Our Ukrainian Princess!

Ella and I arrived home at 4am on June 11th. We were very tired after traveling for 24 hours. Ella was such an angel on the airplanes. She was amazing. The only time she cried was when we first sat down on the flight from JFK to Phoenix. I put her in the middle seat, and she looked up at the man sitting next to her. We sat by ourselves on the flight from Kiev, so this was the first time she had to be next to someone. She looked back at me and started crying. It was so cute. I told the man she was not used to strangers, especially men. What I didn't say was that she had never seen a black man before getting to JFK, and certainly never up close. She calmed down right away and the man commented at the end of the flight that he couldn't believe how good she had been.
We have been home for little more than two weeks now and I can't believe how well she has been adjusting. When planning for an adoptive child you always have to be cognizant of what adjustment and other issues they may have, because you just don't know what to expect. We definitely didn't expect things to be this easy for her. Part of it is her age. We are so blessed that her mother gave her up immediately at birth. Because of that decision, we were able to get her at this young age . (She was 17 months when we met her and just turned 19 months.) She was only taking a few steps by herself when we brought her home and now she can walk the full length of our house, from the living room to the play room, without falling on her butt. It is really quite remarkable. Although children in orphanages are always delayed, they often catch up quickly. Ella was delayed in her speaking (although she says stuff in Russian, so I am the ignorant one there) and in walking. Cognitively she seems right on track with where she should be. She is very observant and learns things so quickly. She learned how to go up and down the stairs in a day. I didn't want her on the stairs at all, but Tyson decided to teach her, and he sure did a good job. I couldn't believe it. Tyson is absolutely her favorite sibling right now. He plays with her and carries her around. The kids took to her right away. They have been waiting a long time for their new sister, but Cambrie was expecting one a bit older that she could play dress up with. I think she will get over that disappointment soon. Chase is actually doing much better than I expected. Sometimes he likes to bug her, but he does that to everyone.
As far as her medical condition goes, she is very healthy. Her only big issue is the heart murmur and she will see the pediatric cardiologist in August. Our pediatrician saw her and immediately knew the spot on her cheek was fungus, so that is being treated and will be gone soon. She is small for her age in every category, but she was small at birth and the doctor is not concerned at this time. She has a very healthy appetite. Her care givers told us so when we first met her and they were right. She eats a ton! Many orphans "grow with love" when they get into their families, so we will see how she does.
We want to thank everyone. We really felt the power of your prayers and thoughts during this long and difficult process. We are thankful that Heavenly Father had so much trust in us that he knew we would go through all of this to find her. We are very grateful to finally have Ella in our family.