Two Month Update

I can't believe that it has been two months since we officially made Sasha a part of the family. Looking back it seems like our time in Russia was so long ago rather than only a number of weeks. Sasha has changed so much which also makes it almost impossible to believe that she's only been with us for nine weeks now. I guess that is a good sign that things are starting to become more routine and comfortable at home.

We are able to communicate with her so much better now which greatly reduces the fits and tantrums making for days that are much more pleasant. During our first trip to the baby home we learned that Sasha likes to understand why and just telling her no doesn't go over so well. Of course you need to understand the language in order to understand an explanation. In the past week or two she has pretty much quit using the last little bit of Russian that she knew. Instead of answering "da" she now answers "ya" or "yeah". While we were so anxious for her to learn English I think I'm almost a little sad that she's completely lost the Russian language. I'm sure if she ever wants to, she'll be able to pick it back up very quickly.

This week was a big one for Sasha, she had an MRI done. The doctors here don't agree with the diagnosis that the doctors in Russia made in regards to her left eye. Originally she was diagnosed with Micropthalmia which is simply a little eye. However when our optometrist examined her he found her eyesight to be very good and the overall health of her eye to be completely normal. In fact when he dilated her eyes they were both the same size rather than having one that was smaller. This raised the question of whether her eye is in deed the problem or just a symptom of something else.

The best way to answer this question was to have a scan done of her upper body. She did remarkably well and we were really encouraged by how she handled everything that day. We actually noticed some things that indicate her trust and attachment with us is progressing quite well. She wasn't completely out during the scan rather they did a conscious sedation. However because they were taking pictures of her brain, neck, chest and abdomen the scan took around 2 hours which required a pretty high dosage of the medication used to induce her sleepiness. As a result it was like we had a 2 year old drunk living with us the rest of the night. While kind of funny at times she was pretty frustrated and mad when her legs wouldn't stay under her. Thankfully when morning came around she was back to normal and just pleased to have a new stuffed puppy to play with.

The doctors expect to find that her eye is a symptom of something else but that doesn't necessarily mean anything will change. In fact from a vision stand point my understanding is that this could be an even better outcome for her. Currently her vision is not affected by her eye condition at all which is strange because with the Micropthalmia one would expect her to have eyesight problems and need glasses at a young age. I think the general expectation from the MRI is that they will find her condition occurred as a result of a traumatic birth or it is genetic. From the new information we can determine if a treatment is available for her eye or if it's even necessary.

I find it fascinating how we can use technology to look at her body and hopefully fill in the gaps regarding her medical history. We know nothing about her medical history prior to her arrival at the baby home. However, through technology we have an opportunity to get a road map that may provide direction and guidance as we continue on her life journey.

July 4th

This weekend we celebrated the fourth of July with our little sweet pea. Ironically this past Thursday we got her official certificate of citizenship in the mail, too. We tried to have her in bed before the neighborhood lit up but that was a never ending battle. As soon as the rain let up in the afternoon the noise began and continued to escalate well into the night. Around 9:00 we took her outside to watch and see what all the noise was about. We find that she responds better to things if you explain why. After that she was able to cuddle down in her mama's and papa's bed for a good night's sleep.

The fourth was Sasha's third Sunday going to church. She likes the praise and worship time and enjoys "dancing" to the music. She also thinks it's fun how people randomly look at her and waive. She's very eager to return the wave but I wonder if she thinks church is a place where everyone goes to worship her instead of God!

We've also been spending time at the local zoo. Sasha just loves the animals and has become a talking machine whenever she has an opportunity to tell someone about them or the sounds they make. Her favorite remains the monkey but she also likes talking about the bear that roars. Her aunt brought her a stuffed monkey which she's either cuddling with or trying to keep away from Dudley. Her bed is quickly becoming a "zoo" filled with her favorite stuffed toys!

Sasha's vocabulary grows by the day. We have graduated from single words to multiples and some phrases. You never know what's going to come out of her mouth from day to day. Her favorite pass time is reading books. She likes to sit down and "read" them herself but then finds us to begin the tour through her book collection. She's graduated from the single word picture books which were so interesting to her just four short weeks ago. Now she wants to hear the whole story page by page and word by word. Her favorite ones are little Christian books about God's love AND Curious George (of course)!

Included is a slide show of some pictures Matt took of her on this 4th of July. Enjoy our sweet pea and her beautiful grin, smirk, smile and attitude!

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