Settling into a new routine

This week marked the first week the girls are in day care. It has gone so, so. Both girls showed some resistance to being left in the care of others, but Sasha is putting up the most resistance. However, she is getting better, and we hope by week end she will go to her class without incident. We had a great Easter, and have had some family visit last weekend. It is fun to see our family and close friends experience the girls for the first time. Both girls warm up well to others, and seem to love the attention and interaction they get from family members. We look forward to all our families meeting the girls and getting to know them. So far they talk to grandparents on the phone some, but they are a bit young and lacking speaking skills to communicate well.

Dasha has at least 9 teeth now, and is getting over a double ear infection. Her hair is coming in nicely, and she is a joy to be around most of the time. She eats well, and poops well. What more could a parent ask?

Sasha is making progress in her speech, saying lots of words like parts of the body, foods, clothes, animals, and no. She seems to comprehend much of what we say to her, and it amazes us. Parent talk is no longer safe. She is a very good big sister, and other than fighting over toys, she gets along well with Dasha. While MaryEllen was home, Sasha would help with some cleaning, laundry, and setting the table. We are still working on potty training, and have seen some improvement, but we are not pushing that. I heard someone say, diapers are cheaper than a psychologist.

Both girls are going to bed well and sleeping through the night. Our friend can't believe the girls sleep through the night. Oh, well, we live a blessed life. God must know that old people like us need our sleep. The girls love bath time, and enjoy getting lotion put on them afterward. We read books every night, and they both enjoy that time too. We say prayer at meals and at night, and Sasha has learned when to say "Amen". She is very cute.

Life is moving very fast right now, and we look forward to getting into this new routine now that MaryEllen is back to work today, so Papa took care of breakfast and getting the kids ready solo. So far so good, by God's grace.

Happy Easter

We have been home for just over two weeks now and we still look at each other and are amazed we are the parents of these two little girls. Wow! MaryEllen has been sick with a bad cold the last week, and that has taken some of the fun out of staying home with the girls. Even so, we have been enjoying the challenges and joys of being parents. Free time has become something of the past. Our lives now revolve around these little beauties. Sasha is doing better about going to bed, and we are not pushing the afternoon nap. Dasha was doing better, but now is cutting another tooth, so she is cranky at times. She is so good about sleeping, we can't help but think this won't last much longer. You just lay her down and poof, she is asleep. She is walking all over the place, and getting quicker each day.

Sasha and I went to church on Sunday and spent the morning in Sunday School. She was apprehenive for the first 30 minutes, but relaxed after that and did fine. I stayed the whole time, and will eventually leave her in the care of the teachers who are great. With Easter coming up this weekend, I don't know what we will do with the girls. Maybe we will go to the crying room again like we did our first week back.

The weather has kept us inside most of this week, but we did get out this last weekend some, and the girls loved it. We have a great park down the street, and our neighbor who is 9 loves to be out with the girls. With so many kids in the neighborhood, I think the girls will fit right in.

Both girls are doing well adjusting, and have stayed healthy dispite MaryEllen's cold. They are eating well, and enjoying their new life in the U.S. Sasha is speaking some English, but we can't always understand it. Then she will throw in some baby Russian and MaryEllen and I will just look at each other and shrug.

Bonding is going along fine, but it is clear that the real emotional bonding will take time. There is no rushing this process, and what we read is it takes about 6 months. We are spending as much time as possible with them, and love and care for them as best we can. Both girls seem to go to any adult, especially women, which is part of the bonding problem. They need to learn who Mommy and Papa are, and know that we will care for them no matter what. Knowning all this, I still think this is one of our biggest misconceptions. I don't think we really understood how hard the bonding process it, but we are making progress. It is hard to conceive what our lives and relationships will look like 6 months from now.

We plan to color Easter eggs this week in preparation for Easter Sunday. We don't want the girls to load up on candy, so we will limit the candy eggs, but what is Easter without some chocolate? Maybe I will give the chocolate to MaryEllen, she deserves it.

Have a blessed Easter