A girls' afternoon and a boys' afternoon

Since Cindy didn't have any visitation today either, we took advantage of a much milder day to get out. The girls went one way (shopping!) and the boys (Sven and the 4 boys) went the other (sliding) before all meeting each other at the Pizza House. Cindy and I bought some souvenirs and gifts to bring back home.

I am still pondering a question that Cindy asked me today..."What did I actually prefer about Petro life?" I immediately said uninterrupted family time. We are together pretty much all the time here.... I don't know when we'll have that again. But, what about the city itself? I guess the most obvious answer is: Anna! Sure, this city doesn't have lots to offer for entertainment or interesting architecture and you really have to look hard to find stuff to do....but in the end...what do we like most about Petro....it is where Anna has lived for the last 20 months and because of that, will always be near and dear to our hearts.

So, here are a few random pictures of Petro from yesterday. Some explanations: The beautiful snow sculpture is of a tiger since 2010 is the year of the Tiger. In fact, most of the stuff you find in shops around town are tigers. The beautiful marble mural is actually just the facade of a local grocery store! Can't see that often back home...art in grocery stores. The large painting on the side of the building is quite meaningful to us. The children featured on the photo are actually the same children that Anna and I say "privyet" to every day...their pictures hang in the playroom at the baby house. I'll never forget those beautiful faces. The children have now left...hopefully to loving families!!

яблоко/"yabloko" (pomme/apple)!!!

Hmmm....how I love this stuff Papa...more, more...gosh, that is sooo good! (We think that little Anna may have put on some weight since last month ;0)))... Irina commented on how she had changed since our first visit.

Today, the caretaker in her new room suggested that we go to another playroom since it would be warmer. We were so excited to change the routine...almost as much as Anna! Visits are a bit more challenging since they have changed her routine and we see her when she used to sleep. She is so sleepy...but she did manage to stay awake and we had a nice visit with her. The hightlight for her, of course, remains that green apple sauce!

Quiet day

No visitations today...so we spent most of the day resting. In fact, I slept most of the afternoon! Meanwhile, our darling little boy decided that if it was too cold to go outdoors to snowboard, he would just have to do it inside! (see pictures of Yannik's makeshift snowboard and mountain)! When you don't have much too entertain, you have to be creative.

By the end of the afternoon, we were ready to head out and visit with another family in town! Yahoo...more friends! They arrived a little after Christmas and have been bonding with a beautiful 3.5 year old girl. Time flew by as we all exchanged stories. I called Cindy the "dean of adoption" as she shares words of wisdom all wrapped up in her new shawl ;0)) We were pretty excited to discover which movies everyone else had....you know you're craving entertainement when!! Sven was over the moon to discover that Mike not only had Lord of the Rings, but "hey" Bob and Doug Mackenzie.

We are now attempting to determine "an exit strategy" as Sven has coined it. Trying to figure out the best and quickest way of heading back home after all our paperwork is done. Feels so good to be discussing going home! We are still hoping for the first week of February.

Tomorrow, we visit Anna again!

A little surprise for us

Today when I went to visit Anna, they told us that we could bring Yannik for 5 minutes to take some pictures. Their gift to us? Boy, were the siblings happy to see each other!! It was pretty heartwarming to see Yannik hug his little sister. She just beamed at him.

As for Sven...his daughter is going to be quite a handfull for him...She has him where she wants him...He pleads in Russian for her to come into his arms....she acts like she's going to...then pulls back and just laughs really loudly at him...It's hilarious!! She finally succombed after a few attempts!!! She hadn't seen him in 4 days either....basically, we're all missing each other and just counting down the days!

So, after such excitement....Zzzzzzzs. The first time we've seen her sleep!!! (it also explains why she is trying to sleep on my shoulder for that family shot!)

Saluting the President - She'll make a great Canadian citizen!

Please play twice for the video to run smoothly on the second run.

Our New Year's Day surprise gift to you...little Anna!

You have to play it twice. The second time runs smoothly.

Notice her first Canada shirt...all ready for the Winter Olympics!

S Novim godom!! (from Annabelle)

Bonne et Heureuse Année! Gott Nytt år and finally, Happy New Year from our family to yours! Wishing you all much happiness, peace and prosperity in 2010.

A new year, a new family! What more could we ask for!

New Year's here is just like Christmas...They dance around the tree and Ded Moroz and the Snow Maiden bring gifts....We thought it would be fitting to add a new decoration to our tree..so look up top...there is a new angel on the tree!!!

Here is also a picture of the Snowmaiden costume...what more could a little girl want... Wish it came in Adult Medium ;0)) Hmmm. Mom, up for a challenge? ;0))

Yannik and the pirate ship that Ded Moroz had brought. Russian's version of Lego is just great!!!

We weren't able to participate in any of the celebrations since I was feeling pretty ill last night (much better today!). We have, however, been invited to a show at the baby house on Jan. 7th for the Orthodox Christmas and were promised that Ded Moroz and company will be there!!!