Fun and Interesting Things About Caleb

Pictures: Caleb being silly for the camera

Thanks again guys for the encouragement and for not telling me I'm acting like a baby. At least if someone who hasn't adopted yet reads this and then experiences it themselves later, they'll know they are normal. We did get Caleb's passport on Friday and his tiny little face is so cute. Dima called the embassy and was told there is still a chance we can actually get the visa the same day (Monday) so not to let go of my ticket for Tuesday yet. The scary thing is I can't get my airline agent to email me back to see if she got Caleb added for the same flight. Just please keep praying.

No matter what happens I'll get to talk to Lin on Monday night and figure out a way to see her so that is something to look forward to. And I'll be home in less than a week whichever way it works out. And God is still here in Ukraine, too.

Now to Caleb: He likes to help me around the apartment here. When I make the bed, he has to get his little hands in there and pull on the comforter and pat it. When I move the coffee table so I can vacuum the black and white zebra-striped rug (!!!), he helps carry it. He loves to get hold of the dish cloth and wash table, chair, even floor if I'm not paying attention. He gets a folded up piece of paper and sweeps crumbs with it. And he loves to pick up 'guck' which can be anything from a booger to a piece of lint to a crumb of bread. A couple of times he has thrown his guck in the bowl I'm eating out of!

We added a new food to the short list of things he eats: oranges! I was so surprised. He can't handle all the fibery stuff but really enjoyed the juicy part of the fruit. So maybe that will be something I can take on the plane, too. I always offer him whatever is on my plate and he always says 'neh' so I couldn't believe it when I got a 'da' instead. Yeah, a source of vitamin C!

He does not cry when he falls, or whacks his head--not even when he has fallen out of bed. Once when he knocked his face on the coffee table I thought he was going to cry but it was more like a sharp intake of breath but no cry. He did make a noise when he got his fingers pinched in the drawer tonight and he has a sound that lets me know he's stuck somewhere but not really crying. The only time he has cried was when I washed his hair and he also fusses when I wash his back and bottom (he still insists on standing in the tub so to get to his back and bottom I have to move him away from the edge a little bit so he probably feels less secure) Well, a time or so he has got a real sad look on his face out of the blue and had tears coming out of his eyes but that wasn't due to a fall--I'm guessing he's remembering Vorzel.

He wakes up so sweetly in the mornings. We haven't had any early morning schedule so we just sleep until we wake up. He's been awake first most mornings and is just sitting in the bed making cute little baby noises or this morning was laying there kicking me with his feet (OK, so the kicking wasn't particularly sweet but he wasn't squalling or screaming.) One morning he was looking into my face. Monday we have to leave at 8 am so that might be a different story.

He usually sucks his thumb when he's falling asleep or if he's trying to get back to sleep in the night. I think it's adorable. I never see him suck his thumb otherwise. (Now pick his nose is another story . . .)

He sits in a regular chair while I feed him and doesn't climb out and run all over the place. I found out tonight that he takes real liquidy things better with a bigger spoon than with the baby spoon.

He feels likes he's somewhere between 18 months and 2 yrs. When I play with him and talk to him and look at him and watch him playing on his own, I think of him as being around 2. He loves to open and shut drawers, open and shut cupboard doors, say 'no.' I am actually starting to remember signs and songs and fingerplays, some of which I haven't thought of in years. We've done 'Wheels on the Bus,' '5 Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree,' '5 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed,' 'Where is Thumbkin,' '3 Little Kittens,' 'Eensy, Weensy Spider' and of course 'This Little Piggy went to Market.' (Sorry, I cannot make the quotation marks work on this computer.)

I wish I knew Ukrainian/Russian kiddo rhymes/songs because there are times I know Caleb is saying them just by the way he'll be dancing his toy around and the sing-song of his voice and even the rhyme of some of the phrases. So cute but I can't reinforce because I don't know the words.

In case anyone is into diapers, he is peeing AND pooping.

OK, you get the point--he's a keeper.

Life in Limbo

I had so hoped to tell everyone that we were able to pick up the passport today. Dima called the passport folks but no, it did not happen. Is it possible to get the passport and go to the embassy on the same day--ie, tomorrow? Dima says I will not know until Monday (25th) whether I can fly on the 26th :(((( I am bummed. I really don't know why 26th vs. 28th makes such a huge difference to me emotionally. And not knowing drives me crazy.

Little cutie-bug is sleeping across the middle of the bed again--I'll have to see which side I can squeeze in on tonight :) He is so precious.

Just to say thanks

I sure appreciate all the comments and encouragement. It makes me feel much better to know other kids has survived on bananas and yogurt and cereal. At least they are all things with good nutritive content. My potato 'soup' did not go over too well though he did put it in his mouth. Guess I just didn't shove it back far enough into his throat :( That sounds like a horrible way to eat. Thanks, Amy, for the heads-up about giardia. And thanks for the info about paperwork, Kris. Honestly, I was so excited about the problem today working out that I didn't listen particularly well to the rest of what Dima said. :( He was telling me what things were supposed to be done what days but I need to double-check with him. Maybe it was the extra day with the visa that was making him think that Tuesday would not work. Our flight leaves around 7 am. so that makes sense. And I don't think there are flights on Wednesdays. Well, then I can be OK with Thursday--since it is technically Thursday now (00:52) that's just a week away. I will still be home in time for my niece's wedding on Friday which is icing on the cake.

Gotta go back to bed. I fell asleep putting Caleb down and had to get back up to brush teeth, put food back in fridge, turn off lights and read everyone's messages.

God is Listening

I just got a phone call from Dima with good news. The other office that had to get involved because of Caleb's long name--I believe Dima referred to it as the tax office--turned out not to be a problem after all!! All I can say is Praise the Lord! I could really sense that people were praying. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Things happen when people pray. So if everything goes exactly right we could finish on Monday. I think Dima is a bit skeptical of it all working that smoothly. I've been praying that God will either make the system work quickly or give me the strength to hold on a couple days longer. But I know if He could make today's news turn out well--He certainly COULD bring it all together if that would suit his plan.



On the eating, drinking subject, thanks to all for your encouragement. I think I figured out part of the problem. Because Caleb is eating finger food like Fruit Loops so well I wrongly assumed he could also eat things like small cubes of cheese or bologna or small bites of soft things like potatoes. But the consistency he has handled well so far is baby cereal (thanks, Carol, for the recipe--it worked) and the thin kind of yogurt that a person could actually drink. For lunch I heated up some chicken and vegetable baby food and thinned it down and mashed it up as well as I could with a fork. He gave it a gallant effort but just couldn't get the little flecks of chicken off his tongue and couldn't seem to wash them down with tea either. So I need to find a younger level of baby food. And just now he took a few sips of tea out of his sippy cup without drowning himself so things are looking up. I'm planning to make real thin mashed potatoes for supper with butter and milk.



As far as the potty subject goes, I'd be happier if his diapers were a lot wetter--the one this morning had some good weight to it. The next one was fairly wet. When we got home from the orphanage on Monday he had 2 really squishy, goopy, poopy diapers. But none yesterday. I just hope all the bananas he's eating aren't plugging him up. He has smelled really REALLY stinky a couple times-once yesterday and once today but it must have been just gas. At the orphanage, I wonder if they usually go poo-poo on the potty?



And today we were looking at a book and I made the signs for bird and cat and he copied me. I'm sure he didn't know exactly what they meant but I thought it was cool.

I took him with me to the market for the first time. A couple people remarked how cute he is. Of course, I can't understand their words but I can understand the tone. I didn't see baby food or this soup powder that Dima was telling me about so we just got the stand-bys.

The sun was shining like crazy into our apartment today--I'm sure the people at the orphanage would have a heart attack that Caleb was running around only in his tights and a long-sleeve T-shirt. But going to the market I should have made all Ukranians proud by adding his heavy fleece-lined pants, sweater and coat. (I must admit, however, I did forego the gloves.) I did basically the same for myself and about sweated to death in the market.

Well, I'm just 'blathering' now so I'll close.

Please pray

Thanks again for all the congratulatory notes. Caleb is just a cutie-bug, there is no way around it. He has a great giggle, likes to tease and be tickled, and it's adorable the way he imitates me sometimes--like when I'm sitting with terrible posture on the couch and he sits exactly the same way. We got his passport pictures taken today.

My first concern has to do with getting him to eat and drink enough. I know other adoptive parents have faced this difficulty, too. I'm most concerned about liquids. When I give him a cup, he drinks a little but then either starts playing and spitting or just drowns his shirt. When I tried a cup with a sippy lid he holds the cups absolutely upside down and most of the liquid goes on his shirt. (The sippy cup I got is free-flowing) I tried just giving him a water bottle but he tried to put his mouth over the entire end of the bottle and ends of soaking himself or the floor. I finally got about a third of a cup of tea down him spoonful by spoonful. He liked the tea but that is such a slow method. I've got to ask what kind of cup he is used to. I wonder if he could use a straw? As far as food goes, he's had bananas, fruit loops, yogurt and bread and a cookie--wouldn't eat rice or potatoes or cheese or bologna. When Dima picked us up he was asking how Caleb had done, how he slept, how he was eating. He was insistent that he needs to have meat. Then he gave me the daily schedule from the orphanage with the list of kinds of foods he eats at what times and says he needs to eat more than bananas and yogurt. I said, 'Dima, I know that.' Probably if I weren't feeling so emotionally vulnerable right now, it wouldn't have been a big deal but I am just ready to be home where I can easily get the foods and supplies I want, where I can actually read the directions on labels for how to prepare foods (like the hot cereal that I bought) and where I'll be with my family and my friends and my supports. Do you know what I mean? I'm not usually such a basket case but tears kept rolling down my cheeks there in the back seat of the car and I kept trying to duck down and hide them.

And then Dima said we've run into a potential problem--well, he says he's pretty sure it WILL be a problem. On some vital computer form, Caleb's name is one letter too long to fit in the space (so it comes out Caleb Alexande, I guess) Without this problem, we would have Caleb's passport by Friday which I think would be just right for me to go home on Tuesday. With the problem, another government office has to get involved and Dima doesn't know how long it will take to resolve the problem. (I think Donna ran into a similar situation.) Please pray that either this won't turn out to be a big deal at all or that the Lord will give me strength and endurance to face a longer time away from home.

Thanks for your love and prayers.

Gotcha Day

Pictures: Caleb arrives in my apartment; Caleb enjoying the remote (recognize this sweater, Meredith?); eating a . . . banana

Guys, you all leave such sweet comments that I just sit here and say 'awwwww' Teresa and Scheri, those are very precious notes. I miss you so much and will hopefully be home next week. We're almost there. You know, God asked our whole family to do a very important thing. Right now, the hardest part of obeying God is having to be apart for such a long time. But it is almost over and then we will all get to enjoy Caleb the rest of our lives and know that we made GOD happy.

So guess who's sound asleep in the next room dressed in the cutest footie-pajamas from Meredith. Let's see: he has long light brown hair, blue eyes, a great giggle, chunky little fingers, adorable little toes, and is in my humble but right opinion the cutest little boy in all of Ukraine. (Now I didn't say in all the world because I just happen to have the other 4 cutest children already at home--hey! many of you have never seen pictures of any of us so how can you dispute) It is so hard to believe that Caleb is actually here after all those years of adoption dead ends and all those months of paperwork hassles and re-dos. He was who God had in mind all along.

The day started at 8 am with the usual driving from office to office and from town to town and sitting in the car most of the time. The funny thing was that it finally occured to me that my cell phone has games on it so what am I doing while all this momentous paperwork is being passed from hither to yon? I'm playing Snake and trying to play Bowling (a little too true-to-life since the ball kept going in the gutter) But finally the time came to go to the orphanage for the last time. We'd already dropped off the clothes so the workers had him all dressed. There were at least 6 caregivers in addition to the doctor who were gathered to tell him good-bye. He has obviously been a very well-loved little boy. I had written them a note of appreciation for all the good care he has received--I hope someone will translate it for them. For some reason, Dima seemed to be in a huge hurry to get out of there--maybe the ladies were telling him not to prolong their agony or maybe they didn't want Caleb to see them cry. My eyes were teary, I know that.

I had hoped to get to take a picture of his bed, where he ate, where he played. Dima asked but was told no. Dima said I was not supposed to see any other children and I guess other children would be in those areas. I'm kind of sad about that--because it would be so great for Caleb's baby book--but obviously it is not my call.

But I definitely was not sad about getting my son. He had no problem at all being in the car--just enjoyed watching the people and cars and scenery. He chattered for awhile and then ended up falling asleep on my lap which was very sweet. I was bummed to have to wake him up to come into the building. But he woke up without a problem, wasn't grumpy, came into the apartment and checked everything out--opening and closing drawers, opening and closing cupboards. He grabbed the phone right off the bat and probably called Zimbabwe but the bill didn't come to me. He had a lot of fun with the empty plastic water and Cola Light bottles-he whacked on various surfaces, used the bigger one to bat the smaller one, actually moved the smaller bottle all the way across the rug in this way. He played for quite awhile with the poseable bunnies (I remembered the sign for bunny so kept doing it when I said bunny and he was watching my hands) and finger puppets and Color Wonder markers we've had at visits. He wasn't particularly interested in the very soft stuffed puppy. I sang him 'Jesus Loves Me' and 'Jesus Loves the Little Children.' He showed me a little dance. I'd seen him holding hands and swaying with Dima so I tried it except this time Caleb showed me a couple more moves--he backed up a step or so, turned in a circle (so I did, too) and then came toward me to clap my hands. He ate a banana and quite a few dry fruit loops (which he seemed to chew well and swallow OK.) When I came near his bowl without food in my hands, he told me Neh-Neh--like he was afraid I was going to grab his chow. I kept giving him a few more and a few more and finally he just handed me his bowl so I assumed that meant he was done. And he got down from his chair and let me wash his fingers. He threw the little bite of colby-jack cheese I'd handed him earlier and later when I offered him some boiled potatoes he wasn't interested. So I guess he was full.

I gave him sort of a bath. He stood in the water without a problem but wouldn't sit down. He let me soap him up and rinse him off using the mesh scrubber so it worked but I was afraid he would slip.

At one point during the afternoon, I'd laid him on the bed cuz I thought he might need to finish his nap but he wasn't interested and got back up to play. But around 7 he started getting kind of whiny and started swaying back and forth in the bedroom doorway so I took him in and he was very content to help me take off his clothes and put on his jammies. I had him laying very quietly with me humming softly and rubbing his hands but I guess I quit too soon. I sat up on the edge of the bed and pretty soon he was sitting up, too. So I thought, I'll just lay down on my side of the bed and he'll lay down again pretty soon. Nope, he got out of bed. So I got back up, laid him back down and started in on my lullabies and rubbed the side of his face real softly and he fell asleep laying crossways right in the middle of the bed. I hope I can get in without disturbing him too much--if I can find a spot to sleep!

My last day as a tourist

Pictures: St. Andrews; St. Sophia cathedral, St. Sophia bell tower; clothes for bringing Caleb home tomorrow; sacks of stuff to take with me tomorrow to the orphanage

First off, THANKS again to people who leave comments. It is such a touch of home.

Amy, thank you so much. It sounds like Ukraine and Russia must have similar climates.

Yes, Lin, I definitely hope we can meet the night of the 25th! Are you using Oleg? If so, his translator Dima could show you where I live on a map. My number once you get to Kiev is 529-7648. Do you know yet what your address will be? Maybe if I start hunting for it on my maps now I'll actually find it by the time you get here. As far as something from the USA: you wouldn't mind flying via Idaho and grabbing my stroller out of the back of our van would you??!!! (laugh here) Other than that, I'm fine. That is so sweet of you to ask. I was hoping to meet Sheila, too, but it sounds like she's trying to fly into another city rather than Kiev.

Kris, it sounds like you spent your time here doing exactly what I thought I would be doing a lot of. I keep a prayer journal but haven't made nearly as many entries as I planned to. And getting that extra bonding time with your daughter was a great benefit of staying close by the orphanage. The only plans I had to play tourist was to possibly do a one-day tour of the city that one of the apt rental sites advertised. But I am grateful for all the beautiful things I've been able to see. That would be so great if you could come back some time and see the sites--maybe when everything is green and flowering.

Scheri, I love you, too, honey. I am sorry about the weird-acting cat--sounds like Daddy has a good plan to fix her problem. Yes, I have been to lots of churches but no actual church services. I miss it so much but I am praying for you guys cuz I know you are probably in Children's Church right now though it's almost bedtime for me.

And now, my last day as a tourist . . . Well, the last time Kevin and I visited Andriivsky Street I saw this madroshka (I know I am murdering the pronunciation of that) of a Ukrainian family with 15 pieces nesting inside each other and since I couldn't get it out of my mind and since it would definitely be cheaper to get it now than to make another trip to Ukraine to purchase it and since tomorrow I will be taking custody of a certain little cutie-pie I decided that this was the day to go purchase it. Every time I was there on Souvenir Alley (my nickname) with Kevin I got hopelessly turned around so I was a bit nervous about making the trek alone but figured if I couldn't find the place, I'd just turn around and come home. I studied the map which helped tremendously in my understanding of the general layout of the land and how different important landmarks related to each other. (When I'm with Kevin I honestly do not pay any attention at all to where I am) So I stroked it down to my metro station (in my view of things, walking like you're late for an IEP meeting or a job interview or a day-after-Thanksgiving sale makes a person look more Ukrainian), pushed my token into the slot, headed down the escalator (if you're ever bored on an escalator here, try just planting your hands and feet in a comfortable position and then try not to move your hands--Kevin discovered that the hand rails and the feet portions move at different speeds so your hands will either pull way out in front or trail way behind after awhile), and headed for the Poshtova Pl. ('poshtova' looks kinda like 'nowtoba' in cyrillic) I'd forgotten that this stop is right by the River--beautiful view but icy wind. Traffic on the metro was light enough I actually got to sit most of the way. Then up the hill on the fernicular (sp?), past St. Michaels, down a street where I kind of had to watch out for the tree-trimmers overhead and easily to St. Andrews. This is the church right by the SDA and right by Andriisky Street but I'd never looked at it for some reason. There were quite a few people in it today--I guess cuz it's Sunday--crossing themselves, lighting candles, etc. I had my own private in-my-heart worship service thanking Jesus on the Lord's Day for giving his life for me. Again the artwork was beautiful and awe-inspiring. My eyes were teary from the wind but in that atmosphere teary eyes seemed very appropriate. Though I would have liked to take pictures, and though there were other people doing exactly that, it just didn't seem reverent. Finally I turned away and headed back outside, getting a beautiful view of the city. I was reminded of what I'd read in my guide book earlier in the day about the location of St. Andrews: '' The place for the church was not chosen by accident. According to the chronicle, the Apostle Andrew, standing on this hill, pronounced prophetic words: 'Can you see these hills? The grace of God will shine on these hills, and there will be a great city there, and many churches will be erected by God.' '' So be it.

My shopping quest didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped. I couldn't find the guy who had the madroshka I had liked so well. He wasn't set up in the same place he had been. I didn't go the entire length of the street but I did go quite a ways. I found one that was OK--less pieces, more money, not painted as cute--but OK. The moral of this story is if you find a souvenir you REALLY like, you better get it--that is, once you have a clue what an appropriate price is.

It was really easy to get back to St. Michael's now that I was paying attention. I'm sure it was as beautiful as ever except my glasses were so fogged up I couldn't see well. As I came out and actually looked across the plaza I saw another church that I recognized from the guide book so I headed over there (very straight, easy shot so no chance of getting lost). On the way I heard music and saw that there was an ice-skating rink set up with lots of people enjoying that activity. The church turned out to be St Sophia's and I had to pay 2 greivnas to get into the compound. It has a bell-tower that looks very similar to St. Michael's bell tower and they face each other across a big open area with nice, wide walkways. (There are intersecting streets but easy to cross) Apparently there was an additional charge for tickets to actually enter the church and possibly some museums on the site. (Being illiterate is a bummer.) But I walked around the compound and took lots of pictures. Of course, each time I took a picture I had to take my glove off to press the button--and boy, the air was absolutely frigid. It was time to go home.

After I had late lunch (bread, bologna and cheese that I sliced myself, oh great chef that I am) and got warmed up a bit, I did head over to the market and managed to make a few purchases all by myself including different laundry soap. Not being able to read all the settings on the washer (we did figure out white, color and wool) nor the directions on the laundry soap box make for some somewhat uneducated guessing. I don't know if I've been using the wrong soap or too much soap for the amount of clothes, or not setting it to rinse enough or what but it feels like my skin is a bit irritated pretty much everywhere my clothes touch and I generally do not have sensitive skin. I've been playing with a couple of the settings--one is temperature I'm pretty sure and I think the other one might be water level. Hopefully all this adjusting will help.

You would laugh at the number of bags I have grouped up by the door so I won't forget them tomorrow. There's a big bag of diapers and a couple boxes of chocolates for the orphanage. There's a sack of clothes for Caleb--including 2 pair of pants and 2 outer shirts because I'm not sure which will fit better--and coat, gloves, hat, inner shirt, diaper, sox and shoes. Another sack has bottled water, Fruit Loops equivalent, and will have bananas and sippy cup. My big-purse-turned-diaper-bag isn't even out of the bedroom yet but it is packed. Remember please, my youngest is 9 and the last little guy we fostered was in 2001. Please tell me I will remember how to do this.