We adopted Amanda 8 months ago today! I just dawned on me that much time has passed, it seems like I was just in Estonia with her and it also feels like she has been here forever! Very confusing. Where in the world did the time go? Do you think she looks different? 
The thing we did not realise is how much her skin color changed, it was a gradual change, and then all of a sudden we are wondering when Amanda got a tan!. She used to be a pure bluish white, and now she is a golden tan. LOL The yellow is from beta-carotene, a dermatologist confirmed that, I hope that as she eats more foods, that should resolve. I make a conscious effort to feed her foods of all colors. ;o)
Amanda and Kara have had runny noses, and they get really sore from constant wiping. Thankfully Amanda is feeling better, I am not so sure they had colds, but instead had allergies, the pollen count here has been astronomically high.
Amanda and Kara visit a developmental pediatrician tomorrow, we will see what she has to say. I have been filming some of Amanda's quirky behavior, she often shuts down when she is around new people, and I wanted the doctor to see how she acts at home.
Amanda's hair makes me giggle, it all grows forward and covers her face, she reminds me of Cousin It, remember him/her on The Adam's Family?. Of course you never she Cousin It's face, and we try to move Amanda's hair out of hers. She usually has it up in a hair tie.
We just washed her hair, it is so dry right now, we have almost no humidity here, skin, hair, sinuses, all get so dry. We need to find a good spray on conditioner that does not have parabens, PEG, or any other harmful ingredients, and so far there is nothing. Why do they put hormone disruptor's in baby products?
We got her hair in a ponytail, and she was so happy, she really dislikes it in her face too. Of course I missed the happy faced Amanda by seconds. LOL 
I thought I would share a picture of her I posted on Meghan's blog, I am not certain that people who read this one read Meghan's, which is really our family blog. Amanda's blog was meant to be about her adoption...
Amanda gets around this way most of the time, because of that, she wears jeans all the time. The rear ends of most of her jeans are wearing out, good thing we go to resale shops and get a lot of them, why pay full price for something she will destroy on the cement outside? We do get the skinny jeans most chubby babies can't wear, they fit her perfectly! Please excuse the clutter, it is always around, even 5 minutes after we pick it up! Too little room and too much stuff!
I wonder why Amanda has chosen to move about this way instead of on her hands and one knee and one foot like she did in Estonia, she still does it occasionally, but mostly she scoots. Her lats are getting stronger, trying scooting like her and see how tired you get! She is skinny, but very strong. We always joke that we are going to put a cleaning rag on her bottom and let her clean the floors for us. We can tell when we need to by her dirty her bum gets too. If she cannot go outside (rain, darkness) we put more delicate bottoms on her, and they pick up everything.
Amanda's 4th birthday is this Thursday, we are looking for another rocking toy for her, she and Kara fight over Kara's dog. So far Little Tykes does not have a different one in stock and I cannot find anything in Tucson for her. Craigslist had a rocking worm like Kara's in Ukraine, but they wanted local pick up. I believe it was in Wisconsin, so that would be too long of a drive, don't you think? Who would have thought it would be so difficult to find a plastic rocking toy? We do not want a plush rocker, there are plenty of those, Little Tykes also has a horse, but none in stock. I am so discouraged, but will not give up yet.
The worm like Kara's, I have been looking for over a year for this, I am bummed I cannot get it for the girls, I think Kara would be more inclined to use the worm and Amanda could use the dog, then we could et her a different toy!
Our other option is a sand and water table, though all three would likely play in that. I also looked into a sand box, but with 7 cats, can we keep them out of the very large litter box. What would you recommend for miss Amanda's 4th birthday, keep in mind, she is like an 8 month old in development. 
She has been having a harder time making eye contact lately, we do not understand why, she was doing really well, her self stim behaviors have increased and she is going off by herself again. Nothing new has happened to set this change off. Maybe just a stage for her, she does love to be held, tickled but not cuddled, that drives her crazy!
Amanda's classic head drop, this is what she does when she has had too much input or has laughed too much, or played too hard.
I just love the look on her face here, "Mom, are you done yet?"
Here are the pictures I promised. It is challenging to get good pictures of Amanda because she wants to sit with me when I sit on the floor. I like to take picture on their level. I kept taking her off my lap, but she kept coming back. LOL Amanda is not growing like a weed; more like a rare flower that needs a lot of TLC. I wish I had her metabolism.
Amanda working her lower abs! Honestly, she can hold her legs in the air for 5-10 minutes at a time, her core is strong. I love her delicate little feet.
Ahhhhhh, she is such a precious little lass, isn't she? It is such a privilege to see her blossom, we are blessed to have her in our family. Her bangs need to be cut again! He her grows so much faster than the other girls does.
Look how long her hair has gotten. She also has dark roots, LOL, maybe 2 shades darker than her lightest hair. We were joking that she was a bottle blond, but it is obvious she is a true blond!
It is peculiar to me that Manda gets a dirty face 30 minutes after eating, we think she must have food in her mouth she does not swallow, and it gets all over her face sometime later. She still looks beautiful to me, dirty face and all.
