Day 12 – Thursday, 17 August, 2006

I admire parents. All of them. I finally understand the challenge of balancing priorities of family and work, as Mark and I had scheduled Thursday as my “focus on work” day. I dropped Masha off at camp, staying only for the first ESL class where they focused on weather and the appropriate outerwear and accessories (a critical lesson for a fashionista like my Masha!)

When Mark arrived at camp to pick Masha up, she volunteered him to drive for the afternoon field trip to the medical clinic. Although Masha had already been to both the doctor and the dentist, she wanted to go with her friends, and she was very helpful with the younger children.

Once she decided she’d had enough, Mark took Masha shopping for a gift for cousin Laura’s 2nd birthday. Masha helped choose a doll stroller, and also prodded Mark into purchasing a dozen roses for me. They are beautiful, and she helped me arrange them when they got home!

The big event of Thursday night was a trip to the studios of Bentz Photography for a professional photo shoot. Masha chose several outfits to take, and made sure that Simon was included in the family photos! She began with a double-camoflauge ensemble, with a hot pink cammo hoodie paired with lighter pink cammo jeans. Sara and Steve masterfully posed her to minimize the jarring visual effect, and even those photos came out great!!

Masha loves being in front of a camera, and really got a kick out of moving from one backdrop to another, changing clothes, choosing props, and posing. She worked hard to get Simon to cooperate and pose with her, but he was much more interested in interfering with the entire process!

In the end, Steve and Sara delivered a CD full of brilliant photos of Masha, and a few not-so-terrible ones of Mark and me as well! They even got Simon to sit still for a few good ones!

While the photo shoot was a highlight of Masha’s trip so far, the pièce de résistance had to be the after-shoot visit to McDonald’s. We have attempted to shield Masha from fast food and soda and all the nasties that are my personal weakness…we’ve even begun eating meals at the table! However, we do realize that every kid loves McD’s, and that fast food is great in moderation! We were especially pleased when she chose Diet Coke, and even more thrilled when she determined halfway through her ice cream cone that she was full. She found a space in the freezer for the remainder of the cone.