"Camp was great!"

Camp is going great!  The last two days Tyler and "B" have been going to vacation bible school together. Day one included a trip for a haircut and day two was a trip to go rock climbing.  Part of the day includes English lessons and of course bible class.  When "B" was picked up, he said camp was "great" in English.  In two short days he's picked up a ton of English words and communication has been surprisingly good.  We have lots of moments when we have to use a dictionary or use google translator, but it's working just fine. At dinner, we use flash cards and we all learn a little vocabulary.  "B" learns English and the rest of us learn Russian.

You may be wondering why we're not using his name.  Let me explain.  We were asked not to divulge his real name on anything that goes on the Internet.  Seeing as we are unaware of the true reason he's at the orphanage, there is fear that someone may be seeking him out.  The second reason is because of our intentions to adopt.  A week or so before he arrived, we received a letter from the Ukrainian government reminding us that under Ukrainan law, we are not allowed to preselect a child for adoption.  That being said, it is recommended that we not publicly announce that he's been here with us for three weeks.  The letter also went on to remind us that we are not allowed to keep the child with us in the US after the hosting program is over. Failure to comply will result in cancellation of other hosting programs.  Needless to say that we will do our part not to ruin a great thing.

He's had such a great time discovering all the toys that were so nicely piled around the house.  He is so fascinated by all the mechanical things and loves Pixos, remote control cars, bubble baths and the "magnetic pen" (Doodle Pro).  This morning on the way to camp (known as "lager" in Russian) he enjoyed opening and closing the window and having the air blow in his hair. In the afternoon on the way home, it wasn't as fun since in was 100F and he wanted the window closed.  Other things he loves are chocolate milk, apple sauce in a squishy Dora bag and tortellini.  Things that didn't cut it were bagels, broccoli and regular milk.  As one person explained to us at the camp, milk in the Ukraine tastes like "smoke water", so no wonder he didn't like it.

He's fitting in very nicely and has really taken to Tyler. Unfortunately, it's a little excessive at times and we have to intervene.  The A - team really likes "B" too and there are constant tears over who sits next to him at the table or in the car.  "B" copies what the boys are doing and vice versa.  When he was picked up after camp, he was told "we go get Alex", to which he replied "Alex brat". Funny enough, "brat" is Russian for brother.  We were warned that our child would probably use the word while he was here, we just didn't realize it would happen on day one.

We were also warned that our child may have sleeping issues, nightmares or wet the bed. The only ones waking up in the middle of the night are our own kids going to the bathroom.  "B" sleeps great and wakes in the morning and immediately gets dressed.  Our kids...well....15 mins after we ask for the 4th time, they're dressed too.