Routine in visuals

In the last post I said it all in words. This time, I’ll say it mostly in photos and a couple of short video clips. Obviously it has to be done late at night once the kids are fast asleep. Most photos courtesy of Carol; my hands were full!

Day 2

Carol and I ventured with the twins to Celentano after a morning walk for a coffee. It was a test and turned out to be a success!

 

 

Isabella munching away at lunch. I always hold Isaac on my lap as he doesn’t quite make it to a good level with the table and he still needs some help (to avoid huge messes). He’s doing amazing progress.

 

 

 

Our first visit to the Billa supermarket. Isaac loved riding in the cart while Carol wrestled merchandise out of Isabella’s tight grips.

 

 

I love this photo..you don’t mess with papa’s food! You can see Isabella trying to snatch it. I obviously had to give her one of those chilling looks. However I turned my head without resetting it right as Carol snapped this photo in the evening at another visit to Celentano for pizza, together with hubby John.

Yep, the girl loves ice-cream! It took a while for Isaac to warm up to it, but now he loves it too. He wasn’t too sure about the cold sensation. The little guy seems very sensitive to hot and cold extremes.

 

 

 

 

Proof #1 that Papa is a tease!

 

 

 

Day 3

Playing with stickers at Celentano (no, there’s not much to do in Nikopol lol!). One of the many hats that Carol has worn is that of educator and entertainer. I sure as heck didn’t know kids liked to play with stickers!

 

 

Isaac wasn’t much into stickers, however if I make a goof out of myself…then he’s hooked.

 

 

 

And here’s Isabella reciting the numbers 1 through 10 in English. Her mama started this and I just kept up the repetition. She’s doing excellent!

Day 4

Don’t mess with Isabella’s food. Proof #2 that Papa is a tease! Yes, I wore the same shirt 2 days in a row.  If you did laundry by hand, you’d sympathize. Carol did our laundry a few times though as I have virtually no time left for it!

 

 

 

 

A typical afternoon stroll. The kids love “Aunty” Carol, although Isabella just calls her “Tii”, which is as if saying “Hey you!”; in a sort of friendly Ukrainian way.

 

 

 

 

On our way we had yet another lesson on how to handle animals. Within a couple of days, they’ve come a long way. The first encounter with a docile cat in the orphanage didn’t go very smooth (I feel sorry for the cat…tail pulling, ear squeezing…just too much excitement!). The “kiita” handling went very well.

 

 

The visit to the orphanage went great. They thought we were taking them back lol! The twin’s friends were very happy to see us back for some more play and running around.

 

 

 

The caregivers never miss an opportunity to tell Isabella to listen to papa. Kirill and Marsha join in for a photo-op.

 

 

Day 5

 

 

 

At the usual morning coffee-walk, Isaac gives an “I’m a superstar” pose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A group hug, followed by a nose-press with “Aunty” Carol. Quite cute!

 

 

 

 

Lunch on papa. Isaac cleans his plate…

 

 

 

 

 

…and so does his sister!

 

 

 

 

Pretending to be a little witch on a broomstick. By the way, sticks and twigs are plentiful around here.

 

 

 

 

Ahhhh, the man and his truck.

 

 

 

Day 6

Need I add words? They LOVE water!

 

 

We couldn’t get them out of the water!

 

 

 

 

They got cold as the water was quite chilly (loved it!). After warming up a bit, they jumped back in. This went on for several cycles. Isaac went for a walk with Carol as he wanted to swing and walk on the sand.

 

 

 

Fear of not knowing how to swim?? No way!

 

 

 

We keep bumping into caregivers everywhere we go. I’m not complaining :) They love to see the kids and so do they.

 

 

 

“Puppy”, one of the neighborhood dogs, demonstrates how to deal with kids and provides the props for yet another lesson in animal handling. At least now the kids are slightly used to animals, before meeting our house pets.