Another great day here in Moscow with Annabelle.

Last night she went to bed like a pro. I rocked her a little bit, placed her in her crib, she looked up and I rubbed her back and then she drifted off to sleep. The best part is that she slept for 11 hours. From 9:30pm to 8:30am. Tyler has never slept eleven hours in his life. He is more like me with 6 or 7 hours seems to work just fine. He actually is more like 8-10 hours but never 11.

She got up and ate like there was no tomorrow. We brought four different Gerber foods with us, applesauce, pears, bananas and sweet potato. One of each has been completely eaten along with a generous helping of oatmeal and a bottle with some apple juice. This evening, we gave her 6 oz of milk and that was gone. She will be an easy child, for now, with foods. The worry of what to take on the plane home is over. Anything we have she will eat.

We went to the American Medical Center today for Annabelle’s physical. A requirement for all children entering the US as permanent citizens. Dr. Boris took us quickly and immediately said that we will have problems with the boys when she gets older. After a quick exam he announced her healthy and even stated that she must have been a favorite of the care takers as she seems pretty sturdy.

We also stopped and got Annabelle’s visa photo take and that was it for today. We could not get by the MOE so we will do that tomorrow either before or after picking up Annabelle’s passport.

We were in the rest of the day as it started to rain after Annabelle’s nap just when we were ready to head out for a walk to Gum. We will have time later this week. We did give Annabelle her first bath. IT did not go over real well. With her feet wet, she was OK, but once she sat down she screamed and cried and wanted out any way she could. We managed to rinse her down and wash her hair in less than three minutes and get her out. Right now Tyler does not have to worry about sharing the tub for any long period of time. I am sure she will get used to the water after a few more baths, but s wanted nothing to do with the tub today. A yogurt helped calm her down. See picture below.

Our Alliance team has been great this trip. Elena our translator for every day we have been in Moscow starting with Tyler’s trip one, had to turn us over to Irene today as her granddaughter is graduating from school and she was going to be busy the next couple of days with ceremonies and parties. We are hoping to perhaps see her again for a tour of the Kremlin over the weekend or on Monday.

Today at 11:00PM local time there is a soccer (football) game here as the Manchester United plays Chelsea in the Champions league final. We have heard fans on the street chanting . . . hopefully at 1:00AM when the game is over it won’t be loud.

All is on schedule for our departure. We cannot wait to get back to the good old USA. A couple of pictures of Annabelle today. Not many ops for photos, but we got a couple in the apartment.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Playing with Aunt Lisa's lens cap.



Still learning to walk with Aunt Lisa's help.



Just taking a little break.



After her traumatic bath, a little yogurt helped sooth her. Note hair is still wet.