Today, my son turns 20 months old. We met him for the first time when he had just turned 15 months old. You know what just struck me as really sad? I have no clue what time he was born. I know that really doesn't matter, in the great scheme of things, but sometimes the smallest thing will impact me and make me sad. I'm sure I'll get used to it...because there are other things I know...like, what time we met for the first time, and what time he became "forever ours." So I guess I won't sweat the small stuff.

He wins the hearts of almost anyone that meets him... he is VERY shy with people he doesn't know (which, actually, is a GOOD thing!) but really quite irresistable. And yeah, I know, I'm biased...but he's awfully cute. Not a day goes by that someone doesn't make a comment about his size. He is definitely a chunk - and his size is a great conversation starter. For those of you that worried, he fits perfectly into his 18-month clothing. I'm sure he'll do some growing once he gets home - but he's not doing too shabby, even right now!

Okay...about speedoman. Shame on me...the ONE time I did not have my camera with me, this is what I encounter. BUT, the good news is that some of our friends, here, DID have their camera. And they are going to email me a picture of the guy. It's really almost too funny to be true!

And Dede had a good question: What happens after the 10 days is over? Basically, there are a couple days of processing. Since the court documents have not been signed yet, we have to wait till the 10 days is officially up before they will be signed. After that, we can get his passport, visa (i think), and all of his paperwork. This process takes a couple days. Then we will fly to Moscow (a lot of families with other agencies are able to use a courier service - who makes a run to Moscow for them, but we won't be doing that.) We'll spend a couple days in Moscow, doing US Embassy immigration paperwork. I think this process takes 2 days, now (used to be just 1)...and since it just happens that the first day is on a Friday, we'll have to hang out Saturday & Sunday so that we can finish up on Monday. Then we are supposed to fly out Tuesday (Aug. 7).

So that was the long answer...but no, once our 10 days is up, we don't fly home immediately. Instead, we have almost a week left in-country.



A few things since yesterday:

• We've noticed that Little I has the most interesting tan line. Pretty much every inch of him is soft & white...except for his hands! They are quite brown! I guess it's a result of all the layering & long sleeves...and then taking walks outside. So he has very tan hands. Which leads us to believe that his skin will tan pretty easily. Not fair.


• His tantrums now include slapping me in the face. It is really irritating -- not to mention it hurts! -- but when he does it, I try to take his hand, kiss it, and then lay it softly on my cheek. This usually gets his attention. Sometimes, when I let go, he'll slap me again, and sometimes he won't...I guess it depends on how upset he is. In these moments, it takes extra effort, on my part, to remember that he is frustrated and his hands may be his main outlet for this frustration.


• We moved back into our regular room. It's not as nice as being in the suite, because we don't have as much room...but it's a cool room with a bed & food, just down the hall. So I won't complain.


• Can you over yogurtize a kid? This one LOVES yogurt like nobody's business. We try to limit the amount he eats...but I think he would eat it at every meal, if we would let him.


• New next-to-favorite: The slide! Mommy takes him to the top and daddy catches him at the bottom. It's not a very big slide, but he loves it. When we go outside, he beelines it to the swings. And after that, we go to the slide. I know one thing: I can tell we are going to have to invest in a swingset...and soon!

That's all for now...we're halfway through our 10 days!! Only 5 more to go!