Day 1 - A good start!

Today began our first day of bonding. One down, 13 to go. Mlle O. was less timid today... In fact, she is quite fond of cuddling to my delight. We even managed to get a few smiles and a full laugh at one point. She is quite a serious little girl...and loves to play with blocs, much to Sven's delight. (Between the blocs and the doll...she chose the blocs!) We had a very good first visit... a great start according to Irina!

I had a hard time letting her go after the 2 hours. She is simply awed by Yannik and her eyes follow his every move....which makes him very happy. He is pretty taken with her as well. She seems a bit more timid with Sven since all she has really known so far are women. However, by the end of our visit, she was warming up to him and let him "stroll about" with her. She reminds me alot of Sven's side of the family...especially our nephew, Matthias!

Today was also day one of "school" with Yannik. I told Sven that perhaps I had missed my calling... I had lots of fun... and so did he. We practiced letters and numbers, read and began his travel journal. He is a pretty good student... even listened to me :)) He's alot more patient than his mom...that's for sure :))

It was another snowy day here... Feels like Christmas, without the decorations. Though Astana was "decked out" for the holidays, there is still no indications of it in Petro. We're told that they really celebrate New Year's eve. We therefore took it upon ourselves to begin decorating the apartment since we'll be here for a while. We might as well make ourselves at home and make it festive!!We made our first paper snowflakes ;0)) It's a start!

Can't wait to see the little one again tomorrow...