The Big Day

We met Charlie! He is adorable!!
On Thursday, we picked up our paperwork at the SDA. We stood outside for an hour waiting, and this huge pack of dogs wandered by! There were about a dozen of them. I really looked like a tourist as I exclaimed over them - but we were in a tourist-y area, anyway :). After we got our paperwork, we stopped at our apartment to finish packing and get our luggage. Niko took us to the train station. He's such a great guy - he took us onto the train, told us where the bathrooms where and how to lock the door, and told the train lady (not sure what they are called?) to take care of us. The train was really exciting, for about 20 minutes. Trains are LOUD. I did not get much sleep! So I have gone a full week without a full night's sleep. Two of those nights I only got about an hour of sleep. I am worn out! On our next trip, I am definitely bringing something to help me sleep!
We got off the train, in the hail, at about 5:45AM. Our facilitator was on the same train, and tired too - but man, she's a little ball of energy! Our facilitator and driver are a husband/wife team. They are very nice! We were dropped off at our awesome apartment for a quick nap, and then we were off to meet the social worker and inspector! I am not sure which was which, but we met with one lady first. She asked us if we had children, biological or not, and a few more simple questions about ourselves. She then said that they were very impressed with our decision*, and we were off to the next office. I'm pretty sure this one was the inspector. She did some paperwork (it's never-ending), there was lots of exclaiming over how young we are (our facilitator couldn't stop mentioning it all day!), and then the inspector came with us to the orphanage. We met with the orphanage director, who read us Charlie's file and let us ask questions. We found out his birthday is in August, NOT April, like we thought! Then, FINALLY, we walked through the long hallways to meet our son!
Oh, he is tiny! He has grown and developed a lot in the last year, which our facilitator (Sasha) said no one expected him to do. I said it was because he had a mama praying for him! He's now somewhat sitting on his own, and tries to walk around in the walker. He's grown in length, but he's still far too skinny! He has tiny fingers and ankles! It was so surreal to be holding him - I kept squeezing him all over to make sure he was real. Occasionally, I let Ken hold him too. :) Charlie wasn't too excited about us at first, but he warmed up quickly. He especially liked Ken. He snuggled right in! Charlie is very curious. He watched everything around us, and noticed every time someone walked in or out of the room. It was snacktime while we were there. Charlie watched everyone's snacks come out and his little mouth started going! When his nanny finally came over to get him, his whole face lit up as soon as he saw her and he threw his arms up to her! Last week, they started spoon-feeding him (he is 3, remember) and he did NOT appreciate that! He wanted his bottle! We had such a good time with him. He makes silly faces and copies what we do, so he's a lot of fun!
The inspector observed s for awhile, then left. Our facilitator asked us if we needed time to think about it, or if we were ready to say yes to Charlie. I said YES, and she said "You don't have to answer, I can see it on your face!". She said she had to ask several times to be sure we were sure, and said people would be asking this a lot. A recent action by another family in this region has made them hesitant, and she said we might get this question a lot. But we are sure. We've dreamed and prayed and waited for so long, how can we turn him away?
We did some more paperwork at the notary's office (different than a US notary), and we're waiting for the inspector to do her report stating we are the best family for Charlie. Sasha said, "Of course you are the best family - there is no one else. There is no line for Charlie!" No one wants a little boy like Charlie. But we do! I wish we could just walk out of that orphanage with him, but it will be almost another month before that happens.
Ok, now what you really want - pictures!

 

*They are impressed with our decision not because we are doing anything impressive, but because many people - Ukrainian and American alike- cannot understand why a young couple who already have a perfectly normal, healthy boy would want to adopt. Especially a child with special needs, especially one like Charlie. I usually hear either "You're crazy" or "You're an angel". I am neither. I just love my son.