"Just a Minute"

Yes..... It's sad to say, Rita's first 3 word phrase is "just a minute" which I say at least 100 times a day. We have been home for almost 48 hours and things are going quite well. The trip home was long as expected. Rita threw 2 temper tantrums which we muddled through. The first and most ugly was when she found out the TVs were broke on our Yerevan to London flight. She starting bawling and head banging. I tried to ignore her but that's kind of hard to do on an airplane. Finally, I dragged her into the bathroom and in my broken Armenian said that we would go back out when she was done crying. The second tantrum was on the flight from London to Chicago. She got totally ticked off when I wouldn't let her get coffee when I did. (she's a 'want to be' coffee drinker, but as you can imagine even after she puts 3 creamers and 5 tsp. of sugar she still doesn't like it and dumps it out). I quickly dragged her to the bathroom this time and she got over her frustration much quicker. Nobody likes to be trapped in an airplane bathroom!!! After traveling for almost 24 hours we were only 2 miles from home and Rita's stomach decided to empty itself again (we had flashbacks from the day we took her from the orphanage). We definitely won't be making any long car trips in the near future. As expected Rita was sooooo excited to meet Natalie. She couldn't jump out of the van fast enough to give Natalie a big hug. It was a precious moment when she said "I love you Natalie!!" I thought our first night might be rough at home but Rita went to bed as soon as Natalie did and slept all night. The next day was the kids' last day of school. I knew it would be crazy at school but Natalie was dying to show her new sister off to her class. We stopped by Andrew's class real quick. Rita thought it was neat to meet cousin Emily real quick (Andrew and Emily has the same teacher this year). On the way to Natalie's class we met up with the principal. She was impressed when Rita said in English "how are you?" Mrs. Vaughn said that she was going to call me but was glad to speak with me in person. She said that the superintendent and herself had been discussing Rita's placement for this fall. As of now they are planning on placing her in 1st grade and possibly having her go down to a kindergarten class an hour or so a day to work on her foundations. They want to give Rita some time to adjust at home and then meet with her in the middle of the summer to see where she's at with her English and what they need to do to best meet her needs. I am so thankful to be in such a wonderful school district because I have heard plenty of horror stories from many of my Internet friends whose "older at time of adoption" kids school situations. Many of them talk about how they have to fight and fight the system to get help for their kids and here our school system is already wanting to do whatever Rita needs!! Last night Rita spoke with her new Armenian American friend for the first time. This man has so graciously agreed to help us out with Rita and our language barrier. When I got on the phone with him after he had talked to Rita I think his exact words were something like "boy, is she a ball of fire or what???" I am so thankful that the adoption agency has found Rita a friend to talk to. Well, I had been hiding in the computer room....but I've been found by 4 of the 5 kids so I better go. Enjoy the pictures. Ted and Rita's first picture together (before the kidnapping).
At the beautiful Cascade, where Rita rode the escalator for the first time...something I'll never forget.
Rita lighting her two candles...one for Mama (me) and G-Mama (her favorite nanny).
The best strawberry milkshake in the world!!!!!!!
My all time favorite picture......this man with only one leg, playing the accordion and singing a song about "Beautiful Rita." I'll post more pictures soon.