The dentist wasn't so bad...

At least not for Logan. Actually, both kids did very well sitting for the dentist, having their teeth cleaned, etc. The hygenists demo'd everything on me first so the kids knew what to expect. They especially liked the cleaning instrument - she put it on their fingers so they could feel it vibrate and they both laughed at that.

We knew Daria's mouth was a wreck, and it is. The dentist took one look in a referred us to a pediatric dentist would could help us evaluate and determine which of the issues should be tackled first. Logan has a bunch of cavities in his permanent molars, but other than that, his mouth is looking pretty good. Phew! We were expecting to have to shell out big bucks for both kids, but right now, it's looking like it won't be quite as much.

And, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what the causes are. If it's poor nutrition, lack of fluoride, improper brushing, no toothpaste, etc. Scott actually had to show the kids how to properly brush their teeth when he took custody of them in Ukraine. I suppose the orphanages don't have enough manpower to pay attention to everything. At least we're catching it now. I feel bad for Daria because I have a feeling that the work that will need to be done in her mouth will be quite painful for her. And, she definitely does not need to lose any more weight by not being able to eat solid foods for a few days.

The kids are still enjoying school, and have done well on their homework so far. We have to push Daria much harder than Logan with school work, but hopefully by the time the next school year starts in July she'll have the hang of things and be a bit more interested in learning. She seems to do well with a lot of encouragement and positive reinforcement about the work she's done, so we're doing a lot of that. Logan still has a tendency to jump in and answer things for her, so we're working on stopping that as well.

First Day of School

The kids braved their first day of school today. They've been so excited, everyday asking how many more "zafthras" (sp?? tomorrows) until school. Last week we bought lunch boxes (Spiderman and Princesses) and school supplies, which they kept looking at every day. I think reality kicked in a bit this morning when they finally realized they really were going - it wasn't a theoretical thing. You'll notice in their "deer caught in headlights" photo, very top :)

But, when I came back to school this afternoon to pick them up, they both had huge smiles on their faces. They really enjoyed themselves. Logan's 3rd grade teacher even found a computer site (http://www.translation2.paralink.com/ - for those interested) in which she could type an English phrase, it would convert it to Russian, then actually say the phrase out loud. We'll start using that at home! She had asked the class last week who wanted to be Logan's buddies, and sit by his desk. Apparently there were lots of volunteers. Our neighbor's son Zane is in Daria's class, and he is looking out for her.

We have actually found a translator, who has been super, and we spent half an hour on the phone with her this evening asking the kids how things went today. They really did have a great day and said that school is much better here.

We had a fun weekend with the kids. My office mates threw them a wonderful party on Friday, and they enjoyed pizza and cupcakes, as well as many wonderful gifts. We took advantage of one of the gifts, and took the kids to the Denver Zoo on Saturday. We had taken them swimming for the first time at the local rec center in the morning, and between the two (swimming and zoo), they were (very happily!) worn out.

But not too worn out to go pick out their first bikes in the afternoon! They were so excited to get them. Sunday morning we took them out for their first lesson. It was a good reminder of how difficult it is to learn to ride. It was really hard to explain to them. I've been biking forever, but I've never had to explain it to anyone. They did good for their first outing (balance is the trickiest piece), and before we know it, they will be wheeling around on their own without our help.

The kids really seem settled in and very well adjusted. They told the translator that they're very happy here. Tomorrow when I take them to the dentist they may change their minds :)

Trip to Copper Mountain

Yesterday morning I made the call to postpone our tubing trip until today, because of the winter storm warnings for the ski resort areas. Thank goodness I did. There was a 60-car pileup on I-70 that had the interstate closed for most of the day. I'm really glad we didn't have to sit in that, or worse yet, be one of the cars involved in the collision. As you can see from the photos, the storm cleared out and we had a perfect day at Copper Mountain - sunny and 40 degrees. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunblock on the kids and forgot sunglasses. I did remember to pack their lunch though :) I guess I'll eventually remember everything that I'm supposed to do for them.

The kids had a great time tubing, though I had a hard time explaining to them beforehand that we were going tubing. I think they thought we were going to ski. The 5 tube chutes ran from easy to steep and fast. They liked doing them all, especially the one in the middle with the big bump that put them airborne for a couple of seconds. There was lots of giggling today. The good news (for me, as I'm an avid skier) is that they were really excited to see the skiers and boarders as well. Logan wanted to know if we could go tomorrow. I couldn't figure out how to tell him "next season", so I had to tell him "180 zahfstra (sp??) - which to him means in 180 days (tomorrows).

We stopped at school on the way home for their ESL testing. We will hear from the school later this week, but we discussed - and the ESL teacher said she's going to recommend - that Logan go into 3rd grade, instead of being in 2nd grade, which he was in at the orphange. He is super-smart and catches on to things really quickly. Hopefully within another year or so, we can bump him up one more grade level so he'll be with kids his age. Daria will probably remain in 1st grade, which is fine. We think that is appropriate for now, and hopefully in a couple of years we can bump her up as well. We think they'll be starting school on Monday, as they already have most of their vaccinations, which was surprising to us, but in a nice way.

Some photos from the first few days

Here are a couple of photos from the kids' first few days home.