Beads, Beads, and More Beads

Day two with Yanka was much more calm and relaxed. The temperature is dropping and it started raining, so we had to stay inside. We brought her back to the hotel and spent the morning coloring princess pictures and playing with a new slinky. The coloring didn't work so well because the coloring kit was designed not to make a mess with the markers. The marker writes essentially clear and reacts with a chemical in the paper to make the color, but it takes a few seconds after the mark is made to be visible. It proved somewhat frustrating and she lost interest quickly. The slinky was a bigger hit. After her lunch and nap time, we brought her back to the hotel again and spent the time stringing bead bracelets for her to give to her friends at the orphanage. She and Carolyn made 10 or 11 bracelets, and she was very excited to have something to take back to her friends.

I think the bad weather will actually prove to be a blessing. The time is much more productive in making a connection with her when we can focus on quiet activities. The time spent exploring the town and playing on the playground was fun, but at least for a child Yanka's age, it's building a relationship that is most important, and the quiet, intimate interactions serve the purpose better. Carolyn particularly enjoyed the beads because she was finally able to establish direct communications.

Today was something of a Tati (daddy) day. She warmed up to me much more than yesterday. We spent some time this morning talking to the orphanage director about her life at the orphanage, her interactions with the workers and kids, her schooling, her background, etc. She spent a good deal of that time in my lap. She would hop down to go somewhere, but climbed right back up when she returned. It was a huge step. She also wanted to sit in my lap while they were making bracelets, and she was very eager for me to participate in the coloring activity. She even let me pick her up repeatedly when she wanted to look out the window at the river but couldn't see over the concrete balcony wall. That was huge!

Yanka continues to be very enthusiastic and talkative. She makes sure everyone is included in the activities, and if one of us disappears for a few minutes, she is eager to know where we went. She is extremely bright and very curious about the world. Caroline will be especially interested to know that her favorite color is pink (rosovo), and that she loves babies and princesses.

One very tough thing about the trip so far has been the jet lag. I think we are both feeling very sleep deprived. Yanka's nap time allows us to rest as well, but we both keep waking up in the middle of the night and not getting back to sleep until nearly time to get up. As I write this it is nearly 4:00 AM, and we have been up talking since about 1:30. We are leaving a little later this morning because we are planning to keep Yanka with us through lunch later today, so hopefully we will be able to get a little more sleep!