Tuesday

Today was a great visit with Patrick! We bundled him up in his snowsuit with the hood on and his Thomas the Tank Engine shoes and took him out – this was the warmest day so far but they really want the kids in layers. He still cried a little but we put him in a swing for a few minutes and he seemed to kind of like that. We walked over to a ½ covered little building and sat down. I rocked and sang to Patrick and he sat pretty contentedly and before we knew it he was asleep (we wonder if he would normally take a nap before we started visiting). He slept for about a ½ hour and then we needed to take him inside (he’s SO cute when he’s sleeping!). He started to wake up as we were walking back into the baby house. We took him to the little room we usually visit in and he fussed a little but then played with the toys we brought (both boys love the stacking cups – thanks Andy, Angie, & Sarah Grace!). He played for about 20-25 minutes and did not seem bothered by the other kids we could hear crying or the caregivers’ voices or the main door opening/closing! When one of his caregivers came to get him for lunch, he was ready to go but didn’t cry much when he saw her. He tried to take some of the toys with him but the caregiver pried them out of his hand…he was mad!! We are delighted – each day is a little better. Our hearts are overflowing with love for this little guy!

Calvin was a little pistol this afternoon. We arrived and went to the play room where all the children are and he was in a walker. He saw me and his face lit up and he tried to roll over the threshold to get to me. :) (If that doesn’t warm a mama’s heart, I don’t know what does!) The rest of the visit was pretty good. He was a little cranky today – I think he is teething because he really is chewing on everything (loved the bottle and sippy cup), has a runny nose, and just was generally not quite as happy. He enjoyed playing some but was frustrated when he we didn’t understand what he wanted and so tried to throw himself around some. We firmly told him no and nyet (Russian no) – we can’t do much else at this point. He still was pretty energetic and happy for most of the visit! He seems to have a diaper rash which hopefully they will treat – our translator says they might. It may be due to the diapers? I tried the size 2 diaper today and it still seemed a little big. He is just so small. We plan to adopt regardless but wonder if there is anything else medically wrong. He is very bright – he proves that every time we are with him. What a charmer!

After visiting Calvin, we went to a market for vegetables. What an experience! You could buy just about anything there including fresh fish and chickens – not refrigerated! There also was fresh milk not refrigerated. We stuck with kiwi, oranges, carrots, potatoes, onions, and a pomegranate. :) Andrew also bought an ice cream bar, mostly because it had USSR wrapper (CCCP).

We enjoyed dinner here in the hotel with the 4 other families we have spent time with. The food was good – we especially liked the bruschetta. These are all of our first children and so much of the conversation is what our beautiful children have done today! It is so wonderful to finally not feel left out in these conversations. We’ve all been through so much to get here to Kaz and we are so blessed.

I feel the best I have felt since arriving here! I slept better (Tylenol PM does wonders!) and feel more relaxed and healthier. I’ve struggled with some queasy stomach and general tiredness/jet lag since Friday. So…things are looking up! Thanks for your prayers for us! This has been far more stressful than we ever could have imagined. We are really feeling the prayers and definitely are seeing God work in our lives daily. Please just keep praying for the process here. We trust all will work out! We really love our boys!

Thanks for all our notes! We appreciate them more than you will ever know! Keep them coming – we are always thrilled to see we have comments or e-mails. Our guestbook isn’t working right now so if you have posted there recently we have not been able to read it.