fall

fall

family pic

family pic
Family 2009

Trip to Ukraine

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Very Happy and Busy

Today Deanna received a birthday gift from her friend Sophia, who was adopted from the same orphanage in Ukraine! They were best friends in the orphanage and we met and are keeping in touch with Sophia and her family through the internet. She was so excited about this bear and hugged it repeatedly and said "so happy". It will be fun for the girls to keep in contact because they have so much in common!

We have been really busy getting into a routine with our fall schedule. Deanna has preschool 3 mornings a week, daycare 1/2 day, speech therapy 2 times a week, and gymnastics.
She is really enjoying preschool and I can tell she has already learned a lot. One of the teachers has told me several times how much they enjoy having her in the classroom, commenting that "her enthusiasm is infectious". Even though she likes preschool, she says she likes daycare better! (Same location, different area) I know she really likes the teachers and the free playtime.
In addition to her private speech therapy we have added a group speech class with just 2 other children. Deanna seems to really like this class and encourages the other kids to talk as they are much more shy than she.
The gymnastics class is the most fun of all. It is very fast paced and she really loves it. She is about in the middle of the class as far as ability, so there is room for improvement!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

The Best Birthday Party!!!

We had a nice birthday party for Deanna with all of our family; aunts, uncles, grandparents, and some cousins. She had a good time planning it with me, picking out the invitations, food and cake. We wanted to make is special because it was her first birthday celebration ever.






















She received many very nice gifts which we appreciate very much!!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

DEANNA'S 5th BIRTHDAY

We had a great fun filled day for DeAnna's 5th birthday. It started out at her first gymnastics class. She had a great time and I was pleased at the fast pace of the class. I think she will learn a lot.












Then Jon and I took her to the zoo. Her first time of course, and she loved all the animals. The weather was beautiful and we got to see the new baby elephant!




















We then took her to Toys R Us and let her pick out a bike. She chose the Disney Princess model.


Then the whole family went out to dinner. They put a big sombrero on her head and sung happy birthday, she was all smiles!! Deanna had a very special and memorable first birthday with us.




Monday, September 1, 2008

Six Months Home







It has been six months since Deanna has joined our family. She has experienced so much and come so far in such a short time. Here are a few items of interest about Deanna.
She tends to wear too many clothes and always thinks she will be cold. When we first came home she would go to her room and put on tights and snow pants with a turtle neck and a sweater, on a warm day. I still have to hide her long pants on hot days or she will put them on every time.
She would always wear shoes and seemed to be afraid to get wet in the rain. Being an Oregonian now that has changed. Recently she ran through the grass barefoot during a summer downpour and was laughing hysterically.
She would never lounge around in pajamas in the morning, she would be fully dressed as soon as she woke up. She'll lounge for a while now but still does not ever want to put PJ's on until she is actually going to bed. She changes her clothes several times a day and even though she loves to get dressed up, she immediately changes into something casual when we get home.
The first day we were home she was TERRIFIED of the dogs. She is now a full fledged dog lover and says "nice" and "ahhhh" every time she sees a dog, and wants to kiss and hug them extensively. (She likes cats too)
Her English comprehension is excellent and she can repeat most words now, (but speech of course is an ongoing project).
She has a great appetite and loves eggs, bananas, apples, cheese, chicken, rice, mac and cheese, potatoes, ice cream and of course her beloved wheat thins which she will glom onto in any store and hoard them all for herself. Vegetables are still a big negative and there are NONE that she likes. She will even pick miniscule carrots from chicken noodle soup.
She has grown 2 1/4 inches, gained 3 pounds, and expanded 2 1/2 shoe sizes. Her hair has grown quite a lot and has beautiful natural curl. She styles it many, many time a day in various pony tails and clips.
Behavior wise she is pretty good but likes to test her limits. She knows what she wants and loves to be the boss if at all possible. She often has trouble leaving things alone like cell phones, nail polish and anything belonging to Jordan. She really is very outgoing and happy almost all the time. Aside from getting frustrated by prolonged teasing from her brothers (whom she adores) she has never had any kind of a tantrum.
She fits into our family like she has always been here and she is perfect in our eyes!