Saturday in Czestochowa

So, I just spent the last 20 minutes typing 2 pages worth of updates, describing every moment of the last week, taking full advantage of my first minutes online in a LONG time, and somehow managed to erase every bit of it. !#$%^&**

Here's the condensed version, moved to apt on thursday after being in limbo from Monday-Thursday. We essentially got custody of Paulina thursday afternoon... with VERY little, actually NO ceremony. Originally the orphanage director, Bernadetta, was supposed to bring paulina to the apt Thursday afternoon... but Magda called and told me to take a cab alone to the orphanage and pick her up. So I did, one of the caregivers drove us back to the apt and dropped us and a Pack & Play at the front door. I think she said "bye". Paulina has been a trooper, pretty much as long as you hold her, she doesn't cry at all :-) However, after 2 days and 2 nights, she is starting to explore the living room and kitchen on her own, crawling over every square inch. She did this once yesterday evening for 20 minutes or so, and a couple of times today. She naps from 11-1 and sleeps 9pm - 6:30am, pretty much without waking. After spending more time with her, we think she is closer to 4-5 months delayed, but she is a sweetheart, and is slowly starting to smile a little bit and giggle (with a LOT of effort on our part).

Apt is very nice, new, but on the 4th floor (no elevator) and no A/C... since it's reaching almost 90 degrees daily... the afternoons are a bit steamy :-) But we're adjusting - we're directly across from an enormous park that surrounds Jasna Gora - TONS of room for Hayden to play and explore. He and Tom are troopers and are taking everything in stride. I am getting pretty homesick at the idea of having to stay another 6 weeks, but Tom tells me this usually goes away after the 2nd week... we'll see... I do now understand why no one here has a weight problem. You pretty much wall your as* off!!!! And no one but us seems to eat. Talk about feeling like a lazy American, but in all honesty, Europe is kicking my butt :-)

Here is a video of Hayden playing with his baby sister for the 1st time. And one of me at the orphanage on Tuesday... Please excuse our goofiness and the condition of the apartment. We're sort of operating in "do or die" mode, with no attention to grooming our housekeeping, actually, that's kind of nice :-) This is so much more of an emotional roller coaster than we could have anticipated. The experience in and of itself is filled with so many highs and lows, but add the language barrier, a foreign country, and nothing familiar, it's pretty tough. Don't want to sound like too much of a wimp... the time here will start to pass more quickly as we establish a routine, but it's more than we expected. Hugs from Hayden and holding Paulina seem to take the edge off, but it will be really, really good to get home. We miss everyone and thank you again, so much, for all your encouraging words and emails. Love, K