Ukraine: more pictures and 3days worth of things to say

Friday March 26, 2010
Spent play time at home with Laura in the morning then on to the bus for the usual bus ride, you know you have been somewhere too long when your daughter can tell how much further it is on the bus to our stop. Now seeing as I am typing this on Saturday evening (knew I should have typed it last night) and my memory is failing me on what else we did yesterday, Martin is also struggling to remember, we are getting so tired from our days and the stress of it all. Laura sometimes starts to fall asleep on the bus ride home.
We have one nurse who Martin and I have noticed that she has a tendency to mutter to herself. Well she is the one who got Ethan ready for us today, and like normal he was in full snow suit but she then pulled the hood up over the hat, and proceeded to put a big scarf around his whole face so that only his eyes showed. Now you have to keep in mind that is was 13’C and we had been walking without our coats on. Martin and I passed glances at each other and both thought what is this crazy women doing, and that scarf is coming off. Just as we were about to walk out of the room with him 3 other of the workers walked out and saw Ethan bundled up to the hilts, and proceeded to tell the women something and removed the scarf and pulled the hood back. We were so glad when they did this. He is really starting to love his time outside now and is eager to get out the door. He really does like the spinning thing and is really starting to enjoy the slide. They have some trucks made of steel for climbing on and we thought he would like the steering wheel as it moved; he liked it so much that he tried to chew it. I tell you everything goes in his mouth. Benjamin and Ethan will get along really well. Before we knew it our time was up and it was time to go inside. Then it was yogurt time which he really does enjoy, we just have to show him the container and we have his complete attention and he gobbles it all up. When he sees Laura with hers he is right there hoping she will share which she does and feeds him it herself. It was then playtime; our biggest problem is keeping him away from the strollers that are in the room and wanting to play with the wheels. Whenever we stop him from doing something we a get a bit of a cry which is not very loud and then he puts 4 fingers in to his mouth. When it was time for him to go to bed I asked if I could lay him down again and they let me. I am hoping by doing this he will find it normal for us to do it when he is home with us.
We decided to eat out at the internet restaurant tonight and be able to update the blog and be able to talk to the family. We have had some trouble with MSN but last night we were able to get video link with mum and after this length of time it was great to see some familiar faces. This is one thing we will be so glad about getting back to Kiev so we can have internet in the apartment again.
That was the end of our day, we are counting the days down to Monday, 3 more sleeps.
Love
US

Saturday March 27, 2010
Get the presses going we have seen our first Motor Bikes, they do have them here even with the potholes. We saw a Honda, Harley and lots of scooters and some we did not see the make of. Eric would be pleased as Martin saw an Ural too he informs me.
We decided to go see Ethan a little later today so as to give Laura sometime at the apartment. Through all this she has been a real trooper but has had a lot of struggles as well, in Kiev it was the snow and ice on the sidewalks that would cause her to meltdown or just the cold, she referred to it as “We are going out to the Ice Box again”. The crowded streets were a problem with her telling people to get out of her way. Everybody’s shoes or should I say 4” heels were Crap as she put it. A word I truly wish would go away. All the walking was an issue and she wanted to bring our van over on a Hercules airplane so she did not have to walk anymore. Laura being Laura she noticed the litter on the streets and would say in the middle of a crowd that this is a dirty country. Now here in Zaperasha she really does not like the bus trip as they get very crowded at times and if you are at the back and have to push pass the people standing she gets worried that we will miss our stop or she will get left on the bus, even though we always make sure she is in the middle of us, and starts to meltdown on the bus. Mind you I feel like melting down too with all the crowds on the bus. It really is a good job that most people in Ukraine are on the thin side and you better not be too worried about rubbing up against anyone as you get off the bus. Even though it has warmed up Laura still thinks it is cold out and I have had to hide her winter boots so she will wear shoes. Although she loves her new brother she really would like to just stay home which I have done with her. Oh yes and she really hates having to go grocery shopping or any kind of shopping for that matter even in a toy store, but she does not like this at home either. On the flip side, we have managed to get her to go and do the things we have needed her to, and when she had to be quiet (because believe me she does not stop talking from the time she gets up to going to bed) she has been. We have tried to take her places and make this whole trip fun but for any 7 year old this is just too much. I do know one thing, we are very, very proud of her and know that most Autistic children could not do this, and I am sure as she grows she will be able to do all things she wants with a little pushing J Her days as an only child are almost done, so we are making the most of still being a family of 3 when away from the orphanage.
Ok back to our day now. It was off outside again for 45 mins, Ethan is very interested in twigs on the ground and even tries to pull out things that are attached to the ground. You can see that he struggles with the sun when it gets too close to his eyes and he gets a little upset about it, but we figure he has not seen the sun much. He really likes to just wander around looking at things and when he finds something he plops himself down. The time with him went by really fast as we got there at 1:15 instead of 12:30. Play time was good and Martin took him through to lay him down for his nap. He went down without a bother and with a big smile on his face. One helper gestured to Martin with a “well done Dad”. When they bring his food out they always give Laura a bun which is filled with apple butter and a tea which Martin drinks as it has no milk or sugar in for Laura’s liking. We had seen another play park on our bus route and decided to get off today so Laura could have a play, this made her very happy. When we were done we decided to walk back to the apartment which is about a 3 or 4 mile walk. We found a toy store on route and got Laura a plane that flies around her head attached to the controller, then a stop off at the grocery store as we are now living day by day as we don’t want to have to pack the food back to Kiev. It was a lovely walk in the sun and when home Laura got to try her new toy out which she was so excited about. Martin seems to have a bit of a tummy bug right now and I am hoping for him it goes away and that we don’t get it to.

Love to all
Jenny, Martin, Laura and Ethan

Sunday March 28, 2010
We are so lucking out with the weather it is another sunny day. Yesterday I told Martin I think my dad is sending us this nice sunshine. Martin is still fighting the tummy bug and I have been busy getting laundry done along with packing. Nothing I dislike more than rushing at the end to get packed, so even though we still have 2 days here I want to get most of it done. We watched some of the F1 race from Australia but if I type the winner Robert would so have my head when I got home, but it is enough just to know I have seen it before him J . You may be miles away Rob but I can still get my digs in.
We are not sure if we are going to go see Ethan today we would like to go a walk around the market they have in the downtown area at some point.
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Well we decided to not go to Ethan as this is his last day with all his friends. We went a walk around the market and saw some strange sites, interesting things and some downright gross things. We have found where to buy motor bikes/scooters (for under $500 CDN), baby chickens, baby rabbits. We cannot for the life of us figure out how people make a living as there are stalls after stalls after stalls after stalls after stalls well you get the point of things for sale. We walked further this time than last and it goes for well over 2 miles up the hill. I have enclosed some pictures to go with this. So we are now back at the internet cafe for some drinks and hopefully talk to the family.
One more sleep till court and 13 days till we come home.
Love
Jenny, Martin, Laura and Ethan