We had a great visit today. We played with all the usual
things and added in throwing some balls into the tube and also building things
with big foam blocks. Papa built one around Calvin and he laughed so hard when
it tumbled down. He ate his banana and looked at family pictures. He has the names of most of our family
learned. At one point, Calvin fell down on the floor and started crying. He
snuggled into his Papa and his Mama and felt comforted by us. This is great in
regards to attachment. We have high hopes for his transitioning well into our
family. Calvin is beginning to test us. We were throwing balls into the tube and then Calvin started throwing balls really hard at Papa. Papa asked him to stop but Calvin continued to throw the balls at him. Papa then put Calvin on a chair and faced it towards the wall. Clearly Calvin was not happy about this, but he stayed there for the most part and when he was allowed to get up he didn't throw any more balls at Papa.
On the drive back to the apartment, we stopped at the SPAR grocery store. I stayed out in the taxi with the driver. I was able to ask him (in my very limited Russian) if he had any children. He showed me a picture of his son, Daniel. I asked if was married and then he showed me a picture on his cell phone. I was shocked to see a woman wearing ONLY very skimpy lingerie. The taxi driver seemed very proud of this picture. I, on the other hand, was embarrassed by it. But I told him that she was pretty and handed it back. ::blush::
For breakfast we usually have yogurt, oatmeal (I brought instant oatmeal from home), and a cup of Choffy. For lunch we have any leftovers from previous meals or sliced bread with butter and sliced cheese or fried potatoes and scrambled eggs. Tonight for dinner I am making blini - a Russian crepe. We have nutella, bananas, and jam to go in the middle. For snacks we eat protein snack bars, fruit leather (I love the strawberry kind, Diana!), pringles, whey protein shakes, and the wafer cookies.
This morning I woke up to see that it had snowed some more. I wish it would snow during the day - I love to see the snow falling. It's so peaceful. We are leaving on Wednesday to go back to Nizhny Novgorod. Sveta will be here for our last visit. I am glad that she will be there to help explain to Calvin where we are going and when we will be back.
I have a question for those of you with children. We are thinking of adding in the given names for the boys as part of their legal names, such as Calvin Robert Dennis Pierce and Silas Richard Elijah Pierce. Anyone have two middle names for their children? I am wondering if that would be too much of a hassle...thoughts?
My favorite juice, block of cheese, bagged milk and then garlic bouillons, and our pile of water bottles.
I think he will enjoy learning to play the piano.
10 comments:
We have two middle names for two of our children, but we are considering legally dropping one of them.
This is just my opinion, but I would keep their given names in there before I would even consider another name, especially since they have given names that are totally normal in the states. They are going to go through such a tremendous and traumatic change in life, I would want to preserve a piece a who they are--and nothing says "who you are" more than your name.
I know a lot of adoptive parents that have two middle names for their kids (using their birth names). You may want to ask Sveta about the logistical issues of changing names at this date (may cause a trip to the notary - which is no big deal - but then that may have to be resubmitted to the court... etc).
I have two middle names. I have mixed feelings about it - on the one hand, it's cool to have two middle names (one is a family name, so I like having it for that reason as well). On the other hand, it does make some things complicated - a lot of forms only have space for one middle name...and unless you consistently use the same name on all forms that you complete EVER, you might run the risk of having things be inconsistent which can make future paperwork a hassle. Also, my sister (who also has 2 middle names) had her college applications get all mixed up because of it - her applications were filed under her official last name, but her SAT scores were filed under one of her middle names!
In the end, though, it's not too big of a deal. I think in your case, including two middle names is important since it honours your sons' heritage and I think it's a great idea!
I have zero experience with this, but I would be inclined to keep their original names. It is the one thing that can stay the same during their transition from their first life to their life with you. Maybe you could hyphenate the 2 middle names to sort of make them one for legal purposes?
We kept our childrens Russian names as one of their middle names because they were unique and we wanted them to remember their heritage.Best of luck on your journey !
I agree with the above commenters. Leave their given name as their middle name. Do not add another middle name. I understand the need to "name" your child, but that is what you are doing with their new first names. It will be a great way to remember their heritage and where they came from. Best of luck.
Hi. I found your blog searching for special needs adoption in Nhziny region. We are trying to adopt 2 little girls from the same region :) We haven't been able to find anyone else who has adopted there so we were so happy to find your blog!! Love the idea of leaving their given name as middle name. Oh and what is Choffy? Jenn (theabellfamily(at)comcast(dot)net
I love the pictures of the blocks building up and then crashing down. You can tell he had a lot of fun with that. He looks cute playing the piano. I am sure he will love music just like the rest of your family.
You know, I kept thinking that the pictures of Calvin kind of look like Keith...maybe they're long lost cousins! :)
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