In addition, we are exhausted.

I guess that goes without saying, though. Our jet lag is getting better...and once it is gone, I think we will still be tired, but not this dog-tiredness that we've been feeling. Some people stay up late to post to their blog...not me. At least not right now. When my child goes down for the night, I do the bare essentials that must be done to keep the house running smoothly (like sit down with Nathan for a few minutes before we both nod off) and then it is off to bed. I've got to have sleep, so if I'm awake in the morning & am lucky enough for the little one to be sleeping, then I sit down to the computer. Like this morning. It's 5:30, he's still asleep (though who knows for how long), so here I sit.

Okay, you didn't come here to learn when I choose/am able to blog, so I'll get down to the nitty-gritty.

We really do seem to be adjusting well. It's hard for me to believe we've only been home almost 4 days - it seems like so much longer. I guess, in part, because Iliya keeps surprising me with his fairly quick adjustment to life here.

He has gotten in about 7 hours, over two nights, in his crib. He's been so exhausted that he just falls asleep at night, which affords me the opportunity to lay him down in the crib. He'll wake up scared, so we end up bringing him to bed with us. While we really don't want him to get really accustomed to sleeping with us, for now, we figure that sleep is a good bonding time, a time when he may be scared...and we can give him comfort...not to mention the fact that Nathan & I both need our sleep, and I'd rather bring him to bed with us, rather than stay up for an hour in the middle of the night, trying to make him sleep in his own bed. I guess you pick your battles...and this one, I thought we would fight, but we've both just decided that it's not one we really feel is worth fighting right now.

We have been doing really well with short visits by friends & family. It's been a little surprising...but so far, so good! Night-before-last, aunt Kristy, uncle Patrick & cousin Natalie brought supper over for us & ended up staying to eat with us. Iliya took a little while to warm up, and - using me as his security - he ended up having a good time playing with Natalie. They brought over poppyseed chicken casserole, greenbeans, rolls, and a salad w/ mushrooms. Iliya ate the casserole like there was no tomorrow...he even had some greenbeans (till he decided he didn't like them one bit), a roll, and - of all things - a huge mushroom slice. We had leftovers for lunch yesterday, and he enjoyed the casserole as much the second time as he did the first!

He has decided that he so enjoys the cats. They don't think quite as much of him...but it's cute to watch him go after them. We are working on being gentle with the kitties...but he does love them. In fact, when he is in the midst of a tantrum or fit, when a cat walks in - it immediately distracts him and everything is better because a cat graced us with their presence. His third word is cat (the first being "da-da" - referring to daddy, and the second being "da-uff-uff" referring to pictures of dogs).


"playing" with the cat

He is not quite as sure about the dogs, now that they are up close & personal. He had the same reaction to them as he did the cats - first, intrigue & excitement (hey, there's a dog!) and then fear (oh my, that thing is big!) and now he's okay with them, as long as I'm holding him. We'll see how he continues to react & interact with them. My guess is that he'll be playing with them pretty soon. But we're not rushing or forcing him into anything. It's funny...Nathan said, "We started with cats, now dogs...Iliya is probably thinking, 'what next, elephants?!' "

Night-before-last, after K, P, & N left, Iliya went to his stroller and tried to get in it. So we stuck him in and went for a walk (at 7:00 P.M., the heat was still oppressive). Five minutes into the walk, and he was out like a light. When we got home, we forewent the bath and laid him straight down (mainly because he just wouldn't wake up, and I tried to get him up, but we've covered what a pill he can be to wake, once he's asleep).

On to yesterday. It was a good & very busy day. It started at 5 AM (though not really by choice...mostly because a certain little boy woke up and couldn't go back to sleep). First we ate breakfast...and then Nathan & Iliya took a walk while I got a shower. When they got back, we bathed the little one and then Nathan took a shower. Then we were out the door, headed to my work's HR to get little one covered by my benefits.


in pj's at breakfast


being silly, before we left to run our errands

We got to the HR building, and circled forEVER, trying to find a parking place. Finally, we got tired of circling, and decided to take Iliya on over to my office to introduce him to some of my co-workers. My child is such a mess. And he's so funny, too...it's amazing to me, how much personality he has. He loves to laugh & make other people laugh - and he's really getting comfortable with other people, as long as Nathan & I am there. Fortunately, one of my co-workers had her camera, and she snapped some great pictures. Here are a few...okay, more than a few - I just couldn't pick:



We had a good time seeing everyone - and then we decided to try HR again. We got a great parking place (thanks, S!) and I now have family heath/dental coverage, and am set up on a flexible spending account for daycare expenses!

After leaving HR, we ran to Target to get a few things we desperately needed...and then it was on to home.

Iliya did really well with the whole morning...but once we got home, he was ready for lunch & a nap. He went down without a problem and probably would've slept for 5 hours, if we had let him! Our friend, Jarred came over for a few minutes around the end of naptime...and then we were visited by our friend Lana, who brought us some potato soup & salad for dinner. And then our friend April, who came by to see the famous little man for a few minutes.

Nathan had to take his final exam for his class, yesterday afternoon, so he went to pick up Heathcliff from the vet in the early afternoon...and then Iliya & I went to pick up Gracie in the late afternoon, while N was taking his test (we picked them up separately, because Gracie had to stay longer, for a recheck of a UTI she had before we left & I didn't think that it would be wise for me and Iliya to go by ourselves to pick up both dogs at once, esp. since he had never seen them).

When we got home, aunt Sarah was at the house (she had not gotten to come to the airport on Tuesday, so she came down this weekend to stay w/ a friend & to come visit for a little bit with us). Iliya thoroughly enjoyed being a 'ham' for her and I think she thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment!

We ate the potato soup for supper - and Iliya had two helpings of it! He also ate another big mushroom slice (which is sorta starting to gross me out a little) and some ham. After supper, we played for a little while longer, and then it was time for bath. Toward the end of his bath, the little guy started getting cranky, so we ended it, got dressed for bed and made our way back into the living room. The TV was on & I sat down on the couch with Iliya for a second. I was going to let him down to play for a few more minutes before bedtime, but he snuggled right in to me, and fell asleep within about 30 seconds.

I guess it was a tiring day, yesterday! After I laid him down, I thought (for about 2 seconds) about doing dishes in the sink, and then thought better of it...and we ended up going to bed. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!

And here I am, at 7:00 a.m., finishing up this post while my child (still) sleeps. I'm sorry for the play-by-play action of my blogposts right now. One day, I hope to do more "themed" posts - but for now, this is all I have to blog about - and from the feedback I get, y'all are okay with this! Plus, it will be fun to go back, one day, and read about our early life as a family. I'm sure this will be priceless!

For now...I'm crossing my fingers for another hour of sleep out of my child...those dishes in the sink really need to be taken care of.