3 weeks down

Tonight marks 3 weeks here in the Ukraine.. figured I might as well say it since most already know :) Today began as most days do.. visiting with our son, Joshua. Today we got a better glimpse of his stubborn side and we concluded that yes this child is so part of our family :)

Joshua loves toys but spends a great deal banging them on the wood surfaces where we hang out in the play yard. The new toys are full of scuffs. Today I was taking his hands and telling him to be gentle and he would just grunt. Well he decided after I did it to bang harder and ended up hitting his face with his toy. It really wasn't that hard it seems but he let out such a cry. I am not sure whether it was my telling him to be nice with his toys or actually the toy hitting his chin that upset him. All I know is if we had any question that we would be able to hear his cries went totally out the window at that moment. He was able to console quickly though and even though it broke my heart it was nice to be the person to console him.

We have also been bringing jars of baby food on our visits. We have not actually been told what he eats but another family that adopted from here basically stated it was like stage 2 baby food consistency. So we have bought some applesauce and banana to feed him and he eats so well for us. No messes at all and he really enjoys it. Today they had a sleeveless outfit on him so we got a better look at him. He is skinny for sure. He has a belly on him but we can feel a lot of his bones in his back and there is not an ounce of baby fat on his legs or arms. He never cries when we are done with the jar but I have a feeling he would want more if we had it. Makes me believe that he probably never fusses at mealtime when they decide he has had enough. Now if it was Jacob they would have their hands full with a kid signing please and more...

We also noticed some bites on his arms, fingers and his cheek. They appear to look like mosquito bites but we have yet to see a mosquito around. I am thinking maybe spider bites? I don't know for sure but like Dave said we want to get him out of there as soon as possible. I also am finding it so hard to give him back to the caretakers. Again I want to stress that we are in a good orphanage.. it is just so difficult to see the younger children like Joshua and yes Blake is in his groupa, sit at the table with absolutely nothing in front of them to play with. We see it day in and day out. They take the kids out regularly as well but there are these giant cribs that they set the children in and there is nothing to play with in them. Here is what the crib looks like.. This one is for you Anna.. that is Blake :) Side note we have two little boys in Joshua's groupa.. one is Blake from RR and the other is Jeremy off of RR. I have been in contact with both of their forever families and it has been Dave's mission to sneak pictures of the two of them. We have had success in Jeremy but little Blake has proven harder. The reason is the exact reason of my last paragraph. He sits up just fine but they end up putting him in the crib where it isn't easy to sneak a photo. So Anna- Dave has decided he will continue in his James Bond mode and keep trying. It actually is a mission that he takes great pleasure in as he has become very fond of little Blake. We hope to one day reunite the buddies at a future date in the US!!

Today I did not get any new pictures of Joshua as my battery in my camera decided to quit. Tomorrow will be more pictures. I would like to ask for some prayers for us- Our wait is up next Tuesday at 10a, at that time we pick up the court order and travel to get his new birth certificate. We need that to get his passport and close out his bank account. It is the final steps in region then we go back to Kiev for our 2 day embassy work. IF we can finish our paperwork in record time and leave by train Wednesday we can have our embassy appointment on Thursday and Friday with flying home Saturday. Any delays means the earliest we could leave would be Tuesday the 19th. Please pray for record completion here.. believe me when I say we are so ready to come home and shaving 3-4 days would seriously save what sanity I have left. Pray that it is God's will!