The First Week of School….Yippee!!

Hope that everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend (Labor Day). The weather was nice here, so we were able to get out and have some fun. After some final school shopping, we went outside to blow some bubbles. We had fun chasing the bubbles around and popping them. Then, we broke out the baseball and bat. Victoria shows an incredible interest and a fair amount of talent for most sports that we try. So, we were not surprised when she started hitting some line drives!

Back inside, Victoria again wanted to have her backpack (running story from last week). She really loves her new backpack. On the day we gave it to her, she wanted to wear it everywhere (even from room to room)….very cute. This, of course, was all a build up to Victoria’s first day in school. Tuesday was a very big day in Victoria’s life and one that we have been working toward for just over 5 months now. We were all very excited.

At dinner on Monday, we talked to Victoria about school and how she would handle the day. She told us that she would wake up…say “good morning” to us...have breakfast…then on to the school bus, where she would say hi to the bus driver and head to school. It was very cute listening to her foretell the day (and suggested that we did our best to prepared her for her first day). She was not sure she would sleep too long (since she was excited), but we let her know that she would need her rest to be alert for school. She seemed satisfied with that and slept pretty well. As promised, she greeted us with a very pleasant “good morning” once Tuesday came. So, now that the day was here, she was up and ready to go!

She was so incredibly excited about riding the school bus and heading out for her first day of school. After breakfast, it was time to head to the bus stop. Victoria bolted for her backpack and was waiting at the door for Mommy and Daddy to walk with her. We were the first ones to the bus stop, but there were about 10 more kids that sprinkled in. As each one came, Victoria became more and more excited. The school bus was right on time and she was visibly giggling with excitement! Once the school bus door opened, she had a kiss for Mommy and Daddy, then she headed onto the bus. She put on her seat belt and waved to Mommy and Daddy as she headed to her first day of school. Our little girl is growing up!

We were fortunate to receive a few e-mail updates from her teachers throughout the day…telling us that she was doing great! When we saw her at the end of the day, she was so happy to see us and tell us how much she enjoyed school. This same level of enjoyment lasted throughout her first week!! She even had her first class assignment where she received a smiley face from the teacher (proud parents, no doubt). Needless to say, we could not be happier with her first week and she is looking forward to going back.

Once the school week ended, Victoria enjoyed a few birthday parties (seems like we have had a lot lately). Fortunately, Victoria so enjoys birthday parties, singing “Happy Birthday” and getting a yummy slice of cake. She even chipped in and helped make brownies for her Aunt’s birthday.

With so much going on this past week, perhaps it’s best to just let some pictures tell the rest of the story…


Waiting for her pitch:

Pretty proud of herself after a nice hit:
Looking good and ready for her first day of school:
OK, here we go:
Time to find a seat:
All smiles as the bus heads to school:
Day 2…Still excited to go to school:
Day 3…The excitement continues:
Day 4…It was raining, but she didn’t seem to mind:
Mixing brownie batter with Daddy:
Enjoying some apple juice at a luau themed birthday party:
Coloring with Grandma:
Having fun with her cousin:
Playing silly with her cousin and uncle:

September has Arrived and School is on the Horizon…

Hello everyone! It’s hard to believe that it is actually September and how quickly time is going. At times, it seems like only a matter of weeks since we returned home. On Friday, Victoria had her last day of Summer Day Camp. She had an absolute blast, so we thought that she might be a bit sad to see it end. Much to our delight, she is so excited about the start of school that she (thus far) does not seem to mind that she will not be going back.

Perhaps it helps that we went to an open house at her elementary school this week. During this event, she saw her classroom for the first time and was able to meet her teacher as well as a number of her classmates. She really seemed to like the classroom, where there were a number of great books to look at and toys to play with. Then, she was able to sit at her desk for the first time (each child’s desk had their name on it) and put all of her school supplies in it. She even made “friends” with the nice Policeman who stopped traffic so we could cross the street to get back our car (which was parked across the street since so many people showed up for the open house).

Later in the week, Victoria helped Mommy make some chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies (the sugar cookies had smiling school buses on them). Knowing how excited Victoria is to ride the school bus, we knew that she would enjoy these...and she really did. The cookies were for company that we were having over the weekend. Some of Daddy’s oldest friends were able to visit. It was so good to see them and Victoria had a blast playing with them and showing them her room, toys, etc.

Also over the weekend, the three of us went to a nice state park in Princeton. The park had some very interesting historic sites from the Revolutionary War. Afterward, Victoria really enjoyed some time at a playground that is just outside the state park. When we got home, we gave her the backpack and lunch bag that she will use for school. She absolutely loved them! How could we tell? She did not take off the backpack for about an hour or so…even after we went out, she put it right back on when we got home…looks like we picked some winners!

Two random funny stories from this week…When Victoria left the office of her speech therapist (whom she adores), the therapist said “See you later alligator”. Of course, Victoria’s response was supposed to be “In a while crocodile.” Instead, she responded “Bye crocodeelee”. It was hysterical and had everyone laughing (well, perhaps you needed to be there…hahaha). On another day this week, Victoria woke up and was interested to see what the weather was for the day (of course, she always hopes that it will be sunny). On this particular day, she got her wish. When she looked out the window and saw that it was sunny, she yelled “Mommy, Daddy, sunny…I love sunny”. This, by itself, was very funny, but she followed it up with a cute song about it being sunny (one which she clearly made up on the spot). She has been doing a lot more singing/humming/dancing lately, which is very cute to see.

Here are some pictures from this week…

Making school bus cookies with Mommy:

About to dig in and enjoy the finished product:
Great pose at the park:
At the state park with Mommy:
Batter Up!
Our little princess in the sandbox sporting her new skirt and monkey shirt:
First pose with the backpack:
Still wearing it about an hour later:
A few hours later…she can’t wait to go to school and may sleep with the backpack on!

The Unofficial End of Summer…

Well, it seems like summer is ending just about as fast as it came this year. We are nearing the end of August and September brings the start of school for Victoria (and pretty much every other kid, of course). For a child who swears that she prefers the snow of winter, Victoria really had a blast this summer!

This week, we joined Victoria for an open house at her school, which they hold for all new students. During this event, she got her first official tour of the entire school and she was excited to meet with the Principal again. Of course, we hope this is not a common occurrence once school starts…hahaha! Truthfully, though, it is so very nice to see that a number of folks at the school already know her by name. We really feel that she will be in good hands and that they will provide her with a safe, comfortable, and positive learning environment. Also, she is still very excited about taking the school bus!

Victoria joined Daddy for a visit to see Mommy at work. There are so many nice folks there that have been following her story for some time now. Finally meeting them, she was very pleasant and everyone was very happy to see her…she was even treated to a few pieces of candy by some of the nice folks there. At one point, she sat down in Mommy’s work chair and asked if this is where Mommy “plays”. It is so funny that she still thinks (since we work with computers) that we must play for a living…hahaha!

Over the weekend, we went to another family birthday party. Victoria really enjoys birthday parties and is really having trouble containing her excitement about the prospects of her own birthday (still months away). She had a blast playing with the other kids…enjoying the swings, jumping on a trampoline and playing with a set of Thomas trains. Of course, she loved the cake too!

Here are some pictures from this week…

Bouncing on the trampoline:

Hanging with her cousin:

Just looking incredibly cute:

A cute picture that she colored and signed to get a free pretzel:

Splish, Splash, Splosh…

This week, the dog days of summer have given us tremendous amounts of rain….torrential rain at times. You would think that we moved to some place tropical…hahaha…

This week, we officially registered Victoria for school, where she will be starting next month! She was able to meet her principal again and is getting more excited about starting school. This coming week, Victoria will go to an open house at the school, where she will get a full tour. In a few weeks, Victoria will get to meet her teacher (whom we have heard great things about) and will visit her classroom (and desk) for the first time. Very exciting stuff!!!

One night this week, we ate some corn on the cob with dinner. Victoria really enjoys eating the corn right off the cob, but this time she seemed to have a little trouble eating it. It turns out that her left-front bottom tooth (which had been ready to come out for some time now) was really loosened. After her bath, Victoria asked “Mommy, may I pull?” (referring to her loose tooth). So, she stepped up to her bathroom sink and gave it a tug. Much to Victoria’s delight, it came right out without any pain! She was all smiles and was clearly excited. After a little inspection, we were able to see that her big girl teeth are really starting to show…this, of course, raised her level of excitement even more (she was raising her arms in a sign of victory)!! Heck, there was all of this excitement and we had not even gotten to the Tooth Fairy yet! Victoria wanted to know if the Tooth Fairy was going to come, but still seemed a little sketchy about the fact that she flies. So, since it was now just after 9pm, we assured her (as we did for her first tooth) that Mommy would call her the next day, then she would drop off Victoria’s “surprises.” The Tooth Fairy came through nicely again, dropping off a book, some quarters and some stickers for Victoria.

At week’s end, Victoria went out to dinner with Mommy, Daddy and some of their good friends. Over the weekend, we went to a zoo with friends and their three boys. We feared rain all day, but lucked out to have a long dry period that allowed us to have a great day (even though it was pretty hot and humid…go figure). At the zoo, we were all able to go on a nice train ride which allowed us to see a lot of the animals. Once back on foot, we were able to visit a few more of the animal displays, then headed inside an educational center where they had a “Touch and Learn” show. The show was about some salt water animals and Victoria was able to pet a horseshoe crab. After the show, we headed over to a very large playground where the kids had a blast!

To end the week, Victoria, Mommy and Daddy went to a county fair. The previous night, there were enormous rains which left the grounds incredibly wet (and, unfortunately, muddy). We did not let this stop us, though. Victoria got to ride a pretty pony, she saw a number of animals and she was able to pet a few of them (including a rabbit and a turtle).

This week, we had our 6 month post placement visit (the first of 4 that will take place over 3 years as required by the Russian government). This entailed having a visit from our home study Social Worker. We spoke for well over an hour about a large number of subjects…Victoria’s medical status, her adjustment to her new environment, her relationship with us, etc. There are a number of reasons that the Russian government requires these visits; they want to see how well adopted children are doing and they want to ensure that adoption agencies are properly vetting families (ensuring that only “good” families are adopting). The process proves helpful to future adoptive families and will serve us well should we decide to adopt from Russia again.

Victoria continues to make tremendous strides with her English. She is picking up on a lot more concepts and starting to form more complex sentences. She is using the concept of “I like/love” and she follows it up with “Do you like/love?” She is also getting the hang of using “me.” In the past, she would say “Vika”, she now says “me”. For instance, the other night Mommy asked her “Who looks cute?” and she responded “me.” So incredibly cute…

Here are some pictures from this week…

Showing off the book that she got from the Tooth Fairy:

Enjoying the train ride at the Van Saun Park Zoo:

Watching a newly hatched baby chick at the county fair:

Laughing as the baby chick tickles her hands:

She loved watching the bunnies drink:

It was REALLY muddy at the county fair…

…it left our shoes a little worse for the wear:

Excited to have another pony ride:

Hanging out with the cow statue at the county fair:

Happy as she gets to clean the mud off of her legs (after the county fair):

Dog Days of Summer…

Greetings from hot and humid central Jersey. This week, summer has certainly let us know that it is here. The temperatures were in the 90’s and the humidity was excessive, so this was not a great week to be outdoors for too long. On the brighter side, Victoria had “Carnival Day” at her day camp this week. She had a great time with the kids. They had all made tie died shirts earlier in the week and wore them for the carnival. Victoria had a few water ices (grape and blueberry). She even tried her first cotton candy, but did not like it one bit. Oh well… They had a moon bounce (something that Victoria loves) and face painting also. Victoria had a cat painted in her forearm (very nice) and even got two temporary tattoos…one of which was a plane (interesting choice for someone that does not like to fly…perhaps it is her way of facing her fears…hahahaha…).

Over the weekend, we went out to the Poconos for a family birthday party. Victoria had a blast and got to play with a few of her cousins. She had fun playing some basketball, playing a guitar and even joined in blowing out the birthday candles (she is still itching for her own birthday of course!).

This week, we visited a Russian food store a few towns over. On the way there, Mommy and Daddy were talking about our time in Russia. Once we entered the store, we looked at one another and felt like we were there again (the music, the layout and all of the items written in Russian). It was an extremely nice feeling. Russia is where officially became a family, so we have very good and strong feelings for it. Victoria saw a number of things that were familiar to her from Russia. She started filling the cart with a number of items that she liked. Of course, this consisted mostly of sweets (candy and cookies), but she was visibly excited to see things that she had before, so we were all for it. Later in the day, she asked for one of them (a lemon candy). As soon as she started eating it, her excitement elevated immediately. She was literally squealing with delight and began telling us stories about her “friends” (she now knows this word in English) in the orphanage and how they all liked this particular candy. So, we will certainly be making a number of future trips to this store.

Victoria watched Mary Poppins for the first time this week and loved it. She enjoyed the scene where they danced with penguins and, later in the movie, thought it was hysterical how dirty the chimneysweep’s faces got. She was still interested in the candy that we picked up from the Russian store, in particular a Cheburashka chocolate candy egg that she wanted to try. We told her that if she ate all of her dinner, she would be able to have it. Going into dinner that night, she was pretty tired, which usually means that she struggles to finish. However, she REALLY wanted that candy, so she began to work her way through her meal. Then, she seemed to ‘hit the wall’ while eating the last of her macaroni and cheese (the last item on her plate). So, Victoria turned to Daddy and calmly said “Daddy, please help.” Mommy and Daddy laughed hysterically and Victoria got a huge smile on her face (she had never asked this before during a meal…but, she REALLY wanted the candy…hahaha). So, Daddy took a few pieces to help out, but it was obviously not as much help as she needed to get the job done. So, Victoria turned to Mommy for assistance. The 3 of us had a good laugh. In the end, she finished her entire meal (such a big girl) and was able to enjoy her candy.

Here are some pictures from this week…

Sporting the shirt she made and her grape tongue at the carnival:

With her cotton candy…before she tried it:

Clearly not happy with the taste of cotton candy:

Enjoying her first time ever eating corn on the cob:

It’s time for cake…let’s dig in!

Settling in to watch Mary Poppins:

Helping Daddy take out the trash…she really wants to be a good helper!

…August Begins

Hello again!! Can it really be the start of August? It’s hard to believe how fast the time is going, especially since April. All was quiet on the doctor front this week, so that was a good thing for once. Early this week, Victoria got her 3^rd haircut since arriving home. From the looks of it, she is really taking a liking to getting them. This time was different than the last two…this time the hair dresser used some mousse and blew her hair dry. A few months back, this would likely not have gone over well. Now, however, little Miss kept swinging her head back and forth (kind of like you would see a model do)…she really enjoyed feeling her hair toss around.

Later in the week, Victoria went with Mommy and Daddy to have lunch with some very good friends from a past job (actually, it was the job where Mommy and Daddy met). It was the first time that we have seen these friends in a long time and it was great to see them. The majority of them now have children of their own, so we are sure to continue to catch up. We are constantly humbled by the number of folks that tell us that they religiously follow this blog. Folks tell us that they feel as though they “know” Victoria already by following it.

Over dinner one night this week, we started talking to Victoria about the changes of seasons. This led to a conversation about Christmas. We, of course, were not really certain what she really knew about the holiday. Much to our delight and surprise, she told us that there was a tree with lights at her orphanage and that all of the kids were able to walk to see Santa. She tells us that she asked for a dolphin and that it what she got last year (apparently, it was green and yellow). She is even familiar with some of the songs of the season, including Jingle Bells. We were able to catch the majority of this conversation on tape. So, we are continually happy to hear more and more stories.

On Friday, Victoria got to take part in a “camp out” day at her day camp. Each of the kids in her class showed up in their pajamas for the occasion. They also brought their sleeping bags and a favorite movie to watch. As we talked about this with her on Thursday night, Victoria was not 100% sure what to make of it. Remember, this is a child that REALLY does not like to take naps. She thought that they were going to make her take a nap since she was brining a sleeping bag and wearing her pajamas. So, we needed to assure her that they kids were only doing it for fun and to get comfortable watching some movies. Once she understood, she went and had a great time!

Over the weekend, we took advantage of some nice weather and headed to one of the playgrounds here near our home. When we got there, we were surprised that we were the only ones there. Within about 15 minutes, other folks started to file in the playground was hopping. By the time we left, a friend of Victoria’s from day camp had spotted us, so she came over with her parents. The kids played for quite some time, while Mommy and Daddy took the chance to get to know the little girl’s parents.

To end the weekend, we decided to have a nice relaxing day here at home. Victoria had been asking to watch Sleeping Beauty, so she watched while Mommy and Daddy took care of some things around the house. For dinner, we decided to have some family fun and made some pizza mini bagels. We each took turns making them just as we like them. Victoria’s favorite is sauce, cheese, tomatoes and pepperoni. Guess it goes without saying, but this was a very nice ending to another great week!

Here are some pictures from this week…

Sporting her new haircut:
Ready for her camp out:

Continuing to use her sleeping bag after she got home:

Excited to have the park all to ourselves:

Showing some nice throwing form...

Not too bad on the catch either…

Finished making her pizza, now they are ready for the oven…

Ready to dig into her pizza!

As July Comes to an End...

Hello everyone!! Greetings from hot, humid and rainy central Jersey. The weather wreaked havoc on our ability to do things outside this week. When it was not raining, it was incredibly hot and humid. So, we tried to have our fair share of fun inside this week. All-in-all, mission accomplished. As always, we had doctor’s appointments 3 days this week. One was a follow-up to Victoria’s ENT surgery from a few weeks back where the doctor was very pleased with how things are progressing (so, we don’t need to go back for 3 months). Another visit was to the eye doctor. There was some concern about Victoria’s vision and a possible astigmatism. Our concerns were subsided during the appointment when the doctor told us good news. Victoria’s vision is currently checking at 20/20, there is no current need to glasses and all other factors are within acceptable levels. We are so happy that little Miss keeps coming up with good results.

Victoria had another fun-filled week at day camp this week. They have a different theme each week, with matching vendors. This week was a western theme and Victoria went on her first official pony ride. You may remember a few months back that we tried to get her on a pony ride. At that time, she just settled for petting the pony and riding in a carriage that it pulled. This time proved much different as she showed no fear and jumped right up on the pony for a ride. Actually, she must have played her cards right, because she wound up getting 3 rides!!

On the home front, little Miss has taken a liking to building forts in the living room after diner. She meticulously ensures that all of the corners are tucked and supported. Unfortunately, she takes so much time setting it up that, by the time she finishes putting it together, it is time to clean up and take her bath before bedtime.

August is upon us and that means that we are only about one full month away from Victoria’s first day in school. In the coming weeks, we will have the chance to go to the school for an orientation and for Victoria to meet her teacher. We’ve been talking to her about starting school. When she first realized that she would be at school and we would both be at work, she said “But, the house will cry!”…very sweet and very funny. She is a little hesitant about starting, but she is sure to love it when she actually gets there. So, since it was raining heavily today, we headed out to the store to start school shopping. This, of course, Victoria loved as she saw all of the fun things that she will get to use when school starts. See Victoria, school is cool!!

We also used to weather as an opportunity to take Victoria to her first movie…and it was in 3D no less (seems like all of the kids movies out right now are in 3D). She was excited all day about going and really enjoyed the movie (Ice Age 3) along with a few snacks (some popcorn and a few M&M’s). She even loved the glasses. Of course, there is a chance that she will now thinks that you have to wear funny glasses to go to the movies….as she would say “So funny!”

Here are some pictures from this week…

Hanging out at the entrance to her fort:

Posing with her fort…it really was quite big:

She was all smiles while riding the pony:

Sporting her bandana in front of the pony during western week at day camp:

Ready to see her first movie...in 3D:

Fighting the sun in front of the movie billboard: