Counting down the days

Wow, we're getting close. I can't believe that Friday is almost here. It seems like just yesterday we were making our way to Moscow and here we are waiting until we get him. Easing us into the new chapters in our life (and Baby Boy's).

Today was a little tiring, both for us and Baby Boy. The early morning trips to the orphanage are tough on us because we might not get much sleep and we spend energy trying to keep him form running back to this bed. The mornings are bad for him because it is basically his nap time that we are there for. That is why he is more often tired and gets restless later on in the visit. Today was a similar situation where he was more about cuddling and trying to fight the sleep than playing with toys. We certainly don't mind that sort of bonding time with him. I think that in some ways it is better than playing with a toy as it is a closer kind of bond. It also allows us to see what his habits are as far as trying to not fall asleep. Heather has been doing a good job (no surprise there) in getting Baby Boy to sleep. She did it again today, but then another crowd of children came in for music time. At least he was paying attention to that for the most part.

We had lunch again at Mick's , but we were tired and it was close and we had to meet our translator at 2:00. We were hoping to get a nap after lunch. We once again played culinary roulette as we picked our food. So far nothing has been bad, so that encouraged us in what to pick. Heather selected a small beef patty thing and I got a possibly chicken something that looked to me like the shape of a stuffed shell. We got both with mashed potatoes. I wonder if I can get a big batch of the potatoes to go when we leave town. Would they let me get that past security at the airport? Her mystery meat choice was basically a patty-shaped meatball similar to the meatballs I had previously gotten, but without the mushroom sauce. Both had rice in them to act as a filler, so that clicked in my mind. My choice seems to have been ground chicken made into a 'meatball. (with rice filler) but shaped like a stuffed shell. They were both tasty and filling (whatever they actually were). 

In the afternoon we met our translator/coordinator to get some medicines for the orphanage. Instead of trying to lug over toys and things in the luggage, the agency suggests that we bring money and buy items in the city. We visited several pharmacies to get what we were looking for, but we need to  back tomorrow for part of it. Things like cough syrup, vitamin D, iron supplements, shampoo and pacifiers. The lady at the kid's store was a bit surprised when we went in and I bought 10 packages of pacifiers. Oh well, I couldn't tell her why.

The pharmacies are quite different from ours. It is common for items for sale to be on display sitting on shelves with plexiglass in the front. That way you can se it but you can't touch it. This is what we have seen at some of the stores and the mall, but not everywhere. The first two pharmacies we went into (there are quite a few) had a small 'waiting room' area for the customers. The walls were the plexiglass display shelves of various items, with a window that you talked to the pharmacist at. They would get you everything you needed. The third place we went into was larger and more like other stores, but not as big as ours. The city is old and they re-use buildings for different purposes and the spaces are not as modular as newer office buildings like ours. The iron supplements were in limited supply so we need to go back tomorrow for more. We will give this to the head doctor on Friday.

We also found out last night that depending on the timing of things Friday, the head doctor may bring Baby Boy into the city for us. As we won't find out until the latter part of the day that the decree is final and we can get him, it might be better for her to bring him in. We took clothes with us today for him to wear in case she does this for us. She already took him to get his passport photo, so that is one more thing done. Today might have been our last visit to the orphanage. It was kind of sad, we've been there so much we've grown accustomed to the trips there and the staff. They are very nice people even though we don't understand each other's languages. They treat the children so well and it is so different from stories we heard of orphanages. Maybe the other orphanages in Krasnoyarsk are worse, maybe just other regions. I don't know, I just know that Baby Boy has been well taken care of and will be coming to live with us soon.

It seems like home is another world almost. Our hotel room is our new home and we are used to the routine here. We are actually going to move into a larger room on Friday and get a crib. We will still be facing the river, so that is nice. One more day closer.