Another Cold Day in Mykolayiv

It's another cold, windy day here, and we're in town at the post office, which has an internet room as well as phone booths from which we can call to the U.S. (for about $.35/minute or so). Hope you like the new pictures and video.

We had a great visit with Oksana/Juliana this morning and will see her again this afternoon for another hour or so. We've started mixing her new name in with her old one to get her used to it. Yesterday, one of the staff in her group at the orphanage asked us what her American name will be, I think so they can begin doing the same.

I know I've been complaining about the people here being cold and unfriendly. Well, Julie pointed out this morning that they're really not so different from New Englanders. The more I thought about it, the more I think she's right, only here we've got the additional factor of a language barrier. They don't call us the "cold north" for nothing, right?

People have asked us about how big she is, etc. Well, she's two and a half (birthday 4/25/05), but probably isn't any bigger than the average 18-24 month old. She probably doesn't weigh 20 lbs soaking wet. Most of the clothes they put on her seem to be 18-24 months. There's not much to her, but she doesn't seem under-nourished - she'll fill out just fine once she's home. She definitely seems to have a healthy appetite. Oh, and we can definitely attest to the fact that she's a two-year-old. Now that she's grown more accustomed to us, we get treated to a fuller spectrum of her personality. Yes, she can be sweet and gentle, but she can also be stubborn, willful and demanding. This one is a little fireball.

Miss you all and looking forward to coming home in 2 weeks. Will update you again in a couple of days.