Roman Turns 2!!

Roman turned 2 on Feb. 25th, and he was Sheriff Woody from Toy Story for his party! He had a blast! We had a bounce house that was a hit with all the kids, and Roman loved being the birthday boy! Fun was had by all - here are some pics!!

Tubes

Roman's surgery to get tubes went perfectly smooth! He did amazingly well beforehand without having any food or drink after midnight. He was so cute in his little hospital gown that I had to take a picture!

He woke up very angry and cried quite a bit. He was a little disoriented as well. We got through it all and we were home by 10:30. His ears don't seem to be bothering him, but he is cutting teeth right now. So, I attribute any grumpiness to that.

We have a consultation with the urologist next week for his circumcision. I don't know when the surgery will be for that one, but I"m thinking that might have a little bit more recovery time. Poor guy!

Welcome 2011!

I'm looking forward to this coming year! Roman has been home 8 months now, and it's interesting to think about us going on our first trip to meet him last January. It's crazy to think how all of our lives have changed in just a short time.

Roman is kicking off the new year by getting tubes in his ears on Tuesday. I'm SO thankful and ready for this. I think it will help him feel so much better, and I'm also hoping it will help his speech by being able to hear better.

We had a great Christmas! We couldn't have asked for a better time. 2010 was an amazing year, and I'm looking forward to how God will continue to show Himself to us in 2011.

On Dec. 22, 2009

Roman was 9 mos old in these pics - close to when we received his referral.

This is when Roman was 4 months old when he first went to the orphanage.

One year ago we received our Christmas miracle of our referral for Roman :)

Here are some of his referral pictures! We are so blessed and thankful to have him home this Christmas!!!

New Posts

Hey everyone - I've just posted 4 new posts. You'll see 2 below here of pictures that I've been VERY delayed in posting. They are all out of order, but I labeled them. So, you can see how Roman has changed since coming home :) Then, the final one is an update of how things are going.

Hope you enjoy - thanks for stopping by!

Claire

Coming Home Pictures - May 2010

Day 2 or 3 home - I don't remember! :)

He looks shocked! :)

Meeting for the first time

Random Pictures

Roman - July 2010

South Georgia Cousins!

Me, the kids and Mom with Grandaddy - July 2010

Kate - the morning of her bday - July

July 4th

Troublemaker - June

First Family Photo

Sweet Brother and Sister - May

Wes & Roman - Roman wearing Wes's baby outfit

Mother's Day - May 2010

4 Months Home & 6 Month Post Placement Visit

2 more months have gone by since I've posted. I have come to find that it's impossible to find quiet time to update this. The only time I usually have is at night, and I'm too tired to think! Ha! I'm actually at Starbucks now (on a Sat), and Wes is home with the kiddos.

Anyway, I have much to update. Roman is doing fantastic! He has continued to adjust well to our family. He and Kate continue to be typical brother and sister. They love each other, but really love to torment each other as well :)

I took Roman about a month ago for his hearing test....my last dr. appt I needed to do to get him looked at up and down upon arriving home. The audiologist said he had fluid behind his ears, so she wouldn't be surprised if he failed the test. Well, she was right. He only had a partial pass in one ear. So, I took him to the dr., and she put him on some amoxicyllin. We went back in 2 weeks, one ear was better and one was now officially infected. So, she put him on a stronger antibiotic and that cleared it up. He still has constant congestion that she says may be allergies, and so I can give him some Zyrtec once a day. It's strange to me, though how he's had the same congestions since we first met him in Russia. You would think that whatever allergies he has would change with his major change in environment. Oh well....I guess we'll have him tested when we can.

Developmentally, he is doing great. He is all boy and very active climbing, running and climbing some more. He loves to push buttons on the cable box and change the channels....which brings a lot of drama when Kate is watching "her" show. I'm sure that's why he likes to do it :)

The one problem we've had lately is his middle of the night scream-fests. Ugh!! Now when I say scream, I don't mean crying. Roman just happens to wake up in the night and talk VERY LOUDLY! All our bedrooms are clustered together in our house, so we hear him very well. We are SO thankful that Kate sleeps through it.....we think b/c there are closets between their rooms, that it blocks the sound pretty well. We, on the other hand, are across the hall, and the sound travels very well to our room. We just don't get it......why does he have to be SO loud?? The lady at the hearing center said that the fluid behind his ears would also make him sound loud to himself, so he can obviously hear how loud he is too :) Oh well.....hoping this stage passes quickly.

Roman, Kate and I made a trip down to south Georgia in late July to go visit family and most importantly see my granddaddy. I braved the long drive by myself..10 hours in the car with 2 small children. Roman settled in about 4 hours in......did I mention that he doesn't like being restrained? :) Once he settled in the trip went great! The kids had an absolute blast, and we had an awesome time with family.

He is doing great in his 2 day/week school and even gets excited when we pull into the parking lot. His teachers love him to death and say he is so good. I asked if he was loud and dramatic with them too....they said no. ha! He knows several words, but this will hopefully be a continual area of improvement. Here are the words he knows that I can think of right now: mama, dada, K for Kate, hey, hi, bye bye (aka buh bye - with a wave of course), nigh-night for night night, doh for dog, a version of thank you that I can't figure out how to type phonetically....

Kate is the awesome big sister who passes toys to Roman in the car when he can't reach them. She loves to go with me in the mornings to get Roman out of bed. She loves to help me drop Roman off in his classroom. And she loves to tell me at home when Roman needs help with a toy, needs more snack on his tray, etc. etc. You get the picture. Wes likes to call her my Luitenant. One day it was about the 3rd time she had to tell me he was about to mess with the tv buttons. As I was walking toward him she said, "Come on, let's get him!" She cracks us up!!!!

I looked at some pictures yesterday of our 2nd trip to Russia as well some pictures of when we first brought Roman home, and he as changed so much! A lot of it has to do with how much his hair has grown and how he now has 8 teeth coming in. He is still so stinking cute!! Even cuter! Same personality that has just come out more and more as he's gotten comfortable. I remember thinking everyone was crazy who said how much fun they had in Kras, b/c while we were there it was so boring and tedious. But now, I think back on that trip and say "Awe - I miss it." And I realize that it's b/c it's the first time we had to spend with Roman, and he was so new to us. What great and truly fond memories I have of the entire experience.....no matter how stressful and crazy it all was!

So, crazily enough it was time for our 6 month post placement visit this past week. Our report is actually due Oct. 13th, which is 6 mos. from our court date of April 13th. However, we can't have it apostilled more than 20 days from the due date.....they just like to keep it confusing don't they?!

I'll post some pictures in a separate post.

2 Months Home!!

Wow!! Where do I begin? These past 2 months have gone by so fast, yet it seems like Roman has been here for so long :) I know I've read that in other adoptive family posts as well, but it's so true! He has changed SO much in 2 months - it's unbelievable. He has adapted so amazingly well. I have been totally surprised. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was braced for much worse!

Here is my rambling of how Roman has changed from when we got him on April 23rd (in no particular order):

He has been a great sleeper from the beginning. He slept in a pack 'n play or crib in a separate room from us since we had him with us in Russia. He used to wake up several times in the night, cry out briefly, and then go right back to sleep. I can't tell you the last time he's done that. When we first picked him up, he was, of course, very excitable about his food. He always looked like he was on the edge of his seat, and when the food stopped coming we had major meltdowns. Now, he will actually sit back in his chair and enjoy his meal and not get upset when food is over. We deduced on our own that he has an allergy to cow's milk. Now that he is on Soy milk he doesn't spit up like he used to do SO much. He has gone from me hardly being able to get him to drink much fluids to drinking about 3 cups of milk per day - out of a sippy cup! Yay! He's gained about 5 pounds since we got him! He's still amazingly strong, which we noticed in Russia. I'm pretty sure if he knew what one was, he could do more pull-ups than me!

His top 2 teeth came through the gums shortly after we came home, and he now has 2 more bottom teeth already poked through the gums. He still sits and goes potty for us - he wears diapers, but still goes potty at least 3 times a day. He was on the verge of walking when we were in Russia - we were able to get him to walk those quick few steps between us at the apartment in Kras, but really started walking long distances after being home about 3 weeks. He walks everywhere, and is very fast. He also prides himself on his climbing skills - hoping he doesn't learn to climb out of the crib anytime soon!

I think the most amazing advancement he's had is language. He's 16 mos old, and in the past few weeks he has picked up the following words: Hi (with a wave), Mama, Dada, "K" for Kate, nana for banana (this was actually his first English word that he learned while we were in Moscow - he LOVED the bananas we stuffed him with :), doh for dog, woo woo for woof woof, "nah" for nose, "moh" for mouth. He can point to his nose and mouth when you ask him. He understands tons more as well - especially the phrase "no, no!" Ha! He mostly hears this phrase when he's grabbing a computer, cell phone, or tv remote - he loves electronics! He already called 911 on my cell phone one day (an old one without a sim card - didn't know it was possible!).

He cracks us up all the time. He LOVES his sister, and she LOVES him!! It's awesome - they play so well together when they aren't snatching from each other :)

And the BEST part about Roman is not only his personality, but how much he loves to be loved!! He will squeeze you when he hugs you and give you so many kisses. It totally melts your heart.

God has blessed us SO incredibly much - we are loving having Roman here with us. 2 families that we met on our 2nd trip have been in Russia picking up there children this week, and it's been so awesome to know it's happening for someone else!

I'll try to write more now that we are "settling in" a little bit more. So many changes so quickly!

Pictures!!

Ok, I know I really need to post some things on the blog! SO much has happened!! BUT, we just had the pictures of Roman done 6 weeks after returning home, and I had to post a sample! Isn't he PRECIOUS!!!?? And our photographer is amazing!

His 6 weeks home baby pics :) God is SO good and amazing! Enjoy!!

HOME!!!!!!!

A week and a half after returning home, I'm just now finding time to blog about it! Whew - it's been a tiring time. I developed strep throat on the 24 hour travel time, which only got worse as the time went on. Not fun! Poor Wes stepped it up though and took care of Roman most of the trip. I felt terrible, but I literally could hardly move. I took all the Advil I had, and Wes bought me more when we were stateside in NY. He literally had two crying babies to take care of on the flights home, me and Roman.

Roman did NOT sleep but about an hour and a half on the first 9.5 hour flight. He stayed awake during our entire layover in NY (about 4 hours I think), but he did finally sleep in our flight from NY to Memphis. Poor Wes - he did an amazing job though!!!! What a wonderful Daddy and Husband!!! I couldn't have done it without him. At one point I was sobbing in his lap telling him I wasn't going to make it - obviously I did! But, the most important thing is that Roman did TOO!! YAY!!!

Everything went smoothly in NY going through immigration, and we ended up getting home around 10:30 p.m. Memphis time on Sat. night, May 1st. We went to my parent's house that night, and Roman slept all night.

Since we've been home, he has done amazingly well! He's been eating and sleeping great. We've had a few ups and downs. At first he didn't like to lose sight of me for a second. Now, I would say it's been extended to at least a few minutes :) Kate and Roman have been working things our as new brother and sister. We've had our moments, but I can't complain there at all. Kate has been awesome, and she's going to be a great big sister!

Life has been hectic adjusting to two (as expected), but we've already made a trip to Target and Dada's shop. We've been blessed to have meals brought to us by our community group which has been a life saver! I've been so out of it from being sick, jet lag and having a little bug this week as well. I'm ready to feel "normal" and myself again, so I can enjoy the kids together! Maybe with 2 I'll never fell that way - ha!

We are truly blessed by our Lord, and He worked many miracles to bring this little guy home. We are now a family of four :)

US Embassy

Today went great at the Embassy appointment!!!!! YAY!! Roman's visa is in hand, and we are packing away :)

We're trying to make sure we have enough food for the long day - he is quite an eater!!

Please pray our flights go better than our first one!! Regardless, we're come home tomorrow, and I'll be thrilled :)

Last post from RUSSIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Moscow

Our flight to Moscow was terrible - Roman was not a happy camper! Not scared, just tired and teething! We have our embassy appt. tomorrow and then we leave for HOME on Sat. - CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Post from Kras!

I've been busy, busy packing!!! Yay!! It takes a while to pack up 3 weeks worth of stuff after you've "settled in" at a place :) I think I've got all I need for Roman in my carry-on, his suitcase is packed, and mine is packed except for a few last minute items.

We have to get up and be ready by 4:30, but I don't care!! I'll just be ready to go! Actually I was thinking about that even if I get up at 3 or 3:30 a.m., it's really helping me transition to Moscow time, since it is 4 hours behind us. So, really I'll be getting up at 7:00 a.m.

Anyway, nothing really new to report. Roman did well again today not taking a morning nap. He at lunch and we put him down at 1:00. He napped 3 hours yesterday, and has napped 2 hours so far. He is teething, so he did hit a very grumpy spell around 10:30 this morning, but once he got passed it he was fine.

Wes goes around 6:00 p.m. with our facilitators to pick up Roman's passport - I can't wait to see it :) One step closer to going home!

Ready to Go Home!!!!

We're totally bored now and ready to go home!! Only one more day (Tues), then off to Moscow on Wed and then home on Sat.....can't wait!!

Roman is napping now. He woke up a couple of times in the night and cried out as he has been doing. I don't know if he's dreaming, or if he slightly wakes up and is unsettled. I'm not sure, but I'm thankful that he goes right back to sleep. Today we tried to keep him up all morning, did lunch and then put him down for a nap at 1:00. I really think he's in that in-between stage of dropping his first nap, b/c the past couple of days he would take a really long nap early and then not nap in the afternoon. So, I thought we would try this today, and so far it's been working!

The most amazing thing to me is that Roman is actually using the potty! We decided to keep him in the habit of using it (while still using diapers, of course), and he has continued to amaze me. This may gross some of you out, but after eating a huge breakfast, I put him on the potty about 30 min. later and he did numbers 1 & 2 - and he's only 14 mos old! Craziness!!

Anyway, after he gets up from his nap we're going to go bum around at the baby store here. It's great weather outside - sunny and 54 degrees! I hear him stirring now......

2nd Day & Night

Roman finshed the day wonderfully yesterday. We did realize later in the afternoon that he didn't get enough lunch. Because he was so hungry he couldn't settle down for an afternoon nap. Once we realized the problem, we fed him a large snack :) Then, he fell asleep on my shoulder for about half an hour around 5 pm which was perfect, since it was closer to bedtime.

I'm going to give Wes his props here, b/c you can just call him baby chef extraordinaire!! He made Roman a soup with veggies in it, very similar to what we fed him that day in the orphanage. You could look at his face and tell he was so excited and recognized it was similar to what he was used to!

He slept great again last night - all night, and has done great so far today. He ate breakfast like a champ, had a mid-morning snack, and is napping now.

A great lazy Sunday!

Gotcha Day Pictures

Having fun with Dada before bed

All clean!!

Oh boy - I recognize this from my old house! He didn't go, but sat there for a while!

Dinner time - yummy in my tummy!

Chillin with Dada

Isn't he so cute in his outfit??!!

Sleeping in the car after leaving the orphanage - so sweet!

Obligatory picture with Momma

Obligatory picture with Dada

First Night and more

Last night couldn't have been better! He slept all night until about 7 this morning. He slept better than I did :) I didn't sleep as well wondering how he was doing, etc.

He woke up happy and ready for breakfast! I obviously didn't make him enough oatmeal, b/c after eating that and the fruit we had for him he wanted more! So, I made more, and he loved it. Afterwards, he drank some milk. We then got him down and he played - very busy! We Skyped with my parents so Kate could see Roman again. We did last night too, and Kate was very sweet :) She told Roman she loved him. Today she sang for him "Twinke Twinke Little Star," and Roman clapped for her! He loves any kind of music! We can't wait to get those two together - one more week. Hopefully it will go quickly! We miss Kate and are ready for her to meet her brother in person!

I'm able to blog now, b/c Roman is actually down for his morning nap. Amazing that he is doing this well! He went right down, woke up once and then went right back to sleep. Once he gets up, it will be time for lunch.

He's loved the apartment, and he's been SO excited about his walking. He's taken a couple of falling steps - which means he takes some steps as he is falling :) But, he really, really wants to do it now. At the orphanage he really wasn't interested, so I don't know what changed. But, it's fun!!! I do know that :)

Wes has gone with our facilitators for a few minutes to the Office of Vital Statistics to work on getting Roman's birth certificate. Tuesday we pick up his passport, and then we leave Kras VERY early on Wed. morning. They pick us up at 4:30 a.m. - whew! Anyway, that's about all we have to do between now and the time we leave here. Yay! We get to have fun and hang out with Roman! He's so happy and sweet - we couldn't have asked for better!

I'll try to post more pics later - maybe during afternoon nap if he takes one :) We'll see!

Introducing Roman Anthony Pennel :)

Gotcha Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today couldn't have gone any better!! It was awesome!! I couldn't sleep last night, b/c I was so excited :) This morning we had a great morning - Wes found chocolate croissants - yummy! SO much better than my attempted dessert last night at the coffee shop - remind me later to tell you about that. Anyway, I mostly cleaned this morning and "nested" so to speak.

They picked us up right on time! I had been anxious this morning, but once I was in the car on the way I was totally at ease and relaxed. The Lord really blessed me that way - and the weather was wonderful - nice and sunny :) Everything looked prettier outside today.

When we got to the orphanage, our facilitator took the clothes we had brought for him to his room and his caretakers changed him. It didn't take long, and then they brought him to us :) Our little Roman!!!!! He did AWESOME in the car!! I think the previous car ride helped tremendously. He tried to cry once at the very start, but then he settled in. He started to get fussy after about 15 min., and I put him on my shoulder and he fell asleep for the remainder of the time in the car. He had his 3 layers on (including a ski/winter outfit on top), so we were roasting!! I guess babies can only sleep when they're that hot! Ha!! His little head was all sweaty - it was so sweet and cute :)

So, we got back to the apartment, and he had a blast!! He just crawled around checking things out. We played for quite a while. He drank some water out of a sippy cup (one of those disposable ones), and then he threw it and of course it went everywhere :) But, he did well drinking it. Wes was awesome and cooked dinner while I fed Roman. We fed him (and will continue at least probably until we get home) baby food consisting of a jar of veggies, some beef (which he wasn't a big fan of), and some oatmeal and plums. He did great! Later he had some milk that we bought for him. It smells and looks really gross to me (very different than what we're used to), but he loved it! Afterwards, we gave him a bath, and he love it!!!!! He loves to splash and doesn't care if he gets it in his eyes. We played a little longer after bath, and then he was crashing - it was about 9:00. So, I tried to just put him in the pack n play, but he cried. So, I comforted him and we rocked back and forth for a while. He was very close to going to sleep, but would never give it up. So, I put him back in there and let him cry about 10-15 minutes and he fell asleep about 9:45! We're hoping it works all night :) He was really tired, so I hope so!

Our God is an awesome God to bring us this far - we can't wait to finish up our trip and be a family of four!

I'm having trouble with my memory card, so I'll have to post earlier pics instead of ones from today - oh well!