Sasha's first American Christmas

 Sasha posing in front of the tree @ the City County Building

 Christmas Eve

 Excited about her new dog and bed that glammy got her.

 Papa and Sasha

 In Heber waiting to get on the North Pole Express.

 Santa  giving Sasha  her own bell on the North Pole Express

 Nana & Sasha Christmas Eve

Great Grandma Palmer in her sweet Christmas Sweater

It has been a fun month of December with starting new family traditions, giving, and learning about the true meaning of Christmas.  We planned a lot of events this month to help her  recognize the spirit of Christmas, and all of it payed off. On the night of Christmas Eve we made peanut butter cookies, and left a plate of them along with one Yablaka(Apple) for St. Nicolai. When Christmas morning approached, I filmed her getting out of bed to following her into the front room to capture her expressions. She was just amazed of what Santa left for her almost to the point that she didn't want to accept the gifts. We had to prompt her to open the rest as she wanted us to have them instead. When all of her presents were unwrapped, she went into her room, grabbed her altoid tin full of Coins, and proceeded to give everyone who was there a quarter. After everything said and done, Sashi told us that she wanted to hug Santa.

 1st Trick or Treat

 Silly with Glammy Glasses and so sophisticated!

Glammy and Sasha 

Sasha and her BFF 

I see you! 

  Sasha and her friend

 Happy 4th Bday friend!

 Sasha carving her 1st pumpkin

 Sasha and completed pumpkins

Halloween was so much fun! Sasha took the tradition and ran with it. She was a little scared at first with all the decorated houses, but finally got in the spirit the night of.  Zelda, the good witch of Halloween visited our house the night of and left her a gift. In exchange for the gift, Sasha left 3/4's of her candy in shoes out for her in hopes that Zelda would pick her. 

    A very sweet sleeping girl with her 2nd momma, Suzie pug.

     We have been very thankful to be a part of Sasha's life, as well as, lucky.   We were told that our adoption was "Model".   There were no problems that we experienced while in Ukraine. I do believe in addition to others, that Sasha was meant to be ours.  

     

As time goes by...

 Brisk Walk @ the Zoo

 Sasha hanging on a elephant trunk 

 Mama and Sasha

 Pretty Princess

 Sasha and her new buddy, Emma

Sasha LOVES water! 

Sasha in a tree house

     Another month has passed since my last post. My time has been spent on this new mom business :) It sure has enlightened my perspective on life. Sasha's progress has astounded me.  In just the 7 months she has been here, Sasha is speaking 4 word sentences, great with numbers, being more aware of what is wrong and right(In small amounts), can direct us to our home while in a neighboring block, on track with her age group, and so much more!   She loves to learn, and again, an intelligent little girl. 

     It is interesting to see and observe the world around her.   Her social interactions with kids foreshadows how we associate with others as adults(I learned this one today). I will spare you the muse.  This is just one of many epiphanies that show themselves in random selection.

  

School Starts!

Sasha & her buddy Corbin @ Wheeler Farm 

 First day of Fall Pre-school

 Her flower "Pretty's"

 1st attempt to ice skate

Tracing ABC's

Sasha had a good week at her new school, and seems to be liking it so far.   I got to co-op for my first time on Thursday, and at the end of class I developed a soft spot  for pre-school teachers.  It also gave me a chance to see where Sasha's learning style is currently.  Sasha is on board with any 4 year old, but her communication continues to delay her.  She understands more than she speaks.  

I am in the process of making her a visual schedule board. I have all the pieces for it, but need to put it together.   My hope is that this will help her communicate and learn on another level. She is also making big strides to learn everything around her. Sasha wants to be a part of everything.  Today, I decided to pull out a worksheet out of one of her workbooks. We are going over just basic primary colors, and matching two objects of the same kind.  She enjoyed them both, but needs a little more help.  I am going to make it a goal to learn, and trace a 3 new letters of the alphabet daily.

Milestone

 Tomorrow, Sashi will start fall pre-school.   This is a new school, and she is a wee bit nervous. Every time I try to get her excited about it she tells me to be quiet, but little does she know that Mama gets to co-op in her class.  While in the "Notary Phase" back in Ukraine, my friend Julie emailed me to promptly submit an application in hopes that Sasha could get chosen.  This is a lottery-charter school(PreK-8) that values both community, and parent involvement. After a few months, we were told that Sasha was one of the lucky ones selected. Scott and I are incredibly excited to be a part of this(Thanks Julie!). I am sure Sasha will be after the first week :)

We just recently put Sasha into swimming lessons as we are thoroughly convinced that she was indeed a fish, in her past life.  Today was day two, and she is LOVING it! The lesson is 30 min. I usually let her swim 30min before and after. Somehow, I am regretting the extra time swimming because she is incredibly exhausted, and its like pulling teeth to get her to go to bed.  She went to bed at 7:45pm tonight cranky  to the last minute.

Tomorrow, is my 35th Birthday.   Mixed feelings linger in my soul trying to accept that I have to be an adult now.  We will see :)

 Sasha's sun 8/10/11

 Riding Bikes with Corbin..very cute!

 Sasha Chick

 She tried hard, and couldn't hold the pose, but so cute.

Excited about her Art

I am trying to be better about posting because so much goes on that I would love to share. I am also in the other room hoping she is taking her nap. She is so funny! everyday we see just a little more of her Ukrainian attitude come out especially when she refuses to get out of something when asked. Its like Sasha has to put in the first word because she didn't think of it to begin with. She will usually follow with a HMM! It is followed by a little game to see if we will buy into her tantrum,  and we don't. Then after, independently as a spitfire, she will complete the task correctly her way. The joys of having one child :)

Good Times

Working girl with class!

 Working our way up to the Alpine slide

Sasha @ Liberty park with her new bike 

 Taken @ Jeff's bday dinner

 Provo Mountain

 Dinner with Aunt Lacie(Sam's lil' sis)and cousin Hailey

 Ice Cream high

 Weekend fun with Uncle Jame's niece and nephews

LION!! 

 Dinner @ Baja Cantina PC

Soakin' in the sun after running wild through the water

Being tickled by her friend Ander

The Summer may be moving too quickly, but we are making sure it's action packed for Sasha.  She has been busy with pre-school and planned events such as swimming with Glammy, bike rides galore,  many trips to the Hogle Zoo, play dates with good friends and family, Barbecues, and  so much more!   Her last day of Summer pre-school was last Wednesday. Sasha is now speaking 4 word sentences, and understanding English a whole lot more. I want to some how teach her to continue to be bilingual in both Ukrainian, and the English language. We just checked out a basic Ukrainian language set of CD's and Richard Scarry Ukrainian/French/English dictionary.  Sasha and I were looking over the dictionary one night and going over the kitchen items in English. She pointed to the objects and said, "Papa's plate, Mama's plate, Sasha's coffee cup". She then blurted with a smile, "I LOVE COFFEE." Definitely a moment that will always be cherished. It is amazing to see her progress from what she knew when she first came to America.  

She has claimed us as parents, and new family as her own. It is great to see Sasha active in the family, and to give so much of herself. She is still adapting great to her new life, and we still feel very lucky to have her as our daughter.  Sasha brings so much light and love into every new person's heart that she meets.

Sashie

Sasha @ Utah Arts Fest 2011

Sasha with Papa's shades

Disco Sash

Mama and Sasha @ Silver Lake

Sasha @ Silver Lake

Sasha next to her Sun she drew.

Sasha is opening herself up to us, and it has been very lively these past weeks.  She continues to be progressing in the English language, expressing needs, and understands mostly what she communicates. Last week,  Scott and I had a "Parent Chat" with her Pre-school teacher. We were excited to be told that our child is right on track with any other four year old, and excels in drawing.  It is still pretty hectic as a new parent to understand what is normal behavior for her age, and how we can help redirect a random meltdown in a positive way-still working on that one.
Sasha is enjoying the summer with new activities that has been offered to her.   Sasha likes bubbles, sidewalk chalk, hours playing in the park, the Lehi Swimming pool(Still testing the waters, but with the establishment's complimentary life vest and  safely in someone's hands she feels willing to try it out), walks with her baby-in-stroller and Dogs, riding other people's tricycles, and spending a lot of  one on one time playing board games, learning games, reading, and art.
Yesterday,  I took the day off from the Salon and took Sasha up to Silver Lake @ Brighton Ski Resort. This was my first attempt to introduce trail hiking to her. It is pretty safe for a kid, but like other lakes and Rivers in Utah, the water is overflowing. There has been a few deaths because of the rapid, raising-rivers(Currently trying to avoid all situations that has to do with rapid rivers. She is curious, but Scott and I have been teaching her that the rivers are dangerous right now). Anyhoo, lets get back to Silver Lake. Sasha enjoyed every lit bit about this. There is a board walk that encircles a lake, and some preserved land for wild-life.  We stopped and looked into the water to look for fishies, climbed over some un-melted snow, and walked through muddles. The best part of this is that I think Sasha is learning how to problem solve, and know that we can work together to move mountains.
As a parent I am learning that first thing is first with Sasha is how she works.  Sasha is very curious, stubborn, needs challenges(Does not like to be left alone for long periods of time), and enjoys very much one on one time together. Even if we are not doing something together, she likes to stay next to Scott and I and engage in her current activity. Thinking we might have conquered a situation or two, the rug gets pulled underneath us quite a bit.  As you can tell we have learned a little :) It has almost been 4 mths, and a wonderful transition into our new life as a family.