New haircut and a brief update :)

We had to ditch the mullet ;) Lina is blowing kisses <3

She's all packed up ready to go for a pretend trip in the car ;)

Below- she is tucking Justin in on the couch- she loves him to death. :) And yes, the feeling is mutual. 

I have been keeping a cautious eye on her as she plays this putting to bed game.... Whenever she tucks her dolls in to bed- she gets them tucked in tight and then smacks them on the head/face. :( I saw this repeated over and over on Gotcha Day as she played with her dolls in the hotel room while Mike was away at the bank.  She even went as far as to take off her shoe and hit the dolls on the head with her shoe. :( Several times.  So sad- I know this was her own experience at bedtime in the orphanage, and why she had so much trouble getting to sleep those first few nights- crying in extreme fear.  Broke my heart to pieces.

Well tonight it happened.  She tucked Justin in, and then quickly pulled the blanket down and slapped him on the face. Hard.  Left a big red mark.  :( (That is not what happened in the photo- photo was taken yesterday as she was gently caressing his face) I know she only did it because it was what she knows and how she was treated.  To her it was normal. But I quickly took her to sit on the step, explaining that we don't hit, and then a few minutes later let her get up and tell Justin she was sorry.  She signed "sorry" to him and they hugged.  Totally breaks my heart, but she does need to learn it is not acceptable behavior.

On a more positive note, Lina had her appointment with the dermatologist today- skin fungus is GONE! :) There are still a few scabies bumps so we need to retreat, and he gave her a new ointment for her eczema.  She goes back in a month for follow up. The doctor's expression when he walked into the exam room and saw us was priceless. :) He remembered me from when I was in a couple months ago to have a few moles removed, so I'd have no issues when I went for our medicals in Russia.  He had heard the whole story.  He first looked at me and stopped dead in his tracks... his eyes got wide... and I just smiled big and said, "Here we are!" He looked over at Lina and back at me, eyes still wide and I said, "Yes, that's her!"  He just looked in amazement and couldn't believe it- not sure if he was shocked to see me back since he probably thought he was through with me LOL or shocked that we got her home so soon... I don't know.  But he was so sweet- asking all sorts of questions about how she's doing, told me about some local places to find Russian food markets, and he even spoke some Russian to her. :) She looked at him with this stare like, "Who ARE you??" but did eventually reply with some gestures and a few paka's. :)  He commented several times about how precious she is. Yea, you don't have to tell ME that! ;) It was all very heartwarming though.

Friday is Lina's appointment with the cardiologist- think good thoughts!