Family Fun on Saturday

Saturday was the first day that my family (who all live in Michigan) could drive down to meet Vanya. Both my sister and her family and my brother and his family came down for the day. I was a little concerned because we were warned not to present too many people to him at once. We read that when they are overwhelmed (just like American kids), they tend to act out. Well, Vanya proved the research wrong!


To circumvent all of the relatives arriving at once, my sister, brother-in-law, and 5-year old nephew arrived first. They brought lots of things to share with Vanya. The first one was a Playdoh barbershop kit. Vanya quickly learned how to make the hair “grow” and laughed quite a bit at his creations. Most of my family members are big Michigan State fans, so my sister presented him with a MSU baseball hat. He proudly wore it most of the day.

Later in the afternoon, my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces, ages 18 and 21, arrived. Vanya wasn’t sure now about all these people together, and he stayed by our sides for awhile, but soon he was playing football, including keep away, with his two uncles, coloring and putting puzzles together with his cousins, and taking pictures of everyone. (These next 5 pictures were taken by Vanya! My brother and sister are in a picture together here.) My sister’s two dogs came too, so even Teagan had someone to terrorize.

Another fun event in the afternoon was the rocket sprinkler brought to Fort Fun by my sister. Vanya and my nephew put on swimsuits and my brother-in-law operated the controls. The shrieks of laughter could be heard down the street. However, the loudest squeals came from the rest of us who were just watching. You see, the wind was pretty robust that day, and occasionally the water would spray the rest of us who were sitting a good 20-25 feet away. This from a stream of water that was only going up straight! While the two boys certainly thought this was a great toy, Teagan was the one who got the most enjoyment out of it. I think she thought it was brought especially for her. She’s always loved the water and hose games, so this was a natural fit. Both Teagan and Vanya will be pleased to know that I went to Meijer this morning and bought one of these rocket sprinklers for them! I figure Teagan will get good use out of it even after Vanya leaves this week.

Another cookout for dinner, and this time Vanya tried a hot dog. No bun for him, but he did eat his hot dog all gone. He also experienced another American favorite, chocolate chip cookie bars. Yum!! He was also happy he was allowed to have barbecue potato chips—one of his favorites!

I’ve been planning s’mores ever since he arrived, but again tonight it didn’t happen. Just as we were taking a family photo outside, it started raining, no really, it poured! We all ran inside where Vanya was totally content to play with anyone and everyone. He learned what the words “stop” and “go” meant while my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew tickled him. They may be his new favorite words! Vanya also seemed fascinated with my oldest niece’s craftiness. She made both boys a woven bracelet out of colors they selected. I don’t think he’s taken it off yet. While his favorite relative of Tim’s seems to be his niece, on my side, it’s my brother. Vanya wasn’t too far away from him most of the evening. They wrestled, tickled, and had a great deal of fun together. In fact, when my brother’s family left, Vanya hugged everyone good bye and hugged my brother over and over again. I don’t think he wanted him to go!

Each day it is so neat to see more and more of Vanya come out for us to see and experience. He is such a happy go-lucky boy! Nothing seems to faze him much, and he hasn’t cried, whined, or had a melt down the entire time he’s been here. Some of the other families haven’t been so lucky. One of the ladies at the day camp asked me if we were moving forward with the paperwork to adopt him. When I told her we most definitely were, she said, “Well, if you weren’t, almost all of us would have taken him!” Sorry, we’re hoping God and the Ukraine government allows him to be ours!