But, I would not have wanted it any other way.
As we sat in the director's office and heard them explain exactly what Alosha can and cannot do, John saw out of the corner of his eye, that they were bringing in our son.
All night I had envisioned how our first meeting would be--- and here he was right before our eyes! John got to him first as I followed closely behind. Alosha seemed a bit bewildered, but he immediately let us hold him.
It was so nice to finally hold him in my arms---- here I had pictured an underweight and fragile little boy in my head and he is anything but.
I expected this petite and gentle little boy, but was pleasantly surprised by his amazing upper body strength and almost chunky like figure. For the most part--- Alosha is one solid boy! Praise the Lord!
He loved the photo album we brought him---- but the "little machinas" were the biggest hit! John spent no time getting down on the floor with him to race cars across the smooth surface. With every crashing sound Alosha followed with a huge smile----- the gentle reminder of what made me fall for him in the first place.
It took me a moment getting used to holding him kind of like how I feel when a newborn is put into my arms. Alosha's legs are smaller than his trunk from lack of muscle and they do not naturally spread apart to wrap around my hips. He quickly found just the right spot in my arms--- problem solved. He made eye contact with me quite a few times, but I am sure he wondered why I kept kissing his cheek and tickling his belly. Oh well, he better get used to it.
After about ten minutes, we took Alosha in to meet Julia and Dennis. Immediately Julia and Alosha hit it off as did the two boys, but you can tell Dennis thought he was the bigger brother at first. It was sweet to see how Alosha just went with the flow---- he let Dennis push him in the swing, yet Alosha quickly gave Dennis a toy car when Dennis cried for one. The two of them were exactly how we imagined they would be and it was nice watching them interact with each other. Alosha was so patient with Dennis who was running on empty from lack of a good nights sleep on the train---- I have no doubt they are going to be like two peas in a pod.
Alosha loved being pushed in the swing--- good thing because Dennis loved pushing Alosha in the swing.
Alosha can sure throw a ball-- we had a hard time keeping up with throwing the balls back into the ball pit.
We visited for a while longer and then went to the notary to sign adoption documents. Our facilitator is shooting for court early next week--- so please pray.
Everyone in the orphanage was thrilled to see Dennis. He was quite a polite and responsive little boy shaking their hands and all-- but one time he stood up and turned his little chair around when one woman walked in to say hi to us. It was so cute and all of the caretakers got a good laugh out of his sense of humor. And yes, he gave this lady a hug. Dennis did not act out in any strange way---- and he is now sleeping soundly beside me. He is truly the best two year old traveler I have ever saw!
Here is a picture of Dennis with all of his previous caretakers. It is amazing to see how he is still loved!
