Resting Day

Today was mostly a day to continue recovery from the doctors. Both Nikola and Valentina had blood samples taken (about a dozen mini-vials each) and they weren't very thrilled about having it done! This is pretty much standard procedure for overseas adoptions, but that thought didn't make it any easier for them.

Valentina is playing with her new Leapfrog toy. It plays some tunes for her and helps her learn the English alphabet. It also has sound and flashy lights!

Nikola is still teething and will chew on almost anything, including his parents (ouch)! One of his best toys is the doodle pad which he has no idea how to use. He just likes dragging it around the house by the stylus (video) and, of course, chewing on it. He's a really cute kid. His personality is coming out more and more every day.

Mom and Valentina read a Curious George in Space book together. We thought this was an appropriate photo since Valentina was named after the first woman in outer space.

Playground

This afternoon we took a little trip to the playground. Nikola likes this slide. He can mostly do it himself with a little help from Anne.

The "bouncy platform" was also a big hit (video).

Old MacDonald

Anne sang "Old MacDonald" with the kids while they circle danced (video). Valentina likes to sing the "ee-ii-ee-ii-oo" part of the song!

Puzzle Fun

I managed to grab the camera just in time to take this picture of Nikola doing a puzzle with Anne.

We also walked downtown to the fountain today (video).

That's pretty much all the extra free time we had!

Picnic Set

Hi Everyone!

We just arrived home from our Kazakhstan adoption trip less than two days ago. Everyone is very jet-lagged, but in good spirits. Anne and I are very busy. It is taking all of our time (plus some) just to take care of the kids. Lots of things are getting put aside for now such as this web site, reading email, paying bills, etc. We hope to get to some of these items next week when some more time is available to us.

I've included a picture of Valentina playing with her new picnic set. I know its not a good picture and you can't even tell it is Valentina, but I've hidden a cute video underneath it!