Pink Lady

Pigtails!

It’s taken a year, but Sasha now has enough hair for pigtails.

Back to the Snow

It’s been a year since our adventure in Kaz and it is pretty clear that all of our lives has changed for the better. To commemorate the anniversary it seemed appropriate to head to a cold and snowy location. So we went to Mammoth with some friends and Sasha got to see and play in the snow now that she is old enough to appreciate it.

Shoe Obsessions

One thing we have noticed about Sasha is that she has a very STRONG obsession with shoes– particuliarly high heels. She certainly did not get this from me as I can barely walk in anything over 2 inches, and I don’t think this is one of Brian’s talents either. We figure it must be in her blood, with all the women we saw in Kaz wearing spiked heels in the icy snow. At home she spends a most of her time trying on different shoes– Mamma’s shoes, Pappa’s shoes, Aunt Heidi’s shoes, basically any shoes she can get her hands on– the more extreme the better. For Christmas we got her a 6 pack of Disney Pricess Dressup shoes– big mistake. She was completely and totally obsessed with these shoes, clanking around in dangerous, plastic high heels that were about 5 sizes too big and refused to eat or do anything unless she was wearing them, especially the ones with pink fluff. Sadly for Sasha they had to be confiscated for everyone’s sanity and safety. Recently we were out shopping and strolled into a fancy shoe store. Sasha was in her stroller and when she saw all the fancy shoes she created a complete scene until we let her out. She then went from pair to pair and stutted around the store in a 4 inch black strappy pair (a size 8). All the women in the store were in awe of her ability to walk in them– some even took photos they thought is was so funny.

Halloween and other adventures

Sasha celebrated her first halloween as a frothy pumpkin. She didn’t understand what it was all about and seemed to think we had just a very poor choice in outfits for her. Normally she smiles all the time, but not dressed as a pumpkin. She is doing really great and just started singing on a trip to Oregon (with Nancy and Casey) to meet her great Aunt and Uncle, Phyllis and Keith. Her favorite things are singing, playing the drums, crackers (triskets– yumm) and saying No. Here are some shots from her recent adventures…

One Giant Leap

I know it’s been quite a while since we have posted anything to the blog, we do apologize. (or did we apologize in our last update?)

Anyway, Sasha is wonderful. She is starting to repeat words back to us, a bit mangled but we know she is trying. She is also quite affectionate, regularly approaching our faces with kisses, grabbing us with a koala bear hug. She still sleeps like a champ and is eating just about anything we put in front of her, seriously addicted to strawberries.

But last weekend the big stuff started to happen. We were downtown at a random unremarkable restaurant for the final night of Fiesta, meeting with some of Sara’s friends from work (two of the best plastic surgeons in the world AND and an ER doctor). These friends would have been crucial had any mishaps occurred during the following experimental movement. These were the actual first “extended” steps in Sasha’s life. Highlights include the moment she decided to congratulate herself, and the bon voyage pat she gives to the ground she knows so well…

Finally an update!!!

Sorry about not giving any updates, we’ve had mixed feelings over how long we should continue to subject people to our musings and pure excitement over our daughter’s every move and accomplishment. But okay, an occasional update is probably okay– right? We figure if you are looking you are still interested, so here we go….

Sasha is doing really great, amazingly so in fact. They say that typically for every three months you are in an institution you should expect a three month delay. Not so with Sasha. She is just so happy and alert and really clued in. She is minutes away from walking, and has turned anything she can find into a walker– the highchair, a coffee table, you name it. She babbles and talks A LOT–Mamma, Pappa, Bahh, Mooo, Ruff, ruff, ruff and Bye bye are all favorites. She loves her cousins and they are all so sweet and wonderful to her. The swings and Kindermusic are two other favorites. We’ll let the pictures do the talking, here are a few shots from the past few months.

A whole lotta firsts…

It’s amazing, Sasha’s entire life has changed pretty dramatically since we came home, just about everything is a new experience and she is so resilient. We feel like she has always been with us, she just seems so natural here. Sasha and Eno the kitty are getting along famously, no scuttles at all.

A few favorite new pastimes are kindermusic, the swings, crawling in the grass, hanging out and playing with all her new toys, sitting in the highchair, and of course meeting all her family and friends.

We almost have the house safety proofed, which has been very important given her extremely curious nature.

Ahhh Santa Barbara…

We can’t tell you how happy we are to be home. Never have we appreciated our life so much as now. The most shocking thing was how bright and colorful Santa Barbara is right now– it almost hurt our eyes. Sasha is adjusting beautifully to her new home and life. She was met at the airport by family and friends (a little scary at first for her) but she quickly adjusted and is handling her new and vibrant life very well. She has met all her cousins, grandparents, her kitty, friends, and is exploring her home as much as possible. Here are a couple of Sasha now that she is a Californian.

Rock ‘em Sock em’ Robots. (Sasha kicked her cousin’s butt, and then took her bottle.)

First meeting with Eno, they were trying hard to be cool and detached.

Eventually they found some common ground. Now they share all toys.

Safe and Sound

(B) What is the deal with these two and the sleeping? Apparently I missed quite the party last night. It raged into the wee hours, because night and day are a little confusing for people from the other side of the world. For my birthday my loving wife gave me the gift of sleep our first night back.

There will of course be more to the story, soon. For now I just wanted everyone to know we are alive and well, and cherishing the expression, “Home Sweet Home” like never before.