Amay Has Joined the Family

This is Sunny again. Wanted to update everyone since Sumi doesn't have access to internet right now. 

Sumi went to the orphanage on Monday (May 7th) to pick up Amay. The orphanage had a small ceremony to say goodbye to Amay. He was very happy about joining Sumi and was very proud to tell everyone that he was going home with Mom. Amay didn't spend much time saying goodbye as he was more focused on holding Sumi's had tightly to ensure she wouldn't leave without him.

The language barrier has been a little tough as Sumi can't fully communicate with Amay. But Amay is already starting to pick up the key words in Gujrati and English. He knows "aapo" which means give me in Gujrati and he also has heard "no" quite a bit as well (but is not as eager to follow through on that one yet). His first few days with Sumi and the kids have been good. Amay is grabbing everything he can get his hands on and has also managed to write on the walls once. He is very affectionate with Sumi. He'll come up to her, squeeze her cheeks together and give her a kiss every so often. He also calls for Sumi's attention frequently to make sure she's still there and that she's paying attention to him. I was able to talk to him on the phone a couple times and he seems like a very happy boy.

The three kids are sleeping in the same room with Sumi for now. Luckily, once they fall asleep, they've all been sleeping through the night. The kids are also getting adjusted to each other. While I'm on the phone, I can hear Amay and Sitara fighting in the background since neither really enjoys the concept of sharing right now. It's funny to hear the two talking to each other in different languages but still able to communicate somehow. Satya is his usually giving self. He volunteered to go sleep with Grandma the other night because he realized it was tough for Sumi to put them all to sleep. Sumi told him he could go if he wanted but he didn't have to go... so he stayed.

The kids have also ripped through their supply of Mac n' Cheese so that's #1 on my list of items to bring to India. They also seem to be having more than their share of ice cream. Satya told me he wanted to stay in India and not come back (Sumi said it's because he enjoys the fact that there are no rules for him).

So even though it has been a hectic last week for Sumi, she's managing all the challenges extremely well. Amay is happy to be with her and has connected very quickly.

We also received the court order today and hope to have Amay's passport by early June.

Recurrent dreams....

When I was pregnant with my first child Satya, I used to have these wierd dreams where I would forget him at the mall, or the grocery store, or in the car because i forgot that I had a child...and then when I was pregnant with my second child Sitara, I used to have the same dream...I would have Satya with me but I would dream that I forgot Sitara at home or in the car forgetting I had 2 kids....and now, i have been having these recurrent dreams where I constantly forget Amay in different places...yesterday, I dreamt that we went to the carnival and i came home with Satya and Sitara and forgot Amay at the carnival....ugghhh...I kept trying to convince the police that I didn't mean to forget my son but I forgot that I had three kids...hahah....funny recurrent dreams......!!!.....Don't worry, I haven't ever actually forgot anybody anywhere....!

Picking him up tomorrow.....

Finally, Satya and Sitara have adjusted to the sleep schedule and are no longer waking up at 3 am dancing and singing....they are having lots of fun in India, but I think it is a bit hectic right now for them...they are doing surprisingly good though......anyhow, i will no longer have access to internet as we are now going to go live with some other cousins.....but we are picking Amay up from the orphanage tomorrow morning and finally bringing him home...I am once again, very nervous, but this time, more excited than nervous.....I am taking Sitara with me this time since she was really mad i didn't take her last time...she keeps saying that she wants to come with me to pick Amay up...so i think it will be good for her....and I think Amay will love to see her since he was asking about her last time...the plan is that we are going to spend the whole day with him at the orphanage...eat lunch with him, take a nap with him, etc...and then they will have a goodbye ceremony for him and then we will take him home..i am sad for him knowing that he will never see his friends and caretakers again, but i think i will be able to hold myself together....i have been surprisingly very strong throughout this process....i thought i would fall apart as soon as i walked in the orphanage to see him...i used to cry when i was in America at just the mere thought of him....but i guess it is true that God always gives you strength when u need it most...I can see lots of sadness and confusion in Amay's eyes...anyhow, we will see how tomorrow goes...i think it will be very emotional for everybody.....Sunny will write on my behalf since i won't have internet.....wish me luck!

Update on our stay...

As Sunny has mentioned, Amay is a very sweet boy and has taken to us quickly...hopefully his grieving stage will come and go quickly if it ever happens, because i love watching him smile when he sees me...everytime i see him, he runs to me and wants me to carry him....the first time i saw him, he was wearing a shirt that said "my mommy is the best, sorry daddy!"...it was cute...all the kids at the orphanage are absolutely priceless and i honestly can't wait to go back one day and adopt another one....they were all so happy to see me and Satya and it is amazing how much love they have in their hearts with the little love they know about....but finally meeting Amay was amazing and i don't have enough words to express how lovely he is......i am so happy that though he waited so long for a family, he has found his way into our hearts and our family...i can't wait for him to meet Sunny....i showed him pictures of Sunny and he had a smile on his face.....otherwise, everything else is going fine...sayta and sitara have been a lot to handle with their jetlag and whining...they are quite bored since there is nothing to do in the heat....but it is okay...i am thinking about putting satya and amay in school for a little while in India..we will see how it all goes.....Satya and Sita woke up at 3 am again this morning and were playing "Ring around a Rosey".....uggghhh...i really need some sleep!!!.....hopefully I will update more later....Sorry, but i don't have much access to computer so can't write too often, but Sunny will try to keep up with the blog....

Meeting with Amay and Court Hearing

This is Sunny... Sumi's husband. I'm making a post in her place since she doesn't have frequent access to the internet in India right now.

Sumi visited the orphanage for on May 2nd. She took Satya with her. Amay was very excited to see her. He ran up to her right away and took to her very quickly. He was also happy to see Satya and asked about Sitara. Satya was a little shy at first but finally caved after Amay kept trying to hold his hand. Sumi spent a couple hours with Amay. She brought some Hot Wheels for him which he was happy to see. Sumi said Amay is a very sweet boy. The people at the orphanage were very surprised to see how similar Satya and Amay's personalities are. When it was time for Sumi to leave she could sense a change in Amay. He held her tightly and didn't want her to leave. She tried to communicate to him that she'd be back soon but it was tough due to the language barrier. Overall, the visit went very well and Sumi is very encouraged by the fact that Amay took so quickly to her and also Satya.

Sumi's court date was on May 3rd. She met the social workers and Amay at the court. She brought a few cookies for Amay and he eagerly grabbed about five of them at once. Her time in court was very quick and uneventful. She was asked only a couple questions. "Why do you want more kids?" and "Do Satya and Sitara know about Amay?" The judge also asked Amay if he understood that Sumi would be his mom and he answered yes. When leaving court Amay again was sad to not be staying with Sumi.

Sumi is planning on picking Amay up from the orphanage on Monday.

Sumi is also working hard managing Satya and Sitara. Their sleep schedules are still thrown off by the time change. She was trying to prevent them from falling asleep too early today and keep them up till at least 8pm. For the first time ever both kids were begging to go to sleep. Ha! Never thought I'd see the day. It also sounds like Satya and Sitara are both getting plenty of ice cream and watching lots of cartoons.

I can't wait to see all of them...

In Pune and waiting to see him....

Finally, the day has arrived when i finally get to see my baby boy!...I get to meet Amay at 230 pm today..i will be taking Satya with me and keeping Sitara behind...but i am so excited and nervous....it has been an exhausting first day...kids have been horrible...have been complaining about the heat and jet lag all day...i woke up at 3am this morning with both of my kids singing "donuts, donuts, we want donuts...".....anyhow, i am afraid that taking care of the three kids without Sunny might be more than i can handle..i have been feeling a bit sick from the jetlag and lack of sleep, and the kids are behaving out of their norm...i think they are both already getting homesick and miss Sunny a lot...Sitara keeps yelling "Papa!!!"....anyhow, i will see how it all goes...as for now, i will just have to be strong for today so i am not a emotional wreck when i finally see him.....i am too nervous to write now....

Our flight....

Our flight to India was, needless to say,very very long and tiring....the kids did okay, but i was exhausted...Sitara threw up in the plane twice.....it was a long 20 hours....but we have finally made it...and here we are in Pune now.....!