Days 14, 15, and 16

Hello everyone!
Happy Birthday Miss Morgan!!
(The internet was working great tonight so I was able to post lots of pics - three days' worth! They are not in any particular order since I kept adding more and more. Enjoy!)
Long time, no post :) Grant was sick again yesterday - bleh! (but thank goodness he is feeling much better today! Must have been something he ate or drank - uh oh. He didn't get to go to the orphanage today though - bummer)
We have good news - our adoption court is this Friday - yippee!!!
I just have to say that I absolutely love the people here! At least I think I do. I must; I mean, I keep total body hugging complete strangers every morning on the bus on the way to the orphanage. :) I swear that I've even kissed a few without even knowing it! We are getting the hang of it now, though. When we first got here, we would let 2 or 3 buses go on without us because we thought it was too crowded. Not anymore - nosiree! People have their faces mooshed against the windows because it is so crowded, but we've figured out that if you push as you get on, it's "easy" to fit 8 or 9 more people in (think giant vertical mosh pit). Now, the real trick is getting to the front of the bus (it's really a van with seats) when it's your stop and you only speak English. "Eez-vee-neet-yeh (excuse me), eez-vee-neet-yeh, EEZ-VEE-NEET-YEH!" Oh heck - "STOP!" Or trying to get your money or another passenger's money to the driver when one hand is gripping your backpack/bag and your other hand (or at least a finger) has a death grip on the ceiling bar and there's no way you can move either one. It reminds me of those icebreakers at parties when you have to pass an item on without using your hands - I wish I had a video! We'll have great core strength though by the time we are ready to come home - it really is a great balance workout!
Mom and I were all by ourselves today in the playroom with the little one. The Spanish couple that is adopting had their court today so they didn't come to visit. During the last couple of days, caregivers have been bringing in little groups of kids to practice songs and dancing. I think maybe they are going to have an Easter program??? I sure hope we can attend!
The weather was beautiful today - sunny and close to 70 degrees (yay - it dried up most of the rain that we've had lately). I had an interesting experience. They let me dress "Robert" for going outside to play (this was fun!). Remember, it is almost 70 degrees outside: socks, thermal tights, insulated pants, more socks over the cuffs of the pants, long sleeve shirt, hooded sweater jacket, long winter coat (about 3 sizes too big so his hands were inside the sleeves and it hung down to his knees), and last, but not least, a thick winter hat with ear flaps! They must really love our little guy because this is how they make sure that the kids don't get sick from the cold. I made a boo boo though. When we came in from outside, I took most of "Robert's" outer layers off (he still had on a long sleep shirt and socks and thermal tights) and then went to the lobby to hang up my coat(I was sweating like crazy with my coat on!). Oh no! There was a window open about 6 feet up the wall and a nice breeze blew in - right above "Robert's" head! Danger, danger! One of the workers ran over super fast and shut the window immediately! So much for getting the "mom of the year" award :)
As you can see, our little guy is quite the monkey and water bug. Can hardly wait to get him home and let him play in the bathtub - he'll have a blast!

Lots of rain lately.

Part of the city on the way to the orphanage.

"I'm gettin' the hang of this standing up thing."

Buddha belly!

"I'm a little monkey! I climbed up this high all by myself - Dad was behind me just in case."

Oops - we taught him this. Bad parents, bad parents!

Sweet boy.

More Buddha belly!

Even more Buddha belly! (notice the wet spots on his pants - this was AFTER the pics below)

"This water play stuff is my favorite - especially when I make a mess!!!"

Apartments and fountain next to the 107 bus stop (the bus we take to the orphanage).

Pothole outside our apt. - very clever "caution cone."

Good ol' 107 - this was a light day! Notice the foggy windows!

One of our favorite restaurants downtown - because it is cafeteria style and we can point to what looks good. Sometimes we guess well, other times not so much!

The norm.

"I'll beat you, Mama!"

One of these days he'll figure out that this means "more" - for now, we get the point.

Most of it ended up in the pan - and they wonder why you're all wet when we take you back to your room! :)

"This Playdoh is strange stuff."

All bundled up on a frigid 70 degree day!

"This might be fun if I could move."

"Now this is what I call fun!"

"I think it is hilarious when Grandma sneaks up on me!"

"This ball is bigger than me!"

Our handy dandy dryer :)

Day 12 and Day 13 - Yep, It Really Is Groundhog Day :)

Groundhog Day is what other families have called this process once you meet your child and start visiting. Wake up, ride the bus to the orphanage and visit with your little one, go eat lunch, take a nap, blog/email, eat dinner, go to bed, repeat, repeat, repeat! But I like the idea that the dynamics of the day are changing during our visits. Plus, each day when 11:30 rolls around, I have noticed that we keep stretching the "clean up" of the playroom and the last little face wiping and hugs and kisses a minute longer each day. Today it was 11:35 when we finally relented and took our little guy back to his room. It is amazing how 5 minutes can mean so much. And, today we kept him with us for his snack time - we made sure to keep his scheduled snack time at 10:00 sharp, but the extra 15 minute he was with us was heavenly! Boy does he like cheerios and cookies - and he will share (the cheerios, that is!). He's got the juicebox down pat - his face lights up when that comes out of the backpack. Thank you Kelly and Ezra for the tip on getting water bottles with the pull top spout - now our little guy's shirt is only 1/2 soaked when we take him back to his room! He still thinks it is a hoot to take a drink and let it dribble all down his chin. And today he had fun squirting the water all over the table. But guess what, as soon as Grant handed him a napkin . . . . all cleaned up and the napkin in the trash bag! Boy is that a fun game! (nobody better tell him that it isn't, either!)
He is definitely enjoying "being the boss." He just keeps pointing at all of the toys on the shelves, or the piano, or out the window - and guess what - we are at his beck and call!! Uh oh, what have we started?! But I'm pretty sure this is good for attachment - at least that's what I keep telling myself! He is too darn cute to say "no" to yet! But he really hasn't done anything that warrants a "no" - that will come, I know, soon enough!
Thank you Tracey for the idea regarding sunglasses! He didn't quite like them at first, but now they are a big hit. Of course, they don't stay on long enough to get a good photo.
We are hoping that we will hear on Monday when our court date will be - we are so ready to make this official!

Next door to the orphanage.

Thanks Dad for teaching me new things - like how to unscrew this water bottle cap (oh no!!)

I'm listening to every word you say!

Yep, that's a dirty look!

I want to go over there (point, point, point).

Cool lil' dude!

Boy is this hard work!

I like to clean, clean, clean!

3 babushkas and a cat. :)

Day 10 and Day 11 - He Likes Us, and We Love Him!

Each day "Robert" gets a little more comfortable being with us - and we are a little less nervous :) And that means we get to see more smiles!
Yesterday it was pretty sunny, so we got to take him outside for a stroller ride. I think he was a little uncomfortable with his coat snapped up to his chin because his little head was leaned back almost the entire time. I kept trying to prop his head with his hood. Grant kept inching down the zipper - pretending we weren't really unzipping his coat - don't want the caretakers to think we are neglectful parents!
He tried to blow some bubbles, but I think he mostly tasted the soap solution! He would pucker his lips, but doesn't quite have the hang of how to blow on the wand yet.
Today we spent the whole time in the big playroom at the orphanage, which is very nice. He is so lucky to have been so well taken care of here. He spotted a pen in Mom's purse and new exactly what it was for, so it was time to bust out the crayons. He picked the brown crayon out of the box first, but quickly traded that one for a red one! He is so cute, because he has to put everthing away when he is done. I think he had more fun dumping the crayons out and putting them back in the box vs. actually coloring. And he knows that there are fun things in the backpack (and cookies and juiceboxes!). Today he learned how to use a straw and thought he was hot stuff; drinking the whole thing right off the bat. Then he discovered a water bottle - the best toy yet! Especially when Mama lets him take a drink so he can dribble it down his chin - what fun! And then of course, after he was done, he put the water bottle right back in the backback!
His behavior with us has changed so much in the last couple of days. More smiles; more intiating interactions; more walking; and even some vocalizations today. Before today, Grant kept saying how quiet he was - ha ha, I think he opened a can of worms! No words yet (though we are told that he does say some), but we probably wouldn't understand if he did say any.
He also had a blast helping to build giant block towers and knocking them down - we even got to hear a belly laugh - can hardly wait to hear more of those. And then off to the piano. He's got Papa wrapped around his little finger already. "Robert" would point to one end of the piano and Grant would slide him to that end - big smiles. Then "Robert" would point to the other end, and Grant would slide him down that way - big smiles. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat! But then it was 11:30 and time for us to give him back - boo hoo. But we'll be back again tomorrow - 9:00 sharp! We don't have a court date yet for the adoption, but we are hoping early next week. Keep your fingers crossed! Ok, here's the good stuff: