Friday, July 2, 2010

One week ago...

...I picked up Nastia at the Atlanta airport. I was nervous, and exhausted, and so excited to start this journey. She was a champ! She was shy, but sweet.
And now...she already feels like part of our family. She loves to play with our children, and help me cook and clean off the table. She LOVES to play outside and ride Lauren's bike, and push Ian in the stroller, and ride a scooter. She laughs and plays and seems so happy! She says, "Yes, please, " and "Thank you," and she knows us all by name. She understands English a little more. The language barrier doesn't seem to bother her too much.
She still isn't fond of hugging, so there are times when I have to tell my kids to give her a break, but I still make it a point to go up and pat her on the back, or give her a quick side-hug here and there. She still loves going to bed at night and getting a kiss on the forehead and an "I love you." She always has the biggest smile on her face when I leave her room.
She can be a big eater at times. This morning she ate a bowl of oatmeal, a banana, and two cereal bars, then yogurt for a snack a few hours later. We had a picnic at the park with pizza and breadsticks. She ate two pieces of pizza, and a few breadsticks. For dinner she ate Raman noodles, several pieces of homemade cheesy bread that she helped me make, and then homemade cinnamon bread for dessert. And then, of course, she was back outside to play.
She and Lauren were elated tonight when we allowed them to share a room. Nastia was so excited that she literally jumped up and down. I had no idea what this would mean to her!
Overall, I think she had a really fun day!

2 comments:

  1. I'm so glad. Guess she's prepared to be a college student in the US if she already knows about Raman noodles! I'm so glad y'all are having such a great time!!

    When are y'all going to the zoo?

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  2. Fantastic! Sounds like everything is going so well! Has anyone expressed an interest in adopting her yet? Has she been able to meet many families?

    I, too, can't wait to hear about the zoo trip! lol

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