all we want

After 8 long days, we saw Vlad yesterday. Many of you have probably seen the video Josh posted of him on facebook. It was quite the visit -- when he first came out of his group's room, it seemed to take him a moment, as though he was just waking up, blinking, and saying, "is that really you? you came back for me?" By the time we had him down in the visiting area, he was back to his old tricks and had Josh chasing him around again. After about an hour, he just wanted me to hold him, rock him, and sing to him. It was very sweet. And of course, he was wearing the same shirt that he is wearing in his original Reece's Rainbow picture -- the photo that started it all and captured my heart.



When we went to get Vlad this morning from his group's room, we opened the door and he came running with arms outstretched and a huge smile on his face while the other kids all yelled "mama" and "dada" -- he definitely was excited to see us. And since it was a beautiful day out (like 50 degrees at least), we got to take Vlad outside to play on the playground equipment. But first, he had to be properly bundled by the nannies. If you have seen the movie, A CHRISTMAS STORY, he looked like Randy when his mother puts him in the snowsuit and he can't put his arms down. Like a tick about to pop. It was pretty funny because it gave him a waddle that seriously rivals mine as a pregnant woman. We played on the swings and had a great time. And every time he got to the bottom of the slide, he would sign "more" and Josh would take him back to the top. So fun.




This afternoon, we went again and this time were joined by the Carlin family -- they are adopting Danil, Josslyn, and Parker. AND they brought their son Kellen and we brought Syrus. So that visiting room was hopping! And the Carlins are great -- our kind of people. We love them.

It was great to watch Syrus and Vlad together again. Syrus is so kind, always sharing his toys or food with Vlad. And the two of them played together on the floor for a bit. I love seeing the two of them together. There are moments when they look so alike which I love and also moments where they are clearly two very distinct boys with their own personalities which I also love.




And shout out to the Beauty and the Beast cast, Vlad sported his B&B sweatshirt today! He looked very cool.



Tomorrow is the big court date. We will visit Vlad in the morning and then Marina will go with us to translate and facilitate the proceedings. It will all happen at 3pm here and 7am in the Midwest. Please pray that all goes well and we are named Vlad's new parents. That's all we want.