Jon and Shari's Ukrainian Adventure......... Our Life With Deanna

The Fashion Show

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:09:00 +0000

Deanna and her best friend from school were in a fashion show at Nordstrom!
They got to pick out their own outfits, and they had a great time.
Before the show there was music playing and Deanna was practicing her diva walk on the runway and dancing. Fortunately when the show actually took place she was a little more subdued but not too shy. My good friend Debbie was nice enough to take some great pictures for us!

Afterward it was on to the last soccer game of the year. Just in time for the heavy rains to arrive. Now we can just focus on gymnastics for a while... and getting ready for the holidays!

Halloween Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:04:00 +0000

This year Deanna was a princess for Halloween! She loved wearing the make-up of course. You can't see in the pictures but she has a fiber optic pony tail that lights up.

She got to wear her costume to school and trick or treating the next night.

She got plenty of candy and thankfully it was gone in a couple days.

But thinking she is a princess is still going on!

The Pumpkin Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:09:00 +0000

The kindergarten class went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. We went on a hay ride, through a corn maze, etc. while it was pouring down rain the whole time. So no pictures, too wet to even get the camera out.

So the boys agreed to go with Deanna to the pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin on a nicer day.

We actually went on Halloween Day to a place right by our house, and there were plenty of pumpkins left. Deanna and I carved them later and they turned out great.

The Gymnast

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:12:00 +0000

Deanna is really loving gymnastics, and is quickly progressing. When I found out they make a home gymnastics bar I had to get one for her. Being a former gymnast, I would have loved to have this when I was young. We don't have a play structure so she needs things to burn some energy. She doesn't have great arm strength, but this should do the trick.

Our Newest Addition

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:45:00 +0000

We have recently added a third dog to our happy dog-loving family! This was not something we intended to do, but we learned of an elderly couple entering an assisted living facility who were looking for a good home for their 10 month old puppy. She is a purebred pekingese, housebroken, crate trained, with shots and been spayed. She is very sweet and gentle, and of course Deanna LOOOOOVES her. What more could you ask for.

A girl and her dog

Someone else loves the dog too

Last month Jeremy and Jordan, along with Jordan's friend Dave moved to an apartment. Boo Hoo!! (I still have hopes they will come back at some point)

Jeremy has not lived here full time for three years, but this is the first time they both are gone. We do miss them very much, but the groceries do last much longer. Also, they don't live far away and still come back to help with Deanna when we are at work. I appreciate that VERY MUCH!!!!

Picture courtesy of Deanna

Deanna is loving kindergarten and reading sentences. I think her reading skills will pass up her verbal skills! Verbally however she is making great progress. We continue to go to private speech therapy weekly and have just started speech therapy at the elementary school. Deanna has great writing and art skills but she has trouble sitting still and keeping her hands to herself during "carpet" time. She also has trouble keeping her hands off things she likes. Many, many times I hear "she sure has a lot of energy". I still think this is all due to lack of experience rather than ADHD. It sure is hard to be still when you are so darn happy!

HOME A YEAR AND A HALF

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:10:00 +0000

We have been home with our daughter for a year and a half, but it really seems like forever. She has gone from a friendly, non-verbal, toddler, to a friendly, outgoing, talkative (but not always completely understandable) little lady.

She is very athletic and has been called a tomboy, but she is really all girl at heart. She loves dressing up and playing with makeup and jewelry. She always says "I want to be just like you mama, all grown up". I tell her to just have fun being a little girl, she will be grown up soon enough!

Socially she is doing great. She loves to play with friends, and prefers this to anything else. She can make a new friend anywhere she goes. Sometimes she comes on a little too strong with people she doesn't know so we have been working on boundaries and taking clues from people.

She loves to go to school and is always ready to go on time. She is great at writing, and beginning to read. Sitting still and listening are a bit more difficult, but progress is being made.

At this point she remembers no Russian at all. She really lost it very quickly because she never spoke it. She has been able to verbalize some memories of the orphanage or "the green building" as we refer to it. She remembers some punishments, as well the the ghost in the bedroom that would get you if you got out of bed. I guess that's how they kept 13 children in the same room from getting up.

She likes frequent reassurance that she is always going to be with us, which we happily give. She is very affectionate and tells us she loves us many times a day. Can't get too much of that!

More Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:25:00 +0000

We had our first soccer game last weekend. Deanna made at least 6 goals! (we don't keep score) She really enjoys it. I heard a parent from the other team say "that girl is gooood!"
We have been enjoying really warm weather so far this fall. I'll appreciate it now because soon enough we will be watching soccer in the pouring rain. Maybe her brothers can catch a game sometime....hint hint.

Look Who's Six!

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:52:00 +0000

Deanna had a fun sixth birthday. She loves the attention. Her birthday was Friday, so she had cupcakes at school with her friends. Then we took her out to Red Robin for dinner where she enjoyed being sung to.

On Saturday we had a nice family birthday party. She loved all of her gifts and she told me "I'm so happy I got so many toys!" We got her a Disney Princess clock radio that tells stories. She really loved this. I taught her to stay in bed in the morning until the clock said 08:00! It worked!

Its so nice to see such a happy girl celebrating her birthday for only the second time in her life.

Back to School

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:57:00 +0000

Hanging out at the Beach

Love that Rosie!!!

We finished up the summer with some fun time at the beach. Deanna and I started out the trip and Jon joined us a couple days later. Deanna has discovered miniature golf and kite flying. We all had a great time and enjoyed great weather.

Today was the first day of Kindergarten! Deanna is going to a private kindergarten, with a small class size and a great teacher. She really needs to be back in school as she is getting bored. She was very happy to go this morning and saw some old friends from preschool. They seemed to get a lot of things done at school today. I think it will be a productive year.

Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Deanna has started playing soccer this fall. I signed her up for the exercise and socialization but she shows some promise. She is a good runner, coordinated and tough. Now if she will just stop socializing during the actual game and remember which goal she is aiming for we will be great!

End of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Summer is almost over and I think Deanna will be ready to go back to school, I know I am ready! She is getting bored and needing to see some old friends. We have been keeping organized activities to a minimum but soccer and gymnastics will soon be starting up.
Deanna has not been going to daycare all month because Jeremy has been watching her instead. This has been very good for the both of them and Deanna says "I want my Richie to babysit me, I loooove my Richie!" He tries to do activities with her but he's still not brave enough to take her anywhere.
We have been going to weekly speech therapy and making steady progress. I am hopeful that within the next year she can catch up to age level (or close). She speaks a lot better at home when she is relaxed that when talking to others. This fall she will continue with private speech therapy and begin sessions at the public elementary school.
The boys are moving out to their own apartment next week, along with Jordan's friend Dave. I love having them around but anxious to get the whole house clean and organized when all of their junk is gone. It will be nice to not have to pick up after them, not to mention the lower food bill! Deanna will miss them VERY much but they are not moving far and they have promised to help with childcare.
My sister, Deanna and I (along with our 4 dogs) went to the beach for a few days and had some nice girl time. It will be even more enjoyable when Deanna is a better shopper!
We have one final beach trip planned and then we'll be back for the first day of school on September 2nd. Deanna's birthday is coming up and she finally knows her birthday is September 4! It will be her second birthday party!
I'll post some misc. summer pictures soon.

Camping Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:38:00 +0000

We recently returned from our annual camping trip with a group of our friends and their kids. About 40 people in all! This was Deanna's 2nd time, so she was a pro. She loves to swim and is fearless in diving in deep water (with live jacket), riding on inner tubes, and fast moving wave runners. She and our lab Rosie enjoy swimming together but we had to remind Deanna that she could not "ride" Rosie in the water. A Big thanks to everyone for helping entertain the youngest member of the group. We really appreciate it!

Family Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:03:00 +0000

Leslie and Lucas, bride and groom

Our niece Leslie recently married her boyfriend Lucas. They were married on the campus of the University of Oregon, a true "Duck" wedding. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. We were all there and dressed up, but I didn't get a family picture.

Deanna and her brothers.

Deanna and her Daddy

Jeremy and Mom
How do you get that boy to smile??

Showing off hair and dress

Swimming Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:43:00 +0000

Deanna has been having fun in swimming lessons. She is very comfortable in the water and eager to learn. She will be getting lots of practice swimming on our upcoming camping trip. She passed her class but her teacher wrote on her report card under things to work on, "listening to instructions and keeping hands to herself". Boy did she nail that assessment! I didn't get any good action shots but here are a few of her modeling her swim suit.

Healing

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Since the surgery Deanna has had a few minor complications, but now is on the way to recovery. Several days after the operation her incision seemed too red to me. I had been religiously cleaning it 5 times a day as directed by our plastic surgeon. I wasn't sure if it was becoming infected or just irritated from the cleanings. I finally decided it looked too bad, so I called the doctor. She wanted us to come in that day, and she agreed it was infected. They also took out some stitches. She was started on some antibiotics and it began to improve slightly. But, a day and a half later it looked worse again. She was put on different antibiotics and it slowly has improved. I had to remove some sutures from the inside of her lip and it has been healing better since then.
Her nose looks very good. It is much less flat on one side and the nostril is really lifted and rounder. It is still sore but the swelling is gone.
We kept her home for a week and a half but this week she went to day camp at the church. She really needed the activity and had a great time. Next week she starts swimming lessons. She is back to her old energy level and is in need to things to do!

Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:58:00 +0000

On Wednesday, June 10, Deanna had surgery for "cleft scar revision, cleft rhinoplasty, (and bilateral ear piercing)". The last thing on the list was Deanna's only objective! When the anesthesiologist came in to talk to us and verify the procedure being done (scar revision, etc) Deanna sat up and said "no, my earrings!" and showed them to him. Everyone at the hospital was really great. Yea Doernbecher!

This was a day procedure and we were home in 8 hours. The surgery itself lasted almost 3 hours. They reattached muscles on her lip, to make them straighter and removed the zigzag scar to create a straighter one. Her lip line was also evened out. Her flatter nostril was lifted and reshaped some. It looks pretty good as the swelling goes down but it will take a while to see the final product. Overall everything went very well, but she has been quite swollen and sore. The stitches go from inside her nose all the way down her lip and inside her mouth. She was barely able to smile due to the swelling, what a difference. We are so use to her happy face all the time! We have had to clean and apply ointment to the wound 5 times a day. We (I) have been quite diligent but the scar still seems red to me. Hopefully there will be some improvement soon. The earrings on the other hand look great!

Now for the 6 weeks of no contact sports or tumbling. Swimming pool here we come.

Watching cartoons after surgery.

Beginning of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:15:00 +0000

Deanna loves to hang around with Jordan and his friends! They are quite tolerant. Here with Breanna, Dave and Ericka. They have had some campfires in our back yard and Deanna was allowed to attend for a short while.

Deanna still refers to Jordan as "my O". Jon was making her say Jordan, and she is able, but she then said, "Jordan, I just call you O".

So "O" it is.

Jeremy will soon be moving home for the summer. If he doesn't find a job soon I told him he will be my free baby sitter. Hope she likes staying up late, surfing the internet, and video games. Oh yeah, I guess she does! Deanna loves her "Richie" even though he is by far the biggest teaser.

Someone loves to have their nails polished. To the extent of being obsessed with nail polish. This has resulted in some messes in the house. As a result she is not supposed to ever touch the nail polish herself, and I try to keep it out of reach. This night I did her hands and feet for a special occasion the next day. She was so excited and is showing them off in the pictures. The next morning I found her playing with the same nail polish, trying to touch them up! Needless to say the beautiful polish had to come off and she has been bare since.

Gymnastics is probably our first love. She now is inventing routines involving dance moves and tumbling. Look at that extension!

T-ball is coming along as well. Her last game she was 3 for 3 hitting from a pitcher! Tonight was to be her final game of the season but a sudden thunder and lightening storm cancelled the game. She actually was quite disappointed.

Deanna's surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday the 10th. It will be an outpatient procedure and hopefully not too unpleasant. She is not looking forward to it, so we don't dwell on it. The hard part will be 6 weeks of no contact activities or tumbling. Swimming is okay after 2 weeks so I have signed her up for some lessons. I may take her away to the beach house for some quiet time right after the surgery. (I think I may need it!) Maybe we'll break out the nail polish.

PreSchool Graduation

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:48:00 +0000

The preschool year has officially ended. Deanna has learned so much this year and has made many friends. They had a nice program and a ceremony at the church. Deanna will be attending kindergarten there next year so she will already be accustomed to everything. I think she looks very grown up in these pictures!

Preschool program, shes the "mouse" in black.

Getting her certificate from her teacher.

The whole class.

Celebrating with friends!

Catching Up

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:31:00 +0000

We have just been busy with the regular routine! Preschool, gymnastics, t-ball, speech therapy, and just playing. Jeremy came home for mother's day weekend so the whole family was together. Deanna loves her brothers despite the teasing! (Jeremy is the biggest teaser).
Deanna has surgery scheduled the first part of June to revise her lip scar. This is something that is commonly done with cleft lip repair, and usually before kids start school. It will just be a day surgery. She is aware of this upcoming procedure and is not too pleased. She says "I don't want my lip cut, I'll just stay home with my Mama". We have told her she can get her ears pierced at the same time, and this has helped to give her something positive to look forward to. She has really wanted pierced ears and is excited for this. I think after the surgery when she looks in the mirror she will focus on her new earrings and not a bandaged lip!

Deanna had some pictures taken at the tulip festival, courtesy of my friend Debbie. This is a preview, stay tuned for more.

MEXICO!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:09:00 +0000

We just returned from our family vacation to Mexico. This is already Deanna's 2nd trip to Mexico, as it is a favorite vacation destination of ours. This year Jon's brother Mike and his wife Lori shared a suite with us. My parents, my sister and several other friends also made the trip, and they had the pleasure of staying in the penthouse suite. Jeremy and Jordan opted out this year due to school, work, and social obligations. I really missed them, we haven't gone without them before.

Deanna was the only kid in our group, but she seemed to make a friend everywhere we went. At our resort she met several friends at the pool. They swam and participated in many activities together, such as pinatas, coloring contest, watermelon eating contest, dart tournament, bingo, etc. A five year old boy and a five year old girl in particular were good buddies. The girl actually lives in our area and we were on the same plane on the way home. Language being no barrier for Deanna she also made friends with some Mexican children. One little girl she played with for quite some time while we were dining in an outdoor restaurant.

Vacation may not be very relaxing, but always full of fun and excitement with Deanna around.

Mexico cont....

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:00:00 +0000

T-Ball

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:16:00 +0000

DeAnna has started to play t-ball this spring. She really seems to enjoy it, and tackles it with her usual enthusiasm. She is beginning to learn the rules of the game, with the rest of the kids on the team. Her first inning in the field, she got the ball and proceeded to do a happy dance, neglecting to throwing the ball to first base. The kids all fight to field the balls and DeAnna is usually in the middle of the pile. Players be warned, if you bump heads she won't be the one to come up crying!

Gymnastics

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:10:00 +0000

DeAnna continues to enjoy gymnastics. She routinely practices tumbling in the living room, or wherever she may be. Sometimes she'll spontaneously do a little dance number and it looks like a real floor exercise routine, Olga Korbet style! She also has a soul mate in gymnastics class. A little girl who is just as spirited and affectionate, so the hugging is very mutual. This girl has been known to say "DeAnna, I love you". I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

Spring Program

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:00:00 +0000

DeAnna had her spring program at preschool last night. Her class was dressed as ducks and they sang a little song. None of the pictures came out very well because we were too far away.
I did get some pictures of DeAnna before the event. She was so excited to get ready to "go sing with her friends" that she was ready way too early. Soon she was tumbling in her dress in the living room!

Naturally wavy hair!!!

She's the duck in the middle.

ONE YEAR HOME

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:52:00 +0000

We have been home from Ukraine and had DeAnna in our family for a full year now. Everything has turned out so much better than we could have ever hoped for. DeAnna has such a huge, outgoing personality you would never think she spent her first 4 1/2 years in a desolate orphanage.

She is very bonded with her family and is wonderfully affectionate to all of us. She loves her "Papa" and she asks him every night, "Papa do you go to work tomorrow?" If he says yes she carries on "Oh Papa no!, why? I want Papa home! If he says no she says "Oh Papa, I'm so happy!" followed by many kisses.

She loves her brother Jordan, and she sees him just about every day. She calls him her "O". She does not get to see Jeremy "Richie" as often, but she frequently says she misses him and wants to talk to him. He is good about talking to her on the phone. They enjoy playing with her and teasing her as big brothers do.

She still has some issues with being overly friendly to strangers. We have been working on understanding "stranger danger" and respecting the personal space of people she knows. Although she has made a lot of progress in this area we still have to watch her like a hawk in public.

In the past year DeAnna has grown about 5 1/2 inches and gained about 4 pounds. Her hair has gone from short and falling out, to thick and wavy. She is very healthy and has only had a couple of colds. She had her palate repaired and tubes placed in her ears last May. She will have scar revision surgery on her lip probably early this summer.

Speech therapy has been by far the biggest issue. She went from non-verbal to speaking in short sentences in the past 9 months. Speech does not come easily to her and we have had to work very hard to get to this point. She is so great at communicating, this has actually hindered her motivation to speak. I think it is quite interesting watching her learn to talk. It is apparent that she missed a big developmental stage in language and really has to work to form the pathways from brain to mouth.

DeAnna has endless energy and is especially excited around friends. She sleeps well all night but she NEVER falls asleep anywhere except in her bed. When she is tired she is more active.

DeAnna likes to test her limits but is very directable and likes to please. She sometimes gets frustrated but has never had a tantrum or any kind of "meltdown" (since the plane trip from Ukraine).

She is doing great in preschool this year. She has learned a lot and she feels secure and well accepted there. We will be sending her to kindergarten at the same place next year. I have heard great things about the kindergarten teacher, and they have a longer day and much smaller class size than our public school.

DeAnna loves her gymnastics class and she practices at home all the time. She definitely needs the physical outlet! She is also going to play t-ball this spring. The boys played baseball for many years and it will be fun to go back to the field! DeAnna also shows some potential in this area, but I really would just like her to meet some little girls in our area.

People often say what a lucky girl she is, but we know the truth, we are the lucky ones.