home sweet home

i can't believe kola and sig have only been home for 1 1/2 days. it's been a blur. ethan and i picked sig and kola up from the airport saturday morning, with a very exciting tram ride from parking lot e to terminal 3. sig and kola had had a very long and trying trip back from ukraine. i still don't have all the details, but sig said kola was good on the plane and slept as much as one could - but the only thing he ate in over a day was a rice krispie treat. there was a bout with a runny diaper and a 'hellish' transition thru the airport, but kola arrived very excited to see all the machina in the airport parking lot. he got home and sniffed out the house. after a quick inventory of the toy basket, he ate an early lunch with us - 3 entire bananas. he napped very well and we had to wake him after 3 hours to ensure a good nite's sleep. throughout the day, he was greeted by many enthusiastic neighbors and he fell right into the welcoming arms of woodbine. shelley served a champagne toast, bill and karen lent puppies as an ice breaker plus a strip of red-white-and-blue flags which we hung from the porch the nite before their arrival, carson and quinn left welcome cards for ethan and kola, and the neighbor kids are brushing up on a few russian words and phrases.

day two delivered more fun on woodbine and a stroller trip to chicago avenue to see some better machina action. in his several hours outside pushing various plastic vehicles up and down the sidewalk, he's had lots of smiles and giggles and learned a little about not going into the street. as much fun as he has playing chase and playing outside, he has pitched a couple fits about coming back into the house - which i guess i would too. tonite we had a really fun playdate with the flemmings and altho it took kola a while to warm up from his post-nap jetlag, he was right in the fold and grinning all the way. he even ate this third thing in the states (his 2nd being 3 bowls of oatmeal - funny about 3) an apple and gouda sausage! that after snubbing breads, cheese, ham, bologna, apples, crackers, corn......) he seems very happy with his new home, inside and out, and we're so grateful to our wonderful neighbors who have been so physically and emotionally supportive...words really can't describe how much it has helped us and meant to us.

day 1, ethan was very patient with kola and mostly observed from the sidelines and was curious, which come to think of it is how ethan approaches most new things. today has been more trying for him - sometimes it seems kola is a little gnat, walking in front of his cartoons or checking out the toy in his hands. then he's a new mischievous partner as they experiment with doors (and slamming) together, then he's a reason for jealousy and a request for extra help. when probed, he still admits that having a little brother is fun. i'm sure we'll all continue to pursue a range of emotions. all in all, i'm truly touched with how ethan has shared everything in his domain with kola, and i'm moved by how kola has embraced our family and home and shown so much trust in us. and even thru his jetlag, sig has remained calm and level-headed. three out of 4 sleeps, kola has gone down pretty easily, but this am kola had so much fun on the block that he and i really had a battle of wills at naptime. after he left his room for the 5th time, sig reminded me - what would supernanny do????!!!! he's given me great support and pointers.

tomorrow is the dr., which i'm expecting to be mostly unpleasant. hopefully it will exceed my expectations! thanks for staying tuned, and we'll post again in a couple days!! xo b/s/e/k