It's a Wonderful Life

And a dream come true.  He is home!  He is everything I dreamed of and more.  He fills my arms perfectly.  I am head over heels for him already.  His soft curls, flirty smile, and big brown eyes are just the icing on the cake.  I truly feel like I’m living a fairy tale.  How does having a second child grow my love for the first?  It’s amazing how my heart expands to not only encompass all, but to grow even more.

And truly I’m not just blowing smoke.  I am so incredibly happy.  I’m sure the hard stuff will come, but even now I think, “So what if he wakes up 6 times tonight?  That will just give me 6 more times to see him, kiss him, and hold him.”  And yes, breathe him in. :-)  Course ask me in 3 days how I’m liking that waking up every 2 hours business!

Today was both more rotten than I imagined, yet more wonderful than I imagined.  The day started out with Jim being miserable (not my story to tell, so I won’t expound, but he was quite literally at the very end of his rope- sheer willpower is all that got him home), and I had a massive, splitting headache all morning.  Gigi had a fever, and wasn’t eating.  It was all bad, all the way around.  I couldn’t even work up any excitement that Gav was coming home truth be told.  I was feeling more dread than anything else (not because of Gav, but at the upheaval of adding a second child while EVERYONE was sick).

Gigi and I left for the airport, and we were supposed to meet my parents and Jer, Maria, and Andrew and Lana.  So briefly here’s how it was supposed to go down:  Jer would be operating one video camera, Dad would be operating a second video camera.  They’d be standing somewhat opposite of each other so they would get two opposing views.  Jer was to stay focused on Gigi, and Dad was to stay focused on Gav.  Mom had the big camera, and then Maria and Andrew were going to hold up the sign that said, “Welcome home Daddy and Baby Brother” with a picture of the US in one corner and Africa in another with an arrow from Ethiopia to New York.

Um, yeah.  Noticed the word, “supposed.”  Jim’s flight was also supposed to get in at 1:36, but was delayed by 20 minutes.  The updated arrival time was 1:55.  Our plan was to be at the welcoming spot at 1:45 so that we would have about 10 minutes to set up. (Always takes 5 minutes to taxi and start unloading.)   Well… Mr. Efficient United Pilot decided to make up for lost time unbeknownst to us.  We were in the airport parking lot still gathering our stuff when Jim texted me saying, “We’re on the ground.”  WHAT?!?!?!?

We ran!  Mom and Dad just happened to arrive at the same time we did so that was nice.  Mom helped me carry stuff, and Dad carried Gigi.  We got up to the welcoming point, quickly threw off coats at which point mom says, “Here he comes!”  I threw the video camera at Dad, with 5 second instructions on how to work it.  I did the same with Mom with the D300 (yeah, that was basically “push here”).  I saw Jim, and I have to admit, I totally forgot about Gigi.  I ran for the glass wall that separated us until he could get through the security doors.  I held up the painted sign to the glass, and saw Jim pause to read it then smile.  That’s the point where I just burst into tears, dropped the sign, and ran for the doors.  I didn’t care about all the people around us, I didn’t care that the sign was carelessly tossed on the ground.  Everything else faded from view. 

Jim walked through the doors rolling his suitcase behind him in one hand, and the other arm was cradling a sleeping Gavriel in a red, fleece sleeper.  He just looked so sweet.  I took him from Jim, and he woke up and started to cry.  He blubbered and he missed his Daddy so much.  No way was I letting go of him though! :-)  He felt SO DAMN GOOD and perfect in my arms.  He is a featherweight.  He may be tall, but he’s super skinny.  Really skinny.  He curled right into me, and by the time we left the airport, he had stopped his crying.

We spent about 10 minutes up in the welcoming area and that’s where Jer, Maria, and the kids found us.  They weren’t too far behind, but missed the scene by about all of 30 seconds.  So suffice it to say, I’m not sure what kind of videos and pictures we got!  I’ll wait until morning to start processing that.  Gigi and Jim had a beautiful reunion. 

Gav left me a little present on the way home, but then fell asleep for about 20 minutes.  Once home I was able to change him, and see him in all his perfection.  Amazing, beautiful perfection.

The boy is SMART!  Uh oh!  Gigi brought him a toy that I thought was too advanced- shape matching and lights and noises- and Gav perked right up, started pushing the buttons, matching the shapes, and then beating on the toy!  I finally got a couple of his flirty smiles!

He experienced applesauce, smashed bananas, and cheerios this afternoon.  A whole plateful of delights.  I put some on his tray for him to play with as a sensory experience as well, and darned if he didn’t know how to get it all to his mouth!  (He’s never had finger foods before, and in fact has never had anything but formula and cereal.)  The boy is a wonder, I tell ya. (But then, maybe I’m slightly biased.) :-)

Then came my surprise of the day- he can crawl!  Not perfect.  He’s still figuring it out, but he gets around, and looks pleased as punch doing it!  He found a couple of toys and entertained himself gleefully by throwing a toy then chasing it.  Then chewing it.  Then throwing it and chasing it.

I put him down for a nap at 5pm, and Jim went to bed at the same time.  Ok wait.  My biggest surprise was not the crawl.  My biggest surprise was when I put him in the crib for nap time, and he grabbed hold of the bar and pulled himself to a stand and gave me a grin!  What?!?!  Jim told me he could barely sit on his own.  I think someone was trying to pull a fast one on me! ;-)  Not only can he crawl, but he is pulling himself to a stand! 

My intent was only to let Gav sleep for an hour, then have some more play time, a bath, more playtime, and bedtime at 8pm.  Ha!  I got him out of the crib at 6.  He slept.  I took off his clothes.  He slept.  Gigi and I both examined him.  (He was laying on the kitchen table.)  He slept.  I ran his bath in the kitchen.  Stuck him in the warm water.  He momentarily woke, let out a whimper, then went back to sleep.  He slept essentially through the whole bath including the hair washing!  Gazed sleepily at me as I toweled him off, with only a whimper or two when there was no towel wrapped around him to keep him warm, and then continued to sleep when I laid him out on the table again.  I rubbed crème all over his body starting with his toes and worked my way up to his scalp.  I think that only made him sleep harder. (Who wouldn't sleep with a wonderful massage like that?!)  I sat him up and slathered his back and his head just lolled on my arm.  I put him in a new sleeper, did some leg workouts, and nothing.  Sound asleep.  Grandma cuddled him on up, and then finally we put him back to bed where he’s been ever since.  This boy can SLEEP!!

I tell ya, so far Gavriel is a total love!  He took maybe 15 minutes to get used to me, and now he seems to be as enamored of me as I am of him.  (Ok, maybe not quite that strong as I would walk through Hades for him.)  He played and smiled and made beautiful eye contact.  He snuggles and smiles.  He crawls to me, and when he started to get tired, he looked at me, and already I knew what he wanted.  I raised my arms to him, and he came to me.  I rocked him to sleep and HE FELL ASLEEP IN MY ARMS!!!  Oh sweet joy!!!  (Remember that it took Gigi 7 months before she would finally fall asleep in my arms.)

He may not know that I’m his Mama yet, and he definitely knows his Daddy, but he and I already have got a connection going on after a few mere hours.

My sweet boy is home at last.  Pinch me…  (stay tuned for pics)

Homecoming video is here.

Ethiopian Gotcha Day video is here.