We may or may not ever be able to make an announcement that "we're pregnant"...but we have come to understand that the blessing is the fact that however parenthood happens, it is a miracle! ....... Now we have been home with our precious blessing from Russia since August 2007. Join us on our fun and crazy ride that we call "life with this child of mine."
Thursday, March 26, 2009
2 Years
Has it really been that long? Two years since we met that little 15-month old baby that cried in our arms because he had no clue who we were or why we were taking him away from his routine to (attempt to) play with him. I suppose the beginning of our adoption process marked the start of our "new path" to parenthood...but it had never been so clear to us, as that day in the baby home director's office, that this little boy - more than just a picture or a list of medical information - was truly our new path.

Each day of that trip, I posted to this blog, but aside from a few pictures in slideshows & videos, I don't know that I have ever shared photos from our first visit - a very short 2 1/2 days with Iliya.

If I have, forgive me...but if I haven't, I hope you enjoy. Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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This is the very first snapshot of Iliya taken with my camera. Perhaps the first thing thing that struck me, as he walked in the door, was that he was walking! I don't know what I had expected...but I guess I thought someone would've carried him in and placed him in my arms.  Nope, he toddled right in...right past us without even a glance.


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After the doctor went out, he cried...and then the doctor came back, picked him up, and consoled him. As an aside, one of the first things I noticed about him when he started crying, was that he had so many teeth!


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While I wasn't crazy about this outfit, in retrospect, one of the more striking things about the outfit was that he wasn't in tights and girl clothes...as many children often are. It was obvious that the baby home staff took great care to dress him up and make him look like a boy (for all of our time together, not just the first meeting). We would've loved him, either way, but in my opinion, it was very thoughtful of the staff to do their best to make him look nice for us.


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He thought the toys we brought him were pretty cool. Us?  Were we cool?  Not so much.


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Trying to distract him with a stuffed animal...

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But he is NOT impressed. Not by a long shot.

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First family photo

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One of the only things that calmed him - if only for a few seconds at a time - was when Nathan took him to the window to look outside. That ended up actually being one of the things we learned to do, in our other visits, to calm him down when he got upset.


It's interesting to go back and remember all of the lasting impressions I have of that day. Things like the fact he was walking...and had so many teeth. Weird stuff, I'm sure it may seem, but I think the vast emotion of the day was such that my brain could only process such things. And that first meeting only lasted a half hour, but I don't think I have ever felt so drained from such a short time. Everything...all the training and knowledge I had completely deserted me when that precious little baby started crying inconsolably. There was nothing I knew to do; it was frustrating to me, because I felt like an actor who had known all the lines but suddenly went blank as the curtain rose.

But you know, I would do that day over a million times, if it meant being where we are today. There are no words to tell you how worth it the whole experience was.

Written at Thursday, March 26, 2009 by Melissa.
7 comments
7 Comments:
Blogger Carey and Norman said...
What a fun walk down memory lane. We were just beginning our adoption with CHI when you were traveling, so you and Adrienne were the two first blogs that we read. It is fun to think that it has been 2 years since all this has happened. What an amazing two years it has been!
11:52 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...
I just love strolls down memory lane! Thanks for the memories!! Love you!
1:23 PM  
Blogger Ronda said...
I never realized how close in time our entire journey was to yours. We were flying to Ekat this day two years ago to meet N & A. We met them on the 29th. Funny how we ended up in the Moscow airport together too.
What a wild ride it has been. Thanks for the photos of those first moments.

Ronda
3:23 PM  
What a sweet post. We were just re-reading some of our posts from our 1st trip. It's so emotional and so sweet. Congratulations on all of your milestones and memories together.
8:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
All I can say is AMEN for the three of you and I loved the memory lane. Wish I had something like that for my 3 adopted children. You are so blessed and loved by all.

Carolyn
Florida
11:55 PM  
Blogger kate said...
Happy 2 years!
3:25 AM  
Blogger Christen L said...
Melissa - It's been awhile since I stopped by the blog. Can't believe it's been 2 years!!! Time flies!! :) It won't be long and I'll be popping in to ask questions as our adoption process starts moving forward. (end of summer...) Congrats on the anniversary! Your little man looks like he's grown into such a happy and healthy little boy. Makes me even more excited to get moving towards are very own little one.

ellis-family.blogspot.com
9:18 AM  
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