A Berry Good Day...

A Berry Good Day...

Yesterday Tamara had her 2nd day at pre-school and yes Mommy left this time.

She clung to me for 10 minutes or so as I encourage her to join the other children who were already there doing puzzles waiting for class to start.

I told her "Mommy will be back soon.. be a good girl.. have fun."

Gave her a big hug and kiss and left.

Well not really I hung out in the foyer.. asking every parents who walked passed me how she was doing. Most of them went back to spy for me. lol

They said she did occasionally look to see if I was there but she was ok.

So after 20 minutes I went home. I called the school about an hour later to see how Tamara was and they said "Great!!! She understands everything we tell her. She went potty by herself and just washed up for their snack break. She's fine .. having a great time with the kids."

When I picked her up 2-1/2 hrs later the kids were playing outside. As soon as she saw me she came running over for her hug and kiss lit up like a Christmas tree. Then she put on her baby backpack which I had picked up from her baby locker and ran back to her little friends who were still playing. I called her and again she came running only this time she hung on for dear life. I had to carry her all the way to the car.

Yes... she really likes school. We're relieved .. yet a bit sad.

Our baby is growing up too quickly :o(

~

Below Tamara is ready for her 2nd day at school.

She was about to get her princess backpack.

After her nap there was a chill in the air so Mommy had her put on a sweater. Once Tamara saw the hat she insisted on wearing it. Daddy was mowing the lawn on his tractor. Tamara loves to watch.. sometimes he even lets her sit on it.
Tamara sitting on the tractor with Daddy.
Boy was she surprised when Daddy took her for a spin around the yard. She loved it.

Mommy was close by just in case although they were going extremely slow. Which was good.

No cuts, bumps or bruises for her and no heart attack for Mommy.

Yeah... I'm over protective by some standards.

Yes... it was a Berry good day... why Berry?

Did you notice her strawberry outfit.

Is that cute or what?

Tamara is so much fun to dress. She's such a girly girl.

~~~

Peaschool...

Peaschool...

I imagine that's what she's thinking although she doesn't say it yet.

Peaschool went pretty well yesterday although there was an interesting twist of event that transpired.

We arrived in plenty of time to hear a little boy screaming all the way out in the parking lot. We'll call him Johnny for the sake of the story. Tamara who would normally happily hold Mama's hand and walk suddenly jumped in my arms. So here I am carrying Tamara, her backpack, stuffed kitty cat, purse, camera. OK.. suddenly she weighed 50 lbs. But we made it all the way up the stairs and into her classroom. The classroom was filled with parents, children and staff. ALL the children looked somewhat nervous. Some were crying. Some looked very withdrawn and rejected when their parents .. mostly those who had to leave for work as they suddenly left. Tamara clung to me for about 15-20 minutes watching all the children, their parents and teachers interact. Finally I convinced her to go check out the play kitchen that was in one corner of the room. Facing away from the door I started to take pictures. Never miss a good photo opp. ;o)

I guess I was really focused on Tamara as I heard the door slam. Turned around and found myself to be the only parent left in the room. Surrounded by 15 little people and 3 staff members... ouch.. where did everybody go?

I said to Tamara's teacher "I guess I'm supposed to leave now?" and she responded .. "you don't have to.. why don't you stay a little while." So I did.

I know what you're thinking... that I should have left.. but how could I at that point?

Class was in session. They had the children sit on little carpets in a circle. Took attendance, said the pledge of Allegiance, and sang a few songs. Then the teacher read them a book about a baby racoon's first day at school. And informed the class that they were going to do a craft project which was a raccoon mask made out of a paper plate and a tongue depressor? Well maybe it was a Popsicle stick but I saw a tongue depressor.

At this point Tamara was sitting by Mommy in the back and would not join the other children. There were two other kids that didn't want to join in. Little Johnny and a little Shirley Temple. Both children were very sad and Tamara was more concerned about them then what the class was doing. At one point she went over to the little boy.. gentled stroked his back. Tilted her head looking at him and said "Hi". It was very sweet to see her concern for this little boy.

She loved the craft project.. had her back toward me and I thought "Oh here's my chance" I asked the Director if I should seize the moment and leave. I told her I didn't think it was fair to Tamara to sneak out but? She called her teacher over and asked and her teacher said absolutely not without saying goodbye. So I had planned to do it .. and suddenly a freak storm blew in. Literally.. the windows were open and horizontal rain poured in on the kids. So I helped the teachers close all the windows as there were more windows then teachers. It got pitch black outside and the lightening was close. With that I thought .. ok.. I'm staying put for a while. I did manage to sneak out of the room and stay away while Tamara and her class mates played, sang, did the Hokie Pokie and ate their snacks. She loved it. She did find me twice mostly because Mommy was chatting with the staff. Coffee in the kitchen. Hung out in the office.

By the end of the 2-1/2 hours all the teachers had pretty much come to me to tell me how sweet and amazing my daughter is. They all commented that she was smart and advanced in some areas. When it was time to form a line .. a new concept for most of these 3 year olds. Tamara helped the teachers get the kids in line. In the bathroom she was teaching them how to wash and dry their hands. Snack time she kept an eye out making sure no one ran out of apple juice or pretzels and told the teacher when they did. Her teacher thinks someday she'll own a successful restaurant? Hum? That might be fun. Dinner anyone?

Tamara had a wonderful time. It seems that she has made a few friends and the teachers all seem to love her. She too really likes them.

So as you can see we did bend the rules a bit yesterday but on the other hand I think Tamara and I will both be more comfortable tomorrow when I do leave. Yes really I will leave this time ;o). I have no intention on going to Preschool 5 hours a week. lol.

It also gave me a chance to see her in action and take some pictures which I otherwise would have missed. And last but not least I got to see the staff in action. WOW .. are they good. I was amazed more then once and actually picked up a few tips on how to be 3.

~
Below Tamara .. still sleepy.. plays before leaving for school.

Mommy helps Tamara with her Toddler size backpack. (only 8X10 inches)
One of the Dad's I was told was an excellent photographer? So I asked him to snap a few pictures with my camera. Now you see why there are very few pictures of Mommy?

Tamara studying the other children with their parents.

A little concerned.. but she held it together well.

Checking out the play kitchen... still watching the others.
A moment of shyness.

Tamara seated with her back to the camera. She loved playing with the glue stick. Did a good job on the mask. Mommy is saving it of course. It's already hanging in her art gallery which was a gift from her cousins. Thanks guys... great gift!

Tamara and her teacher went to put her mask in her cubby locker. She models it first. That was yesterday.. all in all a great day!

Tonight she was excited when I told her she needed a good night's sleep so she's well rested for school. After her bath she went right to bed. ;o)

~~

Today we went to the Pediatric Neurologist. After his exam he told us she appears to be fine. Physically, mentally developing very well. Yay!

In his professional opinion he said he didn't think she would have any problems and said she did not require surgery for her head. Yay!

Next stop we go to the skull specialist at the children's hospital. These are the guys who will probably want an MRI or Catscan to see why she has a small head circumference and why she still has a soft spot at 3-1/2. Keep your fingers crossed. We're almost there.

I was so proud of Tamara today. She Aced all his tests and totally charmed the Dr.

That's my girl. ;o)

~~~

Twas the night before preschool...

Twas the night before preschool...

and all through the house not a creature was stirring... except for Mommy :o(

Yes ... I'm still up. It's 2:25 am EST and I'm still up. Got Tamara through her bath and in bed by 8 pm so she should be in pretty good shape in the morning. We picked out her first day outfit.. well actually she did. I gave her a choice of two to pick from. Gave her a pep talk in case she forgot where we were going in the morning. WE read a book, waltzed around the room and off to bed she went. Did I ever mention that we dance every night ? Yeah something I started in Tbilisi that stuck. Anyway... tomorrow is the BIG day. I'm starting to feel a little guilty. She's only been home a few months. It seems like we just got her and already she's going off to school. Yeah... I know it's not Harvard... yet. But she's such a peanut. My biggest fear is that she'll think I dropped her off at an orphanage? I'm not sure how much she remembers about the baby house. That would make it the longest 2-1/2 hours of our lives. So I'll probably wait in my car? Just in case. In the parking lot? Hum.... Better bring a book, my phone, a half gallon latte. lol. Some Kleenex. Well at least it's close to home in case I need to potty. Actually the Director said she always tells all the parents to hang out in the parking lot for 15 min or so in case someone has a total melt down. Wonder if she was referring to the parents? lol

OK.. I'd better go. Wake up call is at 7 am.. that will give me a 2-1/2 hrs cat nap.

Wish us LUCK... sniff... sniff... I know it will be good for her but I don't wanna go to school yet :o(

~~
Below Tamara enjoys her last day of Freedom

Talking about school with Tamara

"and you'll make lots of friends"

"Of course they'll like you"

"Daddy did you go to peaschool?"

~~~

Blessed...

You'll be blessed... I promise you that.

~

Blessed.. we certainly have been.

The day we found Tamara. The day we received an email from a friend that said ..

"Didn't you say you wanted a 3 year old?" with a contact number attached.

That was January 19, of this year 2008.

Tamara's placement agency was looking for a family for her. They wanted to give her a family for her 3rd Birthday.. the 21st. Ironically we received our court date and orders to travel on my birthday. So both our Birthday wishes came true this year. ;o)

Blessed? Hum.. what does that mean to you?

Is it Health? Family? Money?

What does it take to make you feel Blessed?

For me it means being healthy enough and having the means to do what I know in my heart is the right thing to do. For us it was bringing our daughter home and being able to help some of the many children who were left behind. Yes.. alone we could have made a difference in those childrens lives however temporary but with the help of friends and family we were able to do so much more. Read "We are the world" post.

Why am I bringing this up now you may wonder?

As you know Russia has invaded The Republic of Georgia and they're still lingering about despite the many broken promises they've made to the rest of the world. As a result the baby house we visited and brought a truck load of diapers and supplies to is in trouble. Food has become incredibly expensive in Georgia. The supplies we brought them have run out and as a result several of the children have become seriously ill. As I look at my pictures I can't help but wonder which ones. Is it the little girl who came to me for help with her over alls? The little boy who called me Dada (mama in Georgian)? Is it the sweet little girl that I thought would make a good sister for Tamara? Is it the little girl who needed to go to Germany for medical treatment? I'm pretty sure she didn't get to go before the war broke out.

I'm bringing this up in case any of you would like to help.

Our agency has sent out an emergency relief request to all the families who have adopted from Georgia through them. I'm sure you're thinking that's alot of people but actually it isn't. ROG (Republic of Georgia) doesn't grant many international adoptions.

These are the most recent stats from the US government site.

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PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED CHILDREN TO THE U.S. : Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Georgian orphans:
Fiscal Year
Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2007
4
FY 2006
9
FY 2005
12
FY 2004
20
FY 2003
55

~

Our agency will be sending a staff member over in a few weeks to bring whatever funds we are able to collect for the baby house. As soon as they have a total the Georgian staff will get to work to make sure no valuable time is wasted in bringing food and much needed supplies to the children ages zero through 5.

I've copied and pasted the emails into my Blog.

Kathy J. wrote:> Hi All,> First for the good news, the war never got to Tbilisi so the orphanage > and most of the people we know are safe! Now the bad news, food is > harder to get than ever and even more expensive. There is food available > so I don't think they'll get any of the American aid but the orphanage > doesn't have money to buy food for the babies (and getting them food or > money isn't a huge priority for the government right now). Our team in > Georgia would like to buy food and take it to the orphanage but they > need money for this project. Irina is planning on being there in about 2 > weeks but if we can collect some money the team will start before she > arrives. Any amount you can give would be greatly appreciated. If you > send checks to me I'll transfer the money to Georgia.> > Please make checks out to Kathy Johnson and send them to:> > Kathy J ( will provide to those who are interested)..Thanks so much.> Kathy for ADORE> > PS: We'll try to get a few pictures of the food being delivered to the > orphanage.

~

The following email came from Irina who will be traveling to Georgia.

Yes, I am on my way to Tbilisi. Time is short and I have not had time to contact anyone. The situation there is down right critical. Besides food, the baby house needs diapers and medicine. Quite a few kids got critically ill in the last week, most likely due to the poor sanitary conditions.

We do not usually solicit donations, but I hope at least some of you could contribute this time around - even a small amount goes a long way there. I am leaving this Sunday (first to Baku, Azerbaijan), so please contact Kathy if you have any questions or suggestions.Best to all,Irina

~

Anyone who would like to make a donation please email me leek@primeisp.net ASAP for the address and contact information to send checks to. Flag your email high priority please so I find you.

I'm sure a few of you may hesitate contributing and are wondering if we can trust that the children will actually get the food and supplies. Someone actually asked me this very question last week. I'll tell you what I told them. Kathy, Irina and the staff in Georgia I would trust with my life. After all I trusted them with Tamara's life and ours while we were in country. Not to mention the huge amount of cash that we sent / wired and handed over. This staff had countless opportunities to take the money and run. To mess with our heads and hearts. They never did.. not for a second. I believe they are truly in this field for the right reason. To make a difference in the life of a child. They are the fairy God Mothers of all our ROG children.

We feel so strongly about them that if you remember we named Tamara.. Tamara Katarina. Combining the two ladies. Kathy and Irina.

~

I will be working on various fund raisers for ROG children in the future.. as soon as I figure out what kind. ;o) ok.. my fund raising buddies are smiling.lol. Seriously I've been so wrapped up in my new Mommy role I haven't had a chance to get anything moving yet which makes this urgent plea from our placement agency that much more important.

PLEASE send them what ever you can. No child should ever go hungry.

Especially one that we know about.

If you still think you can't make a difference in a child's life just take a look at Tamara's before and after photos. If you could... wouldn't you like to give her a cookie? Sure you would. Well you can't so please send the cookies to her little friends in Georgia. ;o) PLEASE

~

***Kathy if you would like me to add your contact information let me know.

***Our personal check is in the mail.

~~

OK... Now for the fun stuff.

It's been a hectic week around here.

We'll start with Sunday... Wake up Tamara time for church.

Below Tamara tries to sneak in a catnap before we leave.

Yup.. she still sucks her thumb.

After church she enjoys some sunshine on the back deck.

Oh.. oh.. she's thinking again. lol

~~

This was a week of pampering my little princess.

This was on our way out to the nail salon. Tamara had her first manicure / pedicure. She loved it. Sorry forgot the camera. Bad Mommy :o(

~

A spontaneous trip to Grandma and Dido's.

Knock.. knock

No one was home... Tamara was very concerned.

Where did they go Mommy?

Waiting on their porch.

Here they are... Group hug. She loves them.

A week of firsts. I took Tamara to the hair salon. I told her every day that Mommy was going to go get her hair done and would she let Karen do her hair? She kept saying "Yeah" nodding yes. So much so I started to wonder if she got it. Well after Karen finished my hair I said to Tamara "you ready?" "Yeah" she said. "You sure?" I asked. "yeah" she responded. "Tamara you're going to sit in my lap and let Karen cut your hair?" "Yeah" she responded.. "Up". Amazing little kid. I got her out of her stroller. Sat her in my lap. Karen but a cape on her and the rest.. well.. look at these pictures. Is she cute or what?

Mommy takes a picture in the mirror.

Karen starts to trim. Checking out the growth pattern, condition and color of her hair. Medium Golden Brown

We've decided to let the layers grow out so her ponytail days are not over yet.

You can see Tamara was very relaxed with Karen. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Tamara and Mommy pose for the camera.
When she was finished she was beaming.
Karen adds a hair accessory. Tamara checks out her hair in the mirror.

Tamara and Karen.. her 1st ever hair dresser.

Her 1st ever hair cut. Yes... Mommy came home with her first curl.

~~

OK... I'm still learning. White linen pants on a 3 year old that likes to play ball with Daddy?

OK.. who knows how to get grass stains out?

No I didn't intend on Tamara going outside to play dressed this way. I took her to pre-school to meet MS. Lisa and drop off some forms.

~

Friday.. Pre-school orientation.

Tamara is all dressed and ready to go.

We pulled in at the same time as Zach.. her neighbor and playmate. Same class .. had to get a picture.

Cute stuff no?

During the parents orientation there was a room full of toys for the kids to play with. About 20 adults in the room and probably 25+ kids. Tamara sat on my lap quietly watching the other children play. Once the presentation was over and the crowd thinned out to about half she jumped down and started to play. Smart girl... it was crazy in there.

A work bench. Just like Daddy's.

"Mommy what is this?"

"No idea Baby Girl... looks like a boy toy?"

Playing in a play kitchen. Gotta get one of those.

Tamara and I stayed after. Since I know most of the staff and they were all excited about not only meeting Tamara but having her as a student. Here she is with her teacher "Mrs. Peachtree" as the children call her. ;o)

They had a tea party and colored.By the end of our visit Tamara gave her teacher a hug goodbye. When asked if she liked school she says "yeah" .. she also says she likes Mrs. Peachtree and wants to come back next Tuesday. Her first official day. The day Mommy is supposed to leave her there. Sniff.. Sniff.. hey where are my tissues?

~~~

Brown Bear.. Brown Bear

Brown Bear.. Brown Bear...

.. what do you see?

Tamara watching cartoons with her Brown Bear.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? written by Bill Martin Jr, 1967.

The book is old enough to be in my kindergarten class library. A children's classic illustration / design by Eric Carle.

She fell in love with Brown Bear during our recent trip to Kohl's. A wonderful fund raiser just $5.00 all of which went to children's educational services.

They are not alone.

My little DIVA. Looking stylish.. ready for a road trip with Mommy

Mama.. are we ready?

Taking one of her many dolls for a stroll. She loves it when her clothes match her babies.

Playing at her Grandparents house. Grandma has a secret stash of toys. Shhh.... look in the sewing studio. Shhh... it's under the large pattern cutting table. Shhh... Lift the table skirt.

Here Tamara plays with a truck. Something you won't find in her toy chest at home.

Give Grandma a kiss. As we leave to go home. Grandma smothers her with kisses as cousin Katie peeks in beaming. I'd say these girls have definitely bonded.

On the way home we stopped to watch the cows at a local farm. Tamara loves animals. Cows are interesting but she really seems to have a passion for horses?

Daddy... A pony for Christmas? .. Hum? Nah!

~~

OK... I have a lot.. to add.. but Tamara is about to wake up from her nap. So stay tuned... It's coming.... it's coming. ;o)

~~~