Sunday, Feb 28, 2010 -- Settling In

The days since we got home (5 now?) have gone by fast. The girls are doing great. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday at home alternately unpacking and relaxing. We enjoyed time with the dogs, went swimming, and had afternoon "cines" -- videos that the girls watch lying on the couch eating popcorn and snuggled under a cover. I view it as English language practice, so hey.

Thursday was totally insane. Chris went to Houston for a work conference, so I was alone with the girls and off to see the international adoption pediatrician to the stars. The weather was horrible -- wet, slushy, snowy rain. We got there at 8:15 and were there for 4 hours!! Overall she was very thorough and helpful, and after a bit of a snappish start when Fer was refusing to come into the exam room to get her blood drawn (she finally did, screaming and crying throughout, which was hard), very personable and nice with the girls. Wendy was a trooper throughout the blood draw, cried a bit at the start and then sat there totally calmly and quietly, and when it was time for her vaccines, she gave a kind of primal scream at each one -- not crying or upset, just fierce. It was a great moment!

After the pediatrician, we had to go get a chest X-ray (unexpected), and then we were fortunate to be able to spend 2 hours with Liz and Leah who live across the street from the hospital. THEN we went down to Beth Israel hospital to start the girls' educational evaluation with a psychologist there. All in the horrible weather, but all in cabs -- the cab fairy smiled on us and we were able to catch cabs quickly every time. We got home, and just when I thought it was time to relax, Wendy asked about the dogs and I realized we had to go out again in the snow to take them for a walk!!

Friday morning the snow was bad enough that the NYC public schools were closed, but not so bad that we didn't get ourselves back down to Beth Israel for our second appointment! Then we went over to Gigi and Grandad's new apartment, which is lovely (the girls declared themselves ready to move in and live there!), and had lunch and some playtime, and then they were kind enough to drive us home.

Saturday was a lovely "dia libre" (free day) as Fer called it. We did some errands, cooked for the open house that we had today, went swimming, watched another movie, and generally relaxed. Chris got home around 8:30, and the girls were so happy to see him. They were worried about his plane, and kept asking if it had fallen from the sky! I tried to reassure them, but his cell had died so we didn't hear from him all day, so I didn't have up to date info for them.





This morning we went to church and went out for breakfast. Then, we came back and got ready for our open house. We wanted to celebrate our return and see the friends that we have missed so much for the past 2 months! It was really fun to see everyone and we had a great time. Thank you to all for the presents that you brought! We are so grateful for your generosity.

Here are some pics from the party!















This was taken after the party -- the girls enjoy Kitty snuggled under their new soft covers:



And finally, one of my new faves: the girls borrow Mark's Hagrid costume:



People have been asking if I'm going to keep updating the blog. Yes, definitely, but probably not at quite the same pace . . . I think I will try for at least once a week and hopefully a bit more. So keep checking, if you are interested!