Christmas Joy

Wow - can we say someone got a little spoiled this year?? Actually we probably need to say we ALL got a little spoiled this year. We had a wonderful Christmas!! I think I'll try telling it in pictures to keep this post from dragging on and on!!

We started out Christmas Eve morning by explaining to Daniel what the empty stocking meant and hanging it up for Santa to fill up that night.

Next we took Daniel to day care for a half day so we could assemble the train table and train tracks we got him for Christmas. It took us forever to get the train set just right. (No picture, we were too frazzled!!)

After picking him up from day care we drove about 2 and half hours to Troy's parents for Christmas Eve dinner with the whole family. Then we opened gifts with them. Can we say Granny and Grandpa are so organized. Each of the three grandsons had tons of gifts and they were color coordinated. Daniel got green wrapping (my favorite color)! He got tons of stuff - shirts, pants, a slinky dog, Octopus paydoh set, a handmade quilt from his great grandmother Doris in FL, and the best was the safari wagon from Granny and Grandpa!! Boy that was a big hit (and still is!) We've even been informed that we are going to a zoo with Daniel's Aunt Amber, Uncle Stephen and cousin Parker in the spring because the safari wagon has to go with us! Sounds like fun to us!

After having to tie our trunk down for the drive home, we managed to fall into bed and the next morning we woke to see this...

We took Daniel out of his room and told him Santa came to fill his stocking. He knew just where to go. Doesn't he look excited?? In fact he didn't want to open anything, just hold it until I explained there might be a train or something in there he might like to play with!

After we all finished our gifts, we told Daniel we had one more gift for him from Mama and Papa. We took him into his room and Papa pulled back the white sheet (we are creative right?!). The look on his face was so worth it. Both of his hands were full and when he realized what he was seeing one hand slowly opened and toys started falling on the floor and then the other hand opened. It was like slow motion and Troy and I were so cracked up.

So, remember how long it took us to assemble the train tracks (hint: forever). It took Daniel about 3 seconds to take it all apart!!

We finished out the day with dinner with my mom (grandmom).

What a wonderful Christmas it was!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!! Wishing you all the best!!

Under the Weather and Bad/Good Behavior

Daniel has been under the weather for the last week. It was the usual runny nose that he has every other week since he started day care. Thursday night however, he coughed himself silly and finally after propping him up and drinking warm drinks etc. he fell asleep. He woke up Friday coughing and with a swollen face. By swollen, I mean stuffy under his eyes and across his nose, but it was obvious. I called the pediatrician and we went in to see her.

Needless to say in the waiting room a lady approached me to say how much Daniel looked like me. I almost laughed, but I don't feel like I need to tell everyone Daniel's back story, so I simply smiled and played along and said, "If you think he looks like me, you should see my husband and him together." I thought that was end of it until she started asking me if he was born with black hair, like mine, and if it was lightening up now or vice versa. Well, hmmm...I wasn't sure quite what to say so I said a vague "umm humm" to which it did not really answer her question. I quickly changed the subject to other topics and that was that.

The pediatrician said Daniel's ears were cloudy, but not infected, thank goodness, but that he had a pretty good respiratory infection so she gave us an antibiotic and sent us on our way.

Well, the day really began when I took Daniel to fill the prescription. We stopped by my favorite store, CVS. If you don't know why I love CVS, check out my other blog. Anyway, I dropped off the prescription and the lady proceeds to say "Your coming back when?" And I think...Ummm, I'm not coming back. My kiddo is sick and I'm waiting on the prescription. What rubbed me the wrong way was that she assumed I would come back. After I tell her I'm waiting she proceeds to tell me in a frazzled vioce it would be twenty minutes so I started wandering the store with Daniel.

Normally Daniel sits in the front of the cart all strapped in, but because he was feeling bad I let him sit in the back part of the cart and I had brought an electronic book knowing we may have to wait. We are going along nicely when all the sudden Daniel flings his toy to the front of the cart and starts kicking it. I calmly tell him no and move closer to the pharmacy desk to see how busy they were. I noticed the lady was on the phone jabbering away about NON pharmacy stuff. So I sit there and Daniel starts kicking again. I tell him if he kicks again in the back of the cart, he's going to put in the front and strapped in. He knows I mean business. One warning and that's it. My son would, thinks he should and probaly could rule the world at the ripe old age of two. He's incredibly intelligent and very stubborn so he fits right in to the family (def. in the stubborn area!). My mom said I have met my match finally. Anyway he kicks, I pick him up and he goes in the front and he starts crying very, very loudly and bucking against the seatbelt.

Needless to say, this doesn't bother me. Should it? I don't know. I am of the opinion if a child is screaming in a store and the parents are obviously in control then no big deal. All kids throw a fit in a store at some point or another. If the parents are out of control, then it's another story. Well, at this point, the lady is still jabbering away and so I nicely took the cart in front of her register and let Daniel scream and cry and kick right in front of her while I feined interest in chapsticks like I've never seen them before. She finally gets off the phone and then the pharmacist comes out from behind the counter and starts jabbering away about NON pharmacy stuff to someone else. So I gently eased my cart in his direction. Needless to say I got a funny look and then "POOF" my prescription was ready a moment later. When I checked out, Daniel was "all done crying" as he likes to say and we had moved on to looking at a doggie calendar so I looked at and told the lady, "It's not so much fun shopping when you have a little one who's sick." She agreed.

For once I actually apreciated Daniel's little fit! I know - I'm shameless.

Decorating the Tree!

We finally put our Christmas tree up last Wednesday night and we had such a fun time decorating it! We assembled our tree (yes, it's a fake and I love it!) while Daniel was in the bath and then surprised him when he was all dressed for bed. We spent the next 45 minutes decorating the tree. Since then Daniel has decorated and re-decorated the bottom branches about a hundred times!

First Visit with Santa Clause

Monday night we took Daniel for his first visit with Santa. One of my good friends, Tammy, is the photographer for the Santa at the local mall. We set it up to come when they hopefully wouldn't be too busy and since Daniel knows Tammy, we had hoped it would help with him not being afraid of Santa.

Daniel was cautious to say the least, but the Santa was really nice and just let Daniel stand in front of him and they talked. Santa asked him what he liked and I helped out by mentioning trains and Santa knew all about Thomas and friends. He also gave Daniel a coloring book and showed him the reindeer. I finally asked Daniel if he wanted to sit in Santa's lap, and I got a 'what are you talking about look' but Santa scooped Daniel up. It was rather funny after that. Daniel sat for a minute, but he made absolutely sure to tell Santa, pointing included, that I was his Mama, several times. Then he got down. We got one photo with our camera and even though my friend got a photo of Daniel and Santa looking at each, we didn't buy it. Daniel's day care will be taking a field trip to see Santa and they will be doing pictures then.

Speaking of pictures, we got Daniel's day care Christmas photos back and they are wonderful!!! There were two poses and both photos turned out fantastic. I was so pleased and we can't wait to frame them!!

After the whole Santa escapade, Daniel had some fun playing in the mall playground! He loves it because he can jump off of anything and the floor is soft.

As for an update on Troy, he went back to the doctor Monday and thankfully his ear infections are gone and he is starting to gain some hearing back. It's still hollow sounding and his ears still ring, but he is doing much better. The doctor said is he doesn't keep improving that in two to three weeks they want to do a hearing test. We are hoping, and praying, for the continued improvement. Thank you all for the prayers you sent up for us. We really appreciate it!

Thanksgiving and More

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving. The three of us headed over, armed with a green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and bread, to my older sister's house, where we enjoyed dinner with her and her husband and their new son. Eli slept long enough to allow us to eat which was a real treat, especially for my sister.


Silly me - I didn't take a single picture. Part of me is thinking how in the world did I not take a photo of Daniel's first Thanksgiving and the other part of me is thinking that I usually don't take Thanksgiving pictures anyway so it's no big deal. I think Daniel was glad to have a break from the camera at least. He even got out his play camera we bought while in Russia and actually played with it telling me to say "cheese"! I think he's figured out he can boss me around when he has a camera in hand. After all, how can I not say cheese, if I expect him to all the time!?!

Speaking of photos, Daniel's daycare did holiday photos a couple of weeks ago and I am looking forward to receving the proofs back from those. One thing we haven't done is have any professional pictures done since we have been home. I felt bad about it until my mother put in her two cents and made me realize that who needed the professional photos when I had about two thousand (and that's no exaggeration!) photos sitting in piles to be scrapbooked in our guest bedroom!

We haven't started decorating for Christmas yet. We have a couple of birthdays to get through first. Once those are over, we'll break out the Christmas tree and other decorations. I have started reading Daniel some books about the birth of Jesus because I want him to understand that we aren't celebrating Christmas for presents and Santa, but for the birthday of Jesus. My mom gave me a pop out book that is the song to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" which I can sing to and show Daniel the photos. The last photo is of Jesus in the manger with angels above and the animals around Him. Just yesterday when I was getting ready for work, Daniel ran into my bedroom and showed me "Baby Jesus" in the manger. It made my day! Don't worry - we'll still be introducing Daniel to Santa this year and I'm sure Santa will be visiting our house!

Lastly, Troy could use some prayers. He got a severe ear infection about a week ago and had to go to ER Sunday night. His eardrum actually ruptured and the doctors are not sure that he will regain the hearing in his ear back. Sometimes the eardrum can heal spontaneously and other times, not at all. So far, he's not having any luck and is experiencing a ringing in his ear constantly, which is keeping him up at night and is very uncomfortable. We are hoping this pass and that he will able to hear out of the one ear again soon.

Everything Daniel

Now that Daniel is been home seven months, I thought I would try to type up another update on his milestones.

Eating:

Daniel has finally started eating more meats on his own instead of me having to mash it up in potatoes or mix it with rice or noodles. Generally now I can just cut it up on his plate and he's good to go. He loves hotdogs, dinosaur chicken nuggets and fishsticks the most. He still loves green beans and is returning to liking carrots. All other vegetables are pretty off limits as far as he is concerned unless mixed into the meal (rice or potatoes for example). He drinks from an open cup at meal times very well (he knew how to do this originally although we reverted him to a sippy for travel). He will no longer use a small fork, but insists on using our adult sized utensils. He hates sandwhiches and spaghetti. We no longer find a need to use the highchair as he will now sit nicely in his booster with no straps. He does still experiment occassionally with knocking food off his plate, banging the fork or trying to put food in his cup, although it's much less often. Otherwise, we think he's doing great!

Sleeping:

Daniel is still a good sleeper. We are finding we generally can't rock him to sleep anymore as he wants to play in our arms and also has become very good at faking sleep. For the most part we read a couple of books (Goodnight Gorilla or as he calls it "Oodnight 'Rilla" is his favorite) and then rock for a few minutes and then lay him down. Sometimes he knocks right out (around 8 or 8:30) and sometimes he will jabber to himself as late as 9:30 or 10:00 pm. Yet he still always wakes up around 6:45 am, plays for a bit and then falls back asleep until about 7:30 or 8:00 am. He used to not wake up at 6:45, but ever since the time change he has started this new habit. Naps are getting shorter now too. They only take an hour and a half to two hour nap at day care and it's starting to show on the weekends. Sometimes he'll sleep 2-3 hours, but I'm noticing it's more to the 2 hour end now, although he still plays when he wakes up for a little while.

Speech:

Wow! I can't say enough about this. His language is really starting to explode. Sometimes it's great and other times, not so much. For example - he is now saying 3 word sentences. His newest is "hang it up" (his jacket after taking it off) and "cover your mouth" when someone including himself coughs. The not so much comes in with sentences like "No, all done" and "Time out Mommy". These two sentences of his have the ability to drive me batty. "No, all done" can mean 'no more' or 'more (I'm not all done)' so it's hard to figure out which way he's going sometimes with that. It also tends to come out when he doesn't want to do something we ask like brush his teeth or wash his hands. "Time out Mommy" started off as a funny that I wish I never laughed at. I stood up on a chair in front of Daniel to change a clock on the wall back an hour and when I got down Daniel said "Time Out Mommy" for standing in the chair. Well, technically he's right, but now it has become a bit of a game. When he does need a time out and I tell him his behavior is going to result in one, he immediately yells back to me "Time Out Mommy". I have been trying to squash that as it has become more of a form of backtalking now. Otheriwse Daniel is doing great. He is also starting to use "please" and "thank you" regularly without having to be prompted and has mastered "excuse me" and "bless you" after a sneeze. He will also now apologize for something when he gets in trouble without being asked to. Lastly, He uses his name ALOT now. It's "Daniel's hat" or "Daniel's truck". Really, really cute!

Colors, Numbers, Alphabet:

Daniel has really started to learn his colors. He recognizes blue, green, red, yellow, purple, pink, white, black, brown and gold. We have rings for a ring toss game that we work with while playing. I call out a color, he picks it out and we toss. Great fun. He won't however, look at a color I am holding and tell me what color it is. I think this is still a part of not really understanding when he is being asked a question. I know he can say the colors because when we pass a white truck he will say "white big truck". I think he just still doesn't get the concept that I want him to answer me when I ask him what color it is. We are working on that. The alphabet hasn't progressed much past A, B, C and that's okay for now. We are going to work on that next. I've been focusing on numbers lately by reading a Count with Peter Rabbit book. I knew Dnaiel could count to 3 as of yesterday. He even understands what the numbers mean. He scooped up two pieces of sausage yesterday morning and said "two" to me so I was thrilled with this. Then this morning I had a proud moomy moment. I was driving Daniel to day care and I hear a quiet, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8". I was so excited I said "1" followed by a response from Daniel of "2" all that way up to 10!! Then I had hime say "1" and I responded "2" and so on and so forth to be sure he knew all the numbers. He did it!! I was so proud and excited!!

Development:

Daniel looks great! (I'm biased of course!) He is growing taller and eating to beat the band, which hopefully means some weight gain. I don't have current measurements, which I had hoped to have today, because our doctor's office stopped taking our insurance so we have to switch. While I'm not thrilled about this, I'm not completely devastated either as I really haven't had an attachment to this particular office or doctor.

That's about it...I'll leave you with a few photos. We went to Daniel's cousin, Parker's birthday party this weekend and had a great time. Also this morning on the way to day care, Daniel asked for the "newspaper" so I gave him an ad and he acted like he was reading it on the way - too cute!

My New Cousin

A blog from Daniel, inspired by a blog from Andrew...

Guess what everybody?? I have a new cousin. My Aunt Cathy, who I lovingly call "Aunt Cahkeee" had her baby. Let me tell you, he's a cutie. He has a head full of that darn black hair the women in this family have. Why it's not blond, like mine, or red like my Uncle Joe's, I just don't know.

Anyway, he was born on Friday night while I ran around the waiting room burning off energy and looking in the nursery window. I tried to show all the newborn babies my cars, but they didn't seem too interested. He was 6 pounds and 10 ounces and 18 and 1/2 inches long. He looked really tiny to me though. They named him Elijah or Eli for short. I call him "Baby EeeeLyyyyy". I was told to be very gentle so I just pointed out all his facial features for the new mama. I even told her when his eyes were closed so she would know he was sleeping.

I really liked Baby Eli, but when my Mama held him, I wanted to be held too. Afterall, my Mama is mine and Baby Eli gets Aunt Cahkee. It's funny because I heard my Mama telling Baby Eli that she couldn't wait to give him coffee and chocolate. It's the same thing my Aunt Cahkee always tells me, but then I never get it. What's with that?? It must be a joke between Mamas.

Anyway - I suppose I'll share some pictures of Baby Eli with my Aunt Cahkee's permission of course.

I love having a new cousin!!! I can't wait to see him again!!

Also - I am posting a picture of my artwork from day care. Mama especially likes the turkey made from my very own handprints. She showed it to everyone and then hung it up. She's so silly sometimes fawning all over the papers I color. I'm surprised she doesn't frame them and hang them in a gallery somewhere. Oh wait...did I hear her mention we need to take a trip to the craft store. Silly Mama!

Love, Daniel

P.S. Mama said she was going to do a big update about me soon. I guess I'd better be a good boy for the next couple of days!

Myrtle Beach Fun

This past weekend Troy, Daniel and I headed out to Myrtle Beach to visit with Becky, Keith and Andrew, Sira, Cliff and Max and several other adoptive families. Daniel did great on the 7 hour drive! Thursday night we enjoyed a cookout with Sira's family and friends. The children played and had a great time.

Friday involved playing in the freezing cold water, getting knocked over by a wave, playing in the samd and having a lot of fun on the beach, followed by a rehearsal, trick or treating and a great dinner!

Unfortunately late that night, both Daniel and I became sick. Daniel had been struggling with a bug for a while and we thought we had nixed it, but it reared it's ugly head. As for me, well I think I just need to see a doctor. Since I've had my gallbladder out a little over a year ago, I've been sick pretty often. Apparently this is not uncommon and there are some things to be done about it. That being said, we missed the wedding. I won't go into details about the ride home, but you can imagine that with a sick wife holding a trash can in the front seat and a sick son in the back seat (who did great, but needed constant diaper changes) Troy's life was not a basket of roses.

So - I will leave you with pictures of Friday which includes my precious alligator and of course some good looking kids!!

Daniel joining Keith, Becky and Andrew for some play time!

Check out the sand!

Let me help you with that!

There they go!

Here they come!

Mommy and her Alligator!

The family shot!

Alligator and Monkey!Being silly!

Meeting with Friends

Saturday we had the opportunity to meet with two other families who have recently adopted from Russia. We actually met Meghan and Bill while we were in Moscow finishing up our paperwork to bring Daniel home, while they were there on their journey to meet their son Nick. We hadn't met Karyn and Norm yet, only seen each other through the glass at the airport when we were getting off the plane on our way home and they were boarding to take their first trip to Russia to meet their son Ilya.

We had great plans to meet at a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins, but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead we met a the Virginia Discovery Museum for children and let the kiddos play and play and then we all enjoyed a lunch out. It was wonderful to connect with others who have been through the process and to be able to talk about our experiences and our children who have a lot in common.

I'll leave you with son pictures of Daniel, Ilya, and Nick. I know everyone can appreciate how, shall we say, impossible it is to get a picture of three children looking at the camera at the same time??!!

The train table was a big hit, especially for Daniel!

On stage checking out the things to do.

Daniel loved the ball that balanced when air flew up.

I love how he wanted to make sure Papa was watching!

Future accordian player? Daniel loved this!

Ilya had a good time playing!

Nick and Daniel still checking out the train table!

And just in case you wanted to see the parents...

At the Pumpkin Patch - Number 1

Before I start about the pumpkin patch I need to say that as of yesterday, Troy and I have been married for 12 years!!! It was a special day because for the first time we got to spend our anniversary with our child!! It was a good day!

This weekend we ventured out to a local farm for the Pumkin Fest they hold there every year. We had a great time. Daniel took his first hayride and his first walk through a pumpkin patch. The vines were pretty thick so he actually did a lot of falling all over the place and giggling. We took FOREVER to pick out a pumpkin, one for each of us, that even the guy driving the tractor gave up on us and left us to finish up and wait for the next tractor. I think we walked the entire field about three times! Daniel finally settled on a small green pumpkin which I thought was a great addition to the orange one Troy picked and the green and orange one I picked.

Next week we are meeting Meghan and Bill at a different pumpkin patch. I hope to get a nice one there to carve. We are looking forward to meeting them and their precious Nick!!

Oh and at the bottom I am posting a picture of my very first diaper cake that I made for my sister's baby shower. It's not perfect. but I was proud of myself. (I'm not usually so creative!)She's due in about three weeks! We can't wait to see our new nephew! I had fun making it, but it was harder than I thought and next time, I will use wider ribbon. But it was fun and a big hit at the party!

Don't know why that picture turned pink, but there's his pumpkin!

Today, I let Daniel decorate his pumpkin with stickers! Since we'll be carving a different one, I thought this would be fun! He seemed to enjoy it!

And here's the diaper cake. I used 3 bottles of baby washes on the bottom with the little hand mits on the caps. Also in the center of the bottom is a large baby powder to hold the second layer. There are fifty diapers total, the top layer has a large baby oil in the center. There are also four washcloths on the second layer. An elephant on top completes it! I think I'll try it again in the future - also, isn't my sis adorable?!?!

Time Flies

Six months ago today we were nervously getting dressed for court in a hotel room in Izhevsk, Russia. We had gone over our speeches about a million times. We could barely eat our breakfast and we had even practiced our speeches in the little café while we tried to eat.

We were escorted to the Russian court and ushered into a bland room with small benches for us to sit on and small tables for the orphanage director, the social worker, the prosecutor, the clerk, and podium for the Judge.

I spoke first talking about our family, our home, our finances, and everything in between. Troy spoke about our jobs, our hobbies, our lives. We were asked many questions. Troy was so quiet and nervous that they had to keep asking him to speak up. Finally in answer to one of the Judge’s questions, Troy simply said “Because we love him.”

After four hours, we were finally announced Daniel’s parents. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the smile plastered on my face. It was one of those you just can’t wipe away and the kind that hurt because you can’t stretch it any farther. I remember looking at the social worker and orphanage director, who we really, really liked, and seeing their big smiles also.

What a day. What a change to our lives and the life of a little boy from Russia. I think that day will always be one of the most remembered and one of the best days of our lives. Daniel is a true joy. He makes us laugh, his personality fits right in with our family. There have been tears and frustration too, but the smiles and laughter far outweigh them.

As an update on attachment I thought I would list a few things that have happened recently.

1. At the library I was sitting counting his jumps on the trampoline when he got off and started toward a table with play-doh. Halfway across the room, he stops suddenly turning, so fast he falls. He gets right up, finds my eyes, and says “Come on, Mama”.

2. We had guests for lunch a couple of weekends ago including his beloved Granny and Grandpa and Troy’s boss. When he was done, he fussed to be out of his chair so I picked him up and sat him in my lap facing away from the company holding him on my shoulder. He actually stayed in that position, laying his head down for a few minutes, letting me hold him, without feeling the need to turn around and be in the middle of the conversation.

3. Daniel and I went to Burger King and after he finished his lunch, instead of the normal, crawl under the table back and forth and see what everyone else was into, he sat down and put his head on my arm and let me hold him against my side while I finished eating.

The last two things are not only good attachment signs since he feels comfortable and secure but they are showing us that Daniel is not as overwhelmed anymore as he initially was when we would take him out. He’s becoming quite the little shopping companion for me (must to Troy’s chagrin) and I love it!!

So without further ado – These are photos I have posted before, but I think they show the real changes we have seen. Here is Daniel six months ago and then today!

The Egg Story

Daniel loves to watch me cook. He pulls his stool up to the kitchen counter and listens to pans sizzle and watches me stir things. A few nights ago he watched me crack eggs into a bowl while we were making cookies (I sound so domesticated with the last sentence!) He reached out for the egg, but I told him it was yucky to touch and we stirred it in the pot. Little did I know that Daniel filed that away in his 'it may be yucky, but I must try it sometime' file.

Fast forward a day and my mother and I and Daniel are grocery shopping together. My mother picks up a huge 2 and 1/2 dozen eggs carton and lays them in the cart. Daniel turns to look and I say "Please don't touch those" and I hand him some other things he can hold in the front of the cart. A few minutes later, I leave Daniel with my mom and walk two feet away to a freezer section and my mom walks about a foot away to grab something. I return to the cart (keeping in mind I was only 2 feet away) to see something in my son's hand. It must have taken me 20 full seconds to comprehend what he had. He had an egg and he had punctured a hole in the side, but still managed to have all of it in his hands.

I reached out my hand, like any good mother would do, and said, "Please let me have that." Daniel turns his hand over and pours the cracked egg into mine. I stand there for quite possibly another 20 seconds not believing that I am holding a raw egg in my hand. (I really don't care too much for eggs). By this time my mom is standing there taking it all in. Thankfully instinct (of some sort) kicked in and I ran to the hall where the bathrooms were marked. Well, the first trash can I see is the big trash can in the store's breakroom, which door happened to be opened. So I barge in and drop the raw egg in the trash can. I surprised a lady who quickly pointed out to me that the bathroom was just down the hall. I thanked her and went to wash my hands and get stuff to clean Daniel's hand with.

My mom and I laughed about it once Daniel's hands were cleaned and joked about how we were both standing right there and he still got the egg. My mom said that for some reason she was not meant to eat that egg.

What's even funnier is that there is a Part Two to this story. When we arrived home, my mom put her eggs in my refrigerator while we all had lunch together. When she left, she forgot them. The next day she went by the house to pick up the eggs and drove home. I get an email at work the following day (yesterday) that says:

"You are going to love this !!! I left the doomed eggs in my car til now. They go in the trash. For some reason the Lord does NOT want me to eat them."

My response to her was:

"See, Daniel was only trying to help you out!"

What a good boy I have!!

Bicycle

Daniel's new favorite word is bicycle. I must hear it 2,000 times a day. He also calls motorcycles, bicycles. He has taken to carrying around a small toy bicycle with him everywhere he goes. First thing in the morning he asks for it. We even make a big production of setting on his windowsill every night and at nap time so he knows just where it is when he wakes up. Now if only we could teach him how to ride. He doesn't quite understand the concept of the pedals yet and mostly when we push him his feet slip off the pedals or the pedals turn under his feet. If anyone has a recommendation for a easy to ride tricycle, let me know!

Daycare is going well. Last week he cried on Tuesday when I dropped him off, which seems to be the norm. I think after the 4 days at home, Tuesdays become more of an adjustment. On Wednesday and Thursday I got hugs and kisses and smiles and I left. I'm still waiting for his artwork folder, which I have been anxious for, but they are re-doing the room for fall and haven't placed any art in the folders yet.

Our first post pacement report arrives tomorrow (finally) I won't go into details there, and I plan to overnight it to be apostilled and then to our agency for arrival by Friday. I'll be glad to get that out of the way.

Now - a few odd and end pictures!

I've Been Tagged!

I got tagged by Amy - thanks!

Six Random things about me:

1. Before I met Troy, I swore I never wanted children. Every time I got around children they seemed to cry. My firends used to tease me about it all the time. Now I can't imagine life without my son and secretly dream of heading back to Russia for another child. Boy things change don't they?

2. I swore I would never watch a realty show and now I'm hooked on Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor. Even playing in the background now is America's Got Talent. Help me please!!

3. I love animals. I talk to all of them. I even think groundhogs are cute. Troy thinks I'm a nut and rolls his eyes when Daniel sees a groundhog and says hi to it (from the car). He jokingly refers to me as the 'animal whisperer' and asks me not to pass it on to Daniel who he hopes is a hunter like himself. (I do allow deer heads on the wall, but he can't sop me from apologizing to them! It's an interesting mix - an animal lover and a hunter. It's true that opposites attract.)

4. I hate sea food and mayonaisse, but I love tuna fish salad. I know it doesn't make any sense. Is there a law that says everything has to make sense??!!

5. Troy and I met at a party about a year before we met again. I didn't remember him, until he told me who he was. Then he claims I blew him off and went dancing with my friends. The truth is he just stood there so I basically said 'see you later'. I was the one who asked him to dance later on. He used to be shy - what happened?

6. I worry about everything. I do mean everything. The tiniest little thing and I'm on it. Troy swears I am going to drive myself batty. I jokingly tell him that one day he's going to come home to find me stroking a My Little Pony mane (yes, I still have that darn collection) saying "nice pony" over and over.

I'm going to tag the following people. Hopefully you haven't already been tagged and if you have, consider yourself popular with the natives!!

Amy
Stephanie
Kim
Carolynn
Kristine
Jackie

If I have tagged you, here are the rules!
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random facts about yourself.
4.Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the taggers know when your entry is up.

These are always a fun way to get to know each other and to take a step back from posting adoption news!

A Wonderful Weekend!

We had a great weekend at the beach. Daniel was a good rider in the car. I think during the 3 hour drive, he fussed once for about two minutes and then fell asleep. I met Troy at the hotel and from there we had plenty to do. On Saturday we went to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth. I had been able to download two free admissions off the internet so we only had to pay for Daniel which was a real treat. Of course everyone else had also and the museum was pretty crowded! We played hands on for about two hours. Daniel had a blast. We stopped and got him a corn dog for the drive back to the hotel and after two bite he was sound asleep in his car seat! We also swam several times in the indoor pool at the hotel and Daniel learned how to jump to Mama from the side of the pool. He was a little nervous at first and would reach out for my hands before jumping, but after a couple of tries, he finally would just jump and know I would catch him. It was loads of fun. We visited the beach on Sunday, before coming home, giving the waters time to calm after all the rain we had. The water was cold, cold, cold, but we had fun running into the water and then letting the water chase us back out. Daniel liked jumping waves in the shallow water too. He especially liked playing in the sand with his Papa, while I acted like a nut and went further out in the ocean. (I absolutely love the ocean, no matter how cold it is)!!

We all had a great time!! Pictures below!

Finally, I just need to mention that today is my father's first birthday for which he not with us. I have been struggling lately with really missing him. The Survivor premier (yes I watch junk!) came on last week and my dad and I used to always meet for dinner, play Jeopardy and then watch Survivor every Thursday together so we could make fun of the people and cheer on the challenges like a big football game. I know he's in a better place, but boy do I miss him.