Visit #3

Here are some more pics from our visit this afternoon with the kids. We are starting to get little hints into their personalities and are looking forward into seeing more. Ana is the sweetest little thing I have ever seen. She is quiet but doesn't miss a thing. I think she is just thrilled to have us around her. We can tell that no one pays her much mind. She just smiles and smiles and smiles. She is also much smarter than anyone gives her credit for - I cannot wait to see how she changes when she gets home.

Tatya is quite the personality. She is an orphanage favorite and is definitely used to getting her own way. You might think it is good and that at least she gets lots of attention, but I have to say there is something very sad about her. We were a little surprised to see her rocking, which is an orphanage behavior, I guess we expected to see more from Eli and Ana than her (although Eli does make some noises which is also an orphanage behavior- Tatya will just take a stuffed toy, hold on to it and rock. I think because everyone thinks she is so cute that she gets a lot of superficial attention. She definitely requires some boundaries, but she is our little spitfire. Once she and Gianna get used to sharing with each other, I can definitely see that they will be great friends.

Eli is just a little love. He is still recovering from having pneumonia in February so he seems mostly tired during our visits. He definitely craves and responds to love and touch. He seems pretty content with the littlest of things - like a mirror. I cannot wait to get him and Ana healthy!

We brought some plain cracker like cookies today for the kids (per the orphanage director we are only allowed to bring bananas or large cookies) and it just broke my heart. Tatya did not know what to do with it - I had to show her. Of course once she got the hang of it, the cookie was gone! Just like that! She definitely is a BIG eater and quickly snarfed down three. Eli wanted to eat it but just like tatya had NO idea what to do. He did try to put it in his mouth but was lost after that. Ana was no interested at all and even if she was, she would have to gum at it. She only has like 4 teeth. So sad :(