Update for Wednesday

Good evening all,

We started the day off by heading to the orphanage and spending almost 2 hours with Daniel. When we got there he was still asleep taking a nap. The caregivers didn't want to wake him because that would throw his schedule off. So we waited until he woke on his own. They brought him into the playroom where Mary and I fed him his lunch. He's a very good eater who prefers to eat fast! After a quick bottle of juice, it was down onto the floor for playtime. He loves it when someone holds him by the armpits and supports him while he walks. He's incredibly curious and loves going from area to area exploring.

The bonding is occurring. He's spending more and more time with us when we hold him. He's giving great eye contact and was even 'baby talking' at the end of the time today. He even snuggled with Mary when he started getting tired.

Tomorrow will be our last day with him until we return on the second trip. That will be hard on us. It's tough forming a bond with a child only to realize that you have to fly home and he stays there. But knowing that we'll be back to see him on trip 2, and then to take him home on trip 3 makes it a little more bearable.

Tomorrow we go back to the orphanage plus we have notarized the court petition that kicks off the adoption process in the Russian court system. At this time we anticipate having our court date somewhere in the first weeks of March. Following the court date, we wait the required 10 days then we can take him home. If we're lucky, he'll spend his first birthday (March 30th) as an American citizen. How cool would that be.....

Friday we have our 'medical review' with the commission of 8 doctors. Primarily a formality. Because of where it is, the time required to go through it and our scheduled time it makes going to the orphanage Friday out of the question.

Saturday we check out of the flat and head to the airport at 9:00am for our 1:00pm flight.

g and m