For a number of reasons, I’ve decided to start up the blog again. Looking back, I am sorry I didn’t continue. So much has happened in the six months since Viktor has been home yet none of it is documented. Granted, we’re living it but it would be nice for Viktor to have it documented…and it’s so fun for me to go back and reread...

So, here’s a quick update. The transition really has gone so much better than we expected. Most people on the Yahoo adoption groups are always griping about people who come home and say everything is wonderful. Well, sorry but it basically is. There have been moments were Viktor has been very frustrated with us and we have been very frustrated with him. But in the grand scheme of things, those moments were few and far between. And they didn’t last very long. And for the most part they kinda went away! I assume it was more communication issues. We have truly been blessed. Alex struggled with how to be a brother. He really has not had to share anything at home. And Viktor has also struggled with how to be a brother. I think Viktor thought that he and Alex would be joined at the hip, would do everything together 24X7 and would love each other to pieces from day 1. Yeah, not so much…Those two have hurt each other’s feelings multiple times, apologized multiple times and have come to a pretty good understanding. They are still working it out and to be honest, they do better when I don’t interfere. So I try to watch from the sidelines and only referee when I think it’s getting out of hand. Most of the time I end up yelling at Alex only to have Viktor jump in with “It OK mum.”.

Viktor is learning a ton at school. He is already reading at a 3rd grade level and his English is amazing! He is a very fast learner. Math is the most challenging for him. He is very far behind and will need a lot of time to catch up. But to be honest, his biggest issue isn’t his capability. It’s his attitude. He can get in quite the “I can’t do it!” funk. And then his brain literally shuts off and he can’t even add 8+2. This then spirals more to the “I’m stupid!” funk. And then come the tears and the internal beating himself up. I still struggle to see him in such pain, blaming himself. He told us that the teachers in Ukraine told him he couldn’t do it and just passed him anyway without having him do anything. We have told him over and over again that we will NEVER give up on him. And that if it takes us years, we will sit right beside him and make sure he gets it. Thankfully, these meltdowns have only happened three times. A quick conversation with his teacher and things at school were changed. We have been very blessed with our school district. He has a fantastic ESL teacher who is in constant communication with all of his teachers and with me. Viktor skipped the rest of the new comer program and was mainstreamed on day 1 of 7th grade. His ESL teacher is in every class with him 3 days a week as support. I had my reservations but I agreed to try it. They also agreed that if it wasn’t working, they would go back to the new comer program. They have of course modified his curriculum and his assignments to accommodate his English. For example, he is taking a test today in science. Part of the test is naming the parts of the microscope. He is allowed to physically point at the parts and name them out loud rather than identify them on a drawing on a piece of paper. He is doing remarkably well in his classes actually. I asked him yesterday if it was going better and he said that it was; things are easier than the beginning of the year. Not bad for week 5 of school!

Overall, our Viktor is a very happy, outgoing, loving, bright child. I cannot imagine how much he has given up literally by taking a huge chance and joining our family. So many people have remarked on how lucky he is. In reality, we’re the lucky ones! He is a great addition to our family. As I said before, we have been truly blessed!