This weekend

Caleb loves water! We just had the small pool out today but Caleb doesn't care as long as there is water to splash in.


Elijah didn't like the pool because it was too cold. So he just watched as Caleb splashed and played with Mikey. He laughed every time Mikey jumped for the water.


Another preferred place to sleep- the stroller!

Last weekend

On Friday, Elijah and I went to visit my students. They loved him and he loved all of the attention!

We had beautiful weather on Saturday. We spent the day outside. Caleb sprayed his new squirt bottle all afternoon. He loves to spray things with water. I love his toothless smile!

Elijah loved the swing. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but then quickly decided it was a lot of fun!

As soon as I begin to sing When you're happy and you know it, Elijah throws his hands in the air for "Hooray!"

I can't tell you how many times I have imagined seeing Elijah in his carseat when I looked in the backseat. What a great feeling to turn around and finally see my precious boy there!

I just asked Elijah where his nose is. :) He can also show me where his head is, and has started to show me where his ears are too.

Elijah loves to play with my cell phone. Here he is saying "Lo" for Hello.:)

Jimmy watching a movie with me on Sunday evening.
We had a great weekend!

Home a week

Emptying toys from the bins and putting them into the toy box:)




We have been home a week today and it has been wonderful. Elijah is fitting in nicely and sleeping well at night, thank goodness. He is not crazy about naps though, he would rather sleep in my arms (I love this too) or in the truck (LOL!).

He is catching on to things quickly. He signs three words without any prompting. I may say the word but do not have to make the sign. He signs "eat" "drink" and "all done". He will also show you where his nose is when asked. He responds to his name and when you ask him "Where is Elijah?", he will point to himself. His favorite song so far is When you're Happy and you know it and he will clap, stomp his feet, and throw his hands in the air all by himself.

He was afraid of the bath while we were in Russia, but after I brought his ball into the tub, that's all it took to have him see it's not so bad. Now he can't get into the tub fast enough, when it's bath time.:)

He is still a little picky eater, but I know with time he will be eating more of a variety. He does love his yogurt and his cookies!

He loves Caleb and lights up when he sees him. Caleb is doing better at playing with him and not just taking his toys or running a car into him. LOL! Typical big brother....but I have to say Caleb loves his "baby Elijah". He can't wait to see him in the morning and insists that Elijah's highchair is right next to his chair at meal times. Jimmy loves him and wants to show Elijah off to everyone. We are going up to Jimmy's class today so he can introduce his friends to Elijah. Ben has been bringing friends over to meet Elijah. They all get a big kick out of him. Ben thinks it is so cool that Elijah is so funny and smart. He also keeps saying, "He's so cute and small!" :) Tomorrow I am taking Elijah to my classroom so my students can meet him. They have been so excited about the adoption and are very excited to see Elijah in person.

I am so thankful to be home finally with Elijah. What a journey this adoption has been. Adoption is a leap of faith but when God calls on you to adopt, remember that he will never leave you alone to do things by yourself. He is always there making things happen in His time. Waiting is sometimes the hardest part of all, but trusting that God is in control is what will give you peace throughout the process. Believe me, I had to call on God several times for peace, understanding, and patience that it will happen when it is supposed to happen.

Adoption has been God's plan for our family and we have been rewarded with the gift of both Caleb and Elijah. God is Good!

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:15 NKIV

Happy Easter

Elijah's first Easter





Caleb is now a big brother and Elijah is a little brother. God is Good!

Home at last!

Elijah LOVES his puppy and can get rocking pretty good too!



Awwww, Jimmy loves Elijah! He even bought a stuffed tiger to give to Elijah when meeting him for the first time.





It's harder than I thought it would be to get these two to smile and look at the camera at the same time. LOL!

Elijah on the flight from Moscow to home.

Ben's on Spring break in Florida. He will get to meet Elijah tomorrow.
It feels so good to be home!
Elijah did great on the flight from Moscow to Atlanta. He only slept a couple hours and he was as good as gold the rest of the time. He slept real good all night for his first night at home too.:) This morning he has been having a lot of fun playing with all of his toys and riding his Rockin puppy.

We're coming HOME

Elijah, all ready to get his visa!

We got Elijah's visa today! We are leaving for the airport tomorrow at 9:00 am. We should arrive home around 8:30 pm! YAY!
Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Amy

We're in Moscow

Tomorrow is Elijah's medical and Wednesday we go to the American Embassy.
And on Thursday, we come HOME!!!!!!

Thank you for all of your comments! I really love reading them while we are so far away from home. You Moms that traveled alone or stayed back to bring home your child understand how hard it is to be away from everyone!! So thank you again!:)

Thank you for all of your prayers too!

Changing channels

Yep! That's the TV remote. I had the TV on CNN World News and Elijah decided it was time for music videos. Before I changed it for him, I had to take a picture. He has it pointed to the TV that is mounted on the wall. We have been watching music videos. Elijah LOVES music and I found a station that plays English speaking videos with a Russian caption. They even have a BabyTime in the morning where they show baby music videos with characters and such. He loves it!

We are leaving for Moscow in a couple of hours.

More on Elijah

Elijah was signing "more" everytime he wanted to eat, so I showed him the sign for "eat". It's so cute when he does it. He mimicks everything I do. He loves music and he was waving his hands in the air for music. It looked like he was signing "all done". I showed him the sign for "music" and he copied me. Now that one he does not do without modeling but the fact that he did it makes me happy. He loves to dance to the music and he has got some moves! If he is sitting down, he wiggles around and moves his arms around. Today while he was standing and holding onto my hands, he was picking each foot up and down to dance to the music. Too cute! Speaking of standing, we were in the lobby today and he repeatedly kept standing up in the middle of the floor. I think he may take a step soon.:) Elijah also loves to be picked up and raised his hands in the air to be picked up today. Good thing, because I love to hold him!
On a different note, we got Elijah's passport yesterday. Yay!

Happy Boy