Today is Ilya's 3rd month home anniversary! It's hard to believe time has flown by so quickly, and yet it seems like Ilya has always been our son. If you believe as I do that God has a master plan, I guess that means Ilya HAS always been our son, it just took this amazing journey for us to find each other.

Here's Ilya eating his breakfast this morning - Cheerios & pineapples:

Yesterday we went to the BEST.STORE.EVER - - REI - - and we told Ilya to pick out anything he wanted to celebrate his homecoming. This is what he chose:

If you weren't able to tell from our 13th anniversary slideshow, we are definitely the outdoorsy type. Ilya loves his new Kelty Kids Carrier which is great, because we really want to introduce him to the outdoors as early as possible. We really like the backpack carrier because there is a sun/rain shield attachment to keep baby out of the elements. This photo was taken in our driveway and we can't wait to hit the trail with Ilya.

The Kelty can be adjusted for use by mom or dad. Or so say the reviews. So after Norm carried Ilya in it through the store for a bit and decided it was comfy enough for him, he took it off so we could adjust it to the smallest settings for me. I set off to trek around the store for a bit and quickly realized it was not working for me. With each step I took, I felt like the backpack & Ilya were dragging me 3 steps backwards. I was very unsteady and knew there was no way I'd be able to walk uphill with the settings as they were. It wasn't that it was too heavy, just that the weight wasn't proprotioned on me correctly. I tried to find Norm to help me take the backpack/Ilya off so we could see if there were any smaller settings that we overlooked. Of course, I couldn't find Norm anywhere and I started feeling a little dizzy because of the strain on my neck & shoulders. I ran into a sales associate (literally!) & asked if he could help me with the adjustments. He pulled a strap here, yanked a few there, and this went on for a few minutes. He finally stepped back & said "Okay, can you tell a difference now?" and when I took a step, nothing felt different at all. I told him that and he said he wasn't surprised because the settings were already as small as they go. Then he gave me the best advice anyone has ever given me. He told me to go home, grow a few inches and gain some weight overnight & that it should fit me the next time I came in. (I'm 5'2" and and back to my pre-adoption weight of less than 110). I told him I'd get right to work on that as soon as we left! Then Mr. Wiseguy said something about Kelty not thinking someone a child's size would be carrying another child. Haha - very funny! He was kidding around and very nice, so I didn't get offended. Anyway, when we go hiking Norm will be tasked with carrying Ilya and all the baby gear and I'll get stuck toting around the grown up stuff in my pack.

We also bought Ilya his first pair of Baby Merrell's, which are absolutely adorable! These little hiking shoes will be great for him to wear as he explores the great ourdoors with us. If you vist that link, NO WE DID NOT pay $50 for his shoes! We're not that crazy!

Oh, and I found the most comfy indoor/outdoor Acorn slippers (also great for camping). They were normally $50, on sale for $5.83, and then on Clearance for $2.00. SCORE!!

We are seriously addicted to REI and couldn't help but to go back today. This time we bought Ilya this toddler's chair to use when camping, which he also loves!

Tomorrow - Labor Day - is supposed to be beautiful here in Virginia, so we're planning on taking Ilya on his first true hike and LNT lesson (Leave No Trace). Wahoo!

Happy 3 months home Ilya! Mommy & Daddy love you so very much! We are so blessed, so honored, to be your parents.

Sorry for the mess!

I'm in the process of a much needed blog renovation. I'll have it worked out in a few days and appreciate your patience (and input!) as the changes are made. Starting with the new header... Not sure if I like it or not so let me know - - is it a keeper or should I go back to the drawing board? Talk to me people!

...when your husband yells for help as he's changing your son's first diaper of the day. And while we're on the subject, let me just say that discovering your child may either (a) be lactose intolerant or (b) have a milk allergy, is NOT a fun way to start off your weekend. Trust me. It's definitely a SMELLY way but not a FUN way!

This was a double/triple/quadruple diaper, multiple outfit, multiple crib sheet and multiple loads of laundry type of day. Ugh. Oh yes, in the midst of all that fun, we (well, I) also had the chance to scrub a few poop clumps off the carpet and we (well, Norm) scrubbed pooh off Ilya for the umpteenth time. Yay us! :-)

Question for my loyal readers - - how in the world can something so stinky and so voluminous come out of such a cute and little boy??!!

So why are we just now discovering this problem if Ilya's been home for nearly 3 months? To start, the boy has always acted as if milk was the root of all evil. We've been beyond unsuccessful in our attempts to get him to drink anything milk related - whole, skim, chocolate, strawberry, caramel, soy - didn't matter. He would tolerate a scarce amount in his cereal but that was it. We've been supplementing calcium with Pediasure, Yo Baby yogurt and liquid yogurt.

Now that he's getting settled into daycare, I think he's been feeling pressured to keep up with the other kids in his class. (The whole daycare issue deserves its own post though.) I may have mentioned a few posts back that Ilya hated his sippy cup before starting daycare, and now he practically begs for it and throws a short albeit major fit when you take it away or he reaches the end of his drink. So, I can only think that he saw the other kids walking around with their sippy cups and decided he wanted to be a big boy also. Daycare only offers milk or water to the kids. Remember, in Ilya's world milk was close to poison! My best guess is that he finally decided to give milk a try - - maybe to impress his new little girlfriend Victoria, or perhaps in an effort to grow as tall as she is since she's an Amazon woman compared to him! Whatever the reason, he started drinking it in larger amounts recently and wow, are we paying for it!

Daycare called yesterday & said we had to pick up Ilya "immediately" because he had multiple bouts of diarrhea and had gone through his original and backup outfit. I've lost count of the number of blowouts and outfits we've had since bringing him home early yesterday.

**edited to add that before we realized it could be some type of dairy sensitivity issue, we gave Ilya milk to drink at dinner yesterday and again this morning at breakfast. Apparently, that may not have been a good idea."

Let me say that yes it is possible he has some type of stomach virus or whatever going on, but other than the whole poop issue he acts fine. He does not have a fever, doesn't seem like he feels bad, is playful and relatively happy, etc. He has been bloated and very gassy for a few days, and after doing a bit of research and comparing symptoms, looking at Ilya's past history, and not being able to get to the dr. until Monday, for now we're going with some sort of dairy sensitivity to explain what's going on.

In the interim, we're cutting him off from milk/dairy and will stick with Pediasure, juice and water to see what happens. In the meantime, if you'd like to contribute to our Huggies Diaper Fund please email me! After today, our local landfill may decide to start charging us a storage fee since it takes some crazy amount of time for disposable diapers to decompose (I heard anywhere from 250-500 years??!!).

My washer is mocking me to throw just one more pile in, and my dryer is beckoning me to come and fold Ilya's latest load of onesies and shorts. So I'll spare you from having to read more. I'm sure you've never been so happy for a blog post to end! Aren't you glad you checked in tonight?

Kar

On October 12, 1994 a young Airman sporting lovely BCG’s (a.k.a. birth control glasses!) reported for duty in the Andrews Air Force Base Flight Medicine Clinic. Excitement and nervousness quickly built as she approached the counter at her first permanent duty station. Having the BCG’s on didn’t help matters any…and she was mentally kicking herself for breaking her regular glasses that morning. If you know anything about the military, you know that the issued eyeglasses are far from fashionable. F-A-R!!

Not quite knowing what to say, she rapidly blurted out the expected USAF reporting statement:
“AirmanChoatereportingfordutySir!” To which the very serious looking young man behind that counter busted out laughing and said “Uh, yeah...okay. Let me show you around.” I guess her reporting statement was a bit too formal…

He immediately took her under his wing after that first meeting, and has taken care of her ever since. By day two, they were best friends. By December 1994 they were dating exclusively. And on August 19, 1995 they said “I Do!”.

The young Airman sporting fashionable BCG’s and reporting for duty? Me…

The serious looking Airman behind the counter? Norm. My best friend, my husband, my soulmate.

Today we celebrate our 13th Anniversary and I can honestly say that I love my husband more today than when we took our vows. Our commitment to each other grows deeper with each passing day. It is somehow so much sweeter now and grows sweeter each day. I guess this is due to the fact that while the “newness” obviously wears off after 13 years, that length of time proves to us both just how committed we are to each other, our marriage, our friendship, and now our family of 3!

Happy Anniversary Norm! I love you and am so lucky to celebrate this and every day with you!

I hope you all enjoy a little slideshow of us - through the years!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

(*referencing, of course, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Horton Hears a Who")

Thanks again to everyone who sent encouraging comments and emails yesterday/today and especially to everyone who prayed for Ilya. To answer Stacy’s question, yes “that” surgery is the one particular to little boys!

I’m sorry it’s taken so long to update. Ilya has been cranky and really, who can blame the poor little fella? It was pretty obvious he was in a lot of pain yesterday, last night & most of the morning. He took a super long nap this afternoon and woke up seeming like he was feeling better, but I think he was starting to feel uncomfortable again just before bedtime. The urologist gave us a script for Tylenol w/ codeine but we’re trying not to use that more than we have to. We did give him a dose last night before he went to bed and again tonight. During the day we’re giving him regular Tylenol if he seems like he needs it.

Our post-op instructions nearly made me snort when the nurse read them to us in recovery. She was reading from a pre-typed sheet that has options for the doc. to circle but the Urologist, who apparently is missing his calling to appear on Last Comic Standing, added a few comments of his own. I’m not sure if it was her facial expression and the fact that she was totally disgusted in the doc’s “lack of professionalism” or that his instructions to us were really that funny, but it definitely lightened my mood. The stuff in red are his additional instructions:

1. You (may) (may not) operate a vehicle for 24 hours. + 14 years
2. You (may) (may not) drink any alcoholic beverage during the next 24 hours. +19 years

I know it’s one of those moments where you “had to be there” but I still find it funny.

Speaking of recovery, the nurses told us that if all the kids were as well behaved and cute as Ilya, their jobs would be cake! The docs and nurses all knew that Ilya was adopted from Russia, that he’s been home only a few months, and that we’re continuing to work on attachment and bonding. I have to say they were all awesome, amazing and so compliant with our wishes. He was definitely the highlight of their day – unless they say that to all parents!

Now for some seriousness. Sorry folks but I need to be honest here. Before I get into that, though, let me just tell you what a wimp I am. I cannot watch surgeries on Discovery Health. I leave the room at the vet’s office when my dogs & cats get their shots, and yes even when they have their claws clipped. I cannot watch Norm shave because I’m terrified he’s going to slice his throat open. I turn my head, get chills, and refuse to watch if Norm pops a blister or digs out a splinter. Don’t even ask me to dig out a splinter or sticker for you either! I would rather clean up puke than put antibiotics on someone’s wound. And ya know what? I was a Medic in the Air Force!! Now if that’s not funny, what is?!

Anyway, I was dealing with a lot of guilt yesterday afternoon, and a lot of heebie-jeebies. A LOT. I’ve debated whether or not to post about this, but I know a lot of people who read this are either about to, or are considering, scheduling the same surgery for their sons. On the off chance I’m not the wimpiest person in the world when it comes to blood, etc., I thought it important to explain a few things so here goes.

I was NOT prepared for what I saw when I changed his first post-op diaper at home yesterday. Not in the slightest. They did not show us in the hospital, so I got my first glimpse alone upstairs, and frankly I was close to having a panic attack.

A blogger friend posted after her son’s surgery how surprised she was at the lack of surgical evidence (my words, not hers) when she first saw the site. I read that & thought great! I can do this!! Apparently, however, the technique used on her son (bell technique) and on mine (I assume ‘free hand’) were definitely NOT the same. I’m embarrassed and ashamed to admit that I didn’t know there were different techniques. I didn’t know that I should have asked what technique our Urologist used. Seems to me if there were a choice, he would have mentioned each in our consult. That didn’t happen. He didn’t suggest one technique over another, he just told us what to expect pre and post op, the anesthesia, the surgical pros & cons, etc. I still don’t know if one technique is any “better” than the other, unless you factor in the shock effect of seeing “it” for the first time. I wish I had known or read her post again before we had our consult so I would have realized she mentioned the bell technique. That may have clued me in that I should ask more questions.

So anyway I wasn’t prepared. I nearly had a breakdown before I could get the new diaper on, and I had to bring Ilya down 2 flights of stairs to our other changing station in the basement for Norm to peel off the bloody gauze that had become affixed to Ilya’s surgical site. It was stuck and there was no way I could (physically or mentally) pull it off myself. But again, I am a wimp and was totally out of my element at this point. There was lots of swelling and inflammation, lots of redness and lots of other stuff that may be too much to post here. It may not sound like much but trust me, it was.

If you had asked me at this point yesterday whether or not we should have had the surgery, my answer would have been a resounding and emphatic NO! As I type this, however, I am feeling somewhat better about our decision to have this surgery done. The swelling and redness have gone down and Ilya is about 85% his normal, happy self. He was obviously not feeling well this morning but I think we’ll be in a much better place when he wakes up tomorrow.

I guess all I can offer for parents making this decision is to research and ask questions. Although this is considered a routine procedure, don’t think you don’t have options and don’t think you’ll only have to consider the potential dangers of anesthesia, post op bleeding or infection, etc. I’m a little peeved at the urologist for not explaining the different techniques, and I’m way peeved at myself for not Googling this like I seem to Google everything else known to man.

So once again, I have to ask that no one blast me about this. I’m doing a pretty good job at blasting myself, thank you very much. Ilya’s not suffering but I do think we would have done this differently if we knew we had other options. Hopefully by talking about this other families won’t have to suffer the same shock & guilt I did/am.

Kar

Time to put the gown on:


In Recovery:

Ilya is scheduled for "that" surgery this morning. We're about to walk out the door to head to the hospital. I know it's early & unlikely anyone is up blog stalking at this hour, but if you happen to have insomnia & read this please keep Ilya, the doctors and nurses, office staff and of course mommy in your prayers. Will update once we're home.

Thanks!
Kar

Sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. And sometimes you have to laugh at yourself just as hard as others would if there were a hidden webcam somewhere in your home, capturing all your finer moments for the world to see. (And of course laugh at!) The following juggling act took place in the Center Ring of my basement from 4:30-4:45 this afternoon.

- Left hand: Feeding Ilya his afternoon blueberry yogurt snack
- Shoulder: Used to balance the phone as I try to hear whatever Norm is trying to say over all of Ilya’s VERY LOUD (and super cute) chatter!
- Right hand: Net surfing for Norm since he didn’t have internet access at the time; United site to check him in to his flight tomorrow, SeatGuru to make sure he has a good seat, and two other sites that have something to do with holistic medicine. Unfortunately I totally forget what I was supposed to be looking at for him!!
- Left foot: trying to keep 135 lb. Bandit away from Ilya’s yogurt
- Right foot: trying to keep 85 lb Bailey away from aforementioned yogurt (the “pups” learned his highchair is the place to be after the Gerber Graduate fiasco yesterday)
- No extremities left: have to resort to using a straw instead of a spoon to slurp up my microwaved & smooshed up ice cream since I had no other way to feed myself!

Tickets will be available for the next showing, so be ready to order them! I’ve always considered myself a great multi-tasker, but this required a finesse I didn’t know I was capable of.

Oh, and as far as the microwaved/smooshed up ice cream. I posted about this before, but it is my comfort food which I definitely needed today. And yes, the ice cream MUST be smooshed up or else it just isn’t the same.

Around 5pm, Norm’s mom gave me a quick call just to check in. When the phone rang I was in our laundry room in the process of cleaning the cat’s 2 litter boxes. Prior to today I’ve been successful at keeping Ilya out of and uninterested in the litter boxes. I literally had my back turned on him for 2 nanoseconds…long enough to only pick the phone up from the counter & turn back around. Guess where I found Ilya? If you said “litterbox” thankfully you are wrong! Heehee! Did I fool you? Maybe just a little?

He was sitting on the laundry room floor and had somehow managed to flip his mesh laundry basket up and over himself. It became a tent of sorts. He was trapped in it and making blowfish faces on the mesh sides! Very cute!

There’s more of today to post about, but obviously both Ilya & I survived. We had a few struggles this evening but overall it was a much better day than yesterday. No sippy cup mishaps, wardrobe malfunctions, Farmer Joe’s, missing teachers, etc. Yay!!

THANK YOU everyone who sent me encouraging comments and/or emails yesterday & today. Many of you shared memories from your child’s first day of daycare, or your own daycare/childcare fears. And wouldn’t you know it, that post resulted in offers from 2 people to watch Ilya for us! TWO!! How exciting is that? Too bad Susan lives in Texas, Anna in South Carolina, and we’re in VA or else we’d be set and worry free! LOL!

Beijing is hosting the SUMMER Olympics, right...not the WINTER? Tell me, then, how it's possible things went downhill so quickly today. I'm also wondering who pushed me out of the gate at the top of the hill, and why I wasn't issued a helmet or even poles first.

Problem 1: WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS
It started at 7am when I had to wake up Ilya to get him ready for daycare. He normally sleeps until 7:30-8am, so little guy was NOT happy to have his Z's interrupted early. He only ate the daycare's breakfast once last week. I didn't want him waiting until lunch to eat, so I fed him a small breakfast before we left in case he decided to snub his Minnieland food again. He was happy to eat but not so happy when he picked up his sippy cup for juice and it spilled all over him. Seems that on Sunday afternoon, mommy is capable of laying out a week's worth of clothes for mother AND son so closets don't explode each day, but come Monday morning she can't screw the lid on a sippy cup correctly. Go figure. Oopsie.

Upstairs we went to take off the apple juice clothes, clean up sticky boy, and find something new to put on. No sooner did I get the 2nd outfit on him than projectile vomit fell from the sky all over us both. And I had my work clothes on already. Grrr... Mommy puts on outfit #2, Ilya puts on #3 and we were off. We don't get far before I realize I didn't close the garage door & had to turn around to go back home.

Problem 2: WHERE IS EVERYONE?
Well, on the way to daycare we were all stuck behind Farmer Joe on his sleek and modern tractor straight out of the early 1900's. We live in the sticks so it's not uncommon to see tractors on our one-lane roads sometimes. What is uncommon is to get stuck behind one for nearly 7 miles, going 10 mph at best and having NO OPPORTUNITY to pass.

Arrive at daycare really wishing I had a cup of coffee with me. Following Farmer Joe for so long was enough to lull both me & Ilya back to sleep. Driver stayed awake, passenger not so much. So, once again Little Man is woken from his much needed slumber and is NOT happy to see his smiling mama's face. He explained this to me as he bashed a Lego in my face that busted my lip. Seriously - there was blood. Where'd that toy come from anyway? I didn't know we had any stowaway Lego passengers with us. NOTE TO SELF: check car tonight for anymore lethal weapons.

Bleeding, I carry a screaming 16 month old into his Busy Bees classroom.....and much to my surprise we are the only ones there. What? Did they hear us coming & take cover? I hung out in the classroom for 5 minutes and no one ever showed up. So I scoop up Ilya, who by the way had settled into playing nicely with a stuffed animal (why wasn't THAT in the car instead of the Lego??) and once again he is very upset with this latest upheaval. He decided it was a good time to practice screaming again. We walk around the entire facility & finally I find someone who works there. When I asked where Ilya's group was, she looked at me like I was speaking, oh I don't know...RUSSIAN??...and I was met with the blankest of blank stares.

So I find someone else who tells me the Busy Bees are in the infant nursery because (and you should read this next part slowly) there...aren't...enough...teachers...yet...to watch the kids in different rooms. Um, okay. Is this supposed to make me feel any better about leaving my son there all day? Not enough teachers? It's almost 8am and the place opens at 6am!! Where is everyone? Still stuck behind Farmer Joe? So now Ilya is handed off to a stranger that neither of us know and he is terrified. I am heartbroken and on a major guilt trip as I walk out & hear him still screaming. I made it to my car but decided I had to go back until a teacher that Ilya knows arrived. Thankfully it didn't take long for Ms. Lisa to get there, but that's when my first tears of the day started. Norm called to check in shortly after all this & I have no idea what I said to him or if he was able to understand any of my jibberish.

Problem 3: Afternoon "COURTESY CALL" FROM DAYCARE
Your son is sick. Great... Fever, serious bouts of coughing, diarrhea, snotty nose...you name it, it was on their list. My first thought - Is it croup again? Will I need to cart him off to the ER alone? Leave work early to retrieve Ilya and his diarrhea clothes which daycare stuffed into a plastic baggie for me. If you're keeping up with the count, he's now in his 4th outfit of the day! So, get to daycare expecting the worst and find a slightly grumpy boy who is snotty nosed, coughing a bit but thankfully non-feverish.

Problems 4-??: Ill attempts at snacktime, dinnertime, bathtime, blah blah blah
Get home & have a fun 45 minutes but then my son's world crashed in on him. His snack is now dripping off the phone behind our table, our dogs got to sample his Gerber graduate when it ended up on the floor, and I discovered how angry little man can get if you pull him out of the bathtub before HE decides he wants to come out. Wow...we've had tempter tantrums but none like that one.

Normal bedtime is around 7:30-7:45. Poor little guy is exhausted and had passed out cold in my arms by 7:10. I placed him in his crib & haven't heard a peep out of him since. I pray he is able to sleep through the night and wakes up feeling much better tomorrow. I also pray his teachers are in his classroom tomorrow so that his day can start in a familiar environment with familiar people. I pray that I start to finally find peace in the fact that he's in daycare, but at the same time I pray an opportunity presents itself that allows me or Norm to be a stay at home parent.

Oh, and not to worry....the snack is cleaned off the phone, the swelling in my lip has gone down a bit, the dogs haven't puked up the Gerber Graduate (yet!!), I finished washing all of the outfits we both went through today, and I just got off the phone with my fabulous Seestor who talked me off my ledge. Thanks, Rob!!

Here's to a better day tomorrow,
Kar

Remember the movie Ground Hog Day? What I’d give for these past few days to be “ground hog days” for our family. I would love to wake up in tomorrow morning and have yesterday and today repeat themselves again, and again, and again. And again! Not that anything particularly great happened, other than Norm surprising me & Ilya with a trip to the park when we both thought we were going on a boring Gerber juice run to Walmart. Yeah, we’re rebels! :-)

Alas…all good things must come to an end, and I continue to have difficulty wrapping my head around this. What I’m having trouble dealing with is the fact that my precious little boy started daycare last week, partial days only, and tomorrow he goes all day for the first time. And I go back to the office full time. And as much as I enjoy working, I can’t bare the thought of essentially spending only 4-5 hours a day with my son. What’s worse is that HE will only be spending 4-5 waking hours a day at home. Home…isn’t that what he waited for his first 14 months of life? How many firsts are we going to miss out on? How many hugs, kisses, laughs will be enjoyed by his teachers instead of one of us?

I lost count of the tears I’ve shed this past week over this, and have prayed daily for even a small iota of peace about placing him in daycare, but to date I haven’t receive any peace whatsoever. Instead, my anxiety level increases each day. You see, daycare wasn’t in our initial plans for Ilya but things have changed and now it is our only option. I thought immersing him in partial days would help both me & Ilya adjust before having him stay all day. He isn’t terribly thrilled at being in daycare but so far he’s dealing with it much better than I am. I’m terrified he thinks he’s back in an orphanage setting because that’s exactly what it feels like to me. Multiple caregivers, multiple kids, no mommy or daddy. Ugh…I hate it!

Enough of that negativity. Now for the positive. As much as I really don’t want to admit it, (because honestly I want to whine a little more) and to credit the daycare staff, we have seen some improvement development wise since Ilya started daycare:

(1) He is now using his sippy cup and drinking more than ever. In the 2+ months that Ilya has been home, it has been very frustrating to get the boy to drink anything from a bottle, sippy cup, straw, whatever. Short of resorting to water torture, we were at a loss as to how to get him to drink. Now he begs for his sippy cup and is even tolerating soy milk, when before he wouldn’t touch soy or “real milk” with a 10 foot pole! The daycare only serves milk, but of course they won’t let the kids get dehydrated so they’ll give water when needed.

(2) I swear he said “hi” this morning and “cat” yesterday. He has also been saying “mommom” when he sees me and “dada” when he sees Norm. We’re not sure if these two are baby babble or if he really is associating the names with us. But the “mommom” and “dada” has definitely increased since being in daycare.

(3) He has a girlfriend. A sweet blonde haired, blue eyed beauty named Victoria. Notice I left out “a little” sweet blonde haired…. She’s an Amazon woman compared to Ilya. In fact, all of the kids are gynormous when Ilya stands next to them. I knew he was tiny but my goodness!!

(4) He has an individualized lesson plan to help him excel in all things pertinent to the world of a 16 month old.

(5) Most importantly, at least I now have a son to worry about placing in daycare. A year ago I never thought I would have to worry about daycare. A year ago, I didn’t have a son to love and cherish.

So anyway, I’m hoping tomorrow goes well for both me & Ilya. Another reason I’m stressing is because I’m flying solo this week with Ilya’s transition to all day daycare. Norm left for Florida today. I’ve said once too many times on this blog how I don’t deal well with Norm being out of town so I won’t bore you with that again. When the days get tough this week, I’ll just have to remember this post by Ondrea and allow myself to laugh a bit! (turn on your volume if you follow that link). There is no doubt in my mind that Ilya & I will be riding the Crazy Train this week, and especially tomorrow! Please keep Norm in your prayers for a successful business trip and safe journey home later this week.

The picture below was taken after Ilya came home from his first ½ day of daycare. He doesn’t look too traumatized, does he?

Our flight home from West Palm Beach was fabulous! Thanks to everyone who wished us well and prayed for uneventful travels. I'll write more about that later this weekend though. It's been an emotional & exhausting week. So for now I'm keeping this short and inviting you all to enjoy some of my & Ilya's favorite memories from our wonderful mini-vacation to my hometown.

Night all - Kar

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Me & mommy have been in West Palm Beach since Thursday. Mommy was a bit frazzled from our flight down (I have no idea why - I had A LOT of fun practicing screaming!). So she asked me to update the blog as soon as we got here, but Blogger's had it blocked for some reason. Something about the robots at Bloggerland thinking this blog was a spam blog or something, and blocking new posts until they could confirm it's not a spam blog. Whatever. That's way over my head but anyway I logged on this morning while I was supposed to be taking a nap and low & behold, I can finally post!

We've had a ton of fun since we got here. I got to meet my Grandaddy and my Pop-pop (my late Grandma's husband). I also got to see my Aunt Robyn and cousins Rachel & Jake again, and meet my Uncle Jeff, Grandaddy's dog Indy, and Rachel & Jake's dog Beezer. I've also been swimming, gone to Friendly's for an awesome Peanut Butter & Hot Fudge sundae, I went to my first wedding yesterday and got to meet a lot of my other cousins, Aunts & Uncles...I had no idea my new family was so huge! Gosh, so many people to love me and care about me. It's awesome! They all kept telling me how cute and precious I am, and how happy they are to have me in the family now. I love it when people tell me that kind of stuff, so I had to really kick up the charm factor during the reception!

Today we're going somewhere called City Place that has an outdoor fountain for me, Rachel & Jake to splash around in, and a Cheese Factory for lunch for the old people (mommy, Aunt Robyn, Grandaddy, Pop-pop and Uncle Jeff) and then tomorrow we head home! Mommy's really worried about the flight again but I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, we're how many thousands of feet in the air? It's not like anyone but the other passengers and flight crew are gonna hear me if I decide that's a good time to practice my screaming. How angry can a plane full of strangers be at me? I'm super cute, so that should make up for it, right? She said something about asking everyone reading this to send up a special prayer for an UNEVENTFUL and QUIET flight home tomorrow. Can anyone reading this do that for her? I think she'd really appreciate it even though I still don't understand what the big fuss is about.

Oh, she also asked me to explain something to everyone. Mommy hasn't been able to take as many pictures of me as she normally does - she claims it's difficult to keep me from falling into pools and alligator infested canals and that she needs a few extra hands to whip out the camera when I do something cute (which is like always, of course!). So, there are some pictures that we can share with you once we're home but unfortunately there aren't as many as she would like.

I guess that's it for now. I really should take my nap so I can really enjoy that outdoor fountain thingee. Next post will be from mommy once we're safely home and the migraine she thinks she might have from my screaming has gone away. Just a reminder, she would really appreciate those prayers for our flight tomorrow.

Bon Voyage, hugs to everyone and nighty night!
Ilya Peter