We Are Smitten

I think the first meeting went about as good as possible. We made it there (we ended up having a long walking tour this morning because we totally went in the wrong direction during our dry run)but then were totally confused once in the building and ended up seeing Simon and his foster parents before checking in with our Social Worker. They were very sweet and recognized us right away. They prompted Simon to wave but he mostly just stared at us. When we started following them to where we were supposed to be, he turned around and waved to us. So cute.

We went to a playroom and Simon got busy playing. He started bringing balls to us right away and slowly we started pushing the boundaries of interaction with him. He never shied away and eventually we got laughs and smiles out of him. He was talking, but of course we didn't know a majority of what he was saying. They told us a few of the words which were "more" "what's that" and I think "ball". He also said "goodbye" to us when we left. We were told several times how smart he is and how he learns quickly. I thought he was quite brilliant when I took out a toy car that we brought. You shake the car and it revs up the engine and when you put it down it drives. He figured out right away that you need to shake it to make it go. His foster parents do not speak English, but we could tell when they were giving him directions and he would do what they said. His foster mom must have told Simon to give me a kiss because at one point he started walking to the slide and she said something and he spun around and gave me a big smooch! My first kiss from Simon! (at that point I did tear up a bit but before that had totally kept it together). He gave out more kisses to both of us as our time went on. He also shook our hands, gave high fives, and does a cute little bow. We were told he likes to dance but he must not have been in the mood to show off because he kept his dancing skills to himself today. Simon really liked the slide and riding toys also. 

Tomorrow we are having lunch with the President of the agency and we were surprised to find out that we get to have Simon in our arms forever on Thursday! I'll admit I'm a little panicked about what we are going to do to entertain him all day Friday. We may need to track down the nearest park. We know it will be a difficult time for Simon. It was very clear today how attached he is to both of his foster parents. It was very sweet to see their relationship and we are forever grateful to them.

Here are a few pictures of our time together today. In this first picture Simon had just given me a kiss and then he touched both of his hands to the top of his head. He made this gesture a few times; I'm not totally positive about the gesture but I guess it's part of the bow. And of course some pics of him and Steve having a good time playing and eating.