IT IS WITH GREAT JOY THAT I INTRODUCE....

VICTORIA IRINA RAE ELBE

Born July 29, 2005

Adopted April 17, 2009

Today was a GREAT day and a very busy day!!! Victoria is here at the hotel, finally, and things are going really well, besides almost every piece of clothing being absolutely big on her. She is even having trouble keeping her PJ pants up!!!

This morning Irina came at 9:00 to pick up Justin and me. We ran lots of errands…vital records office, passport processing and well, just lots of places that needed my signature. I was told we would leave to get Victoria at 2:00, but when we finished paperwork Irina called the orphanage to tell them we were on our way. We stopped at the hotel, picked up mom, dropped off Justin and we were off. She was asleep when we arrived. We waited down stairs; the clothes were taken up stairs. Shortly, she arrived. We took a few pictures and we were off! On the car ride back to the hotel things seemed very serious and she was mostly eager to look out the window.

We arrived at the hotel greeted by Blake, Heather and Justin. We visited for a bit and headed to our room. We had a snack. Victoria had crackers, cheese and milk. I called Dylan and talked with him for a bit. He talked to her, she listened….she did say paka paka (bye-bye) in the phone. After talking with Dylan, she just enjoyed the room and exploring for a bit. I showed her pictures on my laptop of Dylan and the dogs. When she saw the picture of Lucky, my larger dog she said, “Sobaka!(dog)”….I guess she doesn’t think Charm looks much like a dog! She really has been talking non-stop since we have been here (in the room more so then around others). I have never heard her talk so much.

She needed a bath and hair wash and that is just what she got. She really enjoyed it, I was pleased. I put some toys in, of course, and she had lots of fun filling and pouring and so forth. I was relieved she enjoyed this, as I have heard different stories. I used the blow dryer to dry her hair, this was new to her. When getting dressed for dinner, she really tried to help and do this on her own. I am sure that, of course, is from learning to be self reliant.

We went to dinner and she did such a great job during dinner. She sat in a booster seat, never tried to get down, had nice manners. It really was very impressive. Is this the calm before the storm? Haha! She does not know how to drink from a straw very well yet, but we will work on it. After dinner, we went to the upstairs dining area to visit the other families. She played a bit, mostly with Blake. Blake came over and gave her a big Ol’ kiss on the lips!! Hey, that’s my girl!!! We also had dessert with the Overstreets tonight to celebrate having both of the kids here at the hotel with us.

We went back to the room, got our jammies on and played for a bit. We have a crib in the room. The side is lowered, but it really is about the same size as the beds in the orphanage. I put her in the crib just when I started writing this. She is just laying down in there whispering to herself, in Russian of course. =)

Tonight was the first time she verbally called me “Mama”. Also, I can’t even count how many kisses I have received tonight….first time too….always have just been given hugs! Her pants keep falling down, so Grandma says "Ay yai yai!" Now Victoria has been walking around saying to both of us, "Ay yai yai!" Wait, I think that is Italian???

Seriously, my daughter is very well behaved! In the international adoption world you hear of the “Day 3 Melt Down”…would I be so lucky as to bypass this…..that sure is a good thought! Tomorrow is a new day…I hope we sleep well.

Quick update, this was her at 9:30. =)