Back to School…

School was back in session this week and Victoria was ecstatic to be back, seeing her classmates and teachers. She is really doing excellent with school. Her English is progressing incredibly, she is becoming more conversational and is still such a curious little girl. Some of this week’s questions revolved around why the moon is different sizes at times, how pickles are made and when is Santa’s birthday. Fitting then that Victoria had a blast riding her Smart Cycle this week…one of her birthday presents which combines physical activity (riding a bike) with learning games (numbers, letters, etc.).

Victoria, Mommy and Daddy went to get our first official family portraits done this week. The photographer was great and absolutely adored Victoria! Victoria was excellent all day (even though our session was delayed by a ½ hour). She was so good, in fact, that we decided to take her to the Build-a-Bear store as a treat. Victoria picked out a cute, beige bear and decided that he should be dressed in a Yankees uniform. When she was had to choose a name for the bear’s birth certificate (yup, they get those), she chose “Jeter”…a very fitting name! On the way out of the mall, we sighted where they have Santa’s chair set up. Victoria’s eyes lit up with excitement because she cannot wait to talk with Santa. Soon enough sweetie…soon enough…

Here are some pictures from the week…

Victoria showing off Jeter:


“Fore”…enjoying a round of golf around the house:

A Week Without School…

Hello everyone! This was a pretty quiet week on the home front. Our school district had ‘in-service’ all week, so Victoria got to spend each day this week at the after school program (a full day of playing and other activities). One would think that she would have been very happy about this. Before school started, she definitely would have loved this. As it turned out, she was not so crazy about it. We asked her why and she said that would prefer to be in her classroom. Can you believe that…Victoria has gone from wanting to play all day to actually wanting to be in school! Amazing…and we are very happy to hear it.

On Friday morning, Victoria lost her 5th tooth. As we were eating breakfast, she said that her tooth was loose and that she wanted to pull it out. So, there it went and she was excited about Tooth Fairy visiting yet again! While we were at the mall over the weekend, Victoria saw a winter wonderland being set up. She asked Mommy what it was for and was ecstatic when Mommy told her that it was where Santa goes when he visits, so he can talk to children. Of course, this peaked Victoria’s interest and she very much wanted to know when he was coming, so she could talk to him. We told her that we would take her to see him when he visits, but that would be some time from now. She seemed to forget that Santa would not be here for a while…when we were driving home from the mall, Victoria gasped and told Mommy that we missed visiting Santa at the mall…it was really very cute and funny!

Victoria was very animated with stories this week about Russia. Interestingly, she told us about how she had been bitten by a dog (which we knew). It turns out that she was trying to feed it by hand, which was much different than we had originally thought. She also told us about a time that she pretended to be Santa with the other kids in her group at the orphanage. She said that they all got a kick out of her putting “toys” in a wrapped up blanket and throwing it over her shoulder to hand out gifts to the other kids. Of course, she admits that she could not completely pull off the outfit, because she does not have a mustache! Hahahaha…

Here are some pictures from the week…

Showing off her gifts from the Tooth Fairy:

Excited about baseball and a happy Yankee fan!
Just looking adorable:
Out for a Sunday ride:

Happy Birthday, Princess!!

Hello! What a week Victoria had as we celebrated her birthday! The night before her birthday, Victoria lost her 4th tooth. The tooth came out quite easy, so it did not put a dent in how absolutely excited she was about her big day! She was so excited about the day and woke up in a terrific mood (all smiles). Mommy brought cupcakes to school for Victoria to share with her classmates. She was beaming at the thought of everyone in her class (her new friends) singing Happy Birthday to her. After school, Victoria’s grandparents, uncle and cousin (along with Mommy and Daddy) were at the bus stop waiting to greet Victoria. We wanted to visit to be a surprise, so we did not tell her ahead of time. Her cousin caught her eye first and she was yelled his name with excitement. We had saved the top tier of the cake from Victoria’s birthday party for her actual birthday. So, after dinner, we lit the candles and sang her Happy Birthday (it seems that she enjoys it more each time she hears it...hahaha.).

If you remember a few weeks back, we made a birthday card for Victoria and sent it in to her favorite TV station (they have a Happy Birthday show, where they show a select number of cards and send out birthday wishes to kids). Victoria had been so excited making the card and wanted very much to see her card on the show. Of course, we knew that there was a somewhat limited possibility that it would make it on the show (considering the large number of cards they are sure to receive). Much to our delight and surprise, it made it on the show (it was the first one of the day). The look on her face was priceless as she officially became a TV star!

The day after Victoria’s birthday, they had a Halloween parade at her school. All of the kids in the school dressed up in their costumes and got to walk around the outside of the school twice for parents/family to see. For the school parade, Victoria was a beautiful princess dressed up as Sleeping Beauty.

On Halloween, Victoria’s grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousin joined us for some Trick or Treating (it was her cousin’s first Halloween too). Victoria dressed up in her cat costume and we headed out despite the fact that the weather was not fully cooperating at first (rainy). Fortunately, it settled down and Victoria seemed to have a better time as the weather improved. While we were out, Victoria saw some friends from school. It was really nice watching how much fun they all had talking to one another (mostly about their take in the candy department). It’s great to see how much more social she is getting. After the week that was, we had a nice relaxing day at home on Sunday. It was a fitting end to an exciting week!

Here are some pictures from the week…

Wearing red for Red Ribbon Week and a necklace from her Great-Grandparents:
“How old are you today?
Off the school bus and ready for fun:
Ready to blow out her candles:
Celebrating her birthday with her Grandparents:
Reading a birthday card with Daddy:
The beautiful princess!
With her cousin as they prepare to put on their Halloween costumes:
Costumes on…Ready to go…
Out Trick or Treating:

A Calm Week…

Hello everyone! Last week, we had a blast with Victoria’s party…next week, we celebrate her actual birthday and her first Halloween! So, this week we tried to keep things relatively calm. We were mostly successful.

This week is known as “Red Ribbon” week in our area. The schools all put on events geared toward being drug and alcohol free. Our district had a really nice event for the kids which included a great magic show, a number of fun kid games and other assorted fun. While we were there, Victoria saw one of her classmates and ran right up to say hello. It was adorable watching the two of them sitting together to watch the magic show and discussing some of their favorite magic tricks.

Victoria had a great visit with her Great-Grandparents this week. She even helped her Great-Grandfather celebrate his 95th birthday! Of course, there was a cake involved and it was very cute watching the two of them enjoy a piece of the cake together. She was so incredibly well behaved, social and proud of herself for finishing her cake first (hahaha…).

As part of the run up to October 31st, one of the local high schools had a Halloween event. The kids got to get dressed up in their Halloween costumes and do some fun activities. Victoria enjoyed a number of the craft activities (making a Halloween bracelet and a ghost lollipop) and she even showed off a great throwing arm with a game that included a velcro ball at a target.

On a separate note, little Miss has been asking for more food and sleep of late. We have been waiting for Victoria to have a growth spurt and suspected that this was the likely cause for the way that she has been feeling. Having grown about 1.25 inches between April and September, we measured her this week and found that she has grown about 0.6 inches in the last 4 weeks!! So, our suspicions have been confirmed and we may need to hit the store soon for more food/clothes (hahaha…). Seriously though, she really is becoming such a big girl right before our eyes!

Here are some pictures from the week…

“Let’s Eat Cake Pop-Pop!

Hanging out with her cousin:
Victoria enjoying some time with her Great-Grandmother:
Trying on her Halloween costume:

Party Time…

Greetings from unseasonably cold and rainy Central Jersey. It’s hard to figure out this weather recently, but there was no way that we were going that rain on our parade this week! With Victoria’s 7th birthday so close to Halloween, we needed to have her birthday party a little early. So, this weekend we surprised her with a large family/friend gathering to celebrate her big day. She was completely surprised and had more fun than we have ever seen her have!! Watching her enjoy it as much as she did, made it more enjoyable than Mommy and Daddy could have ever imagined!

60+ folks were able to join us for the party. The cake was amazing!! Since this was Victoria’s 1st real birthday party, we wanted to make sure that it was something really special. So, we enlisted the help of the great folks over at Pink Cake Box here in New Jersey (http://www.pinkcakebox.com/) to create a birthday cake that would be perfect for Victoria. Mommy and Daddy talked to the owner about the design of the cake a few months ago. We wanted the cake to incorporate things that Victoria loved in Russia and those that she has grown to love here in the US. Of course, until it arrived, we had only seen a drawing. Once the cake arrived and we saw how beautiful it was, we knew that Victoria would just be floored…and we were right!! Also, much to our delight, the cake was every bit as delicious as it was beautiful.

The party also included a fantastic magic show by a magician that Victoria saw when she was in day camp over the summer. Of course, we intended the magic show to be for the kids. However, it ended up entertaining the entire crowd….excellent! At the end of the day, everyone seemed to have had a great time. We are blessed to have such wonderful, supportive family and friends…and we are so happy that so many were able to join in the celebration with us.

Today, we were all a little tired from Saturday’s festivities, so we took to it easy. Victoria has been asking to paint pumpkins (the ones we picked a few weeks back) for a few days now. So, we relaxed at home today and did just that. Excellent end to a great week!

Here are some pictures from the week…

Ready for school pictures:

Here’s the cake!
A back view…the detail was amazing!
Victoria and the Cheburashka:
Pooh and Thomas:
Sparkee (a mascot for a local baseball team) with some other decorations:
When do we eat?
Showing off her balloon prizes for helping the magician:
Waiting for Daddy to light the candles:
All smiles while listening to everyone sing Happy Birthday:
Digging in and enjoying her birthday cake:
mmmmm…this cake is good!
It took 3 people to cut the cake…it was a shame to cut, but a pleasure to eat!
Victoria decided to paint a cat’s face on her pumpkin:

Someone Loves to Draw…

Hi! Little miss keeps having great week after great week at school. Her teacher gives us regular updates and has so many good things to say. This week’s big news was that Victoria has been speaking more in class and she has really starting to make strides with her letter/sound recognition (remember that the Russian alphabet is different than ours). This, of course, is excellent news!

Over the weekend, we had a surprise for Victoria. We made plans to visit the Crayola Factory with her grandparents and her little cousin. Victoria loves to color and draw, so this was sure to be a hit. The factory is one of the actual place where they make Crayola crayons and markers (there is a demonstration where they show you how each is made), but they have a building set up with an incredible number of craft stations for kids to enjoy. Victoria had a blast and was even able to color a T-shirt for herself. Since this is Fire Prevention Week, the local fire company had one of their fire trucks on display…Victoria and her cousin even got to see what it was like to sit behind the wheel!

On Sunday, we settled in and spent some time at home. Victoria worked with Mommy on a birthday card. A little background…Victoria watches very little TV. When she does, she watches a channel called Sprout and enjoys shows such as Cailou, Barney, Sesame Street, Thomas, etc. These are very nice little shows that help support good manners, how to play with friends, and even help with her assimilation to English. Throughout the day, they send out birthday wishes to some children…they even show birthday cards sent in for a few lucky children (minimally, each card sent in makes it onto the Sprout website). So, the card that we were making was for Victoria to send in. We’ll have to see if it makes it on TV. If it does, she would certainly get a huge kick out of it. If not, then we’ll still enjoy looking at it on their website. Time will tell…

Here are some pictures from the week…

Sporting a Junior Firefighter helmet that she received during fire prevention week at school

All smiles with her cousin at the Crayola Factory:
Playing with modeling clay:
Coloring her T-shirt with her cousin:
Enjoying some glow in the dark ink:
Behind the wheel of the fire truck:
Striking a pose with her cousin:
Posing with Mommy at a Fall display:
Making a card with Mommy:

October Arrives…

Well, October is here and has brought the cool fall weather with it. As we drove around this week, Victoria has been noticing the number of leaves that are changing colors and falling. In addition to thinking that they look pretty, she knows that this means her birthday is coming soon. Of course, she is correct, but it cannot come soon enough for her!

This was another stellar week for Victoria is school. She makes strides by the day and has been getting some wonderful reports from the teachers (she really makes us proud). The school has a system which rewards children for exceptional behavior; they call the rewards “Star-bucks” (the school mascot is a star). The children are able to use the “bucks” to pick out items from the principal’s “store” (including paper, pencils, etc.). This week, Victoria was awarded 4 star-bucks! One was for being a good listener, two were for trying hard in class and the last one was for always being friendly and saying hello to the principal. Like we said…very proud!

Victoria had a visit to her pediatrician this week…a checkup and a few shots (flu, etc.). Since she had cried for previous shots, before the visit, we spoke to Victoria about what was going to happen. By the end of our conversation, she said that she was not scared of the shots and was not going to cry (knowing, of course, she was going to get a lollipop afterwards). We thought this was great, but time would tell. When the doctor walked into the room, Victoria said hello and told the doctor that she was not afraid to get shots. We, of course, could not help but laugh. Mommy, Daddy, and the doctor were very impressed with how big of a girl Victoria was…she rolled up her sleeves and did not even flinch during the shots! The doctor was also very pleased with Victoria’s recent growth (height and weight)!

Over the weekend, Victoria attended another birthday party (she’s pretty much a pro at these now…hahaha). This was for the daughter of one of Daddy’s best friends. Victoria was so nice to the birthday girl. When she arrived, Victoria said “Happy Birthday”, then she even pushed the birthday girl on the swing and in a little car….very cute stuff! After the party, Victoria had a blast when she went out for dinner with Mommy, Daddy and her grandparents…even finishing things off with some nice ice cream!

Finishing off the week, we got things started on Victoria’s birthday. Since her birthday is at the end of the month, when it will likely be much colder, we decided to give Victoria one of her birthday presents early….her very first bike! She was ecstatic and could not wait to get out and ride, so we headed out to the park and she took off.

Here are some pictures from the week…

Giving the birthday girl a helpful push:

Enjoying the falling leaves:
Tossing around a football with Daddy and his friend:
Off to the races in the birthday girl’s car:
Enjoying her first ride on her new bike!