Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter!





A happy and blessed Easter to everyone! We hope that the first inklings of spring remind you of the new life promised to us through Christ. Our Easter celebration included a visit from Nancy's sister Alicia, going to church together, then time with both sets of grandparents, as well as Uncle Matt and Uncle Mark. Our stomachs and hearts are full!

With our new little girl in the family, we had our first experience with an Easter dress, little black patent leather shoes, and a third basket hidden (in plain sight) for the hunt this morning.

Anya Rashi has been learning all kinds of new things. Most panic-inducing is her new talent for climbing! Her first climbing victory was the rocking chair in her bedroom -- thank goodness she can't get out of the crib . . . yet. She can also scale the kitchen chairs, and the sofas at both grandparents' houses (ours are too tall). Now, silence is ominous if Anya Rashi is out of sight!

She's also learning new words. "Dar" means star, "bubba" means baby, "dat" means that, and is usually punctuated by a finger pointing to whatever she wants. The funniest times we hear "dat" are just after bedtime and in the middle of the night, when she's thrown stuffed animals out of her crib and wants them back. :o) She has also discovered crayons and coloring, and insists on coloring in her high chair if she sees the boys doing schoolwork or art projects at the table.

Another really cute thing is her singing "la la la." We checked out a Muppet Show DVD from the library when the boys were sick, which included an episode in which Elton John sings "Crocodile Rock." Aaron and Nathan have been singing the "Laaaa, la la la la laaaa" chorus (a little bit of overkill after the 564th time you hear it . . . ), and Anya Rashi joins right in!

She also thinks that chickens (and most birds) say "bah bah bah," and will start clucking even when the word chicken just comes up in conversation. As in, "Should we have chicken for dinner?" "Bah bah bah!" Anya also likes to help us read "Goodnight Moon," filling in on both pages when the quiet old lady is whispering "hush" -- except Anya Rashi's lady just says "shhh."

It's so hard to believe it's been three months since she came home. In some ways, it seems she has always been here -- maybe because we spent so much time staring at her pictures and talking and thinking about her before we ever met her. In other ways, it still feels very new, and it's a joy to see her personality continue to show itself. We love thinking about the fact that this is just the first three months of a life-long journey . . .

Thursday, March 13, 2008

It's official . . .

We have officially broken a 118-year-old record for snow by logging over 80.3 inches this winter! We are supposed to have more this weekend, but I'm hoping it will melt on contact.

Also, Aaron and Nathan officially have influenza. Yuck. So far, they're the only ones, and it's been a long haul: Nathan has had a fever and other assorted miseries for 7 days, and Aaron for 4 days. We're washing hands like crazy, hoping Anya Rashi will escape the bug. Hope your household escapes it too!

Friday, March 7, 2008

Are you sure it's March?






Yipes. It was zero degrees when we took the boys to school this morning, and tomorrow is supposed to be colder. On the news last night, the weather folks said that if we have 0.3" of snow yet this season, we will break a 118-year-old record for the most snow. Just wanted to include that for future reading, so Anya Rashi will know that her first winter was a doozy!

Anya has been trying out some new words: "die-tah" is diaper, and she is a pro at nodding and saying "yah" for yes. She was saying "uh-oh" if she dropped something, but the boys trained her out of that! One day when I picked them up from school, I told them she could say "uh-oh" and they thought it was so cute, they kept repeating it over and over -- to the extent that now she thinks that's what you say while riding in a mini-van. :o) Many errands are done with her crowing "Uh-oh! Uh-oh!" from the back seat.

Last Friday, she melted our hearts by giving her first on-the-lips kiss to . . . Daddy, of course! She's been blowing kisses for a long time, but had never planted one on before. It's so sweet!

Another heart-warming moment happened yesterday. For the first time, she woke up from her nap and called out "Mama" so I would come and get her. It felt so good to hear that, and to know that she understands I'll be there for her, even when she can't see me.

She's imitating lots of things. The latest: she likes to take a cloth and pretend to scrub the floor, just like Mama. She also offers her hands when it's time to put on mittens, and gets her changing pad and a diaper (or several!) for me when it's time to change her.

It's so good to see how much she takes her new life in stride -- and she hasn't even been home three months. We feel so blessed to have her, and it sure seems like all the prayers people have offered for her smooth adjustment were heard and answered. Thanks, everyone, for supporting us in that vital but unseen way. We love you and appreciate you so much!