First Day with Alisa

Guess who we saw today? 

The drive out to Alisa's orphanage was GORGEOUS.  It was very beautiful in the summer but in the winter, with the snow and the aspens and the log cabins, it was so charming.  We could also see a lot of more of the little villages along the way because there were not leaves on the trees to obstruct our view.  If I lived in Novosibirsk, it would definitely be out of the city in an adorable log cabin. 

Alisa took a little bit more time to warm up to us and was not nearly as affectionate this visit.  Broke my heart a little.  I fear that she remembers us and remembers that we come and then leave.  When we finished our visit, she really wanted to leave with us.  I do not like this system at all.  I really think it harms bonding to have us come and play for a week and then leave for 5 months only to show up again and play for a while and then leave.  How is she supposed to trust that we will love her forever and never leave her??  I also think it harms bonding a little on our end because we feel we have to guard our hearts so they don't shatter into a million pieces like last time.  I wish the government officials understood the heart ache this system causes. 

Despite all this, we had a delightful visit with Alisa.  She is SO BUSY!!  She has NO attention span and is constantly jumping from one thing to the next.  She is going to keep us hopping.  I wonder how we will ever survive the 30 hour plain trip with this ball of energy. 

We worked on signing again and she really gets the concept very well.  She learned "more", "train" and "water" today.  With a little consistancy I think she will pick it up quickly.  She talked a lot today but our translator cannot understand her so it is hard to say if how much she speaks.  She did imitate a few of my words though like "bubble" and "water" so I am hopeful.

She also grew a lot since we saw her last.  This makes me happy as I know that she is being fed well.  We think she is about 5-6T.  She seems just a little bit smaller then Tate and they are the same age so that is really good.  I had forgotten how small her head looks into proportion to her body though.  We are definitely going to need an MRI and find what is going on in there. 

Alisa is all rough and tumble activity.  She is going to get a long great with the boys.  I think she will really like playing ball and wrestling with them.  She has no tolerance for quite activity like reading or coloring.  She is going to be challenging in school.  I am thinking maybe a mom and me music class might be a better first step.  She also really likes playing dress up which is a big hit at our house so our kids will all get along fine.