Ukraine Adoption

Then and Now

It's been six months since Tara Vika stepped foot on American soil and automatically became a U.S. citizen. Her life changed in an instant. But there have been so many gradual changes since April.
Here are just a few:

Then: Quiet and shy. Now: Very chatty and friendly.

Then: HATED baths and showers, acted like the water was acid on her skin. Now: LOVES baths and showers, insists on one every day before bedtime, sometimes two if someone else is in the shower and she feels she should get another turn.

Then: Shy around her daddy. Now: Runs toward him squealing when she gets home, insists on hugging him every night before bed, walks through the house shouting, "JOHN! JOHN!? JOHN!!" (sounds vaguely familiar to me but I'm not sure why.)

Then: Would point to her mouth to let me know she was hungry or thirsty. Now: Goes straight to the cupboard to find a cup, yanks open the refrigerator, pulls out the milk carton, unless it's too heavy, and brings it all to me. (how's that for a hint?)

Then: Would go to her Grandma for about 1 second and then lean right back into my arms. Now: Asks me every weekend if we are going to Grandma's house. "Gamma? Gamma?"

Then: Loved to get new clothes and try them on, sometimes changing her outfits 2 or 3 times in a day. It was such a new concept to her to have her own stuff. Now: Same! (OK, maybe she is taking after me on this one...)