Our Daughter Anastasia

We are seeing some strong evidence that our 16 year old daughter is pretty darn smart. Yesterday I handed her a book before she returned to the orphanage called Speak English Like An American. It was a hasty Internet purchase I made just before our trip and I was disappointed to learn that it's one of those books that helps advanced English students learns American idioms such as "water off a ducks back." My expectations for it being useful were low, so I was curious when Anastasia returned to our apartment this morning and handed me the book with a sly smile. She had gone through almost half the book, completing every exercise in the first nine chapters!

Then Dana gave her a quickie Sudoku lesson and in a matter of minutes, she was solving puzzle after puzzle effortlessly. We were amazed at how quickly she completed the puzzles - much faster than Dana had been doing them. Dana asked Anastasia if she would give her a lesson, but Anastasia said no! She clearly enjoyed demonstrating her intelligence and skill to her new parents. While she is very shy and modest, she was clearly saying, "check this out mom and dad!"

After a trip to the toy store, she settled in to work a 1500 piece puzzle. One of my goals is that she never becomes an Americanized entertainment junkie. I love the fact that she can sit down for hours to watercolor or work on a jigsaw puzzle without having to be entertained.

Anastasia instinctively looks out for Christian. She ties his shoes, always grabs his hand when we cross the street, and seems to thrive on her big sister role. She also takes the initiative to help Dana out with grocery shopping, cooking and doing the dishes. This is one motivated girl!

Anastasia is timid around strangers, but we've observed that she is a leader in her group of friends at the orphanage. Another positive sign is that we like her friends alot. It is going to be hard for her, and us, to say goodbye to her friends - especially dear, sweet Vika.