Introducing............... (drum roll) Ryan Blake

Well, after going through several names and testing them out in Latvia, he has decided on Ryan Blake to be his new name. He really likes it and while we know it will take you all some time to memorize it, just know that even we forget and call him by his old name occasionally. It will sink in with a little time. Here are some pictures I took of him while we were away in Latvia. He still looks at himself and just sees things he doesn't like. We look at him and just see a handsome boy. As for the graffiti shots, well, I think every boy thinks graffiti is cool. So, I include those because they were sort of neat looking.

It was colder than we expected. A bit of a winter storm rolled through. It's time for spring there, but during our trip came the last gust of a snowy winter. Luckily, Ryan had a coat and was able to bring it with him when he came to us at court. He brought his suitcase he took home from Christmas and when we got to the apartment an opened it up we found it practically empty. Only a few things remained from his time here at Christmas. Everything was gone, not a single toy remained but a hackysack. He had only a few shirts we had given him and his photo album, everything else was gone. Thank goodness I had planned for that and took several sets of clothes for him. He had been telling me all along as each thing was taken from him, but the shock of seeing a nearly bare suitcase really hit home that he wasn't kidding, everything was gone. We reminded him that it was ok, that he would have some new things when he got home.