Spending time with Ziva

Hello, everyone! Things are going well for us here in Kremenchuk. After some persistent complaining (you know what they say about the squeaky wheel...), we are now in possession of a key to the playroom! So we can now go in there for both of our visits. With the exception of today (because it was -16C), we spend time outside with Ziva every day. We found an old, beat up stroller (it is literally falling apart) which Ziva loves to go for rides in. By the way she acts, we are not sure if she has ever ridden in a stroller before! We make our way around the orphanage 2-3 times and she just hums the whole time. She likes to play in the snow too, but it is so deep, she usually just falls face first in it! She is a trooper!

Back inside in the playroom, she is on the go constantly. She is a bundle of energy! She is always in good spirits and we can tell she really enjoys all the individual attention she is receiving. When we arrive at her door to pick her up, she looks at us for a few seconds (like she is trying to remember who we are) and then she comes running. When we are putting on our boots to leave, she starts to wave good-bye. When we leave her and say, "bye-bye" she waves and blows us kisses. It is so sweet.

We are happy to know that Ziva is being well fed; she never comes to us hungry. Our facilitator said that it would be best for us to feed her the same food she is getting now when we take her home; but we figure it is better to introduce her to the foods she is going to eat when she is with us (hey, I will not be serving mashed potatoes and red beets for dinner anytime soon!). So we have brought bananas, clementines, yogurt, cheerios, and fruit gummies. She will eat a little bit, but it is not because she is hungry- it is more that she wants to try it.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day here, so everything will be closed. We are hoping to get internet in our apartment soon after that (maybe there is another squeaky wheel...).