legs was a bit of a challenge for my weakling arms! Meanwhile, Mike was filling out paperwork for the embassy with our facilitator. We think they are trying to get as much done here, so when we go to Moscow we won’t have as much to do. The caregivers were decorating the room we were in for their fall celebration tomorrow. Bradyn would keep looking at them and then start crying. Finally, they left and he was able to settle down. We showed him the photo of our dogs again, and amidst the sniffles he was able to muster “Buh-ba-ba” (Sabaka). He spent the rest of the time on our laps playing with the toys we gave him. He especially loved looking into the diaper bag and taking out the toys…then putting them back…then taking them out, and so on. It is common for Russians to wear the same outfit a couple of days in a row, such is the case with Bradyn’s outfit the last 2 days. Yesterday, he was wearing red tights, with tight blue shorts over the top and a purple shirt. We thought he looked like a hockey player ready for practice. To add to the hockey look, he had a cut on his nose because he had climbed onto table and it fell on him. To help the cut heal they put the purple paste on it, so it looked like he had a big bruise between his eyes. He makes an awfully cute hockey player! Today he was wearing the same outfit, but his tights were pink, and his blue shorts looked like a leotard, so I thought he looked like a ballerina, regardless, he is absolutely adorable.

Now, we are sitting in our hotel room watching old episodes of Northern Exposure, drinking Orange Fanta, and eating cheese crackers. Obviously Scrabble and Cribbage will be our favorite pastime the next 5 days. It helps that there are several other families that are here right now, so it is nice to commiserate on our wonderful journeys.

A Nose is a nose is a nose!

2008-10-20T21:34:00.002-06:00

It’s amazing what you will allow someone to do when you love them so much!! Bradyn was fascinated with Mike’s nose today and insisted on sticking his finger in it. We found this quite humorous and obviously allowed him to continue to do it. Today was a much better day for him emotionally. He whimpered a couple of times, but the rest of the time he was content, we even got 1 smile out of him! He sat on our laps, and at times reclined, while we entertained him. We have some toys cars for him and Mike & I drove the cars around making noises with our lips. Soon enough, Bradyn was driving them and making the same noise…he’s so smart! His caregiver gave him a hankie to have in one hand today, and the other hand had a toy. He obviously has to have both hands full to feel safe. We would try and wipe his nose for him with a Kleenex and he would grab his hankie and wipe his own nose…what a little gentleman! Today he was sucking his 2 fingers and we figured we would try a pacifier. He had no idea what to do with it (they wean them from bottles at a very early age). He kept trying to bite the nipple off and he had it turned the wrong way. Then we showed him the photo album we brought which kept him amused for 1/2 an hour! We have pictures of Sierra and Eiger in it and he got SO excited when he saw that page. He started moving his fingers like he was petting them. We kept pointing to the pictures and saying “Suh-ba-ka”, he caught on really fast and started pointing to them and saying “Buh-ba-ba”. He got many praises from mama and papa for that. So, he kept doing it. Then we had pictures of his grandmas and we’d point and say “Babushka” and then he’d point and say “Dad”….yes, our chid is bi-lingual! We enjoyed our time together immensely. Our translator walked in and asked him in Russian if he was ready to eat lunch, he jumped off our laps and took off running out of the room, around the corner, and when I caught up to him he had his body pressed against the door to his baby room. He obviously loves food. We learned today that he is the youngest in this room, but he is the tallest and biggest. So, we left the baby home and went to the baby store and stocked up on some food for when we get him…and he may have even gotten a few more toys. Tomorrow we get to see him again…stay tuned

Fog, a shovel, and a cookie

2008-10-19T21:02:00.001-06:00

Today began with a blanket of fog everywhere! We weren’t able to see a thing, except for the cars that we were passing at 60 miles per hour on a two-way road. So, I guess the only weather left to experience would be snow…please, please let it snow! Upon arrival at the baby home, our translator told us that we were going to get Bradyn’s passport picture taken today. She told the caregivers to prepare him for going outside, which meant several layers of clothing, a coat, a hat, and snow boots. (Keep in mind his feet never touched the ground, nor was there any snow considering it was 50 degrees outside). In addition to the many layers of clothing, his ensemble consisted of a plastic toy shovel in one hand and a zwieback cookie that was about the size of my arm in his other hand. Today’s visit was a difficult one for him. He wasn’t too happy to be leaving the baby home, even though we only had to walk 2 blocks to get his picture. Trying to get his picture was another feat in itself…he cried big crocodile tears the whole time. He didn’t want me to set him down in the chair, so I had to try and hide behind him so that I wouldn’t be in the picture. Despite the tears, his passport picture is awfully cute! Then we made the trek back to the baby home, where we tried to take off his coat, but we had to take the shovel and the cookie out of his hands…he didn’t like that. More crocodile tears. He didn’t want to be set down or held while sitting down…he only wanted Mommy to stand and hold him close. Every person that walked in to the room would set him off into fear and whimpering again upon which he would cling even tighter. The encouraging thing is that he clings to us, but our hearts break knowing that he is having a hard time understanding what is happening to him. The rest of our visit was spent rocking and soothing him, definitely no interest in playing. When it was time to go, we were able to go into the entry of his room and ask his caregivers some questions about his schedule, foods, naps, etc. While we were there, several little ones had to come and see who we were and say hello. Bradyn was upset when we returned him to the room, but he managed to go through his typical routine and walked over to sit on the bench where they take their shoes off. While he was heading over to the bench, he dropped the enormous cookie that he never took a bite of and quickly picked it up. He is so very precious. We learned that we will be returning again tomorrow and again on Wednesday…which we are so excited that we will have consistent days of seeing him. Our worry is that Wednesday will be the last time we see him before we pick him up the following Tuesday and that will be a long stretch of time. We know that final day will be full of tears. Now I’m off to take a bath and soak my arm muscles! So looking forward to tomorrow!

Vlad in the Fall

2008-10-18T17:37:00.003-06:00

Beautiful, isn’t it? We spent the first day celebrating as parents with a little R & R…well, kind of. We woke up at our usual 4:30 in the morning and watched the two English channels that we get, as well as some Russian Hockey. We lounged around most of the day, even getting a bath in! That got us to about 10:00 in the morning…we soon realized that our wait to see Brady is going to take awhile. We tried to get in a game of tennis, they have courts, rackets, and balls at our hotel. Unfortunately, we weren’t ever able to get on because there were some locals using the courts. When we returned the rackets 10 minutes later, the front desk inquired as to why we played so quickly…we told them why and they adamantly offered to kick off the people that were playing. Both Mike & I quickly denied their offer…we imagined what it would be like having some rather stoic Russians glaring at us as I’m running around the court (most likely tripping) and not able to get the ball over the net…no thanks, we can wait! So, instead we walked to the beach and the local mini-market. The beach wasn’t as crowded as it was last time we were here, so it was nice to enjoy the surroundings. Thanks to a little woolite and the bathroom sink, I was able to do some laundry. Then we squeezed in a nap. All these events got us to about 4:00. So, several cribbage games, scrabble, and watching the Office (DVD’s) filled the remainder of the day. Mike had spaghetti for dinner and I had chicken wings, then it was time for several episodes of Lost.

Now, it is Sunday and pouring down rain…thunder and lightning as well! Life is good! (If you don’t know us…we love rain, snow, clouds, etc.) So, it looks like a day of being inside. So far we’ve had breakfast and even worked out this morning! Yes…it was a little difficult. As most of you know…I am allergic to exercise….okay, okay, maybe not allergic, but it definitely is not on the top of my most favorite things to do. I think it will become part of our routine, mainly to fill up the days, and I have to build my arm muscles. My arm was SO sore after holding Bradyn the other day. I can’t wait to hold him again!! We get to see him tomorrow and we’re hoping he won’t be woken from his nap. Tomorrow we get to say “Ya dvaya Mama, sigda” (I am your Mommy forever) and “Ya dvoy, Papa, sigda” (I am your Daddy forever).

Sorry this is so long-winded…just trying to fill up the day! Missing everyone already!
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It’s Official!!

2008-10-17T01:57:00.002-06:00

We have officially been named the parents of Bradyn Michael Lee! After an hour and a half of grueling courtroom proceedings, sweating bullets, and on the verge of passing out, we were given parental custody. After all the court formalities, we were asked to wait in the hall for the judges decision…it was at most a 2 minute wait, but it felt like 5 years!! The ten day waiting period was not waived, so we will get to pick him up on the 28th and he will be ours forever!!! In the mean time we will get to visit him three times, and we will be celebrating our wonderful news! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers…we definitely felt it!!

Reunited

2008-10-16T04:03:00.000-06:00

After much anticipation, the moment that we have been waiting for happened this morning. We saw that sweet precious face again! We rode what seemed like the longest hour of our lives to the baby home, and spent 2 hours with Brady. We could hardly contain ourselves as we waited for that door to open. Finally, the door opened and in walked big blue eyes wearing blue corduroy pants, a blue plaid shirt, and a blue vest. His skin was bright and beautiful, but his bottom lip was sticking out. He was woken from a nap for our visit, so we was little crabby. He came over to us but wasn’t that impressed. He kept rubbing his eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. During our visit, another adoptive parent was visiting her baby, so we shared the same room. I think it was comforting to Bradyn knowing his buddy was sharing a similar experience. The caregiver left him with us, but he whimpered a bit, so our translator held him. Even though we felt for bad for him, we were still elated to have him back in our arms again and we couldn’t stop smiling! During the 2 hour visit, we met with the social worker and doctor again. They reviewed the information from our last visit with some updates…preparing us for court. During this time, Bradyn sat on our laps trying to figure everything out. The social worker commented on how he looks just like us! It will be nice having her in court! By the time the 2 hours was over he had warmed up to us again. He enjoyed cuddling into us and even preferred us to the translator. What a special treat to have before going to court. The 2 hours passed by quickly, and then it was time for lunch and naptime. We were able to catch up on some of our jetlag and spent the evening reviewing his information so that we are prepared for court. Our coordinators will pick us up at 1:30 tomorrow and court begins at 3:00. Stay tuned…

Back in Vlad!!

2008-10-15T00:16:00.002-06:00

We arrived today in Vlad, safe and sound, after spending the night in Seoul, South Korea. When we checked in this morning to fly out, the airlines were concerned that some of our luggage wouldn't make it. We arrived in Vlad, and all 3 bags were there!! Yay...all our gifts, donations, and clothing made it!

We are now ready for bed and it is only 5:00 in the evening...so, we'll try and endure the jetlag so we can get adjusted to this time zone. Tomorrow? Off to see Brady...we can hardly wait!!

A Snowy Sendoff

2008-10-12T22:19:00.003-06:00

The icing on the cake!! What better way to send off two snow-lovers, than 6 inches of snow in our front and backyard!!

We are READY...with thanks to our fabulous family and friends!! Not only do we have 3 bags packed (1 of which is overweight by 26 pounds), 2 carry-ons ready, visas in our pockets, but we have a spotless house that is baby-ready. We have also managed to finish the basement project we started!! Our animals will be well taken care of (thanks Ian)! We've said our good-byes...thanks to everyone for all your best wishes! So, now in the wise words of the Beasley's "We leave as a couple and will return as a family".

Das Va Danya! (Good Bye)...Keep reading for more updates!

A Whirlwind of Excitement!!

2008-10-08T03:03:00.003-06:00

I'm WIDE awake at 3:00 in the morning...can't tell that I'm excited, right? Since I'm awake I thought I'd document our whirlwind of excitement! We got the call at 10:35 in the morning..."I have your court date, but I don't know if it's going to work"...those were the words I heard from our agency. Then she informed me that our court date is on October 17th, with the problem being that it usually takes 2 weeks to get a visa. October 17th is only 10 days away, which seems like it should work, however, COURT is ON the 17th, that means that we need to be IN COUNTRY well before then! As I'm listening to those words I've longed to hear, my head reeling with excitement, I realized that I have my class of students wondering why in the world I'm on the cell phone!! So, I told her she had to call Mike. I immediately called Mike first and gave him the good news, both of us SO excited, yet fearing that we may not get the visas in time. Mike then talked to our agency and she gave him the number to get the visa. He called her and her words were "There's NO WAY you will get visas in time!" Yeah right...does she realize who she is talking to? So, plan B...Mike calls another place that issues visas and for an expedited fee we can get our passports on Saturday!! Meanwhile, I'm in my classroom, trying to be an effective teacher, wondering if we are going to get this court date!! Finally at 12:00, Mike calls me and tells me that we have visas coming!! Thank you God!! TAnd thank you Mike for doing all the legwork! Next hurdle...getting a flight on such short notice...I'm still in a state of shock, not sure what to do next, and trying to teach math to my students (a challenge for me in itself). 2:45...I get an email from Mike with our flight itinerary!! Is my husband awesome, or what?! And all this is happening while Mike is still working! I think our agency is even in shock that we were able to make this all happen! So...next steps....
Leave SLC Monday October 13th
Arrive Vlad Wednesday October 15th
Court Friday October 17th
10 day waiting period in country
11th day - Gotcha Day
Head to Moscow for paperwork!
Bring Bradyn Home!!

Wait...HURRY UP!! HURRY UP!! We have dates!

2008-10-07T16:17:00.003-06:00

YES!!! We have a court date!!!!!! Not only do we have a court date, it is a week away!!! Got the call today and we were able to get our visa processed in enough time and we even got our flights!!! We leave on Monday the 13th!! Ready or not Bradyn...Here we come! Gotta go pack!

Run In the Rain

2008-10-03T18:16:00.004-06:00

I received this email from my mom today...and in true "Mom" fashion, she must have known exactly what I needed to hear. I have no idea who the author is, but I give credit to whomever they are.

Run in The Rain
A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in "Mom let's run through the rain," she said. "What?" Mom asked. "Lets run through the rain!" she repeated. "No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,"Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom,let's run through the rain,". "We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.
"No, we won't, Mom.. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. "This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?" "Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'" The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

I guess this email was poignant for me, as I have spent so much time just wishing my time away wanting to hurry through the days...failing to realize that even though Bradyn isn't with us yet, each and every day is a time to make memories. I spend so much time wishing for the future that I'm not enjoying the present. So, from this day forward...memory making moments! I think I may even run in the rain...tomorrow we're supposed to get rain!

Twice Tagged!!

2008-09-30T20:37:00.006-06:00

Looks like I've been tagged twice! So, the rules are:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
Amy
Nancy
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random facts about yourself.
4.Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the taggers know when your entry is up.

Even though I've been tagged twice, I'm not going to give 12 random facts...6 will have to do (although I'm pretty sure I could come up with 12). So...random facts....

1. My first date with Mike was a blind date, double date...with MY PARENTS!! To make matters even more embarassing I was 32 years old! This was after my parents spent the 5 prior years trying to set us up! (I should've listened to my parents, a long time ago!)

2. My feet are constantly dry and scaly...despite all attempts to make them soft!! Random...I know!

3. I HATE HATE HATE talking on the phone!! I don't like to answer it, I don't like to talk on it, I don't even like to hear it ring!! Funny how life changes have forced me to stare at the phone trying to force it to ring!!! If only...

4. I have the best parking karma ever! I always get the best parking spots! The flip side...I hit EVERY single red light!

5. I used to be a Portland TrailBlazer Dancer. I used to be embarassed admitting this, but now I LONG to be able to fit into those outfits again!!

6. And for the most embarassing fact... I seem to give my pets numerous nicknames...and they each have their own personal theme song that I sing to them! (If you know me, this is VERY embarassing as I CANNOT sing at all!!)

Now it's time to tag 6 others:
Marissa
Joanne
Gillian
Sandy
Stephanie
Ineke

Hurry up and W..A...I...T...!

2008-09-26T20:43:00.012-06:00

Hurry up and wait...hurry up and wait...hurry up and wait! Such is the life of international adoption. We thought we had finished our final cycle of "Hurry Up" and that we were just in the last "Wait" phase...when we got a call from our agency saying that the judge was requesting another Home Study update (yes...that would be 2 updates, now). Needless to say, I thought the world was coming to an end. Luckily, Mike was optimistic saying "At least we know the judge has looked at our papers and they aren't sitting in the corner". True, true...so, with the help of Mike and my family, I pulled myself together and pressed on and entered the next round of Hurry Up...except of course--we had to wait. Our social worker was out of town. Finally... we got the update yesterday (hurry up, hurry up!) and we were excited that Mike would be able to take it to get it apostilled at the Capitol today (hurry up, hurry up!). We decided we'd go ahead and pay the $60 per page apostille fee for our 6 new documents (hurry up, hurry up), just so we could get the documents sent off and it might get Brady home quicker. So, Mike made the trek up the capitol stairs (hurry up, hurry up!) and low and behold, the governmental offices are now working 4 - 10 days....yes, that means they were closed today!! (Is that the sound of screeching brakes?) Ah yes...time to wait...and wait...and wait.... This means we won't be able to send the papers until Monday, which is really Tuesday in Russia...factor in the travel time, and translating time and what do you get? Yes, MORE "wait, wait, wait". Am I cynical? Maybe...I guess it was time...I've experienced every other emotion possible on this journey...why not cyncism?

So, we have immersed ourselves in other activities to keep our minds and hearts from screaming...
I've decided to get back into ballet classes. It has been wonderful, but I can barely walk right now. I guess I should have taken it easy my first day back, but of course not, I had to go full steam ahead and I've been sore since!
Mike's project has been finishing a room in our basement, complete with wiring (Thanks Dolan), sheetrocking (Thanks Larry, Tom, and Ian), and now mud and tape (thanks Tom!). Looking good, isn't it?
We've also been excited that The Office is back on!! (And Survivor & the Amazing Race). All of these things have helped keep our minds busy, but I don't think anything will ease that ache of missing Bradyn...

Third Times A Charm...Right?

2008-09-21T15:30:00.004-06:00

Can you say 3 showers?? Yes, we've had 3 showers!!! We are blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives, who care for us so much! On Friday, my 2nd Grade team of Teachers threw me a baby shower! I'm so lucky to work at a school that has such supportive, caring, and wonderful people! Everyone was so generous, and once again I am overwhelmed by the excitement, care, and support of SO many people! These are the people who see me, day in and day out, and experience on a daily basis, the range of emotions that I go through since I started this journey. They've given me hope when I wondered if I'd ever get a referral. They've shared in my exhuberant excitement when I finally got the call to meet our little one. And now, they hold me up, when I think I can't go on with another day of waiting! Thanks to all of you! To add to the excitement of the day, my Mom and sister, were in town and came to the shower with me. It was nice to have them there to experience another celebration for Bradyn and to have some girl time while Mike was out of town.

So, now that I've had 3 showers...shouldn't that be the charm that brings on the court dates? I know that the court dates will come when it is God's will...but I love looking for meaning in everything. The fact that this was the 3rd shower isn't the only "3"...This was the 3rd baby shower at our school...the last 2 showers ended with the mothers going into labor that night. Also, It has been 3 months since we saw Bradyn. Today will be the Green Bay Packers 3rd game. We have 3 animals in the house...so, now all we need is Bradyn and then we have 3 humans in our house!! And....I'm really hoping that our court date will be in 3 weeks! Okay, okay, I know this may all be far-fetched, but it's fun none the less!!

A Pirate's Life For Me!!

2008-09-13T11:15:00.011-06:00

My sisters, Tami and Jody, decided to throw me a baby shower, but not your typical baby shower. Since Bradyn is a toddler and his room is decorated with a PIrate theme, they decided to throw me a Pirate Shower! They decorated the house with cobwebs, pirate flags, treasure chests (complete with jewels), pirate cake, and even foggy grog (dried ice in juice). When we arrived we could hear pirate music playing! To top things off, we all dressed up as pirates! Even my little nieces were dressed up! For those of you who know my fear of birds, you will be shocked to know that as part of my outfit, I wore a parrot on my shoulder!! To add to the ensemble, I had tattoos of my boys on my arm. We had an absolute blast! Bradyn was showered with so much love...if only he were here to experience it. My dad and sister made and painted a chair like one of the chairs in Bradyn's Baby Home, so he will have a little bit of Russia with him. Even Mike got to join in the festivities at the end of the evening. Thank you Tami and Jody for giving us such a fun shower! Thanks to everyone for making it so special! Aargh!

Showered with Love

2008-08-26T09:35:00.007-06:00

I went to visit my best friend Julie in Portland and she threw me a wonderful baby shower! It was so nice to see all of my Portland friends again! I miss all of them so much, as well as missing Portland in general! It was amazing to me to see how many people are cheering for Bradyn and how much he is already loved! He was showered with many wonderful, fun, and meaningful gifts. Thanks everyone for celebrating Bradyn and supporting Mike and me! You all mean so much to me! Thank you Julie for throwing a wonderful shower...you know you mean the world to me!

Portland was beautiful as usual! I was a bit disappointed in the weather though! I was looking forward to nice temperatures and some Portland sprinkles...instead it was sunny and 103 degrees! Ugh! Even though it was hot, it was nice to be back in the Northwest! I spent my days holding Julie's new precious little guy that was only 4 weeks old. After one day of holding him, my arms were exhausted! So, I REALLY need to start carrying around weights to get in shape for our little guy.

As far as when we get our little Russki, we are back to the waiting game. The call can come at anytime now. My agency consultant told us that the judge has 1 month to schedule a court date from the moment he gets ALL of the paperwork. Well, we sent all of our paperwork awhile ago, but they called and told us that the US Embassy in Moscow didn't have our fingerprints. So, we were in a mad panic to figure that out! After numerous emails and phone calls all around the world, they finally found the fingerprints! So, I think the offical "paperwork in Judge's hands date" is probably this week or last week. Through all of our journey to find Bradyn, I've learned that this is all in God's hands. Bradyn will be in our arms when he is supposed to be! It is still extremely difficult knowing that each day that goes by, is another day we have missed of his life. I try not to focus on that and instead I keep reminding myself that each day that goes by is another day closer to him!

Last Documents Sent Off!!

2008-07-24T09:08:00.004-06:00

I noticed that our last post was almost a month ago!! It's not that we've taken a break from blogging, but we have actually been SO busy!! Once we returned from Russia, I had my last week of school...complete with field trips, report cards, and all! The very next weekend we were off again to celebrate my niece's wedding...congratulations Christina and Sean! Then I had to prepare for my new class, since I teach at a year round school. We had our 1st day of school on Monday this week, and then back to school night the very next night (on my birthday no less)! Mike has been busy with work also and even had to travel to Colorado.

During all of this, we were in a mad rush to get the final documents done for adopting Brady...fingerprinting with the FBI, fingerprinting with the State Police, Psychological evaluation (567 questions!), Physician's evaluation, the deed to our house, and countless other documents that prove we exist and how, where, when, and why we exist! After 3 weeks of collecting these documents, getting them notarized and running back and forth to the State Capitol to get them apostilled we finally have it all completed! Our package of papers was mailed off yesterday!! I have a feeling that the people at the State Capitol will miss us, as well as our pocketbook!!

The next steps with our package...our agency sends it to Russia where it will be interpreted. Our contact in Russia compiles everything with the documents they have to do in Russia. Once it is complete it is assigned to a judge, who reviews the documents and requests new documents if any are wrong or expired. Hopefully all of our documents are perfect. If the judges thinks everything looks good, then they assign a court date. Then we get the call to come back. We could have anywhere from 2 weeks to 1 month notice to get tickets and visas once the date is assigned. So, when will that call come? Back to the waiting game again....they told us the minimum wait is 2 months from when we were there. So, we already have 1 month, 3 days, and counting under our belts. We hope it comes soon! If our wait is long, we will have to re-do some documents, as they expire and are only valid for 3 months! We will wait as long as it takes though because Brady is worth it!

Safe and Sound

2008-06-27T20:18:00.003-06:00

We made it back safe and sound last Saturday night. Spent the day on Sunday unpacking, doing laundry, and trying to adjust to our time zone. Then we had a whirlwind of a week at work!! It was my last week of school so that had me really busy and Mike was catching up on work and doing inventory! I guess being busy has been good as it helps keep us distracted. We have started scheduling appointments and getting all the final paperwork that we need to do. We are hoping to get everything done quickly in hopes that we will be able to bring Bradyn home soon!

Alarming...

2008-06-20T04:09:00.002-06:00

There’s nothing like being in a foreign country, sound asleep, and being woken up by the hotel fire alarm at 12:30 at night…then the next night at 3:30am, and the next night at 10:30…The first night we were concerned and filed out into the lobby accompanied by all the other Americans and Canadians. However, we noticed that there weren’t any Russians escaping from their rooms. I guess being immersed into a culture, you learn pretty quickly how to adjust…so, the next night when the fire alarm went off, we just rolled over and went back to sleep. We have bets on what time the alarm will sound tonight.

Today we went to the notary and signed the petition to the court. It took about an hour and a half, so we had the rest of the day to keep ourselves busy while we guessed what Brady was doing. The hotel has a room named “The White Rabbit” which was made just for Mike…hockey memorabilia everywhere, t.v., pool table, darts… a nice place to hang out. The only thing it is missing is Green Bay Packers décor…we figure we will bring some with us on trip 2. So, we’ve spent some time there…and to satisfy my needs, we brought our travel Scrabble! Mike continues to inform me that after 6 games we are tied (I’ve let him win a couple so he doesn’t feel so bad). We also walked to the beach area and were stared down by all the locals there…so, we made it a pretty quick trip.

We spent the rest of the time talking about all that we need to do between this trip and the next one. Our facilitator informed us that it will be a two month minimum before we return. We are being hopeful that it will come soon and to keep ourselves busy we have at least 270 pictures of him to look at, as well as 15 video clips of him! Tomorrow we get on the plane for a long ride home. We leave at 4:20pm on Saturday and get in at 8:30pm on Saturday, with layovers in Seoul and L.A. (16 hour flying.

Spaiseeba (thank you), Spaiseeba, Spaiseeba!

2008-06-19T18:02:00.002-06:00

We wanted to say thank you to everyone! We are so grateful for your thoughts, prayers, comments, excitement and support. We were talking about how truly blessed we are and we really feel it, even if we are half way around the world. Every day that we have been here, we looked forward to hearing from you. We know that we will be able to make it through this separation from Brady because of all of you. From the bottom of our hearts…spaiseeba!

He Has A Name!

2008-06-18T20:49:00.001-06:00

We officially named him Bradyn Michael. We had it narrowed down to two names we really liked and we decided this morning as we were leaving. His official name is Bradyn and we will call him Brady as a nickname. It will be hard to call him his new name, since we’ve been using his Russian name for the last 3 days. Although, we both felt like his Russian name really didn’t fit him.

We forgot to mention the good news yesterday…as soon as we entered the baby home, after visiting him only 1 day, we signed the acceptance paper. There was no question in our mind about having this little guy in our lives, so we went ahead and signed the papers on the 2nd day!

Now for today…a bit of a heartwrenching day, as this was the last time we will get to see him until we return for the court day. Every moment we spent with him was precious and we savored every last bit of him. He arrived today in his finest Russian costume…complete with velvet pants, vest, and bow tie! What a sight for sore eyes!! Once again he came through the door with those big blue eyes and a huge smile when he saw us! He immediately began the “walk back and forth between mama and papa” game with a big smile. Today the room we were in had a rug on the floor and we were allowed to let him crawl. So, the game was short lived when he realized we would let him down. We were so happy about that because we were questioning if he were able to crawl…well, that question was answered…not only can he crawl but he can do it FAST! We broke out in a sweat trying to keep up…he broke out in a sweat because he was dressed to the nines in various layers. We played hard for an hour and a half and then he started to get tired. He actually fussed a little today and we were able to cuddle and reassure him, he nestled right in and started sucking his 2 fingers to self-soothe. Then we had to say good-bye…we both held him and told him we loved him and then the intepreter took him out of our arms. Packing up his toys was a bit of a teary blur, but we managed to make it through. Then we asked if we could see where he eats and sleeps and they allowed us to peek in through the door. What an extra special treat, as we got to peek at him one last time…his finest Russia clothes were put away and he was wearing purple tights and an orange shirt and was playing with the other children. We feel assured that he is well loved and taken care of at the baby home. We then went and bought 2 huge packages of diapers to leave at the home and then we headed back to our hotel. Of course, we immediately looked at the pictures we took and teared up most of the way back.

Tomorrow we will complete some more paperwork and start packing to head back on Saturday.

Quite the Charmer

2008-06-17T20:09:00.002-06:00

Well, we just got back from our second baby home visit and we are smitten!! He came into the room with a HUGE smile! I had the camera in my lap ready with my finger on the shutter, so that when he came in I could get his picture. Well, excitement overcame me and I remembered to press the button, but forgot to hold the camera up and aim it at him. The good news is…this is one picture we can actually post. I realized what I did and forced myself to remember how to use a camera the rest of the time we were there. He definitely recognized us and was excited to see us. He was very happy and active for the hour and a half we were there. The three of us worked up quite a sweat, playing and taking pictures. He is very loving and affectionate; snuggling and cuddling into us, leaning his head into our head, and leaning back to see our faces when we hold him. He is very aware of his surroundings and watches anytime someone comes into the room. One of his caretakers came in and you could tell that he loves her. This is encouraging to us because we know he has attached to another, even though it will be sad for him when he leaves. However, we don’t think it will be a problem for long as he is VERY fond of us, as well. He was excited to play a game with Mike and I. He would walk from me to Mike, giggling and laughing as Mike would grab and squeeze him. Then he’d turn around and walk to me giggling and laughing, and I would grab and squeeze him. This went on for quite a long time!! The belly laughs, smiles, and hugs proved that all three of us loved the game. The interpreter was able to get some of it on video for us…we’ll treasure that! Our day began with us hearing great news from our International Adoption doctor. He analyzed the information we had and he didn’t have any questions for us to ask or any concerns. We will get to see our little guy one more time tomorrow and we know it will be difficult to say goodbye. So, we will definitely enjoy every minute.

He's All That....And More!!

2008-06-17T01:44:00.002-06:00

We met the sweetest little guy today! Our day began by ordering breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which opened at 7:30, and wasn’t put on our table until 8:00, which is when our facilitator was arriving. We didn’t think it would take very long for breakfast since we were the only ones in the restaurant. So, the day began with us being a little nervous about being late. We left the hotel at 8:05 and headed to the Ministry of Education to get the official referral. We ended up waiting in the hallway for the director to show up, so it didn’t matter if we had been late. Our translator warned us that we’d be asked some personal questions and to be prepared. She asked us about three questions total. I think we were in there about 5 minutes, if even that. Then we were off on an hour and a half ride to the baby home. The ride was great and Mike and I were surprisingly calm. Then we pulled into the orphanage parking lot and saw some little ones playing outside. Our translator walked us through the hallways (that were all being redone) and upstairs to the director’s office. The social worker, director, caretaker, translator, facilitator, Mike and I were all in a room that was about 6X8. Things moved very quickly at this point. Everyone was talking Russian and the translator said to get out our notebook and take notes. The Social Worker started rattling off information and I couldn’t find my pen!! Panic!! Soon enough I had the pen in my hand and was trying frantically to take notes on the birth mother’s history. Meanwhile, people were walking in and out. I guess the translator told us that they were going to go get our little guy and bring him in. Luckily Mike knows me and knew that I didn’t hear her, so he told me what they said. So, the social worker is still talking and I’m still writing…panicked that I’m going to miss the little guys entrance. All of a sudden our Russian-speaking facilitator yells “Look! Look!” and little guy was walking in the room towards us with the help of his caretaker. Love at first sight. He seemed rather confident and proud walking into a tiny room filled with lots of people. The caretaker walked him over to us and I think I said “Privyet” (hi) several times. I held out my hands and next thing I know he is in my arms. The translator had to remind us to give him some toys to play with as Mike and I were just sitting there in awe staring at him. Mike grabbed the stuffed Sabaka (dog) and he got very excited and started making “ba” noises. Next thing I know everyone is leaving the room. We were told to go into another room that they were remodeling and to bring chairs. I had little guy in my arms and that was all I was thinking about. (I think all of the above transpired in about 3 minutes, not sure, it was all such a blur.) The translator, Mike, and I were all alone in the room with little guy and he went readily to Mike, while I got out his other toys. He was very interested in the stacking cups and liked banging them and then discovered that these crazy Americans would pick them up if he threw them on the floor. He seemed a little timid, but didn’t cry once. He didn’t like that I kept trying to take pictures of him. We kept calling his name to look at the camera, but he wasn’t that interested. He just sat on Dad’s lap and was rather comfortable playing with the toys. He even tried kissing Sabaka, which was very cute. We think he wanted to get on the floor, but when I tried to put him down, the translator said the floor was cold and the caretakers would not be happy to see him on the floor (even though he was really warm and we were sweating in the hot room). Of course, we did not want to press our luck so we kept him from getting on the floor, even though he kept making head dives for the floor. We spent a good time playing with him and he even gave his Dad a little snuggle. He was very interested in my lips and kept staring at them and trying to grab them. Not sure if it was my lips or my teeth. It was so precious to see his little hands, which are not so little…actually, rather chunky. He did have several “mosquito” bites on his face and they put the purple paste on them, but he appeared perfect to us. I actually wondered if he had chicken pox, because he looked like he wasn’t feeling well. He seems really strong, too. Next thing we know, the caretaker came and told us that it was time for his nap, so we had to say paka (bye bye). We spent about an hour and fifteen minutes with him. As he was walking away from us he looked back and gave a little tiny smirk of a smile. Then the doctor came and gave us his medical history. It seems like he has some very minor things that he will get checked out, but we don’t have any concerns at all. He’s even grown from the measurements that we were given from before. Once we got in the car, the facilitator asked if we had any questions…our only one was “when can we take him home?” We made it back to our hotel and are looking forward to our visit with him tomorrow…we are thinking we will get about 2 hours with him. Now, we are resting from our emotionally exciting day.

From Russia with Love

2008-06-16T03:31:00.001-06:00

We arrived in Vlad safe and sound! The flight was very uneventful, and we were able to get one last “Western” style meal in at Subway before we left. Vladivostok is very pretty. We had a half hour ride to get to our hotel, and we were amazed at how wooded it is. We can actually see the ocean from the hotel grounds, and we are hoping to walk down there tomorrow night. We just got back from dinner, and are planning on getting to bed early tonight, as we are getting picked up at 8am. Our coordinator informed us that we will be going to see the Ministry of Education in the morning, and they we are off to the orphanage to see our baby. We absolutely can not wait.

Seoul Continued...

2008-06-16T03:25:00.003-06:00

We enjoyed ourselves in Seoul, everyone was very nice to us. We did find some things rather humorous though. In our hotel, all of the electricity was done by the remote control to the t.v. So, Mike thought it was rather funny to turn the lights off while I was going to the bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom, there was a sign on the door that said not to put toilet paper in the toilet….mmm….so, maybe that is why there was a bidet system installed on the toilet. I have no qualms trying out a bidet, however, all 10 buttons on the toilet were written in Korean. Needless to say, we weren’t about to try that. The shower was interesting as well. The shower and separate bathtub were in a room together. As we were getting ready to shower we discovered that there was a shampoo and soap dispenser on the wall – OUTSIDE of the shower. Then we saw the flip flops and then we noticed that there wasn’t a drain in the shower part at all, but outside of the shower. After adding all this together, we realized that the entire room was the shower basin!! So, you get yourself wet, walk out of the shower area to get soap, then walk back to rinse off. If you know me at all, you know this was a disaster waiting to happen. But unbelievably I did not fall once!! We ended up getting a great nights rest, and were up at the crack of down ready for another flight.

Half Way Around the World

2008-06-15T03:12:00.003-06:00

We are sitting in our hotel room in Seoul, South Korea struggling with jet lag. It is 6:15pm Sunday Korea time, but 3:15am Saturday Salt Lake time! We arrived in Seoul this morning at 5:00am safe and sound. We were able to check into our hotel room early and took a power nap and shower. Our flight from SLC to Vegas was short and sweet, and our excitement and adrenaline were on hyper-drive. Had a 3 hour layover and then headed off to Korea on Korean Air. Awesome airline!! Even though we were in coach seating, it felt like first class...plenty of leg room, movies, etc. Thanks to Ambien we were able to sleep a solid 6 hours on the flight and the remaning 6 hours were spent being excited about where we were headed. When we landed in Korea, we must have looked VERY lost and out of place, because a very nice Korean family offered to help us call for our hotel shuttle. (I'm not sure why we looked lost...it couldn't have been the fact that we were taking pictures in an airport and staring at a phone booth). We spent the day in downtown Seoul in the shopping district. We didn't buy anything, except for a Starbucks...yes, we were not very adventurous, we had latte's and then TGIFriday's for lunch. We figured we should play it safe in our eating choices, so we weren't sick for our Baby Home visit. So far, so good. We'll upload pictures when we get to Russia...our cable is in our checked luggage. This day feels like it has been the longest day of our lives, we can't wait to go to bed and we are so excited about landing in Russia tomorrow! The adventure continues...

Counting Down...

2008-06-08T21:40:00.003-06:00

Yes, we are counting down the days, hours, and minutes until we get to see our little guy. We have our airline tickets, the hotel rooms are reserved, passports and visas are in hand. It was a bit of a close call with the visas though. We received a confirmation page via email for our visas, however it wasn't in English, it was all in Cyrillian. For some reason, I thought we should translate just to make sure everything looked good. So, we copied and pasted it into a translation program and discovered that our visas had us arriving the 16th, but departing on the 15th...of the SAME month!! So, we were leaving before we even got there! I'm so glad we double checked that and we were able to get them to change it before we travel. (So...for our fellow PAP's out there, please make sure your dates on your visas are accurate.)

As for everything else, we have started the packing process...well, the beginning of the packing process. We have almost everything that we are taking sprawled all over little Russki's room. We've been collecting things over the last 11 months, but now that the time is here, we are trying to get it all organized. Even though we collected a lot of things, we still ended up going out and buying more things...like dual time zone watches, new clothing, and other things we probably won't need...but it has been fun shopping for things we MAY need!

Even though we are super excited about going, I've been a little stressed out about all I need to get done for my classroom. Since we are at a year round school, we are still in session. The week we get back, will be the last week of school...so, that means report cards need to be done, and we will be busy with all of our end of the year activities. Thankfully, my Mom and Dad came down this weekend, and my Mom helped save the day by grading papers, filing, sorting, and helping prepare things for my substitute....Thanks Mom!

Mike is his usual calm self, methodically getting things done. His main concern right now is whether or not he will be able to eat anything while we are over there....if you know Mike at all, you know he is a picky eater. So, we spent a good portion of our day buying some snack foods that he can get by on-just in case.

One final note...while we were laying everything out on the floor to pack...our dogs insisted on laying in the middle of all of it. Obviously they know something is going on. They won't be happy that we are leaving them for a week, but I know they will be thrilled someday to get a little boy to play with.

Father's Day Surprise!

2008-06-02T20:56:00.000-06:00

We received our travel dates!!! We are leaving Father's Day weekend to meet our little guy!! We can hardly contain the excitement! We will spend an entire week there and look forward to every moment that we will get to be with him! There is so much to do before we leave and we are frantically trying to remember all that we need to do! Plane tickets are bought, hotel is reserved, visa applications are submitted, the list goes on... in just a short time we will get to see that beautiful face in person.

The Room

2008-05-27T20:14:00.004-06:00

We've had the baby's room ready for quite sometime, but we were missing a dresser. We searched for many months, but couldn't find exactly what we wanted. So, my dad came to the rescue and made the perfect dresser! Thanks Dad!! Now, we are completely ready for our little guy.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

2008-05-15T19:07:00.003-06:00

The frenzy of paperwork is completed! We mailed our little package today! Pray that we don't have to make anymore changes to our documents. Now, we wait for travel dates. We can hardly contain ourselves, as we have already fallen in love with our little guy. Hopefully we will be traveling soon! We wanted to say a big thanks to everyone for being so supportive!! We appreciate all your comments and caring wishes!!

Too Good to be True?

2008-05-08T21:45:00.002-06:00

We got a referral!! Yes...I said, we got a referral. I have to repeat myself because it is too good to be true!! We keep pinching ourselves to make sure it is real. We ended up signing with Life Adoption Services instead of WCS, and they had a referral for a little guy for us!! We have been busy updating paperwork and will find out more next week. In the mean time, we can't stop smiling!

Ch..ch..ch..ch..Changes!

2008-05-02T21:46:00.003-06:00

After 15 months with our agency, we made the decision to part our ways. We loved our consultant, but felt that things were taking way too long. We are well aware that the world of international adoption requires patience, patience, and more patience but it seemed as though we were slowly going nowhere. Our dossier has expired and so it seemed like the perfect time to make a change. So, we decided to apply to another agency that works with a fewer number of families.

We actually feel excited and hopeful again! We look forward to hearing that we are accepted with the new agency. Then it is back to the paperwork!

Tagged!

2008-04-24T18:40:00.005-06:00

Looks like I have been tagged...

Rules
Link to the person who tagged you: Nancy
Post the rules (see below)
Share 6 unimportant habits/quirks about yourself: see below
Tag three other people - Shannon Joy Stephanie
Make sure the people you tagged know you've tagged them

Hmmm...quirky things about me?
1. I eat everything with chopsticks, everything! If I use a fork, I will inevitably spill food on myself or chase food all over my plate with that weird metal thing. So, chopsticks for me, please!

2. I must have lotion on my hands at all times! When I wash my hands, I must immediately put lotion on.

3. My closet has to have everything sorted by sleeve length, then color. My sister claims that I used to measure the width between my hangers so everything was spaced the same distance. (I adamantly deny this...but it is a good idea, maybe I'll try it!)

4. I am a klutz...if I don't trip while walking, then I will inevitably drop or break something. Usually it will be my car keys- every single time I go to unlock my car door.

5. I have a very interesting memory...I can't tell you how much I get paid or how many years I've been teaching, but I can tell you exactly where some random item is or what someone wore 3 weeks ago.

and

6. I love t.v. so much, that sometimes I blur the lines of reality. Yes...talking about Michael Scott as though he were not a character on The Office, but a family member of mine.

Yikes...I guess I am pretty quirky!!

FAQ's

2008-04-12T07:43:00.006-06:00

Nothing new to report, so instead we'll answer some of those burning Frequently Asked Questions you may have:

When will you get your baby?
First we have to get a referral from our agency. Once we accept the referral, we will travel 2-4 weeks after that call. We meet the baby, then come home. Then we wait for a court date. Waiting for a court date could be anywhere from 2-6 months. After we receive a court date, we travel back to Russia, go to court...if the court allows, then the baby is ours.

What is a referral?
Russia identifies a child that is ready for adoption and notifies our agency. Our agency looks at their "list" of people that are ready to adopt and matches the child with the first person on their list. If it matches that person's request...then that person gets a phone call about the child (aka referral).

What happens when you get a referral?
We will get some basic medical information that the Baby Home has written about the child and a couple of pictures. We send that information to our IA doctor and they give us their analysis. If we agree with the doctor that it is a healthy referral, we call our agency and let them know we accept.

What is an IA doctor?
International Adoption Doctor...they specialize in children that are adopted internationally. International adoption specialists are aware of medical concerns and diagnoses that children in Baby Homes (orphanages) may have, that pediatricians aren't used to seeing. Not only do they provide support prior to, and during the adoption, but support post adoption, as well. Our doctor is Dr. Bledsoe in Washington.

How old will your baby be?
Russia does not allow any children under 6 months to be adopted. So, we requested a child between 6-18 months. However, if we received a referral for a baby that is 18 months old...he would be older than that by the time he comes home because of the time that lapses while waiting for a court date.

Why Russia?
Many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that we really want a boy and Russia has more boys available for adoption than girls.

How long will you be in Russia?
The first trip will be approximately 5-8 days. The second trip will be longer, as we are required to stay in Russia for 10 days after we have our court date. Once the 10 day wait is done, we have to travel to Moscow to take care of paperwork at the Embassy. So, considering we will need to arrive before the court date, and then traveling to Moscow afterwards it could be about 3 weeks.

Why the wait?
In a nut shell...Russia allows children to be adopted by Russians and then the remaining children are available to be adopted by agencies worldwide. Each agency gets referrals, and there are many people wanting referrals. Add in the paperwork process, as well as the court proceedings, and you have a considerable wait.

Feel free to ask us questions, if there is something we didn't address.

9 Months!?!

2008-03-16T08:55:00.004-06:00

Yes...we've been PaperWork Pregnant (PWP) for 9 months!! In the "fertile world" this would mean baby is coming soon...however in the "adoption world"....different story. We are still waiting for the call that there is a baby for us...once we get the call, then we travel on our first trip and meet the baby. A perfect analogy that I read somewhere before...the first trip is like an ultrasound...you get to see the baby, make sure he is doing okay, but you don't get to have him yet! Then we wait for the 2nd trip, which is when we actually bring him home (this would be the labor part). So, back to the 9 months...this is the amount of time that our paperwork has been in Russia, but we have actually been working on this adoption for 13 months! If you are able to read between the lines...you can tell that my patience is dwindling! Luckily, my dear husband, a.k.a. Optimistic Mike, keeps me sane!!

Where do we go from here? No more lounging around eating BonBons! Our agency informed us that our documents expire from the date we created them...guess what that means? Yes...we are back to doing paperwork! Since, most of our paperwork was dated in April, we have to update those documents! This includes our Homestudy. So...back to the computer! Luckily, this will keep us busy and prevent us from staring at the phone-willing it to ring!