She recognized us!

Thursday was a day of R&R and roaming the streets together since we didn't see Kristina. Nothing out of the ordinary to report. We were without internet again for the day. This is by far the most "inconvenient" part of our trip --- being cut off from family and friends.

Friday was a day we allocated to see Kristina and then meet with the Orphanage Asst. Director to discuss Kristina's medical history, likes/dislikes, routines, etc. When we arrived, we were downstairs putting on our blue booties to prevent trekking dirt into the playroom. As we were donning our booties, a train of kids came down the stairs and down the hall all bundled up in coats and hats; all that could be seen were eyes, cheeks and mouth. NOTE: It was 70 degrees today -- big difference from the 4 inches of snow last Friday!!

The kids were all so cute and as they marched by, I noticed the familiar red boots that Kristina wears. She left the line of kids and stretched out her arms to me. Our little girl recognized us before we recognized her! She was wearing a different dress/coat/hat/pants --- only the boots and round cheeks & blue eyes gave her identity away. We doffed our booties and swept our little girl up as the caregivers were telling the other little ones that Kristina's Mama and Papa were here. For the next 10 minutes, all these little ones called us Mama and Papa. My heart just melts for these kids. On the playground, we tried out our "Ergo Carrier" for the first time and Kristina loved it!! I can't wait to tote her around on my back and have her so close to me for more than just a few minutes.

Ugh...would prefer to show the front vs. the backends. Next week!!!

After 75 minutes playing outside, we went indoors to meet with the Asst. Director, Ludmila. JD has been joking that hopefully we'll receive an "Instructional Manual" when we pick up Kristina that will tell us how to parent a 2-year old! Instead, we settled on meeting with Ludmila. Via our translator, we talked for about an hour. We found out that when Kristina changed Grupas recently, she transitioned from a crib to a toddler bed. Although we have her crib ready at home, I think we can remove the one railing and the crib mattress is low enough.

I was instructed that I must make her soup daily, compote, porridge, and must include 70 grams of meat daily in her diet. No red or yellow vegetables due to allergies...but I think this is standard for all kids in an orphanage. I'm not Julia Childs but I'll make sure my child doesn't starve!

She has a skin "condition" probably due to allergies or possibly the detergents from the clothing and bedding. Or so they say. But we'll see what it really is. She hasn't yet had the chicken pox although there are kids currently quarantined at the Orphanage who do have it.

They say she's a good sleeper -- from 9pm until 6 or 7am. We're hoping so!! As for potty training, they said she only needs pull-ups when going outside and when sleeping. However, we're prepared with an arsenal of pull-ups for all times.

We were thrilled when we asked Ludmilla if they still had the two disposable cameras we left with them last September as well as the photo album with various pictures of JD and me. After 1o minutes of searching, she came back with a camera that was not ours. It was unmarked and we told her we had Kristina's name printed on the two cameras. Five minutes later, she re-appeared with both cameras and the photo album! We can't wait to develop the cameras -- we hope to get a few good pictures as the caregivers usually don't know how to work the flash....

After leaving the orphanage, JD and I had our driver drop us off at the Ekaterinburg Zoo -- located right in the heart of the city. We were expecting a few animals in some old, rickety cages but we were so surprised. They had lions, tigers, hippo, elephant, polar bears, monkeys, crocs, -- everything. Even pigeons, cockroaches, and rats were on display! Looks like they're doing lots of remodeling and updating of the zoo (like the rest of Ekat) ~ a really nice afternoon.

A very pretty kitty!

Smiling for the camera!

This is what a polar bear looks like when some zoo staff feed him Cotton Candy...

After walking a few miles home, we crashed as our feet were killing us. Tomorrow we have more city-seeing on the agenda but looking forward to meeting Anna and Albert from Spain. They, too, have the day off from seeing their little one because of the holiday.

NOTE: Found out that the Military personnel on Wednesday night were rehearsing for Saturday's parade. Geez -- they sure do know how to put on a show here!