Today was our first “official” visit with Oksana! Our driver picked us up at 8:45 and we battled traffic to Vorzel. When we got there they put us in a small room with some desks, a bench, a cabinet, and a few random items and had us wait for her. When she came in the caregiver was very sweet and was telling her that mama and papa were here. She set her up with a blanket to sit on and a pillow to prop behind her back and off she went. Yesterday Oksana was in a dress and a darling hair do. Today we got "orphan Oksana"! It was an outfit like no other and her hair hadn't even been brushed! I guess they figured after we said yes to her there was no use bothering :). We brought crayons and a coloring book, a ball, a snack, and bubbles to play with. The coloring book was not a big hit but the crayons sure were! She dumped out the crayons and started putting them back in the box. At first we were noticing how she couldn’t get the crayon in and that she was really struggling but after a few minutes of perseverance she was putting them in like a pro….then dumping them out….and putting them back in. She did this for about 45 minutes! The girl has an attention span! We did bubbles, threw the ball, and then took out the crayons again. When we were at the end of the fun we picked her up and walked her around the room. We spun in circles and played a tickle game with dad. Little did we know that after all of that fun she would NOT want to be put down. Unfortunately she is not a small kid and holding her nonstop is not an option! She was not happy about that. At this point we had been trapped in this little room with her for over 2 hours and she was getting tired and hungry. We tried to entertain her a bit more but she wanted nothing to do with what we had and that’s about when the orphanage worker came back in to get her. I think we were all relieved! Almost 3 hours trapped in a room with a child who can’t walk and barely knows you probably isn’t the best case scenario! Tomorrow we are going to bring our stroller and ask if we can take her outside for a bit. Here are pictures and video of our time together. I'll give you some good daddy pictures since it was all mommy pictures yesterday:
Today is the first day that I am feeling the impact of this, the novelty is wearing off, and I’m missing my boys terribly. I know everyone goes through this at some point and honestly I’m surprised it took me this long! It’s been kind of a hard afternoon but hopefully tomorrow will be better. After our visit with Oksana tomorrow we are meeting up with the Claxtons again and going to a BBQ with them and some other Americans living in Ukraine. We are both looking forward to that!
5 comments:
GREAT video and she already looks like she is adapting well and VERY happy. So glad to hear things are going well and looks like the time line is not as long as originally anticipated. Hang in there you'll be home before you know it.
I love the part where she wants Larry to hold her!
A few observations: One of our hardest visits with Nina was the one after our first official meeting. It was in that same room. I think it is part of dealing with the reality of who Oksana is (who Nina really was)
Oksana moves a lot like Nina, their facial expressions are very similar. It felt like I was watching videos of our times there with Nina.
Love how she calls Larry Poppa already, loving the pink tights tucked into the green shirt as well. Oksana is stylin!
She's beautiful and so blessed! You will be so rewarded to parent a special little girl like Oksana! She seems bright...I think I heard her already saying "again"! WOW! I love the sparkle in her eye! God Bless!!!
You said "I know everyone goes through this at some point and honestly I’m surprised it took me this long!" The anticipation you and Larry have been going through for the past 48-72 hours was overwhelming for anyone's mind. It only proves one thing...You are very special parents to your boy's, and Oksana. As your friend Ellen said, everyone that goes there feels the same way.....You will all be together soon, and you can look back on this later with a more positive attitude. Your boys are in the best hands besides yours. If you did not feel this like this you would not be Cathy's daughter.
ps...yes I wrote this at 2:42 am. Some storms coming into the area woke up the dogs. So I checked your blog....love ..uncle Mark & aunt Donna
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