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Amazing

One year ago today, we landed in Semey, drove straight to the Babyhouse and held our daughter for the first time.
Wow.

Here is our cherished Aila now - at 21 months old:


We've all come a long, long way together since that amazing day a year ago.
We are so thankful and so in love.

- J

P.S. To view a photo of the 3 of us in our first minutes together, go to our first post in this blog (May 24, 2008).

Our Little Pumpkin

Last year at this time, we were anxiously awaiting our Letter of Invitation (LOI) from the government of Kazakhstan.
I was only beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe, this would be our last difficult-to-endure Halloween. I even went out willingly, for the first time in years, and bought candy for the kids who might knock on our door. I was cautiously optimistic, but I was also so, so tired of wanting to be a mom. The wait for that LOI was agonizing. And to those of you who are waiting right now to get your LOI, I wish I could say that we found a way to make that wait easier, but we did not. It was just brutal. The good news is that it DID come (on November 4th - election day this year!). Oh what a day that was!

The thing is, it is all still so fresh in my mind. A whole year later I find myself looking at my daughter and feeling a depth of emotion that is difficult to explain. It is a mix of profound appreciation, intense, unconditional love, undying devotion and, I have to admit, quite a bit of sadness. I hate that she was all alone last year at this time, waiting for us. I hate that she is almost two, but that this is her first Halloween in costume. I know, I know. I shouldn't focus on these things. But I feel compelled to be honest about what is running through my head and heart. Yes, she is thriving and is the cutest pumpkin on the planet. Yes, we'll have a blast at the Halloween parade. Yes, yesterday I went out and bought candy WITH her by my side at our local CVS. That all being said, the more I love and know her, the more I cannot stand that we were without one another for the first 9 1/2 months of her life. I am sure other parents who have adopted children can relate.

Anyways, enough of that.

Here are some fun - really delightful updates:

Marshall has been (successfully!) teaching Aila how to say "I love you!" It is unbearably sweet and cute. And in the last 3 weeks or so, she has suddenly let go in a new way and is starting to lean into us. She runs to give us hugs, and she is even super cuddly these days. Wow, that is huge for her (and for us).

Oh, and joy of joys! Although we are not officially potty training her yet, we've started reading a potty training book to her that is SO CUTE and she LOVES it (Once Upon A Potty)!! She sits on her potty every night before bed, and I read the book to her. She brings it to me constantly, and then, yesterday...well, we had a successful outcome! YIPPEEE! No pressure on our sweetie, as she is only 21 months old, but we'll take success when it comes! I have never been so excited to see a poop in my whole life!

A few more things. Aila says "hi" to everyone and everything. This is how she greets us in the morning. And, she is trying to figure out how to jump. She saw her 6 year old friend, Dahlia, jumping, and has been trying so hard ever since. She's had a few good attempts and I am sure she'll be hopscotching soon. Aila is a huge fan of Elmo and Abby and Grover. She sees Elmo EVERYWHERE and everything about Sesame Street is a thrill for her. And...yesterday, while in CVS, she was looking at a packet of toy letters, and she said, clear as day, "A, B, C, D, E"!!!!! I almost fell over!

We love being Aila's parents. We are tired, and yet life is richer than ever. I am so glad we are on the other side of that wait, living with our sweet, darling daughter. And yet I'm not sure we'll ever be able to forget how hard that wait was. I guess it is just part of our story.

Happy Halloween to all!

- J

Party in the Pumpkin Patch

A real pumpkin patch with a corn maze (maize?), pick your own pumpkins, and lots of dirt. What's not to love?

Alas, Linus was nowhere to be seen.

- J & M

Finally

This is a big week for us.

As of now, we have known and loved our daughter for longer than the amount of time she was alive before meeting us.

Aila was 9 1/2 months old when we held her for the first time. It has been 10 months since that first meeting!

I remember those first minutes with her vividly. All 3 of us were absolutely terrified. It was hard to believe that she was actually in our arms, and that we were finally in Semey, holding our precious child.

What a long, long journey it was to find Aila and bring her home.
It was worth everything. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Each day with her has been so full, so rich, so magnificent - we are so completely hers in every way.

- J

Happy Update

The past week has been very exciting in our household.

Our sweet Aila has started, in a very real way, talking!
At 19 months, she is saying "bye-bye!" and "night-night" and "ice" and "purple" - it is the most adorable thing in the world!

But this is the best: Today, she called out to Marshall when he was walking out the door to leave. She called, loudly, "daddy!?!" to stop him from leaving! She has been saying dada a lot, but not directly to him.
Today, there was NO question! He could barely get himself to leave - both of us melted on the spot.

Then, only about an hour and a half later, I was upstairs working and Aila was playing with her babysitter, when, all of a sudden, I heard her call out "Mama?!!" - well, I almost fell out of my chair! I ran down to her and grabbed her and hugged that little girl! I felt like I had just won the lottery!

What an honor it is to be a witness to such magnificent, miraculous growth in our beautiful child. And what joy it brings us both to hear her call out to each of us.

Wow. The love we have for this little girl is mind-boggling.

Just had to share.

- J

Down East

Weren't we welcomed this weekend past with all the hospitality our Mainer friends had to offer: gracious warmth, blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies, and lots of tireless touring around the charming town of Boothbay Harbor. As depicted, much fun was had by all, and the two little ones got on famously (except for when the rocking horse saddle was in dispute).

Thank you, Morrisons! This singular bond continues! See you soon...








- J & M (& A)

Happy Anniversary...to us! :)

This evening, Marshall and I did what we do every year on this day. We went over to the Ladd Observatory to drink champagne and toast the people we love and those who helped make our wedding special. Today is our 9th wedding anniversary, and it was the first time we had someone join us to commemorate our marriage. Little Aila, our adorable sweetheart, does not yet have a babysitter - so, we gathered up our champagne, our special glasses, our yummy piece of white cake and our daughter, and went over for our annual visit - before her bedtime. We were married under the stars at 9pm, so typically, we go back at that time - but this year, it wasn't to be.

What an incredible experience it was to sit on that bench overlooking the beautiful grassy spot where we were married, and watch our 18 month old daughter delight in a beautiful summer evening. Hilariously, she dipped her fingers into our glasses and tasted the champagne (over and over again), and she not only kissed a few trees on the property (we do this everywhere we go together), but she was suddenly overcome with the need to drop onto the grass and roll around while squealing and giggling. This drop-and-roll-and-giggle routine went on for 15 straight minutes! We laughed and laughed and laughed. She just kept going!

What a thrill. This child we love so deeply helped us celebrate our union. All children should have such a marvelous time just being alive. I am so grateful she was so happy tonight. I sure was. There I was, with my handsome, treasured soulmate and my beloved daughter.

I am so thankful.




- J

Obama Mama

Ok, so it has been quite a while since our last post. This summer has been very full for us - in some good ways, and in some not-so-good ways. We keep meaning to post on this blog, and then something happens to distract us.

But I could not resist posting this photo.

More later.

- J

PS A HUGE congrats to Regina & Frank for officially becoming the parents of precious Milo! And...hooray for Susan & her family as well...Leeza is ADORABLE!!!

(PPS: Sorry, red head fans, but Thumblini's beautiful tresses are as light as spun gold. Any red tinting is due to lighting, inadvertent tonal alteration, and Google photo limitations. - M)

Back at Home Base

Salutations fellow travelers, like-minded parents, rapscallions, hangers-on, and Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Public,

Hats off to the Kazapalooza organizers for an outstanding weekend. We partook of delightful events, gazed on the beautiful-est of Kaz faces, and FINALLY got to connect with a few of our blog friends in MeatSpace. Fantastic! (Then we made some personal stops in the week following, giving Thumblini the chance to meet not one, but TWO great-grandmas, assorted loving cousins, general admirers, our one-and-only LMI Coordinator/Aila's Fairy Godmother (and mother of the Mitch Most Handsome): ANDREA...and even the guy dressed as a toy soldier at FAO Schwartz.)

Pix:

Aila's New Hat

Semey Baby Owen with Daddy (Stewart)

Semey Babies Aila and Tyler, with Mommies (Jenny & Susan)

Semey Baby Mitch with Mommy Andrea (AJ!)

Hi Five from Fairy Godmother!

Semey Babies Aila and Mitch

Daddy & Thumblini on Father's Day

The Boothbay Gang at the Bean

Mommies and Babies (Aila and Cousin Toug!)

Great Grandmother (Nana Jeanie) with Thumblini

- M & J

Succumbed

Today was our first - and possibly last - trip to Toys "backwards R" Us. To my utter incredulity, every one of us gave in almost instantly, to our archetypal roles in the consumerist-impulsivity-crying jag tableau that is the Family Outing to the Toy Store.

Little One: (wailing) I want out of this stroller!
Mother: Oh, look, it's a cute pink chair. I want her to have this.
Father: But it's festooned with fantasy images of passive and impossibly phenotyped princesses that the patriarchy uses to enslave and demean femalekind!
Mother: I know - and I'm the one who's supposed to say that - but look how cute she is! Here honey, sit down.
Little One: [freed from stroller, sits in foam chair that looks like a squashed Peep©]
Father: You really want that thing in the living room? It's pure kitsch.
Mother: Honey, look - she loves it!
Father: Yeah, I guess that is pretty cute.
Little One: [stands up from chair, picks it up, and staggers down aisle triumphantly]



- M

6

6 months ago today, we became full-time parents.

6 months ago today, Aila left the Babyhouse in our arms and became a full-fledged Robinson.

6 years ago, we began our journey to Parenthood.
There were days - months, even - when I wanted to give up. I found that grappling with infertility was, at times, too hard, too back-breaking, too disappointing. There were so many heartbreaks along the way that I often wondered if devoting all of our time, energy, resources and focus to becoming parents was really worth it.

6 months ago today, I became Aila's mommy, and now I know.

Every single injection, every single surgery, every single disappointment, every single bit of the pain and suffering - it was ALL worth it. Now I know. I would do it ALL again, suffer through all of the terror, physical, emotional and psychic pain, just to get to Aila.

I have been transformed by the love I feel for my daughter and by her constant, magnificent presence in my life. I could not possibly love her more if I had physically given birth to her. Being Aila's mother is an honor, and I am in awe of her.

And, sharing the experience of being Aila's parent, with my husband (wow, what a lucky girl to have him as a Dad), is enriching and nourishing and exhausting and inspiring and life-affirming like nothing else in the world.

These past 6 months have been the scariest, most intense, most eye-opening, rock-our-world months of our lives. It is my sincere hope that we all live very, very long lives so that we can share as much time together as possible.

- J

Next Stop: Summer

We just returned from a very full weekend in D.C. We participated in a second - beautiful - memorial service honoring Marshall's Dad (this one was at the National Cathedral), and we had a chance to (finally!) introduce Thumblini to family and friends. On top of all that, we helped ring in Aunt Amanda's [redacted]th birthday on Saturday!


This is how the Robinsons let off steam after Dad's memorial service: teach the baby the Hokey Pokey.


Stopping to smell the roses in the Bishop's Garden of the National Cathedral.


Augie & Aila relaxing after a long day of sippy-cupping.


The double-axel inverse kiss for Aunt Amanda.


(axiomatic)


What to do when you miss your naps.

Kazapalooza or bust!

- J

Out and About

This is the little miss, prepped and ready for an afternoon excursion to the local Memorial Day fair in our neighborhood. The fresh air and sunshine was much appreciated, all around. We've had the bikes ready to go for sometime (including that intriguing contraption into which Thumblini is strapped), but we haven't been out much for a litany of reasons. However, with Memorial Day being the unofficial kickoff to summer, the pull is strong and can't be ignored no matter the weight of recent events. My baby needs her vitamin D - and so does Thumblini.

- M


(BTW, if you want to know what that awesome bright green contraption is, it's an "iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat." If you go to Amazon, tell 'em Dr. Dad sent ya! :)

Begin Again

It's been just over six months since we met Thumblini at the edge of Siberia. Not much has happened since then.

Just kidding.

We're all U.S. citizens now. Some of us grew more hair (some lost more). The flowers are out, spring has sprung, we have lost some family members (human and otherwise), and Aila's molars have begun to break through. Soon she'll be chewing the fat with her parents.

Why a new blog? Good question. We've settled in and found our gravity, and now we want to express that in a new (non-anonymous) blog. Life today is nothing like we thought it would be when we set up the other blog. We're different now, and we think the new blog will be a space where we can reflect that more.

Welcome.

Oh! - and here are some pictures underscoring the core of our last six months.

The day we met, 11/16/07 (9 1/2 months old):



Today, 5/24/08 (15 3/4 months old):



- Jen & Marshall aka CurlyMom & Dr. Dad