Merry Christmas!!

Nikolas had his first encounter with Santa last night at the zoo. I loved the look on his face when Santa told him to be a good boy. My little guy understands exactly what that means. :)

Four Months Home

We've been home for a little over four months and Nikolas continues to thrive in his new environment. He acts a little more like a two-year-old every week. It's been almost two weeks since he had his casts removed. He can stand on his own and walk with assistance, but his muscles aren't quite strong enough for him to walk alone. He's very determined, so it's only a matter of time. He has such a fun personality and it's great to see him becoming the little boy he is supposed to be.

At his checkup with the pediatrician today we learned that he's grown another two inches, bringing him to 35 inches. That's a total of four inches in four months. Very impressive!! He's still weighing in at 24 pounds, but we know he had some muscle loss in his legs over the six weeks he was in casts. He's still eating and drinking very well. He likes most foods and definitely has his favorites.

He's starting to express more of an interest in television. He still has his two favorite shows (Jack's Big Music Show and Yo Gabba Gabba!). We usually watch an episode of one show before bed. He'll stop what he's doing when one of them comes on and turns his attention to the show. He really likes the TV screen with the swirls that comes on a couple of times during Jack's, and he squeals every time he sees it. It's wonderful to see him get excited about things.

He plays so much more than he did before. He likes cars, musical toys and blocks the most. He plays on his own now, but he always checks back to make sure I'm still in the room. His motor skills have improved so much since he's been home. It's so amazing to watch him learn.

His understanding of English is impressive. We're pretty sure he understands most of what we say to him. He follows basic commands with ease. He hasn't been speaking much since we started the casting for his feet, but the doctor says it's normal for kids to regress a little while going through something like that. We're working with our pediatrician to get him started in First Steps after the first of the year to work on some speech therapy.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my parents' house last month and we're looking forward to celebrating Nikolas' first "real" Christmas. He enjoyed putting up the tree and we're sure he'll have fun visiting with the family and opening gifts.

No More Casts

Nikolas got his casts off this morning. I'm sure everyone in the building heard him screaming. His doctor was very happy with the results of the surgery. She said his feet are looking great. To keep his feet from turning back in, he has to wear special shoes that are connected with a bar. Right now he needs to wear the shoes/bar combo most of the time. He was also fitted for braces, and we will get those on December 14th. Once we get the braces, he'll be able to wear those with his tennis shoes during the day and only need the shoes/bar combo at night.

He is not a big fan of the new contraption. He hasn't figured out how to get around with it on yet, and it's not very comfortable for sleeping. He also gets upset that he can't stand up right now. His leg muscles are so weak that they can't support his weight yet. There were lots of tears at our house today. He's a smart little guy, so I'm sure he'll figure it out in a couple of days.

We go back to Riley next Tuesday for a follow-up appointment with the doctor, and then we go back again on 12/14 to get his custom-made braces.

Three Months Home + Surgery Update

Three months ago we arrived home as a family. Nikolas continues to do a wonderful job of adjusting to his surroundings. He's a happy little guy and we are so lucky to be his parents. He continues to be a good eater. He likes almost everything and is easy to please. At his last height/weight check appointment he had gained four pounds and grown two inches. He's still tiny, but he's getting there.

We have seen many improvements in his ability to play and to focus on activities. He loves to push his toy cars around on the floor. Blocks and musical toys are also a big hit. He still doesn't have much interest in books. He will watch Yo Gabba Gabba! or Jack's Big Music Show while he eats his snack before bed, but other than that, he has shown little interest in television.

He understands English very well, but he doesn't use a lot of words to communicate. He says about 12-15 different words when he wants to. Since he is only two and has only been exposed to the English language for three months, his doctors are not concerned about this. They all say that he'll start speaking more when he's ready.

He continues to sleep nicely. He goes to bed at 8:30pm and wakes up around 9:00am. He also naps for a couple of hours each afternoon. He usually goes to sleep without any problems. He loves his lullaby CD and knows the routine at both bedtime and nap time.

He enjoys getting out of the house and interacting with others. He likes going to church, going for walks and shopping for just about anything. He enjoys playing on his swing outside and watching the ducks by the pond. He is a very helpful little guy. He likes to help daddy unload the dishwasher every evening and is learning to pick up his own toys.

We've been keeping ourselves very busy this fall. We enjoyed Zoo Boo at the Indianapolis Zoo last weekend and have taken a trip to the apple orchard. We've also made several trips to Riley Hospital for Children, the most recent being for his club foot surgery on Friday.

His surgery went very well, and he did such a great job. The doctor was able to release his heel cords on both sides with just a small incision instead of having to make a larger incision and doing a more complex procedure. We'll go back to Riley on 11/22 to have the casts removed for good. He'll be fitted for braces at that time, and he'll wear those for as long as they are needed. Everyone at Riley does such a great job of making both the parents and children feel comfortable. Nikolas is currently on painkillers, although we aren't sure if he is experiencing much pain. He's in the small percentage of children who don't get drowsy with the codine. He gets very hyper, happy and loud after he takes his meds. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Nikolas during this time.

We are looking forward to lots of fun things throughout the rest of the year. Next weekend Jason's cousin Lori will be visiting while they are in town for the marathon. Nikolas' casts come off on 11/22. We'll be spending Thanksgiving in Dana this year. Our 11th anniversary is in early December, and then we'll be celebrating our first Christmas together as a family of three. We have been so blessed this year. We have also reserved a cabin for the Bulgaria Adoptive Families Reunion in June, and are so excited to meet everyone in person!!

Surgery Scheduled

We went to Riley today to have Nikolas' casts changed, and the doctor was very pleased with the way his feet are responding to the casting. After replacing his blue casts with green ones, she scheduled the surgery on his tendons for next Friday, October 28th. After the surgery, he will be in casts for three more weeks. He should get them off right before Thanksgiving. We'll have one more thing to be thankful for!!

Nikolas is doing very well with the casts. He gets frustrated sometimes, but he's handling it much better than I would be. He's learned that although he cannot walk, he can crawl just fine. He gets around the house well, but we still have to carry him up and down the stairs. He's been watching a little more television. He likes Jack's Big Music Show and Yo Gabba Gabba. He plays with his blocks and cars more instead of running around the house. He's had some interest in the Play-Doh, but he still has issues with getting his fingers dirty. He eats the crayons instead of using them to color with, but we'll keep working on that one. He enjoys cuddling more and is learning to be more dependant on us. We're all learning to be more patient. Thanks to all of you who sent us ideas!!

Orthopedic Update

Nikolas was born with both of his feet clubbed. He had casts in Bulgaria for three weeks when he was three months old followed by several months of braces. The work that was done in Bulgaria greatly improved his feet, but the IA doctor that we saw in August thought we might be able to correct them even more. We met with an Orthopedic Specialist at Riley Children's Hospital today. After examining Nikolas' feet and taking lots of x-rays, she decided that further correction was necessary. The x-rays showed that the bones in both of his heels curved upwards and the bones on the top of his right foot are very close together. Because of these issues, she thought it would be best to start over and redo the entire casting procedure. We will go back to Riley every Tuesday morning for new casts until his feet are in the best possible position. We do not know how long this will take, but 3-4 weeks seems to be the average time frame. It depends on how well his bones react to the casts. Once we are finished with the casting, he will have surgery to lengthen the tendons. This will be followed up with braces and physical therapy. The doctor is optimistic that we will have good results in the end.

Nikolas is a very active two-year-old, so not being able to walk is tough for him (and us). Because he can't go anywhere, he has to be completely dependent on us to do everything for him. Today was a struggle, and I really hope he learns to tolerate the casts soon. If anyone has any ideas of how to entertain a toddler who has to stay in one place, please send them my way. If only he'd watch television...

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Family Pictures

Last week our friend Emily Reel took some family pictures for us. They turned out great and we had so much fun at the park that evening. Nikolas loved the big slide and the swing.

Here are a few of the pictures from the photo shoot:

Our Little Zoo Baby

We've made a few trips to the zoo recently and Nikolas loves it there. We ended up purchasing an annual pass so we can go whenever we want. The zoo is a quick 20 minute car ride away and a great place to spend a couple of hours when we need to get out of the house. His favorite area is the Oceans area. He loves the penguins and sea lions. He also likes trying to pet the sharks in the shark touch tank. Yesterday we fed the giraffe and he was okay with it being so close to him. When there aren't a lot of people around, he'll sit and stare at the animals for a long time (as long as they're not sleeping). He really enjoys being outside, so even walking through the zoo paths is great fun for him. I love being able to take him during the week when it's slow and hope I can continue to do that sometimes after I go back to work. (Luckily I work from home and will have some flexibility with my schedule, so that should help.) Here are a few pictures from our recent zoo adventures.

One Month Home

Our first month home as a family has been wonderful. Nikolas has made so much progress in such a short period of time. He's typically a very happy boy who enjoys getting out of the house. He likes going to church, shopping, eating out, playing outside, and going to the zoo. He is starting to understand more of what we say and his vocabulary is quickly expanding. He enjoys playing with his toys and is starting to play more on his own. He likes any toys that are really loud and/or play music. He is a very helpful little guy. He helps us unload the dishwasher every day and stocks the fridge with soda. He also likes to put the laundry in the hamper, even if it's not dirty. He tells himself "good job" after he does a task and sometimes praises us if we do good work, too.

He loves his cats and is doing a good job of being gentle. The cats seem to like him, too. They sit with him while he's playing. Cody rubs against Nikolas and rolls over in front of him. They nap in the sun together every afternoon.

He is still sleeping in our room, but we're working on moving him upstairs to his own room. Today is the first day that he is successfully napping in his own room (and he's been up there for two hours now). For the first two weeks home, bed time and nap time were very easy. We have our night time routine that hasn't changed since we've been home, but he's been fighting us a little bit at bedtime over the past couple of weeks. The Fisher Price Lullaby Baby Bedtime music that I found on You Tube has helped a lot. It tends to put the cat to sleep, too. I'd like to find a nice lullaby CD for him. He wants one of us in the room with him until he falls asleep. If we leave before he's completely asleep, he starts screaming and throwing blankets. Hopefully this is just a phase that will end soon. He does sleep straight through the night for about 11 hours.

He is doing a great job of adjusting and seems to be attaching to both of us. He's still doing a good job of eating and likes most foods. He's starting to do a much better job with meat and is starting to accept milk. He doesn't like corn or lettuce, but almost everything else works for him. He's gained a couple of pounds since we've been home.

We have another appointment at Riley in October with an Orthopedic Surgeon. The doctors did a great job in Bulgaria with correcting his club feet, but we'd like to see if there is anything we can do now that will help him as he grows. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful hospital with a great team of doctors so close to home.

We love Nikolas and are so blessed to be his parents. He's an amazing little boy who makes us laugh every single day. It's so fun to watch his personality come out and to see him grow and learn new things. We are so lucky to have him!!

Post-Adoption Appointment

We had our post adoption appointment at Riley Hospital for Children today. We are so lucky to live close to one of the best children's hospitals in the country. Riley has a great International Adoption clinic with a wonderful team of doctors. Nikolas was evaluated by a doctor who specializes in Developmental Pediatrics in internationally adopted children as well as a feeding specialist and speech therapist. He was quite charming and did a great job. He did well with the doctor and let her check him out without making too much noise.

They were very impressed with how well he was doing for being home for such a short period of time. We do need to see another doctor for his club feet, but other than that, they are happy with how he has been progressing. He's gained two pounds in the past three weeks and is getting close to being on the growth chart for weight. If he keeps it up, he'll make it in no time. He's still eating and drinking very well, but he's not eating as much and he stops when he's full. He likes most things, but there are a few foods that he'll push away every time. He is the same height as he was in Bulgaria, and his head circumference is perfect for his age. He's continuing to add more words to his vocabulary, and the doctor said he's doing great in that area. We'll continue to do what we've been doing.

He had nine tubes of blood taken for all of the necessary tests. We also need to stop by our regular pediatrican's office next week for a TB test. We'll have the results of everything in a couple of weeks. He did great with the bloodwork and even left the bandage on until we got home. He was distracted with his new toy from the toy chest, and he was so tired by this point that he even slept a little on the way home.

We'll be setting up an appointment for his feet soon, and we'll be heading back to Riley in six months for a follow-up appointment. We are so happy with how he is growing and learning every single day!!

One Week Home

We've been together as a family for two weeks and have been home for a little over a week. We are doing great!! Nikolas seems to be adjusting to his new life just fine. He's a good eater and a good sleeper, and he's learning how to play with his toys. He likes his Mega Blocks and his toy cars the best. He's enjoying bath time each night. He likes dumping water on his head and splashing around. Quite a difference from bath time just two weeks ago. He enjoys music and likes to sing. He speaks mostly "Bulgarian Baby Babble", but he's starting to pick up some English words. He says daddy, kitty and yum yum. Today he said bye bye when we left the house to go for a walk. I've been trying to teach him more new words, but he doesn't seem too interested. He loves going places and being outside. Yesterday he went to church for the first time followed by lunch with friends and a quick trip to Target.

He's been eating three good meals and two snacks each day. He loves meatballs!! He eats most foods and is starting to prefer certain foods over others. He has started to push away his plate when he is full. He currently weighs about 20 pounds and is wearing mostly 6-9 months clothing. He should start gaining weight soon now that he is getting good nutritious meals.

We stick to the same routine each day and haven't went out too much. We'll start adding more trips out as time goes on, but we don't want to do too much too fast. He knows that we are his parents and shows that he trusts us. He takes quite a while to warm up to new people. Overall he is a very happy boy who seems to be adjusting very nicely.

Home At Last

We left Sofia on Saturday morning at 6:00am BG time and arrived home in Indianpolis at 9:35pm ET. We were awake for over 24 hours, but Nikolas did amazing. He was a little squirmy on the flight from Sofia to Frankfurt, but he did well. We got some breakfast and walked around the airport in Frankfurt. We met a lady while waiting at our gate who was bringing home her new son from Ukraine. He's 12 and quite a charming young man. We all sat fairly close together on the plane. Because the flight was full and our travel agent (Sheldon at Golden Rule Travel) had just booked us any seats to get us on the plane, we got moved to seats in Economy Plus so we could all be together. The extra leg room was great! Nikolas had a couple of small meltdowns, but he did so well. We had the most amazing flight attendants who made sure Nikolas and the little guy from Ukraine had everything that they needed. Our flight was delayed by about 45 minutes, so we ended up getting in to Washington DC a little late. We made it through customs and rechecked our bags. Becky, Wayne and Audra (my aunt, uncle and cousin) had driven over to the airport for a quick visit, so it was great to see them for a few minutes. We rushed back to our gate only to find that our flight had been delayed. We didn't have a flight crew so they had to find one for us. We were scheduled to leave at 4:53pm and ented up leaving around 7:40. We were back in Indianapolis around 9:35pm. It was a small commuter plane with two seats on one side and one on the other. I sat with Nikolas and Jason sat in the single seat across the aisle. As soon as we got seated and I buckled Nikolas' seatbelt, he handed me his shoes and snuggled up next to me. He was asleep before the plane left the ground. He usually takes off his shoes when he wants to go to sleep. So cute! My parents were at the airport waiting to bring us home. Nikolas went right to sleep and we were in bed soon after.

Our first day at home went very well. Jason and I woke up and had breakfast before Nikolas woke up. He got up around 10:00am and had breakfast and fell back asleep on the floor at 11:45pm. He slept for a few hours. We played for the rest of the afternoon. He did have a couple of small meltdowns after being told that he couldn't do something, but we are using the "time-in" method and it seems to be working great. Mark, Cindy, Hannah and Grace stopped by for a quick visit and dropped off dinner. We are so blessed to have great friends to help us out and support us during this time of transition. After dinner we played some more until bath time. Bath time tonight was a huge success. Nikolas loved playing with his bath toys and actually sat down in the water and laughed. He stayed in there playing for quite a while. He even laughed when we poured water on his head to wash his hair. Less than a week ago he screamed for the entire five minutes that he was in the tub. Tonight he didn't want to get out. He has come so far in such a short period of time. We got ready for bed and had some vanilla pudding that was made with Pediasure instead of milk, a recipe sent to me by Viviane, a fellow adoptive mom. He went right to sleep around 8:30pm and is still asleep this morning.

Day Five in Sofia

We all woke up around 8:00am and got ready to head out for a bit. We were hoping to find some souvenirs, but we didn't have any luck. We walked to the outdoor market area and then past some shops. No one could tell us where to buy souvenirs. We stopped at the big park next to the Grand Hotel Sofia. Nikolas played for a bit and then we watched the fountains and listed to a group of people who were playing instruments. It started thundering, so we headed back to the hotel. We were gone for about 2 hours and Nikolas rode in the stroller the entire time. He loves being outside.

We stopped by the hotel to check the website for the Sofia Mall. It listed a souvenir shop as one of the stores, so we decided to take the metro over there to see what we could find. We had a quick lunch at McDonald's in the metro station. Nikolas had three chicken nuggets and some fries. He loved it! We took the metro to the mall for the second time this week. It started raining pretty hard, but we managed to get over there. What they listed as a souvenir shop was a shop with lots of expensive things that were not souvenirs. Nikolas was getting a little cranky, so we left the mall and came back to the hotel. There's a souvenir shop at the airport, so hopefully it's open when we get there at 5:00am tomorrow morning.

After getting caught in some more rain we made it to the hotel. We put some dry clothes on Nikolas and turned down the lights for quiet time. He stood in his crib and sang for a couple of hours. He sings a lot. At least he was relaxing. At 4:00pm he had a snack and we played for a little while. He had dinner at 6:30pm followed by a bath and an early bedtime. We have to leave the hotel at 4:15am, so we wanted to get him down as early as possible. He was snoring about ten minutes later.

Now we're about to order our nightly room service and have a quiet dinner. We've had burgers, fish and pizza so far, so I'm not sure what we'll order tonight. Then it's time to pack and get everything ready to go. I can't believe our week here has come to an end. Nikolas is a different kid than he was on Monday. He's changed so much in just a few days, and we're so excited to watch him grow and learn when we get home. We'll be travelling for about 20 hours, so please pray that we have a safe trip and that Nikolas doesn't scream the entire time. Next post will be from Indiana. :)

Day Four in Sofia

Each day keeps getting better with Nikolas. He slept for 13.5 hours last night and woke up happy again. He had some oatmeal, fruit and yogurt for breakfast, and then we got ready for our day. We were scheduled to meet with Violeta around 11:00am to go to the medical clinic, but Nikolas' passport wasn't ready on time, so she had to go work some magic and get it taken care of. She picked up the passport and arrived at the hotel around 12:30pm. At the medical clinic we were in and out in record speed. Nikolas saw three different doctors. The first two basically looked at him and the third did a quick exam. He didn't care for it much, but he did a great job. He weighs 9 kilograms and is 87 centimeters tall. Such a little guy!! Our embassy appointment was a 1:30pm. We arrived right on time and had to wait until 3:00pm. Nikolas was a little restless, but he behaved very well. Luckily we had brought a jar of food with us and were able to feed him a little bit while we waited. The interview was very short, and he'll receive his visa tomorrow afternoon.

We arrived back at the hotel around 4:00pm. Since we had missed his nap time and lunch time, he was getting a little cranky. I fed him some yogurt and bread and he played nicely for a while, but then we could tell that he was starting to get tired. He gets mean when he needs to sleep. He had his dinner at 6:30pm and then we gave him a quick bath. He still hated it, but he only cried when we washed his hair. Much better tonight! He was in bed by 7:30pm and asleep in less than 10 minutes. He wimpered a little bit at first, but there was no screaming tonight. We're making progress.

I ran to the grocery store at the metro station next door to pick up another bottle of Coke and then Jason ordered us some pizza for room service. It was so good! We love being able to have dinner brought to our room and being able to enjoy nice food on real plates with cloth napkins and silverware. Our lunches have consisted mostly of McDonald's because it's so close to the hotel.

Tomorrow is a free day until Violeta drops off our final paperwork. That won't be until after 4:00pm. We're hoping to find a souvenir shop tomorrow morning to pick up some nice things from the country, and we may try to have lunch at a real restaurant that doesn't serve Big Macs. One more full day and then we're coming home!

Day Three Update

Nikolas woke up at 8:30am today. I got him dressed and gave him some fruit and yogurt for breakfast. We had purchased some new clothes for him yesterday since everything we brought was way too big. The new clothes were 6-9 months, and we still had to use a safety pin to keep his shorts from falling down. He's so tiny. We can't wait to get him home and feed him some protein.

We met with Violeta from our agency around 9:00am to go to a small cafe for some amazing European coffee. I had a cafe mocha and Jason had a chocolate cappucino. Both were very tasty and very beautiful. Nikolas had some juice and cheesecake which he enjoyed very much. After visiting for a while we walked back to the hotel. I ran to the grocery store to pick up some more food for Nikolas and a few other items. I also made the daily trip to McDonald's for some quick lunch. I've eaten at McDonald's more this week than I have in the past six months at home. Nikolas loves the french fries and had a little bit of fish today, too.

Since he hasn't had a nap for the past two days and was getting very grumpy, we put him in his crib and turned out the lights. He screamed loudly for about 35 minutes before finally giving up and going to sleep. He napped for about 90 minutes and woke up happy. After his snack we decided to go to the park. He did ride in the stroller a little today, so we're getting somewhere. He loved the park, but he has a hard time going by stores. He gets mad when we won't let him go in.

We came back from the park and played for a bit before dinner. I fed Nikolas and by then, he was starting to get fairly grumpy. He was whining a lot and throwing his toys. We gave him a quick bath. He still screamed, but it didn't seem quite as bad tonight. After getting into his pajamas, we turned off the lights and put him in the crib. He only screamed for about five minutes this time.
Once we knew he was asleep, Jason called and ordered room service so we could have something nice to eat. We both had fish, and it was so nice to be able to enjoy a quiet meal. It's now a little after 9:30pm. Nikolas has been sleeping for at least an hour, we've had a good dinner, and we're taking some time to relax.

Tomorrow we will take Nikolas to the doctor for his exam and then we have an appointment at the US Embassy. His visa will be issued on Friday. We're making progress with him one day at a time, and we're both ready to be home and get into a normal routine.

Day Two in Sofia

Nikolas woke up around 7:00am this morning. We got him changed into the only pair of jeans that would fit him. They're 18 months, but they have an adjustable waist. We do have to roll them up a bit. He had oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast and then played in the hotel room while Jason and I took turns getting ready. We took the subway to the mall to buy him some smaller shorts. He did great on the subway and loved the mall. His favorite store was the Reebok store because they were playing loud music. We spent about an hour walking around and then headed back to the hotel for lunch. Unfortunately he screams whenever we put him in the stoller, but hopefully we'll make some progress this week. It seemed like he wanted to eat constantly today. He had oatmeal, yogurt, fruit puree, lots of Gerber puffs, pretzels, meat and veggie toddler food and a couple of french fries from McDonald's. He really doesn't like to drink much, but we have been able to get him to take some water and juice.
We went to the park this afternoon and he had fun chasing the birds and watching the people. We came back at naptime, but he refused to take a nap. We played and had a snack before meeting with Violeta.

We gave him a bath this evening after dinner and he screamed the entire time. We got him clean in less than five minutes. We hope that he'll learn that baths are fun when we get home. He was very grumpy all evening due to the lack of a nap and all of the stress that he must be going through. Finally around 10:00pm we turned off the lights and got in bed with him between us. He screamed very loudly for about 10-15 minutes and didn't want anything to do with either of us. It's hard to watch him experience so much grief. He finally stopped screaming and fell asleep after thrashing around for a few minutes. The worst part is that we're in a hotel and I'm sure our neighbors are not enjoying our company. I can't wait to get home and get ourselves into a real routine and be able to help him work through this grief.

Tomorrow morning we are meeting Violeta for some good European coffee. Hopefully Nikolas will learn to trust us more and we'll have a better day tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from today:

We Have Nikolas!!

We made it to Sofia safely and Nikolas has been with us from the beginning. Our flight arrived around 4:00pm local time on Monday. Mariana from our agency had brought Nikolas to Sofia from Dobrich, and they were already here when we arrived. They took care of everything at the passport office for us, and the passport should be issued on Wednesday afternoon. We came right to the hotel and dropped off our bags before going downstairs to take Nikolas from Mariana and Violeta. He did well on the trip, but he did get carsick. Hopefully the plane ride won't be as bad. We changed his clothes when we got to the room since he didn't have any shorts on. He's very good at letting us take care of him and even tries to help. We brought all 18 month clothing, and it's way too big. We had one pair of adjustable waist jeans, so we pulled those as tight as we could and rolled up the cuffs. They worked just fine, but we're going to have to pick up a couple of 12 months pairs of shorts at the mall tomorrow. The others just fall right off of him.

He's been a very happy boy for most of the evening. We played a lot and he's done great. He's talking some now, but we don't know what he says. He laughs a lot and seems to be a very happy little boy. He had some fruit puree and gerber puffs to eat and seemed to like both. We are very happy that he chews food and seems to be a good eater. I ran to McDonald's in the rain to get some dinner for us since we hadn't eaten much all day, and Nikolas enjoyed a couple of fries. During our visit to the orphanage in February he was only eating soft foods, so the ease of feeding today was a welcome surprise.

A little before his bed time we put on his pajamas and he played some more. They told us that he goes to bed around 8:00pm, but he didn't want to sleep tonight. He let me rock him to sleep, but then he woke up when we tried to put him down. He snuggled quite a bit. Jason went to bed and Nikolas was next to him babbling for a while. I don't hear any more noise, so I think he's finally asleep. Now I only hope there's room for me in the bed!!

It's been storming here all day today, so we weren't able to get out this evening. If the weather cooperates tomorrow, we plan to take the subway to the mall in the morning to pick up some shorts for Nikolas and then stop for a few groceries. He naps from 1:00-3:30pm, and then we have a meeting with Violeta from our agency at 4:00pm to go over some paperwork.

Things have been going great so far. He's been very relaxed and we haven't observed any disturbing orphanage behaviors. Will update tomorrow when I get a chance.

Almost Ready

We are getting closer to our trip and are very excited to finally be bringing our son home. We've been waiting for this day for almost four years, and it's hard to believe that we'll have him in our arms forever in just a few days. Nikolas is packed and ready to go. I've spent the day cleaning the house and running errands and have finished doing almost everything on my list. Tomorrow will be spent finishing the laundry and packing. At least if I forget anything, there's a drugstore and grocery store very close to our hotel and the mall is only two subway stops away.

The weather is Sofia looks good. Highs are in the low 80's and our only chance of rain is on Monday and Tuesday. We're hoping that Nikolas likes going outside so we can get out and explore a little.

We'll be posting updates throughout the week!!

Travel Arrangements Made

We leave for Bulgaria in two weeks!! We booked our flights with the help of Sheldon from Golden Rule Travel. He was able to get us great flights for a great price. I highly recommend Golden Rule Travel to other adoptive families. We will arrive in Sofia around 4:00pm on Monday, July 25th, and Nikolas should be arriving from Dobrich that same afternoon. He is being brought to Sofia by a representative from our agency, so we'll have our little guy as soon as we arrive. We're scheduled to fly home on Saturday, July 30th if everything goes as planned.

We'll be staying at the Radisson Blu Grand Hotel in Sofia. We stayed at this same hotel for a couple of nights during our first trip, so we decided it would be a good choice for this trip. The rooms are nice and we already know the area. They have a nice restaurant, and there are a lot of restaurants, monuments, cathedrals and shopping areas nearby.

Now that all of our travel plans have been made, it's time to start packing and getting things together around the house!!

We Have A Son!!

Our court hearing went well today and we are now the proud parents of Nikolas Ali VanRoekel. We will be able to go to Bulgaria to bring him home in about four weeks. We should have our official travel dates later this week so we can start planning our trip. We are very blessed and are so excited to begin the next chapter of this journey.

Court Date!!

We found out this week that our court date is scheduled for Monday, June 27th. We could be reunited with our sweet little boy in as little as 4-5 weeks!! Praying for a favorable decision on Monday. :)

No Court Date Yet

I thought I'd post a quick update since it's been a while. We know that our paperwork has left the MOJ and was signed off to the courts earlier this month. We are currently waiting for the court system to provide us with a court date. We hope to hear something within the next week or two. We've watched other families pass court and travel to Bulgaria to bring their children home, and we can't wait until it's our turn.

We put up his wall stickers last weekend and are very happy with the way they look. We also picked up another dresser at IKEA last month. I still want to paint some wooden letters to spell out his name over his crib. I have his clothes and shoes in a pile ready to pack, so we'll be ready to go when it's time. Everything is coming together. We've been keeping ourselves plenty busy while we wait. Although the waiting is hard, it will be here before we know it.

Happy Birthday Nikolas!!

Today is our son's 2nd birthday. It's sad that we are not able to be with him, but we're happy that our case is moving along in Bulgaria and that he'll be home soon.

We received our updated I800A and I800 provisional approval on 4/16. Our Article 5 letter was issued earlier this week and was translated and submitted to the MOJ on Thursday. We hope to hear about a court date by the end of the month. Every form/signature is one huge step closer to bringing Nikolas home.

Before and After

We've been working on Nikolas' play room and bedroom over the past few months and are very excited with how they are both turning out. We still need to print and frame some pictures of Bulgaria for the play room. We're having so much fun getting ready for our little one to arrive. We're very thankful for our family and friends who have given Nikolas so many wonderful things. It feels great to have the support of so many loved ones.

Play Room - Before

Play Room - After

His bedroom has a World Traveler theme with planes, trains, boats and cars. We have some cute wall stickers to put up to match his bedding.

As far as paperwork goes, we're still waiting on our I800 provisional approval and expect it to arrive any day now. We should be able to send everything to Bulgaria very soon. We're still on track to bring our son home sometime this summer.