Settling In!

We are really finding our groove. Avery is really comfortable with Ryan now and will even let him hold her in public. This was a HUGE accomplishment. Her vocabulary is overwhelming and she parrots everything we say. She is even putting words together - her favorite being "Dance, dance! - Uhmo!"(Elmo), which she says as she stomps her feet and shakes her hand while standing ON the kitchen table. Yes, she is a climber and gets into everything! I have to watch her like a hawk.
She is getting so big, but not putting on much weight yet. I think she must be at least 3 inches taller.
She is sleeping better, by this I mean longer stretches - still ending up in our bed. Naps are going well though.
We are getting ready for Christmas and I am so excited! Avery went shopping with us and REALLY wanted a bike, poor thing is still too small, so she pitched a royal fit in the store crying "vroom, vroom!". Ryan came a hair of buying her a Jeep, but I convinced him to wait until her birthday in June when she can actually use it. He is a sucker for a girl that loves cars, fortuantely for Avery, she is one of those girls!
I'll update more after Christmas.

First Weeks Home

We have almost bee home one month. Time really flies! It has been non-stop appointments, visits, and plain old chaos. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Avery has now been to the pediatrician and IAC for some testing. She does really well with doctors and even sat nicely for her blood draws and shots. It broke my heart to see her cry, but she was a brave little trooper.
It amazes me how much she has learned. She climbs the steps, spins in circles, signs a few words, talks constantly (bye bye, hiiiiii, dad, mama, cat, dog... or gog, duck, stop, all done, go!, down, eye, and still uses a few Russian words), climbs everything, dances, understands directions, drinks from a straw, and countless other firsts.
She is quite a social butterfly. Sometimes she is indiscriminate with "strangers", but once someone comes to the house she expects them to be there to pay attention to her. If I leave her line of sight she will still cry, so she needs mommy a lot of the time.
We are making big improvements in her sleeping and have now had 2 nights of full sleep. Most nights she just wakes 2 times. She is growing and has gained 3 pounds since we took her from the orphanage. It is still hard to find clothes that fit, but it is getting better. She still eats anything, so I guess that helps with the weight gain. Her favorites are chicken, godfish crackers, cheese, yogurt, and soup.

Our Trip - Sept.25 to Oct. 17

So much for quick updates! Boy do toddlers keep you busy! Things really are going well. Avery is so much fun and she's learning something new everyday it seems. After court we went to the orphanage and were able to take her with us, so Avery was with us for the entire trip. I think this was a huge benefit when it came to getting on a plane for the 9 hour flight to Moscow.
In Khabarovsk we really enjoyed our time with Avery. It was really nice to have the Carlino's keeping us company - couldn't have weathered the 10 day wait without them! We went to the park a number of times, but our little velcro girl didn't really play much since she had to be touching Mommy at all times. Avery had her photo done for her passport. What an ordeal that was. She wouldn't sit in the chair alone, so the photographer had to put a sheet over my head in order to take her picture on my lap. That was fun - NOT!
On October 11 we boarded a flight to Moscow. It was bittersweet leaving Khabarovsk. It is a beautiful city and we have come to love it, although not how long it takes to get there. (wink, wink) The flight was hard, but bearable. When we got to Moscow I was exhausted. Ryan of course wanted some FOOD! We stopped at McDonalds on the way to the hotel and Avery had her first taste of fast food. She LOVES french fries, infact she will befriend anyone who gives her one. Silly girl!
The next few days were a blur of appointments and running here and there. We were trying to get things done quickly, in order to leave early. We succeeded, but the weekend flights were overbooked, so we couldn't get tickets. We'd have to wait until Monday. Still this was one day early. The Carlinos joined us in Moscow and again made the time go by much easier. We had a nice dinner to end our journey.
On Monday we packed our bags and again went to the airport to board another LONG flight. When we arrived at the airport we found our flight was delayed by over an hour. We had to wait, along with Avery in a crowded area with no available seats. Not fun, but hey, we were going home. The flight was good and we scored with bulkhead seats! Avery slept most of the way in the little bassinet, that is when she wasn't playing with the lady in the row behind us. It was the best flight I'd had so far.
We arrived in NYC and rushed though customs and immigration - our girl is a US citizen! - to get to our flight in time, but I forgot our coats at security, so I ran as fast as I could back to get them. That was a big drama! Well, to make an already long story short(er), we missed our flight. I was in tears! I had left Ryan and Avery at the other gate and forgot my boarding pass. So with tears rolling down my face I went to the nearest agent and had them paged to come to me. I just knew Avery was a wreck, I'd never been away from her. Finally, they arrived and Ryan had booked us on the next flight, and yes, Avery was fine (until she saw me). We found our new gate and waited for our flight scheduled for only an hour later. We called home to have them meet us later and let them know our bags were on the other flight, well except for the one they sent to Atlanta?!?!
We made it home and it was such a relief I can't even explain it. Avery did well in the car and now has a great love for cell phones, thanks her aunts!