Day 18 - (day 6 of 10 day wait) - Fun Outside!

It was COLD today!

Therefore, it was the perfect day to take all the kids out for a walk.

So...we bundled up, and out we went! 

Since they have so many cute kids in the orphanage, we decided to take one more home.  Just kidding!  That is Roman in the tan suit.  He is being adopted by the other Texan family.  He is a cutie!

Now for pictures of our cutie!

 

Look at those dimples!

They were still remodeling, so we had to go through an obstacle course to get back to the groupa room. 

They had just painted the floor in front of the door.

When you open the door to the groupa room, you first come to a small kitchen.  The big kitchen where the meals are cooked is downstairs.  Then to the right is a small room with lockers.  Andrei is #11 for all of "his" things. 

There is a #11 on "his" locker, a #11 on the cubby where "his" potty bowl is kept, and a #11 for "his" crib.  He will not be #11 for long!  We can't wait for him to have his very own things in a home where he does not need a number. 

To the left of the little kitchen is a playroom and an eating area.  They usually have soup, a plate of meat, sweet potatoes, and "rice", and a cup of warm fruit cider.  I think the meat (fish) and the rice were all mixed together today.  Now we know why Andrei puts the food in is mouth all at once.  They are on a schedule and it is nap time after lunch.  Next to the playroom/eating area, there is a smaller room for therapy, a bathroom, and a bedroom full of cribs side by side.  We got to put him down for his nap today.

It's so hard to leave him there everyday knowing that he is our son.  We know he is being well cared for, but he is not with us.  We can't wait to get him home!

Video of Andrei Playing

He is so cute!!!!

Day 17 – (day 5 of waiting period) – Went Outside with Andrei

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

There was a little bit of snow on the ground this morning. It was COLD, but so pretty!

When we arrived at the orphanage, they were remodeling once again. The linoleum floors in the hallways had been removed. We went down to the first floor where we usually play with Andrei, and it was very dusty and smelled like gasoline. We played with playdough for a little while, and for the first time using playdough, there was no meltdown. Yahoo! Progress!

We had just started snack time, and when a caregiver came to invited us to go outside. We have been waiting to have this opportunity, but we did not think it would happen on such a cold day. : ) Andrei was stuffed into a snowsuit and outside we went! His little eyes were looking everywhere! He wanted to touch the snow so badly! He had a huge snowsuit, but his gloves were not waterproof. After a little bit of walking around, we found a step that was at Andrei’s stroller height. We could not resist letting him play with the snow for a little bit. His hands were cold, but he was having fun. The other caregivers, who were walking other little ones, probably thought we were crazy.

After our visit we walked around town again. We actually had to wear our thermal underwear for the first time. : ) The cold does not stop life here. The streets were busy. Kids were playing in the playgrounds, and there were people outside enjoying the carnival that was in town. The pictures below are of the theater and the carnival in front of it.

There must have been a Children’s play at the theater. We went in and found a lot of children dressed in customs, tables with venders selling toys and masks, and parents taking pictures of their kids next to the Christmas Tree and other winter decorations.

The carnival had a carousel, spinning swings, a small roller coaster, an area to ride tricycles and small cars, and some games. They also had some ponies, and of course it would not be a carnival without a camel. We have now seen on the streets …bears, lions, and camels…Oh my!

The area next to the theater was a very nice side of town. Buildings were either renovated or new. It also had a beautiful park. Besides the usual monument honoring someone, it had a heart sculpture and a bench covered with locks that were engraved with names and dates. We gathered that they were locks placed there by couples who were either engaged or married at the park. Very romantic! Randell and I had to take a picture on the bench. I wish we had a lock with us. : )

Day 16 – (day 4 of 10 day waiting period) - Sightseeing Pictures

Monday, January 03, 2011

We had a great visit with Andrei today. No fits at all, and he did great taking turns. He also had on clean clothes and had been given a bath. Randell and I also had on clean clothes. : )

We did not take many pictures of Andrei today, but I do have this one.

He is in desperate need of a haircut. That little tail has to go!  : )

After our visit we spent the day with the other Texan family. We decided to walk down some different streets and maybe find different places to eat. We did walk down to the river and found a nice walking area with shops, but we ended up eating at the same Pizza place that was in a different location. It’s good pizza, and for a medium size pizza and two cokes we paid around $4. It’s sometimes safer to stay with what you know when it is good and cheap! We might try the Asian food restaurant next time. The side of the river we ended up in was not the walking area. It was more of a shipping yard. We will probably walk down there again to see the “nicer” side. We also found a park that has a carnival. We may visit there as well this week.

It is hard to describe Kherson. It is a big city, but it is not a tourist town. The “river walk” area we were in today seems to be more tailored for tourists. We went into a couple of shops, and everything was expensive. Throughout the city, you can see some areas that have been abandoned and the building are in need of repair and other areas that are very nice and well cared for. I love the architecture and details of some of the old building. Unfortunately many of them are in great need of restoration. There are pieces of beautiful iron work throughout the city that was left from long ago. The city is filled with trees, and there are lots of parks with walking paths, playgrounds, statues, fountains that no longer work, and iron or wood “art work”. In the summer it must be very green. The city must have been gorgeous when all the buildings, parks, and fountains were in their prime. I still find a lot of beauty in those old building. Here are the pictures from our sightseeing.

These are pictures of the park accross the street from our apartment.  The walking paths are surrounded by trees and lots of benches for resting. There are a lot of people walking througout the park.

The playgrounds are usually all metal on cement or brick. This one looks like a hamster wheel.  Some are in good condition others are not, but there are lots of playareas througout the park.

The grassy area at one time was a manmade lake with cascating fountains.

These are examples of some of the art work in the park.

This is the main street. It runs from the train station down to the river. We usually turn right on this street, but today we were feeling adventurous and decided to explore to the left. You can see the river at the end of the street.

This was a shopping area near the river area. It has lots of places for sitting and fountains that are not currently working, probably because it is winter. It reminds me of a river walk. There were also several places to buy ice cream, coffee, pastries, and chocolate. The clothing stores were expensive.

This was a carnival game. They where using a pellet gun to shoot at items.

The mural and the carved tree trunk were also in the “river walk” area.

There is a naval academy in town. The men look so handsome in their uniforms.

This is an old Orthodox Church. There churches we have seen here are not as elavorate as those in Kiev.

These are some of the buildings around town. Some have been restored and others have not. I love the iron gates!

This is a WWII monument.  Someone had left some flowers at the base.  I am not sure what it said, but I did recognize the year 1944.

We made it down to the river. It was cold! It is the more industrial side. We hope to visit the other side sometime this week. The Dnieper River runs from the Black Sea all the way up through Ukraine.

Day 15 - (day 3 of the 10 day wait) - Randell's Post

Sunday, January 2, 2010

We have heard so many other families refer to the days here to be like being in the movie “Groundhog Day”, and we now know what they mean. Everyday is the same: wake up, go visit Andrei, come home, walk to town and eat lunch, come home, sit, eat dinner, sit and then go to bed…..wake up, repeat…. As much fun as it has been to be here, and visit with Andrei, we are ready to take him out of the orphanage and go home. We miss home and are ready to see our daughter and get back to our normal routine. We miss our deep fried foods, worthless TV shows and ice! I don’t think there is a single ice cube in this entire country! Ok…enough whining.
Here are some pictures of our visit today. He had a little fit today when we started cleaning up the playdoh. You wouldn’t think a child would want to clean up by himself, but he does. We were helping him and he started yelling “sam” pronounced “sum” in Russian, which means ‘myself”. His favorite word, and then threw everything on the floor. We made him pick it up and then tried to explain to him that it’s ok if mom and dad help sometimes. We like his independence, but he takes it to the extreme sometimes.

 We usually carry him back to his group after our visit, but today he wanted to “walk” back and go up the stairs by himself. I was pretty amazed at what I saw. He ceases to amaze us with what he can do on his twisted feet and legs so thin they look like they would break if you touched them. Another reason we want to get home. If he can do all of these things with what he has to work with, just think what he can do when his feet are straight and his body is properly nourished. It’s hard to imagine that he has never been out of the walls of that orphanage in three and half years. We are so excited for him, and anxious to show him the world. We are so thankful the Lord has allowed us to have this opportunity.

Day 14 – Getting Around

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Everything is quiet on the streets today. There are only a few people walking around, but restaurants and the market is open.

Below are a few pictures from today's visit of how Andrei gets around.

He has calices on his knuckles from “crawling”. He is very determined, and he has found his own way to get around!

He is able to stand while holding on to something with one hand. It breaks my heart when I see his little foot turned in completely. On one foot, he is standing on his ankle.

We were playing with bubbles today, and he tried over and over again until he made a bubble. He has incredible determination and patience when he wants to accomplish something.

Side Note:
You might be wondering if these pictures are from yesterday since we are wearing the same clothes. Let me remind you of the frozen jeans. : ) We only wash when it is absolutely necessary. Just like the orphans in this baby house, we wear the same clothes over and over again.

Day 13 - The City is Buzzing

Friday, December 31, 2010

This is our first day of our 10 day waiting period. We visited Andrei in the morning today. We had a fun visit. He is learning how to rough play thanks to dad. : )

This picture show his, “I can do it myself” look.

Followed by, “I told you I could!”

After our visit, we spent the rest of the day with another Texan family. We had a great time eating together walking around the market, and going to a café shop. We also went to a candy shop that was amazing. It had all kinds of cookies, pastries, and lots of chocolates. Ukraine is not the place to come if you want to lose weight. The sweets are amazing!

The streets were packed with shoppers today, because it is New Year’s Eve. This is celebrated like our Christmas. Christmas trees, Santa hats, fireworks, and lot of bunnies (it’s the year of the bunny) were being sold. To be expected, the trees were lit with Christmas lights in front of buildings throughout the city. Fireworks are part of many of the celebrations throughout the year, and tonight we should be able to see lots of them. We went to bed at 11:00 PM, but woke up at 12:00 with hundreds of fireworks going off at the same time.  It was like 4th of July within a 5 minute span.  

Andrei had on his New Year hat today. So cute! Happy New Year from Ukraine! We have so much to be thankful for! We send lots of love to our daughter and family back home.  We miss you all!

There was one thing on the streets today that I found to be odd. It was not the fish being sold on the street, or people carrying Christmas trees under their arms, or people buying single branches of the trees (not sure why), or the pig heads in the market, or the dog with the largest tumor I have ever seen (sad), or the eggs I bought that were covered with poop, or even the bear that was in the market the other day…no… all those things seem normal now. Today I saw this…a lion in a van!!!

I spent most of the night doing laundry by hand.  I miss my washing machine and dryer!  I leave you  with this picture.  It is a pair of jeans standing by themselves.  They are frozen!  I miss the US and the comforts that seem so common.  Tonight, we give thanks for our wonderful family and friends back home and for all the little things that are part of our day to day life in the US that make life comfortable.   We are truly blessed!