February 18th - Day 8: Emil's daily schedule

So, this morning I was thinking about what it's like to see Emil every day...  It occurred to me, it feels like when you're just starting to fall in love.  You can't wait to see him, you soak in every moment, you can't stand to leave, and, when you do, you start counting the minutes until you can be together again, you want to keep his sweater so you can smell him, you smile whenever you think about him, and you can talk for hours about the littlest thing he said or did.  That's what it feels like with Emil!  Today was a great day of visits!  He was so bubbly and happy!  There were times when he was upset - we can tell because he starts pouting, doing a buzzing sound with his lips or arching his head and back way back - but we discovered how to make him happy again.  He loves to be swung!  One of us cradles him face down on our arms and swings him right up to the other one's face.  He thinks it's hysterical!  What a joy it is to hear him giggle and laugh!  It has to be the most beautiful sound in the world!  Sometimes when I see how much he enjoys us (especially the multitude of funny faces that Dave can make), I long for the moment when he and Sierra start to get to know each other.  I can't wait to see the two of them laughing and enjoying each other!  I just know he's going to love her!!!  

The clothes I brought for Emil today were rejected ... too thin, even with tights underneath!  (I feel like I've flunked a test.)  Guess I'll have to do some laundry!

We did get Emil's schedule today.  They gave us his original schedule and also his current one (since he's in an older age group now).  Here it is:

6:00 a.m.                     wakes up; eats 200 gr. formula (Nutrilon)

6:30 - 7:30                   plays

8:00 - 9:30                   sleeps

10:00                           eats (150 g. cream of wheat, 50 g. tea, 10 g. cookies, 50 g. fruit puree, 100 g. juice)

11:00 - 12:00 p.m.      plays

12:30 - 1:30                 sleeps

2:00                             eats (150 g. vegetable puree, 50 g. ground meat, 50 g. broth, 50 g. juice)

3:00 - 4:00                   plays

4:30 - 5:30                   sleeps

6:00                             eats (200 g. formula)

7:00 - 8:00                  plays

8:00 - 9:30                  sleeps

10:00                          eats (200 g. formula)

10:30                          sleeps

He does get a nap right after he sees us in the afternoon, so maybe that's why he sometimes more cranky then.

We tried to go bowling at the Atrium between visits today.  Sierra's been a few times at home and really enjoyed it and we have been eager to find something fun to do with her here.  Unfortunately, the place didn't open until three, so we looked at the shops instead and got something to eat.  At least now we know where it is and what the hours are!  They have some really nice clothes here, particularly the coats and boots ... very stylish.  A lot of the long winter coats are animal skins and furs and they even make them for children and sometimes in different colors.  We saw some coats Sierra's size and she tried one on.  So precious!  She'll be turning 5 on March 4th.  We'll see ... it would be a great birthday present!

I finally did a couple of loads of laundry today.  I'm impressed that we made it this far with the few clothes we brought!  The washing machine is great ... it's a little German machine (Bosch) and some of the families that have been here before us left great instructions on how to use it.  I started a load before leaving for our afternoon visit and when I got home, Robin said that it was fine.  He just had to "run into the kitchen to catch it" when it was on the spin cycle!  There is a clothesline already strung on the porch outside our bedroom so we have a place to hang/freeze them.  The only problem (and this is no fault of the machine) was that I put something in that "bled" and Dave now owns a pink undershirt and underwear!  Sorry, honey!  (Gee, I wonder why Robin wants to do his own clothes?!) 

Sierra took a long nap this afternoon so we just stayed in and rested.  The Andrews invited us over for dinner ... we had pizza and piva and a delicious dessert from one of the local shops.  We're enjoying their company very much.  It's fun to share pictures and stories about our sons and comforting to be able to commiserate about the things that aren't going as we had hoped.  They are adopting a beautiful 7 month old boy named Artur and we look forward to keeping in touch so that we can keep tabs on how they are doing and get together in the U.S.  We ended the evening by watching the first Star Wars movie on Dave's laptop ... just love Princess Leia's hairdo!  It reminds Dave of the cinnamon buns we sometimes get at he P&C back at home!

                                                                                                                                                                  The Atrium (market and shops)

            Dinner with the Andrews (John and Eileen)                  Rob and John talk shop (John races cars on weekends)

                Emil loves those stacking cups                                                                Masha, our interpreter

             The Baby House walls on way to see Emil                  Pictures of the kids during a holiday show