At Home with Lera - Week One

In some ways, we can't believe it has been a week since Lera has been home - but in others, we can; she seems to be settling in very well. We are still in our family 'honeymoon' phase (presuming it is indeed a phase, since to this point, everything has gone SO much better than we'd ever dreamed it could).

(Pam decorated our house for Lera's homecoming!)

Aidan and Kristin just love being with Lera, and the feeling is mutual. It is wonderful to see them laughing and having fun together. Here are a few observations and random thoughts from Week One:

(First ride in the car seat; playing with the balloons from Pam)

It has been fun for all of us to see Lera experience so many things for the first time. It still blows our minds that literally everything in her world is different and new to her. Both things and concepts - for example:

The concept of "more" - she will eat amazing quantities of food, and clearly feels empowered by signing or saying "more." Didn't have that option at the Baby House, we're guessing.

Playing one-on-one - for example, with her little puzzle. At first, I think it bugged her when we'd try to play too; she'd shoo us away with her hand. But now, she loves it and celebrates small victories with a high five.

Sippy cups and straws - all kinds of fun ways to drink! When she arrived, she wanted to drink from a cup, but now she asks one of the kids to give her a straw. We gave her a sippy cup with water to take to bed, which seemed to be a big deal! It was cute to see her try to get comfy with a death-grip on a cup; she didn't want to let go for even a second.

Having choices - it catches her a little off-guard when we give her a choice (apple or banana? which puzzle?) It was fun to see her realize that she could pick, and get what she wanted! (Probably not used to having her opinion matter...)

"If I call you, you will come." We played a little role-modeling game in her bed when she arrived, to teach her that if she needs help in the night, we will come. She uses this new 'power' sparingly, but the look of delight when we come makes waking up in the middle of the night worthwhile. (That, and the fact that she has only awakened us once each night, to take her to the potty - go girl!)

Running water in the sink. Of course they had running water in Kaz, but just leaving it on an extra minute or so for her to play in, is a huge treat for her. They probably didn't let them do that at the Baby House.

We have also appreciated some of the positive traits she picked up at the Baby House setting -

• Cleaning up. She likes things neat, orderly and in their place - and is happy to help do whatever it takes to clean up. If she gets a drop of food on the table, she stops cold until I wipe it up. She will take anything we ask her to, to the trash can...gotta love that!



• Routines are huge. You can set a clock by her - whether it's snack at 10am, lunch at noon, snack at 4pm; she'll sign or say "eat." And if we get her to nap or bed on time, things go pretty smoothly too. She also reminds me to wash hands after every snack (whether she needs it or not).


• Being far more aware of her self and her surroundings, than we remember either Aidan or Kristin being at age 2. For example - she gets her own shoes, feeds herself, and anticipates what we'll do next and tries to help. We are happy to see her be a little less self-reliant of late, and view this as a good sign (she's not on her own any more).

One last thing - Russ and I have been busting with pride all week about how great Aidan and Kristin have been. They continue to be eager to help us and her, and to play with her; they crave "alone time with Lera." Aidan seems to have decided it is his full-time job to crack her up, and Kristin is quite the nurturer. What a delight to see! Here are a few pix from the past 6 days:

(Kristin helps pick her outfits each day)

(first bath - hated it!)

(second bath - loved it!)