Weekend Wonders

I hate to actually put this in print – but MAN, the weather has been fabulous for the last 4 days or so.  April in Michigan is very iffy.  I remember one year as a child that one day I was dressed in shorts having a water balloon fight with the neighbors and literally the very next day we had a foot of snow.  This weekend has been 70 degrees plus, sunny and wonderful.  Last summer we had such cruddy weather that we would have loved 70 degrees!

With Good Friday and Easter, plus the aforementioned beautiful weather, we have been busy busy busy!  Here’s a quick weekend (some of it spills into last week) wrap up:

BIG GIRL BED:  At 3 and almost a half years old, it is time to start moving out of the crib.  I can hear the shocks of amazement.  Yes, she’s been sleeping in her crib.  Still.  She’s never once tried to climb out.  Shocking – I know!  Her brand new toddler bed arrived this week and mama is proud to say I assembled it all by my very self!  There was only minor swearing.  Tati was very excited at first – but when push came to shove, she really wanted back in her crib for bedtime.  She powered through that first night and made it until 3am(ish).  She woke up fussing and was ok, but basically laid in bed talking for an hour before I gave up and let her sleep the rest of the night in her crib.  The next day (Good Friday) she napped in the bed and hasn’t looked back since.  The crib is still up in her room – I wanted the out in case she really fought the transition.  And now I just need to have the energy to tackle taking it apart to get it out the door. 

Testing out my new big girl bed…

Potty Training:  Much progress here… we’ve been trying hard!  Last week at a cousin’s birthday party, Tatiana saw her first Zuzu pet.  Needless to say, she WANTS a Zuzu pet.   So this was our motivation for a prize.   She understands what she’s supposed to do, she just doesn’t always do it.  We’re getting there. 

Easter:  Last year this was our first holiday home.  We had only been home from Russia for two weeks when Easter fell, so it was a little lost in concept.  This year was MUCH different.  She was excited for the Easter Bunny and looking forward to the big day (until we went to see him at the mall – then all bets were off).  We had an egg hunt last weekend and she had a blast.  Even though she wanted to have NOTHING to do with him at the mall (think scream bloody murder, cling to mama), the Easter Bunny was VERY good to Tati this year.  She got a new wagon filled with lots of goodies – a little candy, but mostly fun stuff.  After all, the bunny knows his audience, and T is not a huge candy fan. 

  

Hope you had a wonderful Easter! 

Fast Forward – One Year

Last Monday marked one year ago that Tatiana and I arrived safely at home in the United States with our trustful escort “Aunt Whonda”.  I know, I know – I’m just writing about it 4 full days later?   Well, that’s life as a parent, right?

I cannot believe it’s been a year.  I can remember all the details from that crazy trip, as if it happened last week.  I remember the Russian woman who thought she’d talk to Tati on the flight from Seoul to Chicago – and Tatiana screaming bloody murder.  I remember desperately wanting to sleep, but Tatiana was too keyed up to want to sleep.  And I also remember finally getting her to sleep in a home made tent of airline blankets on the floor in our bulkhead row, only to have to wake her up (much to my dismay) 40 minutes later when we hit turbulence. 

Listening to music on the flight home

I also remember wondering during our first couple weeks home how long it would take until she was as comfortable in the US as some of the other kids of bloggers that I followed.  I knew I COULDN’T compare – every child is different – but I couldn’t help it! 

Back in Russia during my 10 day wait I was told that the doctor thought she “cried for no reason – out of the blue – often”, and that she likely had ADD.  Looking back, she fully understood the Russian language and everything that was being said to her, but she was really only speaking about 5-10 words max (and one of them was English!).   She was scared of the dogs and the cats on the playground at the baby home (and eventually around the Vlad Inn).   And when she came to stay with me at the hotel she was very scared at night.  In order for her to go to bed, she had to cry.  And cry.  And cry.  Oh.  And rock.  Not violently, but pretty steady.   And if I tried to hold her and comfort her, it would only make her cry harder. 

So where are we now?  WOW… where do I start?  As far as crying – sure, she cries now and then, but no more than any toddler trying to get her point across.  Typically, when she’s crying there is a REASON.   She’s also a very sensitive little girl.  She doesn’t like to be “yelled” at – and if you yell too sharply to get her to stop doing something (say that might hurt her, etc), she’ll probably get her feelings hurt and cry.  She also doesn’t like seeing other kids cry.  It’s very sweet.

ADD?  Who knows.  She doesn’t seem any more hyper than any other typical 3 year old.  She likes to jump and dance and run around, but she’ll sit for hours and color (“do crayons” as she would say), and if Dora or Yo Gabba Gabba are on – all bets are off.  She’s GLUED.

Language?  You can’t stop this girl from talking!  She’s quite the motor mouth (unless she’s being shy).  Each night when she goes to sleep (no crying, not for a long time, unless there is something wrong), she still rocks a little bit – but she says good night to everything under the sun.  The best way to describe it is she’s running through her day in her head and saying good night to all the highlights.  It’s a great way to tell what she really enjoyed!  Horribly cute.   She knows all her ABCs – saying and recognizing and is counting up to 15 or so.  She’ll tell you what ANY animal will say - with the exception of the Giraffe.  If you ask her what a Giraffe SAYS – she’ll promptly tell you “ he doesn’t talk”.  But if you ask her what NOISE he makes – she’ll tell you he bleats.  Like a sheep.  Hysterical. 

Speaking of animals – she LOVES her kitties.  She has a specific “sound” for all 3 when asked what they say.  She’s also fascinated by dogs, but yet still scared.  Her relationship with the 3 dogs next door to us is close to stalker-ville, she talks about them 24/7.   However, when it comes time to pet/touch them.  NO WAY.

I don’t know what it is about the wait BEFORE you meet your child and the wait between trip #1 and trip #2 (horrid), but man does time FLY when you get home.  I was so impatient during my process to adopt her.   I didn’t know then – but I had a reason to be – she’s incredibly cool and my life is so much better with her in it!

One Year Home – March 2010

Before and After

I posted this on facebook earlier this week and I think it does a PERFECT job of summing up Tatiana’s year home.  

It’s the SAME dress she wore last year on the day she left the Artem baby home (courtesy of Jeanette and Sophie – thanks!).  It was quite big on her last year – and since she’s still very small around the middle, I figured it would still fit.  And it did! 

Just a little different!!

One Year Ago Today...

Tatiana and Mama started their new life together! I cannot believe it's been a year. A huge thank you to my friends and family for their love and support during this time. And to those waiting... it's worth the wait!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Making Up For Lost Time

Another post?  Sheesh, what is this world coming to?  I must be making up for lost time! 

I have sent this email to some and also posted on facebook, but would love to share my Gotcha week project with my dear blogger friends.  Next Saturday will be Tatiana’s 1 year “Gotcha Day” anniversary.  I don’t love the term “Gotcha Day” for some reason – but it sums up the occasion nicely – so it will do for now. 

To celebrate we have a big day planned.  There is an Enchanted Princess Ball nearby that day, followed by naps (probably more for mama than T) and then dinner out with Gramma Darlin at Red Lobster.  (Sigh) Both Gramma and Tati LOVE fish, mama:  not so much.  And Red Lobster is the closest we’ve got near by to a seafood restaurant – so Red Lobster it is! 

Tatiana will be getting a couple small presents – 1 Russian themed (mama has yet to pick from the secret stash) and a Tag Jr. reading system (which I have to say I just took out of the box tonight, downloaded/set up everything and it’s VERY cool).  And lastly, I am making the final present… which is where YOU come in! 

My friend Charlotte made a video /slide show of pictures to celebrate a birthday – and it sparked an idea.  I thought it was a wonderfully personal way to say Happy Gotcha Day to T.  I am hoping you’ll join in our celebration, take a picture of you/your family/kids/pets/whateveryousodesireratedG and email it to me before 3/18.  I’ll compile them all and make her a special slideshow!  Here’s two examples from some fellow Vladivostok graduates!

Thanks in advance – I can’t wait to see all the pictures!  Email address is danivann@aol.com. 

A Year In the Making

March is a month of anniversaries for Tatiana and I.  I can’t believe that it was a year ago this week that I was back in Vladivostok, reunited with the little Russian Princess and sitting in a Russian court room to be named the new mother of this wonderful little girl. 

This week my normally VERY healthy little tot has had a yucky tummy.  I hesitate to say this out loud for fear of jinxing our string of good luck – but honestly since Tatiana has been home, she’s literally not had any major sickness beyond a stuffy nose. 

The stuffy nose is back – likely mama suspect the culprit of seasonal allergies (weather change!  bring on spring!).  I was giving her a chewable immune booster for kids over two and it seems that Wednesday the immune booster decided to make a re-appearance – ALL NIGHT.  The poor thing got going and couldn’t keep a thing down Wednesday night. 

I can hear you all now… “Amy, this is thrilling and all, but I honestly have better things to do than read about puke”.  So why am I telling you this?  We also had a major learning for Miss T this week, that only took her a year! 

When she wasn’t feeling well, I moved her bedtime up a little bit that night.  After she was in bed, she decided she wanted some water to drink (a nightly routine for her) – but since she had literally not kept a THING down, mama was nervous to give her the water.  I asked her if she wanted to come out and sit with mama and rock/snuggle.  She agreed. 

Rocking and snuggling are not new for T – she’ll do it and has been doing it for a bit now.  However, the big learning came after the rocking/snuggling when I put her back to bed.  5 minutes later I was being summoned to the bedroom with calls for “mama!”.   When asked what was wrong – Tati says “I want to rock…”

1 year to the date of court and the girl is asking for rocking and snuggling.  I am not only pleased that she now is openly asking for this – but I am also pleased that she has learned how to potentially draw out her bedtime!  I know that sounds backwards, but, it’s a milestone for her!

It’s amazing to think of the changes in her over the last year.  Some of the more visible are apparent in the picture below – taken the day after court last year (3/11/09).

While We Were Out...

I know I said I'd do a better job of posting. And this time I have a great excuse. Tatiana and I went to Florida for some fun in the sun, only Mother Nature didn't get that part of the memo! Our vacation was sandwiched between 3 work trips - so, you'll understand how hectic it's been around here!

We had a blast in Florida. Now it's time to bring on March and all the anniversaries we'll share! It's almost been 1 year that T has been with her mama forever! Can you believe it? Oh how the time flies...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com