Tag Archives: Reed

Weekend Update

July 22, 2012 Molly Leave a comment

Our weekend was pretty relaxed. Our one big to-do was that we wanted to each take each of our big kids out on a “date”. Some alone time to hang out and check-in with them.

I let them pick what they wanted to do. Reed wanted to go get ice cream. I told him we could do something else after we got ice cream and he was so excited to go to the playground for awhile. And, when we left, he was super excited to go home and go “swimming” in our “pool”. Reed moves fast!

Lena just wanted to go to the playground. Lena soaks up my undivided attention whenever she gets it. So, I put down my cell phone and gave it to her. All I needed to do was narrate everything she was doing on the swing. “Higher!” “Slooooower.” And she laughed and laughed. Then, I pushed her myself and sent her to outer space. She called me on the phone from outer space and told me she loved me.

Am I driving you crazy that I don’t have much of an update on Gus? Poor kid didn’t get to leave our house all weekend! Actually, that might be a happy thing for him– he hates getting buckled in to his car seat. It is also 100+ here every day, so the options for where to go are limited.

He did get to “swim” for awhile Saturday night, so he was happy about that!

A video of the little goofball.

Honestly, he’s a lot harder to photograph that my bigger kids, because he rarely slows down! I am trying to get some photos for an adoption announcement, and we’ll see if that ever happens…

Adoption, Everyday Life

Missing out on what?

July 20, 2012 Molly 4 Comments

This was not part of my plan. I did not want to parent 3 children before my 25th birthday, nor did I ever imagine I could. Sometimes, I feel crazy… actually, I always feel crazy when someone asks me my age, or when I am with people my own age. Yes, I am 24, and my husband and I have adopted 3 kids internationally. Yes, it is crazy. No, it was never part of MY plan. That’s what I often want to say, sort of shrugging off my own participation in the matter.

But, no, you know what’s crazy?

Missing out on this…

or this,

or this.

My best moments aren’t spent being 24, being carefree or whatever 24 year olds do… my best moments are spent with these 3, loving these 3 and being loved by them.

Missing out on the way Gus runs into my arms and slobbers all over my face. Missing out on Lena’s tender hugs, which make me feel like the most special person in the world. Missing out on Reed’s silly jokes, which make me laugh until my stomach hurts.

I won’t lie… there is a cost– a cost to adoption and a cost to parenting, but the reward?

Extravagant.

“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” -Art Williams

Adoption, Everyday Life

4,000 Words

July 18, 2012 Molly 4 Comments

Yeah, man! This is MY sister! -G

Someone save me. -L

Gotcha! – L & G

You can “honk” my nose, anytime, Gus. -L

Adoption, Second Adoption

Home Sweet Home

July 16, 2012 Molly 11 Comments

We are home!

We left our apartment in Moscow at 8am Saturday morning, that’s 11pm CST, for our 11:40am flight. But, our flight was delayed, first an hour and twenty minutes, then it turned it all chaos, and everyone cheered when the plane finally left the ground at 3:30.

We did get to make some new friends at the airport! My friend Jennifer is adopting, too. This girl is so sweet and so much fun. Go show her some love?

That’s our plane, waiting to find out what was going to happen with it.

He really loved watching all of the vehicles on the tarmac.

Gus is an awesome flyer. But, I was so grateful to have my mom to help me wrangle him on the plane. He barely cried at all, and after 9 hours, we made it to JFK. We had a good experience with customs there. We were about 3rd from the last in the line, but knowing we had a baby and an international adoption, we were quickly moved to the front of the line, before we even had the opportunity to ask.

Dancing to the Muppet Movie.

Playing on the floor.

Very excited about becoming a US Citizen.

From JFK, my dad picked us up and drove us to my parents’ house, where we spent the night. Gus got to briefly meet his cousins, aunts, uncle and grandpa. And one of my best friends.

Meeting his cousins.

Yesterday morning, I got up to find my laundry dried and folded, Gus’s bottles, bowls and spoon washed, and a bunch of new food for him to take on the plane. My mom is so thoughtful and made it so easy for me to get ready this morning.

I was so grateful we flew out of a tiny airport… going through security was so easy. Our flight went smoothly. He was awesome. Snack trap cups with yogurt drops or rice puffs worked great. He was busy with his hands and his mouth.

Our layover was in Chicago. They have a little “Children’s Museum”, which is like a play area for kids, which stuff about flying and planes. We hung out in there for awhile, so he could burn off some energy.

Then… home. My friend Danae filmed this for us.

Gus fell asleep in the car on the way home. He was so, so tired, and slept until about 2am last night. Then, he was up for about 2 hours, before I made him go back to sleep. Partly to help him adjust to our timezone, and partly because I was exhausted.

I can’t wait to tell you how Reed and Lena have been with him, but that could be another blog post. I am so proud of them!

Everyday Life

Life in Color

July 4, 2012 Molly 2 Comments

I went to upload the photos from my camera to my computer today… I didn’t realize how long it had been. But, I found some fun photos in the process…

When we were in Pennsylvania, the kids and I went to a playground with my best friend from high school. My BFF foreva, if you ask my 14 year old self.

And we brought chinese food… you don’t bring chinese food to the playground? Ashleigh and I have always brought food to this particular playground to sit and talk, and it seemed only appropriate that we brought the kids and our lunch there.

This was Miss Lena’s “fortune”. I love it.

And Reed’s. Made me giggle that out of the 4 of us, HE got that one.

Then, we played.

This is the miniature version of this rock his papa is sitting on in this photo, taken 5 years ago. Same park…

A few days ago, chilling in the baby pool while I sew. A baby pool is like an outdoor bath, right?

Gus’ quilt on my lap, as I sew the binding, outside in the 100+ degree heat, while R&L chill in the pool.

The finished quilt on his crib. Love looking at that!

I also made Gus a quiet book for on the plane… a special book that I will keep tucked away until the flight.

I think the page on the right is my favorite. Honestly, my sewing for this book was horrible(don’t ask me to make you one!), but I hope it will still be entertaining.

And, tonight, we had an awesome 4th of July with friends… we had such a great time, Reed and Lena especially. Jumping on a trampoline, sliding down the water slide into the baby pool, the slip and slide, dressing up like princesses, a new found love of sparklers, lighting off fireworks… so many memories were made. It was exactly what I want all of us to remember before we step into this transitional time of chaos. Grateful for the friends who made it happen.