Communicating with Addison

When we traveled for our first trip to meet Addison, the only Russian we knew was how to say hi. After seeing how much she reacted when they spoke to her in Russian (as if we thought she would react when we spoke English to her ... LOL), we went home and purchased this CD, which is targeted at parents adopting from Russia. It basically teaches you how to say phrases that would be nice to know in trying to communicate with your child. Kyle learned more than I did since he had the CD in his car when driving to and from work, but it really has been so helpful ... he is so proud of himself! LOL. I highly recommend this CD for anyone that will be adopting ... you will be so glad you did!

Addison's First Doll {and Russian 101}

Awhile ago, I talked about dealing with the language barrier after we get Addison home. I bought a dolly that speaks Russian {her name is Kukla}, as well as a Russian lullaby CD. I got them in the mail the other day ... and here is Kukla ...
Push Kukla's belly and she says ...

"Privet" - Hello
"Ulybnees" - Smile
"Ya Tebya Lyublyu" - I love you
"Davai Druzhit" - Let's be friends
"Poigrai So Mnoi" - Play with me

Oook, how in the heck do you pronounce some of this stuff?! I've got some learning to do!

Language Barrier

I asked my friends over at Reece's Rainbow {some who have already adopted} what they did to help the transition with language. I'm told by other adoptive parents that their children adjusted beautifully in relation to language. We plan to learn some key Russian phrases, but poor Addison probably won't understand what we are saying since we don't have the proper accent. So we will focus primarily on sign language and verbalization.

I also received a great idea from someone who had purchased a Russian speaking doll and a Russian lullaby CD from this website. I also purchased the doll and CD for Addison. :)