Another couple of visits to the orphanage to visit little Syevinch (a.k.a. Genevieve).
Going into Monday was challenging for me, as I feared that my role in the ongoing saga of attachment would be a supporting one until familiarity was much more established. We arrived at the orphanage after her morning nap, armed with a supply of Cheerios and as much patience as we could muster. We took Syevinch on another outdoor stroll in the sunny autumn weather. We witnessed a profound revelation as Syevinch learned that Cheerios were not just for clutching (as she'd been doing the past several visits), but were in fact edible. I jumped at the opportunity to use this knowledge to my advantage, and ... breakthrough!
As Renee pushed the stroller, I held out my hand with a General Mills™ peace offering, and she accepted, even allowing me to feed her. We played a little game of touching fingers (re-enacting the a scene from "E.T." at right) as she blew raspberries and said the first words we'd heard her speak — "Baba," which may be short for "Babushka" ("grandmother" or a generic term for her older caregivers). If you listened hard enough and with the right motivation, it could have been "Dada." :-) She stopped short of letting me push the stroller or pick her up, but great progress nonetheless.
After such a rewarding visit, it was hard to say goodbye to her today, knowing that we won't see her again for another month. She could not know that our regular interaction of the last five days had come to an end, but I thought I caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes as she was carried away for her afternoon nap. Odd (and so incredibly hopeful) to see her express emotion as she was taken from us, rather than brought to us.
So she will continue with her daily routine at Moscow Orphanage #2 as we jump through a few more bureaucratic hoops before heading home later in the week. Now that the interaction with Syevinch is at an end (for the time being), the most interesting part of this Russian update is over. I will share much more once we're back home and into the next stage of this wonderful adventure.
Thanks again for your ongoing support and encouragement. The past two years have finally proven worthwhile....
Larry & Renee
Going into Monday was challenging for me, as I feared that my role in the ongoing saga of attachment would be a supporting one until familiarity was much more established. We arrived at the orphanage after her morning nap, armed with a supply of Cheerios and as much patience as we could muster. We took Syevinch on another outdoor stroll in the sunny autumn weather. We witnessed a profound revelation as Syevinch learned that Cheerios were not just for clutching (as she'd been doing the past several visits), but were in fact edible. I jumped at the opportunity to use this knowledge to my advantage, and ... breakthrough!
As Renee pushed the stroller, I held out my hand with a General Mills™ peace offering, and she accepted, even allowing me to feed her. We played a little game of touching fingers (re-enacting the a scene from "E.T." at right) as she blew raspberries and said the first words we'd heard her speak — "Baba," which may be short for "Babushka" ("grandmother" or a generic term for her older caregivers). If you listened hard enough and with the right motivation, it could have been "Dada." :-) She stopped short of letting me push the stroller or pick her up, but great progress nonetheless.
After such a rewarding visit, it was hard to say goodbye to her today, knowing that we won't see her again for another month. She could not know that our regular interaction of the last five days had come to an end, but I thought I caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes as she was carried away for her afternoon nap. Odd (and so incredibly hopeful) to see her express emotion as she was taken from us, rather than brought to us.
So she will continue with her daily routine at Moscow Orphanage #2 as we jump through a few more bureaucratic hoops before heading home later in the week. Now that the interaction with Syevinch is at an end (for the time being), the most interesting part of this Russian update is over. I will share much more once we're back home and into the next stage of this wonderful adventure.
Thanks again for your ongoing support and encouragement. The past two years have finally proven worthwhile....
Larry & Renee
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