A First and A Last

Yesterday was a busy day. A day that I forgot to tote my camera on my shoulder...which is a fact that had me greatly disappointed.

We started out the morning as a normal Sunday morning. The children and Jason headed to the great outdoors to feed the multitudes of animals...a number that is increasing on a daily basis.

They returned to the house to eat some breakfast...which, on Sunday mornings, consists of opening a box of cold cereal. What a great invention.

We readied for church and wiggled and squirmed through the whole service in anticipation of what was to come. Well, the children wiggled and squirmed while Jason and I tried to keep them sitting relatively still.

A day with my extended family. My grandparents, their six children + spouses, the 24 grandchildren + spouses, and the 28 great-grandchildren. Whoa. Those are some big numbers...and they are ever increasing with four new babies due in the next several months!!

This was Jack's first time to 'meet' the whole family. Boy, was he excited. :)

He did super. We weren't sure how he would respond. He's been around big crowds quite a few times, but never around big crowds where everyone knew him and his story. He played just like all the other children and every 15 minutes or so I'd see his little blond head start bobbing in my general direction. Shortly, he'd be at my side with his arms up wanting to be held. What a wonderful sight that was!!

Not taken yesterday, but had to insert something to show just how cute he is!!

It's always a sign of a good attachment when our children seek us out just to say hi. When our children want to be held for just a bit while their friends are still playing. Many folks don't really think about that 'small' issue. Attachment. It's on our minds on a regular basis. It used to be that one of our children would completely forget about the minor fact that parents were now in her life. She never met a stranger. She would go up to any random stranger and beg to go home with them.

Not only was that a bad attachment sign, it was also a little hard on my heart. I am her mom. How dare she parent shop. Did she not know that we were her parents forever?

Well actually, no, she didn't. Having parents who will be parents forever is something that our children have to learn.

It's been so nice to see Jack get rather uncomfortable when anyone else tries to hold him. He'll go to several people...all in our immediate families...but he's far from comfortable with the situation. No smiles, no jumping around. He just sits in their arms and stares at them with a worried look on his face. After a minute or so he's diving for my arms.

We left Grandpa's about 5:30 and headed to meet our social worker, Erica, for our last post placment report for Addie and Will. The last one. I can hardly believe it.

Three years ago the post placement reports looked like a huge pain. And, yes, they are a nuisance. However, they really aren't too difficult. We meet with our social worker (whom we absolutely love), she asks us some questions.... "How are the children doing? What is their daily schedule? What new things are they doing since last year? When was their last doctor visit? What was it for? Any major health issues?"... we give her the required photos (which just got easier about two weeks ago...We did have to give 12 photos per child...action shots with the child looking at the camera, some full length, some head shots, some with family, some by self...and now they are requiring only six photos.), and we leave.

Addie and Will the first time they ever met each other...

...and nearly three years later.

Easy. Not anything major, but a pain.

The only thing that makes them a pain is the time frame that they must be completed in. The reports are due by the day that we had official custody of our children. The reports cannot be dated more than thirty days prior to that anniversary. The reports must be completed and to our agency two weeks prior to the due date that Russia gives us so they can get them notorized, certified, apostilled, and sent to Russia to be translated before it can be handed to the proper recipient.

But now we're done. With Addie's and Will's. We do Jack's first one next month. :) And only three more years before we can be done with his, too!!

As the pictures prove, much has changed since June 20, 2008. Much. SO much that we'll save all that for a whole nother post sometime in the next ew weeks.