First Day Home

The kids crashed when they finally got to bed that night. They had explored the house, played with their grandparents, and even met the neighbor kids (which wasn't really the plan, but they were out and couldn't wait)! :) When they first got in the house there was lots of ooing and ahhing. Sophie reacted just like Annie at Mr. Warbuck's house. It was so cute. "Oh, Mama! Wow!" Kevin's parents had stopped at Mario's to get all kinds of yummy takeout for us, but the kids had been too excited to eat. They stayed up later than I thought they would. They woke up early though since their body clocks were so far off. 3 in the morning, to be exact. I should rephrase that. Julian woke up and promptly woke the rest of us up in typical Julian, "I'm up so why wouldn't you want to be" fashion. Gotta love that kid and his morning chipper attitude. I think I mumbled something like, "Nyet solnishka, nyet dobre autra" (no sun, no good morning)! Kevin took one for the team and took three of the kids upstairs to play. Lily and I slept until 7, I think. The next day they slept until 6, then 6:45. then 7:30, and now they typically sleep until 8. God love them. :) Too bad school starts in a couple weeks and we will be back to 6 a.m rising. Mama is not a morning person!

Against the advice of all adoption experts I got the kids dressed and fed and took Sophie and Lily out shopping. We hit Target, Learning Express, and Claire's. They had been out shopping several times in Kiev so I really don't think it hurt them. I think as long as they are with Kevin and/or me they are good. We got all kinds of stuff at Target, from toothbrushes to pajamas, to underwear, to bandaids. I think we spent about $300. We were probably there three times that first week. At learning Express I got them cups with their names on them. Lily thought hers said, "Lily Ilona" on it. ;) We also got some alphabet placemats. At Claire's Sophie picked out several pairs of earrings. The girls also got butterfly wings for dress up and Lily got a poodle in a pink purse since she didn't get any earrings. When we got home we changed Alina's earrings for the first time. She loves matching them to her outfits. Such a girl!

Later we played with some of our neighbors and then hung out with Kevin's parents that evening. It was such a fun day. The kids marveled over so many things like the ice and water machine, how big Target was (icees, Starbucks, clothes, etc.), and the doorbell. They are so easily entertained and just loved everything in our home. It was a fantastic first day home!



Playing samolyot (airplane)




Exploring the third floor game room. (I think Julian was napping or something.)



Getting to know Keaton. Lily and Tate were scared of him. Lily got over it in less than a day. Tate is mostly over it now. He loves Keaton but is still skiddish around him if Keaton moves quickly toward him. No longer screaming in terror though. ;)



It was love at first lick for Keaton and Sophie! I thought Keaton would just tolerate the kids, but he completely adores them and has welcomed them into our pack! :)



Our neighbors from New Jersey brought their sleds with them when they moved to mostly snow free North Carolina. They invented pine needle sled riding, a year-round favorite for all the cul-du-sac kids. Our kids were given demonstrations on their first full day home and they embraced it like the locals.

The rest of the day:



You know a boy has sisters when...



You know a girl has brothers when...