Hola from Minnesota!

Hola from Minnesota! The familia Slominski has been busy, busy, busy (so this is going to be a long one!)

Saturday (9/6) was a very long day for us. I had only slept about 3 hours Friday night due to a bad case of food poisoning – just an FYI, you may want to avoid Los Archos restaurant at La Fontana! So the morning came very early!! Owen, Mama and Grandma were up at 3:30 am and on our way to the airport at 5:30 am. Jorge Rico drove us to the airport and he was worth every penny! He got us all the way through to immigration (if it wasn’t for him, we might still be at the airport in Bogotá!) Things went so quickly that we had a couple hours to spare, so Owen had fun crawling all over the airport as we waited to board our flight home.

As Owen took off down the hallway of the airport, we heard someone say Hello! It was Taciano and Lilliana’s Auntie Lynn! She was waiting for her flight back to Minnesota, so Owen and Mama spent some time talking and playing with Lynn. We had so much fun that we didn’t realize it was getting close to time to board our plane, so we took off towards the gate to find Grandma. Grandma had found her own friend at the airport. A nice man was keeping her entertained while we were off playing. Grandma had told him all about her trip to Colombia and her adorable grandson. He was very excited for all of us and happy to meet our little bundle of joy. He asked me how I was able to adopt a son that looked so much like our family. My response…I had nothing to do with it, it was all in God’s hands!

Our flight back from Bogotá went pretty well. The change in elevation didn’t bother Owen’s ears at all (thank goodness!) We were in the first row of coach, so we had some extra room for Owen to sit and play. Unfortunately, the window seat was occupied and we thought we were in for a very long flight when Owen became obsessed with looking out the window. But luckily, the woman sitting next to us was more than happy to hold him whenever he wanted to see out the window.

We landed in Newark and made our way to immigration, which was a breeze. The man took one look at our documents and brought us to a special holding area. Within 10 minutes, we were off to claim our luggage. Since we were traveling with 4 checked bags and 4 carry-on bags plus a 1-year old, there was no way we were going to tackle our luggage on our own. So we hailed the first luggage handler we saw. He loaded up our luggage and dropped it off right where it needed to be. We then headed off to find our connecting flight back to Minnesota.

When we found our gate, the sign said our flight was on time which meant we would soon be boarding, so we hurried to do an emergency clothing change on Owen whose diaper had sprung a leak. We started getting a bit worried when we were supposed to be boarding the plane, but it still hadn’t arrived. So Owen had a bottle... ...and then preoccupied himself by crawling all over the airport and charming all the passengers. One couple was traveling with their daughter who was also crawling all over the place. We stopped to chat with them (it’s amazing how many people you meet when you are blessed with such a charming son!) They were headed back home to Barcelona after holiday (as they say). Owen had a fun time crawling around with their little girl until our plane finally arrived.

The flight home was pretty empty. We had the entire last row to ourselves, so Owen had the best of both worlds (window and aisle!) He had a blast pulling the window shade up and down and running across the empty seat from Mom to Grandma and back.When we finally arrived in Minneapolis, Papa was waiting for us at the gate! It was so wonderful to see him! We took off to baggage claim and were warmly welcomed back to Minnesota by all sorts of family and friends. Thank you all for coming to the airport so late on a Saturday night to welcome us back!! It was so nice to see everyone! Owen was a bit overwhelmed at first with all the new faces, but soon he was off crawling and playing with his FANA pals that he hadn’t seen in some time.

After some much needed playtime for Owen having been cooped up on an airplane all day, it was finally time to head to the dreaded car seat ride home! Owen’s first experience in his car seat went much better than expected. He fussed for the first few minutes, but he was so exhausted that he was soon fast asleep. He was still sleeping when we got home, so Grandpa Klein (who had driven to our house to pickup Grandma Klein) saw Owen for the first time when he was fast asleep. Off to his crib Owen went and we soon followed.

The next morning (9/7) was a bad one! I had doubled up on some medication my doctor had prescribed for food poisoning to get me through our travel day, but the sickness came back with a vengeance! I was out of commission all day, but Papa was happy to spend some one-on-one time with Owen. Grandma Slominski, Uncle Jason, Great-Aunt Donna, and Aunt Laura and Kris stopped by to see Owen. Uncle Jason even helped Papa and Mama get the baby gate hung (it was quite a challenge to figure out how to keep Owen up the stairs, but let Zoe and Eli get down the stairs to their litter box!)

Monday (9/8) I was still under the weather. Poor Owen! In a new place with his mom that couldn’t quite keep up with him. We spent the morning getting Owen’s room and bathroom organized for all his stuff (that boy has a LOT of stuff!) That afternoon we ventured out of the house to the fire station to get Owen’s car seat checked out. This time, he did NOT do well in the car seat! He screamed nearly the whole way and then eventually fell asleep. After we got the okay on the car seat, we headed back home (and once again he screamed most of the way!) That evening, Grandma Slominski came over to baby-sit while Mama and Papa went to a baptism class at church. Owen had a fun time playing with Grandma and telling her all about Colombia.

Tuesday (9/9) Owen’s Mama was still not feeling 100%. So we spent most of the day inside working on getting the house organized, cleaned, and Owen proofed. In the afternoon was Owen’s first appointment with his new pediatrician. Owen was the picture of perfect health and is developing right on track, which was no surprise to me, but still great to hear! Some not so good news was Owen needed 2 shots and a blood draw! For someone who hates needles herself, it was the most horrible experience to have to hold down your son who is screaming in pain and looking up at you with these eyes as if he was saying “Mom! Why are you doing this to me??” It was terrible! Thankfully within less than a minute, he was smiling at the Elmo sticker that the nurse had given him.

Wednesday (9/10) we spent most of the day continuing to work on getting the house put back together and Owen proofed. In the morning, the painter came to paint the ceiling of our main level (he was supposed to have come before Owen and I had gotten home, but wasn’t able to find time in his schedule). It was quite the debacle since he had to cover the kitchen, family room, and hallway with plastic. So we decided to go for a stroller ride. Owen is not really fond of strollers, but usually as long as he’s moving, he does alright. I cut our walk short because it looked like it was going to rain, and it’s a good thing I did! That last half a block he was squirming and fighting to get out of his stroller. Hopefully he gets used to it soon! When we got back to the house, the painter said he had a problem. He had finally prepped everything and when he turned on his paint sprayer…bam, it broke! So now it’s lunch time and he’s leaving to pick up a replacement part and we can’t get into the kitchen! So off we go to get Owen’s very first Jimmy John’s sandwich! Yum yum! He sure thought it was good! Once the painter finally left, he also left behind a mess. So it was back to cleaning (which is not an easy feat with a 1 year old!)

Thursday (9/11) morning Owen was a busy guy! He spent the morning reading (and tasting!) some of his cards. He especially liked the one that played music!

He discovered what fun it is to play with Zoe and Eli's water dish!

And he showed Mama how he can play the "So Big" game without any help!

For dinner Owen had some turkey dinner, which he thought was pretty tasty as you can see by how wide he opens his mouth for another bite! That night the Henry’s arrived from Bogotá so off to the airport we went! Welcome home Henry’s!! Owen had a wonderful time seeing all his pals again. And it was nice for me to get to talk to people after I had had a full night's sleep! After the airport, we headed off to Target for our first family shopping experience. Our cart was heaping full by the time we left! We were finally able to find a baby gate that would work for our upstairs. Yeah! One step closer to being Owen proofed!

Friday (9/12) morning Owen and Eli got to know each other better.

Then Owen decided to use our kitchen stool to help him walk around the house... He also gave his new swing a try (although he lost interest in it after a few minutes - my son does not like to be confined!)

That afternoon Owen and I took our first trip to Babies ‘R Us. It was quite eventful! Owen had fun playing with all the toys. He’d pull one off the shelf just as I was getting the last one back on the shelf. Then we headed home to see Uncle James who was stopping by for a quick visit before heading out on his next trip to New York (he sure does a lot of traveling!) Snack time was extra fun with Uncle James there!!

Saturday (9/13) morning Great Grandma and Grandpa Dineen and Uncle Jason came for a visit. Owen had fun playing with toys and reading books with them. And we put Uncle Jason to work on the upstairs baby gate (Thanks Uncle Jason!) That afternoon we headed to a shower for Baby DeMaster. Owen decided to come along and keep his mama on her toes! Soon after arriving, Owen saw his favorite treat on the table – crackers! Whenever he sees something he wants, he makes a loud grouting noise. And he sure wanted those crackers bad! After a tasty snack of cheese, crackers, and bananas, Owen had fun helping Rachel unwrap gifts.

Sunday (9/14) was another great day of family time. We headed to church in the morning. Owen did much better than the last time, but he still has a ways to go! In the afternoon, we took a family excursion back to Babies ‘R Us. Owen has been very inventive coming up with various objects to help him walk around…so we decided it just may be best to buy him something that was made for that purpose. He sure got a kick out of his new toy. He went in circles around and around the house!

What's in the box Owen and Zoe?

Today we also celebrated Zoe’s birthday (sorry it was a week late Zo!) She turned 6 years old.

What did you get for your birthday Zo?She got pet grass (one of her favorite treats!), a flea, tick and spider toy, and a new scratch post.

Zoe, Eli and Owen are getting to be the best of pals. When Owen first saw them, he would scream in fear (especially when he saw Zoe!) But now the sight of either of them brings a big smile and soft coos from him! He decided to help Zoe out with one of her gifts – both Zoe and Eli love their pet grass!

With our first week home under our belts, we are all getting into the swing of things. Owen’s actually slept through the night 3 nights this week (something he had NEVER done before!) He’s eating more and more “grown-up” food as we work on weaning him from the bottle (which is no small task!) And he is getting used to riding in his car seat – the last couple times he didn’t even cry! Zoe and Eli are getting accustomed to the loud Owen noises throughout the house and his speed crawling towards them as fast as he can go. His papa is getting to be a pro at putting him to bed for the night. And I’m learning how to multi-task with a 20 pound 1 year old attached to my leg or hip. It’s been an adjustment for everyone, but what a wonderful journey we have been on and what a terrific adventure there is in store for us ahead! Adios!