Work Out

What a great day! Nicholas continues to keep us busy. Our morning visit started out a little late. Sergei showed up about forty five minutes later than normal. Since we were without an interpreter, we did not know the reason, but from his gestures we could tell he was apologetic. We later found out from his daughter that there was car and train accident that delayed him.

While we didn’t get the full 90 minutes with Nicholas, we definitely had quality time. When we arrived at the baby home, we found Nicholas outside with his group. The temperature was dramatically cooler today, so many of the kids were bundled up in hats and coats. Since it was colder and the baby home workers seemed concerned about our lack of jackets, we took Nicholas up to the playroom again. It wasn’t as bad inside. When we took off his winter gear, we found that he was once again wearing his “#1 Girl Baby” shirt and pink tights. That didn’t stop him from acting all-boy as he ran around the playroom. We topped off that visit with a very stinky diaper (They must like them to wear diapers when they are in their winter gear because of all the layers).

On the way to our afternoon visit we had a new experience. We got to ride the bus. Anya had arrived at our hotel and got a phone call from Sergei saying he had bad gasoline in his car. He was going to come to the baby home once he fixed the problem. For 9 rubles a person (probably around 25 cents) we got to ride the bus almost to our destination. Then we got to walk the last 4 or 5 blocks to the baby home. One thing I admire about this town is that they aren’t afraid to walk. Not everyone can afford cars, so it is public transportation or your own two feet.

Nicholas was very happy to see us when we arrived. We shared the playroom with a fourteen-month old little girl, Vika and the woman who is adopting her. I think Nicholas did an excellent job of entertaining her as he ran through the room again. We have found that he loves to put things in order. Whether it is putting something away, or playing with a certain toy, it needs to be just right. He also loves to throw EVERYTHING!!! Today I was two seconds away from getting a black eye. I would love to see the judge’s face at court when he asked what happened. Usually they are concerned with parents abusing children, not the other way around.

We only have one visit tomorrow and were told that it was going to be cooler again. We’re enjoying the relief from the heat. And, don’t quote me, but I think tomorrow’s breakfast is spaghetti and meatballs. Can it get any better?

Kristin