Home a few weeks...

We have been home for a few weeks now and are finally settling in. There have been a lot of "first" for Garrett, but he seems to have taken them all in stride. The first few days home, he was pretty content sitting on my hip and hanging out. Slowly he gained his comfort zone and is now off exploring on his own and with his sister. Boy is he FAST! Jordan and Garrett get along great and the transition went better then we could have ever hoped for.

In 3 weeks, he has grown some hair, gained 5 lbs. And is rarely without a smile. We happen to have a Russian neighbor over last night helping us translate his medical report. There was a section on his disposition while in the orphanage. As she was reading, "calm, very quiet...." I looked over her shoulder at Garrett playing with Jordan and some other neighborhood children, belly laughing and blowing slurburts in the air. Without skipping a beat, my neighbor asked, "do you think you have the right medical here?"


The week after we got home, our neighbors put together a "Coming to America" party. It was a wonderful way to show off Garrett to everyone. They couldn't have made us feel more special. My girlfriend in the front made a disc of Russian and USA music and of course we ate russian food... mexican style. (As you all know, I have eaten enough borsch soup to last a lifetime.) It was a fantastic night!

He is very close to walking and I feel fortunate to be able to witness his first steps. As much as he seems so ready to take off, I could use a few more weeks to catch up.

One of the best "firsts" we did this week was go to the beach. We set him in the sand, he looked at us and then after a long pause, he broke into this huge smile and naturally, like most, started eating the sand. He had a blast... Even in the water jumping waves. We are grateful he loves the water... He has been in the pool every day and we plan on starting some swimming lessons in the upcoming week.

Jordan has really loved having Garrett around. She will often be found sitting on the steps outside his room waiting for him to wake up in the morning or from his naps. She is the one that can get him to continuously belly laugh and eat his food. Jordan is very protective of her little brother and has become a great helper to me. It amazes me to see how quickly she adapted to having a new member in the family. I think she is beginning to understand that we did not pick him up at at the grocery store... Something I heard her tell someone the other day. She is also learning very quickly that hugging tight... is good, But not so tight that you want to pop someone's head off. So there is "firsts" going on all around us.

So... We start our adventure of family of 4. I wake up in the morning and feel as though we have been this way forever.... Only now, I have Jordan's right hook across my neck and drool on my face and I hear softly in the monitor... Well, maybe not so softly... Mamamamamamamama!!!

How lucky we are!!!