Home for 7 weeks
Hello everyone!
I guess you could guess that I've been a little bit busy lately. I haven't found time to update my blog in a while. I just thought I'd tell a little about our little Sophie. We are so amazed at how well she is doing. It is almost like she does not remember being anywhere else. I was so prepared for lots of trouble with bonding issues and attachment disorders. SO FAR, I see no signs of that. She loves her mama and daddy very much. One day I will be her favorite, the next day Lee will be her favorite. (My biological boys did the same thing when they were little.) She treats Jordan and Chase the same way. They realize that and every morning they try to beat each other to get to Sophie first. Chase said, "I want to pick her up from her crib so she will pick me today." She doesn't want me to leave her in the nursery at church. This is good. This is what we want. BUT... offer her a piece of candy and she'll go with anyone.
When we first got home I looked for signs of post institutionalized problems. I wanted to blame every little tantrum on the fact that she was an orphan. Everytime she grabbed something from another child, I blamed it on being an orphan. But, I've sat back and watched other children about her same age. You know, she doesn't act that bad. I've seen her at her worst and it is not any different than other children her age. I know she learned how to survive in the orphanage, and she didn't really have anyone to teach her how she should behave. I know she developed some bad habits there, but they are getting so much better.
Food is starting to become an issue with Sophie. At first, she loved all this new American food. But now she is becoming more picky. I can barely get her to eat any meat at all. Plus, everywhere we go, someone is giving her candy. She thinks that everyone who comes in our house is bringing her candy. I guess I wouldn't eat those old mashed potatoes either if I knew I could hold out for a Snickers bar. Every night at dinner has become a little of a struggle. So we're asking everyone to stop giving her candy and cookies all of the time. We will give her these goodies after she has had her meals. I do try to keep food out for her so that she knows that there will always be food for her. She loves fruit, so I have that out for her to see. (She pokes her fingers in all of my bananas!) I've cleaned out my candy drawer, so she isn't tempted with that. One trick I have found is that swaddling her like a baby and feeding her in my lap does get her to eat more. She really likes to be swaddled. I guess that goes back to what the experts tell me about taking her back to a newborn and bringing her forward. (Just thought I'd tell that for any other adopting mothers.)
Sophie is starting to talk a little more every day. She repeats anything you tell her and then out of the blue, she will come up and say something that I didn't know she knew. She doesn't say the ends of some words, but I think that will come. For instance, instead of saying, "bite, please" she says, "bi pee".
Sophie is almost potty trained. YEAH! I haven't changed a dirty diaper in about 4 weeks. YEAH! She still wets her pull ups, but that is ok with me. It makes going to Wal-Mart easier.
Speaking of Wal-Mart, the girl loves to shop! It took her about 10 seconds to figure out that if you want something, throw it in the back of the buggy (shopping cart for anyone outside of Alabama). She loves tags. When we go through the clothes, she will say, "Oh boy, tags!" Then she tries to rip them off of the clothes. If she ever gets one, she will hold it all the way through the store. She doesn't want anything else then. She is easy to please. You'd think I'd keep a tag or two in my purse, huh? Might save me some money.
When we first met Sophie, I wrote back to my boys and told them that they were going to love Sophie because she wasn't a girly-girl. She didn't like dolls, and she acted like a little Tom-boy. I was wrong! She is very girly. Now that she knows what to do with them, she LOVES her dolls. They are all named La La. She kisses them, feeds them, and tells them, "no, no". Sophie also loves jewelry, shoes, and pretty dresses. She loves to get dressed up and look in the mirror. She'll say, "Oh, how pretty!" when she gets dressed up and has bows in her hair. She puts on her make-up (lotion) when I do, and she likes for me to paint her toe nails when she sits on the comode. I paint one time, the next I take it off. And she loves to dance! I guess that is the cutest thing she does. I don't care where we are, if she hears music, she'll dance. She will try to imitate anything that Chase or Jordan does. She makes the cutest expressions with her face and she can shake her fanny better than any cheerleader I know! Oh, and I've taught her a couple of cheerleader stunts and she even tries to do the motions to cheers. Lee says I'm determined to make a cheerleader out of her. Well, I bet she's going to be too short for basketball!
SHE IS SO ADORABLE! Whenever we are out, people always come up and comment on how beautiful my little girl is. It's fun to watch people make over her. Then when I tell them, "This is my new daughter, I've just adopted her from Ukraine." They all just go on and on about her. Some people say that they can't believe she's adopted because she looks so much like me or my boys. I guess you can tell that I'm having a ball with my little girl.
I know I should tell everyone the "issues" we are facing as an adopted family. But right now, if there are any issues, they are so minor and insignificant, that they are hardly worth mentioning. I don't see anything in Sophie that I've not seen in my boys or other kids her age. I'm sure things will come up in the future, but we'll face it then. I guess I think about what my dad says all of the time. Kids just need love more than anything else. Just love her and you can take care of all of the other stuff that comes up. You know, I've read lots of adoption manuals over the past year, and I think dad says it better than any of them.
I guess you could guess that I've been a little bit busy lately. I haven't found time to update my blog in a while. I just thought I'd tell a little about our little Sophie. We are so amazed at how well she is doing. It is almost like she does not remember being anywhere else. I was so prepared for lots of trouble with bonding issues and attachment disorders. SO FAR, I see no signs of that. She loves her mama and daddy very much. One day I will be her favorite, the next day Lee will be her favorite. (My biological boys did the same thing when they were little.) She treats Jordan and Chase the same way. They realize that and every morning they try to beat each other to get to Sophie first. Chase said, "I want to pick her up from her crib so she will pick me today." She doesn't want me to leave her in the nursery at church. This is good. This is what we want. BUT... offer her a piece of candy and she'll go with anyone.
When we first got home I looked for signs of post institutionalized problems. I wanted to blame every little tantrum on the fact that she was an orphan. Everytime she grabbed something from another child, I blamed it on being an orphan. But, I've sat back and watched other children about her same age. You know, she doesn't act that bad. I've seen her at her worst and it is not any different than other children her age. I know she learned how to survive in the orphanage, and she didn't really have anyone to teach her how she should behave. I know she developed some bad habits there, but they are getting so much better.
Food is starting to become an issue with Sophie. At first, she loved all this new American food. But now she is becoming more picky. I can barely get her to eat any meat at all. Plus, everywhere we go, someone is giving her candy. She thinks that everyone who comes in our house is bringing her candy. I guess I wouldn't eat those old mashed potatoes either if I knew I could hold out for a Snickers bar. Every night at dinner has become a little of a struggle. So we're asking everyone to stop giving her candy and cookies all of the time. We will give her these goodies after she has had her meals. I do try to keep food out for her so that she knows that there will always be food for her. She loves fruit, so I have that out for her to see. (She pokes her fingers in all of my bananas!) I've cleaned out my candy drawer, so she isn't tempted with that. One trick I have found is that swaddling her like a baby and feeding her in my lap does get her to eat more. She really likes to be swaddled. I guess that goes back to what the experts tell me about taking her back to a newborn and bringing her forward. (Just thought I'd tell that for any other adopting mothers.)
Sophie is starting to talk a little more every day. She repeats anything you tell her and then out of the blue, she will come up and say something that I didn't know she knew. She doesn't say the ends of some words, but I think that will come. For instance, instead of saying, "bite, please" she says, "bi pee".
Sophie is almost potty trained. YEAH! I haven't changed a dirty diaper in about 4 weeks. YEAH! She still wets her pull ups, but that is ok with me. It makes going to Wal-Mart easier.
Speaking of Wal-Mart, the girl loves to shop! It took her about 10 seconds to figure out that if you want something, throw it in the back of the buggy (shopping cart for anyone outside of Alabama). She loves tags. When we go through the clothes, she will say, "Oh boy, tags!" Then she tries to rip them off of the clothes. If she ever gets one, she will hold it all the way through the store. She doesn't want anything else then. She is easy to please. You'd think I'd keep a tag or two in my purse, huh? Might save me some money.
When we first met Sophie, I wrote back to my boys and told them that they were going to love Sophie because she wasn't a girly-girl. She didn't like dolls, and she acted like a little Tom-boy. I was wrong! She is very girly. Now that she knows what to do with them, she LOVES her dolls. They are all named La La. She kisses them, feeds them, and tells them, "no, no". Sophie also loves jewelry, shoes, and pretty dresses. She loves to get dressed up and look in the mirror. She'll say, "Oh, how pretty!" when she gets dressed up and has bows in her hair. She puts on her make-up (lotion) when I do, and she likes for me to paint her toe nails when she sits on the comode. I paint one time, the next I take it off. And she loves to dance! I guess that is the cutest thing she does. I don't care where we are, if she hears music, she'll dance. She will try to imitate anything that Chase or Jordan does. She makes the cutest expressions with her face and she can shake her fanny better than any cheerleader I know! Oh, and I've taught her a couple of cheerleader stunts and she even tries to do the motions to cheers. Lee says I'm determined to make a cheerleader out of her. Well, I bet she's going to be too short for basketball!
SHE IS SO ADORABLE! Whenever we are out, people always come up and comment on how beautiful my little girl is. It's fun to watch people make over her. Then when I tell them, "This is my new daughter, I've just adopted her from Ukraine." They all just go on and on about her. Some people say that they can't believe she's adopted because she looks so much like me or my boys. I guess you can tell that I'm having a ball with my little girl.
I know I should tell everyone the "issues" we are facing as an adopted family. But right now, if there are any issues, they are so minor and insignificant, that they are hardly worth mentioning. I don't see anything in Sophie that I've not seen in my boys or other kids her age. I'm sure things will come up in the future, but we'll face it then. I guess I think about what my dad says all of the time. Kids just need love more than anything else. Just love her and you can take care of all of the other stuff that comes up. You know, I've read lots of adoption manuals over the past year, and I think dad says it better than any of them.
posted by LeeandShannan @ 8:58 PM
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