2 days down, 2 more to go

Another day cooped up in our apartment. It is a GREAT apartment, but it is still hard to be cooped up, inside, all day, with not much to do, when you are a 10 year old boy, (or a 40-something mom!)

Milos/Benjamin started his day at about 5am! I found out what happens when you don't get him out of the pack and play when he is ready...he becomes "streaker boy!". He can undress himself, completely, he just chooses not to when I ask him to!

Bath, breakfast, a load of laundry folded and another started, the dishwasher emptied and reloaded with the few breakfast things, and 3 apples pealed, cored and simmering for applesauce was completed by 6:45. OK, so what do we do for the REST of the day?

Milos/Benjamin prefers to eat! So, by 8, he had eaten twice, and by the time we had lunch at 10:45, it was the fourth time he had eaten today!

We tried, again unsuccessfullly, to have him nap. But he and I did, sort of, rest, for about an hour. Then it was time to eat again!

We practiced walking up and down the steps. This means he has to put on his coat, as it is pseudo-outside. He does not like these steps, they curve and they are difficult to manuver, plus the handrails are freezing, so he tends to fuss a great deal all the way down and back up again. Too bad, we did them twice today. Good practice and exercise.

He took a couple of baths.

We played "chase mom" and "Chase dad" around the dining room table. We worked on the signs for "mama" and "papa". He uses both hands when he signs. "Papa" looks more like a reindeer, but we understand. He gets it...he really does. He thinks who he wants to chase him, and signs for that person. He got confused a couple of times, as "mama" and "papa" are simply names that we have right now. He does not know what a mama is. The kids don't call all  the female caretakers "mama"  like they did in Ukraine. And papa is "tata" here. But, he is understanding that he gets his needs and some wants met by asking/signing. He is also verbalizing "eat"...sounds like "eeee" but, hey, for a kid who didn't talk, at all, 2 weeks ago, to have a 4 word sign vocabulary and a 2 word spoken vocabulary...all in English....we will take it.

He is a bright little boy in there...he is very low functioning, but I really do think much of that can be remedied. I love to watch him when he is thinking. You can really see when he is trying to figure something out, and he is doing that more and more.

Dinner was early (since breakfast and lunch were early, it just follows that dinner is too)...he started getting really tired about 3:30-4. Too late to nap. So we ate early,,,,about 4:30, he had a bath, and we just tried to play quietly for a while. Then a pudding treat and to bed around 6. It will be an early morning again tomorrow!

On tap tomorrow will be a trip to the "Lilly" store....sort of a "walgreens" type place and the best place to get diapers and babyfood. We want to have some on hand for the airplane. We both think Mass is not going to happen for us tomorrow. It is too cold out there, and church is not heated. It is a very, very very small church, and he is just not ready for this yet. But most of the day will be spent trying to fill the hours with something to do, trying not to be too loud for the other folks living above and below us.

Monday afternoon is our embassy appointment...they said they would issue the visa that day. Hope so. We leave here Tuesday. Can't wait to get home to everyone waiting for us.

Mary