November 22

It was nice to finally see Olesya again after a two day hiatus. She had a bit of congestion, but otherwise no sign of the malady that interrupted the visit yesterday. Lots of excitement as one child got to leave today for Florida and another boy will head to Florida tomorrow. We all had a lot of fun in the main gathering room playing with toys, taking pictures (perhaps the cord is on its way to us?) and such. Tracy (Kim's sister) sent us an outline of things to expect developmentally for someone Olesya's age and she appears to be largely on track. She is pretty close to sitting up on her own (sorry Iris) and can support some of her weight with her legs in a standing position with help. She grabs and holds toys and when dropped will look for them. She is not crawling yet.
We tried to give her some baby juice we bought today, but she wasn't very hungry and drank very little. She did have fun playing with the bottle though. The two hours went by very quickly and we are already looking forward to tomorrow.
Olesya is always happy to see us when we first arrive, but as soon as the camera comes out, she gets a very serious look on her face. Auntie Lin, you will have your work cut out for you with this one! We haven't really heard her laugh yet, but we have seen lots of smiles, and heard lots of babble. She is a very happy baby and just like any new parents, any little thing that she does is the highlight of our day, and indicates her ongoing brilliance!