Two years later

Two years ago today, we arrived home with Lleyton. Although the temperature was cold, the Kentucky air felt more like we were in the Caribbean, having just left the frozen tundra of Russia.

The flight home was exhausting, as both Sara and I were on the rebound from a nasty illness we endured during our last day and night in Moscow. That, accompanied by a little man that didn't want to sit still, let alone sleep on the 15 hour flight, made for a long day. Although he didn't want sleep, he handled the flight relatively well. After a few crying spells, I found that looking at himself in the mirror in the bathroom really soothed him. Most people on a flight that long don't turn to the bathroom as a place of refuge, but we did.

Even with the excitement of just becoming an American citizen, Lleyton had had about enough by the time we got through customs and immigration in New York, so he threw quite the fit as we waited for our plane to take us on the last leg of a our journey to becoming a family, but who could blame him.

Thank goodness the flight from JFK wasn't full, as it allowed Lleyton and I to have a a couple of seats to ourselves in the back of the plane, giving us plenty of room for him to lay on his own seat and take a much needed nap, and it also allowed Sara to get an hour or so of shut-eye herself.

We enjoyed every minute of our time in Russia (except our first meeting with Coffee Talk lady), but were excited to get home and get settled in with our little man (When I say little, I mean little. He didn't register on the growth charts for quite some time, but I am happy to report that after his 3 year old checkup yesterday, he is now on both charts, 7% weight and 10% height).

I know I have mentioned another picture as my favorite picture of all time, but this is a close second.



The last two years have been incredible. We have been places and seen things we could have never imagined. We have welcomed two boys into our family, and hopefully soon we will add a little girl to the mix too. I can't believe Lleyton has only been with us for 2 years, it seems like he has been with us forever. Getting to watch him grow over that time has been a privilege, as he has gone from a little boy that was a sight for sore eyes when we first met him to the cutest boy I have ever seen.