Happy Belated Valentine's Day

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

Tamara's first Valentines Day and she was excited.

She helped Mommy put treats together for her class and was ready to hand them out to her preschool class.

Above is her Valentines Day card that Mommy helped her make for her classmates and teachers.

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Below Tamara is all dressed up for her Valentine's Day preschool Party.

Carrying her treats she can't wait to go.

"Mama come on"

At home on Valentine's Day

Tamara being super sweet.

Smile for the camera

Doing steps.. she needs close supervision but she's doing great.

Cupid brought her a dozen balloons and triplet puppies (Fake.. stuffed ones of course)

Mommy hasn't lost her mind yet...lol... yet.

Tamara in her usual playful mood enjoying her balloons.

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See we're catching up.. we're halfway through February.

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300 days and counting

300 days and counting..

Amazing how time flies when you're having fun.

300 days ago Tamara came home.

Landing at JFK after a very long journey.

I remember how wonderful she was the whole way home. So great in fact the flight attendants asked if their paperwork was wrong. They were alerted that there was going to be a newly adopted 3 year old on board. They couldn't believe it was her.

She was the best behaved kid on the plane. They also said they never would have guessed she was adopted... that we looked so comfortable together.

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Thought you might get a kick out of these pictures now.

Below Tamara and I flying home 300 days ago.

Tamara recognizes her room from the photos and runs in 300 days ago.

Too cute!

She still loves her bed after 300 days, nights and nap times. Yay!

Unpacking Toys with Daddy 300 days ago

Yup... 300 days home in the USA.. 300 days and counting!

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The Big Thaw

The Big Thaw...

This winter seemed longer then usual. The storms were shorter but colder and icier. I kept hoping for an old fashioned Nor'easter but it was not meant to be this year. There was not one snow fall that produced enough "play" snow. The kind that might spark a snowball fight, building a giant snow man family in the front yard or was suitable for a sleigh ride. Sounds unbelievable doesn't it? Yeah I had a hard time explaining it to Tamara as well.

Picture you're putting you 4 year old to bed. You tell her "When you wake up we'll have snow.. we can build a snowman" Oh boy did she get excited. In the morning you discover you only have a few inches of snow covered with several inches of ice. And it's only 14 degrees and windy. She wakes up ... looks out the window and all she sees is snow. Every thing is white and pretty and look there's a spot for my snowman. It took a while to convince her that it wasn't such a good idea after all. One day I actually picked her up walked out onto the front porch so she can see what mommy means by too cold. As quickly as we stepped out she was ready to come back in again. At least that put an end to the constant and consistent nagging to go out an play. I refuse to argue with a 4 year old and as we all know reasoning with them is not always effective.

So this year she only wore her snow boots a few times which was disappointing. Her snow suit once. And her Lillian Vernon snowman kit is still new in the box.

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Below Tamara explores her first puddle. Seriously. There was a break in the cold one day in February. We took her for a walk and let her putter around in puddles.

Sounds so exciting doesn't it?

Mommy my shoes are wet

Doing what kids do

She still LOVES her shades

Cool .. the water moves when I walk

What did you say Mommy?

During our walk... "Come Daddy"

Love this picture.. she looks so small walking with Daddy.

Back home it's time to change. All that puddle jumping got her pants wet.

Time to play with her Tigger game.

Playing Dentist with her doll's (they have matching ones) flash light.

Open up Mommy.

Tamara seems to have a passion for helping people. She has consistently shown an interest in medicine. If I had to pick a career for her today I would have to say a Pediatrician. As she loves babies, children and yes her Dr. Some how she seems to understand that Drs. help people. This week when I took her in for a shot as we pulled into the parking lot she said "Mama Ouch" holding her arm. I said "Yes... small Ouch... but we have to do it so you stay healthy." She was ok with that. She happily went into the office. Greeted the staff. Started playing with a 6 year old boy that was in the waiting room. The boy told us he wanted to be a Dr. I asked him what kind .. he didn't know yet. I told him that Tamara wanted to be a Dr. too. "Maybe you two could start a practice together?" "Hum... I don't know about that" replied "I don't know what a practice is... I'll have to ask my mother first" lol. He then brought over a play Drs. kit. Took Tamara's blood pressure although he couldn't get the cuff on correctly. After that it was Tamara's turn. She put the BP cuff on perfectly... pumped up the cuff... checked her watch and nodded "OK" with a big smile.

Once inside the examination room .. she was pleasant.. agreeable and held her own arm for the shots.. yes there were 2.

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Yesterday we watched a Shirley Temple film that Aunt Olga had loaned us. I totally forgot that little Shirley for some reason played an orphan in most of her pictures. Everything was fine and Tamara enjoyed the show until this horrific scene where the little girl is taken... actually ripped out of the arms of this old light house keepers arms. The movie ends on a happy note as you would expect of Shirley's movies but that scene stayed with her for hours. She suddenly became very weepy and wouldn't let me out of her sight. Not even to go to the mailbox with Daddy. By dinner time she had pretty much come out of her little funk stage. Thank goodness.. we've never had her respond that way before. So it was a little freaky. So there are two more movies to the series. And for a split second I thought.. ok.. if she sees Shirley in 2 other movies maybe she'll understand that it is only make believe? And then I thought.. NO she might think this poor little girl... they always take her away from the people she loves.

I find I have to remind myself from time to time that she is adopted and what she has endured during her first 3-1/2 years. She's adjusted so well to us, our family and our way of life.. but we have to beware that underneath this cute little girl is hyper sensitive to situations that might reflect back to experiences she's had or perhaps fears may happen to her. Acceptance, stability and structure are all very important to her.

I actually watched a few hours of movies taken in Tbilisi the other night. Something I really haven't done before. Movies of our first night together, the foster home, the baby house visit. Movies she will not see for years but movies Mommy and Daddy need to watch once in a while to remind us how truly incredible her progress has been.

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So last night getting ready for bed I noticed a deer tick crawling on her leg. She played ball with Daddy in the back yard earlier in the day. Mommy of course freaked. Got the "thing" off. Disposed of it and checked her thoroughly for any other invaders. Followed with a Bubble bath. and an unscheduled linen change. Yup... ticks freak me out.. especially when it come to Tamara. This is the 2nd tick episode we've had with her. Last fall I found one that had just attached himself. Eeeek! Time for some chemical warfare out back.. time to call in the professionals. Obviously the deer fencing and home gardeners tick control products are just not enough.

Tamara enjoying her Bubble Bath.

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Much.. much.. more to come. Stay tuned.

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Stinky Seat...

Stinky Seat..

You just never know what a 4 year old will do next. I suppose that's what makes them so much fun... never a dull moment.

Below Tamara cleaning off a crumb she found on the seat. She notices everything... every spec, every crumb and every smell. I had to add this video.. just too cute.

Enjoy!

More to come stay tuned.

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Staying Warm

Staying Warm...

was never really something I gave much thought to before.. before having Tamara that is. Staying warm physically and emotionally 24 / 7 . Wow... really.

Physically not so tough.. raise the heat.. put on another sweater.

Emotionally it can take a lot of cookies and milk when the weather is really cold and down right too dangerous to venture out just for the sake of going out.

The hardest was the school cancellations as she really enjoys preschool and all her friends there.

During a snow storm we had a breach in our deer fencing. Luckily the gardens were still sleeping and covered in snow.
Tamara's play house in the snow.

We have to get creative so we play beauty parlor.

Pretty cute no?

Yeah... she thinks it's pretty funny.

Notice there are no picture of Mom's hair ;o) Yeah.. it was that good. lol

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I'm Alive.. Really

I'm Alive.. Really I am

Yes.. we're still here. I'll try to bring you all up to speed. Perhaps by the time I update this blog my absence will make sense?

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First of all Tamara is great. She's a fully bonded happy, healthy little girl. We were at the pediatrician today for a shot and she's gained a total of 10 lbs and grown 5 inches since last June. That's a pound a month and an inch every two months. She is now caught up according to the growth charts. Still small for her age but age appropriate. She wears a 4T now. Mind you last June her 18 month clothing was dripping off of her. If you remember we had issues keeping the 18 month pants up. My little girl is growing up sooo quickly. It's like watching your kid grow in time lapse photography.

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After Tamara's Birthday we like many in the north east and around the USA had to deal with all the lovely winter weather. It seemed to snow just enough to ruin plans and keep us from venturing outside. Numerous ice storms resulted in cancelled preschool sessions and rescheduling fun events. But in the midst of all the ice and snow we did manage to have fun with our little girl.

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Below Tamara feeds her My Twinn doll breakfast.

Mommy reminding Tamara that she too has to eat breakfast.
Such a kill joy... I know. Tamara colors with her doll.Tamara feeds her Dolly
Motion no sound

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February also brought about change... perhaps not the type of change many Americans had hoped for. But change is what we got. I guess it's true what they say.. be careful what you wish for.. you might just get it. The stock market became a roller coaster ride. Unfortunately a few friends are facing hard times financially due to the job market changes and the housing crisis. It's hard when people you care about struggle. It does suck the wind out of you. So while I attempt to keep up with current events world wide. Yes I still do that. I find you really need to.. to understand it all. I find myself torn. How could they mess it all up so badly in our life time? And I'm frustrated as I see mistakes being made on a daily basis and there's nothing I can do about it. Oh if only I found a trillion dollars in my mailbox. Honestly I think I could have fixed it with a TV remote and a laptop. Anyway... I don't mean to depress anyone but I thought I should mention it in my blog as someday Tamara will wonder why her generation will be dealing with a multi-trillion dollar deficit. At least now she'll know that we personally didn't contribute to it but yes we will be paying for it for years to come.

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On a brighter note.. my friend Sandi is in Kazakhstan to adopt her daughter Finley. They met today for the very first time. Finley faith is a beautiful 7 month old with sandy blond hair, pretty blue eyes and eye lashes that can touch the sky.

I met Sandi through our Kaz agency. We started at the same time with them. It was our 5th agency. Sandi's 1st. We dropped Kazakhstan because of adoption law changes in that country that restricted adoptions to parents over 50. Sandy being somewhat younger..ok significantly younger.. lol.. kept going. She traveled this time last year and returned within a week without a child. The agency soon went out of business. Sandi after a short break to regroup retained yet another agency and yes persistence does pay off. She held her Finley in her arms today. I am so proud of her. The inner strength she has shown this past year has been absolutely inspirational to so many adoptive parents. And through out this past year Sandi has cheered so many of us on as we managed to complete our families. Which I'm sure was not always easy for her but she did it. I know she will make an excellent mom. A wonderful role model for her Finley Faith.

Congratulations Sandi ... are you out there yet? Sandi will be in Kaz for a very long time. I imagine if she gets bored enough she'll start reading blogs.

Don't forget Sandi .. play date at Disney. Lucky kid ... Finley will practically live down the street. "Welcome to America.. Oh yeah your new neighbor is Micky" LOL Hope you have a season pass. Talk about a play date. ;o)

See Ya Soon

OH.. So that's why I can't find the Chapstick.

OH.. So that's why I can't find the Chapstick.

This is a cute story about Motherhood that my sister sent me. Apparently a true story written by one of her cyber buddies.

Thanks Jay... this is cute ;o)

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We had this great 10-year-old cat named Jack who just recently died.Jack was a great cat, and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on the mat in our bathroom.We have three kids, and at the time of this story, they were 4 years old, 3 years old, and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loved Chapstick. LOVED it. He kept asking to use my Chapstick and then would lose it. Finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my Chapstick and explained he could use it whenever he wanted to, but he needed to put it right back in the drawer after he finished.That year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys were fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I was trying to nurse my little one at the same time I was putting on my make-up. Everything was a mess, and everyone had long forgotten that this was a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.We finally had the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I was looking for Eli. I searched everywhere and I finally went into the bathroom. There was Eli. He was applying my Chapstick very carefully to Jack's ... rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said, "Chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right -- their little bottoms do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. The only question to ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth!?!And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your Chapstick on the cat's butt.

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Still busy here but I just had to share this cute story with all the Moms out there.

Be back soon. ;o)

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