Our Forever Family: One Week, One Day

We had another fun and exciting day with Deeana. It's amazing to think we have been here a week and a day. We have gone through so much and done so much since we got here. And now we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Deeana was brought down the stairs and taken outside by a caregiver in a very pretty yellow dress today. We, meaning all three of us, made sure we kept it clean or brushed it off.

We started our playtime in a quiet mode. We aren't sure if they wake Deeana up for our visits, or if she is just naturally sleepy in the morning. But she is quiet and timid... and we have never ever heard her get loud. Anyway, we sat on the bench in the playground in the front of the orphanage and started to read her a Care Bear book. She is learning from Daddy to follow the words with her finger when you read, and when we are finished with the book, we count stars or hearts or bears. We kept things simple and relaxing since it is a very hot day here today.

Eventually we moved onto something else (we have many toys in our bag and by now, I can't even remember what came next!). We figured she was thirsty, sitting on Daddy's lap and playing in the hot weather. So we pulled out an apple juice box. Her eyes light up brighter than the morning sun. She must have remembered this from our earlier visit and was eager for me to open it. She guzzled and guzzled while we talked to her and read more books.

We are learning that Deeana is very aware of her surroundings. At first I thought it was her having trouble concentrating, or being easily distracted. Don't get me wrong, she still plays with us, she's happy and content. But every once and awhile, she will turn her head and "poof" she's not paying attention anymore. But we now think she is just watching the strangers that are around - being overly cautious. Sometimes it's hard to get her attention when we are playing with her outside if other children are out as well. She is on constant watch, and we are always calling her name. We hope that once she comes home, we will have a calmer environment and she can relax and let her guard down.

Once all the children went in, we had about 30 minutes of Deeana all to ourselves (this is common). We played more sandbox. She almost rode the Cozy Coupe again, etc. We got a lot more hugs today and she realized that Mommy will pick her up if she puts her arms up in the air - Mommy has to be careful about that one as we don't want to spoil her. ;)
We also confirmed that she doesn't like heights - as Daddy tried to put her on his shoulders, she had a fearful look on her face. I had to lift Deeana off very fast and calm her down with hugs. She got over it quickly.

Anyway, we have a 4 day break and have to put up with a little Russian heatwave ourselves. We go back to the orphanage on Tuesday, and Deeana will most likely take her first car trip with her Mommy and Daddy to get her passport pictures taken. That should be interesting.

Until then, here is a little something to hold you over: