I Can't Wait to Hold Him Again

Hi all!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our Kaz trip #2.

I can’t believe I am leaving tomorrow for trip 3. After more than 7 weeks, I am going to hold my sweet little boy again in just two more days. TWO. I cannot wait to get on that plane. But there is a little part of me that is going to miss the life that we had. The life with just the three of us. Don’t misunderstand, I am ECSTATIC to be welcoming Aibek home but I know it will be a big change for all of us. And there is just the tiniest little part of me that feels really bad for what Rinat is going to go through when I come home next week with his new baby brother. He will still have every ounce of my love but he’s no longer going to have my undivided attention.
Peter and I were talking about my trip the other day and I started to get all misty eyed and Peter asked what was wrong. “I’m going to miss Rinat,” I answered. He looked at me like I was crazy and told me that it’s only a week and he would be perfectly fine without me. But really I wasn’t talking about the week I’m gone. I was talking about the life that will come after. I am going to miss having just him and me. I will miss being able to watch him play at the park, marvel at the dinosaur skeletons at the museum, and hear him tell me about every little thing he finds exciting no matter how mundane. I know that I just won’t be able to see every little thing now. BUT at the same time, I know that Aibek will bring so much to our lives. More fun, more kisses, more cuteness, more laughs, and a whole lot more love.

Bonding is such a weird thing. In Kaz, everyone else wants to know how the bonding is going. But the thing is that there really is no true bonding for me until I can count on this child being mine forever- no take backs, no paperwork problems, appeals period over, immigration papers done. So basically, on the plane home. What you have in Kaz when you are bonding is a high school crush. You think he is soooo cute, you see his face when you are trying to sleep at night, you think every little sound he utters is adorable, and that he can do no wrong. But it’s not until you are home and taking care of this new little one in your life all day every day that it turns from a crush into true jump-in-front-of-a-bullet kind of love. That kind of love is something that only time and history can build.

When we first brought Rinat home, we loved him. But we weren’t ‘bonded’. Not me anyway. And not him either. He pulled away when I tried to hug him and would only let me carry him facing away from my body, Baby House style. He didn’t want to snuggle on my lap except to read books; he didn’t want to be comforted in the night when he woke up. He just flat out wanted to be left alone most of the time. It was sad not to be wanted. And in that situation, I think it’s natural to think you are doing something wrong. But developing trust takes time and it takes a lot of work. This time around, I know not to blame myself or wonder if it’s ever going to happen. I promise to pay more attention to our little Aibek and less attention to everything else. I’m focusing on my little family of four and that is all for the time being. I am hoping it will speed up the bonding process and I am really looking forward to a time when he can trust us and I can trust myself to know what he needs. And I cannot wait to get started on that journey. I’m counting the hours…

Love to all, -m

Happy Faces from a Big Brother

Hi all-

Still on cloud nine over here. I have been hard at work nesting and this has not gone unnoticed by my firstborn (ok, not firstborn to ME but born first nonetheless). He too is catching Aibek Fever. He has been more than I ever hoped for in a big brother so far. For one, he has been talking about Aibek all the time without me even bringing him up. He seems to get that he’s coming here and staying forever and he’s alright with it. And he’s generous. One of Rinat’s favorite things to do is ‘read’ toy catalogs. But now, instead of telling me all of the things that HE wants, he goes through trying to find things that we can get for Aibek.






Another part of the nesting (and just me wanting to be settled again) is being on the hunt for a house. So the last few weeks I have been involving Rin in looking at photos of houses online and seeing what he thinks.  He’s actually very particular about which ones he might want to live in.  They have to have trees, room for a fort, and it must have a large basement for running around in.  Me, I’m interested in the kitchen most of all and room for Peter to work in that is not the middle of the living room.  I’m tired of getting Rin and I getting shushed when he’s on the phone.  We were scrolling through photos of a house the other day and Rin asked “Well, where am I going to sleep?”  I showed him one of the kids’ rooms that had a bunk bed in it (he’s dying for a bunk bed ever since he slept in one at the beach this summer) but he wasn’t super interested.  Then I kept scrolling through and he shouted “Stop!!!  That’s where me and Aibek are gonna sleep!”  It was a photo of someone’s nursery with a crib in it.  He said, “I will have my bed in there from this house and then Aibek can sleep in the crib right next to me and when he cries at night I will tell him to shhh and when he wakes up, I will get him out and carry him downstairs and feed him breakfast.  But if he has a stinky diaper… I’m gonna knock on your door.” 

And he has apparently been pondering this idea of sharing a room with his new brother a lot because he brought it up again today.  I hated to burst his bubble but I informed him that Aibek was going to have his own room.  And that it was kinda good because Aibek is going to wake up at night and cry and it might wake Rin up if he was in the same room.  “But why is he gonna cry?”  “Well,” I said, “He might cry because he is scared in his new room and doesn’t know where he is.”  And then my sweet, sweet Rinat offered the perfect solution.  “Well, you know, I’m a big boy now so if he wants, he can have my Glowing Man (nightlight) and I just won’t need it ‘cause I’m gonna try really hard to not be scared ‘cause I’m big and he’s little and he needs it ‘cause he might be more scared than me.”  M..e..l..t..  For every time I get mad, annoyed, frazzled by that boy, there is a time like this when it’s all I can do not to smother him to death with kisses.  Gosh, he’s a good kid.  Most of the time.

And so now I am all set in the travel department. It’s really going to happen. I sort of wish for the good old days when you got your tickets in the mail and you got to rip open the envelope in excitement and hold that golden ticket in your hand in the fancy company jacket and pour over every word on it looking forward to getting on that plane. It’s a little bit anticlimactic to just print them out. But it’s done all the same. My best friend Carson and I will be on a plane at the end of the week to go and pick up my sweet boy. We will get into Karaganda in the wee hours of the 23rd, pick him up from the Baby House, find a way to make it clear to everyone that has helped us along the way just how much we truly appreciate everything that they have done for us, and hop a plane that very same night for Almaty. We will get into Almaty in the wee hours of the 24th and have our clinic visit that day to clear him for immigration to the US. Then a day off -whew- and our appointment at the embassy on the 26th.  Then home in the early hours of the 27th. A whirlwind to be sure, but I cannot wait to put my little sweetpea to bed in his own little crib, in his own little house, with his own little family. I remember that first night home with Rin to be one of the most peaceful moments of my life. It was just this sense that all was right with the world. Our world has been a bit shaky these last few years but I knew we would get here eventually. And on Jan 27 all will be right once again.

Some of my friends have asked if I am nervous for Rinat to be without me for a whole week.  I am happy to respond, "Not a bit."  It's not that I won't miss him, not that I don't wish he could be there when his brother leaves the baby house for good, it's just that I have absolute, utter, complete trust in my wonderful husband.  We are fortunate enough to have Peter work out of the house.  Sometimes it can be a mixed blessing but it also means that he gets to actually be present in our kids' lives on an everyday basis.  He's there for playing Legos before school, he takes a random hour off to go to the park, he plays rough and tumble football in the backyard on a Tuesday afternoon.  He is just as much a parent as stay-at-home Me.  And so do I have worries about being gone?  Absolutely not.  He's got it.

Love to all,


-m

We have had a whole lot of happy faces around here the last few days.  These are courtesy of Big Brother Rinat.  The one at the top with the arms is Tienna  :)

Magic Travel Fairy Dust

Hi All!

When you are waiting to bring your child home to live with you forever, the weekends are both a lot easier and a lot more torturous than the other days of the week.  On the one hand, it is easier because you know that there is going to be no word about anything going on over there for two whole days.  No rushing to the computer the second the new email sound dings.  No making plans with the understanding that you might have to cancel for the last minute travel scramble.  On the other hand, you have two whole days to try and not think about the fact that you are not going to hear anything.  It's sort of excruciating.  So instead of sitting at home and trying to not think about it, I decided to find something to keep my mind off of it this weekend.  I took Rin to his first ever movie.  I had been trying to get him to go and see Tangled- the movie that is based on the Rapunzel fairy tale but he showed no interest whatsoever despite the fact that he loves any and all princess movies (something to do with the knights and their swords maybe?).  But an ad for the Yogi Bear movie came on TV the other day and he was started jumping up and down and asked if he could go see it.  Hells yeah.  Game on. 

So off we went to the neighborhood theatre for a noon movie.  We loaded up on all the good stuff- popcorn, Twizzlers, and a giant blue slushie.  I mean, can you believe the size of that thing?  Most times, I ask people to only fill it halfway ('cause really does a 33 pound kid really need that much sugar?) but I just forgot to ask and they filled it to the brim and he drank literally the ENTIRE thing.  I don't know why he didn't go into sugar shock.  It was actually pretty good though- blue raspberry Fanta.  I love me some Fanta.

One thing that is different from when we were kids is the fact that movies are now in 3D. It didn't even cross my mind until the guy at the ticket counter handed me the glasses. But it was too late to back out now so off we went to the theatre to see how 3D looks without actually wearing the glasses.

We were practically the only people in the theatre which was a good thing because, as usual, my sweet little one talked NON STOP.  They show all of those previews pre movie now and as every single one started, he wanted to know "Is this the movie!!!!"  "What about now?  Is this it?"  "When is it gonna come on?  I'm so tired of waiting!"  I had warned him that it was going to be super loud but as the lights dimmed and he practically went into convulsions "It's starting!  It's starting Mama!" He made sure to keep his ears covered with his little hands and they stayed that way for a good ten minutes.

Overall, my little RinCakes really liked it.  Even despite the fact that 3D glasses-less it's sort fuzzy sometimes.  Maybe we'll get to another 3D one when he's a bit older but he truly didn't seem to mind it.  Sorta freaked me out though when a giant frog's tongue flicked out into the theatre at my face.  Not sure I'm a fan to be honest.  Gosh, did that sound old and crotchety of me?  What ev.  I AM old. 

We've also had a little snow around these parts.  Can you tell Rin is excited to wake up and have it coming down?

And we have moved from glitter and glue and on to making paper chains.  It's his new obsession.  And thank goodness.  It's a whole lot less messy.  Right now, we have glitter on the floor of every single room in the house.  It's scattered around like magic fairy dust sparkling everywhere I look.

And it turns out that maybe that glitter is magic after all.  Just this morning, I got word that I am headed over to Kaz next week to finally go and pick up my sweet little Aibek.  All day long I have been running around, unable to think straight, unable to focus when I need to focus the most and I am so so SO happy.  People had stopped even asking when I was going because the answer was always "I hope soon" but I can finally say with a great big smile "Soon, really really soon."

  

That photo of Aibek was taken two days ago when I was down in the dregs of waiting hell. I emailed my friend who is there in Karaganda adopting her cute little boy and begged her to go see him for me.  She responded literally 5 minutes later with photos and as I teared up seeing my sweet boy for the first time since Christmas, I thought about just how lucky I am to have joined his group of people called adopters.  Every single one I have met is unbelievable generous and compassionate.  Thank you Sarah!  I wish that I could return the favor somehow! 

Love to all,

-m

And we're signed up for Kazapalooza in June.  I hope all you fellow Kaz parents are too!  Disney and the beach- what more could a kid ask for?  See you then if not before...

Something is Missing... and Other Stuff

Hi all-

Christmas was a wonderful this year but there was just one thing missing. A little piece of my heart has been living in a tiny room in Kazakhstan since December 3rd. I miss my little Aibek. He was absent from our otherwise happy holidays and although no one else may have felt the hole where he should have been, I most definitely did. It was the same feeling I get when Rinat is sleeping soundly in the other room while we have fun without him. I just hate for him to miss out on anything and I want to run in there and shake him awake. I tried really hard to be excited for Rinat and enjoy time with family but there was a little bit of me that was really sad not to have him with us yet. I know other people don’t know him yet and so they didn’t feel the void that we did but I really truly missed him being there. Sometimes I would feel myself start to get upset, but honestly it’s hard to get lost in thought with Rin around. He is full of energy and full of questions. It is nonstop with him around. And it’s good. He keeps me from living too much in my head and dwelling on things that I can’t control anyway.

It’s been a month now since we last saw our youngest son and I can feel the memory of him slipping away just a little bit.  The Aibek-ness of him is a little bit hard to remember now.  I look at his photos and I try and remember how he smells, how he sucks in his lip when he concentrates or the look on his face when we walk into the room after nap, but I am forgetting it.  Please please let me get there soon.  I am forgetting him and I know he has long ago given up on us.  I just hope he will give us another chance when I get back there.  All I want to do is pick him up and not put him down again until he knows that we’ll never leave him again.    

But on a brighter note, Rin turned 4 about a week ago.  We were on the road coming home from vacation for most of the day but he got to open some gifts before we hit the road and we bought a little cake at Giant on the way home.  I felt badly that we didn’t spend the day celebrating him but he could have cared less.  He didn’t care that the cake wasn’t homemade- all he cared about was getting the piece with the most icing.  And all day long and every day since he will burst out with “I can-n’t believe I’m FOUR!!!” periodically.    

Since his birthday (and now Aibek’s too) falls during the holidays, we wait a month or so before we celebrate it and then do it up right with a party and gifts and all.  Waiting to find out about Kaz is putting a hold on things but once we find that out, I am hoping to be able to plan something fun to celebrate both of the boys’ birthdays.  Rin has been very specific this year about about how he wants to celebrate with his friends and who he wants to come to his party.  And who he doesn’t.  There’s one kid from his class that he tells me is on Santa’s naughty list because he pushes and hits.  “I don’t like him and I don’t play with him. And he’s not allowed at my party.” Rin tells me over and over again to make sure I haven’t forgotten.  I can’t blame him.  He doesn’t sound like someone I would like to hang out with either.

As you can see, my sports loving, sitting-still hating son has found a love of art- finally- and he has entered a glitter, glue, and paint phase.  It’s a little messy to clean up but is sure is a whole lot quieter than football or knights or monsters.  I am so loving it. 

And, as always, we love love love to cook (and eat!- well, me anyway.  Rin not so much).  Rin is pretty much a master smoothie maker at this point.  This one is comprised of every single fruit in the house that it almost past its prime.  Rin just loves using the immersion blender- I mean, it’s like a power tool almost.  And men and little boys sure do love their power tools. 

And that sums up our life for now.  I'm having fun with the boys in my life right now and eagerly looking forward to one who will be a part of it all soon.  Still no word on when that will be, but I am hoping soon. 

Keep warm, -m

A Cozy Christmas

Hi All!

As we were in the car driving home from the airport when we got home from Kaz, Rinat said “Can we go get our Christmas tree and decorate it now?”  As exhausted as we were that first week home, I couldn't disappoint my little RinCakes.  It took us a couple of days to get to it, but decorate we did.  We did the whole shebang- tree covered in ornaments, stockings hanging in a row (including one for Bubby that Rin pilfered from the tree), nutcrackers lining the mantle, the Christmas village for Rin to play with- all of it.  We even had snow to make it feel like it really truly was Christmas.  We don’t get a lot of that around here and we enjoyed it to the fullest.

Rinat did not just want to decorate the tree, it was literally everything.  I can't count the number of paper chains we made and the feet of garland strung around the furniture.  And he would cut shapes out of paper and tape them to the wall for decoration.  And he kept asking for more and more wrapping paper and I was getting sort of annoyed until I asked him what in the world he was doing and he informed me that he was wrapping gifts for Aibek.  He was literally picking out some of his favorite toys and putting them under the tree for his new brother.  My heart went from annoyance to love for this little guy. 

Rin and I did some baking too which is always a hit.  We only baked for ourselves this year (sorry friends and neighbors, nothing for you!)  but it sure was fun.  We made yummy spice cake muffins with apples, raisins, and carrots with sugary icing drizzled on top.  I didn't get a photo because they got eaten pretty much as soon as we made them.  Good stuff and absolute perfection with a warm cup of hot chocolate.   

And then it was off to the 'Burg to visit Peter's fam where they always do it up right.  There are cocktail parties, fancy dinners, decorations out the wazoo, too many presents to even fit under the tree, family and all of the pleasant chaos that comes with that many people all in the same place at the same time.  Rinat was so incredibly excited for Christmas this year and he was filled to bursting with questions about it all.  He wanted to know: How does Santa see our stockings because it’s nighttime when he comes? Does he have a flashlight or does Rudolph help with his nose?  And if Rudolph helps, how does HE get in the house? Down the chimney like Santa?  Where is Gigi/Mar’s elf? Will I still get presents if I am crying when Santa is at the house? (Of course I asked why would he be crying) Because I don’t want to sleep and I just want to see my presents and I am going to be sad that I can't go see what he brought.  It was neverending.  But it just made me so happy to see him so happy and excited about it.  I feel like he's gotten a little shortchanged in the last few months because of everything that has been going on and I was so happy to have it all focused on him for a while.

 And after telling me no for weeks, he finally decided that he wanted to go and see Santa in person and tell him what he wants ("But doesn't Elf tell him at night?  And didn't he get my letter anyway?").  And my outgoing, loud, fearless boy sat on his lap and was completely silent.  We actually had to prompt him to talk to Santa.  But he got the job done and I got some cute photos out of it- done on the sly by my super photographer hubby.

And on Christmas Eve was the big shindig for the family.  Rinat was very excited about the party.  He even told me "Mommy you look pretty in your fancy dress" and greeted each of our 'special guests' at the door.  He ran around like an maniac with the other boys, ate way way too much fudge, and ended the night by passing out in the super cool fort designed by Uber Aunt Kate and Uncle Dayson- architects of course.  Except rather than visions sugar plums, I am pretty sure he had visions of legos dancing in his head.  And he was not disappointed in the morning. 

Santa came and it was all about knights this year.  He got a Legos castle (Big Boy Legos!) and a knight costume.  And little knight figures.  Knights Knights Knights.  We love knights.

And a whole lot of dinosaurs too.  He got a Dino Dan field guide from Auntie Ann, Playmobile dinos from Gigi and Mar, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? book and PJ's from Kate and Jason. 

And then after all of the excitement of it, we headed off to Peter's Dad's for more of the same.  Yes, more.  There were hugs and laughs and a cozy lunch by the fire.  Gifts for my boys and lots of playtime with Grandaddy and Nana and my Rinat was a happy happy guy.  As we visited with everyone, the snow fell and the world began to turn white again.  What a Christmas.  There was just one little thing missing.  But that's for another post.  This one is all happiness.  

Love to all and more on the 29th,  -m

The Long Long Journey Home and OURS, finally OURS

Hi All!
Well, we’ve been home for two whole weeks now. I can’t believe how s..l..o..w..l..y.. it has gone by. I feel like it’s been absolutely EONS since we left Kaz. Below is a bunch of stuff that I wrote in the last two weeks but never posted. Most of it was written in the middle of the night when I was unable to sleep so I hope it actually makes sense. Jet lag sucks. But I just wanted to get it on the blog so I don’t forget a single second of our wonderful trip. And then at the bottom is what everyone wants to see- photos of our Sumo. The appeals period has run out and so now our son is ours always. No take backs, no changed minds, no anything. He is ours and we are his forever. It is a little anticlimactic since we are not actually with him today but he is always in our thoughts. We will see you soon little Sumo. And then I promise we will never have to leave you again.

*Wow, that was one long trip home- 42 hours to be exact. Oxana and Julia’s dad picked us up on Saturday morning, Natasha came by to say one last goodbye and she gave Rinat a goodbye gift. It is a picture encyclopedia with words in English, Russian, and Kazakh. I told her that I would be studying it while I was gone so I wouldn’t need Oxana to translate when I come back to pick up our Sumo- Haha. Russian’s hard. And I don’t know that I can even begin to try to speak Kazakh. Maybe one day. Anyway, we piled all of our 9 bags into the trunk and under our feet and headed out to the airport. Along the way, we saw some really beautiful churches, mosques, and a Muslim cemetery none of which I got photos of. It didn’t even occur to me actually. I guess I was so tired and distracted about the trip ahead. If we had more free time while we were here, I would have loved to visit some of them but maybe next time we’ll be able to. But I was also distracted because Oxana told us about the town where Sumo comes from. On his birth certificate, they are changing the city to Karaganda and his parents to us to make the process easier, but in reality he was born in a small town a little ways outside of the city. Oxana said she has been there before to get something signed and it was a really nice little place. But she said it was like soviet times there, nothing modern at all but kind of old in a cute way. The root word of the city’s name comes from ‘mining’ and that is, of course, their main employer. Maybe his father works in the mines? I will have to learn some more about the town when I go back.

So Oxana dropped us and made sure the flight was on time and then we told her she didn’t have to stay and wait with us. We’re pretty self sufficient. So we gave her one last hug and said goodbye. I will, of course, see her again when I come back to pick up Sumo but it was a final goodbye for both Peter and Rinat (who flat out refused to hug her despite his absolute adoration of her). And as she walked out the door, I waved goodbye, turned around, and started crying. It was that kind of crying where your breath keeps catching and no one can understand what you are saying and trying to talk just starts it all over again. I felt like it was the final moment of our trip and I was so sad to have it over and also a little relieved at the same time. Despite the lack of hot water and the ever accumulating dirt, and having to keep Rinat entertained and behaving somewhat, and being out of our comfort zone in general, I was so so sad to have it over with and I couldn’t stop crying for a good long while. It just kept coming. Even the boys who had been following Rinat around playing the ‘stare at the foreigner game’ stopped following Rinat around to stare at me for a while. But then it was time to check in and head to Almaty and I was able to get it together. The flight was just fine and Rin was an angel of course. Astana Air is the one who hands out candy on the flight and so he was happy. He gets this look on his face like he knows he’s getting away with something that he shouldn’t when he picks a candy from the basket that the flight attendant offers. The lady even tried to give him extra and he said no. That’s my boy.

Although we technically had 13 hours in Almaty, we didn’t really have much free time at all. After driving from the airport, we had to pick up one of the coordinators and drive to the notary to get something stamped. As usual for people from Kaz, they were super nice to Rinat and the lady let him make a ‘passport’ for Bubby complete with notary stamps and the holes that they use to thread the notarized papers together (no staples allowed in Kaz). He was really cute and happy that they were indulging him. Then we stopped by the apartment and only had about 7 hours to fill. So we went to dinner at Line Brew for one last shashlyk, pelmeni, mushroom soup, a giant omelet for Rin, and some apple streudel. And we took a chilly walk around on the way home. He absolutely loved all of the deep snow they had and it was torture trying to keep him from rolling around in it since he didn’t have on snow pants. I have to say that Almaty was absolutely picturesque in the snow. The branches of the evergreens were weighed down with it and there were blinking lights everywhere with 2011 on them. The lights lining one of the main streets were especially amazing. Every single street light had flashing blue lights and then the street had 2011 in lights hanging overhead across it. Gorgeous. Oxana tells us that the big holiday is not Christmas (since a good portion of the country is Muslim of course) but New Years. Everyone gets new clothes and spends a big night out. I get that. I do love Christmas but I think that New Years just offers so much hope. Instead of focusing on what you need to buy for who and how big many strings of lights you need for your tree this year, it gets you thinking about what you want out of the next 12 months and offers a new beginning for everyone. Everyone gets a clean slate. I am so happy that this year will bring our little Sumo to live with us. It is going to be a big change for all of us but we are really excited about it.

After dinner, we spent a few hours relaxing at the apartment playing sumo wrestling and snoozing off and on until we were picked up at 1am to head to the airport. The long flights home were uneventful. Once again, Rin proved to be a very patient traveler. I mean, we sat at a table drinking coffee and eating breakfast (yummy German sausage of course) for literally 4 hours in the Frankfurt airport. I was even starting to get cranky and antsy but he uttered not a peep of complaint. He is not the easiest child in the world to raise but I have to say that he is an excellent traveler.

And since we got home, he’s been pretty darn good too. We got home Sunday evening and he was raring to go to school Monday morning so off he went to see his friends and teachers despite being up since 4am. Then on subsequent days he got up at 2am, 4am, 5am, 4am, and finally 6:30- whew. Back to normal. And while he was busy catching up with friends at school, I have been busy with errands. I have gotten Christmas gifts, and tried to get some things ready for little Sumo’s arrival. He is always in all of our thoughts and I cannot wait to get the call to come and pick up his cute little self. Rin mentions him every once in a while out of the blue. Sometimes he tells me about all of the things he is going to teach him. Sometimes he’ll just say out of nowhere that “Sumo has a cute face. He is even cuter than Bubby.” (a big declaration from him). And sometimes he will tell me about all of the things that he can do that Sumo can’t do yet, “Sumo doesn’t know how to say Mama yet. He only knows how to make Hot Dog Lip.” I know he is going to be jealous of his new brother and annoyed at having to share and frustrated when he knocks down the perfect train tracks that Rin just spent an hour making but I know that he will eventually come to appreciate all of the fun and joy that he brings to his life. Rinat’s never ending lament is “But I need someone to play with me! I’m all alone!” as I am trying to get dinner made or the clothes folded and I am always happy to tell him that he will soon have a permanent playmate. He always corrects me and tells me that Sumo might not be able to play football quite yet (or trains or blocks or whatever) but that he will when he gets a little bit older and he is so right.

So, things are good. We are getting ready for Christmas- gifts bought, tree trimmed, house decorated, and my cousin even put up lights while we were away (which Rin was super excited about). The only thing missing is our other son. But oh what a wonderful 2011 we will have.

And so here is our little Sumo whose official name is Aibek Howard Leggett. His first name is pronounced ‘EYE-bek’, his middle name is my maiden name, and he will turn one year old on December 29th. Although we are sad to have to be apart from him on such a milestone, we are most definitely going to make up for it once he gets home. I cannot wait to hold his warm little body again and smother him with kisses. 2011 is going to be a good year. A really really good year as we get to know our sweet little 'Bek'.

Isn't he the cutest?  I'm completely smitten.  I'll post more photos soon, I promise. 
Merry Christmas!
-m