We’re Feeling the Love

Robin here… Today was another silly day with a repeat of yesterday’s umbrella fascination and some more rolling off the balance beam in an act of pure trust on Kristina’s part. Luckily, Papa caught her every time and Kristina really seemed to enjoy the onslaught of kisses we would bestow upon her while repositioning her atop the beam after each successful catch. Kristina also revisited the contents of my purse today and spent at least ten minutes putting on lipstick and using my makeup brushes to pretend that she was applying blush and eye shadow.

We also brought out the laptop today and showed Kristina many, many pictures of Julia and us at the Detsky Dom in Ust Kamenogorsk. Kristina seemed to understand that what we are doing with her now is exactly what we did with Julia in 2004. She gave Julia’s pictures some kisses, just as she did the pictures we showed her of our cat Buddy and our dog Nugget. Kristina seems to already be in love with her new pets. And, in a glimpse of what is the contrary part of her personality, Kristina has taken to saying Buddy when we ask her to say Nugget and Nugget when we ask her to say Buddy. She also says Buddy or Nugget when we ask her to say Claire, Gavin or Yulia. Yep, she’s a little stinker.

We are really beginning to feel the love from our little girl. Since day one Kristina has been talkative, comical and playful. Still, yesterday and today were different in that she not only allowed, but seemed to want our affection. And, when we said our goodbyes the past two days, we were given kisses and extra long hugs from her. It is so cute to watch her hug Greg goodbye while affectionately tapping his back as if to say, “Don’t worry, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) we are going to the notary with our attorney to sign the papers stating that we have met our 14 day bonding period requirement and are requesting a court date for our adoption hearing. Igor will drop us off at the orphanage after that and then he’ll head to the courthouse to file the papers. We should receive notice on Thursday or Friday of our assigned court date; we are hoping it will be on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

We know that Gavin and Claire are doing fine and we hope that Julia is not missing her Mama and Papa too much. We take comfort in knowing that she is in a good a loving home with our neighbors and friends, but we worry that she might be feeling like we’ve been gone too long already…

When you read this Julia, please know that Mama and Papa think about you almost every minute of every single day. But, just like when we adopted you, the time we need to spend here with Kristina is also long. We love you and we are proud of you for understanding that you needed to stay behind so you could go to school and be there for Buddy and Nugget. Before you know it, we will be home with your little sister and the two of you can start sharing your bedroom together. We know that you and Kristina will have so much fun together and that Kristina will just love her new friends, too!