We Got Him!!!!

Yes, we were able to take him home today, and now it finally feels real!! We thought after the court it would feel real. Nope. Then we thought after the appeal period it would kick in. Nope. Now that we physically have him with us and are caring for him, it feels so right!
We still had to be at the BH the two hours this morning because his passport wasn't ready yesterday. It was ready today, though, so Janet came and told us we could take him. The doctor had to check him before we left and told us to use nose drops for his nose. Luckily, we had brought some Little Noses from home. The director came and congratulated us, wished us all well, and hugged us goodbye. When we were walking out of the orphanage, Rod managed to snap a couple of pictures. Thank goodness, because we were just thinking about getting him out of there before they changed their minds and didn't even think about taking a picture.

He was nervous at first in the car again but soon relaxed enough to fall asleep in the 7 minute car ride to our hotel. It was a nice, sunny day today, but of course we had to bundle him up. By the time we got back to the hotel and got his coat, hat, and mittens off, his head was totally soaked with sweat!

According to his BH schedule, it was time for his lunch. So we fed him some baby food. Then Brad and Rod walked to Gros to get some necessities. Brad hadn't even left the building before Caleb was asleep! The hotel staff hadn't even brought the crib up yet. When they did bring it in, Caleb woke up. He only had a one hour nap, as opposed to his 3 hour usual BH nap. He was up, though, and ready to play! Rod and Kym stopped by and gave Caleb a few toys they went out and bought! They are sooo nice! They have gone above and beyond for us, and we appreciate them so much! Austin and Jeannie also stopped by before they left for their Guardianship. They commented on how relaxed and happy Caleb was. They said at the BH when they had seen him he always had this worried look on his face. It's true...we've been surprised at just how relaxed he has been! He's also happy not to have 4 layers of clothes on!
We changed his clothes before dinner, and that was the only "meltdown" he has had since being at the hotel so far. I think he was hot and getting hungry. We relaxed him with a little juice, and then he let us put the outfit on without any problem!

The I-10 Gang all had dinner downstairs at the hotel. We had three things to celebrate: Caleb's escape from the BH, Rod and Kym are getting custody of Aray on Friday, and Austin and Jeannie's Guardianship went well! Rod secretly had Valentina, the waitress, bring us some Kazakh red wine to toast all of our accomplishments. The wine was really good. We had a great time! We were surprised at how well behaved Caleb was. At first, when we put him in the high chair, he was a little uneasy. We brought out a toy, and he was fine. I ordered chicken noodle soup and mashed potatoes for us to share. He really liked the potatoes! Then a family that just got here came in to eat. There were six of them and we all started talking at once, introducing ourselves, etc. Caleb began to get a little nervous again but calmed down quickly and was smiling and making noises at them. The signs of him getting sleepy began to show, and before you knew it, he was asleep in my arms. When we were all saying goodnight to each other, Rod teased me that I'd better let everyone at home know about this ASAP. He said that he had posted it on his blog before we even did! Well, truth be told, I started this entry earlier, but the pictures weren't working, so I stopped. Unfortunately, the pics still aren't working, so tomorrow's blog may be mostly pictures!
We think we will take the train tomorrow night to Almaty. Please, please, please pray that we are able to do this and that we finish everything in Almaty in the two days. This way, we'll be able to make the flight on Friday.
Bye for now from the two happiest parents in the world!