The weather has warmed up a bit and it is absolutely beautiful! I'm so glad they let us take Darya outside for both visits today even though her nose was still snotty. We discovered that she loves the baby swing and can get herself going in it! But her favorite thing is having one of us hold her hands and let her practice walking. I really hope that she'll be walking independently in a few months. The other day she stood up from a sitting position by herself. For the most part she is a happy camper and easy to entertain, but these past couple of days we're starting to see her grumpy side :-) It's usually toward the end of our visits. It could be a number of things: the fact that she's 2, she's got a cold, she's off her routine with our visits, she's overly warm in all those layers, and/or over-stimulation from her doting future parents!
During some of our down time in the afternoons and evenings, Joel and I have really been enjoying walking around outside. We are just absorbing the lovely weather and the beautiful sights. We are staying in the heart of downtown where there are cobblestone streets, ornate architecture, rose gardens, and fountains around every corner. Just beautiful! We are also hoping to catch a ballet or opera one evening (for less than a movie ticket back home!).
We are hoping to have court by the end of next week (the 23rd or 24th). We were hoping that Joel would be back before then to be with the boys when they get back from California (they fly back to Florida on the 24th). Sam's 9th birthday is on the 25th and we are sad that both of us will miss that. After court, Joel will have to go back to the capitol and go to the US Embassy to sign some paperwork. (It's basically to say that he is aware and okay with Darya's diagnosis, since I will be the one to stay and finalize everything.) After that, he can leave. But flights out are usually really early in the morning, so he will likely leave the day after his appointment at the Embassy. They are closed the last Friday of every month, so even if court is on Thursday the 23rd, he would have to wait until Monday the 27th, meaning he would fly back on the 28th (that's actually the date we booked his return flight for). But we can still hope and pray for a sooner date! :-)
Okay, on to some pictures! Joel's blog will be the one with any videos since it seems to take a long time to load them on here (could be in the internet connection). So enjoy this sweetness!
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| Love this face! |
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| The opera house around the corner |
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| Cobblestone walkway |
Oh my gosh, that face of hers just melts my heart. These ones of her on the swing show just how beautiful her face is. However, I am anxious to see more pics of her without a hat on so I can really "see" her face. How hard it must be for the older kids in the orphanage to have to watch those other kids having fun right outside their fence.
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