What to pack - Flight on April 14th!

Time is both flying by and moving about as slow as the slowest sloth out there.

Packing: We don't want to be typical Americans and take too much. We will be getting on the train right after landing in Warsaw and that means lugging your own bags through a train station, up and down stairs, on and off of trains, into compartments, etc. So we are taking one backpack, one suitcase that meets the requirements for carry-on and a duffel bag full of Mason's clothes for the orphanage. But we need to bring three small thank-you gifts for a few people that have helped care for M, a small toy and picture book for M, and then things to do with her while we are there for three days. I've scoured the websites and books evaluating the "what to bring" lists and came up with my own. If it is helpful to others adopting in the future I'll list out the toys that we took (and since this is a catch-up blog which ones were the most favorite).

• Soft doll from Carters. This was an excellent gift for M. They helped her name the doll and we were able to have the doll interact with us and her. So the doll danced, jumped, blew bubbles, ran, gave hugs, played pattycake, etc.
• Strange looking ball that is more holes than ball. It is called the OBall (just looked it up on Amazon.) This was perfect because it was light, easy to throw, easy to catch, and if she accidently stepped on it while playing soccer it just flattened instead of her falling over. It was a bit bulky in the suitcase, but i stuffed it in the side of the backpack right before zipping it up.
• Bubbles. Kids love bubbles and M was no exception. At first she was most amazed at the bubbles, but she started to get the idea that you could chase them and try to pop them.
• 1000 First Words in Polish. Excellent kids book with colorful pictures. It is a bit big and hardback, but I decided it was more important than a second pair of shoes (LOL). M loved the book. It was a great way to interact and find out the words that she did know in Polish.
• Large crayons and a very first coloring book. Few lines and simple pictures. Also a big hit. We were able to understand the colors she knew, if she knew how to hold a crayon, how well she colored, etc.
• Stickers. Good to understand fine motor skills - plus fun to peel off and put on each other.
• Flashcards. They are just pictures of everyday things. I ordered them from a montessori catalog for our son. Matt came up with a game of matching the cards to the things we saw in the room and saying the word. Like pillow, bed, lamp, etc. In playing this game we realized that she could say more words that we thought. While they were great, I could have only taken a few cards that she might have known. The tin and all of the cards were a bit heavy.
• A small picture book that we made of our family. I put a copy of one of the pictures of M we received with the referral on the first page. She really liked seeing a picture of herself.

Here we go!