How We Roll in the A.M.

Just hanging out in the shower before breakfast....and before washing and bushing the hair.
Clothing Ensemble by Sophie!

Home 6 Months Today

Sophie Alexandra - Home 6 months today.

Western Party & Gymnastics

Sophie is quite the little socialite. Always being invited to parties and such. This weekend we went to a Western themed birthday party for a friend. Sophie even rode a mechanical bull (child size, with a big kid and mom very close by). I'll post pix when I get copies. Very cute. She wasn't scared at all. In fact, Sophie is quite fearless.


YEE HAW!! Cowgirl Up

We also started Mommy & Me gymnastics. It was more work for me actually....chasing her around and lifting her up and demonstrating how to do the tricks. I worked up a sweat. She was most fascinated with the water fountain......of course. She may be a little too young for this. We'll give it a few more tries and see if it's worth $60 a month. Lord. I feel my pocket book sinking into a black hole of nothingness.


Chalk Up for Gymnastics

A Living Dream

Hello Blogger Friends.

There is just no time to blog anymore.....and that makes me sad. Before we had our babies, all we did was blog and live on the computer looking up this and that about country, adoption, childcare. Now we are living the dream!!


Sophie - a.k.a. Little Mighty

This is Sophie today.....4 months home. She has grown 4 inches, gone up from 6 month clothing to 9 and 12 month clothing. Gone up 3 shoe sizes to a size 4 and almost a 5. She has not gained any weight though.....like 2 pounds. But doc feels there was water loss in extended tummy due to malnutrition because she is looks more filled out and has lost most of the extended tummy. Plus it's been redistributed with the additional height. But I keep pumping this Southern cooking into her and a nightly bottle of PediaSure.

She's a really great eater. Eats a great breakfast every morning.....which she wants the minute she wakes up. I have learned to cook the oatmeal BEFORE getting her out of bed. She has not waivered from the morning oatmeal. I have tried grits, sausages, bacon, pancakes, biscuits, cereal, etc. She will nibble on it all, but WANTS THAT OATMEAL. So, no problem. Easy to make and it comes in various flavors. She is starting to show little interest in lunch. She doesn't eat much, but usually eats a good dinner. She's not very picky, but really doesn't like regular milk, cheese, salad or fresh fruits. Her favorites are oatmeal, mashed potatos, yogurt, meatballs, green beans, rice, beets, and shrimp. She likes the weirdest stuff sometimes though.....like Collard Greens, goat's milk and organic breads and cookies....you know, the kind that taste like cardboard. She's not big on sweets, but loves, loves, loves my jellybean jar in the kitchen.

The Big Easy with Cassie, Katherine, Neill & Carlos

We recently took our first vacation together....to New Orleans with some of the theatre kids. I didn't want to get too far from home or put her on an airplane again yet. I took my mom with me too.....well, cause we're theatre people and we had to see theatre at night!! Oh and the casino!!

Sophie learning to count cards

Walking around the fountain

Tossing a penny into the fountain

Aquarium in NOLA...Not too happy this morning

Happier at lunch time!!

Lovin on mama

Our only real issue is speech delay, a minor thyroid problem and lack of weight gain. We are working with a Speech Therapist and a Play Therapist. Seeing a specialist about the thyroid and giving her some time on the weight gain. She really isn't talking much....says Mama, Bye-Bye, Night-Night, Hi, John Thomas (her cousins name, which comes out JaTaTa), and Big Truck (random). I can tell she is trying to say down and outside, but comes out as babytalk. She does alot of babbling. She does understand us, our commands.....like sit down, come here, etc. She's doing well with drawing, stacking, etc. I think she's bright, but I'm her mama. Only time will tell if she has any learning disabilities. We'll just select our education course accordingly.

She has been a great sleeper since the day she came home. She sleeps 10-12 hours each night and takes a 2-3 hour nap everyday.....leaning more towards 2 hours now. She finally lets me rock her and cuddle her at night. But she likes to fall asleep on her own......unless she's super tired. We have our little nightly routine that I love so much.

I can't tell yet if she's going to be a girly-girl or a tomboy. Maybe a little of both. She is very flexible though, so she will start in gymnastics and ballet at age 3 or 4 and see how that goes. I'm still at home with her since my summer work load is light. In September, she'll start going to Mother's Morning Out 2 days a week and stay with my mother those afternoons while I go to work, I'll stay home with her 2 days and she'll go to work with me on Fridays. She goes to Sunday School every Sunday and loves the other kids. She doesn't mind me leaving her AT ALL. But, is squealing with excitement when I pick her up. Does a mama's heart good.

I love her so much. I should have done this years ago. Sophie and I fit like a glove. We are so much alike in personality.


Night-Night baby girl

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I've scheduled my first post-placement report with my home study agency. Guess I better go scrub all the baby gunk and clean up. Take care everyone. Happy Summer.

Super Excited about my first tricycle!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Sophie

Home Three Months Today

Baby girl has been home three months today. It has been a whirlwind of delight.

The journey to her was a long and arduous process, but she has been so worth the wait.

I wake every morning to a happy, smiling baby girl. And I mean not one morning has she not looked me in the eye, lifted her arms and smiled from ear to ear.

I am so proud to be her mother. We call her "Little Mighty" and she lives up to her name.

She is tough as nails and sweet as sugar. I often wonder what she will grow up to be and do.

When I first met Sophie (then called Sasha), in the office of the orphanage director in Achinsk, Sibera, she was weak, but spirited. She couldn't walk yet and wasn't talking. She babbled a little and the few sounds she did make we captured on videotape. And they are faint little whispers. She checked me out. I checked her out. We looked at each other. We played. We laughed.

The time from then to know seems a lifetime, but it's been less than half a year.

The course of action in adoptin is hurry up and wait.....then rush, rush, rush to get this and that paperwork.....then hurry up and wait again. Then one day, you get this phone call and BAM....three months later there is a baby from half way across the world sleeping in her new bedroom and calling you Mama.

Glory.

Let me tell you how blessed I am. From day one of our life at home, Sophie has slept through the night for 12 hours. In her own bed and with little to no crying. She takes a 2 to 3 hour nap everyday and rarely fusses about going to sleep. If she wakes before I come to get her, she plays with her stuffed animals and waits for me. I'm sure she'll figure out that crying and calling for Mama gets her attention. But for now, that is our routine.

She is a very healthy eater. After a few initial diaper blow-outs, she and I became aware of how much to eat and how much to present on the smorsgasboard of the high chair dining table. I quickly learned that Sophie would eat ALL of whatever I put on her plate. I learned to only put the portion amount she needed to eat. She was taught in the orphanage to eat with a spoon and drink from a cup. We had to teach her to use a sippy cup and how to drink with a straw. Her favorite food is oatmeal or mashed potatos. She eats almost anything though. I don't think there is anything she has refused to eat.....but she does like everything warmed or mashed up. But she's getting less picky about that.

She is not verbal yet, but she is working on it. She says "Mama" ALOT. And I love it. She has said "Night, Night", "Bye-Bye" and "Hi", but the rest is babble and baby talk. The good news is that she does understand our commands and is making word associations.

Her Tricks:

Kisses

Hugs

Throws Kisses

Points to light, nose, ear, toes, fingers and belly

Flips and somersaults - must have had gymnastics at her orphanage

Flexibility - I think she's double jointed but extremely flexible to say the least

What she likes the most:

Outside!!!!!

Shoes - mine and hers

A warm bath

lotion and powder

My iPhone

The TV Remote

Puppies

What she's not too keen on:

Grass

Glo-Worm

Vacuum Cleaner

Hair Dryer

Television (Thank the Lord)

Diaper Changes

It's been a glorious three months so far. We're also excited about her Second Birthday on Monday (June 22nd). Our first party, first birthday cake, first candles, first wishes.