A Special Reunion

Our Thanksgiving week in FL ended on a very special note with Noah's afternoon visit with his birth parents.  It's been awhile since Noah's seen them - 4 years since Tania/7 years since Justin - so this was a long-anticipated reunion. It got me reminiscing about our first visit with the both of them.  Noah was a sweet and chubby 7 months old then. Awwwwwe!

 

After that, Tania came to see Noah every year we went to FL.
This was when Noah was about 18 months.

  Just before Noah's 3rd birthday. 

 And then we saw her again that year in October 2009 (also on a Disney run, our first trip).  At the risk of spouting off a cliche, Time has flown! And my, how the boy has grown!  I can't believe it has been 4 years since this shot and since we saw her last!

 Not long after this, Tania and Justin moved to New Mexico and, understandably, visits weren't as feasible.  Since then, we have kept in touch with Tania via phone calls, texts, photos, and mail.  Earlier this year, however, Tania and Justin moved back to FL (hooray!), so we especially looked forward to spending some time with them while we were down there for Thanksgiving.  And this was to be a uniquely new visit for Noah because it was the first time he was old enough to manage his time with them himself and speak for himself, as well.

As soon as they got out of the car, Noah hurried to them with hugs.  It helped that Noah has talked to Tania on the phone a couple times a year, so Tania did not feel like a stranger to him. Noah was a little more wide-eyed about Justin at first ... and keeeeeenly interested, too. Not long after the first hugs and hellos, he had them playing football with him.  And I was off to the races with my camera. :)

Noah was most excited to show them how big he was by driving them around in the Kubota.

Later on in the visit, Tania sat and talked with the girls, while the boys did boy things like Nerf guns.

Then there was more ball playing in the form of baseball and then back to football.

After a couple hours, it was back to the Kubota.

Noah let Justin drive ...

but not for long, it seemed. :) I love this picture of the three of them.

Noah was eager to show them his iPad gaming skills, too. 

He was in heaven having an audience for this play.

Before the sun went down and we headed inside for dinner, I snapped a few more pictures to remember the day by.

I really like this one!

I wish I could read Noah's mind, to know what he makes of how special his connection is to Tania and Justin.  He's not the most communicative little creature, so I can't be sure how he gets his mind around it all.  For the time being, it's good enough to know that he understands adoption, he understands he grew in Tania's tummy, he understands his security in our family, he understands Tania loves him so uniquely, he understands that he is special because of them.  But what I don't know is how he feels about it altogether.  Maybe he doesn't know that yet either.  Fair enough.  At any rate, he really welcomed them and their attention the whole afternoon.  I was so glad for that.  So glad he didn't feel shy or nervous or indifferent.  He was warm and engaging and inviting. And giggly.  Ever himself, he giggled a lot!

 He got so comfortable with them, he was wrestling with Justin before they left. 

Since Justin wrestled in high school, he played along and showed Noah some moves to try on his sister.  Ha!

At the end of the night, when things calmed down, Noah was wanting Tania to hold him during the movie but was a little shy to ask or maybe he was just confused about why he wanted that.  I encouraged him to ask her and she took him to her lap right away.

Can you spot his bashful little grin?

It was so special to have Tania and Justin over together this year that I somehow didn't notice I didn't capture a pic of just her and Noah.  I am sad about that now.  But there will be many more visits to update that shot of them, I guess.  This year, the fun update was the pair of them coming together anyway.  

At 7.5 months.

At 7.5 years. 

 

That night at bedtime, Noah was quite tired.  Possibly also emotionally tired.  It was a big day and he IS just a little boy, you know.  In the stillness of going to bed, he started to cry.  He was missing Tania already, he said.  So, I texted her to thank them again for coming out and to let her know Noah was thinking of her so fondly.  She responded that she was feeling the same way.  She also shared that this time with Noah really had an impact on Justin and that he said he wants to continue to be a part of Noah's life from now on, that he never felt that way before, that he didn't want to leave.  What a sweet sentiment to hear and to be able to share with Noah.

So thankful for our open adoption.  So thankful for that boy.  So thankful that he has both birth parents to continue to know the rest of his life! What a rare and precious relationship.