A Day - and Night - of Firsts

Last night we arrived at the train station for the 8:20 PM train to Kiev. Little did I know that it would be one of my longest train journeys and I have been on lots of trains. Olga and Natasha came with me to the train station and we got the boys into SPIDERMAN pijamas (a very important detail) and their beds made up. Even before the train left they were already going crazy, jumping from bed to bed, climbing to the top bunks, turning lights off, going to the the nice, clean train bathroom then drinking more water to ensure another visit soon, laughing talking, etc etc. I enjoyed watching them and playing with them until about 11.

I kept thinking that they had to be wearing themselves down. But how wrong I was! They were only wearing me down. I pulled the toys aways and even held Oleg to try to get him to calm down. I thought this worked as he got quiet and was crying softly (at the tragic loss of his cars). So I tucked him into bed. Next thing I knew the lights were back on and the jack-in-the-box had popped up once again. Of course, we also had very meaningful conversations about their need to get rest. He understood my English as well as I his Russian.

Sasha finally conked out after 12:30 and Oleg about 1 AM. I went right to sleep but wouldn't you know it, I had to get up at 1:30 for the bathroom then took forever to get back to sleep. No matter, I thought, we don't arrive in Kiev until 9:20 AM so lots of time to sleep in. Yeah right. Sasha woke up just after 5 AM to go the bathroom and decided he'd had enough rest. Soon Oleg also awoke and joined the fun. By 7:30 AM they were getting bored and asking if the little towns or the forests we passed were Kiev. Around 8 AM I made the mistake of indicating Kiev was close. On came there overcoats and backpacks (even though the train was so hot I was sweating in a T-shirt with the door wide open) and there was no way they would take them off.

After we finally arrived Kiev, we came to the Weber's house. They still did not surrender and were not interested in breakfast. Luckily, it was no longer my problem as I left them in the hands of Oksana, the Weber's part-time helper who mercifully agrred to also work for me and help take care of the kids. I finally got to sleep and heard them also laying down for a nap as I was getting ready to go in for a half-day of work. Oksana said that they did great and are really wonderful kids. I too feel really blessed. Last night was tough but, at the same time, it was so nice to see the kids' excitement at all the new experiences!

In the afternoon, I got to chat a little with Dan Reany, a colleague who is also over here adopting. In fact, he and his wife are adopting the little boy Segei from ivankiv that we had asked about but was not yet available. We are happy for them!

In the evening the kids played with John, the Weber's youngest boy who was also adopted from Kherson. We then ate a spaghetti dinner Kristi made and which the boys (all three of us) really enjoyed. The highlight of the evening though was surely a loon bubble bath. Unlike last night, they went to sleep (or at least their room is quiet) as soon as we switched off the lights.