Thoughts on Sign Language

While we were waiting for our referral during the winter and early spring, I read and heard a lot about baby sign language. We even saw a baby sign with her parents at a waiting families meeting that we attended in March. Though I thought this was a neat concept and was interesting to watch, I really did not think that I could learn how to do it in time for when Angelina got home. During our traveling and trips back and fourth to Russia, we just were too busy to try to get anything extra done besides the necessities, never mind sign language.

However, what I noticed about Angelina's language skills is that she does want to communicate but still has trouble forming words and getting her wants and needs expressed. So, I started to think back to this sign language idea and since I'm home with Angelina all day, I figured that we could learn this together. I found this great site:

http://www.mybabycantalk.com/content/dictionary/dictionaryofsigns.aspx?letter=A

It has a video to go with each word in its dictionary, which helps me as sometimes a picture of a sign can be deceiving.

I started signing with Angelina about 3 weeks ago. She now knows how to sign the following words: more, eat, milk, please, thank you, help, up & down, and shoes. It has been amazing to see her use these words to aid in her communication. At first, I was not sure. She was just signing after I said the word. But, last week, she wanted to get out of her car seat, and I see in my mirror her sign the word "help". I had to laugh. So she has been using the words independently when she wants something. She is starting to figure out that she can use the signs to communicate, which has been helpful and less frustrating for the both of us.

We have started to put sounds with our signs as well, which is helping Angelina associate her signs with certain sounds. For example, when she signs "more" she will say "mmmm", and when she signs "thank you", she will sat "ta". Though her language is coming slowly but surely, using sign language has been a great tool to help us communicate.

Baking (or taste-testing) With Mama

Being an avid baker, I've volunteered to recently make some cakes and desserts for family get-togethers. There has been a sharp learning curve while trying to bake with a toddler at your feet. I have smartened up over the past few weeks and realized exactly where I can position a chair and have Angelina stand on it to watch me cook/bake and have it be safe. Now, this certainly beats having her at my feet either whining/crying or wanting to be picked up because she does not like the sound of the mixer.

So, this morning, Angelina stood happily on her chair playing with measuring cups while I make a birthday cake. Since she was such a great helper, I let her quality control some chocolate frosting.

I think she liked it:

Attachment Progress

We had a one month check up at the doctor's office this week. Angelina gained 2 pounds since being home. All of her labs look great and we are done with the vaccinations. It seems like our never-ending doctor appointment schedule has come to an end for now. Finally, after 6 weeks of being home, I can rest easy and feel reassured that Angelina not only looks healthy, but we have the lab work to back it up!

During the first two weeks home, I gave up the dream of Angelina attaching to us perfectly and quickly. It finally hit me that all of the reading I've done on the topic was accurate, attachment is a long, long process. And, we would not be the magic wonder family that would be done with attachment when the plane landed in Boston! Even though I do see small signs of Angelina's attachment progress daily, I still had not had that "aha" moment. I was wondering if this moment was even going to happen to us, and if I would recognize it if it did.


As one of my friends put it, shots can be a blessing in disguise. Ken was holding Angelina as the nurse was giving her one of her shots. Angelina instantly started crying once the nurses held her arm down. Once the shot was done, she reached for me. I was already standing away from the whole shot scene so that I could rescue her when they were done, but she actually reached for me, and when I grabbed her, she rested her head on my shoulder and let me console her. I was cheering for Angelina on the inside! Even the nurse commented that it was a good sign of trust. (Coming from a nurse with very little international adoption experience, this meant a lot!) I know we have miles to go with attachment, but this was certainly the "aha" moment that I needed.


I will leave some pictures of us at the park yesterday. However, the novelty of the camera has worn off for Angelina. She no longer poses, smiles, runs to the camera. Actually, I take it out and she looks the other way.

Must you take a picture of me while I'm eating, mom?

Head, shoulders, knees and toes

Walking around trees can entertain Angelina for a long, long time!

Late Summer Fun

Well, its that time of year in New England where all thoughts turn to apple picking and mum selection. The days are certainly getting shorter and there is that fall crisp in the night air. However, after a summer of cool, rainy days we welcomed a few unseasonably hot days this past week. Angelina and I took full advantage of the weather with our blow-up pool. She had a blast in the water. She was not comfortable to sit down, but would squat over and over again when I would tell her to sit. It was very cute! I brought some bath toys in the pool for her, and Angelina just played and played!

Here are some pictures of our late-summer fun:

Home One Month, Already!

Really, its been a month already?!

Things have settled down in our home lately, and we are finally getting into a normal and familiar routine. Angelina (as I'm sure all children from orphanage care) thrives when given a consistent schedule and routine, and we are trying to give that to her with also finding a balance of flexibility.

Still, Angelina's adjustment to her new life amazes me beyond belief. She is such a happy-go-lucky girl and her smiles and giggles light up our home. Besides being sick last week, she eats well and still sleeps through the night. We still struggle with eating fresh fruits and vegetables, and at times, Angelina could win a medal for her dramatics right before bedtime!



I feel that attachment is a two step forward - one step back process. She still is learning to trust us, and still has her guard up most of the time. She is still very comfortable to walk up to strangers, and I don't think she knows yet what mama and papa mean. However, she reaches for us when she wants to be picked up, will cuddle (even if its just for a very short while), will let herself be comforted by us now and then as well. She initiates games and will share her toys and food with us often. She gives us unprompted kisses and will sometimes hold on to us when we pick her up. I feel that her attachment to us is progressing normally, and have realized over the month that it comes much slower than I hoped or expected!

I am amazed by how quickly Angelina learns new things. She loves to study our actions and actions of the dog and even her toys. She mimics everything we do, from sneezing, coughing, stretching, to dancing. It is so fun to watch her figure things out. As far as her language acquisition, Angelina really is starting to understand many of the things we say to her. She follows our directions and commands very well. She knows her name and responds to it most of the time (the other times is when shes being a normal toddler just ignoring their mom!) She is not talking a ton yet. She can say "cracker" and "doggy" very well, and for everything else, she says "dah". For example, I say "Angelina", she says "dah daaaaah da" in the same tone that I use. I think that it will just be a matter of time before she is just chattering away especially since her mimicking skills are so sharp.

We received our certificate of citizenship in the mail on Thursday, so we can now easily prove that Angelina is a citizen! Our other post-adoption paperwork is almost complete. Also, our doctor appointments are wrapping up for now. Its nice to know that we can just start living as normal without this appointment and that paperwork.

Angelina's first ice cream trip! We fed her the ice cream, and she ate an empty cone...it was much, much cleaner that way!

Playing with Papa

Studying the leaf and pine cone

Walking at the park