Friday, November 17, 2000

We went to the orphanage this morning at 11:00 am. We were told that both boys were sleeping until 12:00. We found their schedule on the wall (written in Russian), and Orest started to translate it. After 10 minutes, Bridget came to tell us that Stefan was outside. We went and found him with his group. He was not excited to see us. He didn't come to us when we called him. We put him on the swing for a bit but he looked frightened. He also rode the merry-go-round with Bridget and Jim's Sergei (Paul) but again no smiles.

He liked to walk around and hold onto 1 of our fingers for guidance and for a life line when he lost his balance. He would not let go when he fell but held on tightly and we would lift him back up. He carried around the grey teddy bear. We gave him liquid vitamins and he seemed to like it. They asked that we bring him back at 11:40 so he could eat lunch, so we did. Andre slept until 12:00 then had lunch so I did not think we would be able to see him. We had to leave at 12:00. We started to look at the schedule on the wall some more when they brought Stefan back to us and told us we could play with him inside until 12:00 and he would eat then and then take a nap.

We had fun playing and got him to smile and laugh. He likes to be tipped backwards. This was the first time he has laughed for us. He has a beautiful smile - his whole face just lights up. At 12:00 we had him return to his room. Just as we did this they brought Andre to us and said we could see him for 15 minutes before he ate. We were supposed to go out front at 12:00 to meet Valery but I wanted to spend some time with Andre so we stayed.

He was calmer today and really didn't cry much. He too seemed to like the liquid vitamin. We measured his height from shoulder to feet: 23 inches. We still need his total height. It appears to be that the 2 boys are about the same height. We had a good visit with both boys. Andre cried when we took him back into his room. I left feeling really good and really happy. We got to spend some good time with each kid seperately.

We came home, I wrote for a bit, ate lunch, wrote a bit more, then at 4 pm we left for the orphanage again. We got Stefan at 4:15 and at 4:30 got Andre. They told us Andre would be sleeping until 5 pm - I guess he woke up early. We stayed inside the coat room. Orest had brought the nesting trucks. A great idea, they absolutely loved them. We showed them how they nested and they both started to do the same with their trucks. We showed them how they stacked and Stefan was able to stack his 2 trucks. They love to push them around and watch them be rolled across the floor.

Stefan laughed a lot and got very excited. He would wave his arms around in excitement. He also loves to run into your arms when you call his name. He even seems to respond sometimes to Stefan. Andre was in a good mood too. He smiled for the first time and by the time we left he had laughed several times. He actually gave me a hug around the neck and let me hold him close facing me. He let me do this 3 different times - none for very long, 5-10 seconds, but it was wonderful. It felt great to hold him close. He even started to 'coo' one of the times. Orest was as shocked as I was when he did it the first time. We fed them each a quarter of an apple - they like apples.

Andre did something that I didn't like to see. When he would get upset he would bang his head into the floor - his forehead. Orest and I talked about it later. I'm sure he will continue to do this, he has a temper. When he does this we'll pick him up and hold him close. I would like to talk to someone about this when we get home. What is the best thing to do when he does this. He is a post-institutionalized child and he may - no he will have different needs than most children. I want to make sure we are doing the right thing and not reinforcing bad behavior.

Stefan and Andre do not play together. This they will have to learn. I encouraged Stefan to give a truck to Igor (his new name will be Phillip). He did and with a smile on his face, then he gave him another truck. It was great to see him sharing. Andre still does not like either teddy bear. There was a red and black dragon there and he did like that. I'm not sure if it was the colors or what. We stayed until 6 pm and had a wonderful visit.

Both boys really seem to like music. One of the staff started to play the piano in their room and they both wanted to go into the room immediately. We took them in and they both started to play the piano with her. After a few minutes we took them out buth the music continued. I held Andre, he rocked back and forth and tried to sing with the music. It was great!

It seems like we have made so much progress with them since yesterday. I am very excited. I don't doubt that we made the right decision. I feel my love for them growing. I wish I could go see them tomorrow so we do not loose ground, so they don't forget us and how much fun they have when with us. But tomorrow we will not see them, we are taking a trip to the Black Sea. It cost $100 for the whole day. I guess everybody is going. It should be fun but still I wish I could see them since we did have such a good day today.

I'm eager to compare his 2 year old pictures with my 2 year old pictures when I get home. I mean, I know that we aren't related and probably share few (if any) genes, and that it doesn't really matter whether he looks like me or not. Cosmetic features weren't even a consideration in the adoption. Wouldn't it be a remarkable coincidence, though, if we did have some similar features?

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