Ok, have I told you already that I'm not a great blogger???!!! I think I have, but if I haven't, consider yourself given that information right now. So don't blame me for the long, long, long time between posts...we have had a lot going on!
From the last time I posted, we were cleared for our Embassy appointment toward the end of February, so we headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to once again be united with our little guy! We left Charlotte on March 5th (which was our daughter's 7th birthday)...totally devastating that we would miss her birthday (that's a whole other story)...but know we made up for it when we got back! We arrived in Addis on March 6th, and went and got our little guy, had our Embassy appointment on March 7th, and headed back home late March 8th (Ethiopian time). So needless to say, this was a quick trip, but with travel taking pretty much two days each way, we just went with it. This trip made us EXHAUSTED....and I can't make that word type out like we felt...little guy traveled great (especially since we had to hold him the WHOLE way home--I think it was something like 17 hrs. I can't remember at this point)! But I'm sure there have been worse stories than that, and we survived.
We arrived back in Charlotte on March 9th (which we consider GOTCHA DAY since we arrived at home, though I know others may consider it by other things) and Isabel, Sofia, Granna, Poppa, & Aunt Meg were there at the airport to greet us and meet their new brother, grandson, & nephew:
Cruz Galgalo
We arrived at our house to be greeted by Grandma Suze & Papi as well! It was great to be home and all the waiting we just forgot and none of it mattered anymore, because our son was HOME!
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Since being home, Cruz has adjusted great. It took a little while to learn laying down at certain times meant "nap time", and learning to drink his bottle at one time, instead of little bit by little bit. He got it pretty quickly and I was excited about that. He's adjusted to his family, or shall I say his family has adjusted to him, either way, it seems as if he's always been here! He's a little messer, into everything, but such a Sweetie Pie, with lots of kisses & hugs to give! He is a healthy, growing boy, and we are doing great!
On May 31st, we celebrated with family, Cruz's 1st Birthday, though he didn't tear into the cake like I expected, we had a wonderful time celebrating!
Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and supported us through this adoption journey. Going back and reading some of the prior posts, it just seems like it happened so long ago. I'm so glad it's a distant memory and now Cruz is forever in our arms.
I was going to post photos, but that isn't working at the moment. I'll do that soon, so those of you who don't FB can see our family of 5!
From the last time I posted, we were cleared for our Embassy appointment toward the end of February, so we headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to once again be united with our little guy! We left Charlotte on March 5th (which was our daughter's 7th birthday)...totally devastating that we would miss her birthday (that's a whole other story)...but know we made up for it when we got back! We arrived in Addis on March 6th, and went and got our little guy, had our Embassy appointment on March 7th, and headed back home late March 8th (Ethiopian time). So needless to say, this was a quick trip, but with travel taking pretty much two days each way, we just went with it. This trip made us EXHAUSTED....and I can't make that word type out like we felt...little guy traveled great (especially since we had to hold him the WHOLE way home--I think it was something like 17 hrs. I can't remember at this point)! But I'm sure there have been worse stories than that, and we survived.
We arrived back in Charlotte on March 9th (which we consider GOTCHA DAY since we arrived at home, though I know others may consider it by other things) and Isabel, Sofia, Granna, Poppa, & Aunt Meg were there at the airport to greet us and meet their new brother, grandson, & nephew:
Cruz Galgalo
We arrived at our house to be greeted by Grandma Suze & Papi as well! It was great to be home and all the waiting we just forgot and none of it mattered anymore, because our son was HOME!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since being home, Cruz has adjusted great. It took a little while to learn laying down at certain times meant "nap time", and learning to drink his bottle at one time, instead of little bit by little bit. He got it pretty quickly and I was excited about that. He's adjusted to his family, or shall I say his family has adjusted to him, either way, it seems as if he's always been here! He's a little messer, into everything, but such a Sweetie Pie, with lots of kisses & hugs to give! He is a healthy, growing boy, and we are doing great!
On May 31st, we celebrated with family, Cruz's 1st Birthday, though he didn't tear into the cake like I expected, we had a wonderful time celebrating!
Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and supported us through this adoption journey. Going back and reading some of the prior posts, it just seems like it happened so long ago. I'm so glad it's a distant memory and now Cruz is forever in our arms.
I was going to post photos, but that isn't working at the moment. I'll do that soon, so those of you who don't FB can see our family of 5!
