Day 14 - Happy Halloween, well we have RyRy's outfit! (double click for pics)

Tuesday, July 11---Day 14 Visitation

Privet! (That's "Hello" in Russian--although you do not hear that many people saying this, because they usually do not make eye contact, smile, or address one another unless it is absolutely necessary.).....It's day 14 of our visitation....only one more visitation day left. We cannot believe we have already been gone 2 1/2 weeks. Time is flying by.....thank goodness! We had our usual morning routine, with the exception of Bobby running to the bank to exchange some money and then going to the internet cafe to post our blog from Monday. I did get to talk with Annie and Layne on the phone--thanks Dad for 3 -waying us! It has helped a ton being able to talk to everyone from home!

Our visit with Landen went very well! When I went upstairs to get him he was still sleeping. In fact, there were only 2 other children awake. One of the caretakers went to wake him up! When she came back she immediately gave him to the caretaker that was feeding the children, and she began to feed him. Three minutes and twenty-three seconds.......I timed how long it took her to feed him a HUGE bowl of soup, a LARGE ladle full of porridge(I got to see her put it on the plate), and a tea cup of their special tea. Wow...these children have got to be setting some world records! In this time, she also was trying to get him hold the spoon and feed himself, and hold his tea cup, so if you take that time out....I bet his meal would have been inhaled in less than 3 minutes! After eating they took him back and cleaned him up and changed his clothes. Then, it was Mama time! His visit was a little different today.....he did not want to play at first...he just wanted for Mommy to hold him! I, basically, held him for the first hour of our visit. I talked to him and sang to him and he just put his head on my shoulders and babbled every now and then. Rylee was getting a little bored, so she started planning her birthday party....then, she started planning Landen's birthday party! She may become a party planner, because she has it planned out...detail by detail! The last forty-five minutes of our visit was playtime...this really worked out great, because we were not fighting to keep him awake!

After our first visit, we had Sergi drop us off at the mall. This time, we went to the outdoor market most of time. We got Rylee and Bobby a jacket. It was pretty warm here yesterday, but it has been really cold (like in the 60's at times.) Rylee has wanted a purse, so we found one she just loves. Then, we found this dress for her....she fell in love with it! A lot of the little girls wear dresses like this to weddings and special occasions. I knew once she saw it we were not leaving it behind. I told she would have to wear it as her Halloween costume---she agreed, and it was a done deal! (We took of photo of her in it!) We then went inside to look at the wooden Russian dolls. We bought a few for souvenirs for people...and then...I found a very large one that I fell in love with! It is a mother and it has a family of a girl, a small boy, and the father on it. It is hand-painted and signed by the artist, and was made in 2006! It was a little more than I was willing to spend, but Bobby insisted on getting it for me for my birthday! (See photo...isn't it beautiful?) We spent about an hour in this store, so when we were left it was time to go find Sergi! Back to the baby house we go.......

Once we arrived I ran upstairs to get Landen. He as in the playpen, and got a huge smile on his face when he saw me. Then, he started to whine and almost cry when I did not walk over to pick him up. I am not allowed to walk in the room. I am only allowed to stand in the doorway, and he did not understand! One of the caretakers heard him fussing and quickly swept him up and took him back to get ready for our visit. We went outside this time, because it has warmed up a lot today! You would not have known it by the way they had him dressed! He had on 4 layers of clothing! He loved RyRy this afternoon, which made her very happy! He basically sat in her lap the entire hour!

After our visit, we rushed home to take our purchases upstairs, and ran out the door to meet our American friends at the ice skating rink. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public due to the hockey team practicing. Oh well, as long as the girls got to play, they really did not seem to mind! We decided to go back to our apartment for dinner, again. We stopped off at a store to purchase a few items. We had chicken (yes, the rotisserie chicken--it is about the only meat we feel safe eating), green beans, and baked beans. Another great dinner! This is their last evening before this family of 4 becomes a family of 5! We are so happy for them! The girls played dress-up and we all had coke floats. They could not stay long, because they had to get home to start packing. We are going to try to meet up with them one last time tomorrow evening to say Congrats to them and wish them farewell! We feel like we have known them forever!

Tomorrow is a big day...it is the last day of our visitation period! Hopefully, we will get our court date on either Thursday or Friday! Please keep us in your prayers! Pokka, poka!