Adoption Moment with Ryan

Above are photos of the fun we had on Sunday at Playland in Rye, NY where EAC had their Cultural Event/Reunion Picnic :)

I want to apologize for not blogging :/ Life is a little crazy here to say the least and it will be getting crazier with school starting for Ryan and myself, finding a babysitter for Luke, and arranging or I should say rearranging our schedules and our bonding time. But we Welcome new changes or so we think :/

An adoption moment with Ryan happened on Sunday and quite honestly I thought it would never happen. Ron and I have read and read on the subject of adoption and you read about how inquisitive children can be about their adoption. Well, Ryan has never truly been one of those inquisitive children. He more or less just goes with the flow. I hope that made sense?

Here's what happened: On Sunday we were going to a Cultural Event/Picnic Reunion that EAC (European Adoption Consultants) were having in upstate NY. EAC is the adoption agency we used to bring our younger son, Luke, home not too long ago...about 10 1/2 weeks ago at this point :) You always hear/read about these questions happening at the most inopportune times...well, I now know what adoptive parents mean by this! We were sitting at WaWa filling up on gas, and Ryan asked "Mommy where are we going again"? I said to him, "we are going to a picnic that EAC is having and EAC is your baby brothers adoption agency that we used to bring him home from Russia". It's funny b/c you could actually see the wheels turning in Ryan's head, he then asked me, is Luke adopted? I sorta chuckled but then composed myself and realized that this is "actually" happening and the reason Ryan is asking is b/c he doesn't remember, so I said of course he is adopted, just like you are too :) Ryan then asked I'm adopted too? As if it just dawned on him that he too was adopted and it was as if something "clicked" and the light bulb was burning so bright at that very moment. Now up until this point he had never asked any of these types of adoption questions before. We always told Ryan that YES he was adopted and when we brought his baby brother Luke home that he too was adopted, we have never kept any of this from him. Ryan then asked me "why did you and Daddy adopt us (meaning him and his brother)"? I thought to myself OM here we go, here it is "all the adoptive magazines, books, articles, etc., that we have read up to this point all boil down to this one moment"!!! I was talking to myself at this point, b/c did I forget to mention that Ron was in WaWa? I said to Ryan, in terms he could understand, that the reason Mommy and Daddy adopted is b/c we loved each other very much and we wanted to share that love with you and with your brother. We very much wanted to adopt you and your brother. Again, you could see that this was making a huge impact on him and he was seriously thinking about what I was saying. I could then see a smile come across his face and then the questions (for now) had stopped and he asked me something totally off the subject of adoption and it was then I realized okay he must be done, is this what the "adoption experts" mean? I wanted to ask him "how did Mommy do at answering your questions? Too much information or not enough"? Personally I would have gone on till the cows came home but all the experts state not to over-analyze, keep it simple, in terms your child can understand, etc. And of course you can't ask this question to your child, but hey wouldn't it be nice if you could? I also find it funny that two very simple, yet complicated, questions can so intimidating to us as adoptive parents.

Ron came into the car as tears were rolling down my face and he asked what did I do now? I answered him, it's not you, it's our son, Ryan...he's growing up!!! It wasn't until later (Ryan was out of ear shot) that I explained to Ron exactly what enfolded in the car earlier in the day.

Then, on Monday night Ryan asked us "what he needed to do in order to get into Heaven"? Where do children come up with this stuff?

Love & HUGS,

Jenny, Ron, Ryan & Luke :)

Luke is home two months :)

Luke on the beach behind the VMI

The brand new playset at the VMI

VMI sign (notice the Canadian leaf)

The train in Vlad., Russia

The staff at the VMI playing with Luke :)

Geena the Crocodile and a white mouse...unfortunately we don't have a photo of Cheburashka

Above is a photo of Jason, Jesse, Alina (their little girl) and Luke playing :)

This is Irina with another adoptive couple :)

Yesterday we celebrated an Anniversary, of sorts :) It was Lukie's two month Anniversary since arriving here in the USA. We didn't do anything unusual, although we have started on the path to get him vaccinated. He officially only needs 5 vaccines, which is GREAT! Yesterday, he received 3 vaccines plus a PPD test. Then in 6 to 8 weeks we return to his Peds. Dr. so he can receive the other 2 that he is missing. This way we don't have re-vaccinate him with vaccines that he is already immune to. We also thought we would take the opportunity to reminisce about Vladivostok, Russia...the things we miss and well not so much :)

These are in no particular order:



Things we miss about Vladivostok, Russia...

• Irina, Irina, Irina...after all we have her to Thank for completing our family and EAC's wisdom to have such a WONDERFUL facilitator!!!




• Jesse & Jason...without this couple I don't think Ron would have made it 23 days in Vladivostok, Russia (these are Ron's words and you know what I second this statement!!!)




• Stroller walks to the beach, to the train station, to the amusement park, or to the market to get essentials such as soda or ice cream.




• Skipping stones with Jason & Jesse




• Joking that Ron would come home with a Russian bride :)




• Geena the Crocodile, Cheburashka...we have Jesse & Jason to Thank again for this one :)




• Baby Einstein time with Jesse, Jason, Alina, Luke and Ron..."Tropical Bird".




• The wildlife in Vlad., Russia...especially those funky looking squirrels and those crazy birds.




• The groups of families we met in the different stages of the adoption process.




• The restaurant at the VMI for breakfast...Ron's stuffed french toast and my cream-cheese and crab filled pancakes...Mmmmm :)




• Friends that we have made in Vlad., Russia, from the different families to the staff at the VMI (who were willing to bend over backwards for you, no matter what!).




• Children playing on the brand new playset at the VMI.




• Sanity checks every night at the "White Rabbit" :)




• Being in your own little cocoon at the VMI.




• Being able to stay in Luke's birth country...what an experience and you know what we wouldn't have it any other way!

Things we don't miss about Vladivostok, Russia:

• Being apart...Ron and I were apart for 18 days and believe me there were times we didn't think we would make it. We didn't think we would miss each other as much as we did!




• Going to the grocery store and not knowing what you are getting, or going there and not being able to order deli style sliced lunch meat or American cheese...can you believe they don't have American cheese? However, as Ron found out they do have what they call "Hamburger Cheese".




• The driving...need we say more???




• The bath water being brownish before you give your child a bath :)




• Having to brush your teeth with either bottled water or water that had been boiled...when we were recently in Washington D.C., it was the first time we had been away since returning from Russia and I was brushing my teeth with bottled water until Ron pointed it out to me...LOL!




• Not being able to just get a drink of water from the tap.




• Camping experience does come in handy at the VMI, we only had 2 forks, 2 spoons, 2 knives, 2 cups, 2 plates and 1 pot to cook in...we soon realized that we would have to wash the dishes at least 3 times a day and this was in our fully stocked kitchen :) However we did have a refrigerator, a microwave and a stove and we made due.




• The washing machine that sometimes spins and drains your clothing but sometimes it does not :/ A dryer that for no apparent reason just decides to turn itself off...in mid drying cycle.




• The cable television...on a good day you had maybe a couple English speaking channels on a bad day maybe one if that and it always seemed to be BBC Television. As Ron stayed those 18 days he loved the fact that the English speaking channels would play the same exact thing that they played in the evening as in the morning. As if it was just looped...LOL! But Ron did become quite fond of Russian MTV :)




• Paying an enormous amount of money to eat, some meals were great some were not.




• The wildlife in Vlad., Russia...especially those funky looking squirrels and those crazy birds!




• Joking that Ron would come home with a Russian bride :)

I believe that is everything??? If we have anything else to reminisce over we will, you all know that :)

Love & HUGS,

Jenny, Ron, Ryan & Luke :)