Can you believe that it’s been a year?

It’s really hard to believe that this was the last full week of September….where is the time going? It snuck right up on us, but this week marked the one year anniversary of our first trip to Russia, the first time that we set our eyes on our beautiful little girl. There was so much reflection this week and we have really come so far in the last year. Take a look back at the first blog post and see for yourself…it’s really amazing!

Victoria is still enjoying school and gets more comfortable by the day. This week, we had our first “Back to School Night” where Mommy and Daddy went to Victoria’s school to meet with her teacher and get a feel for what her daily schedule is like. Later in the week, we were able to have a meeting with her principal and teachers to discuss their specific plan for Victoria. We walked into the meeting very confident and left even more so. Our school system here is excellent and it is obvious that Victoria is in good hands.

While at school this week, Victoria lost her third tooth! As usual, she was very excited about what the Tooth Fairy would bring her. The Tooth Fairy was right on mark…she gave Victoria a Thomas book (we just saw him last week) and a few items from her elementary school, including a shirt and a cup (the school’s mascot is a star). Needless to say, Victoria loved it!

At week’s end, Victoria went to a classmate’s birthday party. When we went to Toys-R-Us to pick up a present, we ran into Geoffry (the giraffe)…turns out it was his birthday! Victoria was very sweet and said “Happy Birthday” to him and even colored a picture for him (they had a table set up for the kids). While at the store, we actually used the opportunity to pick up Victoria her first birthday present…her first bicycle (we wanted to pick it up now so she could use it before the weather gets too cold). When she realized it was for her birthday, she got extremely excited. We said “Happy Birthday, Victoria” and she smiled, said “Thank You” and gave both Mommy and Daddy a kiss. We cannot describe how excited this little girl is about her upcoming birthday!! Oh yeah, the classmate’s birthday party was a hit. They had a clown who did face painting and made balloon animals. Victoria had her face painted like a tiger. It was a lot of fun watching her run around and enjoy herself.

Over the weekend, we stayed home to have some relaxing family time. Of course, we did have one surprise in store for Victoria. With Halloween coming up, we took Victoria to visit a local farm where they have a large pumpkin patch for us to pick some pumpkins. There was also a hay ride tour of the farm, a number of animals to see (and pet), a hay maze and a pony ride. They grow corn on the farm and Victoria was floored by the height of the corn stalks. There was even a sandbox filled with corn for the kids to play in. We even ran into our neighbors, who have a boy (3) and a girl (5). The kids had a great time playing on the farm.

Here are some pictures from the week…

Victoria’s school desk…with a note from Mommy and Daddy (and pictures drawn by Mommy):

A very nice school outfit:
Our little tiger enjoying her classmate’s birthday party:
She still can’t see over top of the corn!
Neighhh…our tiger became a horse:
Those were some big pumpkins!
With Mommy on the hay ride:
Have you ever seen a “Zonkey”…seriously, it’s a donkey bred with a zebra?
Victoria thought the Zonkey was funny:
Petting a friendly calf with Mommy:
She never passes up a pony ride:
Poking her head up to find her way out of the hay maze:
Who knew it was so much fun to play in corn?

The Second Week of School and Meeting a Good Friend…

Hello everyone. Hope you are enjoying your September. Week #2 of school was as big of a hit as the first and Victoria had a great week. Her teacher said she is a hard worker and doing well. At dinner one night, Mommy mentioned that Mommy and Daddy had to go to work the next day and that Victoria would be going to school. Victoria’s response was very funny when she said that school is work sometimes. We acknowledged that fact and had a good laugh together. On Friday, she had Show and Tell, where she brought in one of her favorite books, Silly Sally (which a funny book about a silly girl that travels into town walking on her hands upside down). The teacher read to book to the class and everyone really enjoyed it.

Victoria has always been a very curious little girl, but recently she has taken it to a whole new level. It’s probably a mixture of her growing language comfort and school, but lately she has wanted to know the name of pretty much everything. It’s really fun seeing her absorb so much information and grow her understanding of the world.

Each night, Victoria sleeps with her Winnie the Pooh. Before she goes to sleep, we read her a bed time story. In order to help her to sleep, we (at times) mention that Pooh has just fallen asleep (to help her get settled in). So, Victoria plays a little game with us where we need to tip-toe out of the room to make as little noise as possible, so we don’t wake up Pooh. We overplay it and she thinks it’s a blast. The other night, she started pointing out which parts of the floor make less noise. It was pretty funny that she pays attention to even that level of detail.

Over the weekend, Victoria enjoyed a trip to Strasburg with Mommy, Daddy and her Grandparents. There, she was treated to a Day out with Thomas (the tank engine that is). We wanted to surprise Victoria, so we had not told her where we were going. It was a fun sight to see her excitement, when Thomas came rolling down the tracks and she heard him toot his whistle. We all went for a nice ride on Thomas and then enjoyed some of the fun activities that they had for the kids there.

Here are some pictures from the week…

Ready for school on Monday:

Sitting down to do her homework:
Looking good for school on Friday:
Enjoying the breeze and taking in the sights while riding Thomas:
Rolling along on a hand powered train:
Our little train engineer:

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):