First Day of Preschool

1. Ana with ID photo in front of her preschool
2. Ana wearing one of the aprons that we bought from an old woman at the Kramatorsk market
3. Ana reading to Lola in the closet
4. Ana in her dress that Grandmommy and Grandpa brought back from Mexico
5. [Late Addition] One of Colleen's photos of Kramatorsk in the snow. That's the plaza/park that we used to walk through every day to visit the orphanage

[Phil]
So today was Ana's first day of preschool, although it wasn't a full day. They like for the children to come in for a few hours the first 2 days before starting full-time on Day 3. I waited in the lobby while working on a translation, worried that the teachers might come and tell me that Ana was throwing a fit, but she reportedly did just fine. To me, it was a little eerie how much preschool is like the orphanage: the kids have their own closets; they have musical exercises in a multipurpose room; they have snacks; they have an afternoon rest period; they have very specific procedures every day; etc. I'm sure it was very familiar to her.

After preschool, Robin's parents (Grandmommy and Grandpa) took Ana for the afternoon so that I could get some work done. They've been a huge help since they got back here. I don't know what we would do without all of our family helpers.

[Robin]
She's such a little (jumping) bean. Besides her grandparents, she has also captivated our neighbors, who are now letting her use their playhouse and swing set. She has Carmen dancing with her in our kitchen. She had Aunt Helen helping her to pick a vegetable patch at Kidzu. She had Aunt Suzi and Cousin Julia gathering acorns so she could feed the baby goats. She has done remarkably well getting to know our family and friends.

She has begun to know (or at least mimic) English words. Today she said "Bye, Bye" and "Help" and "Teeth". We think she is brilliant.

She loves music and yesterday played the flute with Grandpa. Tonight she spent the evening playing her player piano, dancing and singing around our living room.

Right now our only challenge is getting her to eat. Oh, I should say--getting her to eat a proper diet. If a proper diet consisted of chips, hot dogs, bananas and apple juice, we would be set for life. She did end up liking hard boiled eggs (Colleen--yes! This worked after the failed attempts at omelets, scrambled eggs and fried eggs) much to my delight this morning. She still refuses to drink any dairy products. Phil tried to get her to drink milk by pouring her chocolate milk (yes, this was our pediatrician's advice)--and saying it was chocolate. She took one look at the glass and told him 'This isn't chocolate." She also refuses to try ice cream (this actually might be a good plan for life--no freshman "10"!).

She made it through her doctor's appointment on Friday with flying colors. She managed to get a thumbs up in the heart health department. She's really tiny on the growth chart, but we hope this will come around in time. She had to get two shots and I had to hold her....not great, but I came prepared with chocolate in the pocket to hand her as soon as it was over. This actually worked like a charm and stopped her crying almost immediately.

We talked to Colleen this weekend, and for those of you following our blog....you will know how happy it made us to hear that she had been awarded both girls. She is now weathering the 10 days post the court date. She is a champ and deserved a medal for her resolve! It snowed in Kramatorsk just recently. To think that she has now almost experienced all the seasons in Ukraine. The pictures of the town being snow-covered were really pretty.

Konstantin, our facilitator is now looking for American families to host children this winter. If anyone is interested, let us know so we can relay the information to him!