Into our Third Week Together...

The lice fight rages on! I can tell you that most treatment advice on the web does not factor in a 2-year-old! "Cover hair with such-n-such , leave on for x number of hours, comb through hair with a nit comb 1 inch at a time, be thorough, even if it takes hours." Hours?? I can barely get her to sit still for 10 seconds! Ha ha! We're doing our best. Today it was vinegar wash and combing. I got further than I thought. Oh the joy! I bought a good nit comb today off of ebay. Only 13-23 days till it's here! That will be my back up plan if all this other stuff doesn't work. The only comb I can find here is not fine enough to get the nits out. Ugh. Lice sucks. Or shall I say louse sucks. Lice suck. That's more correct.

We're going to Manila tomorrow morning till Friday. We will file Michella's visa and citizenship paperwork at the U.S. Embassy. That will only actually take 1/2 a day but Andrey has a couple days of work to get done in Manila so we are combining the two. Works out great since he would be in a hotel for a few nights and it's no extra cost for the two of us to join him. Then we spend less time apart. It's a win-win.

Tonight's post will be short so I can get some zzz's before our early morning departure. Not too much to share except that Michella continues to warm up to her surroundings and new family. She even seems more and more tolerable of her daddy's hugs and kisses. He hasn't been holding back his affection for her as much, often embracing her and kissing her while she's in my arms and even a few times when she's not. He even picked her up for a few seconds to hug her before he left for work yesterday afternoon and she didn't protest! But when he came home a few hours later and did the same thing, she really cried. I am always right next to her when he does this so she can quickly come into my arms.

She has done more playing near Andrey and has even opened up enough around him so he's been able to observe some of her playfulness and laughter up close. This evening after he tried to initiate play with her (during which she had flat affect), she gave a quick little laugh in his direction as he was walking away. Today when she and I were playing alone together she picked up a photo of me and Andrey, pointed to Andrey and looked at me so I said, "That's Daddy!" Then she kissed his face on the photo. When he leaves for work she looks concerned. It must be so scary for her to try to open up to another adult. It is ever so slight and subtle but we are calling it progress nonetheless.

We are continually praying for wisdom as to how to best go about fostering her relationship with her father. We want to be patient and let her initiate it when she's ready yet we are aware that she may not get there without a little help/challenge. It's a tough balance to strike.

Oh yeah, so yes, Andrey went back to work this week. Well, sort-of. He was off for two weeks and started back part-time the past two days going into the office only in the afternoons. I fully expected that he'd be back full-time as of yesterday so his decision to take as many half days off as possible over the next few weeks is much appreciated and welcomed. What a guy. I had freaked out about these days well before we ever heard of Michella and wondered (panicked) at the thought of being on my own with a child I was just getting to know, but you know, it hasn't been too bad! To be honest, in some ways it's a bit helpful to have him out of the house for short times as Michella is much less clingy to me and will really explore her environment (and my arms get a break). That means I am able to get a few things done and even cook without having to put her on the counter right next to me. Speaking of that, can't do that anymore. She really got into playing with something on the counter the other night while I was cooking and fell off. Poor thing. She really wailed but she was fine. She's a tough cookie.

I feel like I am getting the hang of this a bit. We are developing a routine and I'm getting used to it, too. We are feeling like we are ready for more social interactions so we'll be having more playdates soon and a few outings with friends. Had a swimming date planned for this morning but it fell through due to the weather. We went to Sunday worship for the first time this past weekend and it went really well - better than I expected. She spent a lot of time looking around and taking it all in. She only had to bury her head into me afterward when a swarm of people suddenly made her the center of attention. I don't blame her, nor them. But even that she handled better than expected, lifting her head occasionally to watch some of the kids around us.

This girl is amazing!!

We are currently thinking about the middle name we will give her. Michella ________ Sawchenko. We are beginning to call her by her nickname sometimes; Ella. We are liking the sound of it so far but I don't want to stop calling her Michella either so I will continue to use both for now. I have grown to love that name. I've never met another Michella. That name is special. 

Tonight I feel joy and and a sense of satisfaction. This is what I dreamed of for so long. Here I am. Doing it. I was so stunned in the first weeks home that I couldn't say it then but I think I'm ready to say now that I'm enjoying this being-a-mommy thing. I love her. She is worth all the hard work. 

I have a few photos and short video on our camera from the past few days that I'll upload if I get time in the next few days. So this is it for now. Good night.