Family

Postcards, coming your way!

What a wonderful day!  Today was the first time since last Thursday that we were all healthy.  Today was also the first day since Monday that we were able to visit the orphanage together-all five of us as a family.  Those two reasons are special enough, but in addition I was able to speak with Director Tatiana (who is actually the assistant director but she is the one we always see and interact with so I consider her Top Dog.)  Tatiana not only gave me quite a bit of helpful information regarding munchkin head's schedule and habits, but also made me a copy of the one that is kept in his room after taking me to his room!  If you have not gone through an adoption, that might not mean anything to you, but often times anyplace where the children live, play, and eat are off limits to adoptive families. For a month now we've seen the foyer, office, bathrooms, and visitation rooms-that's it.  And really, she is not supposed to show me anywhere else, but she's just awesome. So with Vitaly along to translate, we saw  little man's playroom (where the rest of his group were playing with two nannies) their sleeping area, a bathroom, a bathing room complete with Jacuzzi tub, I guess we'll have to get a Jacuzzi, you know, so he feels at home-a physical therapy room complete with nebulizers and ultra sound machines, a Montessori classroom (!), and the sensory and emotional wellness room.  The last room is where they play on days when they can't go outside and it has a giant tube that blows bubbles throughout the room as well as an aroma therapy machine that creates different scents.

Goodness!

I took pictures of everything-he is number 6 so I took a picture of number 6 crib, number 6 washcloth, number six potty chair, and so on.  It might seem funny, but if you have kids and you think about how many pictures you have of them doing things when they were a baby-I have none of that-but now at least I can show him-this was your life.  Priceless.

Then after all that busyness, Vitaly drove us to lunch at the Gogol Pub-named of course for the famous author and featured in  a classic film.  The restaurant was amazing, decorated beautifully with private seating, fountains and gardens outside and a recreated country village inside-with a starry night and indoor tree!  We had my favorite sweet garlic rolls (Evelyn and Bard eat the borscht, I eat

Scenic outdoors at the restaurant

the bread that comes with it!) And, although we've had blini (a type of pancake cooked with cheese, apples, chicken, chocolate, whatnot) probably 3 times a week, this place had the best, by far.  Then we crossed the street to Deitski Mir-Children's World-and I had the privilege of buying my son clothing that would be all his own-a first for him since coming to the orphanage at 2 months.  I let the girls each pick out an outfit and then sent them far away :)  I didn't buy too much-we'll probably only have him a week before coming home-but as you know, kids can go through three outfits on one plane trip alone!  Plus, I was having fun :)  For months and months and months I've wanted to buy him clothes, but since I didn't know who he was, how could I?  I think we should all be amazed at my great restraint!

Seeing as it was 94 degrees and we were all exhausted, we returned home and had some quiet time-I crashed after hosing the sweat off and Bard happily read The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe to Evelyn.  A nice dinner at our neighborhood Irish Pub (with a huge wall mural of all famous Irish people, Bono, Pierce Brosnan, and a bunch of others I didn't recognize because apparently I am not true to my Irish roots.)  We had successfully worn the girls out and they fell asleep like little lambs.  The heat is supposed to diminish a bit and since we got the bulk of the preparation out of the way, I am looking forward to enjoying a few more touristy activities over the next several days.

Countdown to breaking little man out of the orphanage and bringing him back to our apartment-T-minus five days and counting!