Two More Days!

Two more days until he is out of the orphanage forever!! We will not be able to take him out of the orphanage tomorrow because of all the places we need to go after we get the court decree. We will be able to take him out on Wednesday though!! I am sad we cannot get him out tomorrow but I cannot wait for Wednesday!!!

These past few days mom and I have done a lot of hanging out at the house, going to town and visiting my sweet Luke. I think I can now relate to mailmen. I have now walked to see Luke in the rain, snow, hail, freezing wind and the occasional sunny days. The weather here is so funny to me. Today it hailed for a little while in the afternoon and an hour later, when we were going to see Luke, it was a bright sunny day. Let me tell you! the other day mom and I were in town and all of the sudden, without warning, we were in the middle of a hail storm. Who knew? In April! The weather it is totally unpredictable. It is going to be weird to go home and be able to wear a short sleeve shirt! I just realized I will be getting off the plane when we get home in 70 degree weather wearing a turtleneck. Oh well.

The hail from today. I know you were dying to see it!

Two days ago (Saturday) we introduced luke to a sippy cup with a straw. Oh boy. You would have thought he had won the jackpot. He was so proud of that thing! He showed it to all of his group workers, the staff and to anyone who walked by. Even today, two days later, he shows his new cup off to everyone. It is the sweetest thing in the world! We had to teach him how to use it. He has the sucking out of a straw thing mastered but gets frustrated when no juice comes out when he tips the cup up. I show him how to use it and he does pretty well at remembering!

He is loving his new cup!

Giving his whale a drink.

 Did you know you can fit that stuffed whale inside of a kids jacket pocket without it showing? I never know what he will pull out of his pockets when we pick him up from his group. Today he pulled out an important key to a door at the orphanage. He had that key in his pocket the whole time we had him! That did not make his group leader too happy when she found out. Not sure how he got it! It totally looked like we let him have the key too! I couldn't explain that I had no idea it was in there. oh well.

His mouth did not come off of that cup for a long time!

Isn't he cute?

Today (Monday) we did a lot of playing inside. When we play inside a lot, he gets really excited and can get really loud for the orphanage workers. Do you know how hard it is to keep a little four year old boy quiet for a long time. Thats right it is pretty much impossible. Oh! I forgot to add that he is not supposed to sit on the floor either. We have gotten many looks and have been told many times not to sit on the floor. Ken and I have been caught many times on the floor with him. Oh well. So that leaves us to being only able to play on the couch made for two people to sit on. That is a recipe for disaster for any little boy. We still let him play on the floor when no one is there (it is clean for those who might wonder). Ok now dont go and tell the workers on me. He does really well for a little while playing on the couch. I am so proud of him! I can't wait to get home so he can play in some mud and just be a boy.

Playing with Babushka/grandmother/mimi on the two person couch (not sure what he will call my mom yet).

Trying on Babushka's watch.  

He loves watches!

Today I took some pictures of Luke for his passport picture and to give an updated picture to the SDA when we go back to Kiev. I can give the SDA an updated picture and they will give me the picture we were shown from when he first entered the system at two. I learned a lesson though, never give a kid Oreos before you need to take a close up picture!

I bought him this light blue sweater in Kiev. He is so proud of it! :)

I think i will use this one for his passport picture.

He is too cute!!

When he gets loud, stressed out or overstimulated, I always pick him up and hold him facing me to where his head is on my shoulder. It is so amazing how much that calms him down. The moment I pick him up he will lay his little head on my shoulder and immediately be relaxed. It is almost like he has never been held like this before. I know the workers do not do this and I wonder if anyone has ever picked him up and just held him like a baby. It is the sweetest thing. He loves to just rest on my shoulder. It is like his safety zone. He is so precious.

In Adoption News:

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will get the court decree and we will be "officially" on paper Luke's parents!! Yay!! The ten day waiting period was over on Saturday but we have to wait until tomorrow to pick it up because offices were closed today (Monday).

Tomorrow we will also head to the city where he was born, which is two hours from here, to get a birth certificate with his new name on it and Ken and I as his parents. I am so excited!!!