Anyway, we decided to start the day visiting Apparent Project since R would be at school in the morning anyway. The Apparent Project is a great organization here in Haiti that provides work, training and childcare, mostly to women making handmade goods, so that families can stay together. Their mission is "Prevent Child Relinquishment in Haitian Families". Anyway, our driver and translator decide to navigate through major traffic... this caused some interesting times to say the least. It was a chance to see Port-au-Prince away from main streets. It also included an attempt to go up a large hill that Ethan's 4WD truck at home would struggle on... we were in a very old 2WD minivan that had well below standard clearance level! Once half way up we got stuck and had to reverse down a very dicey bumping road filled with people. Then right around the corner from Apparent Project we got stuck in a ditch. The girls and I got out and walked the rest of the way with our translator while Ethan pushed the minivan out of the ditch with the driver. BUT... we made it. And... after an almost as interesting trip back we FINALLY made it to the creche.
R was already home, in fact we aren't 100% the preschool aged kiddos even went to school today. We first went into the room where he "lived" last time we were here but they told us he had been moved to the 2nd floor. We raced up there quickly since we were all so excited to see him!!! I am not sure the nannies knew we were coming today, they seemed a little confused. They let us take him upstairs (the 3rd floor balcony where we spent most of our time the last trip) but it wasn't long before they came back to get him to change him. Before we met R, I had a mom tell me how crazy it is the nannies remember in their large bags of clothes exactly what clothes you brought for your child and they will dress them in those when you come visit. Sure enough... out of the large duffle bag of shared clothes came a shirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of shoes we brought down on our last trip. After they changed his clothes the rest of the day (although only 2.5 hours) was ours to enjoy and bond! It was so nice to have him back in our arms but even better to get to introduce him to his sisters! What a beautiful site, all 3 of our kids in the same place for the first time!! The girls did really well. R is very shy and we have spent the last 5.5 months talking to them about that and how to give him space when they first meet him. They did a great job! I could tell they both wanted to just run up and hug him but they stayed a little back and let me and Ethan hold him and talk to him for a few minutes but then eagerly came right up and gave him giant lovable hugs when we told them it was ok! He was shy, we knew he would be but it wasn't but an hour or so and I felt like we were almost right back to where we left off with him 5.5 months ago. We made sure to play some of his favorite games and toys right off the bat. It was much easier this time knowing what he really enjoyed doing with us last time and how we could get him out of his shell quickly. First and of course the most important was feeding him snacks... man does this kid love his snacks! We of course brought Doritos (don't judge us, Oregon health food crazies we are bonding with our child here!) his ultimate favorite! Then we quickly moved to bubbles, bouncy balls and our own version of our chase and hide/seek/find game...before no time we were running, playing, smiling and giggling just like before!
Observations from today:
* Although it was hard being away from our girls for so long back in November, I see now the benefits of being here and bonding with him first then bringing Eva and Adri to meet him. It was much easier back then to focus on him and much easier this time to get him out of his shell and playing which was easier for the girls.
* He is a much faster runner now. On our bonding trip we taught him to run and jump. Well, I am pretty sure he has been practicing the running part.
* He has learned the concept of soccer. We had brought a soccer ball last time but he really didn't understand much about kicking the ball. Well, today we got out the bouncy ball and at first he was trying to play with it like a soccer ball, it was adorable.
* He still loves snacks, especially Doritos.
* He bonded a little better today with Evaleena than Adrianna. Adrianna was trying hard and we have explained to her that he probably thinks of her as one of the "little kids" that he is use to stealing his stuff, while he probably views Evaleena has one of the older kids. The older kids at the creche either, leave the little kids alone or they are helping them out, feeding them, etc... Adrianna understands (the best a 5 year old can) and his dedicated and eager to try again tomorrow.
* Haiti is still HOT! Even hotter in May than November (well of course that's true). I am just glad we didn't have to wait until July! Two "highlights" of our heat so far... 1. Adrianna did not go to sleep until 1am yesterday because she was hot and couldn't sleep. 2. I was dumping water on Evaleena's head in the car on the way back to the guesthouse today because we had no ac in the car and she looked like she was going to pass out from heat stroke.
Well its 11:30pm here in Haiti and I have got to get some sleep! More tomorrow and possibly some pictures!
Love you Stace❤️! Praying for your family ❤️
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