Finally found a moment

Well, I am sorry that i haven't updated in a while. It's been hard to find time now that we have Niko home. I can't tell you how blessed we feel to have Niko. He is such a happy, easy-going baby and has adjusted so quickly. I feel bad because i know that most adopted children take a bit of time to adjust (sometimes up to 9 months depending on age). Let me start from the beginning of our "gotcha day" to put it all in perspective. We arrived at SWS at 11am and were guided by our social worker to a little room we sat nervously waiting for Niko. Within minutes, Niko and his Foster Mother arrived and were whisked away to the doctor downstairs for a final check up. It was a surreal feeling to know that in a matter of minutes we would be handed a baby who didn't know us at all but that we had waited for for a year. The Foster Mother brought her two older children with her because they also lived with her. They really loved Niko and you could see that. We were showered with gifts and things for Niko which was awesome. Included was a thumb drive that had 1500 photos of Niko over all the months he lived with them. It was overwhelming to see and made us cry. After we did the official stuff, we were led to the elevator and told that the Foster Mother and her children would not be coming down with us and that we had to say our goodbyes there in the hallway. The Foster Mother, who had been so poised and focused on her job, suddenly burst into tears and then i lost it. She held onto me really tight as if to say "Please take care of my boy". I held her just as hard and cupped my hand around her face as if to say "It's OK, we will love him with all our heart. And we appreciate all you have done." It was really hard to say goodbye to them with closing elevator doors and seeing them crying. Niko didn't know what was happening at first and didn't make a sound. It wasn't till we got back to our room that he screamed for two hours as i held him and tried to comfort him. He wore himself out and fell asleep. I laid on the couch and put him on my chest and let him sleep their until he woke up. When he woke, it was like he had always been ours. He was a little cautious but still smiled at us and played. Of course we had no idea what we were doing being that we are first-time parents. We started by making sure he was feed, bathed and sent to bed as required. The rest we are learning as we go. We stayed in our room for the rest of the time we were there as not to upset or confuse him. It was also really cold outside and didn't want to venture out with him. Our next big chore was the plane flight home and we were dreading the screamfest that would ensue. To our surprise he slept for 10 hours of the 12 hour flight and also did really well on the domestic flight too. We were greeted by my parents and a friend at the airport at 11:30pm. We were so exhausted and didn't end up getting to bed until 3am and Niko thought it was just a nap and woke up at 4 and 6am too. Over the past few days we've been home, we have been trying to get Niko on an American sleep schedule. It's been tough and we are running on empty, but he is so great and has had lots of visitors. He knows already that we are his parents and looks to us for safety and comfort and reaches for us if he is shy or scared. I will let pictures tell the rest of the story.