Sweet visit today

We arrived at the orphanage this morning and the kids were inside (it was pretty cold out) sitting on their little "sectional" watching TV. Maia didn't see us at first (we were standing at the door just watching her), but a couple of the other kids did and started waving. When Maia realized we were there, she got up and ran over to us with a big smile on her face. I picked her up and she let me hug her before going to daddy. She actually let daddy kiss her - which was a first!

We took her outside and she wanted to swing for a couple minutes, but then decided she wanted to see what was in "the bag (this is where we keep her toys, treats, etc)." She was thrilled to see her drawing book and wanted to color outside on the bench. I sat next to Maia and put my arm around her, she didn't try to move away from me. :-)

Those precious little hands got awful cold so we decided to take her back inside. The problem with that is we have to put away the coloring book and markers - this makes for an unhappy little girl. But, once we got inside - she was ok again. We brought a ball to play catch with, thinking that this might help a little with motor skills. Mark and I sat on the floor and I gestured for Maia to come and sit in front of me. She came right away. We started out rolling the ball back and forth which she enjoyed, then I helped her toss the ball to daddy. When he tossed it back, I would help Maia catch it (she really did most of it on her own) - talk about a HAPPY girl! She was thrilled. Mark was going to video this, but the disruption in throwing the ball caused her to lose interest in playing catch and she was ready to see what else was in the bag.

I brought out her apple slices and today instead of eating them herself, she fed them to me - making eye contact and watching me. I think this is a big step for bonding. After she was done with the apple, Maia wanted to color again. Usually, she stands in front of the couch and colors on the seat.  When we have tried to get close, she moved away. Today, I sat her down on my lap with the drawing book. She was very content there and stayed on my lap for the rest of the visit - which of course, this mommy LOVED (and thanked God for blessing her with)!

And as always, she was ready to go back to her groupa at the end of our time but that's ok. It is right before lunch time and her routine is to go back and eat with her friends.

We asked Vitaly to join us for lunch at McDonalds and enjoyed some American food. My fish filet was really good! Then home for a nice nap this afternoon and a lazy evening. If the weather is nice tomorrow, Vitaly will take us to Yalta which a sea-side resort town east of Sevastopol.

Here are a few pictures from today.