Playtime

We had a wonderful time visiting the kids in the morning and hanging out with Carol all afternoon. Today was the last day of school and there were plenty of end of school celebrations. It’s actually quite funny to see high-school students dress up like little kids with old-time school uniforms and they don’t miss a chance to strike a pose for a photograph!

Carol was working with some students at the local technical college to prepare gift bags for the orphanage. Next Monday they celebrate Kid’s Day and we’re really looking forward to seeing the kids perform various dances and acts.

After a long walk to the Dnipro river’s beach-side and a good lunch at Cafe` Montecristo, we headed back to the orphanage for our afternoon visit. Isaac was quite mellow today and has not tried to run away and escape like usual. We probably wore him out yesterday with all the running around! Then Isabella’s group left for a walk with Alla, who is by far Isaac’s favorite nurse. And it seems she’s a favorite of all the other kids as well.

So how many kids can you fit on a swing? At least 3, as you can see here with Isaac sandwiched by Marsha and one of the twin sisters. They were having a ball of a time, craving all the attention they could get, laughing hard as I pretended to grab their shoes or tickle them a bit.

We had leftover pizza from lunch and both Isaac and Isabella liked it. We could tell it was the first time they had it because they were unsure about it and took quite some time chewing the first bite. However Miss little piggy decided she loved the taste and ate 2 1/2 pieces vs. Isaac’s 1/2, who was more interested in the swing.

We were quite thirsty, so Lori ran to the nearby restaurant and got something to drink. She returned with some nasty sparkling water, which is a LOT more easily available than plain ol’ water. Both kids hated the gassy stuff and Isaac kept sticking out his tongue and scratching it after trying it for the first time. I decided to remove the carbonation by shaking the bottle, and let the air go in the kids’ face. They got quite a kick out of that and I sincerely hope they remain as easily entertained in the future. Then I started pouring some drops of water on their faces & heads, and they giggled and begged for more. Lori was worried the caregivers would get mad at us for soaking their hair. I honestly believe the kids felt great to get some cool water on their faces. Today was quite a warm day, yet they were clothed with about 4 layers! Isaac loved carrying the partially filled bottle, which actually is a great tool to help with his balance as it acts like a weight while he moves around.

Isabella’s group came back from their walk and joined us after Isaac was called in, which is rare as he’s usually the last one to be summoned. Alla sat with Isabella and talked to her for a long time, possibly telling her about what’s to come in the next weeks. We think she’s starting to prepare her for leaving the orphanage and there’s no better person to do that than her. She listened and nodded with smiles on her face while Lori got tickled by about 3 kids as she sat nearby. On the other hand, I entertained the two twin girls and Marsha on the swing. They laughed really hard as once more I grabbed Marsha’s shoes and tickled the twins. Then the boys came around for some attention too. These children seem to really enjoy being tickled, chased around and lifted up in the air and we wish we could do that more often. By the end of the afternoon I was sweating, exhausted and had gotten quite a workout after being literally swarmed by kids. Lori couldn’t stop laughing at the sight and so did Alla, saying “Papa go to America big muscles!”, as she pointed towards her biceps. It was a great day for sure and hearing all the kid’s roaring laughter was the highlight of our day.

Earlier, before heading home, Carol came to say hello to the twins and snapped a few pictures of the four of us. Here we are together in a photo for the first time. This was the calm before the storm. And what an enjoyable one it was!