Someone is 4 (and it’s not me!)

I apparently need to play the lottery this fall and play the number 4 as one of my choices!  After I turned 4-0 a month ago, it’s now Tatiana’s turn!  Yesterday my little Russian princess turned 4! 

It seems like literally just yesterday “Aunt Rhonda” and I were visiting her at the Artem baby home on the last day of trip #1.  What an incredible moment in our future mama/daughter relationship.  Even though I missed her 1st birthday, I was able to share at least a small part of her 2nd birthday.   WOW – how time flies!

4 means that somebody is now old enough to ride the bus to school!  (Again, not me!)  And as you can imagine, she’s SUPER excited.  On Friday we took candy corn cookies to her Pioneer Preschool class and today we took Pumpkin muffins to her Great Start preschool class. 

I was planning on not doing a full, huge birthday party this year, just a casual, small gathering with family – however, my Aunt Kay was in town from Florida for the weekend, and her free day  for a family get together happened to fall on Tatiana’s actual birthday.   So we ended up having a combination birthday party/family gathering for Aunt Kay.  Excuses, excuses… we love a party!  

So now I’ll be quiet and let you see what you came for.  PICTURES!  She loves the video files – and in her birthday honor, I put it to her favorite song of late “Baby love” because that’s what I call her lately.   Enjoy!

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

Two Years Ago, in a City Far Far Away...

As I sit here tonight, it is currently tomorrow, October 20th, in Vladivostok, Russia. October 20th, 2008 is a day I will NEVER forget. It's a day that changed my life - it's the day I met my little girl!

The day started out rough. I was super stressed as I had been told that my original referral, a little boy, "was not good". I knew a little girl existed as a back up referral, but for whatever reason, I thought she was going to be a mess. I was so nervous and upset that while waiting for the MOE (Marilyn Monroe for those of you Vlad graduates - sooo scary!) to finish up, I had to dash across the hall to the bathroom. And I dashed in such a rush that I left my bag in the hall with my driver and translator. The bag that contained the toilet paper. About now those of you who HAVEN'T toured Russia are wondering: "what the heck??? She carries her own TP? How OCD is she?" The answer is no... I don't. Just in Russia. It's a luxury there. So are toilet seats. And in some places - toilets. Seriously. I'll leave the rest to your very vivid imaginations.

Most of you know from this post here how the day turned out. He became she. Was it the way I always imagined? NO! Incredibly hard and stressful - but I will tell you in the end, I would have it no other way. I still peak at the Vladivostok database from time to time to see if my original referral is still there. And he is. It breaks my heart. I will always see him as the little boy who linked me to my daughter. If I wouldn't have traveled to meet him, I would have never met her. Not the way I intended it, but it was the BEST possible ending.

I do feel like even with all that stress up front, I have a fairy tale story of meeting my beautiful T. After declining the little guy, my BFF Rhonda and I were waiting outside to see if we could meet the aforementioned little girl. I didn't know it was her at the time, but the second I spied this little sprite on the playground with big brown curls, it was LOVE at first sight. And while I didn't know she was the one I was waiting for - I wished she was, as I thought she was PERFECT. I think Rhonda cried harder than I did when we found out this perfect little thing was my 2nd referral.

Two years later she's still perfect in my eyes. Don't get me wrong -- she's about to be 4 and certainly has her moments -- but she's perfect for me. That day, two years ago, changed my idea of fate and what is truly meant to be.

Today she's a shadow of her former self. While I thought she was fabulous then, she amazes me everyday now. Everyday it's something new. I think back about that scared, sweet but yet sad girl who barely was even speaking her Russian language. Today she's a funny, loud, talkative, insanely curious, happy girl. I watched yesterday as 4 of her preschool classmates gave her hugs as we left the classroom and it made me wonder if she would have ever felt that back at the baby home. I hope so... but now, we'll never have to wonder.

Happy Metcha Day my beautiful, perfect (for me!) girl!

Fall Catch Up

Where did September go?  I swear just yesterday was Labor Day weekend and now it’s not only October, but it’s already October 9th!  WHOA!  Slow down world! 

I am not sure if time seems to be moving faster because we are now fully engrossed in school and schedules or if it can be attributed to the shorter days.  The sun is now setting around 7:15 – boo!  This is rough on us Michiganders as we are used to 10pm sunsets in the summer! 

In our typical fashion, we’ve had another busy few weeks.  Some of the highlights include a monumental birthday for mama – the BIG 4-0; a trip to Tennessee to see Grampa and Gramma and a night out on the town to see Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE.  I’ll highly recommend YGG Live, and the beauty of Tennessee; however, you know how you hear people saying their body starting falling apart after 40?  I am stating to think it’s true! 

Tatiana is LOVING school.  She continues to amaze me in how quickly she learns and picks things up.  I love watching each time she seems to hit a new milestone.  It seems like Gramma Darlin (my mom) and I are remarking about once a month that she’s reached a new level in conversation or abilities.  It’s very cool to watch! 

She did awesome on the drive to Tennessee!  On the way down we stopped in Columbus, OH to see my friend Kim, her husband Tim, and their daughter Katie.  It was great to see them all again, for them to meet Tatiana and to break up the trip.  We drove ALL the way back on Sunday (11 hours!) and Tati didn’t complain once!  She was a total trooper! 

Grampa and Gramma gave Tati a Tennessee cheerleader costume while we were in town.  The timing was perfect, as we had recently gone to a home football game in town.  Tatiana’s cousin Courtney is a varsity cheerleader, and Court’s sister Ashley was also cheering that night, as she cheers for the area football league for kids (think little league for football).  Tati was psyched to see her two cousin’s cheering and now has a new passion.  On a side note, she was very concerned that Ashley was “going to get dirty” when she saw Ashley doing the splits.  That’s my girl! 

Picture to follow… hope you are enjoying your fall!  Next up: Tatiana’s 4th birthday and a family gathering! 

Meet Miss Macy (aka Mini)

Yes.  You are seeing (and reading) this correctly.  We’ve added another family member to our house.  Meet Macy – the latest calico addition.  She joins her sisters:  Gracie and Casey, and of course big brother “Bubba” aka Roo. 

I firmly blame this on my neighbor!  Marie’s cute little polydactyl cat, “Polly” got out this summer while she was in heat and viola – 5 of the cutest baby kittens.  3 of the 5 were also polydactyl (extra “thumb”) and 4 of the 5 were female.  Macy is a muted calico.  Since I LOVE calicos (see Gracie and Casey), and have always liked polydactyl cats, Macy was, apparently, meant to live with us. 

Yes, this means we are back to a head count of 4.  But could you have said no to this face? 

The elder felines of the house are slowly getting used to her.  Hissing is subsiding.   Tatiana, on the other hand, is THRILLED.  Beyond thrilled.   Whenever she comes home from school or daycare, her first question is “where is Macy?”  I can relate – when I was her age, I got a kitten and he was my world! 

 

First Day of Pre School!

Since sometime last spring, Tatiana has been SUPER excited to go to “school”.  Last school year, she watched her cousins Riley and Ashley, and some of the other kids at daycare go to school.  In addition, she has a really uncanny knack for recognizing buildings around town and remembering EXACTLY what they are (“Oh!  It’s the post office!  Oh!  It’s the dime store – they give me pretzels!”).  Last spring, Gramma Darlin took Tati to “Riley’s school” once to pick Riley up.  From then on, Tati was PSYCHED to go to school.  And the countdown began…

All summer mama heard “OH!  There’s *MY* school!”, and “Mama, can we go to the playground at *MY* school"?”.  Etc, etc and repeat!

Today was FINALLY the big day!  While most of the kids started yesterday, Tati’s 1st preschool will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, so she started this morning.  But wait – did I just say “1st preschool”?  Yes!   I did!   Right now she’s enrolled into two different programs.   I’ll spare you all the details (ok, I tried to type it all out, but it’s seriously such a long story that even I was getting bored typing it, so you’re saved!) but suffice it to say that right now the schedule will be M-W-F mornings and then Monday through Thursday afternoons.  The big test will be Monday and Wednesday – both LONG days.  If it’s too much, we’ll drop one. 

So, on to the part you’re all here for… PICTURES! 

Breakfast before school!

I’m ready to go

My backpack is bigger than me! I’m so excited!

Here we are!  Time to go!

Cat’s Eye View

Hello everyone – Roo here.  You also might be familiar with another moniker I have “Bubba”.  It’s recently come to my attention (multiple times, in fact), that my press time around here has drastically decreased.   I’m here tonight to change that fact.  Besides, my mom won’t get around to posting for another couple weeks, so SOMEONE should keep this blog alive.

Things are ok around here.  Mom would probably tell you differently – that all is well.  But – I’ll sing a different tune tonight.  I mean, look at my face.  Do I look pleased?  That KID has taken over this house!  *I* am supposed to rule the roost! 

Actually, secretly, I’ll admit it, she’s pretty cool.  Mom catches me outside her room at night.  She thinks I am waiting for her to go to bed, but really I am just making sure the kid’s alright.  I’ve kind of  named myself her protector.  I DO get jealous if all the attention is focused on her – and I’ll have to squeeze between her and mom.  But it’s all good.  I just want to be PART of the fun. 

Gracie is good, too.  She’s still a huge eater – even though *I* am the giant boy.  The kid helps mom feed Gracie the wet food.  She gets the can of wet food out of the cupboard in the evening.   Gracie likes that but still is a little hesitant to let the kid touch her – unless she’s let her guard down and the kid sneaks up.  The one thing we don’t get?  The kid (and mom too) call her “Heana” all the time.  Mom says it’s because she used to call Gracie “Gracina Purina” and that kid started calling her “Heana.” Weird.

 

That young cat that looks like Gracie is still around too.  I think her name is really Casey, but the kid calls her “New-new” or “Newnie” because, quite simply, she was the new kitty.  She came home after the kid did.  I like her and all – but she gets almost as much attention as the kid does.  Mom’s not really sure what her background was since both her and Gracie came from “death row”, but we suspect she had been around kids and dogs since she’s not scared of either of them.  Mom says she’s her lover girl, she’s always jumping into mom’s arms from the floor and she licks mom’s neck a lot.  Also weird. 

Mom told me that if I left a post with no pictures of the kid – I’d get in trouble.  So here they are.  They went to a wedding last weekend with Grampa and Gramma who were in town from Florida (via Tennessee).  And this morning they made cookies.  But not kitty cookies or treats for me.  Sheesh.  Gramma Darlin and the kid also got matching (temporary) butterfly tattoos. 

Sounds like the kid is sleeping – time for me to assume my post at her bedroom door.  Night all!

Summertime – When the Livins’ Easy

August is slipping away from me as I type tonight.  I swear yesterday was August 1st!  Thankfully, here in Michigan, school doesn’t start until AFTER Labor Day, so we still have a couple weeks left before the big start of PRE-SCHOOL.  My big dilemma over that is which one to send her to – we applied to two and got accepted at both.  Decisions, decisions. 

The fun continues this month.   I will be sad when this summer of fun ends!  I will also be exhausted… but sad!  This month’s update (let’s face it, that’s about my average these days…) has some good, and some sad. 

My little tiny town had it’s yearly festival in early August.  This is a DO NOT MISS event in the town each year, and I am very pleased to report that the committee outdid themselves this year!  We had a fabulous time!  Friday afternoon was kids events:  picture the main street of a town closed off, tons of FREE kids events and perfect weather.  Tati invited her cousin Mary up for the festivities (ok, in truth, Mary’s mom and Tati’s mom wanted to catch up!), and the girls played perfectly together as usual! 

The events included a Princess Tea Party:

Kids Games and Train Rides:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a magic show featuring Ronald McDonald (did you know he was multi-talented?).  And where was the child that was scared of all the characters at Disney? (minus the princesses)  Nowhere in sight.  She walked straight up to him and said hi.  If there would have been smaller children in her way (there weren’t, thankfully), they may have been stepped on.  That girl was ON A MISSION. 

Finally, we wrapped up the weekend’s events with a marching band exhibition (hey, we love music!), a parade AND fireworks!  And the fear of fireworks?  Ready for this?  Sitting down?  No tears, no screaming – and we actually got some “ooooh beautiful” comments!  WOW!  She loved them!  Here she is making faces with mama at the parade.

 

A week later,  Tatiana and I  went to our adoption agency’s (Lighthouse Adoptions, Inc) summer picnic/family gathering.  It was a blast!  Lorien has a knack of picking the hottest day of the year for the gathering (well, it is August), but this year she was super smart and picked an inside location – Xtreme Bounce Zone!  Great choice!  Tati had a BLAST – and it was perfect since it was just Lighthouse kids.  No huge 15 year olds jumping on top of tiny 3 year olds! 

In addition, we shared a minor milestone while on our “trip” to the picnic.  Since the gathering is about 2 hours from our house, we left later on Friday night and stayed at a hotel near Ann Arbor.  When T sleeps at “Gramma Darlin’s” house she has an Aero-bed made for young kids.  It’s sides are slightly raised so kids don’t roll out.  I purposely didn’t bring this along so we could try out her first night in a big, big bed all by herself (knowing that if it backfired, this hotel does have a pack and play or 4).   I try to choose a hotel that has a slightly separated room, either a suite of two rooms or a faux-suite where a small wall divides the spaces.  For this reason, SpringHill Suites are my friend!  I was getting our things situated just after we arrived to the room when I heard MASSIVE giggling from the other side of the wall – and this is what I discovered: 

You’re catching the downward side of the jump.  Yes, in her adorable sundress.  Not very ladylike, but TONS of fun.  We have plenty of years to be ladylike!  Bring on the fun!

So, after seeing this, you can imagine that I was a little afraid that sleeping would NEVER commence.  However, this is what I got at bedtime: She was a pro!!  She slept great, didn’t roll out (yes, that is a 6 pillow wall surrounding her – hey, I *had* to do something with all those pillows they gave us!) and was in general, an angel!   So then it was onto the big event – Bounce Zone!  Here’s the princess in action:

  

 

 

 

 

We had a blast!  Tatiana was in her glory and mama loved talking with other adoptive families!  Next year we’ll have to try to plan our schedules and have some more time to chat!

In other news, the morning after we returned home from this event, we received some very sad news.  The mother of Tatiana’s BFF at daycare was murdered the night before.  This is very hard for me to type, because it is still fresh and sad.  Horribly tragic, horribly wrong.  Two of the most beautiful children have lost a mother at the tender age of just barely 2 (last week) and 3.  They’ll likely never remember her.  If it’s in you, please pray for these gorgeous kids.  My heart breaks daily for them.  (On a side note, while VERY, VERY shocking, I don’t live in Cabrini Green.  I live in a tiny town and aside from last year’s double murder that you may remember from a previous post, there hasn’t been anything like this happen in 15+ years. )

I think that’s enough for now.  War and Peace may have been shorter than this post.  It’s closing in on 1am and I am wide awake.  Mama had a dynamite girls only weekend in Las Vegas with some very long term friend (notice I didn’t say OLD).  We were celebrating a certain milestone event for the year.  Yup, we’re all turning 29.  Again.  And again…. repeat another 9 times.  But more on that later!