Gotcha-Day 1 Year Anniversary

One year ago today we picked Daniel and Katya up from the orphanage. What an eventful year. It has been filled with struggle, tears, frustration, laughter, fun, fulfillment and lot of learning for all of us. Along with that, we have experienced a lot of growth and change in us and our newest family members. Daniel has learned so much. He learned English, colors, how to pump on a swing, how to fish, how to jump on a trampoline, how to ride a scooter and much more. He has experienced new things like camping, reunions, swimming, fireworks, presents, preschool, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday parties, funerals, Lagoon, surgery, hiking and oh, so much more. He is a very loving child. He wants so bad to feel accepted and loved. He tries to please us in every way. He is generally happy all the time. He adores his big brother, Brigham and likes to care for little sister Katya. He and Kyler are great playmates and preschool buddies. He fits great into our family and we are so happy to have had him with us this past year.
Katya…oh where to even begin. Along with experiencing many of the same things as Daniel she has some of her own experiences that have changed her life. After having her with us just a couple of days we started to realize that she really couldn’t hear. She did not understand Joseph when he talked to her in Russian and she only said two words, opah (u-oh) and mama. She would cry a lot with extreme frustration. Upon arriving home we took her to her pediatrician who referred us to an ENT doctor. We found out that she has a sub-mucus cleft palate. She also has a split uvula. Because of the cleft it caused her to have several ear infections. The ENT immediately scheduled a surgery to put tubes in her ears. She is not even close to the same person she was a year ago. She can actually hear now. She talks a lot and likes to sing. She has been enrolled in the school districts early childhood intervention. We have a therapist come to our house twice a month to work with her on her speech and other development. She also is in a toddler class at a local elementary. She is happy most of the time. She still likes to throw tantrums and she can hold out a long time, but is quickly learning that it isn’t getting her anywhere. She is now potty-trained which she is so proud of. She loves to play outside, jump, swing, play doll-house and play with her babies. I can’t even imagine what her life would have been like had she not been adopted. I’m not sure if they have the technology of ear tubes, but they would not have paid the expense for it. She probably would have lived a majority of her life without hearing much. She is very loving. She has always enjoyed cuddling and being held. She gets competitive when someone else is being held. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She is spunky and full of life. What a happy day to have her a part of our family. We can’t imagine our lives without these two little Russians.

If you’d like to read about our gotch-day go back to March 13, 2007 blog.