Glad about Vlad

Reese and Niko’s birthdays are only six days apart, so we decided to throw a joint birthday party for them on March 6th.

They both enjoyed the party so much! We had a bouncy slide and a well-known balloon artist making the most intricate, beautiful balloon designs. We have some of them shown below, but some of the most amazing ones were the scuba tank and goggles, and a fishing pole with hat (fish attached!). The children waited patiently, as it did require a bit of time to design these creations. We also had about 120 balloons throughout the house and backyard. Then, crazy us, Roger and I decided to make their very own birthday cakes--characters from the Yo-Gabba-Gabba show, one of their favorites. Two days prior I made about six cakes, we then cut them into different shapes and put them in the freezer. The day before the party I started making the frosting. Five hours later and many colors, we could finally start decorating and putting together the cakes. I must say it was a lot of work, but they did come out better than expected. Some of the guests were very impressed. Niko and Reese loved their cakes, and even though Niko had a big piece sitting right in front of him, he decided that digging into the middle of Robie’s (not sure if I spelled that correctly) belly looked like a good place to dig in. All in all it was a beautiful sunny day with temps in the low 70’s. The food all came out great, and everyone had a good time. We couldn’t have asked for more. However, by evening time we were exhausted.

What a week! We just got back from visiting Roger’s step mom in FL, going to DisneyWorld, and attending our adoption agency reunion. The day after we arrived home we then took the kids to see the broadway show “Mary Poppins”. I’m exhausted, but can’t rest yet because Saturday we are having a combined “first” birthday party celebration for Reese & Niko.

The flight over to Orlando from Phoenix went pretty well. They both slept about an hour on the plane there. Before that, though, they just wanted to eat all the time and watch “Mary Poppins” on the iPhone. Coming and going I gotta say the worst things about traveling with kids has got to be waiting in the lines to check your bags and the whole security checkpoint thing. To get yourself and all your stuff through the metal detectors and then have to take the kids jackets and shoes on and off was just stressful. It’ll be so much easier when they can do their own shoes (in a fairly quick manner).

Roger’s step mom, Mary, hadn’ met the kids yet and was beyond excited for our visit. We rented a car and drove up north almost 2 hours to see her. She loved the visit and R & N loved the time spent with her, as well. She even gave them their very first (early) birthday cake with candles to blow out. Since they didn’t nap, they fell asleep easily on the car ride back to the hotel.

The next morning we went to the Magic Kingdom. The rides were by far their favorite. They have no fear and would have loved to go on even more, but they’re a few inches too short for ones like Thunder Mountain Railroad. They truly loved every bit of the park, especially the characters dancing in the show and then seeing some of the characters around the park. I think they really believe that they’re real. I’ve included many photos and with one of them you can definitely tell how no nap made the crazy slap happiness settle in. Reese did well without naps, but Niko was definitely more wired. Only two of the days we were able to get naps in and when they did they both slept over 2 hours. Unfortunately we had to wake them up to go get something to eat for dinner, otherwise they would have woken up around 3 a.m.

The next day was Epcot. They liked the Nemo show and aquarium part of it. Then, after lunch it started to pour. The country’s were nice to quickly walk through on our way out of the park in the rain, but overall we were not too excited with Epcot. The third day in Disney was the Animal Kingdom. Nice. We went to a Lion King show in the beginning and a stage show of Finding Nemo; they really like shows. The open car safari to see the animals was exciting for them, as well. On the fourth day we went back to the Magic Kingdom to see Adventure Land and Frontier Land which were the two we didn’t get to see on Tuesday. Tuesday we spent a lot of time in Fantasy Land and went on every ride there, except for Snow White’s scary ride. When we went on the race car track in Tomorrow Land, Reese was cracking up so hard with laughter. She thought it was hysterical she was driving and hitting the sides banging from left to right.

Our first few days there the weather was nice--low, mid 70’s, then the other half of the week got VERY cold--about 58 degrees as a high. Brrr...for us folks from AZ. It wasn’t bad though cause it only rained one afternoon.

Our final day we went to our adoption agency’s reunion. How nice that was! We got to meet the very sweet lady, Amy, who had been reading my blog and told me about her agency having Reese & Niko available for adoption, and if we would be able to switch agency’s and get our paper work in with hers. We met her precious, beautiful little girl, Tatiana (who she just adopted months before we got R & N). We were also very fortunate and loved meeting our coordinator, Lorien (from of our 3rd agency), who was fantastic in getting us paper ready and on our way to meet Reese & Niko.

I know this is long...After arriving home at 9:30 p.m. in PHX Saturday night, Sunday we went to see the show Mary Poppins. They loved, loved, loved that!! Their absolute favorite movie! Niko was a bear 30 minutes before showtime and through the entire 15 minute intermission, but managed to stay almost glued when the show and singing was going on. A few loud singing bursts on his part was a bit disruptive, but not bad for a kid his age. Reese did very well throughout the performance as I thought she would.

Now it’s back to focusing on and getting prepared for this coming weekend’s birthday party. I’ll post that next week. Whew!

Where does the time go? This weekend we celebrated six months of Reese and Niko being "ours". We went to the show, Disney on Ice. Niko was again in rare form and was very animated throughout the show. They both really loved it!
Niko is starting to talk a little bit more and is trying to put sentences together. Reese has gotten the "why" word down--nonstop. Otherwise, not much has changed...their favorite show is still Yo Gabba Gabba, and they still enjoy playing with their Christmas "kitchen". They still go to swim lessons once a week and preschool twice a week. Reese rides a bike very well (with training wheels), and Niko is beginning to learn. They love everything they do and are truly happy kids 24/7. When people asked me what has surprised you most about adopting two kids, I must say that what I didn't expect was this great disposition to life they both seem to have. No emotional issues or problems seem to have surfaced. We are extraordinarily grateful for these happy go lucky kids.

Here it is already 2010. I guess I’ll back up and start with how Christmas went. Christmas Eve my sister came over with her husband and 9 y/o son, Ryan. So, it was a small gathering and I had a dinner mostly of polish food one last time to honor my parents. That’s what they always made for Christmas Eve dinner. Since it’s no longer my sis’s or mine favorite, next year will be a new dinner of some sort, maybe beef tenderloin... Anyway, my nephew Ryan, decided to play hide-n-seek with Reese. Well, she didn’t know anything about that, and I guess you had to be there because my explanation won’t do it justice, but it was SO funny watching her try to play. We were all in hysterics watching this game unfold. Basically, as Ryan was counting with his eyes closed, we all told Reese she had to run and hide. Well, she starts running with her hands over her face. That took about 6 tries before she finally got that she couldn’t run with her eyes closed and Ryan was the one who had to have his eyes closed. And on it went with her giving herself away and barely hiding. So memorable. Ryan also read them the book Twas the Night Before Christmas, which went over very well. He was a wonderful playmate for them to have around on Christmas Eve. As they went to bed we tried again to explain that when they awoke Santa will have placed toys for them under the tree. Niko didn’t seem to get it or care, but Reese seemed to understand a bit more we think because she woke up at 6:30. She normally wakes around 7 or 7:15. We had her wait in our room until it was at least 7, them we went to wake Niko. They were very slow to get what had happened. Partly because Niko wasn’t fully awake yet and Reese seemed unsure of it all. They slowly opened the gifts. They seemed very happy about their toys and especially of their new play kitchen. They played with the food and the kitchen the rest of the day. They also seemed overwhelmed in my opinion because they had several disagreements that morning while playing. This has never happened before while playing. They also didn’t know where or which toy to focus their attention on either throughout the day. Going from one to the next haphazardly. We certainly didn’t go overboard in buying gifts either. I think they’ve never gotten more than 1 gift at a time before so it was too stimulating still. Roger’s mom came over late morning and then we all had a lunch together. As the kids went down for their nap, grandma insisted on staying so Roger and I could go to a movie. Something he and I have always done on Christmas, so it was very much appreciated that he and I were still able to do this.

I’ve enclosed a few photos and one of them is R & N on the train to the North Pole drinking their hot chocolate. For this they were truly excited. Much anticipation and Niko very animated on the train. They loved it! Once at the north pole (you could only see it through the trains windows-we weren’t allowed to get off), Santa got on the trains and quickly handed out bells to all the children. Needless to say the train ride back was filled with noise, but they loved every minute of it. The next morning we were fortunate enough to go sledding about a half hours drive from there. It snowed the week prior and the conditions were perfect for sledding, and it was nice and warm outside. The kids loved this, too. They both have no fear and wanted to go down the steeper hills. They’re gonna love amusement parks as they get older.

New Years was quiet, but we didn’t mind. Never been much for staying out late in all that craziness. Roger was off the week between Christmas and New Years so we’ve gone to the park and the kids saw their first theater movie, The Princess and the Frog and just spending quality time together. I hope all of you have a fantastic 2010 filled with happiness, abundance and health!!! I know this year will be a great year as it seems like a new chapter in our lives has begun.

Our social worker came last week to do our 6 month post placement. By the time they do the report, get it notarized, apostilled and sent over to Moscow it should actually be there by the 6 month mark even though the 17th of this month marks our 5th month of “Gotcha”. We still see improvements, but they are slow to come. They still are truly happy kids 24/7. So many people comment on that.

We’re very excited to be going to DisneyWorld in late February. We have our flight reservations and hotel booked - we will be there 6 nights. Our adoption agency is holding their annual reunion there and we’re very excited to meet Lorien, who works at the adoption agency and who basically took care of everything for us and was so helpful in so many other ways. Also, we are looking forward to meeting Amy and her adopted Russian daughter Tatiana. It was through reading Amy’s blog that she got to know me and that we were still waiting, so she knew her agency had a couple of sibling groups to place and she immediately contacted me. So, we thank Amy for introducing us to Lorien and eventually us meeting Reese & Niko. My husband’s stepmother also lives near Orlando so we will be meeting her at the hotel for two days. She’s very excited to meet the kids. Reese’s 4th birthday will also be happening while we are in Disney. Although, I plan to celebrate their birthdays together this year, the first weekend in March, since their birthdays are only five days apart. So much to look forward to in February and March.

Since Thanksgiving we’ve been very busy preparing for their first Christmas in their new home. Basically what we’ve done is to get them to understand the whole concept of Santa and a tree, etc. We are having them watch the Christmas classics on TV and read them the holiday books. We also started the tradition of Elf on a Shelf. Many of you are aware of this tradition, but it basically goes like this; There’s a book along with an elf. After reading the story of how Santa needs to know if the kids are naughty or nice in order to receive presents, the elf is sent down from the North Pole to report back to Santa on a daily basis. Each morning we place the elf in a different part of the house. The kids have really gotten a kick out of him and Reese can’t wait to spot Kirby (the name we’ve given our elf) first thing in the morning. For the most part they’ve been behaving very nicely. So among all this commercialism (and actually meeting Santa yesterday), we believe they have somewhat of a clue as to what will happen Christmas morning. At least Reese does. Trying to also the true meaning of Christmas is a bit more challenging and confusing for them to understand at this age, but we do try.

I must say it will be a bittersweet Christmas celebration. Both of my parents passed away this time of year last year. My mom on the 20th and my dad on the 30th. I so wish they could see me as a mom and especially wish they could have gotten to meet both children. Love ya and miss ya both!

This Thursday we will be going on a train ride called the Polar Express. I’m not sure what it all entails yet, but the kids will wear their pajamas on the train and drink hot cocoa up to the North Pole. The train leaves around 6pm and we get back to the depot around 9pm. It’s a couple hours north from Phoenix and they’ve gotten a bunch of snow last week, so it will definitely be a “white” trip up to the Pole. I’m getting very excited! We’ll most likely go sledding up there the next morning. Glad we can still show R & N some snow!

Two days of preschool each week have been very good for them. I may up it to three days a week starting in September. Reese is really trying to speak in sentences and Niko is just trying to build his vocabulary. They’re beginning to make and play with friends, too.

I think that’s all to report for now. I’ll try to report after Christmas as to what they thought about the whole thing. Otherwise, I have to start thinking of what I’ll do for their birthday celebration coming up.

It’s been 4 short months since we’ve been home so I decided to look at the weather in Moscow and they are already experiencing some snow flurries and temps in the 30’s. Brrrr. I am so very happy we were able to be there in the summer. It was absolutely beautiful and we’ll have some great memories. Here it’s still in the 80’s with hopes of this weekend finally getting to the 70’s. I bet Reese & Niko are beginning to wonder if they’ll ever feel cool air (that’s not air conditioned) again. It’s funny, a couple of times when picking up Reese from preschool, while I was getting Niko out of the car he has said “Hot, hot..” Yes, it’s still hot.

The past month has been much of the same. They go to preschool on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. I have to pick Niko up at 11:30 and then we go back to get Reese at 2:45. They are both truly enjoying it so much. Reese’s English and words have improved slightly since beginning 3 weeks ago and Niko...well, not so much yet. A few more new words but no sentences.

They enjoyed Halloween and after the fourth door or so Niko was starting to understand what to do. Walking up to the door, opening his bag and then sometimes saying Thank You. He only saw one item that really caught his attention when it went into his bag. A sucker - he had to have it. Reese didn’t seem to want anything or maybe she just didn’t realize what they were putting in her back was sugar. They both ended up having two pieces of candy and then that was it. The next day they saw me throw out what was in their treat bags and didn’t seem to care. I’m sure next year will be a different story.

I guess the holidays will soon be upon us. What will that be like this year? We have a very small family so it’ll be quiet but we’re looking forward to it. Already I’m starting to think of what we’ll be doing for their birthdays in 2010. What kind of theme? I know we’ll combine the celebration this year for them as their birthdays are only 5 days apart. Things book up quickly around here and I want their first birthday with us to be extra special.

Let’s see...I’ll jot down (mostly for Reese and Niko’s sake for when they get older) all the things I’ve noticed of these two little angels so far:

Reese: does not like vegetables, is very good about eating all breakfast foods, loves to tickle people, is a big helper, very independent, shows attitude by putting her hand on her hip, lets me fuss with putting things in her hair, loves bath time still, favorite cartoon is Yo-Gabba-Gabba, and she almost knows all of the ABC song.

Niko: eats cherry tomatoes like candy, tends to eat veggies a little better than his sister, is a big stretcher when he wakes up in the mornings, won’t pose or smile well for the camera, genuinely very loving, also loves bath time, still rocks when he goes to sleep, very ticklish, and he loves to put anything in his mouth.

OH...and my most fantastic, handsome, intelligent and helpful husbands birthday is Thursday. I love you so much honey. You’re my forever prince charming and life is complete as long as you’re in it. I love you madly! Wishing you a fabulous Birthday!

The Princess & Flash....