Day 8 - Landen's own Independence Day and Fireworks (double click for pics)

I love fireworks!

Wednesday, July 5th-----Day 8 Visitation

We awoke today to a very cool, rainy day! It is in the 70's--cool enough to need a sweater or light jacket. We turned off the A/C and opened all the windows....AHHHHH! Fresh Smog!!!! We went about our usual morning routine, and before we knew it ..... it was time for our 1st visit of the day!

We got to go to a much larger room today to play. It is the music room for the baby house. It was a nice change and much more comfortable than the very tiny room we usually play in. This room even has windows! There is a piano, a large wall unit with toys and musical items on it, and there were about 30 small children's chairs lining the walls. Of course, I dashed upstairs to get Landen. As I was coming up the stairwell I could hear several babies crying. Lena looked at me and said "lunchtime!" She explained that a lot of times the babies get very upset and impatient when the caretakers are feeding the other babies. When we peeked in it was pitiful. You could tell which babies had been fed and which were waiting to eat just by watching them. Landen had already been fed he was sitting contently in a swing just hanging out. As soon as one of the caretakers saw us she picked him up and took him to go get on his diaper and clean clothes. While I awaited my prince, I was able to observe two other children being fed. Even Lena commented on the large amount of food they feed these children at one time. Today, lunch consisted of a tomato, cabbage, tater, beet, and bread soup....the second course, was boiled meet and rice (which still looked like the porridge/mush that they were eating yesterday). Yum...yum!!!

When we got to the room, Rylee had laid out the blankets and toys and Bobby had gotten all the cameras ready....time to play! Well, we thought we were going to get to play with Landen, but he had other things on his mind....PACI's.......I may have started something! For the first hour, he was Mr. Independent! He just wanted to hang out with his paci's. He was trying to decide which one he liked better. He would put one in his mouth and have the other in his hand...then switch them....he would army crawl around...then switch them out again. We still do not know which one is the favorite....I guess time will tell. We introduced him to a little play drum that was in the music room (Uncle Mike...you would have been proud!) He loved the drum and got the hang of banging on it very quickly! He also seemed to really enjoy a toy bus that was in the room---but, the paci's were by far getting the most attention today. Then....the fireworks...or should I say the explosion! We heard a little rumple from the backside...and yes, it happened...his first poopy diaper for us to change! He seemed to feel a little better after that and started to play with Mommy, Daddy and RyRy! Then.....not long after his opening act we got a grande finale....we heard quite a few loud booms in the room, several color changes in the face, and the best yet ...these fireworks came with a very potent fragrance! Daddy was proud! Whew! He was a different child after that! He immediately started interacting with us more and smiling and laughing. I notice when I was changing him that it appears he has had shots in the last day or so! It looked like he has had 4-5 different shots! I will make a note to ask about that! We had a very interactive visit for the rest of the time. Toward the end you could tell he was getting very sleepy. This kid is not going to have a hard time sleeping anywhere! I would sit him up and he would try to fall asleep...I would fly him in the air and he would still try to sleep...I cannot wait until the day I can let him fall asleep in my arms when he wants to, but I understand their reasoning---he is on a very strict schedule and it throws him off too much to allow him to sleep when it is not his nap time. Our visit soon came to an end and, regretfully, I had to hand him back over.

On our way home we stopped off at our favorite bakery. We bought some fresh pizza dough, cookies and a rotisserie chicken. We ate the chicken for lunch, so guess what we are having for dinner....you guessed it....cookies :-).......J/K....homemade pizza! We, also, had some very good news from Lena. She said that Svetlana talked with the judge and we should be able to have our court date on July 13th, 14th, or 15th. This is when we would actually adopt Landen. We still will not be able to take him out of the baby house, but he would officially be a Woodard!

When we got back to our apartment we ate our chicken, and Rylee took a short nap. Before we knew it----time for our 2nd visit. When we got to the baby house they asked if we would like to go outside or stay inside. We felt like since Landen has been so congested and has had a runny nose we should probably stay in. We got to go back to the music room. Rylee was very happy to see that the other American family was there with their children. Needless to say...we did not see much of Rylee for the 1st 20 minutes. She sat and played with playdough with the girls. When I went upstairs to get Landen he reached for me!!!!!!!! I was so excited! He is gonna be a Mama's boy...I can tell! When I got to the playroom I thought I could smell that familiar fragrance...you know...the fireworks! I decided I better check out the diaper situation...yep...explosion! Three times in one day....he's breaking me in fast! I asked about the shots and it appears that they are finally treating his congestion, so this explains it! I have requested a meeting with the doctor. I have been told we will be able to meet with her tomorrow, so I will let you know how that goes. Landen enjoyed watching the little boy in the room run around and play. They left after about 20 minutes, and then it was family playtime! This kid loves to snuggle, too! He knows the way to my heart, when he wraps his little arms around my neck and lays his head on my shoulder. I just melt. When it was time to leave I took him back upstairs...and the caretaker went to take him and he would not go to her. He wanted to stay with his mama! It is happening...he is learning that we are his family! This is what I have been waiting for. The caretaker then started talking to him and the only thing I could understand was "Yum Yum"....that's all it took, and he turned back to her and was in her arms. Just wait till I am able to feed him...I'll win every time! Well, I guess we are about to go make pizza, and rest up for another day of bonding......