It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It's always exciting as the anticipation builds up for Santa's arrival! What's more exciting is watching your child as she is amazed at everything holiday related. She liked Christmas last year and remembers we had apples on the tree and liked snowmen because they have hats. But this just turns me into mush as I watch her try to learn every word to every song...and she knows them, too! And as she asks me to drive around so we can go look at lights. "I love looking at Christmas lights, Mommy!"

We went up to Dixon to cut down a tree and enjoyed riding the "sleigh" (a tractor) and the ATV train. As we were coming home, Delaney asked, "Are we going to put up the tree up now?" And she would barely let me take our "Traditional" picture of her on top of the car with the tree so we could put up, and I quote a two-year-old...."The Best Christmas Tree EVER!"

She was so good about the presents, never even tried to open them, but I told her we couldn't until Santa came and we wore our Christmas pajamas. But, every day, a few times a day, she keeps asking...I think just to check!!

We went to a party and my friend had a snow machine and boy was that a hit! Christmas is so very different and wonderful through your child's eyes! She saw Santa at the town square where there small groups perfroming and the kids dance and sang and Delaney did not want to leave. And what was really cute was that after she got of Santa's lap, she told me, "I only said two things, Mommy!" Like somehow she knew she should not read off her entire list to him. (And she has a list....he he!!)

Good Morning America!

Did you see us? We were on GMA Weekend on Nov. 4th! A crew came to the house the day before Halloween and was here all day for our two minutes of fame on national TV! AND, my DVR went out, so I lost the recording and can't get the producer to send me copy! UGH! If anyone recorded it and can send me a copy, Delaney loves seeing herself, "in a timeout!" It was fun and the segment was about Grandparents Vs. Parents and how parents my generation are raising kids differently than our parents raised us. My mom on GMA, said...."I spanked...and they listened!" he he! But, the story was done really well and just showed how the opinions are different these days.


Here are some pics of mom getting interviewed, I was too, and then us watching the show when it aired! Thanks to family friend, Linda K., who called from Idaho to say we were on! They didn't tell us when it was going to be on! If can ever get a copy, I'll post it and share the link!

A Delayed Update!!

Hi Friends....sorry I haven't been on top of updates! As you all have been busy these last couple months, so have we!! So here's some quick pictures for you!

Delaney had a fun Halloween with her friends, Valerie and Natalie. They loved trick or treating and even Valerie said it wasn't scarry!!

Mom had a birthday in November and we had a nice and quiet Thanksgiving. We went out to brunch for her birthday with some friends and met Aunt Ruthie one day for lunch after Thanksgiving. She was visting in the South Bay and on her way home to Redding. First time for her to see Delaney and they had fun visting!

8 Random Things About me......

Oh no!!! I've been tagged by Jeana...So, here are the rules of the 8 Random Things tag game:
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog. (I think the hardest part of this will be coming up with 8 other people to tag! I am not such an active blogger....)

Okay--so 8 random things...about me...

1) I love mustard on my onion rings.
2) My favorite old movie is "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable.
3) My favorite newer movie is "Shakespeare in Love".
4) I do not like cake.
5) I would love to sleep in again! (just once...ugh!)
6) In high school, my uniform skirt was always the shortest.
7) I almost always drive a little over the speed limit....sometimes alot.
8) It really bothers me when people do not use "ly" on the end of a word they should. For exmaple...."Dont' take it personal." IS WRONG!!! "Don't take it personally." Is correct. I sometimes wonder how people made it out of college...okay, I don't always use grammer properly, either. (but that was a correct exmaple!)

Okay, eight people to tag? Yikes! Stephanie, Beverly, Len, Alice when she returns from Kaz, Joy, Melody, Amy (when her back surgery is over....)

Pumpkin Patch Time....Are We There yet?

It's been a fun and busy October! Birthday parties, hay rides, even Christmas shopping!!

Little Missy has planned to ask Santa for a pink scooter, which he dropped off already and put together! But we've visited a couple different pumpkin patches and Delaney is all ready to go trick or treating with her friends, Lauren and Valerie, as a pretty butterfly princess!

So we were actually off to Valerie's birthday party, when we are not just two minutes away from home and Delaney casually pops out, "There yet, Mom?" I first wasn't sure if that was what she had said. "There yet, Mom?" She just comes up with these sayings out of the blue! I can see if she had an older sibling who said that and she copied them.......now when we are out she has also started to ask, "Where are we going next?" When I tell her home.....she says she doesn't want to go home. Well, I guess her Halloween costume is perfect for the little social butterfly! he he! My fault, for always being in the go, I guess!

We are working on no drinks after dinner so she can get her big girl bed....it's time for her to be out of her crib and I am trying to work on keeping her dry at night, but that will probably be a while in coming, but she's buying it! Every night when I put her to bed she asks, "Why I don't got a drink?" And now she just likes the "routine".......Me: "You know why?" D: "Why, Mom?" Me: "You know...." D: "SO I CAN GET MY BIG GIRL BED!!!" D: "Santa make me what color one? A black one?" (Santa already dropped off the big girl big, too, it's white.) Me: "Santa doesn't make blacks ones." D: "Why not, Mommy?" Me: "He only makes white ones for the girls and brown ones for the boys?" D: "I am going to get a whiiiiiiittttte one? Like my crib? Yea, big girl bed!" D: "Sing Cheeseburger, Mommy......"

Her moon obession has lessened, but we still need to go loo at it and my mom told her she could fly there in a spaceship when she gets grows up, so she like to pretend she has a spaceship. She still asks why AND why not? Oh...and the poo-poo goes to Costco. She determined this once when she asked me where it goes when she flushes, but answered it herself! I have a lot of work ahead of me!!

First Day of Pre-School !! All is well...not Mommy!

Delaney started the 2-day a week, 4 hours a day program at the Presbyterian Church today. Last week we went for an orientation and she loved it! She was so excited today and carefully chose an outfit (from choices I gave her) and loved her new lunch box that she picked out this weekend. She did want the SpiderMan lunch box, though, but I was able to talk her out of it. Here are some pics and the link to a little bit of video I took.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5470492008148125354


She did great....Mommy did not! I hung around for a while, went out to the car to cry and came back to check on her only to find her happily playing! When she got home, my mom called me at work to let her talk to me on the phone....."I played and ran and drew circles, a blue one and green one, and read a book ...and went on the big, big slide like this...." it was so cute!
Although, I am proud of myself ~ I had a meeting with a client afterwards and had to drive right back by the school on my way back to the office and although I was tempted..I did not stop! My mom said that Delaney was happy to see her when she picked her up and then asked where I was! Thank goodness!! he he!

Well, we're working on it.....

The other day we were going to go play outside for a while and had been in our p.j.'s still. I told Delaney to go get some shorts and shoes to wear. I wanted to see what she would come downstairs with....
Remember, we live in California and it's still 80 degress in September! She rode her bike, played in her sand box, she did take the ski hat off, but you never know when you just might need your life vest!!!
Two year olds can be great entertainment!!

The Moon, Why, and Can I go at the Mall?

So here's the latest update.....The MOON: Delaney told me the other night the moon has candy in it and she wanted to open it up and get the candy. I decided to play with her and told her the moon was made of cheese and she said, "I like cheese! The moon has candy and cheese, let's go get it Mama!" We went to get our hair done and all the way home she was looking for the moon, I said we would look at it when we got home....nope, it's still too light to see it! ARRGGHHH!

"Where's the moon, Mommy, is it coming out?"Later she went poo-poo on the potty so I told her we could go look at the moon, so we went outside and it was full and low in the sky, so she wants to touch it! Me ~ We can't touch it, baby, it's too far away....."Let's go touch it in the new car, Mama!" (we have a new car! which is a whole other story about her and the CD changer!) We said good night to the moon and as we were going upstairs, she says she wants cheese...................................ARRGGHHH! again!

WHY: Little Missy now asks "WHY" in her sleep! Last night she wanted to take her little Matroyshka doll that rattles to bed. (loud as heck on the monitor!) When I went to bed and checked on her, I took the rattle out of her bed, along with a plastic Polly Pocket, and a little car, so she wouldn't roll on it while she sleeps. Half asleep she says, "M-toy-sha, Mom" I said, "You can't sleep with it, baby." A soft "Why?" comes out of her usually loud voice.
"So you won't get an owie while you sleep."
Another soft, "Why, Mommy?" "M-toy-sha go nite-nite on da shelf?"
"Yes, baby"
"Why, Mommy? She got time-out? Why?"
"Go to sleep, baby!"
"Mommy go nite nite?" Her voice is still very soft and she is obviously falling back asleep....
"Yes, Mommy's going nite-nite, g'night, I love you." As I leave the room......
"Why, Mom, doing? Go nite-nite, shut da lights off at the water park? Why......"
I keep walking.........it's quiet!

POTTY: Delaney's doing great with potty training! No accidents, sometimes misses placing herself over the toilet and will even go in public restrooms.....in EVERY public restroom, I mean we have seen the inside of every bathroom within a 20 mile radius! I think she's either planning an escape route or is going re-design them all! Well, she had to go the other day and we had been to the mall.....she told me she had to go poo-poo.....but wanted to go at the MALL!!

I think I am doomed!!! The pic: What happens when you let a 2 year dress themselves!

Developmental Milestones...Why oh why?

The time has come where we have reached very significant developmental milestones with 2.5 old Delaney……

1) She was potty trained successfully last week! LOVES her new panties and when Mommy does the PEE-PEE and POO-POO dance! Only a couple small accidents! Even went at Grandpa’s house yesterday and stayed dry on the 2 hour drive there!

2) She has become obsessed with where the Moon goes during the day! Mommy’s answer, “The moon goes to sleep during the day,” only sparks the next milestone…..

3) THE DREADED…….”WHY?” Just in the last couple weeks and gaining speed she has been asking “why?” to everything!! She had been asking “Where, who…,” so I knew “Why?” was around the corner! Not a single answer suffices! I have been through this with my nieces and nephews….but how much more crazy does it drive you 24/7? I have tried so hard to answer and be patient and consider it learning and have tried to re-pharse her questions…..every now and then I get an “Oh.” But OMG!!! When will it stop? He he!! Just trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel…..well, I know there’s something else waiting down there……she will be three soon! YIKES!!!!

Delaney's First Adoption Day/Top Ten "Mom" List

One year ago (Aug 8th) a judge in Kemerovo, in a downstairs courtroom with a “jail cell” in it, officially made me the Happiest Mommy in the world!! I cannot believe it has been a year…it still all seems surreal….from the time they brought this beautiful child with two tiny pig tails sticking out of the top of her head in to me, to last night, when she licked me on the leg and said, “Mommy’s yummy! I like Mommy…LUUUV you Mommy!” And I never thought I’d travel to Siberia twice in my life!

Someone at work asked me what I like best about being a mom, and I said EVERYTHING! I have never been so tired and so happy. What really makes me feel the best in my heart is knowing how happy she is! We celebrated our first Adoption Day/Family Day by making a heart shaped cake and opening up some presents. While I was videotaping her opening up her cards I asked her where her family is and she immediately pointed to me, then my mom then herself and said, “MommyDelaneyGrandma family…” “…and Pamp-pa and Auntie!” (she calls my dad’s girlfriend Auntie). I always want to cry when she says she wants to go home and we drive up to the house and she says, “Delaney’s house, right there!” Last night we were looking at the photo book I left with her on trip one and she looked at the picture of the house and said, “My house, that’s my home!”

We also went to a water park that’s just for small kids and she loved it! When we came home, I gave her turtle sand box and she spent the rest of the day making “sandcastles!” Although I have yet to actually see one, they are mostly just mounds of sand…he he!
She just acts like she has always been here, always in charge! He he! She was walking around telling me Happy Adoption Day, and my boss called it the “Mama-versary”. Well, you’ve all heard a lot of stories about Little Missy, so I came up with a top ten list: “What I have learned my first year as a Mommy!” Here are some pics of our little celebration, I took pictures at the water park with a waterproof and will put them on my blog when I develop them. She was so disappointed she could not go on the bigger slides, that little 2 year old daredevil !! The picture in the pink dress is from trip one, the picture in the jeans outfit is from Gotcha Day, she loves that outfit and always says, "that's cute!" and she loved her light up sneakers, too! Gotcha Day was also the day my baby discovered shoe-shopping! I have been paying for that all year....that child loves shoes! I bought the green dress on a trip to Scotland when I was 5 months into the dossier, those portraits were in March. I thank God every single day for how lucky I am to be this wonderful person's Mommy! (and wonder, "what have I done?" when she tries to put lipstick on the cat!)

Top Ten Things I Have Learn as a Mom ~ Year One
10. Anything you SAY can and will be repeated!
9. Babyproofing? HA!!!!
8. Any toy or object can and will be used as something other than it's original purpose!
7. Cats don't like to drink from a sippy cup.
6. Anything you DO can and will be repeated!
5. Two year olds like to lock doors.
4. Every word to every Wiggles song, every word to every Ralph song, the entire Sound of Music score, the entire score to Mary Poppins, every note to the Jeopardy theme, and all the words to Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World".
3. Broccoli has excellent trajectory.
2. A bath can bide you enough time to make a phone call or have a glass of wine!
1. No matter how it is said, whined, shouted, screamed, yelled, whimpered, whispered....."Mommy" is the sweetest word in the world!!!!!

St. Louis and Michigan Trip

What a fun family vacation Delaney and I had to St. Louis and Michigan this month! We travelled to St. Louis to attend a reunion picnic given by Children’s Hope, the adoption agency I used to bring to Delaney home. There were children from all over the world from all parts of the US. Delaney was so excited to get on the airplane and when we took off she put her hands up in the air! When we landed in St. Louis, she was yelling, “I’m here, Mommy, St. Louis, I’m here!” I had been talking to her about the trip for some time now, so she was so happy to finally get there!

We meet up with the three families we tavelled with to Russia, as well as some other families whose children are from Baby House #2 in Novokuznetsk. It was wonderful to see all the kids and how well they are doing and how happy and healthy they are! I just wanted to hug and hold them all so tight!

St. Louis is a really nice town! We spent a couple days with the Earls ~ Jeff, Jane, Joseph and Svetlana and visited the CHI office, the zoo, and Grant’s Farm (where the famous Clydesdales live!) The kids loved swimming in the pool at the hotel and Delaney discovered the “Hot~Tub Tub!” A lot of attractions in St. Louis are free, so that was nice! It was fun spending time with our friends from Tennessee that we haven’t seen since coming home last August! At the hotel, we visited with the Blalocks from Flordia, the Marshalls, also from Tenn., and the Kubes from Illinois. Delaney saw several other children who were adopted last year that she had been with in Russia: Alina, Tatyana and Lauren!

A long time family friend, Pam, flew down to meet us from Chicago and Delaney loved “Ham!” Pam went to the picnic with us and we visited the arch and walked along the river one evening. The picnic was fun, and we saw even more families from our on-line groups. The kids got to play in packing peanuts, do arts and crafts and get their faces painted. We all had fun visiting and seeing the kids and catching up!

After St. Louis, Delaney and I flew to upper Michigan to visit Aunt Gail and Uncle Earl and their gang! We flew into Green Bay, Wisconsin and visited Lambeau Field, which was really fun. My uncle has Delaney running around saying, “Go Packers!” The other day I told her to say “Go Niners!” and she said no! Well, Little Missy could just do no wrong with my aunt and uncle and had a blast on their small farm riding tractors, playing in the sand, having water fights with her cousins….we went to swim in Lake Michigan and had a bon fire while the kids roasted marshmallows. They day we were going home I asked her if she was ready to fly home and see grandma and she said, “No, another house!” Guess she enjoys being a world traveller like her Mommy!

Delaney keeps asking about EVERYBODY she saw in St. Louis and Michigan and wants to know where they are now and where they live! I can’t believe she is remembering all those names and faces. She looks at the pictures and can tell you who it is and where they live now! Well, I am hoping this is just one of many trips we can share together, as we plan to get together with our friends in the future so the kids can all see each other as they grow up. I now need to go “de-program” my child so she doesn’t get beat up here in San Francisco by screaming, “Go Packers!”

You can see all the trip photos by clicking on the photo gallery link to the left!

Delaney ~ American Citizen!

Delaney's first 4th of July was kind of quiet. We had a few friends over for a bar-b-que and Little Missy got to swim in her pool while Mommy sat in a chair with a drink and with her feet in it! I had planned to take a picture of her holding up her Certificate of Citizenship and all day long she keep saying to me, "American Citizen! Have it!" And I would tell her she did have it but she likes her certificate because it has her picture on it! he he!

Well, I never took her picture because by about 1 pm she had guacamole, cranberry juice and salsa all over her new dress I bought her that said, "American Sweetheart" on it! But we made star sugar cookies and put white frosting with red and blue sprinkles on them. She had fun with that! It was well over 100 on the holiday so our bbq headed inside! But we had yummy ribs, Mom's famous potato salad, corn and shrimp wrapped in bacon. We didn't make it to fireworks, she's still so little to stay up that late and Mommy had to work at 7 the next morning! Maybe we will try to find some this weekend, I think Marine World has some thru Sunday. But she knew it was a fun day and enjoyed herself and is still enjoying the cookies!! Here's a few picks I snapped of her!