The "Fourth Trimester" and Family Photos

Not too much time to write at the moment.  We leave for the US tomorrow morning (taxi pickup at 3:30AM!) for a whirlwind tour that includes Kindergarten visits for Gio, medical appointments for Maria, Maria's baptism in Erie, PA and, of course, Maria's introduction to her grandparents.  For now we are pretty busy with the tail end of the "fourth trimester," a term to describe the first 3 months of an infant's life where she makes the tough transition from the womb to the outside world.  Maria clearly would have liked to have spent more time "on the inside" but she is now accepting her new reality more and more.  She smiles frequently, especially when she spots her big brother.  Here are some shots from the last few weeks....

So lucky to have Gio as a big brother.

A walk with my furriest baby.

Hanging out on the couch.

We went away last weekend for a fun-filled adventure with many other families.  Here is Gio with one of his favorite girls!

We visited one of our neighbors one afternoon.  

Another day, another political rally. 

Gio began a new phase of sleeping on his bedroom floor. Luckily it did not last too long.

More time with big brother!

Below are a series of photos taken by a local photographer.  It was a cold, sunny late afternoon in Shevchenko Park.  Quite a challenge to get a shot of all of us!

Hope to see as many of you as we can in DC, though it will be a very quick visit.  Perhaps by next year we will be permanent residents once again....

Hospitals, Freezing Temps and 2 Months Old!!

2 months old and 13.2 pounds (Gio was 17 pounds at 2 months!!)

We have had a very busy, and at times difficult, few weeks.  Maria came down with a fever 3 weeks ago that would not go away.  After multiple doctor visits (including one where I was told to stop eating grapes as a solution to her fever!), she finally ended up being admitted to the hospital with an apparent urinary tract infection.  She and I spent 5 days trapped in the hospital where she was subjected to lots of tests and endless IV treatments of antibiotics.  It was a very LONG 5 days and nights with little sleep for either of us.  I am happy to report that we made it through and she has been fever free now for over two weeks and is once again thriving.

Day 1 of the hospital stay.  She was very feverish and put through a lot of agony with blood draws and the insertion of an IV. 

I was subjected to some interesting hospital food.  Luckily there was a vending machine in the lobby of the hospital!

After telling the staff that I am avoiding dairy, this is what they brought me.... cheese, yogurt, cream filled pancakes.  Sigh.   

More IV treatments.  Maria and I spent a LOT of time hanging out in the bed as the antibiotics were given 6 hours/day. 

I renamed Maria "little mouse".  She was very popular with the hospital staff.  They declared her the best baby on the pediatric unit as she rarely cried at night and loved to practice her smiles when they came to visit.

As the days went on Maria and I grew quite weary of the hospital and the treatments but Maria managed to keep both her own and my spirits up with her brand new smile!

First night home after 5 days.  We were both completely exhausted.  Here she is passed out before I could even get her into her pajamas.

The weather has been really awful since we returned from Italy.  First it rained for an entire month and now it is freezing cold.  Every Ukrainian I meet these days warns me that the coming winter will be the worst in 100 years.  Most say there will be even more snow than last year.  Is that really even possible??

I have had fun dressing Maria is all of Gio's old clothes.  It is striking to me how much they look alike. Can you figure out which one of these is Gio??

And finally a series of Maria smiles.  I just cannot get enough of these..... 

Panic ensues...Enough with the flash!!

One Month!!

Today Maria Luisa is one month old!  Hard to believe.  She has gained nearly 2 pounds, developed a double chin and has won over many many hearts, especially ours.  I do not have a lot of time to do things like shower, write blogs or do much of anything other than hold and feed her, but I have managed to add a few photos to this page to show you how things are going....

First, since he is NOT one to be ignored, Gio began his school year last week.  He is repeating the same program he has done the last 1.5 years so it was a very easy transition for him back to school. He was reunited with his beloved teachers Mr. Mark and Mr. Slava and many of his old friends.  Sadly, his best buddy Grace moved up to Kindergarten but he is happy that they get to have lunch together every day.

Some photos of our first day (okay, Sarah Charles, you are right, this is actually the SECOND day, but day one there was just too much rain to take a photo!)

This is what happened after the first day of school. I came home to find Gio passed out on the couch!

Our nights are rather busy with a newborn.  I am not getting a whole lot of sleep these days, but hopefully things will settle down soon.  Here Paolo is giving me a break (and reading Maria some history!)

A full couch.

Yesterday my dear friend Merilee threw me a baby shower!  It was great fun with baby food and dirty diaper games, prizes and lots of yummy food.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends here in Kyiv.  The photos here were taken by Kirsten, a woman of MANY MANY talents!

Sydney and Maria Luisa

Ali & ML

Lexy (mom of 4 and pro at getting ML to fall asleep!)

A rare eyes open shot!

Who knows what she will look like in another month.  For now we will just keep enjoying all of this cuteness!