Current mood:

awake

Still tickin'
Good day. It has been a better day. Daddy took an Ambien and got a decent night’s sleep, while the wonderful angelic Mommy pulled the night duty. Asella slept in the crib from about 10 pm to 3 am, and after that she required holding. Sarah’s a bit tired. Tonight she gets to hit the sauce and I’m doing the graveyard shift.

Asella’s cold is a little better today, but she’s still having major issues. The most difficult one we’re dealing with right now is the not sleeping unless we’re holding her thing. We know this is a new thing because she slept in her crib all the time at the orphanage. It’s obviously a combination of the major upheaval, feeling lousy, teething, and the state of the Dollar vs. the Euro.

So, if anyone has any brilliant methods for getting a baby to fall asleep in her crib (without crying herself to sleep – doesn’t seem to work and she’s loud enough to be heard 3 floors down), please share. We’re all ears. She seems completely dead to the world, but the second we lift her away from our body or put her on the crib surface she goes ballistic. We cant figure out how she even knows what’s happening.

But enough with the lack of sleep and cold and all that flim-flam. Here’s the good stuff. In just two days we’ve noticed an increase in her consonant sounds, and she’s just developed a laugh that sounds more “adult.” It’s pretty funny. Also, she did take 3 crawl steps this morning, and though fussy about it, she’s doing well on her nap schedule. She’s also eating like a pig, which is no surprise I guess. We bought some potatoes and a carrot to boil up and mash. I think the carrot came from the Chernobyl region because it was about the size of my thigh.

An outing was in store today as well, so we got her dressed in pretty clothes and took a little walk around the block. Her body language indicates she’s excited to be out there, but still no noise or facial expression to speak of. Here she is with mommy on the playground swing in our complex.



Here’s daddy and Asella by the school.



And here’s the brave girl challenging a knight to a duel.



This last one was taken in between naps. She like us, she really likes us. (So much she can’t bear to be apart, even to sleep!)



We may try and go to dinner with people tonight if Asella is up to it. We’re feeling a little like shut-ins at the moment and could use a little company. Keep reading to see if a stinky diaper clears out the restaurant or whatever other form of mayhem may ensue. And yes, daddy is doing diapers. There’s only been 1 really fun one, and I was off grocery shopping at the time, but I’m sure I’ll get my fair share of those too.

Break time.

And we’re back. Now it’s 9 and Asella’s getting a bath before what is hopefully bedtime. We did go out and it was a success. It was nice to be out of the apartment and see some people. Asella was very well behaved and just took it all in. We do not see any babies in restaurants, so it was a novelty for all the other patrons as well.

The drool is getting very heavy, so teething appears to be a major part of her issues. Welp, she’s screaming again, so I’m gonna go. Goodnight. Let’s hope.

We’re now down to 6 more days in Kostanai, and a little over a week until we get home. Hoo-ah. Home stretch. Literally. Dosvidanya.