>>Saturday, April 29, 2006<<
Shhh, he is sleeping.....


This is me typing quietly as our new son is sleeping soundly in the other room. No, we are not staying at the orphanage tonight, he is here, with us in our apartment! It is OFFICIAL, Nikolai Edward Ellavsky is our son! We picked him up this afternoon shortly after I arrived in Moscow with our daughter S. We had a great trip over, but slept barely a wink the whole way...me and our 5 (soon to be 6 as she would correct me) year old were giddy and giggly.

We went over to the orphanage in the afternoon armed with a fresh set of clothes and and what could only be described as the snowsuit from A Christmas Story (see pic here). One can never be too careful in a 53 degree chill. Russians are very particular about bundling up children, but even this got a laugh out of them. We hung out for a few minutes and played with him not sure what to do next. Suddenly, they said "Ok, get him dressed so you can leave." That sounds blunt, but I think they meant "Hey, this is your new son, no sense hanging out here."

Caroline and I had joked around recently about how we would actually get Nikolai, as in exactly how would they give him to us. Since we knew we had to bring a set of clothes, we joked that they'll just hand him over naked. Well, one of the caregivers whisked him off to the other room for about 60 seconds and then emerged with a stark naked Nikolai looking to figure out what just happened. Uh, question answered....thank you.

We said our goodbyes and S and Nikolai immediately started playing around. They have been inseparable every since, or at least until Nikolai pushes S away to get out of his face :) . He did just GREAT today! A little scared in the long car ride, but did just fine. He played and ate Gerber Puffs. Some other highlights were the unbelievable amount of food he ate at dinner. We were not sure when to stop feeding him. He just kept eating, which is fine because he needs to bulk up. He loved his bathtime, which was a surprise actually.

So, here we are, sitting in the quiet of the apartment reflecting on what an amazing day this has been. Stay tuned, there is more to come.....Now let's get everything done so we can get home. ;)

Thanks to everyone for all your support!

Blake and Caroline
14 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Congrats!!! I came up to check out if there were any updates just now and YES!!! I have chills and am just thrilled! Must be amazing! Cannot wait to meet my new nephew! He is adorable. "T" and "N" will have lots o fun to come!!!
love, meredith

Blogger Charlene Davis said...
Caro, thanks for the phone call and letting me talk to S and hear Nickolai giggling in the background. I'm misty thinking about it all over again. I can't wait to see you guys next weekend!!

Blake, I'm so glad that you and S had a great trip, but I know you both must be exhausted. Hope you can get some rest before you start back overseas.

Thanks to you both for the wonderful updates and I can't wait for the next installment :)

Char

PS - the pictures are precious!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Whooo Hooo you marathon girl.....The tape is broken you won the race and your adorable prize is Nickolai.

We can't wait to meet him!

Big Hugs and a high five!

Chrisann

Blogger ipodmomma said...
so many congrats on your adorable little boy... :)))

yeah!!!

how old is he, btw... he looks so happy!!!

Blogger Jennefer said...
Congratulations! What a cutie! I am so glad he is finally there with you and officially yours. Your kids are going to love him. The interaction between the older and younger kids is priceless.

Blogger sandy said...
Congratulations!!!! I am so happy for you all! Can't wait to read more. Take care and good luck getting all the rest of the paperwork done to come home. Sandy

Blogger Rhonda said...
OH he is absolutely adorable. What a cutie! Congratulations you guys! Can't wait until you get him home!

Blogger Deb said...
He is such a handsome little guy! My heart nearly stopped whn I saw the second picture of just him. So cute! But then you already know that.
Congratz and have a wonderful time this week as a family.

Blogger megz_mum said...
How exciting is this!! Wonderful, wonderful that he is now with you!

Blogger Yeah So said...
He is so adorable...but watch out, I see serious mischief in that little grin! Congratulations! How wonderful to finally have hime with you!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Dear Children and Grandchild, Mom and I looked at the photos just a bit ago and they brought tears to my eyes. I can't wait to get the three of them on my power chair and take them around the block so the neighbors can see our new grandson.
I know he will love it at home!
We are very proud of you two and can't wait for all of you to get home. Tell Sophia to take care of her brother and you two.
Don't forget we are available to keep them all at the drop of a hat.
You know, baby/child sit.
Love from Mom & Dad.

Blogger A Room to Grow said...
I think that's great that S was able to come and pick up her new brother. Can't wait to see more pics - you have such a happy family.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Yay!! What a big step for you guys today - and I'm so glad B and S made it safely. You'll be shocked at how quickly Nikolai will change and grow - take lots of pictures now to look back on!

1 week to go!!
:) L

PS - I met Roy and Stacey at the airport today with Adam - they made it home A-OK and all 3 are doing wonderfully!

Blogger CarolinaGirl said...
ipodmomma....he will be 15 months at the end of this month. He is a New Years Eve baby. talk about a party!!!!