What a day! So many things to talk about and it is so late and I'm ready to collapse! But I want to look back and remember this very special time in our lives.
Diana slept soundly until 9am. The girls couldn't wait for her to wake up and went into her room immediately. Arielle helped her look through all the clothes we have gathered for her and she chose an outfit. They didn't come out for breakfast though so I went to check on them. All three girls were in the bathroom and Arielle was doing their nails!
Diana loves fruit. I put a basket on the table and she eats a piece every time she walks in the room. She is so thin, but very tall for 10. Right after breakfast she pointed to the yard and she ran in and out all morning. I watched out the window and she was smiling as she was swinging.
Using the great website my brother sent, (I'll check out yours too, June), I told Diana we would go shopping for clothes and shoes. The flip-flops I bought her are too small. She got ready to go by doing more nail painting, applying all the little girlie things that Grandma sent--including red heart stick-on earrings, and then packed her little purse with it all.
We went to Kohl's and she chose several things, holding them out to me to see if it was okay to get. She stopped at a display for watches and picked one up. I let her get it and my two girls didn't say a word and never asked for anything. We had a funny moment when Diana was trying on a swimsuit. It was a one piece with a strap down the center of the back. She opened the door to show it to me and had it on backwards. The strap was down the center of her chest with everything else exposed! She knew it was funny and we all laughed and I showed her how to turn it around.
She seemed very agitated when we left Kohl's. I asked in Russian if she was okay. She said nyet and motioned for me to make a phone call. She is very frustrated when I don't understand and wants me to call someone. When we got home I called the translator. It seems Diana just likes to know what is happening next. The translator got on to her, telling her to go with the flow and not worry about what was going on. Through this woman, I told Diana we would go to see one of the other boys at 3:00. She is very anxious to be around other Russian speakers. She pointed to her new watch several times to remind me it was close to 3.
Helen came over with her girls to meet Diana and the girls again played in the yard. For the first time Diana was trying to make contact with Fred by pretending to ride a little bike into his legs, teasing him. I was enjoying Helen's visit and then remembered we would later have guests and my house was a mess! As she often does, Helen bailed me out--cleaning up and cutting up watermelon and frosting the cake. When we were getting ready to leave, I combed Liana's hair, then Arielle's hair, and then...I looked over to Diana and she got up and let me comb hers too. I had longed to do that. She has silky, pretty hair.
We went to our friend's house for a dinner with the Russian administrator and the translator. They turned out to be very enjoyable people. We first took them to a park and the kids had the best time picking wild raspberries. They ate so much we thought surely they would get sick. We went back for a cook-out at our friends house and the kids jumped on the trampoline and rode skateboards on their front porch. Arielle and Liana had their feelings hurt when Diana chose to ride with the boy Sergei in our friend's car instead of with them. Diana is very talkative and really needs to have people understand her.
We went back to our house for dessert. It was a delightful evening. The Russian man, Vladimir, right away sat at the piano and began to sing and play. Then the translator played and sang and tried to engage Diana and Sergei with what I guess was a popular Russian song. Then all the kids ran outside in the near dark and caught lightening bugs in baby food jars. Even Vladimir walked around in the dark helping them. Larissa, the translator, is a lively woman who loves to talk and laugh. She seems to really love the children too.
Everyone left and without being told Diana took a shower and got into bed. The light was on though and she was playing music on Liana's toy tape recorder. After a little bit she got up and went into my room and motioned she was going to sleep. Fred reached out and gave her a hug, and I did too. She smiled, tentatively, sweetly. It was our first real connection. I put a band-aid on her scrape, put cream on a mosquito bite and checked her hair for ticks. Mom stuff.
The translator says she is acting like a tough girl because she has to protect herself. She doesn't want to let anyone close yet. I was thinking the same thing. Can she allow anyone in? We'll see.
Diana slept soundly until 9am. The girls couldn't wait for her to wake up and went into her room immediately. Arielle helped her look through all the clothes we have gathered for her and she chose an outfit. They didn't come out for breakfast though so I went to check on them. All three girls were in the bathroom and Arielle was doing their nails!
Diana loves fruit. I put a basket on the table and she eats a piece every time she walks in the room. She is so thin, but very tall for 10. Right after breakfast she pointed to the yard and she ran in and out all morning. I watched out the window and she was smiling as she was swinging.
Using the great website my brother sent, (I'll check out yours too, June), I told Diana we would go shopping for clothes and shoes. The flip-flops I bought her are too small. She got ready to go by doing more nail painting, applying all the little girlie things that Grandma sent--including red heart stick-on earrings, and then packed her little purse with it all.
We went to Kohl's and she chose several things, holding them out to me to see if it was okay to get. She stopped at a display for watches and picked one up. I let her get it and my two girls didn't say a word and never asked for anything. We had a funny moment when Diana was trying on a swimsuit. It was a one piece with a strap down the center of the back. She opened the door to show it to me and had it on backwards. The strap was down the center of her chest with everything else exposed! She knew it was funny and we all laughed and I showed her how to turn it around.
She seemed very agitated when we left Kohl's. I asked in Russian if she was okay. She said nyet and motioned for me to make a phone call. She is very frustrated when I don't understand and wants me to call someone. When we got home I called the translator. It seems Diana just likes to know what is happening next. The translator got on to her, telling her to go with the flow and not worry about what was going on. Through this woman, I told Diana we would go to see one of the other boys at 3:00. She is very anxious to be around other Russian speakers. She pointed to her new watch several times to remind me it was close to 3.
Helen came over with her girls to meet Diana and the girls again played in the yard. For the first time Diana was trying to make contact with Fred by pretending to ride a little bike into his legs, teasing him. I was enjoying Helen's visit and then remembered we would later have guests and my house was a mess! As she often does, Helen bailed me out--cleaning up and cutting up watermelon and frosting the cake. When we were getting ready to leave, I combed Liana's hair, then Arielle's hair, and then...I looked over to Diana and she got up and let me comb hers too. I had longed to do that. She has silky, pretty hair.
We went to our friend's house for a dinner with the Russian administrator and the translator. They turned out to be very enjoyable people. We first took them to a park and the kids had the best time picking wild raspberries. They ate so much we thought surely they would get sick. We went back for a cook-out at our friends house and the kids jumped on the trampoline and rode skateboards on their front porch. Arielle and Liana had their feelings hurt when Diana chose to ride with the boy Sergei in our friend's car instead of with them. Diana is very talkative and really needs to have people understand her.
We went back to our house for dessert. It was a delightful evening. The Russian man, Vladimir, right away sat at the piano and began to sing and play. Then the translator played and sang and tried to engage Diana and Sergei with what I guess was a popular Russian song. Then all the kids ran outside in the near dark and caught lightening bugs in baby food jars. Even Vladimir walked around in the dark helping them. Larissa, the translator, is a lively woman who loves to talk and laugh. She seems to really love the children too.
Everyone left and without being told Diana took a shower and got into bed. The light was on though and she was playing music on Liana's toy tape recorder. After a little bit she got up and went into my room and motioned she was going to sleep. Fred reached out and gave her a hug, and I did too. She smiled, tentatively, sweetly. It was our first real connection. I put a band-aid on her scrape, put cream on a mosquito bite and checked her hair for ticks. Mom stuff.
The translator says she is acting like a tough girl because she has to protect herself. She doesn't want to let anyone close yet. I was thinking the same thing. Can she allow anyone in? We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment