Ziva, the Canadian

Yes, it is official- Ziva is now a Canadian citizen! We are very excited...mostly because this now means that we can obtain a health card for her and we don't have to pay for doctor's visits and tests "out-of-pocket" anymore! We still find it appalling that the Ontario government can be so discriminatory towards adopted children.

We have spent much of the past few weeks going to doctors and other various appointments, as well as making many phone calls trying to get assistance for Ziva. We finally found a doctor who specializes in post-adoption check ups; he is not able to be Ziva's pediatrician, but at least he was able to see her and order bloodwork and tests. (The hunt for a pediatrician is still on...) We have also joined the ranks with many other parents who are on waiting lists for services for their child. Ziva desperately needs help with her speech and development, and yet we have to wait 5-10 months before we can receive any help. Not feeling we can just sit around and wait, we have decided to pursue private speech therapy. We are praying and hoping to hear Ziva's first word soon!

Amongst the appointments, Ziva continues to take everything in stride. New things still overwhelm her; when we go somewhere new, she spends the first while just staring with her jaw dropped. We took her swimming for the first time! After the initial shock wore off, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Swimming with Ziva is great for us too, because it helps to foster attachment- we have never had Ziva cling so tight to us as when we were in the pool! Another exciting "first" was meeting all her aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was a bit awestruck (and scared!) of her 4 boy cousins (3 the same age as her) who were much bigger, louder, and rougher than her!

Please continue to keep Ziva in your prayers. She is significantly behind in development and speech acquisition; almost daily we discover more things that she has not been taught or isn't able to do. It has become quite clear to us that Ziva received very little stimulation or instruction of any kind in the orphanage. So...we have a big task ahead of us and we pray God's blessing on Ziva as she adjusts and develops.

For family and friends who are still following this blog, you may be wondering if I will keep the blog going. (I know, I haven't been very consistent since arriving home...) I do plan to keep blogging, but only about once a month around the anniversary of "gotcha day" (January 27th). So stay tuned for updates and new photos monthly!

One month anniversary of "Gotcha Day"; 24 lbs, 84 cm tall. Not much change yet-she still looks like the same pudgy baby to us!

Helping mommy in the kitchen.

Hanging out with a few cousins.

Playing at her grandparents' house.