Taking Steps!

Wow! What a week BJ has had! I'm so glad he is a people person because he has met a lot of people! Last Sunday BJ went to church for the first time. It was wonderful being able to introduce him to all the people who loved him before they even knew him! They were so excited to see him and he just "glowed" in all their attention! When he was taken forward to be introduced to our congregation, he started clapping for himself! Everybody laughed and so did he! We were so proud of him! I can hardly put into words what a blessing our church has been to us. It is a living, breathing example of what God intended the church to be. They have supported us from the very beginning and there is no doubt in my mind that BJ will be well loved. As I mentioned before I look at our church as family. In that case, BJ has a lot of brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandma's, and grandpa's! What a lucky little boy!

BJ has also being introduced to all of our friends and is still taking it all in stride! He just loves all this attention! He is making such a good impression as he is constantly blowing everybody a kiss and loves to hug and cuddle! Our friends have been very supportive as well and we feel very blessed to have all of them!

Now, why the title? Well, BJ took his first real steps Monday! He has been walking short distances and with help, but Monday he pulled himself up on our banister, let go, smiled at me and walked all the way across the hallway and into his room to me! I was so proud of him! Ever since then, he's been standing up (with no help) and takes off walking in any direction he chooses. It seems like he makes it a little further every time! He'll be walking everywhere very soon I'm sure!

We also found out some fun information this week. Our local paper (The Register Mail) called us and wants to do a story on our adoption for the "Lifestyles" section. We are so excited! We aren't sure why they are so interested in us when so many families from Galesburg have adopted internationally. We are thinking that maybe it has to do with Poland. The country is less common then others. It might also have to do with the "right place at the right time." Who knows?! They will interview us on Tuesday and are even bringing a photographer! Were praying BJ is caught up on his sleep by then!

Of course I can't write without posting pictures. Here a few from our homecoming, play dates, and just some cute pics of BJ! Please enjoy them! We sure do! Now I just have to get them all into scrapbooks!

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Discovering New Territory!

I can say without a doubt that BJ loves everything about his new home. Everything that is except the dog. Maui (our dog) is a lab and collie mix which makes her super playful, hyper and nippy. While BJ is off exploring the house, Maui is just a step behind him making sure he doesn't do anything without "her" permission. It's rather funny! Then when BJ is minding his own business playing with a toy, Maui will come up and shove a toy in BJ's face expecting him to grab on and play a match of "tug-of-war." Poor kid! He's learned to hold his own around Maui and won't scream, but has recently been caught giving the dog a little swat in the face. Goodness! If it's not one, it's the other! Oh the joys of dogs and children!

On another note, we all seem to be adjusting well. BJ finally got caught up on all his lost sleep after sleeping for 13 1/2 hours last night. I had to keep checking on him this morning because I thought something was very wrong. He was fine, just snoozing away. BJ especially loves having his daddy back. He just giggles and laughs whenever he sees him! It's so cute! You wonder how the two ever made it apart for that long!

I will say that BJ is not quite back to himself all though I feel it is getting close. He doesn't talk as much as he did in Poland and seems to be more withheld and clingy. In fact, he screamed whenever it was bath time for the first few nights here. I couldn't believe it! He loved bath time and would literally stop eating his night snack just to take a bath. Then "kaboom" we get here and it all changes! I had to start back at square one and introduce bath time the way I did when we first got custody of him. But, I will say it worked because finally tonight we had a breakthrough, again! He loved it and was back to his old self! I'm wondering (and hoping) everything else will come back to him once he gets settled in. It has to be so overwhelming for him. After all, this was his fourth move since he left the orphanage. That's pretty traumatic if you ask me. Plus, there are more toys here then "Toys'R Us" thanks to our friends and family (even though we are trying to keep them packed away and only bring out a few at a time). Poor BJ is on sensory overload!

We haven't done much this week, simply getting unpacked and FINALLY into a home routine. It feels so good to be able to start living as a family! We love having a son and feel that there is no way we could live without him! He is so adorable, loving, cuddly, cute, etc. the list could go on forever. His personality just cracks me up! Also, the way he stares at us with the big blue eyes and toothy grin could melt even the coldest of hearts! It's just amazing how resilient he is!

He has met a few people this week and has done well. One day I took him after school to meet some of my friends and poor BJ just wasn't feeling like being very agreeable. However, I did wake him up from his nap to go! Big Mistake! He also had his first U.S. play date with a little girl named Caroline. They are very similar in age and almost the same size. I have some cute pictures and will write more and post them on my next entry. For now, please enjoy the trip pics! We have some cute welcome home pics I'll post when I get them!

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Home Sweet Home!

Yea! We're home! We arrived home late Sunday afternoon to a "Welcome Home" banner hung by a really sweet neighbor, on our front porch, a "Welcome Home BJ" sign on the back door, and a Noah's Ark balloon bouquet for BJ stating "S.S. New Arrival!" It was darling! I loved it, but BJ was slightly frightened by it until daddy showed him that he could hit it back and forth. Then BJ thought it was pretty neat and copied daddy! My favorite part about being home has to be my nice, soft, big, cuddly bed and carpeting! Oh yes! I'm also glad to be home with BJ's daddy!

The flights were fairly uneventful except for the fact that we had 5 minutes to catch our connecting flight and I was food poisoned! But hey, BJ did fantastic! Praise God and thank you everyone for praying! If you didn't catch my "vibe," I was pretty nervous! However, BJ took me 100% by surprise! He did great! Our first flight, 1 1/2 hours, he just sat back in his chair and enjoyed! He played with his toys, ate Cheerios, looked out the window, ate Cheerios, sang with mommy and grandma, ate Cheerios, and just all around at a good time!

Our second flight, once we scrambled on and got settled in, went just as well! In this plane, BJ found the tray table. He thought it was the best thing ever invented. He played with it (tapping it up and down with his feet and hands, pushing it in and out, slapping it with his hands) for probably the equivalent of an hour. Oh, don't worry! My mom was sitting in the seat in front of him! LOL! She didn't mind having her chair rocked for that hour! God Bless her! The plane was very nice with touch screen TV's on every seat! I was very impressed! BJ hardly played with his toys we so meticulously picked out. There was so much to do and look at on the plane! Once again he sang, ate Cheerios, played with the tray table, ate Cheerios, watched TV, and ate Cheerios. Did I mention he liked to eat his Cheerios?! Okay, we fed him other food, but he was constantly eating his Cheerios. The WHOLE time! This was all good as it helped for take off and landing, which he loved! He simply cracked me up! The part I feared the most for him, he simply couldn't get enough of! While the plane picked up speed to take off, he just started laughing and kicking out his arms and legs. While we gained altitude and experienced the "stomach dropping" feeling, he would smile and start giggling! The same with landing! My mom says I have a "Bungee jumping, carnival ride loving" kid! I tend to agree with that! He loves being upside down and spun around in circles. I can safely say that he does not get motion sickness easily!

On the second half of the ride, he fell asleep! You might be thinking "Oh, what a blessing! She could relax and enjoy the rest of the flight." Well, that is somewhat true. The poor little guy moves around so much in his sleep that I had to watch him like a hawk! I probably scooped him up (before falling of the edge of the chair) and repositioned him about a dozen times before it was all said and done. Needless to say, he slept but not well. He would be half way in/out of consciousness and would just start sobbing. Poor little guy! He was so tired and just wanted his bed!

So, our flight landed on time at O'Hare and we were very glad to see that there was no line at customs. It went very smoothly! We then met up with James and my brother Cary. It felt so good to be back in the US. I missed English more than I realized! We drove to Cary's house and stayed there (in Chicago) for the night as we didn't want to tackle a 3 hour drive until morning. Unfortunately for me this turned out to be a nightmare of a night. I woke up at about 2:30 feeling terrible with very bad indigestion. Long story short it didn't go away and turned into severe stomach pain and you guessed it! The whole nine yards! I couldn't keep anything down for the next day! I had a fever and simply felt awful! We had to get home so I just didn't eat or drink so we could make it home without incident! Thankfully I woke up this morning feeling better and have been getting stronger throughout day! It turns out my parents were both sick as well, just not as severe! I then realized that we had both eaten the same "sausage" on the plane. I am so glad BJ didn't eat the pieces I was offering him! That would've been a disaster! God was watching over that little guy! Once again, thank goodness for those Cheerios!

BJ is adjusting as well as can be expected for being uprooted for the fourth time, sleep deprived for 24 hours and being introduced to a beast of a dog! He has handled it all well, but I feel James and I might loose our minds before it is all said a done. Maui our dog, is slightly (okay a lot!) hyper when it comes to new people. She is extremely cautious about whether or not she can trust them. With children she is more eager to play than anything. Well, BJ didn't think her sticking her big nose in his face was playing so he just started screaming. So now every time Maui comes around, BJ screams. Then on top of that, Maui gets riled by BJ's screaming and nips! YIKES! Things have settled down throughout the day, but you have to wonder if you'll still have your sanity by the time the end of the day gets here!

I can't complain though! BJ is the light of our lives and we would feel so empty without him! God moved his awesome hands and placed us together at just the right time and in just the right way! What better way to remind us of His graciousness than to look into the face of our beautiful son! We truly feel blessed!

Thank you again for following along with us on our journey! Somehow I think that the journey has really just begun! We are so grateful for all of you! I have a lot of pictures I am hoping to post from the flight and first day home, so please stay tuned!

P.S. How many times can I write Cheerios in one post? Hehe!

Looking Back and Proudly Moving Forward!

This is for sure my last post from Poland! I can hardly believe I am saying that! We spent our last two days relaxing and taking some trips to Old Town and a nearby mall for some last minute souvenirs. I've been trying hard to find some appropriate pieces of Poland for BJ's room. Keeping his history/heritage alive for him as he grows is very important to us! To us, this is who he is and we want to embrace that as much as possible. I think we've done a good job and will display the items on a shelf in his room. We'll post a picture as soon as we get up!

We are (almost) packed and are praying for a smooth flight tomorrow! Thank you to all of you for the great ideas! We are using many of them! I especially love the idea of bringing ear plugs for the nearby passengers! It made me laugh! Unfortunately we don't have any, but I'm hoping we won't need them!

As I've been packing I keep thinking about how my life has changed so drastically in just a month and a half! It's all so amazing and wonderful, but at the same time scary and unpredictable! Wow! It sounds like I've just given birth! I suppose I have, but without the physical pain and hospital stay! I love the saying "You grew in my heart!" That is completely how we feel! This journey that took so long to get here is finally almost over. I am so excited to get home and get settled in with our new son! We already have some fun things planned. Because BJ is so outgoing, we feel fairly confident in introducing him to our friends, family, and church family at a quicker rate than we were originally anticipating. We are sure he can handle them just fine because he loves attention! I just don't know if I'll be able to hold it all together when he holds his hands out to all the pretty ladies that talk to him! LOL! Oh well, I just have to accept that he's a ladies man!

I've also been discussing with James how much BJ has grown! Not necessarily size (although I'm sure he's gained weight), but rather in his abilities and maturity. I thought it would be fun to list them as we are so proud of him! Please keep in mind that when we first gained custody of him, he had the skills of a child less than a year old! He couldn't feed himself (no hand to mouth coordination at all) and had not chewed much. He had also just started crawling correctly a week before we came. Yes! I cannot say enough how proud we are.

BJ's Top Ten!

He can:
1. drink from a sippy cup all by himself.
2. feed himself and can even use a spoon!
3. can bite down and pull off chunks of food!
4. can crawl at the "speed of light" and is walking around all the furniture just as fast!
5. knows how to brush his teeth and loves it! (I'm super proud of this one!)
6. can take a bath without screaming and actually loves it to the extent of never wanting to get out! Plus loves to have water poured over his head!
7. can say: Mama, Dada clearly, but only when he wants to. Can say other words, but only I can understand them. LOL! Okay so he just makes grunts and tones, but I know what it means! I'm the Mama!
8. knows how to crawl onto a bed or chair and has learned how to safely crawl off backwards. (impressed with this one too!)
9. has learned how all his toys work and is always trying to figure out new ways he can use them!
AND BEST OF ALL!
10. He loves to cuddle! When we first met him, he didn't want to be held hardly at all. Now he falls asleep laying on my chest with his little arms wrapped around my neck while I sing "Jesus Loves Me" and rub his back! What a great feeling to know he trusts me!

Thanks again for your prayers and support! Look where they have gotten us! God is sooooooooo Good!

BJ IS COMING TO AMERICA!

Time to celebrate! We are all done!

BJ is coming to America!

An American citizen yes,

but always a proud Polishman!

In front of the American Embassy with

BJ's Visa package! Yea!

WE ARE FINISHED! What a great feeling! It's crazy, but the whole two year process came down to this one last task! I was very impressed as everything went so smoothly! I was in and out in about an hour (most of the time was waiting) and all I had to do was raise my right hand and say "yes" when asked if everything was accurate. We then had to go back to the embassy and pick up BJ's visa package at the little window shown in the background of the above picture. The package is to be given to the Customs and Border Patrol inspector upon entering the U.S. We also have BJ's passport with his Visa attached to one of the pages. After the U.S. stamps his passport, he will become an American citizen. I read today that BJ will have dual citizenship until he is 18. If he decides to keep it, he has to apply. How neat is that to belong to two countries at once. I think that's pretty special!

Now that we are finished, we have a chance to pack, relax and enjoy two more days of Warsaw before we take off! I am hoping for an uneventful flight home, but I need some great ideas from all of you! How do you keep a 20 month old busy and quiet on a 9 1/2 hour flight? I'm a bit nervous as the little guy can't seem to sit still for more than 2 minutes! Please help if you can!

Thank you and God bless!

BJ's First Play Date/Palaces/Warsaw Zoo

So much has happened since I last posted, it's hard to know where t0 begin! But, you must start somewhere. On Friday, we walked to a nearby street to see our friends the Andrew's one last time before they left for the USA. We also wanted a chance to get the two kiddo's together on the floor so that they could actually move around rather than being stuck in their strollers. At first, Klaudia wasn't quite sure of what to make of all of us (my parents, myself, and BJ) intruding on her territory. BJ on the otherhand, could've cared less. As soon as we walked into their apartment, he made a beeline for Klaudia's toys. He didn't even think twice or ask for permission! LOL! Wow! James and I sure have our work cut out for us! After a little bit, Klaudia warmed up to us and then her and BJ were unstoppable. They chased each other around, laughed, and played together for a long time before they got tired out! It was so cute! I included some pictures down below!

On Sunday we visited the Wilanow Palace (it was free)! It was so beautiful and the gardens were as spectacular as the inside of the Palace. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the inside because we weren't allowed to take any. But I included some below of the outside!

Today, BJ enjoyed his first visit to a zoo! We visited the Warsaw Zoo and were there pretty much all day! BJ did great although he didn't appear that interested in much of anything! Except the donkey that stuck his head out of the fence to see BJ! That he thought was pretty cool! I was so proud of him! He even took a 1 1/2 nap in his stroller (towards the end of the zoo, so he didn't miss much)! After the zoo, we realized that Old Town was within walking distance so we took a stroll across the Wilsa River and went into Old Town. I bought some last minute items and we ate at Subway. I know, daring right! I included some pictures of the zoo as well!

Thanks again for following along with us! I really enjoy reading your comments as they always make me smile. Your support is priceless! If you have found us and have some questions for us regarding our process, country, agency, etc. Please feel free to email us at kochersperger78@yahoo.com We don't mind answering questions and are super excited to share any information we can! We had many families do this for us and it made things so much easier!Thank you all and God Bless You! His blessings are always rich and overflowing if we only ask! I found this to be 100% true!

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BJ is 100% KOCHERSPERGER

OUR SON!

It is 100% official! Our 14 day appeal period was over on Monday, August 31. We received the official adoption decree from the court in Jozefow and BJ's revised polish birth certificate Monday! Yea! This means the adoption is complete and we can now get all the loose ends together so that BJ can come home! So far we have applied for BJ's Polish social security number and Polish passport, taken pictures for his Polish passport/US Visa, and had a US Embassy approved medical exam. Some things left to do:

A. US Embassy Interview (Tuesday)

B. Receive Immigrant Visa (Tuesday)

C. Receive Polish Passport (? hopefully soon)

D. Hop on the plane to come home! (Saturday, Sept. 12)

In other matters, we are all moved into our new location! I have to admit, I miss the other apartment! We are on a main road now and it is so much louder! Oh yes, we also have a fire station right next to us! Okay, I'm not complaining, but I am grateful for my nice quiet house back in the good'ol US of A! The apartment is cozy and very nice and because the occupancy max is 2, we have two seperate apartments! It is nice having two bathrooms, but it is a bit of a pain having to go back and forth between the two rooms via the main hallway. The rooms are studios, and because it is so noisy, I put BJ in the small hallway by the bathroom to provide a little more quietness for him. It seems to be working as he sleeps the nights through and wakes talking and laughing! I wish I could awake like that!

As I predicted, this apartment did not come equiped with internet or a land line. So for the first few days, we felt quite isolated especially since our cell phone was running low on minutes (and we didn't know where to go to reload)! AGHHHHHH! I almost became paniced because I was fearful of what we would do in an emergency. However, Magda our facilitator came through for us and led us in the right direction for "minutes" and got us hooked up with the outside world! Praise God! We are now more at ease and have spent some time getting to know our new surroundings. Because we are in the downtown, we are much further away from the monuments and museums than we were before. However, we are by many new (and large) parks that we are getting ready to explore!

As promised, I am including some videos of BJ and the Warsaw Royal Castle. It isn't nearly as beautiful on video as it is in person, but you'll get the point! I can honestly say that it is the most beautiful "man made" object that I have ever seen! Please click on the links below and enjoy!

BJ Playing

Warsaw Royal Castle

The Throne Room

The Assembly Hall

The King's Bedchamber