And we are loving every minute of it (even those minutes where he reaches high above his head to pull out anything he can reach from whatever drawer he can reach!)
Max’s birthday was actually on Friday the 12th, but we saved our celebrating for Saturday. As it will likely be for the next 20+ years, we had multiple conflicts with company holiday parties, end-of-year work deadlines, etc., all sharing time on our calendar with our son’s birthday. My birthday is 3 days before his, so at least he has a mom who knows what it’s like to have a birthday that can easily get jumbled up with a bunch of holiday rush.
Despite calling out “no gifts” on the invitation, Max hauled in a great stack of goodies. And, he was just a total cutie-pie, taking his time to open each card and gift, and looking at each person as he said “dank ooo” (complete with his sign language hand-to-the-chin sign as well. I sense he will be combining the two well into college).
Enjoy some photos, and then scroll down for some medical updates and a shout-out to my Cinci girlfriends.
This is Max before all of the partying began, opening special gifts from my father and step-mother, who can't travel to Cincinnati as easily as we wish they could. We're excited to see them up in Michigan right after Christmas. Max LOVED this card, which played "Itsy Bitsy Spider" every time it opened.
Here is one of Max's BFF's, Ellie, who was happy to wear her party hat (Max wasn't nearly as eager) and devour the cookie-cutter shaped PB&J. (I stole that idea from Muriel, although hers were much more elaborate for her princess Sophia's b-day - I was happy my squares had crinkly edges!).
Max stood so politely on a chair as he opened all of his presents. (Surprisingly, I managed to tend to him just enough to keep him from nose-diving onto the floor!) I love this picture, and he was like this throughout the party -- so animated and so happy.
Big brother Tyler and big sister Jessica were of course there to celebrate with their little brother. Jessica managed to elude the camera, but Max loves to sit in Tyler's lap, and my heart goes pitter-patter when I see Tyler reading to him. Tyler had taken his ACTs that morning, so the fact that he was willing to read anything -- even Elmo -- was generous in of itself! Max is not camera shy, as evidenced by his boisterous "CHEESE" in this shot.
Hand in pocket. Very common.
My mom got this big giant elephant for Max (because he doesn't already have enough stuffed animals -- HA!). He loves this thing, and it's as big as he is. We generally let him fall asleep with it, with constant monitoring to ensure he isn't tangled in the thing! (I promise you we take it out of his crib once he's asleep). He's like our little ET -- he loves to fall asleep with a bunch of stuff on top of him. The other night, I crept in and started removing layers of stuffed animals from on top of his body, only to have him say, "Hi Mama" when I finally reached his face. I almost had a heart attack!
I love this picture -- Max was so happy to help his Papa string lights on the Christmas tree! And, he hasn't even pulled the tree over -- YET! We're taking bets on whether it will be the cat or the kid who yank it over.
My birthday was a few days before Max's, and Glenn bought me this cute little cake, and wrote "Happy Birthday Mama" in Russian on the cake (or close to it, any way). My husband is NOT Martha Stewart, and we rarely (ever?) have cakes for one another's birthdays. I love him for doing this for me, so that Max and he could sing "happy birthday" while I blew out my candles.
Just before his birthday, Max had a couple of scheduled evaluations at Children's Hospital. The first was his 6-month follow-up (WE WILL HAVE BEEN HOME 6 MONTHS ON XMAS DAY -- can you believe it?!). He tested "normal" in virtually every developmental milestone, which means he tested in at least the 20-month-old range for all areas. In "receptive speech", he even tested above his 24-month age range, because you can give him two and three part instructions and he can listen and follow all of the steps. A few days later, he had a routine hearing evaluation (as recommended by the Adoption Clinic), and not surprisingly, he tested normal in every area.
As far as his regular speech, it is really coming along, and his vocabulary and clarity improve every day. He's still testing in the "low" range, but we have every reason to believe that he will catch up. I am sharing this not to brag or take any credit at all (seriously, we do not do anything special with him -- we just read to him alot and talk as much as we normally would), but I do want to share these updates with others who I know are still on the Kaz adoption journey. This child did not speak, smile, or show any emotion beyond gutteral moans for the first few weeks that we knew him, and he didn't start making any meaningful sounds until we were home for a few weeks. The progress -- without any intense efforts by any means on our part -- is beyond amazing. The International Adoption Clinic doesn't even recommend that he come in again until three years from now, as they do want to follow his progress but they do not feel he needs any more of their specialized attention. Thank you, God, for all of our blessings.
So, just a few days after Max's birthday, we gave him the wonderful gift of a small medical procedure on his manly pieces/parts. All routine stuff, but he did have to be under general anesthesia for the procedure. He was first put under using a gas mask, and I got to hold him that entire time. They then whisked him away for what would be an IV of fluids and a epidural-like block. It was so difficult to see him wheeled away, but the procedure went like clock-work and we were reunited in less than 90 minutes. We were able to be in recovery with him before he woke up, so I was gently stroking his face and hugging him and kissing him to help him wake up. I fully expected to hear a cry and a "Mama" from my child when he woke up, sure that he would need me more than he ever needed me before. Instead, he woke up, and before his eyes were even open, he lifted his arm above his head, glanced towards the nurse, and said, "OFF." He didn't need me one bit -- he just needed the nurse to take the IV out and remove the board and bandages that held all the tubes in place. Other than taking some really tiny steps for the next two days and wincing a bit more than usual, this kid was back to being happy-go-lucky Max before we ever left the hospital parking lot.
And, I saved one of my favorite pictures for last -- not because we all look so fantastic (are my eyes closed?), but because of what it represents. This is the line-up of my Cincinnati girlfriends who came to Max's birthday party. Keep in mind that Max's party was on a Saturday afternoon on one of the prime Christmas shopping and Christmas party weekends of the year (I myself had a company holiday party the night before and another the night of Max's bday party!). Collectively, these are the women who moved me into my apartment when my first marriage broke up, gathered around one another as we sadly watched Hasbro and dozens of our friends move to Rhode Island (two of my girlfriends lost their jobs in that move -- I had already jumped ship), shared in many late nights and walks of shames that we try not to recollect now, giggled with me as I fell in love again, and hugged me as I struggled with learning how to integrate into Glenn's childrens' lives. All but one of them are single, and they've known me primarily as "single, fun Karen", the person who organizes the trips to the Reds games, the canoe trips, the weekends in New York City, the other road trips, and the happy hours. They've watched me calm down as I settled into my new role as Glenn's partner. They gathered round at a UC football tail gate party, as we announced that we were adopting a child -- and none of them said (out loud anyway!) that we were nuts. And, they decorated our house, inside and out, when we came home with our child (two of them picked us up at the airport!). I did not know how my relationship would change with these women -- women who have watched me go from "fun Karen" to "exhausted new mom who is often really cranky and now has so little time for her friends Karen." And then, Max turned 2, and every single one of them was there, gathered around his cake, singing "Happy Birthday" at the top of their lungs while wearing Elmo party hats. I cried while we sang, not only because I have an amazing husband and an amazing 2-year-old, but because I have this amazing group of girlfriends who have embraced my husband, my child, and me more than ever. I know I can and will make a stronger effort to grow additional relationships with our married friends, and friends who have children who are closer in age to Max. In the meantime, Max is surrounded by these women, all of whom are his favorite aunts ever. As the Girl Scouts taught us, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other is gold."
These are my golden girlfriends.
Merry Christmas, with love.
Karen.
