A Child Chosen - Perspectives of an Adoptive Parent

The Little Things

by Marcie on March 30th, 2008

On our first trip to Russia to meet AJ we were able to spend about 9 hours with him over three days and each moment was precious. He began to take to us after that first day and we learned so much about him in that short time period. We have a lot to learn but he will certainly teach us…he was not shy.

Our representative walked into the room and handed AJ to me and he was so scared. He took a couple of deep rattling inhales and would not look at me or hang onto me, something I completely expected. You can see his wide-eyed expressions in the pictures, but he was so tense.

Eventually, over the next two days his eyes began to light up every time we walked into the room or he saw a smile on our faces. And our hearts ached when we had to say goodbye to him…and know it was for an undetermined amount of time.

9 things we learned about AJ in 9 hours…

1. He has an infectious giggle and a gorgeous smile.

2. He loves movement…especially flying with his Papa. I wish they made toddler swings for indoors.

3. He is extremely ticklish, and he loves it. But, when he has had enough he will certainly tell you even though he can’t speak yet.

4. Throwing things seems to be his favorite things to do. He tastes the object to see if he likes it and then throws it. When he is done with the toy, he throws it. If he does not like it, he throws it. If he does like it, he throws it…Basically, he throws. Unfortunately Dad, he throws backwards. Any ideas for non throw-able plane toys?

5. He loves cars. Typical boy.

6. He sucks his thumb when he gets tired. No one told us this but I have a gorgeous picture of him doing it because I caught him as he started to get sleepy. It is one of my favorites.

7. He loves to climb and is extremely curious. Wish us luck.

8. He does not walk well yet, but knows exactly how to get places without having to walk without assistance from someone or an object. He can figure out how to get anywhere he wants to go. You can see his brain churning…do I hang onto the fence, crawl, scoot my butt against the wall, or hang onto papa? It was very humorous to watch him get places. The good thing is he has problem solving skills.

9. He is VERY active. Again…wish us luck…lots of it.

In retrospect, it is amazing how much I cued into and how much I knew about AJ just from those 9 hours. I knew he had Sensory Processing Dysfunction because he loved to swing and loved to be tickled but could only handle so much. I knew he had no fear because he would climb without any regard for heights or for falling. I knew that he was smart and could figure things out if he put his mind to it, and I knew that he was going to give us challenges every day…a run for our money, so to speak.

Thankfully, we enjoy the challenges. They certainly are not fun everyday but we’ll take ‘em.

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POSTED IN: AJ, Attachment, Countries and Domestic, Medical, My Family, Reflection, Russia, Sensory Integration