David Reni goes to the doctor...

getting weighed by Nurse Elizabeth

Giving a "high five" to Dr. Taylor

Thank you to everyone who has asked how we're doing! The first week was pretty tiring, but we made it through.

Last night we kicked off Global Cafe` at the student center and we had a "meet the Waggoners" night and shared about our adoption experience this summer, but more what lessons we've learned through the process of bringing Ellie and Reni into our family.

My friend Jan came for a visit from D.C. and to help me shoot a wedding on Saturday. She was also very generous and shot some family photos for us Friday evening! I can't wait to see those and share some here on the blog when I get 'caught up' on photo work.

David Reni seems to be doing pretty well, feeling very comfortable here in his new home. He is warming up to me (Cydil), though Nathan still has the secret for getting him down to bed if he's not already asleep. Yesterday he crawled over to my feet and lifted his arms, even with Nathan in the same room!

He's also learning some new 'tricks' including waving goodbye (more than 50% of the time), pointing at what he wants, and throwing laundry or towels on his head to play "peek-a-boo" (this always elicits big smiles). This morning he climbed his first step unassisted. He likes to crawl over to the front door to look out the window (the only one at his eye level, barely). Jan commented that if he had both feet, he'd probably be climbing up bookcases already - he's a very active and curious little boy who loves to explore cabinets and tries to climb out of his high chair. His favorite toys are the stacking rings and anything with wheels. He's all boy.

He eats like a human garbage disposal. He's willing to try anything and everything, especially if you're eating it first, then it's preferable to what's on his plate. He jabbers and jabbers and is pretty friendly with new people, but prefers Nathan or I.

Today we took him to his first medical appointment! We love our friends at A Caring Touch Pediatrics and were anxious for them to meet him in person. To sum it up, he was pretty interactive with everyone, but gave the most vocal responses to Ms. Connie, the receptionist who has a darker complexion, similar to his favorite Sisters in Elbasan. Measuring his growth and placing him on a chart is a bit tricky given that he's lacking his lower legs. That throws off measurements for length and weight, but adding 5 inches to his length puts him smack in the middle of the growth chart -- same with his head circumference. I think we discovered the source of his chest congestion and sleepless nights: double ear infections! Hopefully some antibiotics in his system and some infant Tylenol will ease his discomfort (and grant Nathan longer stints of sleep)!

Swingin' Fun

We tidied up the garage yesterday afternoon in anticipation of today's big picnic for the freshmen class in our backyard. Finishing early, we had a little fun waiting for Ellie's bus to bring her home from school. This little guy is SO photogenic. These are the best three of over 20 smiling photos! I hope I don't "ruin" him, but he's just too much fun to photograph!

Last night he slept from 8 until 10, then 10 until 2, and didn't wake up again until 5:30. Whew! MUCH better than the previous two nights! Thank you to those who were praying!

Home Sweet Home

Last night at the college's Activities Fair. David Reni got to meet a LOT of new friends!

Here he is on the college's vaulting team practice mount. (If you aren't familiar with the equestrian sport of vaulting, it's basically gymanstics on the back of a cantering horse)

Do you know that those action movies where the good guy starts chasing the train as it slowly pulls away from the station? Initially his pace is faster than the train, but the train picks up steam and speeds up, yet somehow the good guy (on foot) is somehow able to catch it and grab the handrail just in time to swing himself up and continue his pursuit?

Yeah, that's not what's happening here in our house. I feel like the train is picking up steam and the distance between me and the moving train is growing further and further apart.

We've been getting many questions about how the transition is going here with Reni at home. Briefly, it's going great. Reni was so attached to his Daddy when they came home that he is happy as long as Nathan is within sight. They have all kinds of games they play which are adorable to watch. Nathan will say, "Watch when I do this!" and Reni will respond just as Nathan predicted. Reni literally revels in Nathan's presence. He is relaxed, silly, and always smiling while his Daddy is around. We could be living in a mud hut or igloo and he'd be content as long as Nathan is by his side.

The downside to all of this is that I feel kind of helpless to help when Reni is upset because he wants his comfort from Nathan -- and this is challenging when Nathan is just so, so tired. I've gotten a taste for what his nights were like with Reni. He cries frequently in his sleep and it startles us awake and we wait a minute to see if it's a 'real' cry or not. Most of the time, it results in getting up to tend to him about every 60-90 minutes. We are beat (especially Nathan). Last night we went to bed at 8:30.

Given that I'm used to doing so much of my office work after bedtime, I feel like I'm starting to slowly drown, yet we need our rest! We're hoping that this might work itself out over time. Nevertheless, classes started this week on campus and we have some big events going on every day. We're holding on til next week when things should hopefully start to resemble our new 'normal.' Next week Reni will meet Dr. Taylor and the ACT Peds staff and we will have our first post-placement meeting with our social worker, Anne.

How is Ellie doing with school and having her brother at home?
Ellie did NOT want to go to school yesterday (we kept her home Monday), yet she came off the bus in a good mood. This morning all 4 of us drove to school (I wanted Nathan to see the protocol for car line drop off) and she made it QUITE clear she didn't want to be there. Oh dear. My theory is that it's easier for her to leave us at home (i.e. ride the bus TO school) than for us to "leave" her (i.e. drop her off at school and then go 'who knows where'). Nevertheless, we're going to stick with this a while longer.

At home, she doesn't seem to mind Reni. I think we prepared her pretty well for his arrival. It might also be easier because he's a little boy (vs. another girl). She's also a little preoccupied with her new crabs (promised for her 5th birthday, but postponed due to our impending travel). She doesn't appear to choose to interact with him, but yesterday she held him for me on her lap and asked, "Am I being a good big sister?"


Is Reagan home yet?
No, we're trying to ease Reni into our home life. Yesterday he saw a horse and that was pretty much the first time I'm guessing he's ever seen an animal up close.

Does he sit in the highchair? Yes! The high chair is great for feeding himself those little finger foods like cereal and fruit.

Future Updates
Thank you for your continued interest in David Reni's story. We will try to keep you updated but understand that it probably won't be as frequent as before (at least over the course of the next week or so). Nathan does have several pics to share in subsequent posts of his last days in Tirana as well as pics from his time with my dad and their flight home. I can't wait to see them either! Check back soon!

Take care, Cydil

Bonus Video

Thank you, Uncle Jack, for shooting and posting this video!

Worth the Wait

Ellie was a trooper, staying up WAY past her bedtime, anxious to see her Daddy and new brother. We were so grateful for the friends and family who also joined us to welcome our boys home. We were also a bit surprised when an airport personnel member started preparing to close up the airport, seemingly unaware that one more flight was still making its way to Lexington. There was no listing of the flight on any of the monitors. Yeah, it was that late.

I'm afraid we might have been a bit overwhelming to the 16 other passengers on their flight, descending the escalator. The airport was vacant save a few cleaning staff members and a few rental car agents.

Ellie practically shouted "Daddy!" when she finall saw Nathan. It was very emotional for me to hear her sincerity and intensity. It was followed by, "You brought David Reni home!"

Reni was a bit dazed and confused at first.

As is typical, Ellie was so excited she didn't know how to express herself.

Pardon the yellow caution tape -- it was so late, they were waiting for us to leave so they could wax the floors.

Ellie said, "Daddy, you were on the computer and now you're here!"

(below) Aunt Ruth

(below) Uncle Jack -- what a treat that they came from Muncie to welcome Reni home. It was quite appropriate though as they came to Cincinnati for Ellie's airport homecoming arrival in 2006.

Meredith (a member of our cabinet), documented everything on video

Reni, getting to know Mark -- yeah, you're gonna like this guy

Reni meets Faith, who we are thrilled to have walk with us as we work with the team at Shriners Hospital

Kristen is checking out Reni -- who shares a birthday with her own little girl, Emily!
We can't wait for those two to meet!

Meredith

Our awesome documentarians, Wes and Nina, who are waiting to hear of their own bundle of joy from Ethiopia. I hope we can return the favor soon!
By the way, if you like their shirts, they have those awesome adoption-themed graphic tees on sale on their blog!

All photos courtesy of Nina Mullins Photography

Checking In

Hi everyone,

Nathan and David Reni arrived in Kentucky safely EARLY this morning after several delays to their last flight. It was a very short night of sleep but Reni was up so we drove into Lexington to have breakfast with Nathan's parents this morning who came down to be part of the welcoming party. Our friends Wes and Nina took some fantastic photos to document Nathan and David Reni's homecoming and I can't wait to share them with you. However, I'm operating on three hours of sleep and about to nod off on the keyboard. All of this to say, check back later this afternoon from some pictures that should be worth the wait. Thanks for your understanding. We love you all.

21, 39, 1, 26, 4, 2

(I am QUITE tired and have a little girl hanging on me and asking me questions about the new crab she hopes to soon be getting so I'm sorry I have many distractions and little creativity for a clever blogpost. Here's what I have to report).

21 August... My parent's 39th wedding annivesary (I'm guessing this is their first apart!) Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Thank you for spending this day apart to help us get David Reni home.

26... hours until Nathan and David Reni land in Lexington and all 4 Waggoners will be all together for good!

2 hours til wheels up for a flight to Vienna! Babe -- I feel so tired for you and the long day of travel ahead of you!

This part of the adoption journey is nearly complete! THANK YOU, bloggy friends, from the bottom of our hearts for everything! Tune in Monday for happy homecoming pics!

"Walk where the king is carried"

In Albania's long and storied past, this great country has honored it's king in an entirely kingly fashion. We found out yesterday that past Albanian kings had porters to carry the them from place to place. Within this context, Albanian's of times past flocked to walk where the king had been carried. One of the workers at the Vlashi construction site call Reni "the king!" Since in his humble observations, Reni had been carried from site to site, he turned to us and said, "Everyone wants to walk where king Reni has been carried." It added a new dimension for the little king because people are observing that Reni rightfully draws a crowd and consequently has many loyal subjects.

Reni gained even more followers today as we visited several friends in typical Albanian fashion.

Fredi is a long-time friend who has been a real encouragement to Cydil and I during this trip. David, Mondi, Reni, and I met him for lunch at "The Amsterdam" restaurant which is located directly across from the Dutch embassy. We are so thankful for his phone calls on our behalf to the US embassy and the Albanian passport office during our adoption proceedings. But we are equally thankful for the fellowship over meals like this one during our time away from home!

After Reni's afternoon nap, we went to the village of Vlashi where long time friends of David and Sarah invited us into their home. Fatmira treated us to iced tea and snacks. Reni enjoyed trying the cracker sticks that are common here. His smile was contagious!

One of the main reasons David wanted to visit was to encourage Damire who had recently had a heart attack. He is doing much better, but Fatmira said his spirits have been down since his illness, and she knew it meant a lot that David made the time to come during his brief visit to Albania. Reni seemed to brighten his day as well!

Their daughter has been a faithful attender first of the children's meetings and later the youth events at the Vlashi ministry center. She is currently taking part in the center's English classes and discipleship groups. She was our translator with her parents today, and she is starting at the University this fall!

You may remember us speaking of our friend Mondi who has safely driven us back and forth across the mountains so many times. Tonight we got to visit with the rest of his family. Gina loved on Reni from the moment we stepped out of the van, and Reni was content to be held by her for longer than anyone else we met today.

In the back yard they have a little swimming pool and Reni loved splashing in it. He kept lunging for the water, so we soon had to walk away, but I have a feeling he is going to love the kayak!

Reni had fun, finally being in a place where he could just crawl around on the ground and play. For the second night in a row though, he made it very clear when he was throwing in the towel and was ready for bed. When all other clues fail, when your child crawls across the room and sticks their head under the coffee table then ceases to move, it is probably time for bed!

We said our goodbyes and headed home. Reni was asleep in no time and David and I ate a late supper. David stayed up long enough to dictate the first part of the blog and then he fell asleep on the couch. When he puts his head under the coffee table I'll know it is time to send him up to bed!

David i madh and David i vogël (Big and Little David)

Cydil's dad David arrived this afternoon here in Albania with all of his luggage. His money belt almost disappeared at the security checkpoint in Peoria, but it made it as well. As I type, both Davids are napping. I thought I would post while things were quiet and since I already have some pictures of today to share. By the way, the 'Big David' and 'Little David' Albanian nicknames in the blog title are thanks to 'Teza' (Aunt) Vera.

We arrived a little early to the airport, so we picked a convenient seat at a coffee bar and waited. Reni really wanted to get down on the ground to crawl around, so he was extra squirmy. I think I got a little taste of what our layover in Vienna might be like on Sunday. Thankfully just moving in the stroller seemed to satisfy him.

Our attempts to get a picture with 'Uncle' Mondi while we waited for David weren't too successful. Reni sure was enamored with Mondi's hat though!

The pictures of the meeting are on David's camera, but here is a short little video of David holding Reni for the first time.

The airport is more than half-way to the village of Vlashaj where David and Sarah (Cydil's parents) do the majority of their ministry. There is a small construction project going on at the ministry center, so David wanted to see the progress. Reni joined the inspection crew as well. He thought the construction looked good, but was concerned that the workers were not wearing OSHA approved hard hats on the job.

I know this is the first of many tools that 'big' David will be showing to 'little' David.

Big David looks pretty chipper for someone who has just flown over the ocean if you ask me!

Reni was happy to be allowed to crawl around on the floor at the ministry center. He was fascinated by the stacks of stools.

He was proud to show me the large empty water bottle he found. I had the camera ready in case he tipped it up to try to drink, but chewing the handle was the closest thing to it.

We had to stop at Bethany to pick up Reni's VISA and other paperwork, but before we could get there, Reni fell asleep. I left him on the seat of the van with Gjyshe (grandpa) while I met with Agim for the last time this trip. I feel like the picture below says it all! This process has been exhausting! But the VISA in my hand is the signal that we are done with the Albanian side of things!

Thank you for continuing to lift us up in your prayers. We want to finish strong and we have a lot of people that we want to thank before we leave! Tonight we will be taking Vera out for supper. I am sure there will be photos to follow.