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

Appointments and Sickness

It has been a tough couple of days in our household. This weekend, I noticed a slight regression with Angelina's adjustment. She was reverting back to some of the orphanage behaviors that she had not done in a few weeks. She also was extra clingy, which is just not yet like her either. She was just out of sorts. Besides some major teething drooling which we gave her medicine for, I could not figure out what was wrong with her. I was starting to get worried. I asked Ken over and over again what we had done to warrant this change, and we could not figure out what we had done. All this until I saw Angelina tug and dig at her ears.

The doctor confirmed my thoughts, Angelina has an ear infection. I was so relieved to hear this, as her weekend behaviors were caused by the fact that she just did not feel well. She is now on antibiotics for the week, and the doctor said that we should see an improvement in Angelina's behavior within 24 hours, this can't come soon enough!

And in the long line of doctors visits, we were scheduled for some vaccinations today which we cancelled. No need to add insult to injury! Last week, Angelina had blood work done. She is such a trooper, and left the lab room actually smiling! She also had 3 vaccinations about two weeks ago as well. Again, I was so proud of her bravery. Angelina left that office smiling and happy-go-lucky. I've even collected the samples of a substance that you should never have to scoop with what resembles a wooden Italian ice spoon. I felt quite accomplished when all 4 samples of that was collected! We have a check up doctors appointment on September 10th, it will be nice to get lab results and to get a new weight. I'm hoping that all of Angelina's new foods are helping her thrive!

On Friday, we have an appointment with an early intervention specialist. This person will come to our house and determine if Angelina qualifies for services that are offered to children who are delayed developmentally.

I really had no idea that we would be in and out of doctor's offices this much the first month that we would be home, but am so glad that the light at the end of the tunnel is upon us! On another side note, children in my neighborhood were walking to the bus stop yesterday. I did a small jump for joy as I'm not going to back to school until the end of January. What a nice feeling!

I'll leave a few pictures of the past week:

Playing in the front yard

Happily waiting for dinner, once I got smart and realized Angelina can snack on cheerios while I'm preparing her dinner instead of crying at my feet!

Look mom, I'm feeling much better!

In The Sandbox

Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that while outside Angelina tries with great effort not to get dirty. She will fall or topple over and will hold out her hands for me to wipe them off before she gets back up, etc... This is why when I took her to the sandbox at the playground yesterday, it took her a while to warm up to it. I think that she was actually peeved at me because I put sand in her very clean pails. She dumped the pails out immediately and did not put sand in them for the rest of the time.

After about 20 minutes, Angelina started to investigate the sand a bit closer. I love when she is studying something intently, she grows quiet and is 100% focused on whatever she is interested in. Then, to my shock and surprise, this happened:

Well, that's my daughter! She refuses fresh fruits and vegetables because of the texture, but as you can see in the video, went back for seconds on the gritty sand. Lovely.

Here is an "after" picture with Angelina's sand mustache.

Some Observations

Ken and I were very lucky to have not one but three different baby showers for Angelina. We got so many wonderful toys, some classics, things that light up, make noise, and because I'm a teacher, things that sing the alphabet and work on developmental skills.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have asked everyone to just bring some old junk from around their houses for Angelina to play with...

Angelina playing with my shoes and an empty cereal box.

This dish towel and sandals entertained us for a half hour the other day!

Water bottles are fun too.

Making music!

While making Angelina's dinner today, I noticed that things got a little too quiet. You know, the quiet that signals someone is up to no good. I turn the corner from the kitchen to the living room, and this is what I saw:

Angelina was disappointed that Bear does not give rides!

What a kind and patient dog.

Home One Week

Ken, Angelina and I all had a very busy first week home. Ken took the whole week off from work to help us all transition as a family, so it was nice to have him at home, and out & about. Angelina has now met all of her immediate family including grandparents, aunts and uncles. She hung in there as we had many visitors and made many visits else where. We spent a lot of time inside as the weather has been cool and rainy all week. However, on Monday we did manage to get to the playground. Angelina loved it! We played on all of the slides, and she loved being on the see-saws while her daddy lifted them up and down from the other end. Angelina and the dog have also found a peaceful co-existence. Angelina loves to dive-bomb her, but Bear does not seem to mind. Angelina has also given Bear a few open-mouthed wet raspberries to the back, and tried to suck on her ear (like she does with her stuffed dog that she goes to sleep with). It has been interesting to watch the two of them interact.

We had our first social worker visit on Thursday, and that was fine. Our SW was amazed with the size and health of our daughter. Ken and I know how truly lucky we are when it comes to the health of Angelina. We truly feel blessed and are very thankful for her health. On Friday, Angelina had her first doctor's visit. It was a long 40 minutes, but certainly gave Ken and I piece of mind. Angelina is in high percentiles for her weight, height, and head circumference. We have some vaccinations and lab work to get done. We also have an eye doctor's appointment scheduled for October to help with her lazy eye. I was quite reassured after our visit with the doctor, but will really rest easy after all of Angelina's lab work results come back.

Angelina continues to be an excellent eater. Besides fresh fruits and vegetables (which we do work on daily) she eats all of her meals with no problem. Thanks to my friends and family who have offered suggestions on the teeth brushing. This is going much better. Both Ken and I brush our teeth and give Angelina her toothbrush. She goes to town now, and even lets us take a hold of her brush and get in there for a brief amount of time. We are also lucky with her sleep habits. Angelina is still sleeping through the night with a 2-3 hour nap mid-day. It was taking her a while to fall asleep, so we started to give her a small amount of warm milk before rocking her. So far, this has worked well.

As far as adjustment, Angelina is doing as good as can be expected. She is mostly happy, but does let us know when she is mad at us or wants something. She has tested us since day 2, and has not stopped. She tries to get away with a lot and likes to see how much we will let her get away with. Ken and I are still trying to figure out how much to say no, but I figure if there is equal praise, then saying no is just fine. Angelina likes to whine when she wants something, especially when I'm in the kitchen and preparing food. She will sit at my feet and whine. I'm assuming that this is her way right now to communicate with us as she does not know what the heck we are trying to say to her.

We are all still working hard on attachment. Ken and I have seen great improvement since gotcha day. Now, instead of holding a 25-pound sack of potatoes, I hold a 25-pound sack of potatoes that conform to my body! Angelina makes great eye contact with us, and reaches for us when she wants to be held. Also, she initiates playing games and will let us hold her for longer periods of time. I feel that we have made great strides in the attachment area, but still have miles to go. Angelina still feels completely comfortable being held by anyone, and still keeps a hand on my chest (held between me and her) so that she can keep her distance.

I'll leave some pictures from the week:

The See-Saw's are the best!

I have learned how to bounce on this zebra, but can't figure out how to spin!

Fun at the playground

I'm glad that Angelina loves the horse towel as much as I do!

Enjoying the outdoors

Home At Last

Before we left our apartment in Moscow, Ken told me he had calculated the hours from door to door, it was 20. Not something that I wanted to hear before we headed to the airport! However, our flights home were not that bad. Angelina certainly does not like to be confined especially in seats where the seat belts are too big for her and she can wiggle and squiggle. We did all we could do to entertain her for the 3 hour flight to Frankfurt. It's amazing what you can do with a barf bag to entertain a child!

Thankfully our flight from Frankfurt to Boston was at Angelina's normal bed time. She slept for 7 out of the 8 hour flight. It was a minor miracle-and kept both Ken and I sane. We did, however, have to sit in weird positions to accommodate Angelina's sprawled-out body. But, I would have sat on my head and spit nickels if it meant that she slept that long! My parents met us at the airport and it was a nice welcoming. We finally got home at 11:00, and Angelina was graceful enough to sleep again until 6:00! I realize that we are very lucky for this!

Today was a nice day. Some of Angelina's uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents came over to visit. She did a great job with them, and they were all so happy to finally meet her. Ken and I took Angelina for a walk around the neighborhood and she loved playing with the rocks on our gravel road. She also met some of her new neighbors. Tonight, Angelina reached her breaking point and had a minor melt-down. This, of course, was triggered after I tried to brush her teeth again (anyone have any pointers for that, by the way?). We did get her to bed relatively easily and now she sleeps peacefully.

Angelina discovering her shadow

A fun new toy (not intended to be stood in!)

Mom, how many new outfits do you have for me, anyway?!

Goodbye Russia!

This morning we took one last walk down Old Arbat street. Angelina gets better and better at sitting in her stroller (and liking it) each day! We went early in the morning so that it was not too crowded. We bought her some Christmas ornaments as well as a Russian fairy tale book. She charmed one of the store clerks so they gave her a nice rattle to keep!


We then had our American Embassy appointment, our apartment is the building next to the embassy, so we walked there. Imagine walking into a room with 18 other American families and their new children, packed into a small waiting room. Ken and I had a hard time handling it, nevermind Angelina! She did do great though. Our appointment was at 2:00, but so was everyone elses. We were out of there and home by 4:00.

To finish the day we went out to eat at good-ol TGI Friday's. We have been there so much that they named a booth after us! Angelina ate most of her grilled cheese sandwich and mashed potatoes. She also had some of mama's fries. When we got home tonight, everything was fine for a few minutes, then Angelina's tiredness set in, and we knew it was time to get her to bed. She went down so easily after her fun bath and traumatic teeth brushing.


Here are some things we know about our daughter already:

• She loves to eat! All food and any food, she is such a great eater. Sometimes I have to remind myself that her belly is very small and that she does not need as much food as she gets!
• Water is Angelina's favorite drink. Well, we actually have not given her anything else yet. We have started to limit the amount we put in the sippy cup. Angelina was tanking the whole thing in just a few sittings....at the American Embassy today, she peed through her diaper and clothes! Mama found another great use for the bathroom hand drier!
• Angelina loves looking at herself in mirrors. She will stop at a mirror, dip her head in real close so that her forhead bumps the mirror, then she will start dancing in front of it. So cute!
• After a nap or in the morning after waking up, Angelina loves to be really cute. She will give us kisses and hug her stuffed dog and cuddle. Also, when she does not want to go to bed, she will lay in her crip and blow kisses at us to try to get our attention and smiles. It is the hardest thing to ignore!
• Angelina has a very strong personality. She wants what she wants, and let you know about it! Also, when she does not get what she wants, she will throw toys or anything around her (books, her shoe, etc...) We are trying to stay consistant and give her boundries, but I'm sure this is going to take some time.

Tomorrow at 11 we head for the airport and say goodbye to Russia. We have enjoyed our time here, and have a deep appreciation and love for this country for giving us our daughter. But, we are ready to be home and start living again. I'll leave some pictures:

Posing for the camera

Trying to figure out Papa's shoes

The infamous sippy cup