Day Two

We are settling in today as a foursome and things are going well so far, touch wood. We moved out of our scuzzy apartment and returned to the Marriott where we stayed for our first trip and for court. Any place that has a chicken talking on a cell phone as the kitchen decor is not the kind of place I want to spend a week.

Now that we are settled into our new digs we are trying to get into a routine and get the boys on the schedule that we keep at home. We ate at the hotel diner tonight which has some of the best food around and then explored the hotel playroom. They have it surprisingly well stocked with blocks, kitchen toys, a table and chairs, a chalkboard, and other toys for the children to use. We were having a really good time until someone went and spoiled the party with a stink bomb in his diaper. He shall remain nameless but he can build a pretty good block tower...ahem...

The boys are adjusting to each other as well as can be expected. We know it's hard for Artem to one day be the center of attention and the next day there is an almost two year old competing for our attention and making off with his toys. But for the most part, the boys are getting along well and Andrik spends a good portion of his day copying everything Artem does, good or bad.

I'm saving this one for one day when they are fighting like cats and dogs.

Up until today, Andrik has not cried when he got hurt. He cries and SCREAMS when he doesn't get something he wants but you don't see him react to pain like a normal child should. Tonight that changed when he shut his fingers in the dresser drawer. He cried and cried over it and Randy immediately picked him up and held him, patting his back, and rocking him. For the next half hour when Andrik was playing he would stop and walk up to one of us holding his fingers out with a pouty look on his face and want one of us to kiss his fingers and rub them.

But no amount of finger pain could stop the dog pile the boys did to Randy tonight. It was so good to hear Andrik belly laugh and have fun wrestling with his dad like children should do. This might become my favorite picture.

Tomorrow we have been invited to our translator/driver's house for dinner with his family. We still aren't sure yet when we start our adoption meetings. We need to get the Embassy Medical completed for Andrik but Dr. Boris is out hunting this weekend and said he'd call our translator when he returns this week to set up our appointment. We also have our US Embassy Interview but that's not until later in the week, maybe Thursday. So until then we'll just continue to hang out and maybe if the weather permits, we'll head to Red Square to take the traditional St. Basil's family photo. Until tomorrow, dasvidanya!