Sunday, May 2, 2010

One Month Since Court!

I can't believe today is May 2nd, exactly one month after our final court date. A month ago today Shawn and I stood in a tiny court room in Ukraine holding hands experiencing new nerves and new excitement! Fast forward one month and we are home still wondering if this all really happened!

We've been so busy! Zoya took a trip with me to the school I teach at.  Everyone there was so happy to see her...she was like a celebrity for sure! She gave lots of hugs and waves and smiles.  Everyone just loved her :)  She was so excited to see all the kids.  She was just so curious and just kept staring in amazement! We were there for an hour and a half and could have stayed longer but Zoya was getting sleepy and still hadn't eaten lunch.  My 2nd graders were so excited to see me again and to meet Zoya.  I can't believe how much my kiddos grew in 6 weeks!

We had a photo shoot with Zoya's new bathing suits!


Yesterday we went down to the bayfront to visit our sailing buddies.  Shawn and I volunteer for an adaptive sailing program during the summers.  It's an awesome program and when Zoya is older she will have a chance to sail on Lake Erie every Friday:)  Our sailing group was meeting to work on the sail boats and get them ready for the start of the sailing season in June. 

Here are a couple pictures of Zoya in her first boat...not on the water though:)

Last night, we took Zoya to the mall for her first of many shopping trips.  We didn't buy much but she enjoyed looking at all the people and waving to them as they passed by.  Some people smiled at her and waved back and said "Oooo, how cute." Others just ignored her or looked at her funny.  I said to Shawn, come on, if you saw a cute baby waving at you would you NOT wave back??? Some people are just too busy to stop and smell the roses I guess! Zoya is changing the world one person at a a time :) When Zoya is in new places she mostly just stares with wide eyes taking it all in.  She loves being out and about and seeing new things.  I would imagine she would, especially after seeing only the 4 walls of her orphanage for almost two years!
Zoya really wanted to buy a riding lawn mower but Daddy said No! Hehe.

In the mall we went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner.  This little girl is always well behaved when food is involved.  She had a mini burger and some mashed potatoes :) She waved to everyone that passed by our table.  Are you seeing a common action here? Zoya waves to lots of people! She loves to get attention from others and we are so excited that she has learned an acceptable way to do so (instead of hitting/grabbing/biting-which we still see sometimes but fading). 
We had to buy a new Baby Einstein music toy as the one from Ukraine bit the dust from overuse! It is still her favorite toy and we take it with us to all new places incase she gets overwhelemed with the "newness." This toy seems to comfort her no matter where we are. 

Big girl standing herself up!

She loves shoes...

Zoya enjoys looking out windows and doors.

Zoya is starting to be nicer to Mya! In fact, last night I was laying on the floor and Mya snuggled her head into my neck and just layed there.  Zoya came over and nicely pushed Mya out of the way and did the SAME EXACT thing Mya was doing.  She snuzzled her head right into my neck. Shawn and I were laughing so hard! Zoya just looked at us like "what?" Like I said, this girl is smart figuring out how to get attention!

Here she is reading all about Down Syndrome.  She has big plans to write her own book one day!

Zoya and Moma time on the couch! She loves flying.

Snuggles...

Silly Girl!

She fits in her Daddy's arms perfectly!

Zoya's favorite time of the day....lunch! I've started taking her shirt off to feed her because she is one messy girl! She doesn't seem to mind!

16 comments:

  1. Wow, just look at your little beauty! How she has come alive and blossomed since the first photo I saw of her!
    She is a precious girl...how lucky you all are!

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  2. Is it my imagination, or is Zoya growing by leaps and bounds? She definitely looks taller and cuter by the day, if that's possible! Am loving your journey, please keep it up! ( It seems forever until Aly gets here) I am probably one of many of Zoya's "cyper grandmas"! Love, Mona

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  3. Oh my goodness what a bathing beauty!

    She better love shoes with the selection that Mommy purchased before bringing her home.

    I love the lawnmower pics. Can't you just see her in the years to come tearing up the backyard for Daddy? LOL

    I can't believe that someone wouldn't wave to her, she's such a cutie pie.

    Zoya will definitely be an Ace sailer on Lake Erie.

    By the way, great blanket!

    Love,
    Teri

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  4. What a great post! I love all the pictures. I cant believe its been a month already since court. I am glad she does so well out for you. She is an awesome kid! I thought of you while I was at target. They had their dresses clearanced to 3.00 and I think Zoya would look awesome in them! I got a few for 2 of my gals and they modeled them. It is up on our family blog, not our adoption one. http://beckfamily143.blogspot.com/
    Hope you all have a blessed week!

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  5. My friend Brianna and I ALWAYS smile nd wave at the babies. Zoya could melt even the coldest hearts!

    and funny story about having kids eat with their shirt off. I have a camper with special needs who eats pasta every day for lunch. He is the messiest eater ever, so we started having him take his shirt off. Otherwise his mother would have to send a new shirt every day. Seriously, this kid managed to get spaghetti sauce on the insides of his socks! So one day my sister sits down with pasta to eat with him. he looks at her and says "NO chacha (sasha) you eat pasta? you take your shirt off!"

    heh. Luckily she didn't.

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  6. What a doll! Looks like you guys are having such a great time being a family :)
    What a sweet little girl, and I LOVE the swim suit pictures!

    Jodi

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  7. I have been following from the begining of Zoya's journey and was bummed that I missed you going private. I have been waiting to relive your journey. It is amazing! She is beautiful! Congrats!

    Thanks for sharing her once she is home with all of us. I love to watch these babes grow up. I can't remember how old she is?

    Anyway, welcome home! You guys are amazing parents and Zoya is sooo lucky to have you!

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  8. Thank you so much for sharing your entire journey with us. I appreciate you being so upfront in what you experienced and what I can expect on this amazing journey. Your honest and detailed account has been so incredibly helpful. We are so excited that we get the privilege of adopting Alyona through RR.

    Congratulations on your beautiful daughter, you make a wonderful family!

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  9. Girl after my own heart....A love for shoes. I can't believe how fast her hair is growing in a months time. Talk to you soon! Kim Baumann

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  10. LOVE all the new photos and what a little beauty she is! She is doing amazing. Keep up the blogging. LOVE it!

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  11. Can't believe it's already been a month. Zoya is doing so good with the help and love from her mommy and daddy. She seems to have changed so much. It is so wonderful to hear stories and see pics all the time. I love it!! She is such a precious angel!

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  12. Keep up with all the posts and pics (although I don't know how your finding the time) Zoya looks great and so happy...and I know Rich and Amy at BCMS well so good to hear you're involved with EASE!

    Maybe we'll run into you guys out to eat someday, my girls would love to meet Zoya.

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  13. I love the updates you did on the blog! LOVE!!!!!!

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  14. LOVE the new blog header! LOVELY!!!! She's really your girl now!!!

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  15. Megan is always saying hi to people she sees in the stores too. It makes me sad when people don't say hi back, so I totally understand what you are saying.
    Zoya looks so cute in her bathing suits too!!

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