Sweet Alabama Pt II

Can you believe it's taken me 3 posts to tell about my weekend? I think I've come to realize that I'm just a wordy individual and can't summarize things. Must. Give. Details. How annoying!

So... the highlight of our weekend trip to Alabama was our visit with Melissa, Nathan and Iliya (and Melissa's friend, Ginger, who was so sweet!). We headed straight to Melissa's (about 45 mins from B'ham) after the IA clinic was over. Melissa was kind enough to make us dinner (yummy taco soup and chili!). She must have known that those are 2 of my husband's most favorite fall meals. If he could eat taco soup everyday, he would. Anyhoo... there I go with the details again!

As soon as we walked in we saw this little ittle bittle guy toddling around. No introduction was needed - I would recognize that face and little belly anywhere! It was Iliya. Ladies and Gents, let me just brag on Melissa and Nathan for a second. He is so comfortable in his surroundings, knows who/where mom and dad are, is communicating with sign language and seems so well adjusted! We brought him a few gifts - some books and Little People stacking blocks. What he loved more than the gifts was the packaging everything came in. He took his time shredding tissue paper and then wore the packaging from the Little People on his head as a hat and boy was he the cutest!

We sat down to have dinner and I was amazed at Iliya's communication while he ate. He signed "more" "please" and made sure to open up his mouth to prove his food was all gone before was given more! He signed when he was ready for a drink and was such a good little eater. After dinner he entertained us by showing us how he climbs up and goes down the slide - I think that was the highlight. All eyes were on him and we all cheered him on with a big "GO" and when he got to the bottom we all said "YEY!!!". He was so delighted at all of the cheering.

Melissa and I talked about their adoption, getting through airports, strollers, slings, etc... She showed me pictures from their 1st and 2nd trip (can you believe she has them all in albums already!?!?!). Iliya helped flip the pages from time to time. :-) What a cutie. When bath time came, Iliya definitely wanted his mommy to get started - what a great sign of attachment. We took some pictures before we left (at the top) and I really wish I knew it was "primary color" day... boy do I clash with the Alabama Red and Keith's orange shirt! :-)

I am so grateful for my blog friends! There is no one else in this world that "gets" you more than those that have been through it. THANKS, Melissa, for being my first meet-in-real-life blogger person! :-) Couldn't have asked to meet a sweeter family.

Being at Melissa's and seeing little Iliya made Keith and I realize even more how excited we are to have a little boy of our own. Just watching the little things Iliya did amazed me and I can't wait to see my own child do the same. Iliya's attachment and demeanor helped ease Keith's mind. I realized that I read so much about adoption and I always tell him the bad, scary stories.

After we left Melissa's we headed to our hotel (a new one - not the same one as Friday night - ut uh, no way). It was a full service Marriott. I loooovvveeee full service Marriott's. We splurged and bought a bottle of wine, watched the rest of the Alabama/Arkansas game and then crashed! I don't think either of us got through a full glass of wine. We were out cold and slept about 12 hours. This is unheard of for Keith - the boy usually sleeps 5, if that.

We woke up to a flat tire (big nail in it), had some Mexican for lunch and then headed on home. It was such a great weekend. I think I needed time with my husband, we both needed sleep and Alex needed time without us. A big thank you to my sister and brother-in-law for entertaining Alex all weekend. I know he was soooo happy to get away from his nagging step-mother. :-)

So... that's it for the weekend. I swear. :-) Thanks for sticking around for Pt II. :-)

Have a fabulous night!
Becky