The people that got us through

So this is the day you all have been waiting for. We had our first "Pickle Sighting!" I know you want all the details so I will tell you about the whole day.

We had a fantastic breakfast down at our favorite little cafe. Great Blini and good coffee. On the way to the cafe we saw the military practicing for the May 9th parades. (Victory Day) Of course me without my camera. After breakfast we took the trolly bus (not the Gluag Express) back to the hotel with a quick pit stop at the pharmacy (totally deserves its own post.) Then it was back to the hotel to read all of your comments. We still had about 2 hours to pass the time before we were picked up so we grabbed the camera and headed back to Lenin Square to take some photos of the parade practice. It was nearly complete with the exception of the band. We watched with awe. They were amazing. Then we walked to a secret little toy store just across the street from our hotel. They have the cutest little shoes there. Just adorable. Then back to the hotel where we still had 2 hours to wait. That was occupied by 2 more episodes of Lost (only 4 more to go.) At 3:15 it was time to leave.

We all piled into the van for the trek to the orphanages. Jamie & Suzanne are adopting from a different orphanage (older child) so we dropped them off and then it was our turn.

Baby home #2 is much different than #1. No ornate carved door, no quaint little play yard. More of a Soviet style building. The inside was a mint green and then a basic beige. We followed Lena down various corridors and through a long plant filled hallway, up a set of stairs and into a group room area. First was the outter office. We walked in there as Lena opened the door to Pickle's group play room. I could hear the caregiver calling his name and telling him that Mama and Papa were here. Then Lena beckoned us inside. There were about 12 shining little faces. A woman picked a little boy up out of the group and there he was! More beautiful than the photos we had seen! Just precious. He was all smiles for the caregiver. They picked out a few of the toys off the wall and then it was time for us to take him.

I wasn't sure what to do, but the caregiver told me I could take him. I snatched him out of her arms and he wasn't too sure about this new lady. He resumed his stern look that we saw in the photographs. We took him back downstairs to a little tiny room with 2 couches and a row of chairs and a fish tank. We sat down on one of the couches and tried to comfort him. He wasn't crying just scared. I set him down on the ground and he immediately walked to Lena (oh yes... he is a walker.) Lena did her best to calm him down.

I broke out the Gerber banana puffs and put one in his mouth. He pulled a Bethany Kate and spit it right back out. He was so frightened his little hands were shaking. Poor baby! We tried to calm him with a few other toys, but nothing seemed to work. Finally I pulled out the little photo album (the chewy "Who Loves Baby" one) and he sat down in my lap to look at it. We went through the book saying "Mama" "Papa" "Babushka" "Dedushka" "Totya" "Dedya" "Keeska." Then he started flipping through the book on his own. He was totally fascinated. We have a little bookworm!!! Good Boy!!!

After the book he started to soften up. He started to play with the food we brought, eventually trying some of it only to find out that, "Hey!! Banana puffs and Goldfish crackers are great!!" That lead to little hands stuffing fistfuls of puffs into his mouth. He downed an entire Glad snack size container full. (Thanks Lauri for that Gerber hint!!)

Lena left the room for a while and we both sat on the floor with him. I held out my arms and he got up and then sat in my lap. Then D would hold out his arms and Pickle would get up and go to him. P thinks Papa is pretty cool!

After a while he heard a noise out in the hall so we decided to go for a walk. I held his hand while we walked to the plant lined hallway. He loved going down the stairs into the hall. I think he was trying to make a break for it. We got to the end of the hall and wanted to keep going. That was fine with Mama, but I didn't think they would think too kindly of that. So instead we played a game where Papa would hold out his arms and Pickle would run to him and give him a big hug. Then Mama would do the same and get a big hug too. It was so much fun.

Shortly after it was time to go. We did ok with the good-bye today. Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 9:30 for our visit. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the orphanage since we have to drop off Jamie & Suzanne. We will meet with the doctor and the director tomorrow. We did learn his full name today (so no surprises at the notary) and his birthdate. Our boy does have very dry skin so we will have to start greasing him up with some good quality lotion once he is officially ours.

All in all it was a fantastic day. I was so nervous in the hours leading up to the meeting, but like before the instant we saw that beautiful little face all the fear and anxiety just melted away. More tomorrow. It was an exhausting day and it is an early one tomorrow.