Good news

We have had an eventful few days. On Friday, our facilitator, Natasha, returned to Kremenchuk to do all the necessary paperwork to get us a court date. And we have a court date for next Friday! Although that seems like a long wait to us (everything seems like a long wait at this point), we know that we are fortunate to have received a court date so quickly.

I also now have internet in the apartment- yeah! After the landlady finally admitted that she had lied to us and that she had no intention of getting us internet, our facilitator came to our rescue. We are set up with wireless internet (it is just too bad someone didn't tell us about this 5 weeks ago...)

On Friday we only had one visit with Ziva because of all the business we had to attend to. We went outside for our usual walk, but as we came around the building, two women from Ziva's room came outside and started yelling at us! They came out with a blanket which made us think they were concerned that Ziva was cold, but then they just folded it up and put it under her. Maybe they were upset because we were using such a crummy stroller. Who knows...but from now on, we will be sure to ask permission before taking Ziva outside. Getting yelled at in Ukrainian by "Olga" is not something we would like to repeat!

Yesterday we did a bit of shopping for Ziva. She will leave the orphanage with nothing, so that means we need to get her a coat and boots as well as clothes for the week we spend in Kiev. We have 3 children's clothing stores within walking distance so that is not too bad. It is slim pickings on winter gear, though, just as it would be at home at this time of year. We also have an interesting outdoor market just down the street where you can buy just about anything. We found some boots and shoes for Ziva at this market for a very good price.

When we returned to the orphanage yesterday afternoon, Ziva was quite pleased with her new shoes. She kept touching them and stomping her feet- we think she knew that they were just for her (whereas in the orphanage, all clothing and footwear is communal). We also bought her a sippy cup and it was so cute to watch her "discover" what a sippy cup is (she has never seen one before). She loves to drink from it!

We can tell that Ziva is getting used to the routine of our visits. When we come to her door, she runs over to one of the women in her room, gets their attention, "talks" to them, and points in our direction. It is like she is telling them, "My mommy and daddy are here- get me ready!" She then runs over to the room where they get her ready and bangs on the door. After she is ready (they put a diaper on her, a fresh change of clothes, and they comb her hair!), she runs across the room into our open arms, laughing and smiling the whole way. It just melts our hearts!

Once in the playroom, Ziva plays with her favourite toys and gets into her favourite things she is not supposed to get into (the playroom doubles as an office and storage so there are lots of things she is not supposed to touch). We spend our time acting silly, singing songs, doing actions, and looking quite ridiculous. A lot of the time, Ziva just looks at us like she is saying, "Who are these wierd people?" When I do ring-around-the-rosie with her, she willingly hangs onto my hands and goes around and around, but she refuses to fall down. I don't think she sees the point! She also spends quite a bit of time reading the books we brought and she always enjoys a snack. It is quite funny, actually, when we give her a new food. We brought grapes earlier this week and at first, all she would do was lick it and make a funny face. But after I ate one and "showed" her how yummy it was, she ate it too. Then she ate them until they were gone! Two days later, I brought grapes again and it was as though she had forgotten what they were (she soon remembered). We have been told that she is a good eater who eats everything.

Today we have a doctor's appointment for Ziva at noon. An English-speaking doctor is coming from Kiev. The medical information that we received was vague and quite sparse and so we would like to get a "second opinion", so to speak. We are excited that this doctor speaks English, so nothing will get lost in translation. Actually, having anyone around who speaks English is a real treat!

I will try and post some pictures later today. I actually tried 3 times last night (and spent 2 hours...) but with no success. You know me and computers- it's a true love-hate relationship. Taking pictures of Ziva is another whole experience. She is so quick and is on the move so much, by the time we snap the picture, we often just have an arm or the back of her head! At first, the camera was a new thing to her and so she quite willingly let us take her photo. Now, she anticipates the flash and she almost always scrunches up her face and closes her eyes! Thank goodness for digital cameras!

So, until later...