Keep-a-koo!

Maksim is such a sweet boy. And hungry! We fed him a cup of yogurt and some rebka crackers for a snack this morning. We love to feed him because he is so quiet, polite, and eager. It gives us time to bond. Zarina and her Momma came to say good bye to the children and the caregivers. Maksim shared his cellphone with her! He won't share that thing with anybody. We were stoked. Maybe Maksim has his Chloe!!!!

We went for a nice lunch to a Russian restaurant today. Jason hasn't been eating enough food so he decided to order two meals. He ate a large bowl of borscht and a beef pot with potatoes. For dessert he had crepes with sweetened condensed milk. I ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup, a cucumber and cabbage salad - it was kinda like the cucumber and onion salad that my grandma and mom make. For dessert, I ate a caramel and whip cream cake. Lunch was very filling and very tasty as Lena would say!

In the afternoon we fed Maksim a pear and looked at the life book. He likes to look at the pictures of our nephews. Later, we took Maksim for a walk. It was so much fun. We played one, two, three and lifted Maksim into the air by his hands. He loved it. He would shout "two" and then his legs would go limp and if we weren't ready to lift him up , he fall face first toward the snowy ground! Of course, we hand his hands so he wouldn't land - but we would have to pick the little snowman back up and get him ready for another round. As we turned the corner around the building by the gates, he started heading toward them. He did not want to go back to the baby house. He wanted to march straight out of the gates. We were with him. We know that it will be about 3 more weeks before we can head out of those gates. We will spend the time walking and bonding and playing.

When we got back to the visiting room we played peek-a-boo for a while. He said it so cute! Keep-a-koo, he'd say as he hid behind his hands! Keep-a-koo.

At the end of the visit, Maksim did not want to put away his toys. He kept asking in his very nicest voice pashaloosta for another book or toy. We gave in a couple of times to try to foster polite behavior. But we knoew it was time to leave. Maksim gave his Daddy the longest and sweetest hug to date. They hummed softly in each others ears. It made Momma want to cry - but she didn't want to cry in front of Maksim. Maks gave Momma a big hug and kiss right on the lips as he said Da Svidanya.





Da Svidanya, baby. We already love you so much!