The people that got us through

I know you like us and all but won’t really listen to what I have to say until I get the Pickle update taken care of. So without further ado… Lena and Irina came and picked up J&S and us around 3:30pm. We headed out and dropped J,S, and Irina at their stop. Next it was off to Pickle-land and many happy smiles. We went in the front door and put on our little booties as required. We waited in anticipation in the little play (otherwise known as ‘the closet’) for our little boy. Soon it was the patter of little feet coming down the hallway. Into the room toddled our son with that familiar stoic look on his face. Like our first trip, it took a little while for him to warm up to us (again). We got to see Tatiana, the social worker and Dr. Svetlana. The doc gave us an update that he had been healthy during our absence and that his little surgery was a success (which we already knew).
After the formalities were out of the way, we were allowed to take him outside to the playground. Once Lena had secured him a hat, we were off. Out the front door and into the playground. Since he was still unsure of us, we spent the first few minutes doing a whole lot of standing around. Pickle wasn’t interested in leaving Mama’s side. So I ran back inside to get the backpack with all the toys. Yeah, smart parents would have brought that along, but give us a break, we’re newbies at this. Once I was back with toys, things were better. Grandpa Joe, Dedu, and Papa will be glad to know that the kid has a great throwing arm already. We spent quite a bit of time until the mosquitoes as big as your head started to get to us. Note to self: tomorrow bring bug spray! A majority of the rest of our time was spent coloring and having a few cuddles. It always amazes me how fast 2 hours goes by, and soon it was time to say Paka (goodbye). Evidently Pickle thought that the time was too short as he cried when we had to go. Our poor boy also has a cold (hmm, orphanage super-virus?) so I think he was worn out by the time our visit was through. The caretaker thought he might be running a little fever. Hopefully he will feel better when we are there tomorrow.
All in all, it was a great visit with many smiles on our part and even a few laughs from Pickle (when mama was tickling him, of course). Tonight we have a Markuel potluck at J&S apartment, which is great since they are our neighbors. It will be followed by a “free garage sale” by the families that leave tomorrow. Any and all leftover food, supplies, etc will be up for grabs by us families staying behind.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another Pickle sighting. Thanks for all your prayers and words of support. We can’t wait until Monday when we can officially be called parents and announce Pickle’s name to the blogger world.

-CS