So Much To Do

This has been a quiet week. We actually spent the weekend at home and got some yard work done. Mike went and helped my brother Keith put on a new roof on Saturday so Colby and I stayed home. I was able to trim the bushes in our front yard. They were looking a little raggedy.

Today was finally sunny and warmer. Colby and I went to the park. He enjoyed the swings and the slides and even met a few little friends. One little girl he was playing with was really cute. They were close in age. At one point they held hands and were walking around the playground and went down the slide together. I think we have a lady's man on our hands! Too bad I didn't have the camera.

This weekend will be very hectic so I am trying to keep the week low key. On Saturday Mike and I have to go to Lakeville for my cousin Katti's wedding. It is about an hour and a half from here and the wedding is at 4:30. A little too far and too late to bring Colby. So, Colby will stay with my dad and my nephews Alex and Max. My mom and my sister Karin are going to the wedding with us. Although I am happy for my cousin, I am not looking forward to this. The longest Colby was away from us is 4 hours and afterward he was not a happy boy to be around. Mike's parents watched him while Mike and I went to dinner. They picked him up at 4 and came back at 8, for bedtime. We weren't home yet and I think that upset Colby a lot. He was clingy and fussy for two days afterward not letting me or Mike out of his sight. I am especially worried because this will be just after nap time and past bedtime. I don't know how he will react to going to bed somewhere other than home and without us. Good luck Dad! Hopefully with the boys around Colby will be too excited to worry about us.

On Sunday I have a baby shower to go to. Mike's brother David and his wife Jocelyn are expecting a baby girl at the end of July. My first niece! Mike's mom and I will go to the baby shower and all the guys will spend the day together, along with a family friend and his 3 grandchildren. Hopefully Colby will be in a good mood. The shower is for brunch at 11:30. I'm not sure what we will do in the afternoon. My mom and dad are heading to the Grand Canyon in their motorhome on Sunday so I won't be able to see my dad for Father's Day. But I bet Mike is really looking forward to some quality first Father's Day time with Colby.

In other news: My friend Jill and her husband Nick have been reunited with their son Nicholas in Ekat! They left on Saturday and I am so happy for them. She sent a photo and he is such a cutie! I can't wait until they come home and Nicholas and Colby can play together. Also, another friend Sharon and her husband Patrick leave for Russia today for their first trip. They will get to see their son for the first time in Bryansk. Safe travels and I can't wait to see photos of your little guy! Hopefully the three boys become fast friends. I know I love spending time with their mommies!

And: just a cute photo because I can never resist!

The Return Home

June 27th. That was the day I left a piece of myself behind in Russia. It was the hardest moment thus far in my life. We had a 5AM flight to Frankfurt, Germany so we had to get up very early. I am not the best morning person so luckily my brain wasn't going crazy too early. I don't think it hit me until we took off in the airplane that we had to leave Colby behind as we went home. As we took off, my heart sank. How could I leave such a sweet baby boy in Russia while I go home? To do what? Paperwork? Just ducky...

We only had about a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt before we would take off for NYC, then our 2 hour drive home. As we waited in Frankfurt, I spent the time looking at the pictures of us with Colby as well as the video we had taken. Boy are we terrible at taking videos. But it certainly made us laugh. It will be great to watch as we wait to return. I remember a feeling of uncertainty yet amazement as we left for Russia, now I also had a feeling of uncertainty, but for different reasons. I wasn't sure when we would see Colby again. How would I be able to wait to go back? How would we get through the whole medical paperwork nightmare? How will my patience survive, since it was already getting stretched thin? So much unknown. The one thing I did know- Mike and I love Colby and we will survive and bring him home. I just hope it will be before Christmas, what a great Christmas that will be....

Our Second Visit With Colby

Thursday June 26th. This was a day of mixed feelings. I was so happy to be visiting with Colby again but yet I knew it would be the last visit for a long time. We had been told that there would be about 6 months inbetween this first trip and the court date. I woke up excited yet sad. We went to the baby home in the morning and arrived right when Colby was waking up from a nap. I was a little nervous about seeing him again. I wasn't sure how he would react to both Mike and myself. However, the minute they brought him outside, I went up to him and held out my arms to hold him. He practically jumped into my arms. He remembered me! He even gave me a little smile showing off his top two teeth.

Once again Mike and I played with Colby outside. Someone brought out a blanket so we could sit on the floor and I took out a couple of his little toys. I guess that wasn't enough for him because he crawled right over to the backpack we had the toys in to find more. I'm not sure how he knew we had more toys in there, but he did. So we dumped the whole bag out and played for a little while. This time we made sure to take more pictures and a video. Around 12:00 a caretaker brought out his lunch. I am not sure exactly what he ate, but he loved it. Boy can he eat. Colby immediately grabbed hold of a small piece of bread and smashed it into his mouth and was soon choking. I was devastated. Our first time feeding our baby and we let him choke himself right away. Once we got him relaxed, Mike and I took turns feeding Colby and taking pictures and video.

At one point, Tatiana brought out one of the other caretakers. She had been Colby's caretaker when he first arrived at the baby home. However, he became so attached to her that he would cry and get upset if she tried to hold another child. So Tatiana had taken Colby out of that wing of the baby home and put him in a different section. This caretaker wanted to see Colby and us as well. She fed Colby for a little while too. After she left, he didn't want to eat much more so we played a little bit. Then his current caretaker came out. I guess she decided that he hadn't eaten enough so she fed him a little more. We took a few pictures of her with Colby. It was evident that she cared for Colby a great deal. I am glad that I saw that interaction. I know he will be well cared for while we wait to return to Russia. Then she left with the lunch tray and brought him a bottle of juice. He certainly loves his juice. Mike and I held him while he drank his juice. Colby can hold his bottle but he would lose his balance if he tried to drink it sitting on the floor, so we just held him. It felt great to hold my son and feed him. I couldn't believe I was actually doing it.

Soon Svetlana returned and asked how we were doing. I knew our time was almost up. I hated for it to end. Colby needed to be changed and it was time for his nap so we had to go inside. We talked with his caretaker for a little while and gave her a gift. We also left Colby's toys with her so he could share with the other boys, and we left a photo album for him to look at of us, our parents, the dog Misha, our house, and a couple pictures of us with him so he could remember who we are. We then said goodbye to Tatiana and gave her a gift as well as gifts for the other caretakers. As we walked away from the baby home and got in the car, I felt terrible. I hated to leave him. I knew I had to but I almost couldn't understand why. I knew that I would be leaving a pice of me behind. That night I was very quite as I tried to get ahold of my thoughts and feelings. I knew Mike was upset also. We felt just awful. At that moment, I wished that I could stay in Russia until it was time to take Colby home. But alas, the paperwork must be done and I still had a job to find so I knew I had to go home. We had an early dinner and went to bed around 8:30PM since we had to be up about 2:30AM to get ready for the airport. Our plane was leaving around 5AM. So we had a nice visit with Colby and hopefully the memories we made both on Tuesday and Thursday would keep us until we would return.