One week from today....

we get to take alex from the orphanage!

We have had to play inside because of the cold weather, Alex's preference and my sinus/cold/whatever. In the mornings, there is another couple visiting with their son, W. They always stay inside and if both boys are in the playroom, Alex is just BAD. He tackled W yesterday and then grabbed their backpack and tried to go through it. Needless to say, that was 2 timeouts!

This morning, we took him outside. He did not want to go and cried and the caregiver had to talk him into it. He was fine after we got outside. They lady who does the gardens gave him a pecan and he was fine after that. No timeouts this morning!

He had his snack of apple pieces and played with the tape measure - that is his favorite thing now. He pulls it out and then pushes the button to "reel" it back in! In between that, Tim was able to measure him and he is 39.5 inches tall. I still don't know his weight yet, but hope to find out soon. I have been looking at size charts and the 3T & 4T goes by height and weight, so I really need to weigh him. I wanted to this morning, but Tim reminded me that he had on all of those outdoor clothes! I should have this evening, but it slipped my ming until right now.

This afternoon, we let Alex stay inside since that is what he wanted to do this moring. We had the playroom to ourselves and he was pretty good - only one timeout for hitting Daddy. He is doing well with repeating words and did answer to Alex this morning.

While we were in the playroom, the director and a mother walked by with a cute little girl who has Down's. Evidently, the girl was being admitted to the orphanage. I can't imagine doing that if I had a child with Down's. This is a different culture and I am struggling not to judge the mother, because it is not my place to do so. We also saw a little boy with Down's this afternoon. He was so cute and had a big smile. Children with Down's touch my heart because my step-brother has a son who has it. At birth, the pediatrician told them to get him on the list for a local institution because he could never function. Well...today, David is 36 and is doing fine. He always makes me smile!

We will be moving into the city on Monday 3-15-10. Tim found a 1 bedroom apartment in the heart of the "walking street" and I am so excited! It is a corner apartment with 2 balconies and it has a washer and internet, so what more could I ask for? There are great restaurants there and Alex can get his first taste of McDonald's. There is just so much to do there and everything is so convenient. We hope to be finished with business here by Friday, 3-19-10. We reserved the apartment throught Sunday just in case.

From here, we will go to Kiev to the Embassy and this will probably take 2 business days. We hope to have nice weather there so we can hit the open market near the SDA for some souvenirs. I also need to get a photo of the front of the SDA. I have a photo of the gate that we used on most visits, but not the front door.

Keep us in your prayers that everything will go as planned. We miss our home and our dogs and bed!

Love,

R & T & A