We got back from St Petersburg ("Peter" as the Russians refer to it) yesterday late afternoon. We awoke at 2:45am Peter time, Sunday, and arrived home at 2:30pm Dallas time - basically had a 23 hour day after all was said & done. We were barely able to make it with just the 2 of us...can't imagine the trip with a 2 year old as well! We met Nicky at the orphanage (Baby Home #1) on the afternoon of the 3rd and spent a few hours more with him on the 4th...it was so amazing I can hardly put it into words. He is super cute & seems to be very well taken care of! He is already potty trained (yeah!), and has a very healthy diet. We'll most likely be going back to pick him up in September, and that will give us more time to prepare. He speaks Russian - not too many words/phrases, but enough for it to be frustrating for all of us! :( Still so worth it! Anyway - here are some pictures of us at the orphanage the first day. He had just woken up and after a snack we were able to take him outside to play some. They have a pretty nice playground and have little bikes, etc for them to ride. As you can see, Nicky sticks his tongue out when he's enjoying something (just like his Pop!).
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This is the look we got when we 1st told Nicky we were leaving...![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJr7Gjg2N6Fy-qUT2aIiWjJmHEmF34xuEt24w0HTl2_-G2YRBtTR3Y94exR9g0Z2IRKJcM2H9MGZPXQQku6jLeC56kQScd3DvCRy0x1RpO7W8GBcfr9WF-qBDpH5_nMu42EeeE497VjQ/s320/piter+-+russia+-+7.2008+042.jpg)
Paka Paka (bye bye) little guy...we'll see you soon!
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