Getting ready for Christmas

Nikolay's first pony ride

I took Nikolay to my cousin's horse farm this past weekend and he had his first pony ride. He loves animals and really loved the pony.

A few new pictures

I wanted to share a couple of recents pictures of Nikolay. One of them is in babies r us--one of our favorite stores. He just loves it! He talks so much when he is there b/c he is so excited to see all the lights and brightly colored things.

He also has adjusted to the bath and I am now able to bathe him in the bathroom--much easier than the kitchen floor. He doens't even cry anymore when I rinse out the shampoo--he knows to tip his head back now--pretty smart.

He just started to feed himself cheerios and he loves it. That can occupy him for 45 minutes--more end up on floor and high chair then in his mouth but he does seem to enjoy so much! He also fed himself sweet potatoes and melon.

It is amazing how fast he is learning things--I woke up the other morning and he was standing in his crib. It only took him 2o minutes to learn, "how big, so big" .

I just signed him up for a music class for the fall. I cannot wait b/c he will really love--he just loves music!

Baby is doing great and I am solo

The baby is doing great!! He is still sleeping so well--goes to bed by 7pm and sleeps until 6am--doesn't even make a sound at night. He is also still taking his two naps, and only cries for about 5 seconds when I put him down, then falls asleep. He is making this so easy!!

My mother left this am, so I am now officially on my own. I am trying to line up company every day and also have myself on a schedule so I can get everything done when he is asleep. It was pretty overwhelming at first b/c there was so much to do when I first got home--the doctor, social worker visit, social security, registration with consulate, not to mention unpacking, paper work and of course, taking care of baby. Most everything is done, so is a little more relaxing now. I still can't believe though how much baby food and formula and diapers he is going through. At the beginning of the week I stocked up on baby food but today I am down to my last jar of meat.

I wanted to attach a few more pics. We took him to the beach right by my house and he LOVED it. He crawled right into the water and loved the surf splashing on it. He has also adjusted much better to the stroller (thanks to some stroller toys my niece attached to the stroller )and the car seat, which is making it so much easier. The bath he is fine with as long as it is in the kitchen. For some reason, he doens't like to be in the bathtub. I will give it a few more weeks and then try again. Hope you like the pics!

We Are Home!!

We are finally home and Nikolay is doing great. It was rough for the first few days b/c the baby wasn't sleeping well but now he is back on schedule sleeping 10 hours a night and takes a 2 hour nap in the am and two hour nap in the pm. We are thrilled to finally be home and he is adjusting wonderfully!

In Moscow and loving it!!!!!!!!

Just a quick update b/c Nikolay is sleeping. He is doing great and had a fantastic day!!! We just LOVED Moscow--my favorite city so far, even beats Rome, I think!! The Kremlin with all the churches is just breathtaking as is Red Square. Nikolay is getting cuter every day and really enjoyed walking around today. We leave day after tomorrow. Can't wait to see everybody on Friday!

First hospital visit and last day in Kras

Yesterday, Nikolay wasn't feeling well. He was very hot when he woke up, so I have him baby tylenol, which seemed to help. By the afternoon, he was inconsolable. The coordinator and translator came over and they also thought he should see a doctor, so they had one come to the hotel. She examined him, but thought that he should go to an ENT and also to have his stomach checked out. The ENT gave him nose drops and told me to wipe him down with spirits if he gets a fever. We left there and went to the children's clinic to have his stomach looked at. After they examined him, they wanted to xray his belly, which was awful b/c he screamed bloody murder. They looked at the xray and said there was something wrong with his bowels and that he would have to stay overnight. That was like getting kicked in the stomach b/c there hospitals are not like what we have. They even kept apologizing for the poor conditions when they found out I was American. I told them that I didn't want to stay overnight, if possible, so they arranged for a barium xray to make sure there was no blockage. I was there for about 4 hours waiting for the barium to make its way through Nikolay's body. He was really good there and loved interacting with the little girl in the room. He would scream and shake his hands to get her attention and clap when she would turn around. About 3 hours into this I was exhausted, and the woman with the little girl asked me in Russian if it was time for him to go to sleep. I knew what she was saying and just shook my head yes. He did finally fall asleep and they came in around 10:30pm to take the xray. It turns out that everything was OK and it was an intestinal problem b/c of change in diet from the orphanage. They told me to just feed him formula and cereal until I get home. They thought the fruit in particular caused too much gas. The barium stuff seemed to clean out his system, which was good!

The upside of all this is that he definitely knows now how I am and feels safe with me. He was screaming when they took the xray and would turn his head and look at me. As soon as they were done and I held him he would stop crying and put his head on my shoulder.

He slept well last night, but woke up at 5am starving since he hadn't eaten since 2pm the day before, so he had a bottle and a half and slept then until 9am. He had two more bottle this am and felt back asleep around 11:30 and 2 hours later is still sleeping.

We have finished packing for tomorrow and have one last appt at the passport office--had a bit of a stressful day on friday. They needed my passport to get Nikolay's and asked for my immigration sheet. I didn't think I need it b/c I had never needed it before and had thrown out--not good! Luckily, the hotel had made a copy when I checked in, so that was a BIG relief! It is amazing that no one tells you that you need these tiny little pieces of paper, especially when you are carry so many other important documents. I just hope that will be the last hiccup before I get home. It is really feeling close now--we fly out very early tomorrow and will be in Moscow Tues, Wed, Thurs and then leave friday morning for JFK! Cannot wait to get home and for everyone to seem him! He is a very happy and playful baby.