Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on our previous post. We cried as we read them and felt so loved and supported. It is hard to explain how lonely it truly is being on the other side of the world without any of our loved ones here to encourage us as we make the hardest decisions of our lives.
As we mentioned earlier Darina has a mild case of Cerebral Palsy. This effects the right side of her body while her left side works just perfectly. The muscles in her hand and leg are naturally tight so it takes more effort for her to use those muscles. Today we spent 3 hours at the baby house and were amazed by the progress we've seen her make in these few short visits we've had with her. We played with play-doh today and she used both hands voluntarily! She was also captivated by our baby genius DVD's and even did a little dancing. There is no question that she loves attention and we can see her learning and growing as a result. Please pray for her language development as this is one area that is still very scary for us. Of coarse we don't speak Russian so it's very hard to tell exactly where she's at.
We are taking everything in day by day and are enjoying getting to know this amazing little one.
Here are some more pictures from our day today :-)
Watching Baby Genius
She let me (Kari) put a clip in her hair today. Unfortunately, at 25 lbs, she doesn't fit in any of the 2T and 3T clothes we brought her. Kazakh shopping mall here we come!
She never gets tired of the slide
Look at my new scarf!
The Nose Game
The Chin Game...We also played the clapping game and the high five game :-)
More Fun at the top of the slide.
A doll dressed in traditional Kazakh clothing that we purchased as a keepsake.
10 comments:
AWWW She is a tiny one!! She is gorgeous! Hopefully that 12-18 months dress will fit her! I miss you best friend! How long until Ava D can leave the baby house?
I love the clip!!! So cute! My brother adopted twins from China, and they were very worried about their language because they were told "they don't talk"- well they are little chatter boxes! I think it is wonderful that you can see her grow and learn before your eyes with love and attention! :)
Hugs!
H Kari and James I can see your family and how wonderful you all look! Ava's hair looks so pretty she is a beautiful little love bug. 24 months or a size 2 would be the size she wears, Bella is the same for wearing smaller than her age. Ava will have hand me downs hwo fun! When will you be able to have her in your apartment, can you give us a time line yet I don't want to stress you about these things we want are praying for a smooth time from here out and we want you home safe and sound. Give Ava a hug form us and tell her we love her. Can you teach Ava sign language? James can draw the pictures for her to understand.
Love you,
Aunt Kristie
My granddaughter certainly is cute, thank you for picking her for me. After you give her lots of hugs from Aunt Kristie, give her some more from me, Aunti Cole and her cousins. We all love you and think of you all the time. Mom
She is so adorable. She just looks like the happiest kid and little does she know that her life is going to improve so much by having you as parents. It is hard for me to look at these pictures and know I cannot see and hold her for a few more weeks. Hopefully the days will fly by. I am so excited to meet this precious one!
I can't get over how cute she is!!! Her smile makes me smile. After I stared at her pictures while I worked all night-I then went home and dreamt about her! I can only imagine how excited you guys are. I will think many good thoughts regarding her developement/speaking, but honestly her face is so expressive-I do not believe that she will have any trouble communicating with you guys. The pictures of her with James make my heart melt-I don't know why but I think she resembles him and they just seem so father daughter like already. I hope you guys are getting to enjoy every minute you get with her-I bet it's hard when it is time for you to go! Keep the pictures coming-they brighten my nights at work!!
Kelly
Oh my goodness, I can feel the joy in your post. What a blessed family. Although at times you may feel lonely, please know there are lots of us here in the US who are cheering you along. Kindest regards, Susan from Austin
PS Ava is so cute--it's easy to see her spunk and energy. Get ready boys, there's a new girl on the block!
How exciting! Blessings don't feel complete unless you have people to share them with! It looks like you have a lot of supportive and loving people around you to share in your joy! Congratulations!!!
She is just perfect! :)
I was thinking about you guys a lot yesterday (probably had something to do with the fact that I was watching the Padres spank the Dodgers in AZ!) and I just wanted to say thank you for the updates.
We will keep praying and will continue to lift you guys up. We cannot wait to meet your sweet little one!!
Be blessed!
Great-grandpa Sherritt and me (G'ma Sandy) check the blog every day. We are awaiting the next one, to see pics of you three in the apartment. One post mentioned, "she doesn't know why" but Ava looks so much like James. Well, the reason is ... they both have the same haircut and hair color and they have the same eyes. Exactly! No one will think she was not meant to be yours. Thanks to Auntie Judy for allowing me to use her blog space! Your little girl sure is beautiful. We'll be waiting in a long line, it appears, (from the many blogs) to meet her and hold her on our laps.
Love to you, G'ma Sandy
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