Photo Recap Part 6

Ella's Adoption Court Hearing in Birmingham, AL
April 20, 2011


What a special day! Ella didn't really get what the day was about. All she knew was how fun it was to have all four of her grandparents around on a short road trip and lunch where she got one of her favorite (and usually forbidden) foods - hot dogs! We sought out a hot dog joint for a special lunch just before heading to court and we found a great little cafe. At least in the States we can get better quality hot dogs. This girl is a purist. No ketchup, no bun, just the meat please! She ate two.

After lunch, we walked to the court house. Ella enjoyed a few fun moments with Papa. The mood of the day was very light and joy-filled.

We came upon some local children's artwork and noticed a plaque with a list of "heroes," one of which was H. Tubman (Harriet Tubman), the inspiration for Ella's new middle namesake. How perfect!

Sometimes I am just so overwhelmed with love for this little one. What a girl!

Our entourage

It must have been her knowing that she was extremely close to officially being a Sawchenko that brought on this uninitiated nerdiness.

The hearing took all of five minutes. The judge was just delighted with Ella. After asking us a few basic questions about her name and how long we've been together she kept saying, "Awww, well isn't that neat! Oh that is so neat! She is just the sweetest little thing!"

At one point in the middle the hearing, Ella stood up in the chair that faced the judge and put her hands up like a winning champion and said, "Yaaaayyyy!" I'm so glad we got that on video.

A photo with the Judge

 

It's all done! (We still had a ton to do actually but at least the hearing was done.) What a great feeling!

Photo Recap Part 5

Fun times with Grandma and Grandpa

Andrey's parents brought their RV, affectionately called "The Coach" by Dad, and "Sylvia" by Mom, from Nova Scotia to Washington, D.C. to meet us for the annual conference we attend together every Spring. How fun for Ella to see them again. She ran to them excitedly when we found them in the hotel lobby that Spring day. They hadn't seen Ella since before Christmas so they were pretty excited as well. Reunions are fun!

We had the privilege of having them around for the most part of our two-month trip. They would meet up with us wherever we were, spend some time with us, then take off on their own for a week here or there. How fabulous for us to have them with us for part of our time in the DC area, North Carolina, Alabama and Atlanta. We had groupie grandparents on tour with us and we loved it!

After our time in the DC area, we got on the road headed to Alabama. We took three nights and four days to make our way there, spending a bit of time in the Carolinas on the way down.

Ella enjoying the road trip in the Coach...

Grandma helping out with keeping Ella occupied during the long day trips

 

Fun with stickers!

Grandma couldn't resist the sticker fun

Grandma graciously submitted her head of hair for Ella's special "hair cut"

Out for a walk at a campground in South Carolina. Couldn't get Ella to walk very much.

"Driving!"

Sweet times with Grandma

Grandma and Grandpa take to the lake. What a beautiful place. Lake Hartwell, SC.

Love Grandma's meals and Grandpa's BBQ on the road!

Grandpa and Ella chilling out after dinner

Grandma & Grandpa hung out with us at my parents' place in Alabama a few different times. They went with us to Birmingham for Ella's court hearing, which I will post about separately. They even endured a wild reunion with all my relatives, spend Easter Sunday with all of us and joined on a road trip to Atlanta to pick up Ella's passport. They are troopers!

Grandma played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Ella sang and played along. As the song ended she would yell, "Again! Again!" They must have sang it 10 times.

Never a bad time for some Grandpa goofiness to get Ella smiling.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for being present for so many memorable times together!

Photo Recap Part 4

We spent a couple weeks in the DC metro area with the organization my husband works for. He had some work to do at the headquarters office and I got to hang out with our friends with kids for the first week. The second week was busy with an annual conference and staff retreat.

The weather was gorgeous! Apparently they had some of their first nice spring weather during our stay. Good timing. I love this part of the country in the spring - the blooming dogwoods and cherry blossoms are delightful!

One highlight for me and Michella was getting to go for walks to the park every day. Our friends live near a paved trail with numerous playground options within 10-30 minutes walk. We got out nearly every day. This is something I only dream of having in Cebu so we took advantage of it.

Our friends had a very new baby and graciously invited us over for a meal. I learned very quickly what happens when I hold a baby. Ella got extremely jealous! She immediately threw herself on the floor in a tizzy. Oh my, you would think the world was ending! Although I was disappointed that I didn't get to hold the newborn, I was flattered by her jealousy. After all, I am HER Mommy! The fact that she is claiming me as such is evidence of how far we've come. Each time I would encourage her, "Yes, baby I am ALL yours. Don't worry sweetie. I'm not trading you in for anyone!"

We were so amazed at how comfortable Ella was at each new place we stayed/visited. Here she is running around our friends' apartment, making herself right at home.

Daddy and Ella had some nice reading moments together. Ella's interest in books is just beginning to grow. It's so fun now that she'll actually sit still for a few minutes and look at the pictures in the book, let us read to her and talk about what she sees.  

At a beautiful retreat center in Maryland

Our dear friends whose home we stayed in just had a baby. Ella got to see his mommy breastfeed him many times and soon was copying what she saw (she also started wanting me to pretend breastfeed her). Look at that excellent positioning and perfect cross-cradle hold! Here she is telling me that the baby is eating.

Getting confident, now with hand on hip. This feeding thing is easy!

Ella LOVED baby O (unless I was holding him)! There was a tinge of panic in his eyes when she got close though, sometimes a little too close. I think Ella would love to have a baby brother or sister!

Our God-daughter K got to be good buddies with Ella. She was very gracious to play with her and let her tear her room apart playing with all her toys. K's brother J was also really great with Ella. After we left it was clear that she missed them as she would talk about them often. Still does. Thank you L family for letting us take over your house! We miss you!

Photo Recap Part 3

ALABAMA

After weeks of talking about going on a big airplane to Alabama, we were finally there! It was great finally getting to meet Papa! I saw his face so many times in pictures and heard his voice on the phone every week for months that I knew who he was right away. On our first night in Alabama Papa was cooking something on the grill and I really wanted to see what it was, so I reached for him so he would pick me up and he did! Pretty soon Papa was doing funny things every day to make me laugh. He even taught me a new word, arm pit! Papa played a fun game with me and always ended in him tickling my arm pits and yelling, "Arm pit!"

I think Papa learned pretty quickly how much I loved chocolate because he would hide treats for me and tell me to look for them. What fun! Sometimes Papa and I would play together. Before we came, Mimi and Papa got a bunch of toys for me to play with.

 

Papa has a tractor and he took me for a ride! 

One of the toys Mimi and Papa got for me was this really big Bugs Bunny! It's taller than I am!

 

One thing I discovered in Alabama was how much I love pecans! Mimi and Papa had lots of pecans but they were still in the shell so I needed help cracking them open. Papa was so kind to stand at the counter with me and crack so many pecan shells so I could eat them.

I love my Mimi!! She took such great care of me while we stayed in her home. She took me for walks and sometimes we would go play on the slide. She also rocked me on the porch swing anytime I wanted. I love that.

Right after I got my new American passport, I went to my first baseball game! Papa even got me a ball!

I learned to drive this cool four-wheeler. Daddy taught me how to steer and although I came close, I didn't hit Mimi's car.

I LOVE being outside! I got to go on lots of walks with Mommy and Daddy. Sometimes Papa came too.

On Mother's Day, Mimi cooked us a big breakfast and then we gave her a gift. The mug with "Mimi" on it is from me.

Mimi was so nice to buy foods like I liked to eat. One day, she even found yellow mangoes, similar to the mangoes we have in Cebu! I was so happy!

I also got to meet many of my Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Aunt Tonya bought me this fun dancing skirt and microphone. I'm just trying it out here...

On Easter, nearly all of my American relatives got together for a family weekend. It was so fun having some bigger cousins around to play with.

One day, Mommy found these fun masks and we just had to try them on.

When we first arrived in Alabama, it was cold enough for Papa to make a fire in the fireplace. In the mornings, I would sit with Mommy and Daddy and watch the fire while I woke up. I've never seen a fireplace before. I loved feeling cozy and warm.

There were lots of leaves outside so Daddy took me to play in them.

Definitely my favorite thing about being in Alabama was getting to be outside all the time with lots of space to run and play. Oh and also the dogs. and the slide and the swing. All my favorite things were outside.