Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a great event for Sasha. After selecting the perfect outfit (we went to Old Navy and he surveyed his choices and eventually embraced his costume and gave it a kiss), we donned our outfits to head out into the chilly fall evening. For those of you unfamiliar with costuming ;o), he is dressed as a lion complete with pudgy bottom and a tail. Oh, so cute.

We made our way to our next door neighbors, Jill, Randy, Adam and Abby, while Nathan handed out candy. When we arrived, Adam yelled for his Mom and sister. We were invited in and they gave Sasha a special trick or treat bag that they had put together special for Sasha. It was SO kind of them. Sasha liked playing with Adam more than the bag. Adam spent 10 minutes teaching Sasha how to open the door complete with turning the knob- great, that's the skill I was hoping he would pick up before Christmas!

We got back to more photo ops and decided that we would both take Sasha out and just leave a bowl of candy on the front porch (a Scout is trustworthy but we weren't sure that all our neighbors followed the Scout law).

We recently purchased a Radio Flyer all-terrain wagon with sides. Now, yet again I admit, that Nathan wasn't keen on this purchase. He wanted to opt for the cheap, low-sided version with smaller wheels. I'll also tell you that it's good being the one that actually handles most of the purchasing (unless it has RAM associated with it). Here's my thought ... it needs to be durable, he's a boy. It needs to be practical so that we can take it on camp trips with us (thus the need for the larger wheels). And, it needs to be comfortable and kind of provide some containment especially as we're moving (thus the need for the sides). I know that I don't need to convince you but eventually Nathan will read this and be reminded of just how practical and brilliant I am :) . Anyway, the wagon saved us tonight. There is no way that we would've been able to walk for two hours carrying Sasha. And, with Sasha on foot, we might have hit four houses or perhaps we'd still be walking at this moment if we had chosen that option.

We trick or treated down to the Peterson household (Katie is one of our babysitters and Elizabeth is superwoman (she tries to hide her cape and tights but I know who she is)) who had a fire in front of their house with their neighbors. What a great idea.

Sasha quickly got the hang of the whole process. He would be wheeled up to a front porch, we would ring the bell, the homeowner would come out and say how cute he was and offer up the bowl to him. He would spy the candy and pick the best looking pieces (now I realize that he was going for stuff with cocoa in it) and place it in his little bag. As we continued, he would start flapping his arms in glee as we approached a porch. Ah, such a great event for a little boy - being wheeled around in the mac daddy of all wagons, being told that you're cute at every house, getting to select a ton of candy to take home while having Daddy pull you and Mom make funny noises. Great fun.

After returning home, we inspected Sasha's haul (another reason to have a wagon). Sasha has only had candy twice so I didn't think he'd know what it was. But, you know he's pretty quick when it comes to food items and started squeeling with delight and flapping his hands as I tore open a Hershey bar for him. He managed to stuff the entire bar into his mouth in a matter of seconds. You'd have thought you were reading a scene out of the beginning of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie has opened a bar and is describing the creamy sweetness of the chocolate. He then presented me with a Reese's peanut butter bar which he was equally enthusiastic about. He then brought over Jelly Bellys. He put one in his mouth and you'd have thought I had given him a worm. He scrunched up his face and spit it out. When I ate one, he wanted it again but eventually spit it out again into my hand. (I have to admit that spitting gross, partially chewed, slober-ridden stuff into my hand is not one the things I treasure about motherhood). After consuming a KitKat and bringing over more candy to sample, I eventually had to say no. He screamed and started crying - obviously irritated that he was being cut off (addiction comes quickly) and starting to come down from his sugar high. Is he somehow related to Toni G aka Baba??? (notice big chocolate smear below his mouth and sugar high smile ... ah, chocolate ... good).

So .. a first Halloween for a little boy has come and gone. It was a great event for him and one that ranks at the top of his list of favorite holidays. Ah, but it's only October. We can't wait to see what he'll think of Santa Claus and reindeer flying through the night to bring toys to good little girls and good little boys. Magic.

Baptism Weekend

It's been an exciting weekend full of family and friends. My Mom and Dad arrived on Tuesday after driving up from Texas (yes, they are really related to me). It's a two day journey that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Mom and Dad C. arrived on Friday afternoon. We all trudged over to the photographer's studio to get our first family portrait done. Now, family portraits have never been my thing but there is an entirely new dimension added when you bring someone under two. Sasha had no interest in being photographed and bored quickly when taking various people in and out of the shoot. Eventually he became more interested when he was allowed to play with the variety of toys and the photo shoot was more of jumping in next to Sasha while he played with the doll house, etc. Interesting. And to think that we only have 16 more of these to do before he leaves for college. Hopefully it gets easier. Aunt Karen arrived on Friday night having been smart enough to miss the photo op.

Saturday was spent moving the thousand tropical plants (only a slight exaggeration) that must winter indoors through out the house. Yes, there is a steep price to pay for someone who loves plumerias and lives in Illinois and I must admit that Nathan pays the biggest portion of this. Granddaddy Plumeria (the first plumeria I owned) thanked us by displaying his snowy white blooms for our weekend. He was damaged in route last year from Texas and this is the first time he's bloomed since he's arrived in the Land of Lincoln.

Sunday. First, I must tell you that we added a level of difficulty that's not usually associated with a baptism. We had originally planned on my Grandmother (the retired minister who also conducted our wedding) to do the ceremony at our house. What could be easier? Unfortunately, with her recent health challenges, this became more difficult. So, we opted to use Bryan's (the Godfather) church. Bryan lives on the south side of Chicago. So ... after dropping the Christensen car off at our lunch destination, we made the journey downtown. Wow ... downtown has really gotten a face lift in recent years. It's always been a beautiful town but now it's a cleaner, shinier version. We found the church without a challenge. First St. Paul's is a lovely church. The santuary is bright and welcoming and the pastor was wonderful. Sasha, Nathan and I awaited our turn in the nursery (he's just not quite there to sit through a service yet). The baptism service was really well done. The pastor asked for all the children to come up and renew their baptism by sticking their finger in the baptismal fount. It was really a nice piece to the service and even my father commented on how welcome he felt in this church. What a lovely place.

We spent a little time after the service taking some additional photos. The first photo is of Sasha's Godfather, Bryan, and his Godmother (no, not the fairy variety although Karen is quiter magical), Karen. Later pictures depict a damper version of Bryan.


We dined at Bob Chinn's Crab House in Wheeling for lunch. They had a special on Alaskan King Crab legs (it's hard to go wrong) and most of us sampled the wonderful crab. Sasha was tired out by the end of our meal. He made a little pillow out of his napkin but still had time to enjoy some frozen yogurt. He was such a tired boy but did really well with his ultra long day without naps.


Mom and Dad C. returned to Iowa directly from Bob Chinn's. Bryan dropped my Aunt off at the airport on his way downtown and the rest of us made our way back up north to our home.

Monday was spent planting a couple hundred bulbs. Mom is an expert bulb planter from her many years in Illinois so we put her skills to good use. Unfortunately, we have many more to plant in addition to a blue spruce.

Today, sadly, my folks left to return to Texas. It was a good trip for them. Sasha has made big progress with my Dad. When Dad returned from running errands, Sasha greeted him with a huge grin and his little arms outstretched to be picked up. What more could any grandparent want?

More Photos of Sasha

Sometimes it's the simplest things that make Sasha happy. Here he is sporting his lion garbage can on his head. So fun.

Our next door neighbors, Randy, Jill, Adam and Abby gave Sasha a red rider mobile. We now have this outside and he loves scooting around on it.

After a long week, it's nice to just go out and have dinner without having to take a stroller, diaper bag and shrieking little boy. Here is Nathan and I at Bob Chinn's having their signature Mai Tais. Bob Chinn's is famous for their crab and seafood. We had a great time despite a yicky weather night.

Catching up with the Metzlers at the Chicago Botanic Garden

This week, Meg, Finn and baby Maeve met Sasha and I for our tour of duty at the Botanic Garden.

Many of you may remember that we caught up with Tim and Meg in Moscow on our second trip. We got together with them a second time after they had picked up their son, Finn (his Russian name was Kyrill and I must admit that I'm having a hard transition to his new name). Finn looks great. He seems taller and lacks some of the 'sturdiness' that Sasha has but is so smiley and outgoing. He's five months older than Sasha and has already learned some words. Perhaps words are in Sasha's immediate future. I think that would really help his frustration.

Maeve is a precious, beautiful little smiley girl. Here is a photo of Maeve in the English Walled Garden at the Botanic Garden.


As we toured around the gardens, we chatted about the challenges of adopting a toddler and how different it is than adopting a baby (Maeve is Meg's second domestically adopted child). It was such fun to catch up with someone who's really quite the motherhood expert (3 kids all under the age of 6 gets you the Platinum Mommy Card). And, beyond all this, Meg is simply a super cool chick. She makes motherhood look easy and glamorous somehow. I certainly am nowhere near the point where I make motherhood look either chic or effortless. I've actually had friends tell me that they had wondered if they should've had children and, after hearing and reading my stories, these friends felt they'd made the right choice. Meg, on the other hand, makes you think that having a large family would be great (no .. no .. not any time soon for us. We're still getting used to the first one!).

A Week with Grandma and Grandpa C.

Grandma and Grandpa C. arrived on the Thursday evening prior to our Fall Scoutreach campout. The weekend was destined to be cold and rainy - not the perfact match for a 20 month old so we enlisted the Iowa grandparents to babysit. We were a little nervous that Sasha wouldn't be warm and welcoming (he can be a bit anxious around strangers), however, we had nothing to fear. Sasha had a fabulous time with his grandparents. Between the unlimited frosty's, french fries, multiple a day stroller rides around the neighborhood and two adults spending 100% of their time focused on one little boy - what's not to love??

They took some super cute photos which I'm including. They brought a small wheelbarrel and a miniature Red Rider wagon. Sasha had a lot of fun with both which now have found their place outside (the bamboo floors can only take so many much).

Sasha continues to love the outdoors . Once it's time to come back in, he screams in protest. Perhaps we should erect one of our tents in the back yard and let him have an early version of scouting? I'm sure in years to come, he will love campouts.

We had attended a class on Early Intervention at the Cradle a couple of weeks ago. This is a state program that can assess your child for free to see if he has any delays in the areas of: speech, behavior, developmental, physical or occupational. The class reminded us of the procedure to get Sasha tested in various areas so we can get him help if he should need it. On the following Monday, I called the agency that handles this service. The next day, I received a call from Anna who will be our coordinator. We made an appointment for the following Monday to discuss the program.

On Monday, I met with a case worker for Early Intervention. We were given an appointment on Friday and had Sasha tested (this is recommended for all children but especially important for children from international adoptions). As we suspected, he tested with significant delays (over 30% delayed) in speech (well he did just change languages!), occupational (this is where he has a hard time regulating himself when he's super happy or super mad) and developmental (many of the things that he was tested on, he's never done before like using crayons and he's just now learning to use a spoon as we were told that feeding him helps form attachment). The therapists recommended once a week sessions for speech and occupational and twice a month sessions for developmental. In addition, they recommended that we enroll Sasha is a playgroup so that he continues to develop skills interacting with children his own age. Wow ... we're going to be really busy!

Sasha tested highly in physical areas so we were very glad about that considering all the scary Russian diagnoses he's had. We have an appointment with our pediatrician next Friday to start his shots and talk about next steps for specialists.