Road Trippin'

Long time no post! I won't even try to make excuses for my total blog slackerness. It does feel like we've been on the road since October, even though we've also been snowed in a few times during those months. Cincinnati saw a nice hint of Spring over the weekend, so our piles of snow and ice have all but melted away. We're ready for Spring, but that dang groundhog seems to have another thing in mind. And, since we used his name in vain about a thousand times in Kaz ("every day, the same thing over and over again, just like the movie Groundhog's Day"), I'm pretty sure he's out to get us.

Before I jump into lots of pictures to document where the heck we've been these last few weeks, I must humbly thank my friend Susan and her family for the nice shout-out of the Lemonade Award variety. Susan and family welcomed Leeza Grace to their family last year. Susan waited and waited and waited to travel to Kazakhstan for her daughter, and then as she was stepping on the plane, her US-based agency went out of business! Adopting internationally is stressful enough -- even when you can be in contact with your agency every single day -- but it's off the charts stressful if your agency tanks as you're headed to Kazakhstan. Maybe Susan cried or freaked out or asked God, "what's up?!", but you would never have known it from her amazing blog entries and emails during her journey. She just got on that plane, plopped herself in Kaz, and stayed for almost 3 months, never considering heading home without her daughter. So, given that she is the most positive person EVER, I am humbled and honored that she gifted forward the Lemonade Award, which she bestowed on her blogger friends who show a positive attitude, the whole "glass half full " mentality, and the whole lemon/lemonade gist. (You say lemonade, I say margaritas, but let's not get into semantics -- ha!). Anyway, thanks Susan, for the shout-out. I now need to gift it forward as well, and that post will follow soon!

It's not difficult to be optimistic when you share your home with the most joyous, happy, funny 2-year-old. Max wakes up happy and on most nights, goes to bed happy. He climbs the stairs at night, waving "night night" to anyone (and any pet) along the way, and he will generally go into his crib without much fuss after lots of reading and singing. (Side note: we're also in our very early stages of saying a bedtime prayer -- which generally causes him to break out into his own special version of Away in a Manger, which he does any time we talk about Jesus. It's adorable.) What's interesting now is that he will lay in his crib -- sometimes for up to two hours -- talking and singing to himself. I need to capture it on a recording or video. Glenn and I sit downstairs and listen on the monitor and just marvel at our little guy -- the little guy who did not speak or show an ounce of emotion during virtually all of our visits to the baby house. We can't figure out if he isn't tired or doesn't need alot of sleep or what, but we want to believe that he is just happy and comfortable, and that he is just chillin' and loving life. We could probably try cutting out his afternoon nap, but he naps at day care three days each week, and we ALL look forward to those naps on his other days at home. :-) If he doesn't have to get up for school, he'll sleep in until 9:30, which is great in our house of night owls.

He's really into music right now, and he could sit and watch Jack's Big Music Show or Backyardigans (both on Noggin, a completely unknown network to us before Max) for hours if we'd let him. This is also a new discovery -- just a few short weeks ago he would not even notice a video. As of his "two-year-old" doctor appointment last week, he weighs 26 pounds and he is 33 1/2 inches tall. He has gained a pound and has grown another inch since his appointment two months ago at the International Adoption Clinic. He continues to climb up the percentile charts in both height and weight -- he's hovering around the 15% range for height, and he's now in the 25th percentile for weight. Our doctors barely mention any of this -- they are so thrilled with his progress, and again, I only mention it as I know people like to follow the progress of children adopted from Kaz.

His primary care pediatrician concurs with the IAC that we should have his speech evaluated, so we will do that shortly. He babbles in multi-word sentences constantly now, but he still sounds like he's speaking Martian. We figure it can't hurt to have him evaluated, especially if the specialists can give us some additional ideas on how to help him. Just as I was fascinated to watch Children's Hospital test his hearing (which was perfect), it will be interesting to see how they will test his speech. He won't speak in front of strangers until he has really warmed up to them, so I can't wait to see how they get him to speak at all!

So, on to our road trip reports. We spent some time on Christmas Eve with Jessica and Tyler, and then we spent Christmas morning at home -- just Glenn, Max, and me. We really tried to keep things very simple, and it was a wonderful lazy day together. As I think back, I'm not sure that Max even made it out of his reindeer pajamas that day. :-)


We promised ourselves that Santa would not bring Max very many things, and I think we managed to keep it in check .... but I have to admit that I felt one tiny moment of regret when I pulled everything out after Max went to bed on Christmas Eve and it didn't seem to be "enough". Of course, looking back now, we know it was plenty and in fact, on a tip from Heather, I even put a few of his gifts away to bring out later this year. As with most 2-year-olds, he'll play with his "real toys" for awhile, and then he will spend an hour playing with a piece of string and a hanger.

Max loves to help clean (we'll take it while we can get it), so he loves his new vacuum cleaner.

My mom found this reindeer rocker at Ikea. Max likes to sit on it and rock away to his favorite episodes of Jack's Big Music Show.

Tiger devoured the Wonder Pets packaging, dreaming about how delicious Ming Ming would be as dinner.

We loaded up the car the next morning and headed to Ann Arbor for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. This was our first holiday without my beloved Aunt Barb, and it was wonderful to have Max to brighten the day for all of us. Thanks to an ice/snow storm, it took us 7 hours to get there (it should have been 4 1/2) ... and thanks to an in-car video system that Santa left under our tree, Max was entirely more content than his two parents. I didn't get any photos at my Aunt's and Uncle's house -- I'm not sure why, other than the fact that I was thrown a bit off my game due to the crazy car ride. We spent the night in a hotel in Toledo, and spent the next day with my Dad and stepmom. Max's grandparents gave him an Elmo Live, which scared the pants off of him. Have you seen this thing? Elmo goes into sleeper mode and then all of a sudden, he springs to life and starts telling another story or singing another song. Max was slowly making his way past a "quiet" Elmo to get to a safer area of the room when Elmo burst into story. Poor Max jumped three inches straight up and I almost busted a rib trying not laugh. Max still keeps one eye on that sneaky Elmo any time he walks past him.

If there's a present to be opened, Max is there to help, with what some might think is a slightly exaggerated case of excitement. Here, he is particularly exuberant about my brother's Loews gift card.

After our two-day road trip to northern Ohio and Michigan, we came home and worked two days -- and then Glenn and I took a road trip of our own. The University of Cincinnati played in the Orange Bowl in Miami on New Year's Day, and we headed to Miami for the game. Neither Glenn nor I have any formal ties to UC, although Glenn grew up in Clifton in the shadows of UC, so he's a lifelong fan and follower. I have just jumped solidly on the bandwagon, happy to have a football team in Cincinnati that actually wins occasionally. We are so so so blessed that Heather, Rich, and Max's BFFs Ellie and Maggie welcomed Max into their home for FOUR nights! We were actually only gone for three days, but because of a very early departing flight and a very late arrival flight, Max spent four glorious nights with his girlfriends. Heather is expecting her third child in April, so Max just moved into the space that will hereafter be occupied by the new baby. As you can see from the photos below, Max had no problems adjusting to his temporary home.

Watching a movie with Rich and Ellie.

Getting ready for a pancake breakfast.

Maggie loved having a "little brother", and as I understand it, she spent the three days trying to convince Max to team up with her against Ellie. Fortunately, Ellie is one tough 18-month-old, and she could probably take Max down if she wanted to!

In Miami, we rented a 3 bedroom/4 bathroom villa that overlooked the Blue Monster golf course in the Doral area of Miami. Mindy researched the accommodations and booked everything, and it was so much fun for all seven of us to be able to stay together in one place. This was the view out of the master suite, which Glenn and I managed to claim as our own (thanks to our very generous friends).

The gang as we were headed to the game, and then later that night as we tailgated with some other friends who had driven down from Cincinnati. UC lost the game, but that ended up being irrelevant for most of us. :-)

A week into the New Year, my mom had open heart surgery (proactively planned to deal with a valve problem). So, I headed back up to Toledo so that I could take her to the hospital and be there throughout the surgery. She came through the surgery with flying colors, and she has had an amazing recovery. We let her recuperate in the hospital and in a nearby nursing facility for 10 days, and then she needed a dose of her grandson. So, we piled in the car and drove up I-75 AGAIN, so that Max and Gramma could spend some quality time together.

Max is in that "CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE" stage, as evidenced by this photo.

More faces of Max.....

Somewhere in the middle of all of this craziness, I agreed with three of my girlfriends that we would not give one another Christmas presents, but instead, we would "make" something for one another. I spent as many hours lamenting my willingness to go along with this crazy scheme as I did finally actually making something! Kathleen is modeling my handiwork ... mosaic frames with a picture of the four of us at a Bengals game, and fleece Bengals scarves. I loved making both -- I actually do like being "crafty" -- but I kept thinking that I need to do the same type of creative stuff with and for Max, so I felt both guilt and joy as I created my gifts.

Last weekend, Max and I piled into the car and headed down into Kentucky, to spend the day with "cousins" Zoe and Austin, and then the evening with "Kentucky Karen", her husband Pat, and their adorable son Nick. Karen and Pat served up a yummy spaghetti meal for several of us, including another Kaz adoptive family and three UK students who are from Kazakhstan. Max and I were on the road for 12 hours that day, and we had a blast. (Glenn got a much deserved day to himself). Max's nap schedule was all screwed up, but he hung in there and had a melt-down-free day. It was just a great day.

I was so busy having fun at Karen's that I forgot to dig out my camera. If I had, I surely would have had a picture of Max climbing up the beautiful wooden slat blinds in her kitchen. I don't know what it is with Max, but he loves to hang on blinds (Applebees' are another favorite). I spend alot of time moving cords our of his reach. Nick was so generous with Max, sharing his toys and letting the "little kid" tag along. HUGE thanks to Pat, who quietly headed to the family room with the three boys while I sat at the dining table enjoying those "adult" moments with all of the guests. The time went by too quickly, but we were so honored to have been included.

Max and Austin hanging out in Zoe's room. Somehow, Zoe missed out on the pictures!

A few final pics. Our great friends Kelly and Gordie sent Max this adorable Columbus Blue Jackets outfit. Gordie is a former college hockey player and current Select Team coach, and I have informed him that Max holds baseball bats and golf clubs like a hockey stick, and he hits the balls around like a hockey puck. Gordie has agreed to serve as Max's private coach if Max's Russian genes result in amazing hockey skills. :-) The first picture is proof that Max isn't always his cute little self -- this is the result when he doesn't get to hold the camera. After "sharing" the camera with him so he could take 30 or so pictures of his feet and the ceiling (the best angel for his little fingers to push the buttons), he was back to his cute little self to pose in his hockey outfit.

And just one last picture, taken just a few days ago.

More soon! (Must gift forward those Lemonade Awards!)