Lili si Gelu in Ucraina /
Liliana and George in Ukraine

Buna dimineata,

In sfarsit mi-am revenit dupa socul avut in ziua in care am aflat ca nu putem pleca acasa si ca mai avem de stat in Ucraina cam 2 saptamani. Ce putem face?! M-am resemnat si am inceput sa vad lucrurile intr-un mod mai positiv. Incercam sa ne umplem timpul intr-un mod cat mai placut. Ne-am facut deja o rutina si se pare ca Vlad se incadreaza in ea pentru ca am pastrat cate ceva din ce era el obisnuit. In prima zi in care i-am facut baie a plans de ni s-a "rupt" sufletul. Cred ca cu asta nu era obisnuit. Dar de a doua oara deja stia ca nu i se intampla nimic rau si s-a comportat mai bine. I-am pus o jucarioara in cada care se misca in apa si i-a placut sa se joace cu ea. Acum nu mai are rabdare sa intre in cada si se spala si el singur cu manutele lui si apoi ii place sa se balaceasca in apa si sa se joace cu jucaria. Dupa baie e ca un ingeras, mirosind frumos si gata de culcare (zicem noi). Il pun in pat, stingem lumina si aprindem veioza si citim o carte (de fapt nu ii citesc povestea ci mai degraba ii descriu pozele), ocazie cu care a mai invatat alte cuvinte in engleza. Acum stie ca perna e "pillow", patura e "blanket", pisica e "cat", morcovii sunt "carrots" si altele. Dupa ce terminam cartea stingem si veioza si ne culcam (sau asa as vrea eu), dar de fapt ii ia ceva timp pana sa adoarma. Este un moment frumos totusi pentru ca Vladut devine foarte tandru si ma ia de gat si ma pupa cu foc, apasat si pe un obraz si pe celalalt. Dupa mai multa "frichinela" prin pat si explorand toate colturile patului (si are unde pentru ca este un pat queen), adoarme intr-un final. Noaptea se mai intoarce destul de des si transpira foarte mult in special la cap. Ma intreb daca asta e normal la copii. Nu este imbracat decat in pijama si acoperit cu o duveta; oare sa-i fie prea cald?!

Din pacate dimineata se trezeste destul de devreme, in jur de ora 6:00am sau chiar inainte, dar nici eu nu dorm prea mult, asa ca...Incercam sa-l mai convingem sa mai stea in pat, dar oricum nu mai doarme. In schimb se frichineste, sare peste noi, ii baga degetul in nas lui Gelu sau isi apropie obrajorul de al nostru...mai dormi daca poti!!! :wink:Oricum ar fi nu ne suparam pentru ca este atat de dragalas si fericit cand rade si ne spune "mama" si "papa" dis-de-dimineata. Ne umple sufletul si zilele de bucurie.

Ne ridicam din pat si mergem la olita unde face pipi. Sigur ca are inca pampers si cand facem plimbari mai lungi sau in timpul somnului mai face pipi pe el, dar in general daca-l ducem la olita des face pipi si caca. I-am cumparat peruita si pasta de dinti pentru copii si dupa ce ne-a vazut pe noi cum le folosim, abia asteapta si el sa se spele pe dinti. Dupa aceea mancam micul dejun in care incercam sa-i introducem feluri noi de mancare sa vedem daca ii plac. Deja mananca iaurt, lapte cu cereale (este intre favorite), branza topita si cascaval, paine, cartofi (piure sau mancare), ciorbita (cateodata si carnea de pui, dar nu intotdeauna), crenvusti (preferati), suc natural din fructe, banane, mere, biscuiti, castraveti, rosii si ardei (a incercat, dar n-a mancat prea mult). De cateva zile ii dam si sirop de tuse si picaturi pentru imunizare (a racit putin, dar acum e mult mai bine). Mai stam putin in casa la joaca sau la desene animate, apoi iesim pe afara. Ce sa mai spunem de vreme, parca a venit deva vara :cool:;este cald si soare in fiecare zi. Avem 2 sau chiar 3 gradinite foarte aproape de bloc cu locuri de joaca pentru copii, tiribombe, leganuse, nisip si ii place sa joace acolo si sa-si faca prieteni, copii care mai vin acolo. La ora 11:30am mancam pranzul, dupa care mergem la culcare. Cam intr-o jumatate de ora adorme si doarme pana la ora 3 sau 3:30pm. Mancam o gustare si iesim iar pe afara. Am inceput sa mai exploram imprejurimile, iar ieri (sambata, 1 mai) am fost intru-un parc foarte frumos. Ne-am plimbat, am mirosit florile (superbe), am mancat inghetat si apoi am fost si la o biserica care era chiar langa parc. Pe drum inapoi spre casa era aproape adormit. Tot ieri am fost cu Lesya, Vitali (despre care abia ieri am aflat ca este sotul Lesyei), Yulia (fiica lor) si Irina la un restaurant traditional ukrainean. Locul este foarte frumos decorat si elegant cu mancare traditionala, muzica traditionala si costume populare. Aveau si o camera speciala pentru copii cu multe jucarii unde Vlad si-a petrecut cea mai mare parte din timp. Am petrecut cateva ore in care ne-am "ghiftuit" cu bunataturi, toate preparate local. Super. Ne-am intors in jur de ora 9:00pm, toti obositi, dar fericiti.

Sa nu va inchipuiti ca Vlad nu mai are episoade de neascultare. N-ar fi nimic rau in faptul ca aprinde si stinge lumina de cateva zeci de ori, dar are momente de incapatanare (de fapt, destul de multe) cand stim clar ca intelege ce-i spunem sa nu faca, dar face. De exemplu ii spunem sa nu se duca aproape de aragaz cand gatim, sa se spele (cu ajutorul nostru, bineinteles) pe maini dupa ce venim de afara (si nu intotdeauna vrea), sa faca pipi la olita, sa nu umble la testele laptop-ului si altele. Se uita la noi de parca ne testeaza, apoi face exact lucrul interzis, ii explicam ca nu e voie si de ce nu e voie, dupa care se uita din nou la noi si iarasi face. Cand il luam de la locul faptei incepe sa planga. Ma intreb ce nu facem bine. Unde si ce ar trebui sa schimbam ca sa asculte?!

Inchei aici cu lunga poveste de azi si va doresc la toti o duminica insorita.

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Good morning,

I finally recovered after the hearing the unexpected bad news of not going home on Monday, as planned, and being stuck in Ukraine for two more weeks. What can we do? I have to comply with the situation, make the best of it and think positively. We try to fill our time in a pleasant way. We already have a routine and it seems that it suits Vlad's needs as well, since we have kept some of the things from his old schedule.

The first time we gave him a bath he cried a lot, which broke our hearts. Probably he wasn't used to this routine or being bathed this way. The second time we gave him a bath he knew nothing will harm him, and he seemed like he liked it a little bit. We placed a toy in the bath tub and Vlad was attracted to it. Now he cannot wait for the evening bath and he is even trying to wash himself, then enjoys splashing the water with his hands and feet and plays with the toy. After bath he looks more llike an angel, smelling nice and ready to go to bed. I put him in the bed, turn off the lights and turn on the night lamp. Then we look together to a story book. I tryed to read the words but he is not patient to listen to the story, so I decided to describe him the picturs and together we point to them; this way hepls him learn more words in english. He already knows "pillow", "blanket", "carrots", "bear", "shoes", etc and we associate the picture from the book with the real object if we have it in the room. Finally he is ready to sleep (or I think he is). After I turn off the lamp, he becomes very gentle and hugs me, kisses me on each cheek. However, he likes to play and fool around a little bit more and explore all the corners of the bed before he falls to sleep. During the night he moves around in the bed a couple of times and swets a lot, especially at his head. I wonder if this is normal for children of this age. He wears only his pajama and is covered with a duvette. Is it too warm? Unfortunately he wakes up very early in the morning, around 6:00 AM, but I am a morning person, too, so this is not a big deal. However, I would like to lay down more in the bed, but Vlad is all excited and ready to play. Hi pinches George and I, giggles, moves around, puts his finger in George's nose and then makes fun of his joke, so stay asleep if you can.:dry: How can one not love these moments when he is so cute and happy, calls us "mama" and "papa" the minute he opens his eyes. He fills our hearts with joy every single day.

We get up from the bed and we go to the bathroom, where he "performs" pipi in the potty. He still wears pampers and sometimes, after long trips or during sleep still does in the pampers, but most of the time when we put him on the potty he does pipi and caca. We bought him a toot brush for kids, and after he watched us how we used it, he is eager to brush his teeth. Then we have the breakfast, when we try to diversify the food we give him and see what he likes or not. He already eats yogourt, milk with cereals (it's one of his favourites), all kinds of cheese, bread, potatoes (smashed or stew), soups (sometimes with chicken meat, but not always), hot dogs (favourites), natural fruit juices, bananas, apples, vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes - he tried but he didn't like too much). Few days ago we started giving him cough sirup and some imunisation drops (he got a cold, but now is better). We stay a little bit inside to play with toys, watch cartoons, then we go outside. Here is summer like time. We have 2 playgrounds very close to our building where he can play. Vlad likes to play there and to make new friends: the kids that play around.

Around 11:30 we have the lunch, then we go to bed. In about half hour he falls asleep until 3:00 - 3:30 PM. We eat someting and go outside again. We started exploring the neighbourhood, and yesterday, May 1st, we went to a beautiful park. We waked around eat some ice cream, then went to a church nearby. On our way back, Vlad almost slept on our shoulders.

Yesterday evening we went to a traditional Ukrainean restaurant with Lesya, Vitali - the driver (we figured out he's Lesya's husband), their beautiful girl Yulia and Irina. The restaurant is very nice decorated, is very clean, has live traditional music, and the food was delicious. There was a special room for kids, where Vlad spent most of the time. We spent few hours, it was beautiful, and went home around 9:00 PM.