DadsAGeek.com 2.0 » adoption

Daddy’s lap

Randy — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:35:31 +0000

online casinomach-zehnder Last night was one of those moments that causes you to pause and reflect. If you know our family or have been following this blog for the past year or more then you’ll understand. Last night started out not too different from any other Monday night in the past several months. I arrived home a little before 7PM, went with the kids to walk the dogs, came home and got Sasha in the tub. After a few minutes and the customary back and forth of “Dad?! Can you wash my back?…” and “Dad? Can you help me wash my hair?…”, he was once again the cleanest kid in the western hemisphere. After he finished his bath and donned his favorite “Cars” pajamas, Sasha boarded his trusty 4-wheeler and made his way into the living room with the rest of the family. Now typically, he spends his last few minutes before bedtime teasing his sisters or tormenting the cat (which I strongly encourage by the way) but tonight was different. Tonight Sasha decided that he wanted to sit in his Daddy’s lap. Now Sasha is definitely no stranger to affection and he loves sitting and snuggling up with Mom any chance he gets. But this was new for us. We usually occupy our quality time together with foot-races through the house, sword fighting or doing our best impersonations of the Power Rangers (the Blue Ranger is my favorite). But not tonight. Tonight, with no provocation or words at all he simply walked over to my chair climbed up in my lap and put his head on my shoulder. He didn’t look at me or say a word. And he stayed there with my arms wrapped around him. Now I know it may sound silly but you have to understand the milestone that that simple little gesture represents. It wasn’t that long ago when our relationship was more of a constant compromise of authority between the only 2 “men” in the house. It was difficult for both of us at times. Sure, he knew exactly how he was supposed to relate to Stacy and the girls, but it was different with us. We were both guys. And guys do guy stuff like wrestling and talking about cars. But it’s different now. Over the past 14 months since Sasha’s been a part of our family I have learned more about myself than I ever expected. I had to learn to love him and give him the time to learn to love me. He’s my son. And I can’t imagine our family without him.

1 year ago today

Randy — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:26:06 +0000

Well it’s hard to believe that it’s already been 1 year. That’s right, one year ago today was the day we picked up Sasha from the orphanage in Cheboksary, RU. If you’ve frequently this site for long you’ve probably already read of some of the other events of that day. But even with all of the adventure and drama that fills our memories of that day we have to look back on it now and admit that we had no idea how our lives would be changed. All our lives. He’s a little goofy (as his ad-lib pose in the picture here demonstrates) but he rarely ceases to make us smile. I’m convinced that God has special plans for Sasha and we are truly blessed to be a part of that.

Bloomington Reunion

Randy — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:26:49 +0000

Bloomington Reunion from Randy Bradshaw on Vimeo.
In August we took a long weekend and traveled to Bloomington, IL. Sasha’s orphanage director (Luba) had made the trip from Russia so she could see him again. We were there for about 4 days and this short video is day 1. The trip went very well, thanks in no small part to the Cavanaghs who welcomed Luba into their home and put up with us for the duration of our stay in Bloomington.

Day 2 without training wheels

Randy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:46:24 +0000

Sasha finally determined that he was just too big to be riding his “hog” around on 4 wheels. So he finally convinced me to remove the training wheels and, as you can see, it looks like the time was right. Oh, and I thought the boots added a nice touch. After all, he is a Texan now!

The “little” Lebowski

Randy — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:00:35 +0000

Since we had President’s day off we decided to load up the family and head to The Main Event. We weren’t sure what to expect from Sasha at a bowling alley but, as we soon learned, apparently he had done this before too…. We’re really beginning to wonder if he was ever really a Russian orphan at all….

First Day of School!

Randy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:37:46 +0000

Sasha’s only been with us for about 2 months but he’s been begging to start school and has pretty much exhausted the materials we have at home for him. So this past Friday he started his first day (noon – 3PM anyway) in Pre-K. It was pretty exciting for us all.

5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Randy — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:08:28 +0000

…As read by Sasha Lee Bradshaw – January 24, 2008.

Sasha get’s around

Randy — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:53:03 +0000

There’s just something about the freedom of being on two wheels…toolin’ down the sidewalk without a care in the world…. (except for when one of your training wheels malfunctions).

Sasha’s first Texas Christmas

Randy — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:56:01 +0000

As you can imagine Christmas was a little different this year. But not too much. Sasha was finally with us and was able to enjoy his first Texas Christmas. We toned things down a little this year so as not to completely overwhelm him. The girls were completely amazed that he actually slept in for the first time since he’s been with us. And ON CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!!???? I’m sure next year will be a different story though. He got a new bike (which he loves!) and a few other small gifts like hot wheels and a remote control car (he really has a thing for cars). We spent the first few hours relaxing and sitting around the house opening gifts and just enjoying our time together. Then we loaded up and headed to Stacy’s folks in OK. We had a great visit there too but I think Sasha was more than a little surprised (and scared for the first little while) by the reception he received when we arrived. But after a few minutes he didn’t feel quite so overwhelmed and ended up getting to know some of his new cousins. And they, in turn, learned a few Russian phrases. So, all in all, I’d say it was a win-win for all involved.

Home again!

Randy — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:14:00 +0000

Well, we made it. It took us about 23 hours but we arrived safely in Dallas last night. Sasha didn’t sleep the entire trip except for the final hour of the final flight from Atlanta to Dallas. That made for a VERY long day… Nothing like chasing a hyperactive 5 year old around a 767 for 12 hours. All in all he did great though. We made it through passport control and immigration so he’s now an official US Citizen!! The only real issue other than exhaustion and major sleep deprivation (for both of us) was that our luggage didn’t make it on the same flight we did. But it was here when we woke up this morning so no harm done. One of my concerns was how Stacy would do with him on her own since she doesn’t speak much Russian and she hasn’t been with him for a few weeks. But none of that seems to be a problem as they’re doing great. The girls made it off to school and we’ve been spending time getting him used to his new surroundings this morning. I know that we have a lot of long days and nights ahead of us but he’s doing remarkably well so far.