Wind Beneath My Wings...

Wind Beneath My Wings...

You are.

How do you capture a Butterfly on film?

You take a lot of photos.

Tamara loves her new wings.

Fly.. baby fly

Wing adjustment
Pant adjustment. Her 2T's are still slipping.

Fly... Fly




Daddy gives flying lessons. Really he does. Read "oh Ducky" post ;o)










Fly...


Too cute no?

~~



Well it's official we're giving Pre-school a try. About 3 years ago I joined the local Pre-school committee. My mission was to make sure the closest pre-school was one of the best. So I joined the committee and helped them get out of the red and into the black. Helped with fund raising when needed. Attended their Holiday concerts and even helped out with their end of year class trip to a local amusement park. Today I am happy to report their enrollment is up. Financially they're fine. Many of the building upgrades have been made. They're in great shape.

They are ready for Tamara.

Other then having a wonderful staff .. there will be perks for Mommy as well.

First off I've gotten to know the teachers and especially the Director very well. And I am confident they will do their best and keep a close eye on my baby girl.

2nd being on the committee does give me the inside scoop so should there ever be an issue at the school I will know early on and will be able to help with the solution rather then just react after the fact. I prefer to be proactive rather then reactive.

And lastly this year when I attend the holiday concert Tamara will be there singing. When I help out with their class trip... Tamara will be there! ;o) Yay!!!



I was going to wait for the Child Study Team to evaluate her but as it turns out they have been away for the summer and could take 60 to 90 days by law to get their results. So I will have them evaluate her... the public school is supposed to have a great speech therapist should she need one? I'm thinking not but hey.. I'm her Mommy. What do I know?

Anyway.. I didn't want her to miss out on 3 months worth of pre-school waiting for the Board of Ed to do their thing. If Tamara really likes school we will probably have her attend both public early intervention pre-school as well as the private one she's starting next week. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? Actually not that bad. 2-1/2 hrs twice a week per school. We'll see.. it's really up to her at this point. I'm thinking she 'll enjoy it once she realizes Mommy is really coming back to get her. It is possible that she may think at first that it's an orphanage? Eeek!

Pass the Tissues

~~

And YES today is our 100 th day Anniversary of Gotcha Day!

Time does fly when you're having fun. ;o)

More about that later.

~~~

Say Aw...

Say Aw...

Today my suspicions were confirmed. "Say Aw Tamara". She has a new tooth coming through. Tamara has only 16 baby teeth so far.. 17 is on it's way. Hopefully 18,19 & 20 will follow. By 3-1/2 she should have all 20 baby teeth in. It's amazing how a little TLC jump starts her petite self.

I was relieved that she was teething as she's been a fussy eater the last week or so and has been a bit moody. She is also drooling. Very lady like? lol. She has also been giving me a hard time about brushing her teeth this week. Now it all makes sense.

~

Below Tamara and Daddy "say Aw". Cute huh?

Tamara playing ball. She has some pretty cute soccer moves.
Pretending to fly with Daddy.

My little Diva putting on lipstick.

Hold still Daddy... It's Bubble Gum flavored.

~~

Lots of catching up to do these days.

Still have 9K emails in my in box. (If you send me an email.. please flag it or mark it high priority so I find you. Thank You!) Have emails, phone calls to return. Cards / notes to write.

Have to get moving on a new fund raiser for the Georgian Orphanage in Tbilisi. Apparently the cost of food has gone up so much because of the war the Baby House is really struggling to feed the children.

Need to set a date for Tamara's Christening / party.

Tamara has her specialist visits coming up. Wish us luck.. please. ;o)

Need to get her ready for pre-school. She's excited although I don't think she understands pre-school? lol Well I know one of us will be crying. I have no idea how she'll react.

~~~

Ice

"Ice..."

"What did you say?"

"Ice!"

She now says Ice ;o)

Love those new words. We just never know what she'll say next.

Makes it kind of fun.. everyday is a surprise ... every day an adventure.

~

I walked into Tamara's room the other day. Daddy had asked if he could wake her up from her nap. A rare treat for both of them. I wasn't sure which one needed more help? Daddy who was asking Tamara where Mommy keeps her socks or Tamara who needed help getting her shoes on? Too cute.

Below Tamara sits on the floor while Daddy helps with her socks.

and giggles.

"Daddy.. we're home."

Tamara after a day at the mall. She always insists on helping with the packages.

A fun day with Mom. When Daddy has a busy schedule we head out. Try and give him some space. Usually involves shopping, lunch and more shopping.

My little Diva in training .. she's catching on quickly. ;o)

A visit to Grandma and Grandpa's ... below Cousin Katie and Tamara.. being cute.

Cousin Nicky gets in the act. What a bunch of cuties. ;o)

~~~

What a Stitch.. she is

What a Stitch.. she is.

The video below was taken several weeks ago of Tamara imitating Uncle Zoran. As you can clearly see in the video we have a little comedian on our hands. Tamara is so observant she easily imitates people.

Directed by Aunt Olga ;o)

~

One habit we will have to break her of is mimicking other children who misbehave. She will often act out after observing an unruly child in public. Today there was a mother with 6 out of control children. Four of which she kept with her the older two (7 & 9) she sent to the toy department. Tamara and I witnessed these two take a golf club and trash the department. Before this Tamara was behaving like an angel.. after she started acting out and Mommy took her home immediately.

Tamara is still trying to figure out what is expected of her. Trying to figure out how children behave in a free society. She studies children where ever we go. It's hard to shelter her from unruly behavior in public places. I wish more Mommies would remove their children immediately when they start to misbehave. Perhaps it's all those years of not having a screaming child by my side that allows me to see the difference and respect other shoppers shopping experience.

Oh... I can't wait for pre-school. Can't wait to see what bad habits we'll have to address then.

Any Advice? Always Welcome. ;o)

~~~

Hi.. How are you?

Hi.. How are you?

~

I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying:

'Hi, how are you?'

I'm not the type to start a conversation in the restroom. I don't know what got into me, but I answered, somewhat embarrassed,

'Doin' just fine!'

And the other person says:

'So what are you up to?

'What kind of question is that? At that point, I'm thinking this is too bizarre so I say:

'Uhhh, I'm like you, just sitting here.'

At this point I am just trying to get out as fast as I can when I hear another question:

'Can I come over?'

Ok, this question is just too weird for me. I figured I could politely end the conversation. I say:

'No........I'm a little busy right now!!!'

Then I hear the person say, nervously:

'Listen, I'll have to call you back. There's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions!!'

~

I just had to share this. Came via email from Sondra. Too funny! I think this happen to me once? Bruce always tells me I'm too friendly and that I could have a conversation with anyone.. any where. So this one really did hit home. I actually do chat in the ladies room. ;o) Don't you?

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Having some down load issues with Blogger today? Hopefully I'll be able to post new pictures and video soon. Some really cute stuff.. coming your way.

~~~

Oh .. My ... Deer...

Oh .. My... Deer...

One of the many things that we're trying to get Tamara to do is truly appreciate her natural surroundings. To be at peace with nature and have a sense of appreciation for it.

Sometimes that entails lying in Daddy's hammock watching the clouds go by. Sometimes it's feeding the fish in our ponds. Sometimes it's taking a long walk down the street. And sometimes it's giving her a camera and seeing things her way... for the first time ... again.

~

Below Daddy and Tamara wave for the camera during one of our many stroller walks.

I thought I'd post a few pictures that were taken during our walks this week.

Oh.. My... Deer. Yes we have them. Lots of them.

The Bambi's in our area are not freaked by humans at all. Which in it's self can be a tad bit annoying... especially if you're a gardener. Grrr...
A stream that goes under our road.

Pretty no?

View to the right...

View to the left.

OK.. so now... what is a sure fire way to get your baby girl to really notice stuff in the garden and get some cute shots in the process? Give her a camera and let her have some fun.
Sometimes you have to crouch down to get that perfect shot.

Cute no? Tamara takes pictures of the flowers.Looking around for new subjects.
Smile Mommy
Daddy working.. looks on. Looks so serious doesn't he? Must be an important meeting.

Flowers in Mommy's Garden.

And more flowers...

and more.

Time to swing.

Such hams.

Time to go in.. Daddy throws her over his shoulder.

Tamara reaches for Mommy.

Yogurt break

~

This was a photo shoot after church on Sunday. Although a beautiful day .. still a little toasty in the sun. Here Tamara complains about the heat. She's such a Drama Queen. lol

Very expressive uses her hands a lot.

OK... SMILE

DO THE THINKER
DAY DREAM
OK.. SAY CHEESE
Soon it was back in the house for a cool drink.
Tamara briefs Lilly on her photo shoot.


~~
This week we had a few firsts.
One morning I went to get Tamara up and as I entered I said "Hi Baby"
and she responded "Hi Mama".
I almost fell over... just too cute.
She can open doors and knows how to work the facets in the house.
She understands HOT is to the left, COLD to the right.
This week she finally started to allow us to read a whole book to her without her flipping pages or loosing interest quickly. I guess no one ever read to her in Tbilisi?
Another first was an apple-pear. She likes them as do Mommy and Daddy.
Have you tried them? Below is a picture of them. It's a real fruit... new breed apparently? and Tamara calls them App-el-p
Yum!

~~~