Day 28

We wanted to share this video of Erlan greeting us. Ben always waits in the hallway for him. You'll see what happens. Remember that just a short time ago, Erlan would walk into the room, sit down and cry when he saw us. Now he tells the other kids that he has a mama and a papa.



What a difference this last month has made in his life. When we met him, the nannies told us that he was a serious little boy. He didn't smile. He didn't talk. He didn't interact with the other kids. Now, he is almost always smiling. We still see his serious side when he plays with Legos or if he is concentrating on something important (like taking a sticker off of his books). Mostly, though, we see the little goofball that resides inside Erlan. We see his goofy faces. We see him check himself out in the mirror. We hear his laughter and his singing. We see how's he has learned to work his mama by giving cute faces when he's being naughty. He's such a happy little boy.

Erlan hasn't babbled as much as he was in the past few days. I think he may be trying to figure out how to use English like Mama and Papa. Sometimes he just studies us as if he's trying to figure out what we are saying.

He is so ready to go outside. He is so easy distracted by what's going on outside. He would spend our entire visit just looking out the windows. I would love just to take him outside. Two more weeks and he'll be able to spend as much time outside as he wants. :-)