Olena with a few of her cousins...starting from the left: Kaitlyn, Kevin, Luke, Cate, Claire, and Mackie.

Finally and family picture.

Jason, Olena and Christina Warchol

March 24, 2007

Spring Picture!!

So much going on!

Sorry for the delay. Things have been pretty busy around here and my computer has not been on the blitz the past few weeks.

Anyhow, we have been home now for 3.5 months. She fits our family like a glove and she is slowing molding into this "little lady" She is so vibrant and full of happiness, love....oh, and stubbornness :O)

We have spent more time with the extended family lately and she is finally becoming part of the gang instead of just being a bystander. With the few nice days we have had we have been able to take her to the park - and of course she loves it. And we have had her ears pierced! OMG is she so cute!!!! I love it and I am so glad I decided to do it. It did however, cause some controversy with the grandparents and daddy! But mommy rules the roost (LOL!!) so I won the battle, and we did it. She loves them just as much. She twirls them herself and says "ooh la la, prettty"!

I have been reading the adoption boards lately and it all brings back so many emotions and feelings of loss and frustration. I try not to read to much information but it just sucks me in like the black hole!!! . My aunt gave me an article out of the local newspaper and it stated that in 2006 there were 490 children adopted in Ukraine by US citizens. That number was so low and it was sad seeing that and knowing that there were so many less because of the shut down. Now you hear they want to limit the number of adoptions per year?...and that limit is not far off of the that 490 statistic! I get so anxious reading about it and think to myself, please don't get harder!! What if we need to go back?? I am not sure why yet, but part of me is still being pulled to Ukraine for some reason. I have a strong feeling that we have not brought "everyone" home yet. We'll see what the future holds for us? Well I am going to try and post some pictures hopefully it will work. Good luck to those of you were are in the middle of all this, but hold on and hold on tight. Yes, just like everyone says, it is worth it. I have the 26 month old daughter to prove it. You and your children will be in our prayers.

The Moms2Moms Sale...

Today I had the pleasure of experiencing my first moms2moms sale. I am sorry to say this but there are some crazy ass mothers in this world. I hate to offend anyone reading this but OMG!!!
These women can be brutal. Perhaps after a few more sales, I myself might metamorphosis into one of these raging mothers on a mission, but for the mean time I will sit back and watch them beat each up other for that "must have" item! Overall I did very well. Jason was nervous and did expect me to spend our savings on this huge "garage sale" but I manged to go in and come out with over half of my money left (which was $30) and I got A LOT! Family and friends have been extremely gracious in buying us clothes however everything that she has received has been winter or fall, so I have been buying summer clothes here and there so that I am prepared. I was able to get 6 complete outfits and they are Gymboree and Carters, 2 pair of shoes, a baby stroller for her dolly, 4 books for her and 2 books for myself - all in all, I did well and I had a good time. Tonight, I have already scoped the website and there are about 15 sales going on next weekend in the area :O) boy oh boy!!!!

Olena of course is still marvelous. Talking up a storm and making us laugh everyday. She loves to be funny and loves to have people gush over her. She knows how and when to turn on the charm and boy does she play it up!!! I am telling you that this kid is a born entertainer. She has started to sing along with the music from the "Annie" sound track and she is actually using the words. When she hears the melodies at the beginning of the song she can tell me what song it is...Tomorrow, Dumb dog, Hard Life etc! It is great and reassuring to hear her singing in English. She does use a lot of English when talking, however we are having trouble getting her to use full sentences, everything is one or two words. And the little stinker will NOT count. We work with her every single day and we count everything! but she has absolutely no interest or intention of doing it herself. She wont even repeat the numbers after us. I know she understands what we are trying to do, she is just being stubborn.

We have finally completed all of our Doctors appointments and followups and she has received the clean bill of health. We had to treat her for intestinal parasites which is normal among orphanage children, and he have started treatment for TB since her skin test was positive. We assume that it is from the BCG vaccination but her reaction was much larger than they usually see with BCG so we decided that it was best to move forward with treatment. She does have a very light heart murmur too, but an echo cardiogram proved that her heart is normal and there are no other causes for concern.

PS: nothing is stone yet but Jason and I had a few conversations over the past couple of weeks and it looks as if we might be returning to Ukraine. Olena might have a new sister in 2009!! I will keep you posted!

Now and Then:

The first picture was taken today, February 17 2007: home 2 months. The second picture we took the 1st day we met her. We were in the sleeping room, spending some time alone. This was on November 14, 2006. What a difference and how quickly she is growing and changing! We are so lucky!!!!!

Home 2 months!

Tomorrow it will be 2 months since we have returned home from Ukraine. When I think back to all of it now, it is so hard to believe that it was only 61 days ago we stepped onto US soil as a family of three! It feels as if Olena has been here from the beginning. I cannot explain enough how perfect this child is! It completely amazes me at how well she is adjusting and developing, physically and mentally. I really think that it is the workings of the Mykolayiv Baby House. I prayed every night for God to watch over her until the day we could bring her home. He definitely blessed this baby by putting her in a place where she would be loved and cared for until we could meet her. She entered the orphanage at 5months - making her stay there just over a year and a half. She shows no signs of any attachment issues. She knows who her mommy and daddy is, and though she is very friendly to strangers, she is very careful and nervous about them. She loves to be cuddled and be rocked. She listens to directions extremely well. She has great eating and sleeping habits and she is unbelievably smart.

Her personality is also starting to show more and more everyday. It would not surprise me one bit if this little girl becomes an entertainer. She LOVES attention, all eyes must be on her. She loves music (and not just toddler/children songs) she listens to musicals, classical, and the Disney movie sound tracks. She is obsessed with "The Sound of Music" so we have to keep the sound track playing on her CD player at all times! Expect for nap and night time because then she likes to listen to her Mozart CD or John Lennons "Beautiful Boy". And she loves to make people laugh. Her forte' is funny faces!! She will make cheesy faces or funny eyes at you until you laugh at her! Then she cracks up at herself. I will try to find a few pictures of this.

Being first time parents has obviously been a big adjustment for us, and parenting a 2 year old right from the start has taken a lot of prayer but we learn something new from her everyday, just as she learns from us. We have truly accomplished a lot over the past 2 months and I am very proud of us, as a family. We will now continue to grow and love each other, and we will forever be grateful to God for bringing us half way around the WORLD to meet!

December 17th 2006
19lbs
30 1/4 inches tall
size: 12 mons.

February 17th 2007
24lbs
31 inches tall
size: 12 mons. pants and 18 mons. shirts

Worth the wait???

You bet she was worth the wait...
I would have waited another 2 years if I knew she was my daughter!!!!

I went shopping at Target on Friday and found this onesie in the baby department! I couldn't resist. Lucky my little angel is still only wearing a 9-12 months becacuse the biggest size it came in was 9mons.

Anyhow, things are progressing nicely. She is still being very good, and is growing physically and mentally each day. Everyday she seems to pick up a new english word. We are still teaching her the sign languge, and she uses it daily. It has been about 3 weeks and she learns 1 new word each day. She can currently use about 7 words correctly on her own with no "reminders" or prompting. She remembers the sign, it is just reminding her of when to actually use them!
I have been thinking a lot lately about Ukraine and all of the friends that we made, and all of the children we met....I was really missing it. I will be honest, I never thought I would be saying that anytime soon. But I do truly miss it. The simplicity of it all! Jason and I will definatley return in a few years to take Olena to visit. I don't think we will adopt again from Ukraine but we will surely visit. Please don't assume I DON'T WANT to adopt again, it is just that the financial burden for us would not be possible again. We have so many other things that we need to focus on for our future that will require our money!!!! As for more kids though??? I think that I would honestly be happy with just her but I have always imagined having a large family. So in the next few years we are going to try to have a "homegrown" baby, then I think we will adopt again using the local county by becoming foster parents. It all sounds like the perfect idea but Who knows!!! Only time will tell!



" Please can I have some more cookie dough??"


This afternoon we made chocolate chip cookies, and someone quickly discovered how good the dough is!!!!

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!!!)

Sometimes my horns are hidden and I look like a true angel!!

-This is one of those precious moments where she couldn't be sweeter-

Now this thing is cool!

-Jason's Aunt and Uncle bought her a "sit and spin" for x-mas, she absolutly loves it...while sitting and standing-

Lunch is good mommy, but I am beat!

This was a very funny meal...I have several pictures of the progression of this little nap!

This foil stuff is amazing!!

-Nana made her some aluminum foil bunny ears-

Lets get ready to go outside and play!!

-She looks very concerned about this idea?-

1st week home!

Merry Christmas to everyone. I am finally able to sit and relax for a moment and thought I would take some time to update all of you on this past week.

Of course Christmas was today and Jason and I could not have been happier. We enjoyed the day with my parents and Olena in the morning then went to the family party at my uncles for the afternoon. We had a really good time watching Olena meet the family and interact with all of the kids. She had a blast and it did not take her long to figure out what Christmas is all about! By the end of the afternoon, she was tearing the paper off of the presents and all you could see was paper flying everywhere. She would look at each gift, stare for a moment, kiss it, then on to the next. It was very sweet!

Our parents have been great! Very supportive and they all adore Olena. My dad especially....he has spoiled her so much and she really loves him! I can see it in his eyes that he is so in love with this little girl! She is adapting very well and it amazes me and Jason every day. Believe me we have had a few bad days, many sleepiness nights, and many tears of frustration, but overall she is handling herself very well. It would shock you to see her today...you can see the change in her eyes - she is truly happy! A happy, healthy and beautiful 2 year old. She still loves to eat and is doing very well adjusting to the food. She eats yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, rice cereal, potatoes, and some baby food. She is speaking a lot more too, especially in Russian. We are starting to understand what she is really saying. And she loves to sing. She often sings one of the songs that she sang in the orphange ...it is so cute! The past couple of days she has woken up and Jason and I would lay in our bed and listen to her on the monitor. All we could do is sit there and laugh as she babbles and sings to herself. That is definately the best alarm to wake up too. She also understands us very well - as for english words, she is now saying Bubba (which is one of the dogs nick names), juice, light, when she thinks something is pretty she says "oh la la!" , bye bye, hello, and she tells me "cuckca" when she has a dirty diaper! We look at her everyday and still cannot believe how beautiful she is and how perfect she is for this family.

She stills absolutely loves the dogs and they are starting to get use to her. She runs back and forth through the house yelling trying to get them to chase her! and the crazy girl loves when they knock her down and lick her face. She is very brave and very curious.