In all honesty

I have come to determine that getting good pictures of Kyle is next to impossible! Anytime he sees a camera pointed at him, he quickly puts his hand up in front of his face or turns around! What a funny kid! This pic is of Kyle and Nessa (cousin) taking a ride in his new John Deere Gator! It took him awhile to get used to the concept of pushing the gas, but Nessa quickly showed him how!

I have been a little behind in keeping up with other blogs and posting on mine (which I am going to try do better at), mainly because we have been having so much fun with friends coming into town and staying with us. However, I have had a chance overnight to catch up on some of the adoption blogs. One in particular is Tami's adoption (Finding Maddie). She is adopting a beautiful little girl and is on the last leg of her adoption however has been facing a few issues with Maddie liking everyone but herself! This brought a lot of memories back (from not so long ago) of being in Ukraine!

I experienced the same reaction with Kyle while in Ukraine. He did not like me at all and that was so hard to deal with, especially this being our first kid AND being in another country away from everything familiar and comforting. Thank goodness I had Ken with me! I didn't post anything about this while in Ukraine, because I didn't want to sound as though I was ungrateful or feeling sorry for myself, but it was the hardest thing I have ever gone through. Trust me, or just ask Ken! He will tell you that I was an emotional wreck while in Ukraine! I wanted everything to be so perfect and go so smoothly, and I had this perfect journey thought up in my head. This was our first child (after 9 years of just being me and Ken), and it was to be an exciting time.

Well, it was exciting and the best experience ever! But we did run into a few issues that were temporary. However, going through an adoption for the first time I didn't know that they were temporary. For all those that are thinking of, or are in the process of adopting for the first time, it is the best experience in the world so don't get me wrong! But it did come with a few breakdowns along the way! When first meeting Kyle, he loved playing with both of us, and let me tell you that at first our biggest fear is that your "potential" child will hopefully connect with you and want to be with. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Kyle did take to both of us, at first.

Then after about a week, Kyle turned and wanted NOTHING to do with me. That was heartbreaking as this was to be our child! Ken kept reassuring me that this was to be expected, as we were in a completely different environment and that things would be different when we get home and settled into our new life. He was right! It wasn't until we got home that Kyle began to understand that I am his mother now and that he could feel safe with being with me. While in Ukraine, he was attached to Ken and any other man that was around. Kyle would throw his fits anytime I tried to play with him or help him. What makes it worse is that we just had to let him throw his fits and let him do what he wanted because there wasn't much we could do at the Orphanage. It is a very intimidating situation and environment to be in. You are very limited on what you can do and say.

I look back now, and realize that it was normal to see these reactions from Kyle. He is only three and had only known a limited amount on what a true family was. He is SO different now, and is such a happy and smart little kid. It is truely amazing to see his growth in such a short period. We could not imagine life with out our little guy!