Easy Day #3

4/18/2009

Well, Nina awakened with a sore knee this morning. We have been doing so much walking and she simply is accustomed to it. We walked around a bit and stopped at McDonald's for coffee. We shopped! She quickly getting the hang of that. She picked out a purse (on sale... good girl!) and some sunglasses (which she did not remove the entire day) and a book and some barretts. I selected a little outfit for her as well. Clothes are NOT cheap here in Kiev, but it was so fun. When I gave her the little items (purse, sunglasses, etc.) she held them close to her body and said, "Nina's?" She had the biggest and brightest smile on her face when she said it. I felt a nudge to buy her so much more, but I resisted. We took some pictures today. Hopefully those will post soon. It was a relatively easy day. We went to this great park, and she climbed the stairs to slide once. Then, she came and sat down in the sand. We played together. Tomorrow, we might try to find some sand toys. She is craving time with other children. I hope the desire continues until we meet Mia, Karly and Wiley and all of our kid-friends back home. She will love all of them. One of our friends sent me an email that said her daughter was wondering when Nina was coming home because she wants to "get used to playing with her." I love the ready-to-receive spirits of children!

After we played in the sand, we sat in front of St. Michael's Cathedral and I got to talk on the telephone! What a joy! Nina had some time to just play without my entertainment, and that is good too. My mom called me and Jordan too! I relished the time to speak English with loved ones and I didn't want to let them go.

We had lunch at another of our favorite places: a little bakery/deli around the corner from our apartment. (Nina and I will have to diet when we get home! They have wonderful pasteries!) We came back to the apartment for some "down time" and I had so much stuff in my arms that Nina had to climb the stairs on her own. She was NOT happy about that. But, I couldn't leave her or our stuff. So, I made her climb the two floors up to our apartment. Once she reached the top, she was very proud of her accomplishment. We rested and had dinner.

This evening, she really wanted to go outside. So, we ventured outside. There's a little park outside our apartment door. It's a few benches and little green patches and flowers and trees. Apparently, all of the living spaces surround these little parks/sitting areas. And, there are always people there... sitting, visiting, eating, smoking, drinking. So, we walked around and around and around and around (you get the idea.) Then, Nina said her tummy was hurting so we took a bench. A man was already sitting there and he proceeded to start talking to us... ugh! I love that people will talk to you, but it's so frustrating not being able to reciprocate the conversation. We did communicate some. He asked about Nina's foot (of course). He also asked how old "we" are!?!? He told us he was 48 and studied in London for two years. He was eating a loaf of bread and offered us some. This is very common. Everyone is very quick to share, and it's an insult not to accept their offer. So, we did. It was a very dark bread (very fresh) with black olives and some kind of seeds. It had something like a licorice flavor to it... I think they might have been Anise seeds. Anyway, it was very flavorful, and Nina LOVED it. I asked where it came it from and he directed me across the street. We will go tomorrow, because the man asked if Iwas married?????? I said "yes" and he quickly left--it also was starting to rain. We came straight back into the apartment.

Nina loves taking baths. She lights up when she gets into the water. I let her play until she was a prunish and cold! But, once she got out and dry and into bed, she was quickly asleep... by 7:40pm! We have this book that I read to her, and she already pulls it out like it's routine. I read that one and another, and she was out! Hopefully, I will be asleep soon and we will go to church tomorrow!