The Real Deal.......

 Well remember I said last night Joshua did not fall asleep until midnight.  Here's the cute boy trying to make sense out of these beds that you can get out of.  Hmmm.....  no wonder they kept him in a crib til he was 5 1/2 years old. 

(Should be interesting transitioning him to a toddler bed :) 

 

So today kind of had some good parts and some, well, I will just be real here, harder parts to it.  So after staying up terribly late, he slept in until 11am.  So much for keeping him on the orphanage schedule......we are not even close!   

So we went down and ate breakfast.  Again, he eats like a champ!!!   He's very good using his utensils and wipes his little mouth after he's done.  He's been very well-trained.  But alas, I am sure that his orphanage meals have all been very very bland up until now.  And his little stomach is just trying to figure it all out.  That and his mommy doesn't know what all his facial expressions and sounds mean just yet.  He tried to tell me and I just wasn't quick enough.  The squirts.  Yep.  But Mommy is a quick learner though, in just a couple of hours, had it figured out. 

Since he LOVED his bath last night, each time we would go into the bathroom he would try to climb into the tub.  Fully dressed.  Nope. Sorry.  Remember last night you were a wild child in the bathtub?!  One bath a day is good enough for this momma!

It was rainy today so we were pretty much stuck in the hotel room.  This was where the hardest part of the day was.  I tried to lay him down for a nap and of course that was a failure.  So we tried to entertain him for much of the day.  He's pretty smart and he kept going after my computer, ipad, camera and cords (the few items on the trips that I would CROAK over getting broken).   He just got kind of wild (throwing toys down, etc).  He was certainly pushing boundaries. We decided to go for a walk - rain or shine.  We needed to get out of this hotel room!

Now, as a side note, I am not sharing this because I am regretful or scared or that I want you to feel sorry for me.  no. no. no.  I am trying to be real here.  I have never for one second expected this adoption to be always be a cake walk.  But I want you to understand that these are the moments when Joshua needs me most to be his mommy.  To give show him those boundaries and to show him what is good and acceptable.  To show him love and to give hugs and kisses meant just for him.  Because I love him just the way he is.  He needs me.  From the day we committed to him, God has given me such a peace that I have never looked back once wondering if this was the right thing to do. I firmly believe that while his orphanage was a really nice one, there is no substitute for a family.

Whew! that was quite a tangent...........so back to our day.  Well, once we headed out for supper, things started going better.  We went to a Chinese restaurant.  Delicious and Beautiful!  Joshua was very well behaved.  Then we went for a long walk and even stopped at a playground. 

He gave me my first unsolicited kiss which made most of the hard part
of the day seem paltry and no big deal at all.  Love this little boy!!

Walking along the Bay of Finland

Grandma was brave enough to try to give him his bath tonight.  When it was all said and done, she seemed a little wet and Joshua was clean and happy.

Here's Joshua watching Baby Signing Times... love this video! 

Bedtime Snack - Bread and Water - He loved it!

"Hi, Grandma!"

 Tonight he went to sleep by 10:00pm and never got out of bed,
so I will call that a great success!! 

Tomorrow we head Moscow by train.  It's sure to be an adventure!!  Love you all and have enjoyed every single comment here on the blog and on facebook.
 Keep praying for safe travels!!!!