4 months home

 Four months has gone by so quickly yet so much has happened in a short period of time. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that the little boy running around my backyard screaming is the same child who was not walking or talking four months ago. Bryant has changed so much. He is now a true toddler. He is no longer a baby. With toddler hood comes defiance and independence. I've been down this path three times before. He has just started running from me, climbing on everything, getting out of the highchair, and the funniest is he tells himself "no" before he does something bad (but he still does it). He now says "Mimi" for Amelia and "Mae Mae" for Macie. Sara Kathryn is upset because he hasn't said "Sissy." After all of my worry, Bryant has adjusted nicely to the world outside of our home. He loves going to the gym and church nursery. He is a very social child and enjoys playing with other children. He continues to bless us with his adorable personality and his oh so cute smile. He can give me a big grin and I can't help but smile and give him a kiss.

 We really enjoyed Bryant's first Easter. We had a memorable time with family and friends. Bryant called all of the eggs balls. He enjoyed hunting for eggs and put them all in his mouth. He and Amelia did not like the Easter bunny. Bryant just stared at him in shock. At least he didn't scream at the top of his lungs like his sister did. We have found he likes M&M's so the Easter bunny brought lots of those.

 Here are some pictures from our Easter celebration. My favorite is a picture of Bryant touching the cross as we put it up in our yard. I happened to have my camera as he stood in amazement of it. I believe we should all be in amazement since it means so much. This picture brings tears to my eyes every time I look at it. Bryant was placed in our arms by our loving God. Our journey to him was one of total faith and trust in him. This picture makes me sure that God alone gave us this blessing.

Bryant touching the cross 

Easter

 

Waiting to see what the Easter bunny brought. Bryant was so excited

My Easter blessings

Family Picture

Easter with Daddy

Eating Easter eggs at his 1st egg hunt

Just Thinking

 Today I was sitting on the couch thinking about Russia and our time there and Bryant crawled up in my lap. I pulled up some videos I took at the orphanage. He loves to watch himself on the computer as he says "baby baby" over and over. One of the videos had his orphanage caretaker Nina bringing him to us on our second trip after our court date. Nina is my sweet angel who took care of my baby while he waited for his mommy and daddy to come get him. Bryant pointed at  Nina and just stared in amazement. He recognized her voice and face. Then he leaned in to the screen and kissed her. It brought tears to my eyes.  How lucky to have someone care for him and show him love. Bryant is a caring, empathetic and very loving child. I do believe these qualities are in part learned behaviors so I am very grateful for the love shown to him by Nina.

 Another funny thing, he loves dogs and for the past few weeks has been pointing to them saying "ka ka." It is very specific to dogs. I was so confused because he can say other words that start with a "d." Talked to his speech therapist and she agreed kind of odd. Then Jeff and I looked up the Russian word for dog, which is pronounced "sabaka" with an emphasis on the ending ka sound. We figured he is using the Russian word for dog or his version of it. Smart little thing. Very surprised he remembered this.

 The other day I thought about the first time I saw Bryant's face. An email that Jeff and I  almost didn't open after a heartbreaking loss of a referral. This picture will be ingrained in my head forever, the look in his eyes, the smile on his face and his crazy hair. From this picture I could see some serious personality and he has proved me right.  I remember looking at those eyes and seeing my future child. One look and I just knew he was mine. I have never posted his referral pictures. These are the pictures that were on the Russian database of adoptable children. We think he is around 10 or 11 months old when they were taken. These are the only pictures, other than a few Nina took for us, that we have of Bryant as a baby. I treasure them.

 Please keep our Moscow friends in your prayers as they are having some health struggles. We think about them daily. Also we are praying for the survivors and families of the victims of today's plane crash in Russia, such a tragedy.

Hope you have a Happy Easter. We are excited for Bryant's first Easter home.

Referral Picture #1  Serious face.
with his crazy hair!

Referral Picture # 2  Smiley face.

Our second day with Bryant at the orphanage. 11 months old 

You can see him showing off- lots of personality!

Second trip to Russia November 25, 2011

Nina bringing Byant to us after a successful court date.

As they walked down the hall I remember thinking - he is really mine!

Nina is telling him "mama and papa" and pointing to us