Making Progress

Busy-busy-busy… That’s how I can describe the life in our household now :) Where to begin? We accomplished a lot during these 3 weeks home. Just 2 days after Rachel and I came back, we went to our local Social Security office to apply for her Social Security card. I know that many adoptive parents had a hard time getting it: some of them were asked to show CoC (Certificate of Citizenship), which usually comes about 45 days after arrival, the others were requested to bring something “American”, i.e. insurance card, etc. Luckily, the Birth Certificate, Adoption Certificate and Ukrainian passport with the Visa were enough for our local SS office. Just 10 days later we received her Social Security Card!

My next goal was to apply for her US passport. Some parents are usually waiting for the CoC, but since internationally adopted kids are the US citizens upon arriving on American soil, it’s not necessary. So a couple of days ago we went to apply for Rachel’s passport. I specifically ordered another translation of her Birth and Adoption Certificates from the Hudson-Neva translation. Their translations are notarized and have a raised seal, so they look very official, and the price is very reasonable. We had to leave the original adoption certificate with the translation as well as her Ukrainian passport with the Visa, but we were assured that everything will come back to us safe and sound in 4 weeks. After that our last step will be to register Rachel at Ukrainian Consulate, and our after-adoption paperwork phase will be done until the next January when we are required to send the yearly post-placement report to Ukrainian Embassy.

The school work is not easy for Rachel, but her teachers are amazing. I met with her homeroom teacher and ESL teacher last week, and we had a very good discussion about what’s the best for Rachel and how we can help her to catch up with her peers. Academically she’s very behind – I would guess she’s at about 2nd grade level in math, and Russian reading. But this is very normal for a post-institutionalized child, and with proper tutoring she should be able to catch up. Currently she is in the 4th grade being one of the oldest in her class. I thought it would be better to place her in the 3rd grade, but now I see it won’t make any difference. With her teachers’ suggestions we decided to leave her in the 4th grade, but take a totally different approach to her school work – we are starting from scratch! She’s given homework appropriate for her level, and we are taking it one day at a time. There are 2 girls speaking Russian and/or Ukrainian in her 4th grade class (and none in the 3rd grade), which is a huge plus since she can communicate with them and get help as needed. The other kids in class are trying to include her in all activities, so she’s making new friends even without speaking the language!

On Valentine’s Day I sent her to school with the cards for all kids in the class, and she came home with LOTS of Valentines! She was ecstatic! I don’t think she’s ever got so many cards and presents before, especially on Valentine’s Day!

Rachel’s riding the bus like a pro, and last week she even took the late bus after she stayed in school for intramurals! She also started buying her own lunch in cafeteria, which is not easy for a girl with almost no English!

Last week we went to the dentist, and she was a trooper during her first ever dental cleaning! She has a lot of cavities, but luckily for us, all of them are in the baby teeth, so no need for fillings :) Though she’ll need to have braces next year when she turns 11, which is earlier than most kids, so we need to start saving :)

So overall I’m very pleased with her transition. Each day makes a difference, and at the end of 3 weeks she made a lot of progress. And I can finally calculate the amount of groceries we need :)

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Getting ready for bath:


Valentine's Day party at Victoria's preschool:


Playing outside: