August 20th: Got Ya Home Day!
We had an oatmeal breakfast at Liz's. Galina loves oatmeal. Liz suggested I take a shower with the baby, so I did and it worked out well. She does not mind water poured over her head and she stayed at my feet while I showered, but boy can babies be slippery in the shower. Liz had to leave for work, so John and I decided to take the girls to the Edmonds City Park. Liz said that they had great toddler play equipment. We packed up the girls and off we went.
It took a little bit of driving around before we found the park. Once we did we headed for the playground. It was a lovely summer morning with the sun shining bright. I had put the girls in their matching seersucker dresses that Joline gave them. They both looked adorable. At the playground Galina acted a bit hesitant and cautious. She had never played on anything this large with tunnels to crawl through and so many slides to go down. She opted to try the swings first. John had to play with her the entire time, because this was the moment Valya lost it. All the traveling and all the changes had caught up to her and now here we were at a playground that she did not recognize. She sobbed in my arms for about 30 minutes. Then she was ready to do some exploring of her own. She wanted to walk around and check things out, but she wanted mama very close. We must have stayed there for about an hour. Galina was getting bolder and bolder. Other children were coming to the playground and she watched them intently. Valya walked around in her little dress and sun hat looking adorable and catching everyone's attention.
We took a break for lunch. Went to the nearby grocery store to get some food and brought it back to the park to eat. While we were finishing up lunch a large family reunion was taking place not far from us. The guys were playing catch with a football in the grassy area in front of us. Galina was mesmerized by the football spiraling back and forth in the air and then she would squeal with excitement when someone caught it. At one point the football made a huge arch in the air and came down right on top of a little guy probably around 4/5 years of age. He did think that was very good, but he only cried a little.
It was time to get on the road again and get home. We buckled the girls up in their car seats. At this point even the baby was getting use to this. No one cried. I think the video we took of our friends kids getting into car seats really helped Galina. Valya slept the whole way home. Galina was interested in watching the "machineas" and the countryside go by. Eventually she fell asleep as did mama. I woke up at the rest stop that John had pulled into. He said he was falling asleep at the wheel, so he thought it best to stop here and sleep a while. Good Papa! We all slept in the car for about an hour before we got on the road again.
We made it home around 4:00 pm. Valya was still sleeping when I brought her in the house so we went straight to he crib and put her down. Galina on the other hand was wide awake. I am sure she recognized the house as there were many pictures of it in her talking photo album that she had almost worn out. Our surprise was when she saw our cats, Nemesis and Tracy, she started to scream. She was so frightened of them. John took her to the couch to sit down. I put the cats outside. We had not expected this reaction since we had pictures of the cats in her photo album and she saw the cats in action on the DVD that John made for her. She stayed snuggled on the couch under John's arm and did not want to move for quite a while.
Now things get really fuzzy as I was so jet lagged myself. I am sure we had dinner, thanks Jan for the casserole you left in the fridge for us, we may have had bath time, and I am sure we all went to bed at some point, but we were all up at 4:00 am wide awake. Hopefully we will establish a better routine as time goes on.
It took a little bit of driving around before we found the park. Once we did we headed for the playground. It was a lovely summer morning with the sun shining bright. I had put the girls in their matching seersucker dresses that Joline gave them. They both looked adorable. At the playground Galina acted a bit hesitant and cautious. She had never played on anything this large with tunnels to crawl through and so many slides to go down. She opted to try the swings first. John had to play with her the entire time, because this was the moment Valya lost it. All the traveling and all the changes had caught up to her and now here we were at a playground that she did not recognize. She sobbed in my arms for about 30 minutes. Then she was ready to do some exploring of her own. She wanted to walk around and check things out, but she wanted mama very close. We must have stayed there for about an hour. Galina was getting bolder and bolder. Other children were coming to the playground and she watched them intently. Valya walked around in her little dress and sun hat looking adorable and catching everyone's attention.
We took a break for lunch. Went to the nearby grocery store to get some food and brought it back to the park to eat. While we were finishing up lunch a large family reunion was taking place not far from us. The guys were playing catch with a football in the grassy area in front of us. Galina was mesmerized by the football spiraling back and forth in the air and then she would squeal with excitement when someone caught it. At one point the football made a huge arch in the air and came down right on top of a little guy probably around 4/5 years of age. He did think that was very good, but he only cried a little.
It was time to get on the road again and get home. We buckled the girls up in their car seats. At this point even the baby was getting use to this. No one cried. I think the video we took of our friends kids getting into car seats really helped Galina. Valya slept the whole way home. Galina was interested in watching the "machineas" and the countryside go by. Eventually she fell asleep as did mama. I woke up at the rest stop that John had pulled into. He said he was falling asleep at the wheel, so he thought it best to stop here and sleep a while. Good Papa! We all slept in the car for about an hour before we got on the road again.
We made it home around 4:00 pm. Valya was still sleeping when I brought her in the house so we went straight to he crib and put her down. Galina on the other hand was wide awake. I am sure she recognized the house as there were many pictures of it in her talking photo album that she had almost worn out. Our surprise was when she saw our cats, Nemesis and Tracy, she started to scream. She was so frightened of them. John took her to the couch to sit down. I put the cats outside. We had not expected this reaction since we had pictures of the cats in her photo album and she saw the cats in action on the DVD that John made for her. She stayed snuggled on the couch under John's arm and did not want to move for quite a while.
Now things get really fuzzy as I was so jet lagged myself. I am sure we had dinner, thanks Jan for the casserole you left in the fridge for us, we may have had bath time, and I am sure we all went to bed at some point, but we were all up at 4:00 am wide awake. Hopefully we will establish a better routine as time goes on.
posted by Isabel Farquhar at
4:04 AM
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