A few updates

Ana had a 400-500kcal day, for which I am very thankful. Praise God that she has been eating until she gets full, and I am learning to read her signals better (sneezing food at you with a big silly grin means she is full).

We visited the Sveta N- church, which is a rich and gorgeous building, much more ornate than the (larger and much older) Sveta S-, to say nothing of the (possibly older, and certainly tiny and humble) Sveta P-.  But the priests were out for a smoke break, which I took as a healthy, human, humble sort of thing (too, Orthodox priests marry, another tick in their column).  With mittens, Ana did not have little icicle hands when we returned (it was maybe 1-2°C). So it was a nice afternoon.

She makes happy noises much more than she has, and seemed to be kissing her zaek back when we played hop-hop-hop-kiss (and her zaek is just like the bunnies that her brothers have - very thankful that the bag of toys we brought her did not get misplaced at the orphanage).  She makes the same sort of kiss noise (a tongue and tooth click) after I kiss her on the cheek, and not generally otherwise.  She was jealous when I talked to Maika (Mama) on the phone, and squeaked at me to come back and pay attention to her. I think this is good - she is starting to bond with me - but it will pose a hurdle when Maika becomes principal caregiver.  I return to teaching the Tuesday after we get back, so for at least a few hours in the afternoons, she will miss her Tatko. I guess we will just spend Sunday and Monday very deliberately sharing care of Ana to demonstrate our equal standing as objects of filial affection (is there another word than 'filial' for girls? Seems like there ought to be - fisial, perhaps?).  It was encouraging that we got several kind offers of help as we ascended/descended what passes for wheelchair-accessible ramps in this country (see below and try not to think of a cog railway).

All in all, it has been a very good day, and I am thankful to God, and to you all for your prayers. We go to the clinic (TB), consulate (passport), and airport (reclaim carseat from lost and found) tomorrow, so please pray that Ana does well with the outing, and that we stay healthy (and that Mama and the boys do, too; seems they may have a bug going round).

In Christ,
Papa and Ana

Ana

2pm Tuesday: out for a walk. Ana likes the stroller (especially bumps), we tour downtown and pray in an old church (since we pray everywhere, why not there, too?).

3:15pm Tuesday : rest in hotel, Ana plays with O-ball, Tatko (Papa) works on some Sunday school planning.

6pm Tuesday: Ana eats half a jar of baby food (~3oz, woot!) and some thickened apricot nectar with water. Praise God for demonstrated appetite! We also Skype with Mama and the boys - it's their first time seeing Ana (Porgies calls her "nana").

7:30pm Tuesday: Ana keeps Papa company at his dinner.

8:45pm: Bedtime, though Papa stays up and works until about...

Midnight: diaper and back to bed.

8am: wake up and prepare for the day with diaper (decent #1, hooray!), warm washcloth wipe (which Ana loves, and helps slough off the accumulated dead skin from the orphanage), fresh clothes, make up food, and down to breakfast.

9:15am: breakfast for Ana and Papa. Ana consumes a mixture of Pediasure and apple/strawberry Fruit-me-up, about 150kcal, by my estimate (~6oz of thickened liquid). This is awesome. Papa continues to have super powers of eating many eggs in various forms. Ana's upset stomach and poor eating Monday/Tuesday may be attributed to Novogrip, the meningitis vaccine, which has a 10%+ chance of nausea and loss of appetite, irritability, headache, etc.  Comparing today with Monday/Tuesday, that fits the bill. We also meet the other American family over breakfast, with their 15-year-old adopted daughter, and enjoy our conversation.

11am: go to the store for more flavors of juice and food for Papa.

11:30am: play with zaek, O-ball, look at fotos, Papa writes blog post.

12:30pm: Papa finishes his writing as Ana blows raspberries at him. Lunchtime.

Thank you for your prayers!
Papa and a hungry and impatient Ana

1:30pm Update : Ana ate about 2oz of baby food and maybe an ounce of thickened cherry juice. She may have been oversalivating for the juice, it's a bit tart. So, a lighter lunch than I hoped, but breakfast was not long ago, and she is probably up to ~200kcal. Please pray that she is hungry for dinner! <\p>

Waiting and Learning

Ana and Papa are at the hotel, getting to know each other and waiting for TB post-check and consulate visit on Thursday.  Working back in time from now:

Ana likes the O-ball, and will move it around to the best of her ability, which is fun. Sometimes that means Papa fetches it back.

She did pretty well with a Pediasure+water+apricot nectar+Thick-it concoction.  She was NOT interested in the Andros Fruit-me-up strawberry apple goop today, though she liked it ok yesterday. There did seem to be a gag problem with it today that wasn't yesterday. She already has more saliva, so I wonder if she's getting saliva production with the fruit stuff that causes the gag (but I suspect saliva=hydration=good). The photo of stuff will be familiar, I suppose, to anyone who has spent time in dysphagia-town. I dig the Squish-Delish pouches - very easy to mix up thickened stuff.  The oral syringe, however...

was used to help clean her mouth out early this morning after she vomited a small amount.  It had been ~10hrs since her last feeding, she had a pretty good diaper in the middle of the night, and I am wondering if it wasn't the saliva - that's my working hypothesis, since she seems generally fine, alert, and happy.

Yesterday the poor dear got the TB prick (no veins big enough to allow blood draw), and meningitis and influenza vaccines, so we appreciate prayers for no adverse reactions. None observed so far, praise God.

She did well in the car ride, though it was a long day, and she was parched by the time we got to the hotel. Poor thing's lips are a good indicator of her general well-being, and they were dry and chapped by the time we got through the clinic and back to the hotel for some food. I may have overdone the apple goop, and I did shake out a probiotic into her spoonfuls of food, so there are some other possible culprits for her tummy upset.

And I think the nurse who sent her off from P- was about to cry when she kissed Ana goodbye. I am thankful to see that she was, in some measure, loved. Our God makes the sun rise in every place, and I am thankful.

And now it's a cold sunny day, and we will read some and perhaps sing and generally take it easy. Papa has been trying to eat adequately, and Ana did very well in her stroller at breakfast. Thankfully, it was not too busy today - she dislikes cacaphony very much. So Papa got to eat a big breakfast, pursuant to his general philosophy that one should eat lots of good food anytime one has the chance, for we know not the wends of the way, nor when we may have time to eat again.

Thank you for your prayers! My mom expressed the wish that she could do more for us (she is in Arizona). Please know, all of you dear friends, that there is no more or better you can do for us than to ask our heavenly Father's care for us, through the intercession of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask no less and want no more than this.

In Christ,
Papa and Ana

Papa made it

Tater and I just talked to Papa a couple of hours ago; he had finally made it to the capital city of Ana's country after some flight cancellations and shenanigans:-)

We are thankful that he is doing well!

The car seat got lost in transit; please pray that either they find it or Papa can find a suitable replacement.

Thanks!

Six days until gotcha...

Papa leaves Friday for Ana's country and gotcha day is Monday...

I am so excited to finally meet my oldest daughter. The little boys and I will be eagerly awaiting Papa's return. 

Every morning Tater says, "papa, you should go to B**** and get Ana now!"

We appreciate your prayers!

All the Money!

Hello All,

We are pleased to see the last payment to our agency just cleared our account!  Now we just get ready for travel...

Thank you for your prayers!

Papa

Travel!

Hello All,

We have travel dates!

We are very excited.  Papa will go pick up Ana on 12 January, and (Lord willing) be back stateside on 17 January!  There is much to do to prepare, and we thank you for all of your prayers and support.

If you have a good suggestion from personal pickup trip experience, Papa would love to hear it!

In Christ,
Papa, Mama, Took, Porgies, and Ana