Trip to the Zoo

Progress

The past week or so, we have had glimpses into the children's past. Polina has told us some things about her past and Dima, through his reactions to certain situations, has given us an idea about his past. All very sad and I am sure we will learn more in the future. We were told this would happen in time, but it still caught me a little off guard.

They are making amazing progress since we have been home. Dima honestly seems to have grown two inches! He is strong as an ox and is all boy. Each morning he is the first to get up out of bed and he first to greet us. He will come and give me a great big hug and say "dohbray ootra Papa" (good morning Papa). He has a habit of taking things that don't belong to him and hopefully we are slowly breaking him of that. He has gotten much better in that he will reluctantly tell me where something is if I know he has taken it. However, the whereabouts of my college ring are still in question. You should see him when he accomplishes a task! He smiles so big and we make a point to tell him how proud we are of him.

Nastya loves playing with her baby dolls and with Dima. She is very independent and can cut a look that is amazingly similar to my mom. Mom would have enjoyed Nastya because she is all girl and loves to hold and cuddle her baby dolls. Dad let each of the girls pick a necklace from mom's jewelry collection. I have tried to explain to them that mom died, but I am not quite sure they understand.

Polina is trusting us more and more and, as I said earlier, has told us a little of her past. I hope she will open up and share more as time goes on. She loves playing with Sarah and watching old Russian cartoons on You Tube. She can get moody and be a bit aggravating at times, but I guess we all are to an extent. The school she will attend a couple of days a week had open house Friday. She was not happy with all the talk about school! This is a great place started by some friends and it is specifically for Russian speaking children.

We went to the Zoo Saturday with my dad. The kids had a ball. I don't think Polina, Dima and Nastya had ever been to a zoo from all the squeals! My poor dad was about worn out at the end of the day and Nastya ran to him wanting him to carry her - he's 79. He ate it all up though and carried her a short ways until he could not do it any longer. It also made me very proud to watch Jeremy interacting with the younger three. He would pick them up and point to different animals that were hiding behind bushes and such. Teenage boys can be very "distant" at family activities, but he enjoyed the time together as well. Christina was sweet and helped take the girls to the rest room and helped point out animals. She enjoyed taking pictures of the animals.

New Hair Styles

The pictures above are from a round of water balloon fights this afternoon.

Well, for second or so time, Nastya and Dima have found the scissors and given themselves new hair cuts. Dima ended up getting a buzz and Nastya just looks like she has a fade on top. Otherwise, all are doing well! Below are answers to the most common questions we are asked daily:

• Do they speak English? Very little, but more each day.
• Do they speak Russian? Yes (I must say I am puzzled by this question)!
  
• Do you speak Russian? Yes, sort of. I refer to it as redneck Russian (every other word or so Russian). Correct gender - nope. Correct verb form - probably not. They understand it and that is all that matters.
  
• What do they eat? Food
• Are you going to enroll them in public school? No. We homeschool. Polina and maybe even Dima will attend a special school a couple of days per week for Russian speaking children. The rest of the week, they will be homeschooled with the rest of the children.
• Do the Russians know you homeschool? Yes. When you adopt, there are NO secrets. We were asked in court about this and it is in our homestudy.
  
• How are they adjusting? Quite well - better each day. We have our moments of drama, but things are going well. They have come soooo far since we picked them up on May 20. I'll go over some of the changes in another post.

That's all for now, God bless -

4th of July

This past Friday, we went to the local fireworks display and I wasn't sure how the three youngest would react - terrified or excited. They loved it! The noise did not bother them at all.

The kids are doing great and settling in to the routine(?). We still have our moments of drama, frustration and some residual institutional behavior. Nothing we did not expect and nothing bad. The important thing is everyone is healthy and everyone appears to be happy! They seem to have gotten used to Papa being gone for work one night per week. This past Wednesday, I made certain to explain to them that I would not be home tonight that I had to work (all in Russian naturally) - and they said they understood. Dawn told me that come bed time, the kids wanted to know when I was going to read to them. She explained that I was working away from home and would return the next afternoon. She said they did not get upset, just appeared a little disappointed. I read Winnie the Pooh stories to the little ones and books from the Narnia collection to Sarah and Polina. The three older kid know what I do for work, but the three younger kids don't quite understand it yet. They know that a couple of days a week, I am working from home on the computer and a couple of days I am not home.

Below is an update by child:

• Jeremy: Took his college entrance exams the weekend after we returned from Russia and did far better than I did some 28 years ago! He is going to retake the exam later in the year to see if he can bump his score up a point or two. He has gotten used to having little brother and sisters coming into his room uninvited. He has taken time with the the two youngest and I am very proud of him.
  
• Christina: Still busy with her horses, writing, drawing and photography. The photo at the top of the blog is one she took this past Friday. She is amazing with her graphics capability. She has taken the three younger children with her to the pasture and let them ride Kando. This week she took Kando jumping in the pasture.
• Sarah: Sarah has the Alabama State 4-H competition this week she is participating in (photography, art and modeling). She is growing out her hair so it can be cut and used for wigs for kids with cancer. I am very proud of her! She and Polina have become pretty close sisters and play together most of the time.
• Polina: She is learning a lot of English and will speak it around us, but not in public. In fact, non of the kids will speak English in public. Like all my children, she is a sweetheart. She is learning about living in a family and having a mom and dad. She will step in at times and tell the little ones something if she sees Dawn and I struggling with the Russian. I would love to see her gain 5 pounds! She eats pretty good, she is just a little picky about what she will eat.
• Dima: He is an eating machine! If it resembles food, he will eat it! He is all muscle with not a lick of fat and is incredibly strong for his age. He will follow me wherever I go like a puppy dog. He is a very good boy, but can be mishevious. We are learning things about his personality that give little hints to his past. The grin he has on his face when he accomplishes something or completes a difficult task/assignment is amazing!
• Nastya: Miss Priss is almost as mischeveous as her brother. She is strong willed like her momma and pappa. She loves to be held and loves her babby dolls. She and Dima play together a lot and are typical brother and sister. One will do something and the other will get mad - and haul off and punch the other one.

Note to other families: You can't bring a 'sick' child into the US. I promise they don't have kooties...