Honeymooners

Kari:
I've read it on the adoption boards a bunch of times, the first couple weeks after you come home are a honeymoon period. If that is so, then we are really enjoying the honeymoon. Everyone slept through the night. This morning as Austin was getting ready to head out to school, Josh asked if he would be able to go to school today. I had arranged for him to spend an hour in his classroom this morning hoping it would make his transition into school next week easier. He seemed happy to hear he would be going to school also. We ate breakfast, and then Josh and Ashley headed out to ride bikes. Today was a gorgeous, warm Colorado day. Soon Josh and I headed over to his new school. He was a little nervous. All of his classmates were happy to meet him. One asked, "Is he really from Ukraine?" His teacher painted a picture for the kids of going to another country where you couldn't understand anyone and how scary that could be. She said it was all of their jobs to help Josh feel comfortable and help him out. The kids were so sweet to him. Then we headed home for more bike riding. At lunchtime we went to pick up Tatum and meet some of her friends. Ashley was a little shy, but she still came along. In the afternoon we did some much needed clothes and shoe shopping. They each came home with a small bag of possessions, most of which we had purchased for them in Ukraine. Josh especially loved picking out new clothes. I remember that about him from last summer, he loves his clothes. Every time I would do his laundry and bring it to him, he would meticulously refold each item and place it just right in his closet. Today he really wanted a Spiderman stocking cap and mittens, and I bought it for him. Then we back home for more bike riding, this time with Austin and Tatum. They went down to the creek and all came back laughing, and Josh and Ashley's feet were wet-with their new shoes, of course. Then the four kids hung out on the couch watching TV, and the girls are already talking together, even though they can't understand each other most of the time. They both flip through the Russian-English dictionary to find the word they want to say to each other. The funny thing is sometimes Ashley can't find the word she wants, and she tells Tatum the word in Russian, and then Tatum finds it for her-in Russian. This happened a couple times. Tatum learned the cyrillic alphabet when we were in Ukraine. After dinner tonight we went to Coldstone-we didn't want to deprive them of that experience for very long. Ashley picked out coconut ice cream with strawberries mixed in, and Josh got cotton candy ice cream with strawberries mixed in. Josh was happier than he looks in this picture. He was just getting really tired at this point. I love hearing Josh call me ma-ma, and Ashley has already called me mom a couple times, too. Josh is so creative. If he wants to accomplish something, he looks around and can make a tool out of about anything. I am sure this resourcefulness comes from living without much. Josh and Ashley interact like a brother and sister already. They really seem to enjoy each other's company, and that is a great gift. Ashley loves to dance, and High School Musical is her favorite movie. She can sing a lot of the songs in English. We recorded the last season of "So You Think You Can Dance," which Austin, Tatum and I were hooked on, and when we popped in the DVD, she quickly understood the concept and watched most of the first episode before she fell asleep on the couch-jet lag. We are all looking forward to the weekend and some more firsts, swimming and the Super Bowl!