School-Bound Already?

It's official: as of Friday, 7/31, Kristina is now enrolled in "s-coooool," as Kristina says it. I return to work in a few weeks so we decided to sign Kristina up to start the week prior...so she can get used to me being gone during the day but learn that yes -- indeed -- I will be returning to bring her home!

I checked out some daycare/learning centers and really like the one we chose. It's close to home (about 5 minutes away), very clean, they serve breakfast and lunch plus snacks (all included in tuition!), and it's a very structured curriculum (something Kristina is very used to from the orphanage). She'll be in the 2 y.o. "Potty Training" class since she's not 100% independent with such tasks. And the added bonus: Kristina already has a friend in the class, Gaby! When Kristina and I visited the classroom last week, Gaby came up to Kristina right away and the girls hugged. Very sweet!

Kristina and Gaby playing in a jumper...where they burn off lots of energy for a good night's sleep!

Our usual daily conversation in preparation to leaving Kristina...

me: "Mama has to go to work just like Papa"

KD: "Tee-Tee werk?"

me: "No, honey, Tee-Tee will go to school"

KD: "Tee-Tee S-coooooool"

me: "Yes, honey, Tee-Tee will go to school"

Does she get it? I'm sure not. The other night I left Kristina with Jon to have a night out on the town with Laura (yep ~ local hotspot: Wal*Mart with a McDonald's McCafe!). I wasn't there 5 minutes when Jon called with Kristina crying "mama" over and over into the phone. We shopped and had a Latte only to learn later that she cried for 90 minutes until I walked into through the door. Daycare should be fun. I only hope that all the other kids and Gaby will distract her enough that she won't be too upset that I'm not there.

Speaking of "werk", I finally made it down into Los Angeles to visit everyone at my job. It was so great seeing everyone -- all the therapists, doctors, nurses, management, and even one of our Russian Interpreters (hey, Art!) --- almost everyone! Kristina was her usual social self making herself welcome to other people's food, leading people by the hand, and overall enjoying the hugs and attention.

The Cedar's Crew!

On Sunday, Jon, Kristina and I will be heading out for a last-minute getaway: Las Vegas! I'm sure this trip will not resemble our previous Vegas jaunts but we have a week to use as part of our timeshare that we have in Mexico and we decided to go someplace local (where we can drive to) and just hang out. So we decided to "chill-out" in Vegas where it's 110 degrees F. Lots of sun, sunscreen, rest and relaxation ~ atleast that's what we're hoping for! I'm sure I'll be signing on to let the world know...