Day Twenty-two: Our Amazing Son!

Presenting Xavier Aleksey Manning...

Our Amazing Son! Today was not something I can adequately describe in words, but I guess I will try. We got up around 7:00am. I slept better than I expected but we were both tired. We got ready and then we waited. We both read our Bibles. We prayed together. And then we waited some more. At 9:01am I said, "Where are they?", but a few minutes after 9:00am Dimitri and the care taker came to our hotel room with our tiny and very shocked little Xavier. We knew the process of getting up early and flying would be rough on him. Immediately they asked for his clothes so our first act as parents was to strip the poor thing and put on brand new funny feeling clothes. I signed a paper, gave our gift for the orphanage to the care taker and then they were gone. It was just the three of us. We had already decided to try breakfast thinking he would be hungry, so downstairs we went to eat in the hotel restaurant. Xavier was so overwhelmed. He just tucked himself in, literally to some extent, and sat in his high chair taking tiny bites of the porridge as I fed him. He slowly came around some, but that room was too busy and new. When headed back to the room determined to make the rest of the day less shocking. In the process I think we angered the breakfast staff. JJ had ordered an omelet and we did not sit there long enough, I guess, for them to bring it. As we were riding up the glass elevator I could see them bringing something out and then talking to each other with animated gestures. Oh well! We had his routine from the baby home thanks to our Michigan friends and we tried to follow it as much as possible. He was so much more comfortable in the room. We played with the stuffed cow. We got him to smile by playing silly faces games and giving him so many kisses. We tried a lunch of strawberry baby food, which he seemed to enjoy. He was rubbing his eyes and it was almost nap time so I got him to lay back and drink from his sippy cup. Then I laid him in his crib with his soffie (thanks Aunt Cheryl!), told him it was time to sleep in Russian, and quietly left. Within a few minutes he was asleep! We ate our lunches, watched Sherlock Holmes, and gathered our wits for the rest of the day. Okay, maybe this was a bad move, but I woke him up in keeping with his schedule. I wanted him to sleep through the night. This parenting stuff is so trial and error, but he didn't seem to mind. We had a snack of crackers and some sort of baby cakes thing. I tasted it and it was pretty good. He crammed it right in! Then we played in the room more. We got coats on to see our new friends off. Their flight to Moscow was this afternoon. Then we decided to try a walk outside just for some fresh air. Oh, Dimitri went over the plans for our week with us before we went outside. Xavier didn't seemed too happy to be outside, but once again not upset. We walked on the beach and sat in a little swing together. He was starting to shut down again so we headed back to the hotel. As soon as we got back in the room he perked up and played like crazy. He moved his toys all over the room. He carried his sippy cup like it was going out of style. He climbed on the couches. He babbled away. He pushed his stroller around the room. We had supper of hot dogs, peas, and carrots. He finally showed some preference. He did not seem to like the peas at all. He would make this funny face with every bite. JJ and I ate. Then we decided it was time to try the tub. We had slowly got him to investigate the bathroom throughout the day. Okay, this is the amazing part. Our son loved his first bath with us! I mean loved it. It took him a few second to realize what was happening, but then he was splashing like crazy! He was laughing and he never once seemed upset or scared. Oh, except for when I scolded him for drinking the water. By the way, I don't know who taught him this, not me, but he reached for the video camera and I said my first "Nyet!" of our relationship and he turned around, shook his finger at me and babbled something!! JJ fell off the couch laughing! So, bath time was great. We got our pj's on (Oklahoma State of course), played a little more, had a small snack, washed our hands and brushed our teeth, and laid down for bed. We both kissed him good night and told him we love him. Now he is sound asleep. Whew! Praise the Lord and Hallelujah!!! This has been one amazing day that I will never forget. We have our son, the perfect child for our family, and we are excited beyond words!