Evan and the Babies: Happy International Women's Day

Once again, I am here on Women's Day. I honestly don't plan it that way. This morning, we got flowers from Dan and at the end of the day we got chocolates from Dorel (the driver to and from Bucharest and for weekend trips.) We also were invited to Mihaela's high school for a potluck lunch with the teachers and once again got a flower. I think our male team member, Ken, is feeling very left out although he did get to partake of the special lunch. We also got a tour of the high school where Mihaela is a vice principal and teacher. It is a very impressive place.

Today, Larissa, was added to our group. We have had her on previous teams. She has severe disabilities including dwarfism. She is 5 years old and looks less than a year old. We also got to go down to the second floor to briefly see Delia who is there with a urinary tract infection. It was great to see her but sad to leave her sitting all alone in the crib. It looks like she has grown.

Liviu, the older boy who has paralyzed legs and some troubles with his hands, now calls Dan, Domnul Dan, which means Mr. Dan. Delia has taken this up as well. Too funny.

Speaking of Liviu, he could definitely learn more given the opportunity. He loves to play games on our tablets which is actually good for his eye hand coordination. Today he was playing s puzzle game where he had to drag and drop pieces. He was having trouble dragging them but knew exactly where they should go. I was most impressed that he didn't give up and get overly frustrated and let me help him. Fortunately I learned "nu pot" (I can't) on a previous trip.

We learned that we can put Maria in the walker and she can scoot herself down the hall. She runs into a few walls along the way but does better than expected. Maria has limited vision and uses her hands the way that Gaby used to. She also does that Stevie Wonder thing with her head. I'm sure there is a reason for that. I need to look it up.

Ilinca can walk holding on to one finger of my hand. She tends to step side to side rather than taking a step forward. She was quite fascinated by some balloons today and surprisingly didn't cry when the inevitable happened and one popped.

We are getting to know the children and what they can do and how to work with them. I learn so much from watching my fellow team members with the children. I hope I'm putting into practice what I've learned from prior trips as well! Today, I remembered how Reni, the speech therapist, taught us to put the spoon in a child's mouth when they are learning to eat soft or solid food. I also saw Maria hitting her head with her hands and tried Sarah's technique of holding her head like she did with Luca.

We ended the day with a nice dinner at the hotel listening to the lively party and music from the main dining room. Clearly, celebrating women's day is a big thing. We were in a side room but snuck into the kitchen so we could peek out the doors and see the celebration. It appeared a good time was being had by all.

More news on other children will be forthcoming. A good two days so far!