We had our first real visit with Parker this morning.  We entered the building and told a non-english speaking lady who we were there for.  She nodded her head and left to go get him.  She brought him back to us, several minutes later.  This time we were prepared with toys!  Josh got out a toy truck and said, "machina" (car in Russian.)  That caught his attention and he whipped his head around.  Josh handed him the truck and he started to play with it.  He turned himself away from us and just sat playing.  A few minutes later I handed him a spiderman ball.  He put it under his arm and kept playing with the truck.  He didn't seem to interested in us being. 

How the visit started.

We decided ahead of time to take things at his pace and not to push him.  He is older than Daniel and Josslyn, and he has just recently been through a major life change about a month ago(being transferred to this orphanage from the baby house where he has spent his whole life).  I figured that us being there probably scared him, since he was just now starting to get settled his new place. 

After the spiderman ball, I got out a cookie and gave it to him.  Daniel and Josslyn act like a pack of hungry lions when ever we bring out food, so I wasn't sure what kind of effect it would have on Parker.  He seemed to be happy with the cookie, but didn't want another one after he finished the first one we gave him.  At this point he was holding a cookie, the spiderman ball, and the truck.  I started to think that we were going to have some hording issues to deal with(which is common with children adopted from orphanages).  But shortly after the he put both the truck and the ball down to play with a different toy.  Kellen walked up and started to pick the truck up.  I assumed the Parker was going to claim that as his territory and snatch it away from him, but he didn't.  He just watched Kellen for a minute, and then went back to playing on the toy computer.

Josh showed him some pictures on the real computer.  He recognized Daniel and Josslyn!  He pointed and said something.  Josh told him in Russian that they were his brother and sister, but Parker just kinda glanced up at him like he didn't know what he was talking about.

He did good about sharing with Kellen.  He never offered Kellen any toys, but he didn't react negatively or possesive when Kellen played with toys that he had been playing with.  At one point, when Parker was playing with the toy computer, Kellen came over and put his hand over the buttons.  Parker waited a minute, and then gently removed Kellen's hand.  That shocked me.  Not the reaction you would expect from a kids who has lived his whole life in an orphanage.

He liked the computer alot.  A few times he talked to it.  I'd love to know what he was saying.  Towards the end of our visit I was sitting by him while he was playing with the computer and he looked at me and said something.  That was the only thing he said directly to us, besides "Paka" when it was time to go.

That's his look when he is concentrating.  That little tongue is so cute. 

Josh driving a little car on him.  That got some smiles.

He is very interested in our interactions with Kellen.  I guess through that he is learning who we, who Kellen is to us, and how he can expect us to act and treat him. 

Overall, we had  a very good visit.  While we never had that moment where he ran in to our arms and said that he had been waiting for us his whole life, it was MUCH better than our initial meeting with him.  He did not seem scared or upset today, which was a big improvement.

It is just going to take some time for him to realize who we are and why we are there.  He is a super cute boy.  When we met with the orphanage director the first day we arrived in region, she said over and over that he was a sweet boy with a good heart.  I couldn't tell if she meant that he was a good boy at heart, inspite of negative actions, or what.  After meeting with him I can see that she meant that he was a genuinely good hearted boy through and through.  He gentleness with Kellen showed me that right off the bat.

I am excited to go back and see him again this afternoon. 

Here are a couple of videos from our visit this morning.

This is Parker talking to a little girl through the glass doors.  She came in with what seemed like her mother and grandmother, but he acted like he knew her.  I'm not sure what the story is there.

I love hearing him talk!

This is a really short one of Josh tickling him.

I'll post again after our afternoon visit.