New Year's Eve

Everything our family does seems to involve food, and New Year's Eve was no different. We had cheese soup, two kinds of smokies, pickle wraps, mexican tortilla roll-ups, and party mix. Larry, Sara, Rachelle, and Terri came over and we ate, talked, and played Sequence. We finally gave in to Grace's pleas for a bath and tried for more than half an hour to get her to sleep with no success. Finally, she just sat on my lap and "helped" me play Sequence. At least I have an excuse for our team losing...

She is going to be really tired tomorrow. Hey, maybe she'll sleep in...

Grandma's 99th Birthday

We took our first road trip today to Grandma and Grandpa Swaar's house for Grandma Wharram's 99th birthday! We got great news on the way there...Grace's urine and blood tests looked "good." They didn't get the chest x-ray results back, but so far her health report is positive.

Grace just made herself at home, looking in every room and going up and down the stairs to the basement. Grandma Wharram loved her, but kept calling her the little boy. Grace loved Grandma's meatloaf and kept getting another piece and another. I can't figure out how she can possibly be so small with the way she eats all the time.

Grace also loved Paige and Mark. Poor Mark was so sweet. Grace kept kissing him and he just sat there and took it. He didn't know what to do when she told him that she loved him. Paige rolled a ball with her and you could tell she really wanted to pick her up, but she didn't. Maybe next time...I think Grace has really missed being around other children. Mark is only 8 months older than she is, but he is much bigger and more mature. She was playing hide and seek with her hands over her face and Mark was designing a light bright picture using a pattern. Wow! Still it was amazing how she just made herself at home. She went up and down the stairs by herself and explored their entire house without worrying about where Mommy was all the time. I think she is starting to understand that we aren't going anywhere without her.

Baba and Diado with Grace

Cousins

Just like my grandpa...

I love grandma!

McDonald's

Well, today we decided to go to McDonald's for lunch. From now on, I'm sure the golden arches will bring squeals and pleadings for french fries. Grace, of course, had no idea what was coming...She actually ate a couple of bites of a cheese burger (not her favorite, or mine) a bag of apple slices (yum), and most of a box of french fries with ketchup. Then she enjoyed talking to all of the people who walked in..."Hey" is how she greets everyone and the senior crew hanging out in the lobby loved her.

When we went into the playground area, she didn't even seem to know what it was and walked right past the slides. Once we helped her up the first steps, she climbed around and around the lower section, always checking to see where we were. Since she was the only child there at first, she sat and tried to fly the "semolet" which was actually a helicoter. Then another family with a girl who was about 8 arrived. The sweet little girl pulled Grace up to the platforms for the upper levels and helped her go down the slides. She had a ball. You could hear Grace yelling, "Ella, Lelita" as she tried to tell the other little girl what to do. I'm sure we will be going back to McDonald's soon. The pictures tell it all.

A Christmas to Remember

Grace slept until nearly 10:00 this morning, so she obviously doesn't understand how exciting Christmas morning usually is for children. I made my usual breakfast of egg casserole and monkey bread and then it was time for presents. Grace loved throwing away the wrapping paper and passing out the presents. When we told her who the presents were for, she carried them to the right person and made a stack of presents for herself, too. She just didn't really care whether she opened any of them. In fact, we had to help her to get through her stack. She was content to sit with Mommy and watch everybody else.

She got a green turtle necklace, because "turtle" was the first word she said in English, coloring books, stickers, books, snap beads (which are too hard for her), the movie Cars (from her brother Blaise who know how much she loves the colata), a picture Bible (from Vince), and a butterfly ring (from Adam). She really liked playing on the slide/play gym that was added to the living room, too.

We headed to Aunt Terri's house for supper and she was showered with piles of gifts there, too. She is going to be the best dressed person in our family! She loves to look at herself in the mirror, so these new clothes will help her to keep her "Princess Grace" nickname from Daddy. We found out today that Grace loves Mommy's green beans. In fact, when everyone else was snacking on cookies and candy, she had an extra helping of green beans...She also really liked Aunt Terri's cat, though, Missy didn't return the affection and hid out in the back bedroom.

Grace was definitely our best Christmas present. I still can't believe that she is here. I get hundreds of kisses everyday and Grace says, "I love you, aste obichem" starting with the first moment that she sees me in the morning. She is a mommy's girl. Sometimes, Mark has to be very creative just to give me a few minutes alone in the bathroom. Usually she is talking to me through the door even then. She loves playing with the Leap Frog alphabet and numbers game that is on our refrigerator. Right now she sings the ABC song with the beginning and ending parts correct. We pray all the time, too, because she loves saying "God is great...and Amen!" We just stop everytime she puts her hands out and say the prayer over with her. She says please, thank you, nasdrave/bless you, panties, bath, hot, cold, orange, milk, juice, Mickey Mouse, telephone, I love you, and slippers. We have figured out a new Bulgarian words too: "Vees" means look, "die" means give it to me, "neskimato" means no more, and "askimato" means more. At least we think these are right.

Christmas Eve 2009

Today we hung around the house, played in the snow, and had our annual "Baking Day" at home. Kelly Fox loaned us some clothes that included a snow suit that fits Grace perfectly, and we got her all bundled up to go outside. She loves putting on her boots, but she hates the cold on her face and the snow. She just stands there confused when we make snowballs. She really needs to see her brothers play tackle in the snow or we need to go sledding sometime so that she will understand that snow can be fun.

We really scaled back on the number of treats we baked this year, and Grace napped through much of the preparation, but it was really nice to feel like we had fully recovered from jet lag and returned to normal family life. Adam and Vince prepared their world (or at least family) famous pumpkin bread, Blaise made his yummy banana bread, Mark made oatmeal cookies, I made orange fudge. Then for the second round Adam made peanut butter cookies and Vince made molasses cookies. Well, actually, Adam baked all of Vince's cookies because he mixed up the batches and didn't realize he had the wrong dough until after the entire batch was baked.  Of course, Adam says that they turned out even better because he baked them all. All I know is that they are all delicious.

After the baking was finished, we got dressed up and headed to church for the 6:00 Chrismas Eve Service. We took the mechka (backpack) and were loaded up with water and saleties (pretzel sticks) just in case. Gracie did great, especially considering that she has never been in a service like this or anyplace where she is supposed to sit and be quiet. I even took her up front for the children's story reading, but all she really cared about was the peppermint stick that they gave her to eat. She loved it. During the service, she enjoyed listening to the music and tried to crawl back and forth across Mark and I to give pretzels to her brothers. All in all, it went great. She looked so cute in her red plaid dress, too. We told her today that tomorrow was "Chestita Koleda" and she said "Merry Christmas" to people when she was prompted. I'm sure she doesn't really understand, but when I told her "Chestita Koleda" she started singing a little song that had those words in it, so someone in Bulgaria has told her about Christmas before.

She was very proud of her "boli" today and wanted to show everyone the bruise on her arm. What a cutie! I was so surprised that she was very clingy at church tonight. She was so active and outgoing at the airport that I had anticipated that she would want to go to every woman she saw, but she didn't. She wanted Mommy and only Mommy to carry her all night. Maybe we are starting to bond.

A snow princess

My banana bread is amazing!

Nothing compares to our pumpkin bread.

First Hospital Visit and Sickness

We anticipated taking Grace to get some basic medical tests this morning, but she had other plans. When she first woke up, she coughed a couple of times after drinking some water and spit up a little bit on Mommy. She laughed and acted fine so we had milk, french toast, and bananas for breakfast. She acted really tired and a little bit out of sorts after breakfast and climbed onto my lap. She started sucking her thumb (she takes turns sucking either thumb) and started to go to sleep. Mark and I commented on how she seemed sad, then suddenly she sat up and looked at me like she was scared, and threw up all over me. I called for Mark while she hit me the second time. Who would have thought that so much could be in one tiny stomach...I was drenched. Mark picked her up and she threw up two more times on the way to the bathroom. After clean up, she acted happy and kept wanting something to eat...Ne, ne...We opted for some apple Pedialite and after another hour, a piece of toast. She seemed fine the rest of the day and had some chicken noodle soup for lunch with no problem. Maybe the spicy food last night was too much for her.

Well, about 4:30 we decided to go ahead and take her to the hospital, but by the time we arrived, we couldn't remember which urine specimen was from the morning and which was from right before our visit. The hospital said we needed one that was less than an hour old, so we just got a new sample. I had forgotten that blood work was also ordered. As soon as the nurse looked at Grace's arm, she sent us to pediatrics. The nurse was sweet and told us that she was going to wrap Grace in a sheet so she couldn't move, one nurse would hold her arm, another would draw blood, and we would just try to comfort Grace. I was already wishing that we had not decided to do this today as soon as I saw her terrified face when they wrapped her up. Her eyes got big and she looked so confused. (I'm sure this doesn't help us to bond with her!)

When the nurse put the needle in her arm, and missed the vein, Grace didn't make a single sound or move at all. The nurse holding her hand commented that she didn't even flinch or try to pull away. She just layed there looking at me with huge tears running down her cheeks. As she blinked away the tears of pain, she didn't even make a sobbing sound. It broke my heart. She was so brave.

The nurse in pediatrics also pointed out two scars on her upper arms that she called "lines" where they sometimes make a cut and insert needles when they are out of usable veins. Apparently these had been used during previous hospitalizations. Grace certainly has been through her share of doctor and hospital visits. Today I am sad that she has experienced so much pain alone. I wonder whether there was anyone who she trusted standing by her bed when she woke up from surgery. Did she feel like she was all alone so it didn't matter whether she cried or not? I never want her to feel that way again.

After they were all finished, Gracie just looked at her arm and told us "boli me" which means "they hurt me" and kept pointing to her arm in confusion. Mommy kissed it and just held her to try to reassure her. The nurses then brought her two TY full size stuffed animals, a dog and a panda, and told her she was so brave. It was all she could do to carry them to the car.

As soon as she got home she wanted to take the bandage off of her "boli" and wanted to show us and get kisses for her "owy."

Making a Family

Grace has been amazingly resilient. On our first day back she woke up with a smile and climbed right into bed with Mommy and Daddy. She was certainly more rested than we were. She knows the names of each of the boys and gives them all kisses, except for fuzzy-faced, Vince. She will lean over to give him a kiss and then turn her cheek at the last minute. She just doesn't want to be near all of those whiskers. (She is really smart.) She really likes Mommy, but isn't as sure about Daddy. She wants him to cheer every time she goes to the bathroom and wants him nearby, but she wants me to carry her everywhere. This is probably healthy and understandable since she is used to female care-givers. We read that children can only bond with one person at a time, so hopeful Daddy will get his turn soon.

Aunt Terri, Aunt Sara, Uncle Larry, and Rachelle visited today. Grace immediately put her hands up to have Rachelle pick her up. We really hated to tell them that they couldn't hold her, but she needs to attach to us, first. Larry had fun playing "Where's Gracie" with her and she kept covering her face with her hands and laughing. I was really surprised at how quickly she warmed up to everyone. At first she seemed shy and wanted me to hold her, but soon, she started talking and looking around. She really likes to look at the cars in the driveway, and wants us to pull the mini-blinds back so that she can wave and say "bye-bye" as people drive away.

We took long naps today and are recovering from jet-lag. It really has not been as bad this time. Taking an evening flight was much easier than taking the morning flight on the first trip. We all slept better.

It is really hard for me to watch Grace rock herself to sleep...I know that she learned to comfort herself, but I want to show her that we will provide that comfort. I sat by her bed and gently rocked her back and forth to get her to sleep tonight. I hope that this old behavior will disappear. We also figured out why her hair is thin on the top of her head. As she thrashes back and forth, she wiggles her way to the corner of her bed and rubs her head on the headboard. We are going to try to put a bumper pad on the toddler bed to protect her. This is on the list for tomorrow.

Meeting Baba and Diado

Once again, Grace woke up happy and wanting to snuggle with Mommy. She likes to push her face into Mommy's in the morning and lay on my stomach as she wakes up.

This morning we took Grace to see Dr. Dan. Kay had told us not to rush the doctor's appointments, but with her medical history, we really wanted to have a physician here with some medical information in case she gets sick. Dr. Dan was so great and, of course, didn't scare her at all. He told us she was 10 times better than he had anticipated from her medical records and that he was sure she would thrive in our family. He gave her a little book from Max Lucado that he had written a special note into the back. He is such a wonderful doctor and friend. He made sure that she wasn't scared at all. She also got a big sticker as she left and we took her picture with Dr. Dan in front of the Christmas tree.

Then we headed to the grocery store. What an adventure...riding in the cart.

After her nap, Grandma and Grandpa Swaar visited today. Grace knew them as Baba and Diado from the photo album and she seemed to recognize them. She even called them "baba" and  "diado."They brought her a little pink jacket that is really cute and some coconut cookies for the boys. Grace still doesn't understand presents and we had to show her that the tissue paper didn't get pushed into the sack like trash. She did think she looked great in the new jacket! I think that Grandma and Grandpa like having another granddaughter. Blaise and Vince had fun playing with her today, too. She always seems so happy and spunky.

I made soup and grilled sandwiches for supper, but the soup was really spicy. Grace ate a few bites, but she really didn't seem too hungry tonight. That is amazing because she usually eats so much that we can't figure out how she could possibly stay small for long. Bedtime came a little earlier. We all are tired.

Brothers are fun!

I like Dr. Dan

I look beautiful in my new jacket from Baba and Diado!

Day 7: Heading Home

Breakfast and packing took most of the morning. Ivo called and wanted us to head out early because it had snowed more last night and he was concerned about making the trip in time. We made it by leaving around 11:45 with no trouble. I think our heavy luggage probably helped with the traction since the roads were snow-packed. Grace was really excited to leave and ride in the car again, so she put on her own scarf and hat. Every day she has been asking us if we were going on the airplane and we kept telling her no "later" or no "tomorrow." It was nice to tell her we were going today.

On the way to the airport, Ivo told us about his visit to the US and said that he envied Grace because her life was going to be so different in the US, and that she was going to have so many opportunities. He said he sort of wished that someone would adopt him, too. When we arrived we took a photo of him with Grace and he took pictures of us. We were glad to hear that the flight was not going to be delayed because of the snow. Grace took off her shoes for the security check without any complaints and our baggage all made the weight restriction with no extra fees. So far, so good. When we were getting ready to board the plane, we noticed a gift shop with traditional Bulgarian costumes in the window, but there were no children's clothes to be found. We had really hoped to find a traditional dress for her while we were there... We did find some beautiful plates and a little hand woven purse, though. If you know us at all, you know we aren't much into souvenirs, but we do want Grace to have a few things to keep that are from her birth home. Someday, they may be very important to her.

Grace really liked looking out the windows at the airport, but she preferred watching the trucks and cars since they moved around and the only airplanes we could see were just sitting there. She is so small that she couldn't see out the windows at all, but she sat perfectly in her seat for the entire first flight. She ate "soleties" which are pretzels and drank water to help her ears, but didn't complain a bit. I don't think she ever realized we were on an airplane until we landed and had to walk down the steps next to the plane to board a bus at the Warsaw Airport. When we turned her around and she saw the airplane, she was really surprised and confused.

In the Warsaw terminal there was a lot of confusion, and Grace decided to throw a fit. She was whining, wiggling, and obstinate. Finally I figured out that she was telling me that she wanted to go to the bathroom, but of course we couldn't until we cleared security again. I found a spot in the corner of the crowded room to hold and rock her, because we couldn't leave this tiny arrival area, and we couldn't pass through security until Mark had gone through a line to receive dinner vouchers and travel information because our next flight was going to be delayed...five hours. Apparently the plane we were supposed to take was delayed in New York because of snow and had not yet arrived in Warsaw, so we would not take off until 9:00 PM. Finally, we got to the bathroom and were going to head to lunch. Of course, we all had to go to lunch together to avoid another security clearance, so we spent another hour in line at the restaurant.The food was good, and I am glad to say that we ate Polish sausage in Warsaw, Poland...

Grace really needed a nap, but we thought it would be best if she slept on the flight instead of right before it, so we walked, and ran, and played as much as we could in the remaining 4 hours. The airport had small play areas with little tables, play houses, and teeter-totters so they were a huge help. Grace really liked it when other children came to play, too, but watching her demonstrated how difficult "bonding" is going to be for her. After a week of clinging to Mommy, we had thought the bonding process was well underway, but it really has just barely begun. When other mothers were around, Grace immediately felt compelled to get to know them and gain their attention. Understandably she went to them, tried to climb in their laps, wanted to smile at them and kiss them, and did anything she could to endear herself to them. The women all thought she was cute and sweet, which is how she has thrived for almost 5 years. I found it to be so heartbreaking, not because it hurt my feelings, but because it showed how insecure and afraid she is under that confident exterior. Her world has been one of many caregivers where survival required that she find a way to be noticed in order to have her needs met. She is great at being sweet and lovable to get what she needs. She also said, "Hey," to everyone who passed and waved "bye-bye" as people moved through the airport. Because she looks like a little doll, several people commented on how cute she is. She is really good at this attention-getting, sweetness routine. We were told that no one should hold her, feed her, or meet any of her needs except us for a while. Bonding is so important for her development. It is going to be really hard to tell people that they can't hold her when she is trying to crawl onto their laps...

Grace stretched out between Mark and me on the final 10 hour flight from Warsaw to Chicago. She didn't even play with her toys except for the glow bracelet that we brought. She loves anything that lights up. Mark and I both slept intermittently. With this new schedule, we arrived in Chicago around midnight, but we decided to try to make it home anyway. We easily found our van where Tom and Kay had parked it for us. It was nice to only have to pay for 2 days of parking at O'Hare, and Grace seemed to enjoy riding the train to the long term lot. I slept for the first hour of the drive after trying to get french fries at two different stops. Then Mark slept and I finished the drive. Grace loved being in the carseat (and playing peek-a-boo with her feet) because she could see out the windows and pointed out all of the cars and trucks on the road before she went to sleep.

The boys had the house in tip-top shape when we walked in the door. They even burned candles and Blaise made seven-layer cookies for our homecoming. It was so nice to see all of them and to come home to a clean, sweet-smelling house.

Grace looked around a little bit and met the boys...She really doesn't care for Vince's beard (which shows she has good taste. Mommy doesn't like it either.) Then we gave her a bath in hopes that she would sleep for a few more hours. Mark and I needed some rest. She loved her little toddler bed right next to Mommy, and I could actually sleep since she wasn't flopping next to me. It feels so good to be home!

Our precious cargo and some luggage

Sofia Airport

Ivo was such a great translator and guide!

Me and my mechka (bear)...

The flight from Sofia to Warsaw. When do we go on the airplane?

Playtime at the airport...Hey!

What's so hard about sleeping on an airplane?

A new American citizen!

Peek-a-boo in the new carseat

Day 6: Sight Seeing

So sorry it has taken so long to update...Between packing and jet lag we are just now getting a chance to tell the rest of the story.

On the 6th day we slept until our 4 year old alarm clock woke us up, ate breakfast, and got ready for the day. This morning, Grace enjoyed helping Daddy shave and even got a little shaving cream of her own. After a quick lunch we headed out for Sofia. Grace loved riding in the taxi that we caught on Vitosha, especially since the driver put in a music CD of Bulgarian children's songs just for her. Our first stop was the US Embassy to get that photo opportunity that we missed...

Well, we arrived on this snowy morning and took three wonderful pictures with the Embassy in the background just as a security agent came out and told us we would have to delete the photos. He pointed to a no cameras sign, that was covered with snow so you couldn't see what it said. He was very nice, though, and we explained why we were taking pictures. He volunteered to take pictures of all 3 of us facing away from the building, so we had to settle for that.

Then we went to one of the most impressive sights, Alexander Nevski Cathedral, just so that Grace knows someday that she was there. This church is so beautiful both inside and out. It is a definite not-to-be-missed opportunity. As we were leaving the church, we noticed that the craft vendors had their shops set up still, on December 20th in the snow. We decided to give them a little bit of business as we passed and we bought Grace a pair of hand-crocheted traditional children's slippers and three hand embroidered eggs with Bulgarian designs. The eggs have a real egg shell inside that is covered with fabric.

Then we started realizing that the temperature was dropping and the traffic was increasing. We really wanted to get Grace inside. Because the orphanages don't have warm clothes for the children, she has not been outside very much in cold weather, so we really didn't want her to get chilled. The problem is that rush hour is starting, people are flooding the streets with last minute shopping just like in the states, and we don't have any idea where to easily locate a taxi. It seemed that every taxi we found was already full. We finally ducked into a clothing store and a Bulgarian Chinese restaurant to warm up while we searched. Eventually, we did get a cab back to our street, and Mark and I were wishing that we had enough milk for hot chocolate. Daddy decided that this was a must and trudged back outside to the corner store for milk and chocolate mix.

Grace was fine when he left and waved "bye-bye," but then she became worried and started knocking on the door and saying, "Daddy, ella" which means "Daddy, come here." We finally went to the window and started watching for Daddy to return. She pointed to everyone on the street with expectancy until Daddy finally put the key into the lock. The wonderful hot chocolate wasn't nearly as good as having Daddy home again.

Tonight Grace started playing hide and seek with her feet covering her face. She is amazingly flexible and can touch her feet easily to her nose or lay down forward flat onto her legs. She laughs and laughs at bath time.

Before we went to bed we got almost everything packed up to leave. We want to make sure we are ready to go at 12:00 noon tomorrow.

In front of the US Embassy in Sofia

Across the street from Alexander Nevski Cathedral

Downtown Sofia with Daddy

Glad to be back at the apartment

A warm bath and some hot chocolate...yeah!

Day 5: Settling in

This afternoon we just spent time together in the apartment. We read books and sorted the pattern blocks. We know that Grace can count to ten in Bulgarian, sort pattern blocks by color and shape, and answers to Grace, Daniela, Danielka, or Gracie Daniela. We made meatloaf and fried potatoes and she asked for more and more meatloaf. We also didn't ask her if she had to go to the bathroom as often and she told us twice that she needed to go. She has been dry any time she is not wearing diapers which she calls "pampers." She has really figured out what "please" means and she uses it any time she wants something and anytime that we have told her "no."

Rosi stopped by today while we were napping and brought us the packet of papers required to be handed over to the immigration officer which is about 1 1/2 inches thick. We also got her visa and passport, so we are ready to go. All she has to do to be an American citizen is touch US soil. We were really glad that we were given her xrays, too. We have images of her chest and kidneys. This might keep us from having to put her through more unnecessary tests.

She started crying at bath time again when she heard the water start running, but as soon as Mark turned off the water, she was fine. She sat in the tub, poured water over her head, and had a ball. I keep wondering what happened that made her love playing in water and hate hearing it run out of the faucet.

This afternoon we remembered that the orphanage had given us her photo album and we went through the photos with her. The last page in the book has a photo of Grace on it that has been damaged by some water. This actually made us happy to see. It means that the book didn't just sit on a shelf after we left it there. Grace looked at the album and had a special name that sounded something like "adabe baba" that she used when she saw the pictures of her two grandmothers. I think the "aunties" must have been commenting about the album as they talked to her. She pointed out to us the picture of Blaise on a bicycle and say "policia" which she often says when she hears a siren, so we think that she has the idea that he is a bicycle policeman. She also said "kade tate" when she looked at the large family photo of my family and found him in the photo. She could identify mama, tate, baba, and diado and also noticed the photos that had cars in them and pointed to them in the pictures. She told us that some of the photos were of her new home (novia dom). I am so glad to know that she was being reminded of us and prepared to leave by people who knew and loved her.

The "aunties" also gave us the photo of the 3 of us that we took on the first trip and had put into a foam craft frame that Grace decorated with stickers. They had told us they would put it up by her bed, but we didn't really think they would do that. The photo frame had tape still stuck to the back of it, so we know that they did have it hung up for her to look at. I am so thankful that these wonderful women cared about her and tried to make this transition easier for her. The only thing that we didn't get back was the doll that we gave her, but we bought two of them and an identical one is sitting at home waiting for her on her bed.

Yesterday she told Rosi that her friend Emanwewe was not at the orphanage anymore because her parents had come and picked her up, but then Grace told Rosi that it was okay because her mama and tate had taken her, too.

We were able to talk to Adam, Blaise, Larry, and Sara on Skype video tonight which was exciting and really got Grace worked up. Vince is just on his way home from school. She kept laughing and trying to feed the computer images crackers and water. Everybody cooperated and opened their mouths on the videos to take her gifts. The boys even made silly faces and tried to talk to her in Bulgarian...They remembered to say, "Tova e brat" which means "I am your brother." She talked to them like they understood her, too, and she laughed and played while Mark played the chasing and tickling game with her. She was so worked up at bedtime that it took her a long time to go to sleep.

It Snowed: Day 5 AM

When we woke up this morning, smothered with kisses and requests for water, we were greeted by a beautiful winter scene from our apartment. It snowed. After breakfast and some play time, we bundled Grace up in three layers of pants, her new boots, coat, and gloves and took her out to walk in the snow. As soon as we said, "Otivame snow" she asked us if we were going on the airplane. This is a daily question that we can only barely try to answer with "po kasno...dve den" which we think should mean "later...2 days." I don't think she understands, but we feel better that we tried to explain.

She didn't know what to do in the snow. We touched it and she just looked at us. Then we made a snowball, but she just threw it down. We walked around the corner from our apartment and another little Bulgarian girl, who was having the same reaction to the snow, was out with her grandfather. The two girls smiled at each other, but they both seemed confused. Then Grace saw a playground and wanted to swing on the snow packed wooden swing, so I put her up there since she could hardly move in all of those clothes. After a few swings she saw a slide and climbed up and slid down like she was going down a hill without the sled. She liked walking in the deep snow and stomping her boots, but I am sure that she has never been outside when it is cold before. We stayed out less than half an hour even though it was calm and beautiful because we didn't want her to get too cold. She was toasty when we took off her coat and gloves. We asked the grandfather if we could take a photo of the two girls and he was thrilled. Here are the two cuties:

It was so nice that we didn't have to go anywhere today. Here are a few more pictures from this morning:

Banitsa for breakfast

A beautiful view from the 6th floor.

My sweeties

A snowgirl?

Hmmm...What is this?

Daddy, I need a swingset!

Day 4: The Embassy

Today is the final day of paperwork...We get the Visa approval from the US Embassy in Sofia. Grace and I both slept restlessly last night, so I am really tired. We got up around 8:00 when Grace woke us up saying that she wanted breakfast. I made over-easy eggs, toast, sliced bananas, juice, and a custard-filled roll. Mark has to be starving because we keep sharing with Grace. (Little does he know that it is part of the holiday plan.) We were ready for the 11:30 appointment, but we got a call postponing the appointment till 1:30, so we took an early nap. I have been carrying Grace (at her insistence) most of the time, so I have been physically tired.

Somehow they forgot to take the pictures for the Visa photo when we got the passport photos, so we stopped downtown at the photo shop. While we were there waiting, a group of dogs met on the street and started barking and chasing each other. Grace loves dogs and was watching them (and talking to them and everyone else in the store). As we were leaving, Rosi told us that Grace said, "I hate those dogs when they are laughing like that." Too cute.

Then we were off to the Embassy. It is very secure and they make you go through metal detectors and security. Mark took care of answering most of the questions while I watched Grace. I'm glad that they had some toys there. She loves building things with those large lego blocks and found a string of large blocks to pull around the big empty room. It took about an hour to finish, but we got Grace's birth certificate and the final document approval. Her visa and immigration approval will be ready for tomorrow. We really wanted to get a photo of all of us outside the Embassy, since cameras aren't allowed inside, but right after we walked out Rosi found a cab and we didn't get one. We are trying to figure out if we are going to get another cab to take us there just so we can have this photo. It seems like a lot of extra effort for something simple, but this was an important event for her adoption...We'll see.

We have been so happy with the way Grace has been bonding with us, but today put it into perspective. We are still just new caretakers. She called Rosi "mama" several times today and told her that it was alright if she left with her instead of us for a while. She is so used to having many adults caring for her, that she really doesn't understand how a mama is different than her previous "aunties."

We went straight from the Embassy to the Mall because we didn't bring enough pull-ups and we need a few more groceries for the rest of the week. It was hard to take her photo there, because she kept looking all around at the people and displays. She said "hey" to everybody who walked by her. We found out that she likes a few McDonald's french fries with her ketchup (like Daddy), she rode several escalators, rode in a grocery cart that looked like a little car, and rode for a few minutes in a 50 lev electronic car ride outside the grocery store. We also ate some Bulgarian food from the buffet and we now know that all three of us love the Bulgarian cheese that they put on Shopska salad.

We walked the 10 minutes (now 20 minutes because we let her walk) distance through the park back to the apartment with our groceries. She kept asking to be carried and we said "po kasno" which means later because my back and shoulders are killing me and we really wanted her to be tired so we can get some sleep, too. Mark said that it took several minutes to get the circulation back in his fingers after carrying those grocery bags all by himself while I walked with Grace. (Poor baby.)

Grace had such a wonderful evening at home. She was calmer and played better tonight. She organized the pattern blocks by color and shape, finished one of her lacing cards (by herself, of course), put stickers on a paper with Daddy, rode on Daddy's shoulders, played with a little flashlight in the apartment with the lights dimmed, and put magnetic stickers on a sticker book. She also figured out how the paint with water book worked and finished one of those pictures today (in addition to her normal washing the dishes and apartment routine after we eat.) Since we had already eaten supper early, we had some toast, bananas, and juice for a snack at home. When we sat down, Grace held out her hands to us because she was expecting Mark to say grace before we ate. Then after the prayer she said, "amen." Her new favorite English word is "please" and she also says, "molia please" instead of "more please" but it is close.

At bathtime tonight there were no tears at all. She sat in the water and splashed and played and poured water over her own head and giggled and smiled. You would have never known that just yesterday she was still scared. She also has been dry all the time that we have kept her in regular training pants over the past 2 days. She has only been wet at nap time and nighttime when she is wearing "pampers." She even told us that she had to go to the bathroom once today by herself. Today she decided to dress herself and it is amazing to watch. She stands on one foot to put on her socks and stands up to put on her pants. She also sings all the time. She has the sweetest voice...I just wish I knew what she was singing. Mark videotaped her singing a couple of songs. Someday she will enjoy hearing them, I'm sure.

When we put her to bed a few minutes ago, after more popcorn, she went to sleep in just a few minutes with no rocking back and forth at all!

Concentrating

Ready to go

My first trip to the mall...Do you think I'll like it?

Yummy, ketchup and french fries

I'm cute and I know it!

I drive the "colata."

I love daddy, too.

A bath can be fun!