'1' Is A Very Large Number

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step

Yesterday marked 1 year, 1 month, 1 week, and 1 day of our second adoption journey.

'One' is defined by Merriam-Webster as 'the number denoting unity'. These 'ones' have definitely been significant in bringing us closer to being united as a family.
In the spirit of the number 1:

• Devika's Bengali middle name (derived from her orphanage-given name), Sata, means 'one' hundred.
• This past week marked 'one' missed birthday celebration, as Devika turned 6 months old. We celebrated by each eating 'one' big pink cupcake!
• We have watched Devika's video clip at least 'one' hundred times! Maya loves to watch it. Last night she asked to watch it, and while it was playing she said 'That's our baby!'.

In other news.. there isn't much other news. On the adoption front, we are still awaiting NOC. Trying not to obsess about this wait, so we are planning some little trips and projects to keep us busy. Maya and I are trying to schedule a weekend to visit her grandparents in Indiana. We're also hoping to find a time to visit or fly in her other set of grandparents from NY.

My sister and I are planning a girl's trip to Vegas with our mom - she has never been. She's not a gambler, but she MUST see the amazing hotels and take in the 'O' show at the Bellagio. I saw that show a few years ago and it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. She's been hinting at another girls trip (we took one to CA several years ago).. so the time has come! I lucked into snagging 2 1-br suites in the Hilton (timeshare trades - whoot!), so we will be nice and comfortable. Hoping and praying that her cancer stays in semi-remission through that time so that she feels good and has some strength. To help her make it through the craziness of Vegas, we've already decided to rent a limo for at least a few hours to shuttle us around.. she should enjoy that! {I know that I will!!}

I personally have undertaken some big projects lately. I have gone into marketing mode with my business. I have a magazine ad coming out next month for the first time, and am getting started working with a marketing company that promotes woman-owned businesses in my state. I've changed my biz a bit in order to allow for some flexibility in managing my time after Devika arrives - so my focus is turning to the documentary-making service that I provide. I'm quite excited actually, as I love to do this and finally see my biz moving in a profitable direction. Lots of networking and opportunities coming up.

My other big project? Nursery design! Yes, it is that time again. I've decided on an 'under-the-sea' theme. I'm getting estimates right now from muralists and faux-wall-treatment pros. We have come up with some great ideas - I can't wait to see where this ends up!

Only other news right now is that we are in full-force potty-training mode with Miss Maya. Yikes.. I really did not realize how much work this phase is! Most of my friends tell me that their girls were 'sooo easy' and just 'decided to go one day and that was it'. I thought that she, too, might just decide to go .. and go. Not. Obviously I was wrong. She's doing ok.. seemingly better for her nanny than for ME.. but.. sigh.. whatever works! So for now we are in floor-cleanup mode and stocked with mini m&ms and stickers. Wish us luck!
Happy Wednesday!

These 3 sweet photos show the most important members of our little family. :)
Tasha - DH's birthday gift from me 8 yrs ago.. and basically our first child. We had a little scare with our fur-baby the past few weeks. A few years ago, she was treated for cancer. She only went thru a surgery, as the vet was confident that he got everything and I guess he didn't feel that chemo or radiation was necessary. Well, a few weeks ago we noticed a couple of bumps just under her skin that we had not noticed before - or we had and they had grown. This was how the cancer began, so we were very nervous that it was making a recurrence. She had a vet appointment yesterday to check these areas out. They did a biopsy of them, and we are very happy to share that they are benign fatty growths! Yay! Phew. What a relief!
That being said.. how is it that the vet can give us immediate results of that test vs a human biopsy standard wait of several days? Hm. Well, we won't ponder that too much.. we will feel confident in the happy diagnosis!
The bear photographed above is the very beloved, best friend of our daughter. This bear has been thru SO much! But thank god, he is still with us - pretty much in one piece. Praying that another washing will not be necessary anytime soon, as he is getting a bit ragged. We actually had a slight trauma with him recently also. Actually, it was just prior to Xmas (maybe I already posted this story?). We were visiting friends in Cincinnati, and had taken baby and bear to the mall for some Xmas shopping. I kept an eagle-eye on this bear throughout the shopping trip to ensure he stayed close. Alas.. I somehow became distracted during the process of loading gifts and baby into the SUV when leaving the mall. A few hours later, we were packed and piled into the SUV, driving out of town. Suddenly we hear piercing cries of ' BEAR! BEAR! BEAR! '
OMG. O M G. Where was the bear????
We pulled over into a gas station and began unpacking the car, looking through everything that we could without actually unpacking the suitcases. We soon realized that we had no bear.. and we did not recall seeing him after the mall trip. Sooo... baby in tears and the rest of us close to it.. we piled back in the SUV and headed to the mall.
I can only describe it as a Christmas miracle. We pulled into the parking garage and set off for the area where I had parked.
At first .. nothing.
And then .. suddenly ..
THERE HE WAS!
Sitting atop a railing directly next to the spot where I had parked. Some wonderful, fabulous, UNDERSTANDING person had found our bear and left him in plain view so that we could find him.
Unless you have a toddler who is completely attached to a stuffed animal, blankie, etc (as in - will not sleep, travel in the car, etc without said item).. you just have no idea the immensity of the relief that washed over all of us! I almost swooned. And I'm really not sure what a 'swoon' is.. but I think I almost did it.
I am still thanking God for the Good Samaritan who saved our Christmas. And our sanity. Could you imagine a 18-hr drive home with ' BEAR! BEAR! BEAR! ' being screamed by an inconsolable 2-yr old? {shiver}
And the last photo.. our cute.. albeit ornery.. little angel.. probably giggling over 'peepee' or 'poopoo'. {sigh}