Day 3

We stuck close to the hotel today and did some shopping. I ended up buying another hat. The first one was practical for the cold. This one I think was a result of all of the hat-trying-on that Ed and I did. (We’ll post some pics of that later.) I now have a Russian-style fluffy hat with ear flaps!! (It was a cheap one.) Hopefully I’ll actually wear this one in MN.

Today was a great Ben day. This afternoon we met with the head doctor of the baby home and she went through Ben’s schedule and diet with us. We feel well informed to take over.

Then we got to play with Ben. He is just waking up from his nap at 4:00 and was again pretty reserved when we first met him, but by the end of our time together he was really playful. He definitely remembered the chase game from two days ago. He started the game by looking back to be sure we were watching him, then went to the same door where I would grab him before. When we grab him we toss him up and hug him and kiss him. It is a good time to be physical and cuddle him. By the end of the night he must have done it about 20 times in a row! Every time I put him down he ran for the door again. I was getting tired! His smile and giggle make my heart melt.

Ed and Ben had a little tea party. Ben really liked sitting in the little wicker chair. The doctor said that the kids have tea parties and set the table as part of their social training, since they are not in a family learning these things. All in all we have been very impressed with the care Ben is receiving.

Ben also played with blocks and took some pretty good spills as he ran around. No crying tonight. The biggest news is that we heard Ben’s voice tonight!! Up until today he has been silent (except for giggles). Today we heard “arf arf” when he picked up a doggy, and some other babble sounds when I was holding him. Pretty cool.

Maybe it is wishful thinking, but I do think we are really starting to create a bond. When we say goodnight he makes great eye contact and seems a little sad to go. We are so excited for the day that we get to take him home with us!

Today is Day Two

Novosibirsk is a modern city in many ways; traffic control is not one of them. Minneapolis' worst traffic snarl couldn't compare with the one that got a hold of us today. Alright, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but this "jam" did keep us away from Ben today, so the end of our day wasn't what we had hoped for by a long shot.

Our schedule for seeing Benjamin is 4:00 - 6:30 pm. Not a huge window in the grand scheme of a day, and that's probably why we have been able to be so active on this blog. Aside from blogging we've been getting to know the city a bit in our free time, but today it backfired on us.

We were having a completely enjoyable day until the traffic problem. We did go to the Siberian forest and had a good time walking around in the woods until it was time to go and catch the train back. The train ride was fun and gave a good glimpse into a Siberian's everyday life.

Everything took a little longer than expected however, so we got back later than we wanted to. We have to cross the Ob River to get to Benjamin's home. As far as we know there are only two bridges that allow you to do this in Novosibirsk. Anyway, if one of them becomes a "parking lot," like the one we were trying to cross most certainly was, the other one does too. 1.5 million people, two bridges; you do the math.

We will not fail you tomorrow Benjamin!

Ed and Linda

A Quick Explanation

So I actually started this blog before we ever knew who Benjamin was. Bart, our dog, was on my mind at the time I guess, so I used him as the mascot for this blog. I pretty much forgot about this blog until we got over here and decided to give it a try again.

Boy am I glad we did. Not only are we documenting our story here a little bit, but we are staying in touch with our wonderful friends and family back in the States. The first thing we do every morning is run down to the lobby to check for new comments and emails. Boy were we disappointed to see that we shut that function off last night.

You may have noticed the video of Bart jumping off the dock. Maybe someday we'll teach Benjamin to do the same thing, except he'll probably be jumping into our arms instead of swimming back to shore with a stick in his mouth.

We'll post Wednesday's adventures later today. I think our representative is going to take us to some college town in the Siberian forest. I think it's about a half hour from Novosibirsk by train. And of course we'll be visiting Benjamin again too.

Ed

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We Found Benjamin's Funny Bone

Ben Bites Brown Bear

Family Photo