"Today, Wednesday January 14, we traveled to the orphanage
and Kyle got to take a road trip to get his passport pictures taken.
This is the first Kazan road trip with Kyle and although most
children, so I am told, cry and scream en route to get the passport
pictures taken, Kyle was perfectly still. When we arrived today,
I did not go to his room to meet him but when he walked down the
hallway, he recognized me and came running down the hall...it
was truly a priceless moment!! I brought his brand new black
ski jacket and red hat which I hoped that he would be able to
wear to go outside and on this trip. Unfortunately, he is still
required to wear "orphanage only" brand clothing. I guess they
picked out the Florida warm winter ski suit for Kyle because it
had Mickey Mouse on it - the one catch being that it was hot pink.
So yes, that is still my all boy little guy in his Pretty in Pink clothing.

When we arrived at the picture place, Kyle had to sit on a stool
to get his picture taken. He sat there as quiet as a mouse perfectly
still as you can see from the picture. The photographer said that she
has never seen a child sit so still for his pictures. Of course, when I
take his picture, he never sits still! Kyle actually sat there mesmerized
by the camera but did not smile at all for the camera. I think he was
happy to leave but not happy to put the pink jacket back on!

During the afternoon visit, Kyle was not very happy because
he is teething but that is nothing a little gel on the gums cannot fix!
After applying the analgesic on his gums, he was back to his usual
happy self and we really enjoyed a nice visit. He definitely likes
Mommy's toys - my phone, my camera and my camcorder being
his top three choices! He is saying "Mom" but I cannot yet confirm
with certainty he is saying it in the correct context (more to follow on
that once confirmation is made!). His two favorite English words are
up and hi! He also tries to say a lot of other words which could either
be jibberish or Russian as they both sound the same to me!

This evening, my Dad and I decided to walk to a pizza place called
the "Boogie Woogie Pizza and Pasta." As the name was in English
and we have been trying past it every day, we ventured into the
restaurant and were delighted to hear a familiar sound - Lynard
Skynard. Playing on the TV was a video of the 30 year reunion
of Lynard Skynard labeled the "Status Quo Tour" which also was
projected onto the restaurant wall. On one side of the restaurant
the lead singer and guitar player were painted onto the wall with
a bunch of people painted on the bottom (the painting was also
done 30 years ago when they were much younger). So here we
are in a Pizza Restaurant watching and listening to Sweet Home
Alabama and Freebird with no ability to read the menu and no
ability to communicate with the waitresses. That basically limited
us to either pizza or lasagna and we opted for the lasagna....no
wonder the Russians are so skinny. They have mastered portion control!!!

Tomorrow, Thursday, January 15, 2009, I will prepare for the
Court hearing on Friday January 16, 2009. I will keep you informed
and thanks again for being a part of this journey!"