What a difference one year can make...

A year ago today we brought our little boy home from Kazakhstan (KZ). I can't believe it's been one year and I can't believe I said little. Griffin is now far from Kazakhstan and far from little. In 12 months time he has grown 4" and gained 12 pounds. He worn 6-9 month sized clothes last June and now he wears size 3T. Shoe size went from size 4 to size 8. It is amazing how much he's changed.

I can remember our time in KZ so vividly, yet can't remember a time without Griffin in the family. In one short year he has won the hearts of each of us. His older brother Connor loves to tell him what to do (or more importantly what not to do.) From Connor we hear a lot of ..."Don't go in my room, don't touch my ipod, don't stand in front of the TV". Yet it's touching to watch Connor pour Griffin's milk or push him on the swings. And Lana, she is the best big sister in the world. I don't know what she would do without Griffin and he without her. They play together daily: endless amounts of running, jumping, chasing and laughing. From Lana we hear a lot of... "Hey Griff watch this". They are brothers and sister.



As for Jesse and I, we just adore him! He will come running from the back yard all the way up the hill when he sees Daddy's car pull in the driveway. Nobody can make Griff giggle like Jesse, the two of them together can be heard laughing for miles. When Griffin needs a break from the other clowns in the family he comes looking for Mommy. Oh, is there anything sweeter than your youngest child crawling on your lap offering up hugs and kisses? I could just melt at bedtime when I hear "of oou", still working on L in "Love You". I confess it didn't take a year to wrap Mommy around his finger.

Happy New Year

Wow, two years ago this week Jesse and I made the decision to expand our family by "one Moore", I never could have imagined the journey that lie ahead or the absolutely amazing little boy that is now our son.

Griffin is doing fantastic! His joyful personality shines bright everyday. It appears we have a bit of a "class clown" on our hands. He'll do anything goofy just to get a laugh. He will mimic a cough or sneeze and laugh while doing so. He gives the cutest devious sideways look right before feeding the dog food off his plate, which he's repeated been told not to do. One thing remain consistent from the first day we met, he's very ticklish. His belly-laugh is the sweetest sound.

His physical development is progressing wonderfully. When he came home, 6 months ago, he was in the 5th percentile for weight and 15th percentile for height, today he is in 50th percentile for weight and height. His language skills are a bit behind. Just turned two and he only says a few words, but that's OK since one of them is "MaMa".

The most rewarding part of the past 6 months has been witnessing the bond form between Griffin and Connor and Lana. I never doubted their ability to accept a child into the family, but I'm so proud of the genuine love that is growing between them. Connor often waits patiently and even encourages us to meet Griffin's needs first, before his own. He'll now give Griffin a gentle pat on the head when they cross paths and say "hey little brother".

Lana has found her calling in life... she is the perfect big sister. She loves to play with Griffin. She's teaching him to do forward rolls, which he finds hysterical. She'll persuade him to lie down on the carpet while she practices dive rolls and cart-wheels over his body. Again he finds this hysterical. She even likes to push his stroller or help with his coat and shoes. She's very helpful with Griff, in all regards except changing the diapers!

Fall

Griffin experienced the beauty of fall in Ohio: nice weather, changing leaves, Halloween, numerous soccer games, and a season of OHIO STATE BUCKEYES football.



Griffin dressed as a scary bat on his first Halloween. OK, I must admit. I picked the bat costume and it was too small. He grew a lot between the time I got it and Halloween night. Not too scary, instead he looked like an overstuffed purple and black pillow. He enjoyed the evening out. He rode happily in the stroller while Connor and Lana ran from house to house.



Griffin had the privilege of watching both Connor and Lana play soccer games every Saturday this fall. He was usually content to do so as long as he had a cell phone, car keys and a few snacks. After every game we'd race home to catch the Buckeyes game on TV. I think Griff finally started to understand why all his clothes are scarlet and gray.

Griffin's First All-American Summer

What a wonderful summer we've had getting to know our Kazak boy! Griffin has enjoyed all sorts of summertime fun. He thoroughly enjoys trips to the neighborhood YMCA water park and to Kings Island Amusement Park. He celebrated 4th of July with a traditional cook-out and fireworks show. The above picture captures just one of his many trips down a 16 foot water slide rented for Connor's birthday party. Griffin's brother, sister and cousins eagerly took turns assisting him down the slide. He would squeal with laughter every trip down.





Just a few weeks ago we attended the Ahlers family reunion in Monticello Indiana. Family members from 8 states came together for a long weekend of fun and sun. During an afternoon of boating he took a nap and enjoyed eating a snack while watching the big kids ski and tube. Griffin wore out every member of the family with his relentless desire to practice walking. (Thanks everyone for your many trips around the grounds.) I would say Griffin's favorite summertime activity is eating ice cream! The below pictures captures his joy of eating (and sharing) an ice cream cone with his Great Aunt Mary Beth.





Throughout this summer Griffin has been introduced to family, friends, neighbors and co-workers... we'd like to say thanks to everyone for welcoming him with such enthusiasm.

A few other photos of the big boy...

Home

I'm thrilled to be writing this post from home.

Wow, I think I'm in a bit of shock. We finally reached the finish line. We started the adoption process about 18 months ago and it feels wonderful to have our whole family together for the first time. (Side note: we filled out the first piece of adoption paperwork on Jan 1,2007 only 8 days after Griffin was born.)

Believe it or not the flights home went very well. In the 24 hours of travel Griffin only had about 2 or 3 hours of "freak out time". Yes, we were one of those couples with a screaming baby stuck on an airplane with no where to go and no way to get him to calm down. I think Griffin realized that if he acted the same way on the next two flights we'd put him in the cargo area therefore he was an absolute angel for the remainder of the very long day.

Connor and Lana met us at the airport along with Grandma T and Papa, proudly wearing their hand-crafted Big Brother, Big Sister T-shirts. There were tears, hugs and kisses for all. We were also greeted by welcome home signs from our Churchill Court family.

I don't know who's luckier: for us to have him or for him to have all of you. Thanks family, friends and co-workers for your support.

We're coming home...

Yippppeeee!

We got Griffin’s travel Visa today and we’re coming home!

I'm so excited to embark on the journey home… well sort of. The journey home starts with waking at 3:30 a.m., a 7 + hour flight to Amsterdam, a 5 hour layover, a 9 hour flight to Detroit, a 3 hour layover, 1 hour flight to Cincinnati… oh and an hour drive home. Seriously!

If the Travel Gods are with us we’ll be landing in Cincinnati at 10:35 p.m. Wednesday night.

Tired Cowboy

Preface to story: When ordering a meal at a restaurant in Kazakhstan you usually seat yourself at a table and then are presented with a menu. A minute later the waiter is hovering to take your order. They don’t take your drink order and then come back for food order. They take your complete order all at once and then bring food and drinks at random times. The side dishes and entrees come separately and each person at table just has to wait until their food arrives. You always have to ask for the bill, they will not bring it until you ask. We’ve been here long enough to know the routine and it’s really no big deal.

So Monday night we meet the Finney’s for dinner and decide to go to a “bar and grill”. This saloon has a serious cowboy theme. Cowhide, horse shoes, wooden benches and post, bull horns, even the waitress wore a cowboy hat. The restaurant decided to carry the cowboy theme onto the menu. They had dishes named, The Big Horn and Saddle Stew. We all chuckled as we read the names because we’re quite right. For example, one dish is named the “Tired Cowboy”, the description says “beef that will melt in your mouth”. Everyone places an order and we sit and wait. Finally the first entrée arrives, the waitress puts the plate down in front of Ben (see photo above) and we all start laughing. You’ve got to be kidding me… is that sausage? So Jesse is in hysterics and really starts giving Ben a hard time about his dinner. “Where’d they get that sausage from Griffin’s diaper”, “Isn’t that cute, it has a peace sign. Have peace on your digestive tract”, “What was that dish called, Alpo?”, “I need a picture of that gross looking stuff”, and on and on and on and on.

The completely none-English speaking cowboy hat wearing waitress comes back a few minutes and appears to be apologizing about something. We have no idea what she’s saying. She finally just reaches in front of Ben and grabs the untouched plate from him and places it in front of… Jesse. That’s the Tired Cowboy dish that Jesse ordered, not Ben’s sausage. The laughter that exploded from Ben, Kerry and I could be heard in Ohio! Jesse was speechless.