Pictures by Caelia
These are some pictures that Caeli took when she found my camera. She loves taking pictures.
Yeah, she's my sister...
Masha has had several doctor appointments since we got home. She is not thrilled with these but it is helping us to help her. Masha has several health issues that need attention. The first thing that will be corrected is her vision. She has Superior Oblique Palsy as well as crossed eyes. Our doctor explained that she sees the world at an angle and that when her eyes cross, she sees double and angled. This makes her very unsteady on her feet. She must have someone close enough to catch her because she frequently loses her balance. Additionally, this is what causes her to tip her head to the side - she is attempting to focus! We feel that she will be so much happier when she sees the world as it should be seen. Her actual vision is perfect for her age, so those pretty blue eyes will not need glasses after surgery. This surgery will take about an hour and we will be scheduling it as soon as we have her cardiologist appointment.
Masha was born with a small hole in her heart. This is very common in children with Down syndrome. Our family physician does not hear anything and it is possible that it has closed completely - this was the case with Lera but we want to have this checked out before surgery.
All of her blood work was perfect. No sign of hypothyroidism or malnutrition. We really didn't expect malnutrition - she is a very good eater. She likes meat and potatoes but really fusses when we try to feed her raw fruits or veggies. And birthday cake is magical to her! Sorry again, Janet, for her grabbing a handful at Jaxton's birthday before he could blow out the candles. She did this at Caelia's party as well.
Speaking of which, Caelia is now a big 8 year-old girl! We had a party for her and for Masha's arrival - a barbecue with lots of friends and lots of kids. Caeli insisted for a week that she wanted balloons at her birthday party, so Randy bought a bunch of Mylar balloons home the day of her party. She was thrilled (so were Lera and Masha) but we soon noticed that they were disappearing. Caelia would grab a balloon, run outside and release it into the air! Oh, well, her birthday - her balloons. She was happy about them but not about pictures so here is the one we got of our birthday girl.
And this one is of our Cake Monster. Looks innocent doesn't she? Ignore the evidence.
Masha is not afraid to jump into the midst of the family as though she has always been here. I love watching her play with my big girls!
Oh and state her opinion of having another photo taken!
And these photos are just because I love to show off my beautiful girls (would love to show off my handsome son but he is being a teenager).
Fianlly, there is this picture. Not great focus but totally natural. Masha had crawled up into Caelia's lap and was falling asleep.
Settling in...
This is my favorite plant in my garden. It's called a Bleeding Heart. This is what I think about all through the long cold winters here in Minnesota. 
It feels really good to be home. I love the warm weather (er..more of less warm) and the kids playing outside. Michael and Randy are two of the biggest kids. The girls adore Daddy-time and he drinks it up too.
Caelia has been sick for over a week. Her poor tummy has been under attack by a virus - we didn't leave the house much except for the Doctor. She didn't go to school. Lera was sick for part of that time. The first day that Lera went to school without Caelia, her homecoming was worthy of any trip we have ever taken. She was standing (waiting to get off the bus) yelling "CAELIA! CAELIA!". Caelia stood on the porch yelling "NINA! NINA!" and when the met on the porch they hugged and hugged each other as though they hadn't seen each other in a month. Masha was grumpy about this.
Actually, my little Masha is grumpy about lots of things. She hates waiting for things to cook. She tries to stand between me and the counter top so that she will get the first bite. She gets very upset if I give the girls their cups first or if Lera is on my lap. She gets very irritated if you insist on that she put her coat on before going outside. She tries very hard to be the boss. But just as quickly as she scowls and pouts, she smiles and laughs. She is a funny little girl (who really likes to be in charge) and the thing she gets most grumpy about is watching Caelia and Lera leave the house to catch the bus! She loves to do anything that Caelia does. Yes, I only said Caelia.
Masha and Lera play - well sort of. Lera is spending a lot of time kissing and resting on Mama. I think she is making sure that she is not being replaced and Lera is not really that fond of any small children. They just don't play the active games that Lera does. Lera is my little monkey and likes to climb and play with swords - actually, if you imagine a pirate dressed in sparkles, tight pants and boots, you pretty much have Lera. Her favorite game is sword fighting with Michael. Thank heavens for nerf swords! Oh and I should mention that she generally beats every one who dares to cross swords with her very soundly.
Masha has been enamored with Caelia since the moment she saw her in the airport. And Caelia is equally adoring of Masha - or "SASHA" as Caelia calls her. (Caelia has Apraxia, which effects her speech). Caelia and Masha like to play with the pretend kitchen and with the baby dolls. They dress up and go shopping together. And while they are buddies, Caelia is still the big sister and is very protective of Masha. If she hears Mama tell Masha "no, no" then you can bet she will have an arm around Masha telling her "no, no Sasha!" too.
And now a word about baths. As is true frequently with children in orphanages, Masha was terrified of baths. In Moscow, we couldn't put her in the bath without her crying and screaming. It was heartbreaking to watch her stand with her hands against the wall of the bath with her head down sobbing. We tried to make it fun but gave up until we got home. Do you know the phrase, Monkey see, Monkey do? In a very short time, we have gone from sobbing and struggling to having to watch her anytime the water is running because she will attempt to climb into the tub.
It feels really good to be home. I love the warm weather (er..more of less warm) and the kids playing outside. Michael and Randy are two of the biggest kids. The girls adore Daddy-time and he drinks it up too.
Caelia has been sick for over a week. Her poor tummy has been under attack by a virus - we didn't leave the house much except for the Doctor. She didn't go to school. Lera was sick for part of that time. The first day that Lera went to school without Caelia, her homecoming was worthy of any trip we have ever taken. She was standing (waiting to get off the bus) yelling "CAELIA! CAELIA!". Caelia stood on the porch yelling "NINA! NINA!" and when the met on the porch they hugged and hugged each other as though they hadn't seen each other in a month. Masha was grumpy about this.
Actually, my little Masha is grumpy about lots of things. She hates waiting for things to cook. She tries to stand between me and the counter top so that she will get the first bite. She gets very upset if I give the girls their cups first or if Lera is on my lap. She gets very irritated if you insist on that she put her coat on before going outside. She tries very hard to be the boss. But just as quickly as she scowls and pouts, she smiles and laughs. She is a funny little girl (who really likes to be in charge) and the thing she gets most grumpy about is watching Caelia and Lera leave the house to catch the bus! She loves to do anything that Caelia does. Yes, I only said Caelia.
Masha and Lera play - well sort of. Lera is spending a lot of time kissing and resting on Mama. I think she is making sure that she is not being replaced and Lera is not really that fond of any small children. They just don't play the active games that Lera does. Lera is my little monkey and likes to climb and play with swords - actually, if you imagine a pirate dressed in sparkles, tight pants and boots, you pretty much have Lera. Her favorite game is sword fighting with Michael. Thank heavens for nerf swords! Oh and I should mention that she generally beats every one who dares to cross swords with her very soundly.
Masha has been enamored with Caelia since the moment she saw her in the airport. And Caelia is equally adoring of Masha - or "SASHA" as Caelia calls her. (Caelia has Apraxia, which effects her speech). Caelia and Masha like to play with the pretend kitchen and with the baby dolls. They dress up and go shopping together. And while they are buddies, Caelia is still the big sister and is very protective of Masha. If she hears Mama tell Masha "no, no" then you can bet she will have an arm around Masha telling her "no, no Sasha!" too.
And now a word about baths. As is true frequently with children in orphanages, Masha was terrified of baths. In Moscow, we couldn't put her in the bath without her crying and screaming. It was heartbreaking to watch her stand with her hands against the wall of the bath with her head down sobbing. We tried to make it fun but gave up until we got home. Do you know the phrase, Monkey see, Monkey do? In a very short time, we have gone from sobbing and struggling to having to watch her anytime the water is running because she will attempt to climb into the tub.
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