Our Monday Morning in Kostanai

Leeza is a GREAT sleeper-she was so tired last night at 9 pm, and slept until 8:45 this morning! I am getting so much more sleep since I have had her with me! I captured this shot this morning...she is so cute. I love these jammies-they were one of my "market finds"



She wakes up very happy!!






She is really smart, and catches on to things very quickly. I'm truly amazed by her-she is so fun!

Where's mommy's nose Leeza?







After lots of hugs and kisses, I put her in the potty, and I fix breakfast. This morning, she ate a huge bowl of oatmeal with a banana in it. She likes oatmeal.
After breakfast, I let her play about 10 minutes, then I set her on the potty again.
(We spent a lot of time on the potty!) However, time on the potty means less mess in the diaper. We got thru 2 diapers a day.

Not to be too obsessed with "potty talk", she is a very regular child. She poops after every meal-and before nap, she will pee on the potty. I'm truly in awe of this! Tatiana's mom told me that she started potty training Tatiana at 5 months (as soon as she could sit up) and she was potty trained at 9 months. They just took her potty everywhere they went. I never thought that lil ones could really be potty trained because I figured they lacked the muscle control. Leeza will go in her diaper if I don't take her to the potty-but if I put her in the potty, she'll go there. It's way easier if you ask me! I will be packing her cute pink potty and taking it to Almaty and taking it home. I am going to bring it on the plane too. It's way easier than cleaning a poopy diaper. :)



She is a very easy child to figure out. She is happy most all the time, and adjusts amazingly well to new surroundings. We went to the market with Kelly and Doug yesterday and we left the apt at 2:45 or so. Her afternoon nap is around 3, and you can tell cuz she gets a bit whiny and rubs her eyes. She fell asleep in the ergo about 3:15 or so, while we shopped. She woke up at 5:15 or 5:30, happy as can be. The ergo is so comfortable, I don't even feel her and I can kiss her sweet head.
We went over to Tatiana's for dinner-where her mom made us chicken and potatoes (which Leeza would not eat-WHATEVER GIRL!) so her mom made her some noodle soup, which she ate up with some brown bread. Tatiana said that she herself was a very picky eater so her mom can feel my pain. When we first got there, Tatiana's mom was holding her while I unzipped her coat, and Leeza did not like that. She wanted her momma. However, after sitting in my lap about 5 minutes and meeting Tatiana's brother, his wife, and their son, and Tatiana's dog, she started warming up. She was soon crawling all over making herself at home. :)

After she ate, I knew I had to get her home to sit her on the potty. We walked home, and sure enough-my "regular" girl did her business. I gave her a bath, which she DID NOT like this time, and I wrapped her up in a towel. My skype phone was ringing, so we went to answer it. I was talking on the phone to my girfriend Karen, Mom to the infamous Rayn, who looks a lot and reminds me of Leeza. I was snuggling with Leeza while we talked, and I GOT MY FIRST KISS! She gave her mommy a kiss. I was so touched I started bawling. :) My lil girl is such a sweetie pie. :) I love her lil body snuggled into mine. :)

I am amazed at what a good lil girl she is. She is smart, she is sweet, she is a great sleeper, a great shopping buddy, and a "regular" kind of gal on the potty. She was sooooooooooo worth the wait, and then some. I was hugging her this morning and I just got overwhelmed and started crying because I love her soooooooooooooo very much! Thank you so much GOD for this incredible blessing you have given us. She is definitely my daughter and it feels so incredibly wonderful! This is what it's all about!!!