Remember me?

Today, we attended a program put on by the orphanage the kids were all dressed up in costumes and smiles. Pearl was dressed as a princess and enjoyed hoping and twirling about when her moment had come. I couldn't help but to sustain a grin from ear to ear almost the entire time we were there. We had an opportunity to meet her shortly after the presentation our visit was met with some apprehension. I almost forgot the time and patience it took to gain trust in our first adoption. Building a relationship will move at it's own pace everyone is different and each child has there own way of dealing with change. Having empathy is so important I can only imagine that going through this is more difficult that we can see as parents. Even little things we take for granted as adults can mean so much more to a child that has so little control. To any adoptive parent building a relationship for the first time don't get discouraged, stay positive and keep trying. If something isn't working just try something else it's amazing how quickly things begin to improve when you have found something that strikes a chord.

After the program we decided to have tea and christmas dinner with our facilitator and driver at a local restaurant. Following we arrived to visit Pearl for me the 2nd visit since my last trip here. We initially tried to walk the grounds of the orphanage, but it was getting dark and she was nervous and avoiding eye contact. I think being outside was a little scary with all the outside noise and darkness. After coming back inside I watched as she started plucking the cars out of the toy bin and lining them up one by one. I started to stack sponge blocks next to her then began handing them to her. We would stack them up then she would knock them all down and grin from ear to ear. I started to slowly watch her come out of her shell and show me a little of her spicy personality. She loves sounds I thought I would try out our monkey game the one that helped break the ice with Rose. Once she had a firm grip on the phone she was not giving it up trying every combination she could find to make more noises. Someone finally suggested picking her up and flying about the room this was probably the highest point in our visit. I would say еще then she would say да or еще and I we would spin around or up and down. I was even able to sneak a hug and get a Пока! with a huge smile and wave. Tomorrow we have our court appointment and will be spending the night in Kiev to complete paperwork needed for Samatha's final trip. This is all going by so quickly I am looking forward to spending as much time visiting Miss Pearl as we can.