I'm Dreaming of A...Baby? (No, Not an Adoption Announcement; Don't Get Any Ideas ;))

First of all, I'd like to attribute my severe lapse in blogging to an insane load of work. Although I survived SATs and AP testing, I have finals next week and I'm taking the ACT the day after school's out. Yikes.

I can't help but remind myself, though, the excitement that was practically visible on me a year ago. As you recall, at this time last year, we were in the mere weeks before travelling to pick up Sasha. It was, simultaneously, a weird time, since I had no idea what to expect of the whole situation. Living sisterless for the first fifteen years of my life, I couldn't imagine living- every day- with a toddler girl.

Sasha is, of course, the absolute light of our lives. I'm embarassed by my lack of funny Sasha Stories here, but it's like I can't even begin to describe her. Her happiness is so tangible and so contagious. And she has the biggest heart I've ever seen.

A few weeks ago, our kitty Coco ran away (we actually haven't seen her since, which is pretty disheartening.) About a week after we last saw her, I started researching coyote and hawk relationships with cats, and I just burst into tears. Sasha came up to me with a look of genuine concern and empathy and said to my mom, "Susanna sad." She then, without any prompting, gave me a really long hug. We told her "Coco went bye-bye" by way of explanation- which she understood- but it almost didn't matter; she was completely shaken up by the idea that I was upset, because she's very rarely seen me crying. Recently, she saw a picture of Coco and immediately announced, "Susanna sad" and frowned. Her complete concern for others is so touching.

On a much happier note, the number of referrals our agency has given out lately is astounding! I feel so happy for all the lucky families, and my mom and I are feeling a little jealous. We asked Sasha, though, if she wanted a referral, too, and she sighed, "Noooo." (She doesn't know what a referral is, of course, but we had to laugh.) Having said that, though, I'm not sure how Sasha would take having another child in the house; she's extremely nurturing towards her dolls, and is obsessed with other babies, but she gets jealous if Carsten sits on my mom's lap for only a second. It would definetely take some getting used to.

Although it doesn't seem like Sasha will have to deal with that in the very near future, a family in a neighboring town were just matched with sisters who are 3 and 4. Sasha already has regular playdates with T, who just turned 3, so we think these new additions will be perfect. I'm glad that Sasha will be expanding her network of little Ethiopian friends.

The crazy end-of-the-year happenings, and an eventful year in general, calls for a vacation. Three weeks from today, we'll be heading to Florida to visit Key West, Key Largo and Miami. When we asked Sasha if she wanted to go to Florida, she characteristically sighed "Noooo," (which is her automatic response to anything she doesn't know anything about), but when we showed her a picture of a waterslide at one of the hotels, she pointed to it and exclaimed "Sasha!" I'm already looking forward to it; I'll be glad to spend more time with my family, since schoolwork, work, extracurricular and social commitments have been pulling me away lately. And of course, by the looks of it, Sasha will really enjoy herself too :-)