Out and about

Yesterday we went back to the city. We visited the Zhenski Pazar Market and stopped at a few sights along the way. Note for future adoptive parents: At the far corner we found beautiful clay pottery for the best price. We discovered a little shop in the subway under the Presidency. It was there we found better prices on the hand carved wood items. Traditional clothing seemed to be cheaper at the Alexander Nevski Cathedral.


Andrew trekked with us again without complaint. At the end of the day he was completely worn out; however, bedtime was the last thing he wanted to do. We did our normal routine, but he woke up as we tried to sneak out of the room. Then the wailing began. We eventually got him to bed, but it did take some time and patience on our part. Here's to tag-team parenting!



Each morning he does end up in our bed between 5 and 6 A.M. and falls back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. This we don't mind because it does allow for bonding. We've just never been able to pull the all night sleep over with our children and actually wake up rested.



Today we had the Medical Exam. Good news was it was cheaper than expected and pretty much uneventful. Andrew was shy, but to our surprise he did not freak out. We've noticed he has a tendency to "shut down" with a blank stare when he doesn't like something. We could see him start to head in that direction but somehow he pulled out of it.



After this we returned to Zhenski Pazar Market. It wasn't so much for the shopping as it was for the fact that when we got home yesterday Jen forgot that we had wrapped the pottery in a sweatshirt. As she unpacked the backpack from the day the pottery smashed on the floor. So we returned to buy a new piece. It wasn't a big deal because the pottery is really inexpensive.



Jen is fighting a cold so when we got back to the apartment, she rested while Andrew and Aaron walked to the bank to exchange money. He does alright as long as one of us is with him. He actually enjoys taking trips to the curb to empty the trash with Daddy. He is adjusting well to us and is picking up on more English. He understands many phrases in English that we don't know the Bulgarian words for.



We've seen such a transformation with Andrew in less than a week. His fearfulness has diminished and he even walks with more confidence now. Earlier on he would only attempt to climb the play equipment halfway up. Today he was looking over his shoulder to see if we noticed him standing on the top without holding on. On one playground, he would run to the end of the plank, grab a bar and kick his feet out over a ladder. It is amazing watching what a difference the love and care of a family makes on a little boy's life within a few days.



Tomorrow we got to the U.S. Embassy for the visa interview. It's only a short walk through the park from our apartment. Then on Thursday we'll return to pick up the visa.

On a lighter note, yesterday Andrew was wearing some pants we had brought him that were a little big in the waist. All day long he was pulling on them to keep them up. At one point we were crossing a street at a crosswalk when we both felt him trying to pull his hands away. The light was about to turn red so we squeezed his hands telling him "ne, ne, ne". We kept him walking pulling him up while he was saying something to us in Bulgarian. When we reached the other side of the street we heard him giggling and looked down to see his pants around his ankles! Who knows how far we had been dragging him like that. We eventually figured out that he was saying pants in Bulgarian, but a different word than we were told.