5 Months!

Nik loves the park in our neighborhood!
He was scared to slide when he came home and now
loves it!

We arrived home 5 months ago today!  Just this morning, someone asked me how it felt that Nik has been here for 5 months already. I had to honestly say that in some ways it feels like he has been with us forever and in some ways it feels like we are still very much getting to know each other.  Nik continues to fit in so well with all of us and communicates more and more every day.  He is a happy boy. He is smart, animated, and very brave. He likes to be silly and is friendly, unless we leave him with a stranger (which we try to avoid).  He knows what he wants and isn't hesitant at all to let us know what that is. A couple of weeks ago, as we looked at picture of Nik's orphanage, I asked him if he was happy or sad when he lived there. He immediately said "sad".  Then, I asked him about our home.  I said "Are you happy or sad here with Mommy, Daddy, Maddie, and Dylan?" He said "happy" as his face lit up in joy.  That says it all to me. Nik is right where he belongs!


Nik loves to look at our photo albums. They are some of
his favorite "books".  I wonder what he thinks about the
albums that he is not in? We also look frequently at pictures 
of his old "home" in Russia.

This month was full for our family.  My dad passed away a month ago.   This meant, sadly, that Nik attended his first funeral.  I am not sure he had seen an adult cry before.   Nik was a little bewildered to watch me greive, despite our attempts to explain that "mommy is sad."  I pray that God uses this to help him understand more of what a family is all about.

Another "adventure" this month was a major restoration effort in our house following a plumbing leak.   A sewer back up caused part of our downstairs to flood, resulting in the bathroom needing to be rebuilt and all our wood floors needing to be replaced.  Nik generally took it in stride that our house was torn apart. As they pulled up wood flooring, he would say, "Oh No! Broken!"  We were all happy to have the house back in order. 

Another first this month was a trip to the dentist, which went very well. Nik loves to brush his teeth and found the dentist to be a lot of fun. 

This past weekend, we travelled to Waco so that Brent, Maddie, and I could participate in Baylor's annual Bearathon. Both grandma's came along and we had a great time. I wondered how Nik would do in a hotel, as he has never slept anywhere but his own bed since we brought him home.  He did GREAT!  He loved the hotel and even begged to go to bed.  He also was thrilled to see the real, live Baylor bears. The weekend was a fun adventure for all of us. 

Sic em Bears!

Fun in the Baylor book store pretending to be bears!

Thanks for the new Baylor shirts, Mimi!




Touring Campus!

Finally, yesterday, Nik experienced his first Easter Egg hunt. We practiced at home ahead of time and Nik figured things out quickly.  With candy involved, it was easy to be motivated to learn! 


The Easter Basket isn't a hat?



Its a little disappointing when someone else beats you
as you attempt to get one more egg!

 Our social worker visited last week to prepare our first "post-placement" report for Russia.  I did not know what to expect, but everything seemed to go well.  She was impressed with how well Nik has adjusted and agreed that Nik is a happy boy. 

Here are a couple of more pictures from this month:


Play dough is fun!

Fun at the park with friends during spring break!

Working on a project at Grammy's house!