Lotsa Palooza!

We think we'll define Palooza as "really good times", and claim that our June has been nothing but Paloozin!

The month started off with a grand celebration, as big brother Tyler graduated from high school. We are soooooo proud of Tyler, and we were so excited to attend the ceremony. It was a little nerve-wracking with Max, who has yet to master the talent of sitting still. He just kept pointing at all of the graduates, and saying "lots of people."

If we would have let him, he would have spent the entire ceremony swinging from a hand railing, but given that the drop was about 6 feet if he accidentally let go, we had to derail the monkey activities. He was not happy, but we all made it through the pomp and circumstance and posed for the requisite photos afterwards.

A few days later, we were off to Nashville, where we celebrated with 60+ other families who have adopted a child (or children) from Kazakhstan. "Kazapalooza" is the brainchild of four amazing women -- Muriel, Gretchen, Kristen, and Michelle -- who met through their journeys to their children. This was the second annual Kazapalooza event, and it was twice as big as last year's. Who knows what next year will bring?! The event took place in the Opryland Hotel, which we've come to believe might be the size of the City of Cincinnati. Seriously, I never did really get my bearings! It was a little overwhelming, and I'm happy that I set the bar very low for myself, expecting few if any "real" conversations, given the amount of people and the disproportionate amount of toddlers (who always have another agenda when two adults want to stop for a chat). We met so many people who supported us during our journey to Max, and for whom we tried to show that same support somewhere along the way. We wish we could have met even more people, and we certainly would have loved more adult conversation, but the event was just as much for our kids, and it was amazing to celebrate these children.

Glenn was a little overwhelmed by the entire thing (he's not quite the blog stalker that I am -- HA!), so he was happy to escape to our room with Max each night, giving me a chance to go out with a few of the other women each evening. I was so happy to have Lexi Karen by my side, as I felt a little out of sorts -- not sure if it was the toddler thing, or the fact that I knew absolutely no one other than her when we arrived. As always, she was a fantastic friend, and I just tagged along by her confident side!

This was Max on Friday night, as I was headed out the door to meet Karen and others. I kissed him good-night, and said, "Mama is going to meet her friends, okay?" He said, "Night night, Mama. I happy." King-size bed all to yourself. Personal DVD player with multiple DVD options. Elmo pajamas. Ahhhhh. Happiness.

I didn't end up taking very many pictures -- I can't even really explain why. Max was a bit overwhelmed, so I did spend alot of time with him in my arms (although he's getting heavy, I am not complaining -- I never grow tired of that little body snuggled against mine!) So, I guess it was never that easy to balance him AND the camera.

On the first night, we were thrilled to seek out and meet Diana and Bob, who traveled to Ust a few months after us to adopt their son Anton from the same baby house where Max lived for 18 months. Max wasn't too sure about having his picture taken (a theme throughout the weekend). Don't Anton and Max look alike?? Maybe cousins for real??

Thank you, Diana, for better pictures than I was able to capture!

"Don't touch me" - another common approach to the other children. Not typical, and I chalk it up to a bit of sensory overload.

I love this picture of Max. A true gift, from Diana, who took the photo and emailed it to me. I love that Max is wearing his lanyard, and you can almost make out the "Kazapalooza", but clearly see "2009." The lanyard may have been one of Max's favorite parts of the entire trip!

Saturday night, the organizers rented a space at a nearby Dave and Busters, and a "children's DJ" entertained the kids. As did a few parents, who got roped into a rockin' version of YMCA. Great stuff!

It seemed like alot of people headed for home Sunday morning, but we were staying an extra day. So we dressed for the pool and spent a bit of time saying our good-byes that morning on our way to the pool. Max was way more interested in the pool than he was sticking around while his Mom tried to have one last conversation. Hence, he once again wasn't crazy about the photos, but I gave it my best shot!

Someday, Max will not cry when two beautiful women are trying to touch him. :-) In the yellow is Leeza, daughter of the infamous Susan and Joe (and little sis to Sean). Susan posted to our blog EVERY SINGLE DAY when we were in Kaz and was truly a rock of support. When they traveled to Kaz to adopt Leeza several months later, their agency went out of business WHILE THEY WERE IN KAZAKHSTAN. Seriously, wouldn't anyone else freak out? Not Susan. She burrowed into Kaz for 10 weeks and didn't leave until her daughter was firmly strapped in her Ergo carrier for good. Amazing stuff. And, what a BEAUTIFUL daughter.

Nina is in the blue. Towards the end of our first trip, Nina was moved into Max's room in the Baby House, and then we were able to visit with her again during our short second trip to reunite forever with Max. We fell in love with Nina, and we prayed that she would find her forever family. I literally cried when we found out she'd met her family -- a family who we'd already come to admire via their blog. It was so great to see Nina again, and to meet her parents, Lori and Dart (and big brother Nolan) in person (IRL -- "in real life"). We could not have hand-picked a better family for Nina if we'd been given the chance.

One last visit with Lexi Karen, her husband Pat, and Max's buddy Nick. Neither son was eager to pose for yet ANOTHER picture. :-)

We finally made it to the pool, and then spent time later that day exploring the rest of the hotel -- which included an indoor "river" complete with a boat ride. I was happy that we chose to stick around for some extra family time, and as you can see, Max (and Glenn) perked up when there was a little less action around.

I will never grow tired of these "father/son" moments.

Max was acting goofy, running around the hotel room in his "plastic pants." (I'm a little neurotic about my fear that he will somehow poop in the pool, so swim diapers alone don't cut it for me!) He has no idea that he should be mortified that I make him wear these plastic bloomers.

After a few short days at home, Glenn and I headed to Columbus to celebrate the marriage of my dear friend Kelly, to the amazing Gordie. They had a very private ceremony on Friday night, and then a kick-A$%# party on Saturday night. Glenn and I REALLY needed a night away, and Heather once again gave us the gift of keeping Max overnight so we could travel out of town. We had so much fun celebrating with this great couple and all of their great friends, and we were regulars on the dance floor all night long. We love, love, love being Max's parents, but it is so nice to occasionally remind ourselves that we also love being together as a couple.

I spent alot of time in my 20s with these women -- some of those memories are best left unspoken. :-) It was so great to reconnect, and we all share this overwhelming happiness that Kelly and Gordie found one another. Kelly is in the long black dress -- she's the one with the new bride glow. :-)

So, let's see ... we had a family weekend, and then a Glenn/Karen couple's weekend, so what was next? Time for Max and I to hit the road as a two-some. For Father's Day weekend, Max and I drove to my Mom's house on Saturday, spent the evening and the night with her, and then drove 90 minutes into Michigan to spend Father's Day at my dad's house. Was it lonely for Glenn to be without us for the weekend? Maybe so, but I think the 18 holes of golf on both Saturday AND Sunday helped ease the pain. Oh, and he sandwiched in a brunch with his other two children, Tyler and Jessica, between the rounds of golf, so I promise he was not feeling deserted.

My mom scooted Max off to the Build A Bear store at a mall in Toledo. Saturday was our "gotcha day" anniversary, and she wanted to be sure to commemorate the day by helping Max build a snow leopard -- the animal that is featured in alot of stories and pictures of Kazakhstan. I missed alot of the actual assembly, as I was back at the food court leisurely enjoying my dinner without toddler distraction. I came in at the end. I love that she did this with Max on June 20th ... Now, every year on June 20th (or at least until Build A Bear files bankruptcy or otherwise goes out of business) we'll receive a "happy birthday" email for "Zak", the snow leopard. What a great addition to our gotcha day celebration! (As a reminder, Max's first name is actually Zakary, and of course, Zak is Kaz spelled backwards. We are so clever in our family. HA!)

In actuality, we are making a bigger deal about "family" day, or the day that we came home to the US with Max. We know that Glenn will not be in Kaz for our second adoption on "gotcha" day, so our plan is to celebrate our sons' homecoming dates each year.

I think this was the reaction I received when I asked him to get down from the computer after we registered the leopard's birth.

Happier times.

When with Grandma, it's ice cream for dinner.

I have very few pictures of Max at my Dad's house, because Max and I spent much of the afternoon actually in the lake. I know that my dad, my step mom, and uncles Kendall (my brother) and Jason took alot more pictures, all featuring me in my bathing suit. Oh goody for me and them. We also spent some time sitting on the boat, and Max was happy to enjoy a drink while resting between swimming sessions. I spent my summers on this lake as a child, and it was really great to be in it again with my son!

Max and I hit the road late that afternoon and drove the four and a half hours home so that we'd be home for a little Father's Day celebration with Glenn. It's actually a little creepy how quiet Max is in the car if there is a DVD playing. One of our blogger comrades labeled children's DVD's "toddler crack", and it is a bit freaky to see how quickly Max becomes absorbed. I can't say I'm crazy about the separation between parent and child when a DVD player comes into the car, but I also have to admit that it makes traveling with Max a total breeze. It's not my proudest parenting moment, but we traveled 500 miles with zero meltdowns, so I've learned to live with myself and those compromises now and again.

I love the next picture -- I'm not sure who was more excited to say "Happy Father's Day" when Glenn got home that night -- Boomer or Max!

Max had helped me wrap up a few gifts for Glenn, including a pair of shoes. We practiced saying "Happy Father's Day", and Max was eager to shout it when Glenn got home. It came out, "Happy Faddas' Day New Shoes." Clearly, keeping a secret is not Max's strength. He could not wait for Glenn to open those new shoes!

Other quick updates:

• Max sailed through his Early Intervention evaluations, and he does not qualify for any services. All great news, and fascinating to watch and observe. The evaluators and the session were amazing. It may be a new mission of mine to ensure that the under-served in our city absolutely know about this free service. I have to figure out a way to help.

• We are still awaiting our I-797 (final immigration paperwork), and we will then be ready to submit our dossier. Any. Day. Now.

• Glenn took Max to the dentist today, for the first time, where Glenn reports that Max was a rock star and lay quietly in the chair with his mouth wide open while they counted his teeth and gave them a thorough cleaning. (I am in New York on business, and hence missed the dentist visit, which may be a good thing -- I sense Max is a bit more "clingy" with his Mama than he is with his Papa!) This visit was important on a number of levels, including ensuring that Max does not have tooth issues that may be interfering with his willingness to eat/chew. All clear in that regard, so we're really narrowing Max's eating challenges down to "I just don't feel like eating." We'll check back in with his regular pediatrician in two weeks, during Max's 2 1/2 year check-up, and we'll decide then if there is any more that we should do in the eating area. Until then, no big deal, or as Max says, "No bippie." (No biggy....)

Happy Father's Day, especially to all of those first-time Fathers!