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.