Well, my promised updates during Maham and Zahrah's visit just never materialised. They're back in Ottawa now recovering from their hellishly long flight back (about 20 hours from door to door).
First, we do in fact have all the pictures up and online! Hopefully this new format is a bit easier to navigate. Each of the following are clickable links (so click them!); Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7 and finally Day 8.
The first night we made it to the airport only to find out that their flight was inexplicably delayed by an hour or so, so Kadin did not meet his puppo's until nearly 11 PM (and a fine mood he was in!). He took to them right away though, then stayed awake the entire ride home even though everyone else quietly passed out.
The rest of the week was something of a blur. Not because it was not memorable, but because it seemed to go by so FAST! Kadin was spoiled rotten by his puppo's and Dadi/Aba-Jan; he received several toys, a mountain of clothes, some wonderful books with his name engraved on them, and likely some other wondrous gifts that I just can't think of right now.
Coincidentally, just a few days prior to Maham and Zahrah arriving, we turned a miraculous corner regarding Kadin's bedtime. As many of you know, bed time for Kadin involved somewhere between 30-75 minutes of either Tonia or I sitting silently, in the dark, waiting for Kadin to stop crying/screaming and then fall asleep. We would then sneak out and hopefully not wake him up in the process. That was of course 30-75 minutes after we had read him the usual two stories with the lights on.
So after spending 3 nights of reading him two stories then leaving the room to let him fall asleep on his own, bed time became a wonderful experience. Here is a typical evening now;
7:00 PM --> I give Kadin his bath.
7:15 PM --> Kadin gets into his 'jammies.
7:18 PM --> Kadin gets his final bottle of the night.
7:30 PM --> Kadin has a huge poo, then makes a stinky waving motion by his face (Tonia taught him that, I'm sure!)
7:35 PM --> Kadin gets his last diaper change
7:45 PM --> Bed time is announced. Kadin smiles and says "nigh nigh" as he waves good-night to Tonia, Daisy, and possibly even the entertainment centre.
7:50 PM --> Kadin is placed in his crib, and I sit down to read him two stories.
8:00 PM --> Upon finishing the second story, I give Kadin several kisses, wish him goodnight (he wishes me "nigh nigh" and waves), and the light is turned off and I leave.
........and that's it!
Sometimes we hear him talking to himself quietly, but over the last 2 weeks it's primarily been silence from that point onwards!
Oh yes, back to Maham and Zahrah's visit! I could give a dry, fact-based account of everything that happened during their time here, but the 2 of you still reading to this point would likely stop reading right now if I did that.
Instead, let me just summarize and saw that it was wonderful for Tonia and I to see Kadin spending time with his doting puppo's. We're very anxious to have them all together in the very near future, likely with us visiting them in Ottawa as soon as possible.
Saying goodbye was incredibly difficult for everyone, however Kadin woke up in a delightful (no really, he was!) mood at 4:30 AM to give them hugs and kisses.
Now, time to sleep. Good night!
Posted by Hasan at February 27, 2005 09:34 PM