Life's a Journey.... here's a glimpse of ours.

Matvey agrees with you "Yeahhhh to some much needed updates" I didn't forget about our blog I just needed some time to get a hold of life by the reigns again. Things have seemed to settle here and we have our new normal. :)  I really planned to post at least weekly but it just isn't happening. Anyway on with the updates...... 

Keegan turned 8 at he end of March. He requested Tony Hawk skate board shoes and this cool skate board. Cake was a must and everyone enjoyed!

Yep this little girl is one smart cookie. Can't you see she has her smarty glasses on?

Varvara is doing pretty well. She is quite a challenge on a day to day bases. She is usually happy as long as things go her way.  Learning how to deal with such a Moody little spit fire can be frustrating at times. It seems as though I am always asking myself three questions one: is it because she doesn't understand?, two: is it because she was abandon? or three: Is it because she has Down Syndrome. Then I am wondering most of the time; Do I expect to much out of her? It can be exhausting at times. But I do have to say she is so smart, she understands everything we say to her and ask of her although at times she pretends she has no clue what we are saying. So we work through each day and are thankful for the really good days or should I say happy days. :)

She is a very obedient little girl, she only has to be told once and usually always follows mom and dads rules.  We have completed one full week of at home therapy and school through our local school district. We are planning on sending Varvara to preschool next year 4x a week for three hours. School will be good for her. She doesn't do anything but sit around at home unless I am physically interacting with her.  When we tell her she needs to go play she cries as if we are punishing her and her play corner is right in the living room with were we all are. 

 Let's see, what else can I share with you.......

Varvara is starting to go into the bathroom when she has to go poop. She doesn't say anything to anyone but she will go in. 

She loves to play outside on her little scooter.

She loves shoes, eating, and bath time.

Varvara goes to sleep really easy @ 8pm and wakes up @ 7 and that makes me one happy mama.

Varvara is so proud to learn something new.

 She has learned to make circles.

She is also learning what  a beautiful little Girl God made her.  We have been working on communicating her needs to mama and daddy.  She is learning signing for the important stuff like drink, eat, all done, up, and more.  Although Varvara can be quite stubborn when asked to use her words she does quite well.  Her silence I think is her way to control the situation.

This is the face I love to see and Cherish every giggle that

comes from this little one. Even though she is a challenge she sure

can light up the day with her laugh and smile.

I can see now why it said in the orphanage's report "she is not very active"  this girl will sit around for hours and doing a whole lot of nothing.  There are plenty of things I do with her but if I am not doing them then she just sit there. Something we are working on.  For independant play we set the timer between 5-10 min and when it goes off it is time to move on to another activity. We started this because while I did laundry cleaned the kitchen and one of our bathrooms she sat in the same spot and dumped little wooden blocks from one bowl to another. Her preschool teacher agreed she needs some motivation to move on to other things. It has worked well so far. She gets to color, play in the rice (texture box full of rice with different cups/bowls), go outside to ride her scooter and play with her wooden blocks and bowls. Next week we will have a chart where she will get to pick what activity to go to next.

Big box of rice is always good entertainment. This is one thing that keeps her occupied for quite a long time.  Speaking a long time can you believe we are headed into the sixth month home. It was two years this past February that I had the dream of orphans with Down Syndrome and only God knew where that would lead.

And now for this little guy!

He is an absolute doll baby! Matvey is the sweetest little

boy I have ever laid eyes on. He is learning something new everyday.

 I can not say enough about him. He giggles every time I pick him up as he lays his head on my shoulder. He is learning to walk along furniture and letting go for a brief moment. I predict he will be walking in the next few months. There is no rush though, I love how small and cuddly he is. 

He is a fun kid to have around. He loves music and dances when ever he hears any music. If dad is watching hockey he claps along with the fans and yells "Yeahhhhhhh"

Matvey is receiving physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and early education Tuesday through Thursday each week. We are also attending a early on playgroup twice a month where he is receiving each therapy.  Matvey is learning so much at such a fast rate I am not sure he even needs any therapy, he just needed someone to show him how to live life. He is making up for lost time and let me tell you nothing is slowing him down.

He loves his big sister. He thinks she is really funny even when she nearly suffocated him last week.

Yep, suffocated!

Varvara has a thing about putting things over Matvey's head, mostly just blankets. In the past she has been asked not to do it and told "no" plenty of times. She knows she is not allowed to and will look to see if we are watching before she does it but this time I had stepped outside for a minute. She put a sweatshirt over his head and then proceeded to lay on top of his head. OH MY!! I was not a happy mama!!! Varvara was not a happy little girl. I will save you all the drama and just say she was sent to bed. 

Needless to say though, they really do get along so well. 

First powdered donut. Matvey wishes we had more breakfasts like this.

So here are some other sweet photo's of our boy.

Enjoy!!