Family Time

Today was a fantastic visit with Bacha. Linda and I both felt that we started to feel like a family today. Bacha and I played together with a balloon, which was a rare treat, as her usual reaction to me is to walk away and say "nyet." We also had a little "time out" incident when she acted out because she couldn't have a toy she wanted. We're finding that we need to be much more strict with Bacha than we did with Tucker. We're also finding that we are now having to be more strict with Tucker. There are indeed some interesting times ahead.

Anyway, we went outside for a walk, as it was a beautiful day. We have a little routine where we walk around the building and then end up in the playground. This time, before that, however, Bacha decided to walk outside the baby house grounds, kind of around the block. So we did, but Linda had to run back to drop off a bag. So we got way ahead of Linda. At one point I asked here where Mama was, and she stopped, looked back, and pointed at Linda, who was just rounding the corner a block away. She looked at me and said something with a smile on her face. I said "so we'll wait here for Mama?" She said "da." And we waited very patiently before continuing our walk.

Even getting Bacha to go the direction we were going was easy today. She seemed to want to be with us.

We also bumped into Chris and Suzanna, from Connecticut (don't know their last name yet), the third American family that's here right now. Actually, Linda met Chris right in the middle of Tucker having a complete meltdown in the middle of the Viola Market. Oh, great. There he was, melting into the floor, whining "I waaaaannnt thaaaat yooooguuurt", and throwing his sunglasses on the floor. Chris casually picked them up, and Linda could sense that Chris' "energy" was different than everybody else in the store -- she hadn't seen his face yet. Then they introduced themselves to each other -- carefully, as the rule is to keep a low profile. Linda asked "how long are you here?" and Chris was vague. Linda says "10-year old?" At that point, everyone was "outed." Yes, they're adopting a 10-year-old, and it's been a challenge, apparently.

Incidentally, Tucker had another meltdown outside the same market, prior to entering, in which he didn't want to get out of the stroller. Linda got so fed up with him, that she dumped him on his butt right in front of the front door. I do believe it caught Tucker by surprise. Caught Linda by surprise, too.

Tucker had a rough day. He was really hungry, as we were out of food. Hence the trip to the market. Anyway, he ended the day on a positive note.

Anyway, we will be getting together with them again, for sure.

Oh -- here's an interesting little tidbit. It's become a running joke that everyone in a military outfit is called a "fireman." The Louca family, who lives right next to the military academy, was also told that they are "firemen." Today, on the way to our visit, we came across two "platoons" of "firemen" marching in formation down a back road. Wearing camouflage. Firemen, you say? Indeed. We asked Sveta about this, and she, too, called them "firemen," but smiled and explained that the military does all the firefighting. It's very strange. It really seems like they don't want Americans knowing that there's a military academy here, so they use this silly cover story, and just assume we'll never figure it out. Hmmm... stay tuned for more on this mystery.

One more thing, regarding "Bacha." Linda and I still refer to our daughter as "Mia" between ourselves, but we call her Bacha when we address her, because it's what she understands. I'm learning to write it, because it seems like it will be less confusing for friends and family who will meet her when she arrives. But, to be honest, I might slip up -- writing "Bacha" is hard.

Finally, to continue a popular previous post...

"You know you're far from home when..."
- Firemen wear camouflage.
- The police broadcast traffic rules over a loudspeaker in the afternoon.
- The chives you bought from old lady street vendor are tied together with old cassette tape.
- The instant coffee actually tastes pretty good.
- The words for "beef" and "horse meat" sound a lot alike.
- The sidewalks are swept religiously, but lawnmowers seem to be unheard of.