We've made it home safe and sound!

There's so much to blog about now! I'm so far behind, and the more time that passes the further I get behind. Ack! So here we go.

In the weeks following the court date I waited to hear when I would travel. It turned out to be a little more than 6 weeks that I had to wait but my sister and I finally got on an airplane on May 6th and flew to Bulgaria.
Unlike trip one I had no nerves or anxiety before I traveled. I was as cool as a cucumber and excited to go get my boy!
We landed in Sofia on May 7th and left to drive to Plovdiv on May 8th and picked up Silas in that morning.
He was exactly how I remembered him!

We whisked him back to Sofia to get his passport picture taken. Poor little guy fell asleep in the hot car.

Silas was so puffy and swollen looking but I didn't realize it at the time.

So after our visit to the passport office we basically had May 8-19th to do whatever we wanted! We did a lot of touristy type things and shopped for souvenirs. Silas got overwhelmed if we went out and did too much though so we stuck to doing one outing a day.

There were other families that were there on their pick up trips completing their adoptions too so we visited with them a fair bit. That was such a blessing! It was so great to see other kids that had been adopted and their families. It really helped pass the time as well. I'm facebook friends with all of them now and I'm loving seeing the changes in the kids now that they're home.

We also visited with the Shepherd family who live in Bulgaria and went to church with them on both Sundays. Maybe one day I'll post the video I took of the hymns that were sung.

The first Sunday we were there was also Mother's Day! I remember last years Mother's Day wondering how far along in the process I'd be by next year and if I would know who my son would be. Here I was with my son already! It was a fantastic day for sure.

Here are some pictures of old stuff. Sofia is a very old city and there is so much history! It was once part of the Roman empire so a lot of the ruins date back to that time.

 Actual Roman road (down in the subway)!

Silas did really well in the hotel room for two weeks. We really had almost no trouble at all with him and that was a huge relief! We were able to really enjoy our time in Sofia. Before we knew it, it was 4 am May 20th and it was time to leave the hotel and get on an airplane!

I was worried about whether the landings would hurt Silas' ears. He FELL ASLEEP during the first landing! lol So I really had nothing to worry about. He also slept for about 3 hours on the longest flight. Exhaustion hit me after we went through immigration in Montreal but a frozen lemonade and a donut were enough to get me on the last plane.

Then we were finally at the Winnipeg airport! Almost all the family was there to meet us and I was so happy to see them. There were lots of happy tears and I was pretty much delirious with exhaustion.

 

We stayed the night at my brother and sister in laws house and left for home the next day. Silas let me know what he thinks of car seats. He was NOT impressed!

 



But we made it safely back home and Silas has decided car seats aren't so bad. He's been in Canada for over five weeks already! I'm back to work with my daycare kids and he's enjoying having other kids around.

He's also had some driving lessons from grandpa.

And a handsome hair cut!

He's starting to figure out how to feed himself.

 We've gone on lots of bike rides and stroller walks.

 He's fought over toys with his cousin.

 His latest trick is learning how to pull himself up to stand in the playpen!

 And he made friends with PJ the cat as well!

He's also been to the pool and loved it! No pictures of that though. Next time. :)

There have been so many firsts and he's progressed so quickly it's just been amazing to watch. I love him with a fierce momma love and my transition to motherhood has been very natural and smooth. It feels like this is what I was meant to do!

Being at home in our small town has been great. It takes me forever to go get groceries because everyone wants to stop and say hello. lol I don't mind though! I love that our community has been so welcoming. Once I get the cd of pictures from the Welcome Home shower I'll have to blog about that incredible evening. Wow, was it ever good!

And the excitement never ends around here because tomorrow is a very big day for Silas. He turns three!