2 week anniversary

Today is our two week anniversary of getting Sasha and what an amazing two weeks it’s been. So many firsts, so many highs and some lows to go along with them. Even though it doesn’t seem possible, we’ve been home almost a week already and I think we are beginning to get into a little bit of a routine. We have a pretty good idea of what Sasha’s routine was at the baby home so we’ve tried to follow that as much as possible. Our hope is that will help Sasha’s adjustment but I think it tends to make our adjustment as parents a little more difficult. At least we are old enough to understand what’s going on and why things are different.

As I’ve mentioned before, the main purpose behind the blog is to create a journal of sorts to help us memorialize this journey to bring Sasha home. We’ve witnessed a lot of firsts with Sasha over the past two weeks and it seems each day we learn more and more about her. Here are a few of the things we’ve enjoyed learning about our little girl:

Sasha is a great eater and it’s remarkable how well she feeds herself using silverware. I have yet to use a single bib because she doesn’t make messes with her food much to Dudley‘s and Sally‘s dismay. As I’ve previously mentioned the part of Russia where Sasha is from reminds me a lot of California. There are mountains and the sea close by and there is a lot of agriculture so fresh fruit is plentiful. I’m guessing that the kids were given fruit since it was so accessible because Sasha LOVES fruit. If you give her a cookie and some fruit on a plate she will always eat the fruit first and is typically asking for more before she even touches the cookie. This is amazing since Matt and I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s been easy to incorporate Sasha’s eating into our routine because in Russia they eat the same kind of foods as we do in the States. For example at the baby home she would have eaten mostly potatoes and rice, beef and chicken. We know to keep the seasoning bland and so far Sasha has proven to like her mama’s and papa’s cooking. We’ll see if this continues or if she becomes more picky as she gets used to having plenty to eat.

Now that we are back home Matt and I have enjoyed getting back on a regular exercise routine. Each morning we’ve taken Sasha and the dogs on a walk. The walks are the only outing we’ve been doing this week and Sasha really enjoys them. She gets just as excited about going as the dogs do. Today on our walk she was singing the entire time.

Last Friday while we waited in the Moscow airport to head home Sasha discovered something that she found very entertaining. Her first ride on an escalator proved to be the best amusement park ride she’s ever been on. To pass the time and keep her busy Matt took her on the escalator over and over and over and over….. Some time if you are curious ask Matt how many times you can go up and down an escalator in an hour and he’ll probably have an answer for you. The next day when we got back to the Washington Dulles airport and she saw the escalators there she squealed with excitement. I guess we’ll be spending some time at the mall so she can “play” on her favorite “ride”. Matt has great visions of many roller coaster rides in her future.

All in all Sasha has done well at home but it just takes time. We’ve spent 18 months adopting her but she’s only had two weeks to adopt us. It’s going to take a lot of time, love, patience and wisdom as we move forward creating a connection with Sasha. A friend put it best: adoption isn’t a destination it’s a life long journey. A journey that we are blessed to be living.