We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

It was a year and a week ago that we landed at the cold, concrete-walled St. Petersburg airport. Walking through clouds of cigarette smoke while our tummies were in knots over simply knowing we were finally in the same city as our children, we knew we were in for the experience of our lives. And boy, were we!

After going through immigration one by one and picking up our bags, we made our way out the gate and into the crowded airport foyer to look for our driver. Andrei! Andrei? Andrei....? It turned out he was given the wrong flight information from our agency and wasn't expecting to pick us up for another hour. Needless to say, our first 45 minutes on Russia soil were a little nerve-wracking!

But! We had our babies to look forward to. We settled in to our hotel (THE best hotel in the world, I will now proclaim, thanks to their phenomenal service) took a look out the windows and took it all in.

(Notice D's lack of facial hair!)

We were so anxious to get to sleep, knowing the next day we would finally be able to hold our babies. Finally be able to tell them that they are so loved. Finally be able to have our family together for the very first time. We opened up our laptop and took a look at the pictures of our kiddos which we had found via Russia's online orphan database.

We've never shared these photos outside of our family, so this is a first. These are the earliest photos we will ever have of our babies:

Alim (Bennett) pictured in his orphanage, no more than 15 months old

Nargiza (Celia) pictures in her orphanage, no more than 3 months old

Beautiful even back then, weren't they? Gosh, we're so blessed to be their Mama and Papa!

Catching Up

My! Motherhood is work! hee hee... It may not be as stressful as my office job, but it definitely is tiring! I've come to really value "down-time" more than ever after spending each day running around playing with two adorable kiddos. Because of that, I haven't spent much time on the computer. But I miss blogging. I miss writing. So here I am!

We've started Bennett on his medication and it seemed to be going okay... We knew, after reading every word on the information sheet that accompanied the huge bottle of orange-flavored liquid, that it might upset our poor boy's stomach. Well, unfortunately it has. He has been tooting/boo-bah-ing/blowing buttons/insert-your-cute-flatulence-term throughout the last few days. His dirty diaper changes are... well... they're not pretty and often are cause for a wardrobe change. Since he really doesn't enjoy being dirty (unless he's intentionally choosing to play in the dirt or eat with his hands), he makes the most pitiful face once he's... well... done. From someone who used to suffer from stomach aches every day of my life, I just hate this for him. Especially since he has 8.5 more months of it. This morning was the first morning he really faught taking the 12.5 ml. I wonder what the next few days will bring.

After hearing me rave about the Impressionist exhibit at The Frist in Nashville, Derek decided he had to go see it. I had the fortunate opportunity to see many of the pieces at The Louvre, but enjoyed them when I visited our local museum back in October as well. So we decided to take the kids and all go, hoping for the best but expecting some difficulties. Believe it or not, we all had a wonderful and completely tear-free time! Baba (my mother is "babushka" to our kiddos, "baba" for short; and my father is "dyeh-dushka" or "dedu" for short) and I walked the kids in their double stroller through the exhibit while Derek took his time with the audio tour. Of course, we were not allowed to take photos in the exhibit, but did snap one as we entered the Visual Arts Center:

After Baba, the kids and I made our way through, we ventured upstairs to the children area where we played at some hands-on stations. Later, Derek joined us and helped Bennett bring out his creative side by making his own lithograph and sketching on an art easel.

I really think the attachment that has been forming among the four of us is strengthening more and more each day. On Friday, Bennett walked up to me with one arm in his favorite jacket (my late brother's army-green jacket that he wore when he was Bennett's age), smiled, said "buh-bye" and leaned over and gave me the sweetest kiss on the lips. I don't know how I held it together. Sure, Bennett had given me kisses before. But they were more playful than truly sentimental and I probably asked for most of them. I can't explain the feelings that went through me. Most likely, that was the first time he ever smooched anyone out of love and by his own accord. Bennett is such a sweetheart. He truly is such a good boy. We are so lucky.

The bond between Celia and Derek is growing as well—especially now, after D decided to grow a goatee. You see, for whatever reason, C has a "thing" for facial hair. She seemed to love the mustached pediatrician who saw her in Moscow and was entranced with the random, bearded Ukrainian gentleman seated next to us on the plane. Never having had facial hair in his life but desperately wanting to make a closer connection with his daughter, Derek took the plunge. Personally, I think it looks good on him! Sorry, no photos at this time. But I'm sure you'll catch it in pictures in the future.