Hello from Siberia!

We hear that it is still terribly hot back home…it’s pretty cool here!
This picture is a little deceiving. These people really love to bundle up these kids! Our poor little guy was all hot and sweaty under all those layers.

We have made huge strides with Carson. We can get him to giggle and move around and smile. We can’t get enough of this kid’s smile. We get to the orphanage at 8:15 a.m., so we think he is still half asleep when we arrive. Erin, our massage therapist friend will love this…he LOVES to have his back rubbed and scratched, not like a little rub, but rubbed really hard. It makes him just melt and smile!

The picture above shows a rare quiet moment with Conner. We have had mostly good days with him, but did have a really hard day yesterday. They put us in a room with another couple and their 2 kids. They immediately offered him a bag of cheerios, which he plunged his hand into and took a huge handful and then crammed in his mouth. This after the orphanage doctor told us not to introduce new foods for awhile due to a rash. They also had tiny latex ballons and a bowl full of bubbles. Things you don’t give kids…

For the next 2 hours all we did was wrestle with him and try to keep him from going back over to the side of the room they were on. He wanted more cheerios, and we couldn’t let him have them. It was total over stimulation and melt down. Whoever has a copy of “The Strong Willed Child” I need that as soon as we get off that plane! This kid is a pistol! Today we played outside to avoid the same situation and had lots of fun.

We are getting really creative with the food. We have devised a way to make ice cubes for my afternoon Coke. We have also figured out that if you get really tiny thin pasta, you can cook them in the hot water out of the water cooler/heater. We think we have located the “mall” and might see if we can find a hot pot. This would make life a little easier.

We should go back to the orphanages tomorrow, but won’t be able to see them Saturday or Sunday. Hope to post again soon, and tell you about life in Kras. Conner and Carson send you all a big hug and kiss!