A few new pics...

We can finally get some hair for a couple little ponies!! They look more like bug antennas but they are still cute.

She tried on her cousins goggles while at the pool for her birthday!!

This was a picture we took here at home for her announcements. I LOVE IT!! She is wearing the Christmas dress that her Dadu (aka dadushka/grandpa) picked out and bought for her. She looked so darn cute!

Happy Birthday Olena...

We have been home just over 1 month and things are finally settling in. I am a mom! I can't believe it. Yes I am just now starting to feel like a parent. These past few weeks have been so emotional and chotiac that I haven't really had an opportunity to let it all set in. This past Saturday was her 2nd birthday. It was a great day...but I will get to that in a minute. Saturday was also the day that I think my heart finally realized what has happen to my life...this beautiful little girl. I somewhat "avoided" the idea of her birthday all week, then at the last minute (Saturday morning) I was scrambling around trying to get everything done. I didn't really want to celebrate her birthday. Yes - I said it! I know it sounds cruel but I started to think about it and for as long as I can remember, I have thought of birthdays as "YOUR" day...your day to get everything you want...do what you want...and have everyone spoil you. But in reality, it is a day for your parents too. A day for us to remember and smile about the day you were born, smile about the person you have become, and think about how it seems like just yesterday that the Doctor put you in their arms. I started to feel sad, because I did not have any of these memories. I don't even know what time of the day she was born.

Throughout the morning, I managed to get everything done and get to my parents house and still had a great time. We went to the Community indoor pool which is like a mini water park, with water slide and all. There were my 2 aunts, my mom, my bestfriend, my uncle and 7 of my little cousins (6yo-11yr) and we had a great time. She absolutely loved the water and wasn't nervous one bit. She even went down the water slide in my lap and screamed with joy the entire time down. After a few hours of that, we went back to my parents house, had pizza, cake and presents, then the aunts/uncle left and we had a slumber party. I felt bad because she didn't really play with them too much but they still tried to have a good time with her. They all absolutely adore her!! Then, Sunday morning we wrapped them all up and sent them outside to play in the snow. They pulled her around in a sled and each took turns carrying her around. Poor little thing. It was bad enough that she looked like the little boy in the Christmas Story, she could barely walk, all you could see were her eyes, and these kids were dragging her from one side of the yard to the other (my parents have over an acre of land!!!) it was pretty comical to watch.

Finally after the long weekend, I sat in her room Sunday night rocking her to sleep and thinking about the events of the previous days. There were lots of things that we did that were "firsts" in her life. I watched her face light up with joy as we sang Happy Birthday to her, I seen her curious eyes explore everything while we were in the pool, and I heard her squeels of joy when we went down the slide. These are all things that I will remember in the years to come, and the things that will warm my heart with each passing birthday. Then I kid you not, at that moment she sat up kissed me and said "LA LOU" (which is her way of saying "love you") that was it - right then and there- it hit me. I love my daughter, she was mine, and she is perfect for us. She is here with us learning how to be part of a family...she is learning how to love and to be loved. She is learning what it is like to be a little kid, and she is developing her own likes and dislikes. Granted I wasn't in her life when her little body came into this world, but I am with her now...when her spirit is being born. Happy Birthday Olena!

One of her gifts from the "Tea Party"

A lot has happened since my last post and to start things off I would like to say that we are on perfect week number 2 that she has maintained her angel-like behavior. It is amazing and we are so happy. She is very smart and is picking up new things everyday. We have been teaching her to use sign language and she learns it so fast. I have been teaching her one word per day and that seems to be pretty easy for her!

This past Saturday we had a "Tea Party" babyshower...it was a lot of fun for her and the kids, and of course I thought it went beautifully. It was a great opportunity for extended family and friends to meet her, and it helped us to get some of the necessities that we really needed! We all had a great time and of course everyone ranted and raved about how cute and smart she was :O) I have to smile about that because I have been waiting for 2 years to get compliments on my daughter and I am loving every moment of it!!!! We got a TON of great gifts and some the cutest clothes. She will definately have style.

Then the final grand event is that I went back to work today! It was tough and yes I cried, but all in all it went really well. She was such a big girl and did not cry one bit...she stood at the door and waved and blew me kisses. My girlfriend who is caring for her said that she stood there at the door for about 15-20 minutes blowing kisses then turned to her and said "momma bye bye" then shut the door. I am only working 5 hours a day so it is not too bad and I love my job and coworkers so that makes the time go by really fast.

Other than that everything is going great. We are all happy and healthy and I wouldn't ask for anything more.

One of the only decent pictures I got of her at the Tea Party!

What a Blessing from above!

I know my last post was not too promising, but this week we have made GREAT progress. We are on day number 3 of a perfect little girl. And when I say perfect, I truly mean it. We have not had 1 tantrum, not one crying incident, she has obeyed EVERYTHING that I have asked her to do, she has been extremly easy at nap and bedtime and she is sleeping like she is hibernating. Today I had to wake her up at 9:30 - she went to bed at 8:45! I just can't believe it. Jason and I are in pure heaven right now. I know it will not be this way everyday but it has been nice to finally have some peace. It has given us an opportunity to get some real family time in and we have been able to bond a little more. It is so delightful having a happy toddler running around the house giggling, and singing!

Today we even had our first doctors appointment. She did great! We were there for 2 1/2 hours and she loved every minute of it and behaved the entire time. (she also hugged every kid in the waiting room, it was so sweet!) Of course she cried when they took blood but that was pretty tough I must admit. They had to take 3 vials out of her arm and it took a good 3 minutes - while I practically laid on top of her, a nurse held her arm, another nurse took the blood, and a third nurse collected and changed the vials. Quite the setup huh?? I honestly don't think she even noticed the needle, it seemed she was more mad about the fact that there were so many people hovering over her! Regardless, she handled herself very well and had a quick recovery. Despite this drama, she got a clean bill of health with the exception of a very mild heart murmur. We are going to go get a echocardiogram just to be safe but the doctor said not to worry. The Doctor was also extremly impressed with the progress she has made already. She can name several objects in a room, and she knows just about all the parts of her body. She is so unbelievably smart. Especially after these past few days, I can see how blessed we are with a child who is adapting very well. She belongs here and now she knows where she fits in, and I think that is really making a lot of the difference. .

Happy 2007!

Happy New Year Everyone! Boy has it been a hell of a year already LOL New Years came and went while we slept. We were in bed by 10:30 and did not have one regret. Yes we are nerds but we were very tired and sick so we had reason to call it a night early. . All three of us have been sick for about a week now with the flu and we have all been miserable including little Miss Olena. On top of being sick she cut 3 teeth this week...all I can say is OMG!!! I definitely got a reality check about being a parent. We have spent several days with nothing but Olena sleeping and screaming. We quite enjoyed the sleeping part but we dreaded the fact that sooner or later she was going to wake up and screaming was going to continue. I truly felt sorry for the poor little thing but when your running a fever and already feel like your head is going to explode her screaming is kinda hard to handle! Today however we are making progress in the right direction. She only had 2 fits and they were pretty minor in comparison to the past week, and she actually played today. She also ate everything in sight which made me happy because I know that she has lost a pound or two. Jason and I also still feel a little under the weather but we should be good as new in a couple more days.

Things have been tough...and I would be lying if I said that we were all peachy keen. We of course are still trying to adjust to her and learn to be good parents. And she is trying to adjust to us and this whole new life. And it is so tough because in the back of your mind you are always wondering "are the choices I'm making really o.k for an adopted 2 year old who still is learning to love and trust me". Everyday that I deal with a tantrum, or discipline her, that thought is there... just lingering in my head!?! I guess all I can do is hope for the best and hope that she knows and understands that we love her more than life.

On a good note she is changing so much. Each morning I walk into her room I see a change in that beautiful little face. He hair is getting longer and is so much shinier. Her eyes are brighter and cheeks are rosey. She is picking up words like crazy and is kinda like a little parrot, she attempts to repeat everything we say. She is still discovering new things everyday that completely amaze her and she LOVES every animal she meets. We went to my girlfriends house the other day and she has a cat that is actually use to children. Olena held that darn cat and squeezed the dear life out of her for over 35 minutes. It was amusing to watch her just sit there and completely love this cat to death. (She tries to pick our cats up all the time but they don't go for that, they are smart...they run!)

We are thankful everyday to God for this beautiful gift...and we continue to pray for normality and home of happiness and peace! (Hopefully this prayer won't take as long to answer LOL!!!)