This and that...

A bike ride with all six of us the day after Christmas.

A fort made of boxes for the boys. All 3 boys are inside. 

Irina just rode her bike around and around in the driveway while they pretended.

 Our days are smoother when there is lots of activity and adventure, especially if I'm engaged in their adventure. We have spent a lot of time outside and at parks together. I'm usually freezing and Irina is hot. Her internal thermostat is quite different. What is she going to do during our hot summers? Hopefully she'll adjust. The days when I actually try to accomplish simple tasks like laundry, food prep or cleaning are more difficult. 

We had the great opportunity to visit with a girl from Irina's orphanage who is being hosted this Christmas by a nearby family. Irina was very excited and gave Natasha (on the right) all her Ukrainian coins. Such a generous heart! Irina also worked busily to make pictures for Natasha to bring back to other friends at the orphanage.  If you know of anyone interested in adoption, both Natasha (11) and her brother Vladimir (13) are looking for a home in America. Please contact me for more information.  I'm glad we got to see Natasha, but it triggered some sadness and teary nights for Irina. 

 On the left, Ethan can climb anything. He doesn't need branches to scale a tree!

On the right, do you see the hidden spy keeping an eye on things with his binoculars?

We have to continue to remember that although Irina is in a 10 year old body, her developmental age is much younger. We've had to start back at the beginning. She loves to be cradled in our laps and carried around like a baby. She loves to play with her baby dolls and pretend to be a baby herself. A ride down the street in the wagon with Daddy pulling? You bet!! A certain 9 and 7 year old wished they were getting a ride. ;) She'll catch up and it won't take 10 years. These nurturing times are very important for her development since she likely missed out on all that in her childhood. 

 We started back to school on Monday. I hoped to take one more week off like the public schools, but we needed the structure that school provides. I love that our cowboy got dressed up for the occasion. I think we hit the jackpot with his gift. :) Irina is improving in her fine motor skills. She loved putting these golf tees in styrofoam and balancing marbles on top. 

She loves school, but I struggle to come up with enough activities. She is always in a hurry. She is learning letter sounds very quickly, but still demands a lot of one on one help for most other activities. Her favorite phrase to say to me is "No, Mommy." Sometimes she says "no", but then does what I've asked her to do. Many times she refuses to do what I've asked her to do. Yesterday I was shocked when she actually said, "Yes, Mommy" and then she actually did what I asked!! I squealed with delight and she ran and gave me a kiss. Progress? sure!

So glad she enjoys nature walks and running!

Our little explorer dressed for the adventure. 

 The boys love to explore trails with water, sticks and dirt. 

She seemed equally happy to splash the stick in the water. 

Today marks 4 weeks since we have been home from Ukraine and 39 days of having a daughter. Sometimes it feels like she has always been a part of our family. She meshes with the boys quite well. 

I need to remember what a blessing her friendship with the boys is.