Adoption Trip: Day 3 in L

Adoption Trip: Day 3 in L. Today we got to go to visit the boys again. It took us a little over 2 hours to get there from our apartment. It wouldn’t have taken as long but we ended up taking the wrong bus so we walked a good distance. I also somehow hurt the arch of my foot so I have had trouble walking!! Really…it is crazy, when I need to do a lot of walking, I hurt my foot! We finally reached the orphanage at 12 pm. It was lunch time for the boys and the orphanage director thought we should feed Gideon to promote bonding. We were so excited about this, because in Ukraine we asked to do this with Asher and Emma, but they would not allow us. They brought him out to the area outside their grupa where we had first met the boys. They already had him in his bib as well as a plastic guard/brace around his neck to help keep his throat open while he is eating. He was really scared again and cried at first. They only gave us a bowl of soup with some shredded carrot and cabbage at first. He had a lot of trouble with the liquids and I don’t think he even swallowed 50%. After that they brought out some purred potatoes, some kind of meat and shredded carrots. He did well with this and got angry when it was all gone. Sound familiar??? They also gave him a glass of warm tea, which he was not interested in at all. I don’t even know how he would drink it. When the food was all gone, Gideon started screaming!!! He was not happy! At some point, we heard people in the grupa yelling Zechariah’s L name, and we soon saw a naked butt running out the door!! It seems that Zechariah is an escape artist and he cares little if he has clothes on or not!!! We learned that they keep the kids in diapers but they do put them on the toilet. We are not sure how many times per day, but we are hoping Zechariah will have a quick transition to being potty trained soon after we get home!! Since Zechariah can feed himself they kept him in the grupa to eat. He seems to be a real handful, I think they are a little relived he is leaving…lol. After we fed Gideon, they brought out Zechariah and we took the boys out to the playground in the back of the orphanage. It was a pretty large area, with sand boxes and see saws, and a few swings. If you give Gideon the choice, he will sit down where ever he is and grunt and lick his hands. Zechariah runs immediately for something he thinks is an exit and tries to escape. Even tried to stick his head between the bars and the fence to escape! When he realizes he can’t leave, then he finds something to throw…this boy loves to throw!! He loves to play in the sand, and he also loves to throw it!! When you tell him no, which we know he understands, he laughs with the cutest (ornery) laugh. I told Tyler that we are going to get real thin when we get this kiddo!! I saw a swing and thought Gideon may like it…he loved it!!! We will have to get a 5 swing swing set when we get home!!! He smiled and cooed! It was so beautiful to see him happy. If we have to swing him all day to see that smile we will do it!! It was such a great day! That’s about it for today. We found a super cheap place with yummy fresh Burritos in the mall across from the orphanage. It cost us a little over 6 lats for 2 burritos, 1 chips, 1 french fries, and 2 drinks. That’s about $12! And this evening we met 2 ladies from Great Britain who shared with their traveling stories of Latvia and Lithuania. So neat! We won’t be seeing the boys until Tuesday after orphan court, but we should be bringing them back here with us!! We will be spending the next 3 days Zechariah proofing the apartment and locating safe areas we can take him to burn off some of that energy. Tyler and I are really enjoying being together. Everything we see reminds of us of the 3 precious blessing waiting for us at home! We miss them so much!!! But I will be honest, in our whole marriage Tyler and I have never had time like this. It is turning out to be the honeymoon we never had. We would have been fine without it, and wish we would have had the boys earlier, but we need to be thankful for the blessings God gives us! Even if it turns out differently than we planned. Also I have decided that I love it here! We feel at home and it is just so beautiful with all the flowers, tall trees, beautiful skies, cool weather and sometimes charming people.