Sasha Blooms

It has been simply amazing watching Sasha unfold and blossom over the past days and weeks. Steve and I were watching our videos of our first minutes together way back nine weeks ago (it seems like a lifetime ago!) and I just couldn't believe how reserved and shy our little one was. I guess she's still that way around folks she doesn't know, but there isn't a bit of bashfulness about her at home!

We are so thrilled with how well Sasha is adjusting to our home and family. She really seems to understand that we are special people, different than anybody else in her life. We've been enforcing the typical adoption bonding rules - nobody but a member of our family gets to hold, feed, or comfort Sasha (basically, Mommy and Daddy are the only ones who do Mommy and Daddy-type things) and we haven't allowed anybody else to enter our home. This has made for some interesting logistics challenges as we usher a babysitter into the front door for Sam and Ben while bringing Sasha out of the side door but it's all worked out well so far. The grandparents come to visit in May/June, so the visitation ban will only stay in place for a couple of months, but we just want to give Sasha every chance to get the hang of being a part of a family and create the unique parent-child bond.

The sign language continues to go super well and Sasha just loves the fact that her words are powerful and she can actually request and get what she wants! The two current favorite words are "banana" (first photo) and "milk" (second photo). You should see her light up when she signs one and we respond by saying and signing the word and then go get her what she's asking for. Toddlers rock!