The End....

Well - it's three days until a new year begins so it's time to offically end this blog, which has been a part of my life since April 2007. I started it when we handed in our dossier figuring it would help keep me busy during our waiting period and would be a good way to update family and friends during our time in Kazakhstan. It went on to become a way to share all of Drew's first experiences with everyone - all of the first holidays, his first birthday in the US, milestones like walking, jumping, talking and potty training and all of the other parts of Drew's life.

There are no words to express the gratitude I feel toward family and friends too numerous to name for fear of leaving anyone out. Thank you for following our journey, and thank you mostly for caring about our little boy and wanting to know what he's up to...

As I end this, Drew just turned 2 1/2 - his speech is coming along amazingly, he's using the potty consistantly, he's starting gymnastics classes next month, he's becoming very bossy and questioning "why" all the time...he's just an amazing child! He makes me laugh every day...and even when's he's driving me crazy, I am more thankful than he could ever know that he is my child...

So - thanks to everyone who's still reading this. Thank you for sharing this part of our lives.

And now to Drew - who I hope someday will read this and learn a little about his history and his journey to becoming our son...

Dear Drew,

Mommy began this blog about six months before we left for Kazakhstan to meet you. It details all of our time in Kazakhstan, as well as the first year of your life at home with us. I hope that you enjoy reading this for years to come and through it learn about lots of things you would have been too young to remember.

I hope through it you will see how much you are loved and how much you were wanted - not only by Daddy and me, but by your brothers, your grandparents, your aunts, uncles and cousins and many other family members and friends. We are all so lucky to have you in our lives.

So this is what I hope for you as you grow up...

I hope that you know you are unconditionally loved every day of your life. We may not always like things that you do or choices you make, but we will always love you and be there for you.

I hope that you are proud of who you are. Proud to be American. Proud to be Kazakh, Proud to be Jewish, and Proud to be Drew Sebastian Esatai Sanders. I hope that Daddy and I have been able to teach you about your birth culture and make it a part of your life. We are so proud of who you are and where you come from.

I hope that we have been able to answer all the questions you may have about your past and where you came from. We will always tell you the truth and will give you all the information we have about you. I hope that you get as many answers as possible to what I'm sure will be your many questions. I hope you know how thankful we are to your birthmother for the gift she has given us. She will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

I hope that you continue to have the strong personality you have now - it will serve you well. Never be afraid to express your opinions, your fears or your dreams. Never be afraid to be who you are.

I hope that you continue to have the infectious smile and laugh that you have now. You have the best smile and laugh in the world, my little boy, I hope to see it every day of your life.

I love you so much Drew...thank you for making me a Mommy - you are the best gift I ever received.

When I first started this blog, I put up a short poem, so it seems an appropriate way to end this:

Not flesh or my flesh
Not bone of my bone
But nonetheless my very own
Never forget for a single minute, that you didn't grow under my heart, but in it...

Happy "A" Day Drew!!!

Today is the one-year anniversary of Drew's homecoming - his Adoption Day!! I can't believe it's been a year - it's amazing to look back and see what a different child he is now - how different we are now...I know a year ago at this time I was frekaing out because the following day was my first alone with him and I was scared out of my mind!!! LOL...now, it's just normal :) He's such an amazing little boy...I don't know how we got so lucky, but I'm glad we did...We celebrated with a special book "My Fmaily is Forever" and a dinner at Chuck E. Cheese's - I think this will be our new family tradition for A Day!

So - not sure anyone is actually reading this anymore, but I decided to end the blog at the end of the year...it's time to wrap it up and make this into a book for Drew to have as a keepsake someday. This blog has covered the whole adoption process, plus every major milestone for his first year at home...it's amazing to look back on...

For anyone still checking in - thank you for caring enough to follow our amazing journey and sharing our story...it means so much...

I will check in again before Jan. 1!!

An Adoption Poem...

I saw this poem, and I love it...

Once there were two women who never knew each other.
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.

Two different lives shaped to make you one.
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love. The second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality. The other gave you a name.
One gave you a talent. The other gave you aim.

One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile. The other dried your tears.

One sought for you a home that she could not provide.
The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.

And now you ask me, through your tears,
the age-old question unanswered through the years.
Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?
Neither, my darling. Neither. Just two different kinds of Love.



© Author Unknown

Drew is official!!

We had Drew's conversion ceremony today - he's now officially Jewish! :) It was a wonderful ceremony and the Rabbi did a fantastic job...GG, Aunts Lysee, Stephanie and Sheri, and Uncle Shawn came up for the festivities...it was just amazing...I feel at peace - that was the last thing that had to be done - and now it's done...well, we're still waiting for his Conn. birth certificate, but other than that - it's done :)

Drew's Hebrew name is David Shmuel - David was my father's name and Shmuel was my maternal grandfather's name - my Pop Pop...Drew is named after two amazing people who I love very much. My father was always my hero - there are no words to describe what he's always meant to me. My grandfather was amazing too and provided me some of my best childhood memories - I can still remember all the Chinese dinners with him and he always order pastachio ice cream at the end of the meal - I thought it was cool cause it was green!

Both of them, besides sharing a birthday, also shared a love of being Jewish - it was who they were, plain and simple. I hope Drew, as he grows, shares that love that they had...he's off to a good start...

Drew's first Thanskgiving....

Happy slightly belated Thanksgiving :)

We were up in Vermont with my family for Thanksgiving - Aunt Stephie (my SIL) came along too - and it was a great time had by all!! :) A great dinner by GG (What Drew now calls Grama, cause it's much easier to say!), with some help from his aunts Sheri and Lysee and me (Hey, I made the salad!)...Drew didn't eat any turkey (he doesn't eat meat very much), but he LOVED the cranberry sauce and a lot of the fixings...

We tried to dress he and his cousin David up as a pilgrim (David) and an Indian (Drew), but niether of them was too thrilled about their costumes - I thnk we got one or two pics before the hats and outfits came off - oh well...

All in all a good holiday - and lots to be thankful for :)

And now it's Black Friday and I officially started our Hanukkah/Christmas shopping - so much to get, so little time!! Chris and Ben will be with us for Christmas this year - yeah!!!! :) And Christmas and Hanukkah fall at the same time, which will make it extra special - I'm very excited...the older boys will be here the 23rd - I think. We have to check out our box of Christmas stuff and make sure we have enough ornamnets, etc...we'll decorate the tree when Chris and Ben get up here...

All of Drew's paperwork for a Certificate of Foreign birth has been submitted to Probate Court - so hopfully he'll get that in a few weeks. His conversaion is coming up quickly...and I need to weite his first post-placement report to Kaz in the next week or two - wow...this year went fast!!

I know it's been almost 11 months, but...

...I finally just got around to contacting the Probate Court about getting Drew registered with the state so we can gt a U.S. birth certificate for him. I know, it took me a while, but my goal is to have it done by the time Drew's "A Day" rolls around on Dec. 17. The woman I talked to at Probate Court asked me what country he was from and I said, Kazakhstan (obivously!) and she said, "Wow, never heard of that one!" - So apparently we are the first people in the New Britain area who adopted from there - wierd. Anyway...thankfully his name change was already legally done, we have his citizenship papers and hopefully this will be a smooth and easy process.

Drew is starting to learn cause and effect. He had a really bad day at daycare this week - hitting his best friend Hunter! I felt so bad cause Hunter was so sad about it. So Drew and I had a long talk about how it's bad to hit (or go "boom") and how we need to be nice to our friends. And yesterday I told him if he was a good boy and didn't hit anyone he could have an ice pop after daycare - well, that worked!! Hopefully it keeps up...of course he woke up this morning wanting an ice pop, and wasn't happy to have to wait until later, but he seemed to understand that he could only get one if he didn't hit anyone...

Drew also went on the potty again - his second time!! He's so proud of himself when he does it - it's so funny. And of course we are proud of him too...

Oh - Drew's conversion will take place Dec. 7!!!!!!!! Woo hoo.....

Drew's First Halloween...and Other Stuff Too...

Drew celebrated his first Halloween last night - and what a night it was! He was dressed as a black cat and had a great time. He was scared at first and didn't understand why he was going to all these strange people's houses, but eventually got the hang of it and started knocking on the doors himself! He liked going through all his candy at home and enjoyed some lollipops and M and Ms before mean Mommy and Daddy made him go to sleep...all in all it was a successful first Halloween.

It was nice, there were so many kids walking around our neighborhood - so much fun! Of course there were lots of houses that didn't have porch lights on, clearly not wanting trick or treaters...how hard it is to buy a bag of candy people?? Sheesh!!!

Drew also FINALLY said his brother Chris' name today!!!!!!!!! He's been saying Ben since the summer, but Chris is much harder to say (He can't say the "k" sound yet) - so it sort of came out like "Diss," but when he talked to his big brothers on the phone tonight he clearly said both of their names!!! He misses his brothers so much and talks about them ALL of the time...of course we all miss Chris and Ben and can't wait until they come here for about two weeks at Christmas... :) Yeah!!

Other than that - things continue to be good with Drew...I'm starting to think how we will celebrate his "A" day (Adoption day - the day he came home) - not sure what we should do. I'd love to do something to celebrate his Kazakh culture that day, but I'm not sure what..oh well - I have until Dec. 17 to figure it out :)

A Big Night for Drew...

So - what did Drew do last night that was such a big deal...he went on the potty for the first time!!! I think he even surprised himself, but he was very proud and especially excited to flush the toilet. We always tell him when he goes, he can flush...so he was prtty happy :) What a big boy...Of course it will probably be a month before he does it again, but we're on our way...

Drew also, apparently, is the trend setter at day care...Drew likes to wear his Red Sox baseball hat every day and now Hunter has decided he's going to wear a baseball hat every day too. Those two are so funny together. Drew calls his winter jacket a "Hunter" coat cause it has yellow on it, just like Hunter's jacket.

So - Drew is doing well...we're very excited for Halloween - I'll post some pictures of our adorable black cat!

Meetcha Day!!!

Today is the one-year anniversary of the day we met Drew! Someone I know in the adoption world refered to it as Meetcha Day - I liek that, so I'm going to use it...

That day was probably the most surreal day of my life...it was all a whirlwind.

I remember while we were waiting people always said the child meant to be yours will find you - I never believed it, but I do now...

We are so blessed that Drew found us and let us be his parents.

Apple Picking...

Today we took Drew apple picking - Drew LOVES apples - he eats them all the time and talks about eating them all the time...so he was very excited to see all the apple trees. He had fun pulling the apples down, though he wanted to eat them all instead of putting them in the bag...he had lots of bites! He liked the pumpkins too, but they weren't nearly as exciting as the apples...obviously!!

Drew enjoyed going to temple for Yom Kippur this week - he LOVES the Torah!! He talked about it quite a bit and liked kissing it as it came around. At one point, near the very end of the servvice on Thursday, the ark was open for Neilah (not spelling right I know) and it was pretty quiet and Drew pointed at the Torahs and said, "Mommy, Torah!!" - he was pretty loud, I thought it was funny, but not sure others did..oh well...

I'm still trying to get a date for his conversion...they usually only do them during the week, but I'm trying to get it for a Sunday, so I need to check on that this week...can't wait to get him converted and named already!!

It was a year ago this weekend that Patrick and I left for Kazakhstan - having no idea what to expect or who our child would be...a year later I can't imagine that there ever could have been another child meant to be ours...we are very lucky.

Happy New Year Drew..

Drew enjoyed his first Rosh Hashana this week...he especially liked the apples and challah in sugar and honey - he will definitely have a sweet new year.

He did pretty well in temple - he loved the Torah and talkeda bout it a lot, not liking when it went bye-bye! He also liked listening to the shofar and running around. A very nice policeman let Drew sit in the police car too, which was very exciting - though I think he was disappointed they didn't let him run the siren...

We spent the first day of Rosh Hashana at Bubbie's and the second day at Grama's - saw lots of and lots of family and had a great time...

Drew is continuing to say more words and speak in 2-3 word sentences - his speech therapist is pleased with his progress and so are his mommy and daddy. :)

Drew and Daddy are having a male bonding weekend - I'm leaving for Miami for work early Sat. morning...I hope they have a good time!! And I hope I have some beach time!!

Talktive little boy...

Drew talks constantly these days - from the time he gets up in the morning, to the time he goes to sleep - he's always talking and talking and talking. Of course, his vocabulary is a bit limited right now, so he's not a great conversationalist, but he's tryng...

This past weekend Patrick and I were talking about "Donna" who used to work at AP with Patrick. All of the sudden, Drew started saying Donna (and very well enunciated I might add!)...he also used "Donna" when talking about McDonald's - so I think he thinks Donna is McDonalds - still working that one out...

When we went to McDonald's this weekend, he got a Batman toy in his Happy Meal and started saying "Batman." He even started singing along to teh TV theme song,"Da, nun, nu, nu, nu...Batman!!"

So - those are his latest words...he's also saying nail, mail, bite and eat a lot...and he's been saying Apple juice, rather than just juice...though he calls every liquid apple juice, even milk...

But, his speech is coming along very well...we still talk a a lot about men mowing all the time, but at least we've added some new stuff to talk about - LOL...

Popular Drew...

While dropping Drew off for daycare this morning, I ran into his friend Hunter's mom. Hunter and Drew are almost exactly the same age - I think Hunter is about 2 weeks older than Drew. Anyway, since Hunter started daycre a few months ago, the two boys have become great friends and always like to eat together and play together.

After saying Mommy, Daddy, Diane and Lou Lou (his other daycare provider), Hunter was the first name Drew said and he talks about Hunter constantly and apparently Hunter talks about Drew constantly.

So, this morning Hunter's mom was coming in as I was leaving and she told me how upset Hunter was when Drew was out last week for his surgery and how happy Hunter is that Drew is back. Then she said that at 3 a.m. this morning, Hunter woke up and srarted crying for Drew!!!!

I was hysterical...I mean, that's a bit much, but it's so funny!!! I can only imagine Hunter's mom having to get up at 3 a.m. to hear her child cry about Drew...LOL...

Anyway - that was how my day started this morning :)

A late night...

Last night after Patrick put Drew down to sleep, he commented that it was so great that Drew goes to bed very easily and sleeps through the night...so of course, Drew was restless all last night and up a lot!

The funny thing is, when he's awake, even if it's the middle of the night, he expects it to be light out and gets very upset when it's not...at around Midnight, last night, he was pointing to his window and saying, "Mommy, Daddy..oh no!!!!"

So - Drew got about 6 hours of sleep last night and Patrick and I each got 3-4...UGH!!

I hope Drew sleeps tonight!

Ready for Halloween

We took Drew to the party store today and let him pick out his Halloween costume...so choosing between a puppy, kitty, bumble bee, Thomas the Train and somethig I else that I'm forgetting - he chose to be a kitty - or "num num" as he calls them...we tried the costume on him in the store and he looked soooo cute - espeically when he was running around holding his pumpkin for the candy - I can't wait to get him all dressed up to go out!! he's going to be the cutest kitty in Connecticut...

Of course Daddy the pushover also bought him a tiger hat he wanted and then a Boston Red Sox hat a few minutes later at Babys R Us...Drew wore his hats all day and went to sleep in his Red Sox PJs and Red Sox hat - I took a picture to send to granddad, but of course I didn't have the memory card in the camera, so Granddad won't have to see his grandson in Red Sox gear! (Granddad is a big Yankees fan!!).

Drew is very into nails lately - I don't know why - maybe cause it's a new word for him?? He loves to point out everyone's nails, including Peyton's and we had to get him new nail clippers today too...I guess he just likes having nice manicured nails -nothing wrong with that!

He's recovering well from his surgery and didn't need pain medicine all day today, which is great. His bandage comes off tomorrow...so it looks like he's fine to go back to daycare Monday, which will make Mommy and Daddy's bosses very happy!!

Not much else going on here - watching football today and tomorrow - it's the Steelers-Browns game on national TV tomorrow night. Somehow I think I'll be the one going to sleep depressed tomorrow night, instead of Patrick...oh well :(

Thank goodness it's over!!

Well - Drew's surgery is done and he's on the road to recovery. He's doing great - acting like he never had surgery and I am very relieved!!! He doesn't seem to be in pain, though he talks about his "boo-boo" when I change his diaper. He's been running around and trying to jump all over the place today, so everthing seems to be fine. Whew...huge load off my mind...

Now I need to get in touch with the rabbi and schedule his conversion ceremony...hopefully by the end of October/begining of November...and then we're done :)

Now we just have to get him to the dentist... :)

I'm a nervous mom....

I just talked to the hospital and got the instructions for Drew's circumcision surgery. We have to be there at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, but he can't have any food after midnight and no liquids after 8 a.m. He is going to be a very unhappy, cranky boy! Thankfully he can have apple juice and ice pops until 8 a.m. and he loves ice pops and always cries when we won't let him have more than one - he'll be in his glory on Wednesday.

They said we can be with him until he falls asleep and when he wakes up, so that's good too. I told the nurse he has seperation anxiety and doesn't do well when neither Patrick or myself are around. We will also bring bunny with us for comfort...

I just hope it goes well and he's OK afterwards and there's not a lot of pain for him. I'm very worried...

Of course I got the typcial questions about his birth and exaplained that he was born full term, but other than that I didn't really know anything. Then she said, so you don't know his parents' medical history? I really wanted to say - yes, I know his PARENTS medical history, just not his BIRTHPARENTS medical history, but I refrained as this woman will be taking care of my child and I didn't want to piss her off...

I really wish people would learn the correct terminology!!

That's it...I hope Drew will be OK...

A rainy weekend coming up...

It's going to be a looooooong weekend in the Sanders house - with all the rain headed our way, we won't be going outside and Drew will not be a happy boy. We were supposed to go to a picnic sponsored by our adoption agency tomorrow - now that's cancelled. It also was cancelled in May, due to rain - now they're not going to hold it until next May...I was really hoping to meet some other families with internatioally-adopted kids who are around Drew's age...oh well :(

Let's see...what's new with Drew...

He's in a very clingy stage these days - crying when he goes to daycare and clinging to us and crying when it's bedtime - he's never cried when going to sleep - he loves his bed and we always let him play with toys until he falls asleep. So, hopefully this is just a normal 2-year-old phase he will outgrow soon!!

Other than that he's good - speaking much more. His new favorite toy is his "man" - a little toy man he likes to take everywhere...it's just funny when he looks around the house and calls out "Maaan..."

I think that's about it - have a good and dry weekend everyone!

Take me out to the ballgame...

Patrick took Drew to his first baseball game Friday night!! It was a special Daddy/Drew outing and everyone had fun - especially Mommy who didn't have to sit through a baseball game!

They went to a Connecticut Defenders game - minor leage, Double AA I think, but I could be wring about that. In any case, they had a great time at the game, Drew ran around with a whole bunch of kids, he got a ball and a bat, which he's been carrying around for two days now and he had a great time!

So - it looks like all three boys love going to baseball games with Dad - he's in his glory!! :)

Yesterday we met with our Chavurah (temple group) at a park for a picnic - lots of fun - great playground that the kids had fun on. Then Drew and I spend the afternoon visiting my friend Sara and her twins - Zach and Abby - who are adorable!! We had fun.

No big plans for today...except for Mom to hit the mall for great sales!!

A boy and his sneakers....

Two days after Drew came home, Grama and I took him to Stride Rite to buy him his first sneakers. He was a size 4, so they didn't have many choices. He got a nice white pair with some blue and yellow on them.

About three months later, Drew's feet had grown so we went back to Stride Rite. He was about a size 5.5 now, but still, they didn't have many choices in style, so we kept with the same ones we got the first time.

Yesterday, Patrick and I took Drew sneaker shopping, again at Stride Rite, and lo and behold he's now a size 6 and they make many more styles. So we picked out a couple to try on thinking it would be nice to try a new style of sneaker.

Drew was not having that at all!!!

He cried when we put his new sneakers on, saying, "No, No, No..." Then he pointed at the sneakers that looked like "his" sneakers and said, "Drew, Drew..." We tried a few times to put different sneakers on him, but he was not having it...

So - we left the store with a new pair of the same old sneakers...

I guess he just loves the style??!!!

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He's been talking much more in possessives - pointing out what is Mommy's, what is Daddy's and what is Drew's...somehow most things end up being Daddy's or Drew's - not sure how that happens!