Swimmer Arkadii Vyachanin won two bronze medals (200 meter backstroke, a new European record, and the 100 meter backstroke) and swimmer Yevgenii Lagunov won silver in the 4×200 freestyle and the 4×200 relay.

Post from: Blisstree

Arkhangelsk Olympic Winners

Our representative walked into the room and handed AJ to me and he was so scared. He took a couple of deep rattling inhales and would not look at me or hang onto me, something I completely expected. You can see his wide-eyed expressions in the pictures, but he was so tense.

Eventually, over the next two days his eyes began to light up every time we walked into the room or he saw a smile on our faces. And our hearts ached when we had to say goodbye to him…and know it was for an undetermined amount of time.

9 things we learned about AJ in 9 hours…

1. He has an infectious giggle and a gorgeous smile.

2. He loves movement…especially flying with his Papa. I wish they made toddler swings for indoors.

3. He is extremely ticklish, and he loves it. But, when he has had enough he will certainly tell you even though he can’t speak yet.

4. Throwing things seems to be his favorite things to do. He tastes the object to see if he likes it and then throws it. When he is done with the toy, he throws it. If he does not like it, he throws it. If he does like it, he throws it…Basically, he throws. Unfortunately Dad, he throws backwards. Any ideas for non throw-able plane toys?

5. He loves cars. Typical boy.

6. He sucks his thumb when he gets tired. No one told us this but I have a gorgeous picture of him doing it because I caught him as he started to get sleepy. It is one of my favorites.

7. He loves to climb and is extremely curious. Wish us luck.

8. He does not walk well yet, but knows exactly how to get places without having to walk without assistance from someone or an object. He can figure out how to get anywhere he wants to go. You can see his brain churning…do I hang onto the fence, crawl, scoot my butt against the wall, or hang onto papa? It was very humorous to watch him get places. The good thing is he has problem solving skills.

9. He is VERY active. Again…wish us luck…lots of it.

In retrospect, it is amazing how much I cued into and how much I knew about AJ just from those 9 hours. I knew he had Sensory Processing Dysfunction because he loved to swing and loved to be tickled but could only handle so much. I knew he had no fear because he would climb without any regard for heights or for falling. I knew that he was smart and could figure things out if he put his mind to it, and I knew that he was going to give us challenges every day…a run for our money, so to speak.

Thankfully, we enjoy the challenges. They certainly are not fun everyday but we’ll take ‘em.

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The Little Things

He was getting yet another cold, he was tired, and to me, he looks so alone. In reality, he was trying to escape stimulation, something that he continued to do at home when he got there. He used to stand at his favorite window with his cars and watch the cars on the street go past the house.

To me, he looks sad, so lost, so orphan-like. It is one of my favorite pictures because it captures who he was and what he left behind. Deep down there is still so much of that little boy in him though. I catch glimpses of it every once in a while when he stops to look out a window or when he lays on the floor to play with his cars.

That afternoon, Eric and I made our final decision and signed our petition to formally adopt AJ.

It was April 1, 2005.

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Reality of an Older Adoptee

As we neared the first day’s visit with him Eric picked him up and told him that he just knew he was going to be a baseball player because he had a fabulous arm (he was throwing all of the fake fruits around the room…and yelling BA! as he did so).

Just as Eric picked him up I was able to capture this beautiful smile.

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His First Smile

He is, in every sense of the word, our miracle. He gave us faith in each other. He gave us unconditional love and everyday he gives us a little more sunshine.

But as most of you know,  our journey has not always been the most peaceful because AJ has good and bad days. What is ironic is that our journey started off just as adventurous as it is now…and we should have known we were in for a bumpy ride.

I won’t go into details about that Friday morning before our flight but I will tell you that the dog ate two pounds of rat poison (we put it out by the creek to get rid of the mice) and we had to rush to the vet’s office one hour before leaving for our flight. Thankfully, he was just fine and our kennel took great care of him while we were gone.

Luckily, we had upgraded to first class on our way to Russia and were able to relax (or at least try to). In this picture, Eric is updating his father on the dog and our travel arrangements.  We traveled to St. Petersburg for three days and then to Arkhangelsk to see AJ for the first time.

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A Good Friday it Was

This year this post is part of Babylune’s Generous December Group Writing Project in hopes of “winning” a donation to FORO…read on to find out exactly what FORO is and where the donated money will go.

When we visited the Baby Home it was obvious to us that the orphanage was in need of repair but that they did everything they could to keep it up. We watched the maintenance man walk through the play room hundreds of times each day.

As we trudged in through snow and ice every morning and afternoon we were cautioned about the tin roof on the entrance and the large iceberg overhead, we were told to watch our step on the missing tiles and watch our head for the the hanging lights (that were obviously too low for adults), we saw chipping paint and dealt with broken toys, both casualties of rough and tumble children and time.

The outside appearance of the orphanage when we visited in the summer (during a heat wave of 95 degrees) was what upset me, not that they were not doing their jobs but that others made their work harder. Teenagers loitered in the orphanage playground during night hours and drank, vandalizing the shade cubbies and breaking the play equipment.

In order to donate to the Baby Home we chose to donate through FORO, Friends of Russian Orphans, which deals directly with the orphanages in Arkangelsk, Russia. We sent out letters to all of our family and friends and told them what we were doing during the holiday season and asked them if they wanted to join us…if they wanted to forgo their stocking stuffers to help the kids in Ark.

Many of friends responded to us and our family. thanks to my mother, donated as well. We raised over $800 to send to FORO. FORO has already helped The Baby Home by “providing funding for extensive room repairs including the infant receiving room, the children’s living quarters, laundry and entrance. FORO has also provided various other material and including medical equipment and major appliances.”

How you can help:

FORO has several ongoing projects in Russia and can always use donations. Contact them here.

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A Russian Christmas

In January 2007, just after we decided to adopt our second child I decided to journal the process. I told myself it wasn’t going to be an ordinary journal…it was going to be spectacular and everyone of our friends could read it. Some of our closest friends and relatives read my personal blog, My Two Boys, or my Discussing Autism site where I blog about AJ’s health issues, developmental progress, and about special needs and education. I also now write at One Book, Two Book for b5media. That certainly comes in handy because I have my master’s degree in Young Adult Literature…at least I can do something with it!

But sometimes, just often enough, they venture over to my sites and ask me why I write online…Perhaps they saw an interesting post on sensory integration and they want to know more about it or why AJ struggles with it so much and I answer the question about writing with this; its because I want to help other moms help their kids who have sensory integration or Autism. I want to help teachers be better teachers or adoptive parents adjust better to those first few weeks home when it is terribly hard. Or, I tell them that its because I want to help parents find resources that can assist them instead of being left out in the dark like I was when AJ first entered our lives.

And so I continue to add to my blogging and I diversify a little more each and every day because readers ask me to.

I also advertise stores and products that I like because I believe in them. Do I get compensated like other bloggers? Sure, but its not necessarily why I advertise. Companies like eBeanstalk, Oompa, or Therapy Shoppe are stores that I know offer educational, sensory, and developmental products that I purchase for my family.

So, don’t forget to check out Adoption Products or forget to get the feed to this blog so you can stay up to date.

And, while you are at it make sure to check out my favorite B5Media blogs:

• Autism Vox
• DeClutter it
• Babylune
• OffBeat Homes

Or, take a look at my favorite posts…

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About A Child Chosen