Day Two and Three

Yelena is a girl filled with spirit. She knows what she likes and doesn't like. She also has a sense of humor. She has no trouble eating and enjoys cereal and waffles. She made a necklace and a ring for me and then did my hair and makeup. We then went shopping at Wal-Mart and she really enjoyed buying clothes, shoes, hair stuff, etc. We had so much fun! We found out she loves Sponge Bob and sings the song whenever she sees him. She also loves Hannah Montana, and Barbie was a hit also.

My dear friend Sandy (a.k.a. Miss Sandy) came over with her daughter, Kaitlin (age 15). Lainey was shy at first and in about 10 minutes, that was over. She went outside with Kaitlin and had her push her on the swings, and by the time they came back, they were best friends. Thank God for beautiful, wonderful, caring Kaitlin! She had Lainey talking English in no time! We went to a park to watch Remy's tee-ball game. After dinner and baths, I was reading them a bedtime story and she fell asleep on my shoulder (see picture).

The next day, she and Jeremy slept in and then we went to "Babushka’s" house. We went to a park there and a small zoo. She loves animals (yeah!) especially the big cats. We then swung on the swings some more - she can say "Mama, push push me please - High!" And the higher the better!

That night we went to a Chinese buffet. She was very sweet and went up and got us all dessert. When I took her to the bathroom, she was fascinated by the automatic soap dispenser and then by the paper towel dispenser. This was not automatic, but a lever you pushed down. She was inspecting it and used it several times! And she went through tons of soap! We even had to go back for a second time!

Babushka was fascinated by her and her resilience. She couldn't believe that see was not afraid to run ahead at the zoo and was so unafraid of new people and things. You would think she has been in America for awhile. She loved Babushka and asked me the next day if we were going back to see her. She is so warm and loving. We are so lucky!