Our Big Trip!

We've been planning a big road trip for a while. Back in the spring, we learned that there was a reunion planned for July 30th in Nashville, TN for the children (and their families) who had lived in the Bethel foster care program that Kellin lived in as a baby. When I first heard about it, I thought there was no way we could attempt that long trip with the four kids, but as we talked about it, we realized that it could be doable, if we planned carefully. We packed a separate (labeled) bag for each hotel with the number of outfits that each family member would need for the day or two we were there, and then packed another bag with all the things we would need every night (toiletries, pajamas, diapers, swimsuits, etc.) so we only had to lug in two bags each time we arrived instead of separate suitcases for everyone. We also had a cooler and bag of food so we could picnic in the car or hotel for some meals, and each kid had a backpack with toys and snacks for the long car rides. We planned our trip so we most of our trips were under 5 hours, with the exception of our final day.

So last Saturday, July 23rd, we left home and headed for Illinois. We have family there and spent a couple days seeing some relatives that we hadn't seen for a few years. None of them had met Kellin, so it was special to be able to introduce him.

After we left Illinois, we headed to Indianapolis to spend a couple days. We visited the children's museum and the zoo there, and both were impressive. Kellin wasn't really interested in too many of the exhibits and animals, but he was content (most of the time) to be in his stroller or carried by Daddy.

On Thursday morning, we left Indianapolis, and an hour out of the city, we realized we had left Kellin's playpen in the hotel room. We bought this playpen when Rabbit was a baby, and it has accompanied us on nearly every trip for 11 years. It folded up easily and was very sturdy. Although we've certainly gotten our money's worth from it, I was a little sad to realize it was gone (along with the sheet and blanket that were tucked into it). We decided it was not worth 2 hours of extra driving to go back and get it, though. So for the next few nights, we had to be creative about where Kellin would sleep. Luckily, he does well sleeping just about anywhere, so we used couch cushions and a sleeping bag to create a corner for him in the hotel rooms. He slept just fine. We had a variety of hotel rooms on this trip, from standard rooms with just two beds, to larger suites with fold-out couches and even one family suite with a separate bedroom for the kids (free upgrade - awesome!). We probably tried every combination of sleeping arrangements too, since we discovered that Tigger and Pooh could not successfully share a bed (too much kicking, pushing, stealing covers, etc.) so there was a lot of switching around. But everyone managed to have a spot each night.

Anyway, on Thursday we arrived in Nashville and settled in to the hotel. On Friday, we went to the science center and enjoyed the exhibits there, including one about WOLVES (so Tigger was thrilled). After we left there, we went to tour Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's mansion and grounds. It was a hot day, but still fun to see the fancy mansion and then the much simpler buildings where others lived and worked.

On Saturday, we headed for the reunion! There were quite a few families there with children adopted from Bethel, from little ones like Kellin all the way up to teenagers. It was really special to be able to connect with people who had met Kellin when he was a baby, and it was also reassuring to see the older kids and how well they were getting around with their canes. Kellin is in a unique situation, since he was at Bethel as a baby and then spent two years in the orphanage afterward, whereas most (probably all) of the other kids there were in orphanages when younger and then went to Bethel. All of the children there were probably ahead of Kellin developmentally, at least partly because of the good care they received in those months and years before adoption. Still, I'm glad we went and it gives me great hope for Kellin's future.

Saturday evening we left Nashville and headed for St. Louis (to make the drive shorter the following day). Our hotel here was not quite as nice but we only needed to sleep there and headed out fairly early the next morning. Yesterday was a long day of driving (about 9 hours) but the kids did amazing! We stopped for a few potty breaks but no meal breaks (we ate in the car) and arrived home around suppertime. Whew! The reason we had to rush back was because I had to work first thing this morning; otherwise we probably would have stretched out our trip back as well.

What a trip! I was proud of our children. Yes, we had whining and some arguments, and they got overtired and overexcited, but for the most part, they did really well. We are fortunate that Kellin is really a pretty flexible kid; he likes to have us nearby but as long as we are there (okay, mostly if Daddy is there), he generally handles new environments without much fuss.

If you follow the link below, you can see some of the pictures from our trip.

Pictures of our trip!


In other news:

I have held off blogging about this because I was so scared to jinx it, but we are finally seeing some real progress with Kellin's communication! He has figured out how to use sounds to communicate! He isn't saying real words yet but he is making lots of sounds - mama, me me, baba, booboo, nana, wah-wah, a "huh" sound, and lots of vowel sounds - and he is using them as words! He will have "conversations" with us, babbling back-and-forth. He "sings" along with his favorite songs and will chime in when you say "your turn." He uses these sounds to get attention or help. If you take a toy from him, he will say "me me" to get it back. If you tell him to "say ____," he will make a sound back to you. Most of the time, it doesn't sound like the word you prompted, but still, he is trying! He is sometimes making sounds along with his signs (like making an "ah ah" sound when he signs "all done"). He has made that vital connection that making a sound gets him something he wants. This is our first real indication that Kellin is capable of speaking, and we are so excited! We are working hard on making him "talk" for things that he wants, so he practices often. Can't wait to see what he will accomplish next!