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.

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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.

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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

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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.


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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!

~~~

Chicken Pox Dance

Chicken Pox Dance

We were doing the Chicken Pox dance tonight...

Lilly our youngest kitty watched in amazement.
You see today was Tamara's first experience with Spaghetti.

I haven't made it as until this week as she wouldn't touch anything made with tomato since we left Tbilisi.

As you can see.. Tamara likes Spaghetti. This is the messiest she's ever gotten. And Daddy helped out by wiping her clean. After dinner I noticed a few tiny red bumps between her eyes, another on her cheek. I immediately called my sister who is an RN and a mother of two.

"What do Chicken Pox look like?" I asked

"Tiny little red bumps" she replied

"Oh shoot... she must have gotten them from the Chicken Pox vaccine last Wednesday. Grrr... " then I started thinking about it.. "Wow.. they appeared suddenly" So I got a wet paper towel and proceeded to wipe the Chicken Pox away. Teeny tiny spots of tomato sauce. lol.

I looked at Tamara and said " You're cured!" she of course giggled, my sister laughed... although I could hear her rolling her eyes all the way from CT. ;o)

First time Mommy.. I'm still learning. ;o)

Below.. Tamara gets a kiss from Mommy

Tamara and Daddy wave for the camera.
Tamara likes to see how things work.. here she's about to grab for the camera.
No Camera? OK.. I get the remote then and I'm watching baseball.

Seriously she'd rather watch baseball. She is one well rounded little girl.

Tamara being cute.

Mommy and Tamara head out for a stroll in the neighborhood.

It was a rather chilly day for August.
Tamara in the kitchen. She loves to help with dinner. I always have to put on the oven light so she can see what's cooking. And pick her up so she can peek in the pots on the stove.
I heard a beep... now what?
OK.. my friends it's been a long day.

Time for Mommy to take a nap.

Good Night!

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The Russians Are Coming.. the Russians are coming.

The Russians Are Coming.. the Russians are coming.

No they're not.. yes they are.. no they say they're not.. but wait here they come... no ..no they're turning?

What are they thinking? That has been the billion dollar question today. As I watched CNN, Fox, BBC the news seemed to change as quickly as I could flip channels.

One can't help but wonder what on earth are they thinking? Or are they?

What motivates one country to attack another? Some say it's an old wound that the Russians refuse to let it go? Some say it's the oil pipe line that runs through south of Tbilisi? Some say because they think they can?

Are they testing the waters for other battles? Checking to see where our ( the civilized world)boiling point is? Who will be next? The Ukraine as some suggest? One of the many "stan" countries I researched for international adoption? Is it really NATO they fear next door? Are they trying to rebuild their empire?

So many possibilities.. so many broken promises. This whole Georgian war saddens me. Not only because we now have a personal connection to it's people and they don't deserve to be "punished" as the Russian president said in his speech to his people yesterday. But because that particular region of the world has such great potential and this war as well as any others that might be started there after will hinder their progress for many years.

I fear if this is allowed to continue there will be no winners.

Just a sad chapter in our human history.

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To my friends who are still in the process of adopting from the Ukraine and Kazakhstan.. don't stop now... keep going. But get a move on it. Make sure you are doing everything in your power to move things along quickly.

When Bruce and I started our paper chase we were told we had approximately 6 weeks to get our Dossier to Tbilisi. I cleared my calender and told our agency. "You say jump and I'll say how high" . We filed our I600A and found a wonderful social worker who completed our home study in a few weeks. The Fex EX and DHL guys were my new best friends. We paid an extra $20 per page to Trenton to have the apostiles done in 8 hrs or less and then had it Fed Ex'd back and forth. If you do the math our documentation was about $50+ per page. But worth every penny. Certain things you can't control like the Hague treaty which is huge these days. But do your part quickly. With unusual , unexpected circumstances... a month, week or even a day can make a difference in the success of your adoption.

I'm sorry if this sounds a bit bossy but I can tell from the emails / messages I've been getting that a few of you are cowering. International adoption is not for the faint of heart.. you knew that going in... so snap out of it and have at it!!!

~~

OK... sorry about that but some things just need to be said. ;o) and I would hate to think that some adoptions in that region will be effected by this war. If we had listened to the news reports in April / May we would never have made it to pick up Tamara. Yes.. the Russians were getting in position even then.

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So no word from our friends in Tbilisi the past 2 days :o( although we're pretty sure our driver Gea was on CNN yesterday driving a reporter to Gori. Such a small world.. isn't it?

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Quick up date.. ROG

Quick Up Date... ROG

Good Morning.. just a quick update as several of you have called & emailed expressing concern for our new extended family in the Republic of Georgia (ROG).

Yesterday we received a very quick short response from Anna (our Nanny) via Skype. No details given but she appears to be ok. Also had a message forwarded to me from our Facilitator who said "we are OK" and thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Have not heard from Nina (our translator .. my Turkish coffee buddy) perhaps she is on vacation?

As of this morning the Russians are just a bit north of Tbilisi. It appears as if they may retreat? Hard to say... we certainly are praying they do.

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Keep those warm thoughts and prayers coming they are very much appreciated and the increased flow of positive energy floating about can only help. ;o)

OXOX

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