shume fort (very strong)

Wow. Posts on back-to-back days. I'm trying to be productive while I wait for some image files to convert.

I know all of you out there with multiple children have to be chuckling at us, barely able to keep our eyes open after 9PM, tripping over toys and laundry perpetually strewn around our home. It might explain why this video was recorded SIDEWAYS (no, I don't usually record videos on my phone which is part of problem, but thank goodness it was handy or you wouldn't have any material to read here today, sideways or not).

Before recording the video above, Reni was zipping back and forth across our living room on his little legs behind the tractor. Then Ellie jumped on and it didn't seem to slow him down one bit. That's when we really sat up. Our boy is strong (shume fort)!

P.S. We're speaking more Shqip than ever because it's what he understands. At some point we're going to have to switch over, but for now it's working and it's nice to see the recognition in his eyes that he understands.

P.S. #2 -- we've been busy with a lot of events at the student center which means we've been shopping a LOT and he's been a good little shopper, out with us this morning at 6 different stores this morning. I wish you could see people's faces when they approach us pushing our cart because Reni doesn't sit in the seat the traditional way (though that's how we put him in). Given his short legs, he quickly whips around so he can be forward facing. Betcha don't see many kids who can do that!

P.S. #3 -- Ellie's crab was found (he's been missing for more than 24 hours). He was not behind the bed or bookcase. He was not under the dryer or behind the toilet (all places we looked). No, we found him disguised in a small pile of toys in Reni's room. We can now leave for our camping trip tomorrow in peace, not worrying about coming home to a starved, dehydrated hermit crab.

P.S. #4 -- When I can grab a few moments, I'm reading Russell Moore's book, Adopted for Life. It's SOOOO good and I'm super excited to hear him speak in Lexington later this month. I just read a portion that is somewhat echoed here at A Place Called Simplicity, "Why Does it Have to be so Hard?".

P.S. #5 -- If you want to watch an interesting documentary about older child int'l adoption, my Dad told me about this piece which aired Tuesday night on PBS (watch it streaming online here thru November 30).

Catching up on pics: Reni Sees His Room

Here are some pics from Nathan's and Reni's late night/early morning arrival. Reni's room doesn't look nearly so tidy anymore. Primarily because we've had to make room for a twin-sized aero-bed which has been set up in a quasi-permanent fashion in the corner of the room. Our overnights have been punctuated by frequent evening cries (as in anywhere from 4-6 times per night) so Nathan has taken to sleeping in there with Reni. Lest you think I'm dumping that responsibility on Nathan, I have tried, but lack the special touch. After 30 minutes of hard crying the other night, Nathan came in and had Reni asleep in his arms in less than a couple of minutes.

During the day, our little guy continues to be his pleasant, charming self. He continues to learn new tricks and games. Let's see... today he fed himself about half of his supper off a spoon. He also pushed his sister (who weighs exactly twice what he weights) back and forth on their John Deere tractor across the length of our living & dining room, showing off for Anne, our social worker, who visited us tonight for our first post placement report. Our days continue to fly by -- busy with our kids and campus work. This weekend we're taking our student cabinet on a camping retreat (which Ellie is positively thrilled about) so hopefully that event will generate some more current photos. ;-)

Thanks for checking in!

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.