Day 4, Part 2

This is what I was afraid his visa photograph would look like. :-)



This is what the photographer was finally able to capture. Not too bad...

We had a wonderful afternoon visit today. I was waiting in the entry area and when A.J. came around the corner and saw me he started running toward me! That moment is one that I will remember forever and was such a blessing to my heart. Then, he took my hand and started pulling me down the hallway toward the play room.

I have discovered that this kid LOVES the chicken dance. It is on the CD that they play for the kids every day, and one of the staff does the dance for them. He can do the first part, and would do it and then point at me to ask me to do the rest with him. Then he brought me a stuffed bear and wanted me to make the bear do the dance. We are going to have to get that song on iTunes and teach the rest of the kids that silly dance before he gets home.

He continues to amaze me with how fast he learns new things when he is given the opportunity. This afternoon he started saying 'brav' for 'bravo', and 'choka' (horse). And it took him about 30 seconds to learn the sign for more when he realized that it would get him more pretzels. :-) Food is going to be the way into this kiddo's heart! Surprisingly, he also picked up on the sign for 'finished' pretty quickly when we were done with snack.

I have noticed a few institutional behaviors, but nothing too severe. He does not react appropriately to being hurt. This afternoon he ran full speed into a table and it knocked him to the ground. He reacted by jumping up and laughing. With time, he will learn that there is someone who will comfort him and it is OK to feel the pain. He also has some self-comforting/stimulating behaviors such as thumb sucking and mild head banging in situations where another child would seek out comfort or interaction. And he is not very comfortable with close physical contact. He will let me hold him on my lap or carry him on my hip, but if I try to snuggle him or give him kisses he becomes upset. Interestingly, he will let me give him kisses if I am not holding him. It may be that the combination of being held and kissed at the same time is too much stimulation for him. This is all very common in children who have grown up in orphanages and will change as he has more time in a family. I am mentioning a lot of this here so that in a year or so I can go back and read these entries and see how far he has progressed!

I cannot believe that I will only get to play with him and love on him one more time before I have to leave. If you happen to be awake at around 3am tomorrow morning (11am here) please say a prayer for me to have strength as I say goodbye. Sigh...