We spent a little more then 2 hours with Samuel today.
He was a little groggy when he was brought to us, and therefore he was a little cranky at first. He did seem to like to look at himself in the mirror (this may be a problem when he is a teenager). He also like a little tennis sized ball that we brought. It is Red and Blue with a Phillies logo on it. At first he just seemed to like to hold it and look at the colors, but then after sitting him on the floor on Rebecca’s lap, I would roll the ball toward him. He would then pick it up and throw it / bounce it to me.
We also played with the locking beads. Again, he seemed to figure out how they worked (both putting them together and taking them apart, but was unable to do this on his own. We think he just lacks the strength and dexterity to do it. We did try showing him a book, to see what he would do. After 2 or 3 pages, he went to turn the page to the end of the book, and when I reopened the book, he again closed it, as if to say he was not interested.
He did not seem to show much emotion (neither positive nor negative). He did not smile or laugh. He seems to be ticklish on his feet, but quickly moves them when you tickle him. It appears to us, this is a case of never experiencing the feeling and therefore not knowing what to do. He does stare a lot. We are not sure, and had heard stories on some Internet bulletin boards and from other adoptive parents of this, but it seemed like he as lightly sedated.
After about ½ hour of play, he got really tired, and fell asleep on my shoulder (not that I minded). He slept on me for about ½ hour, and then we removed his sweatshirt (he was a little sweaty), and he seemed to perk up a bit again. When he was sleeping with heard what sounded like a slight wheeze and he was snoring lightly. The room was quite warm and humid. We gave him some water in a small cup, without a lid. When he tried to drink it, he wore some of it, and poured some on me. However when we were assisting him, he did drink from the cup.
He definitely can imitate behaviors. He played Open / Close with the viewfinder of our camcorder. I would open it, and he would close the viewfinder. If I did not open it quickly, he would take my hand and move it to the spot to open it. (It locks so he could not open it himself.) When we were doing this, I would say “Open” and “Close”.
He made sounds like Da and Did and once said some thing like Ma when Rebecca was on the viewfinder, but we are not sure if he was saying MaMa or if he put the two images together in his mind, or if this was just babbling.
He does appear to be easily distracted by other children, hearing Russian words, and definitely the caregivers.
As he became more comfortable with us, he was willing to engage us more. He made very good eye contact and did not shy away when we gave him kisses. When he would be sitting on one of our laps, he would look up and back toward the parent he was sitting on. We did “bribe” him with Cheerios to walk across the room, and he did so with very even steps and extremely comfortably and confidently.
When we removed his sweatshirt, we were able to look at his entire upper body, and notice no rashes. He had a small bruise on his right arm where it bends, and what appeared to be a spot where he had some type of inoculation on his left upper arm. He does have a full head of hair (he needs a hair cut), and all of his fingers appear normal. We were not able to look at his feet, since he was wearing a pair of stocking type sock under his pants.
From what we could see, the caretakers are very good to the children, and he obviously recognizes them.
He was a little groggy when he was brought to us, and therefore he was a little cranky at first. He did seem to like to look at himself in the mirror (this may be a problem when he is a teenager). He also like a little tennis sized ball that we brought. It is Red and Blue with a Phillies logo on it. At first he just seemed to like to hold it and look at the colors, but then after sitting him on the floor on Rebecca’s lap, I would roll the ball toward him. He would then pick it up and throw it / bounce it to me.
We also played with the locking beads. Again, he seemed to figure out how they worked (both putting them together and taking them apart, but was unable to do this on his own. We think he just lacks the strength and dexterity to do it. We did try showing him a book, to see what he would do. After 2 or 3 pages, he went to turn the page to the end of the book, and when I reopened the book, he again closed it, as if to say he was not interested.
He did not seem to show much emotion (neither positive nor negative). He did not smile or laugh. He seems to be ticklish on his feet, but quickly moves them when you tickle him. It appears to us, this is a case of never experiencing the feeling and therefore not knowing what to do. He does stare a lot. We are not sure, and had heard stories on some Internet bulletin boards and from other adoptive parents of this, but it seemed like he as lightly sedated.
After about ½ hour of play, he got really tired, and fell asleep on my shoulder (not that I minded). He slept on me for about ½ hour, and then we removed his sweatshirt (he was a little sweaty), and he seemed to perk up a bit again. When he was sleeping with heard what sounded like a slight wheeze and he was snoring lightly. The room was quite warm and humid. We gave him some water in a small cup, without a lid. When he tried to drink it, he wore some of it, and poured some on me. However when we were assisting him, he did drink from the cup.
He definitely can imitate behaviors. He played Open / Close with the viewfinder of our camcorder. I would open it, and he would close the viewfinder. If I did not open it quickly, he would take my hand and move it to the spot to open it. (It locks so he could not open it himself.) When we were doing this, I would say “Open” and “Close”.
He made sounds like Da and Did and once said some thing like Ma when Rebecca was on the viewfinder, but we are not sure if he was saying MaMa or if he put the two images together in his mind, or if this was just babbling.
He does appear to be easily distracted by other children, hearing Russian words, and definitely the caregivers.
As he became more comfortable with us, he was willing to engage us more. He made very good eye contact and did not shy away when we gave him kisses. When he would be sitting on one of our laps, he would look up and back toward the parent he was sitting on. We did “bribe” him with Cheerios to walk across the room, and he did so with very even steps and extremely comfortably and confidently.
When we removed his sweatshirt, we were able to look at his entire upper body, and notice no rashes. He had a small bruise on his right arm where it bends, and what appeared to be a spot where he had some type of inoculation on his left upper arm. He does have a full head of hair (he needs a hair cut), and all of his fingers appear normal. We were not able to look at his feet, since he was wearing a pair of stocking type sock under his pants.
From what we could see, the caretakers are very good to the children, and he obviously recognizes them.
Moscow - Children's Home #20
"Mommy, dance with me"
"Daddy, stop taking pictures of me and let me play with the camera"
"He Mom, am I ready to sign a contract with the Phillies."
"OK, time for a short nap. Daddy's shoulder looks good."
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