Today we had a great day with Sasha. We met with the baby home pediatrician first and then went outside to wait for Sasha. It was a really nice day so we were told that we could spend our time with her outside. As they brought her to us you could tell from the expression on her face the moment she realized who we were. She came to us right away and it appeared that she recognized us; we picked up right where we left off five weeks ago. Since we were there during playtime, there were other kids playing outside as well. We weren’t sure how Sasha would respond to this and to our surprise she wasn’t interested in the other kids this time. She was happy and enjoying her time with us today. This was quite different from the first visit when she cried when separated from the other kids. Typically our visits are for about an hour to 90 minutes. Today when our visit was over they asked when we would want to visit her again and Matt replied “this afternoon”. He said this more as a matter of how much we want to see her rather than actually requesting to see her again today. To our surprise they said we could come back at 3:15. It seems the head doctor is on vacation this week so the caregivers were willing to be flexible and allowed us another visit. So we had a wonderful opportunity to come back and spend a couple more hours with her in the afternoon.
Some specific things we enjoyed from our day with Sasha:
1. We took a simple puzzle along today and she figured it out very quickly. We played with it several times and often for extended periods of time.
2. At one point she became fascinated with my shoes so I slipped them off and she responded as any other two year old would. She put my shoes on and began clumping around in them. The other caregivers that were nearby smiled, laughed and joked when they saw her. They enjoyed watching her interact with us like that and it definitely made an impression on them (in a good way).
3. We also took along some fruit snacks and she really enjoyed them. The first one took her awhile to eat. She spent a lot of time exploring it in her mouth but with each one she ate she got quicker and quicker. Using this as an opportunity we taught her the sign for more and she picked that up very, very quickly. We also played peek-a-boo and she started repeating the word “boo” during our play. We were very encouraged with how quick she picked up on some words and interactions with us today.
4. Another thing we noticed today was the increased amount of babble and words that she was speaking along with her desire to copy us.
5. She interacted well with both of us but especially with Matt this time. She played with him and ran to him and explored his facial features. She was very interested in his face because he hasn’t shaved in a few days. Her expression when she touched his face was so cute.
6. We began talking to her about a car ride and going with momma and daddy. We walked out to where the car was so she could start getting used to the idea of leaving the baby home. The interesting thing was that when she saw our driver who was standing by the car she didn’t like him and looked to us for direction. The fact that she knew the difference between us and a stranger is great and that she looked to us for a reaction to him is a very good sign. It shows she is beginning to identify who we are and establishing a connection with us.
Before we left Armavir we got the paperwork completed for her passport. Tomorrow is another paperwork day and then we aren’t able to visit the baby home on weekends. So, we plan to go back to see her Monday and Tuesday of next week before we pick her up on Thursday. After today I think spending these two additional days will make it a little easier for her to leave with us. It’s hard to believe that a week from today we will be bringing her back to Krasnodar with us.
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