Another "one year ago" post...

It's hard to believe that one little year ago my Mom and I had boarded the plane headed to St. Petersburg by way of Germany. I still remember the excitement, anticipation, and yes worry, surrounding the trip. Our travel visas literally came at the eleventh hour, and I had never flown anywhere further than California (despite having traveled to Jamaica and Mexico, I think the distance from here to California is actually greater) and never in my life had I ever had a desire to travel to Europe, let alone Eastern Europe in the middle of winter!

Eleven months had gone by since I first signed with my agency, and three months had passed since I first saw the four referral pictures of my little RP, and this trip was everything I had waited for. Still, I was worried about everything - the plane crashing or getting stuck somewhere in a country that I didn't speak/understand the language, not being met by the wheelchair for my mom in both Germany (which did happen - luckily we were able to hop a "beep-beep cart" to buzz us to our gate just in time to catch our connection!) and Russia, OR not being met by the English-speaking coordinator/translator in St. Petersburg, getting to the Ministry of Education to find that RP had already found another family, or meeting my little girl only to discover that she hated me... you get the idea.

In hindsight, the original trip couldn't have gone smoother. Our flights were fairly smooth and VERY uneventful, the coordinator actually found ME in Russia because I was looking for her so hard that I completely missed the big "EAC" sign she was holding, the hotel accommodations were very nice and most of the staff there was fluent in English, and at the Ministry of Education I saw a picture of RP that I had never seen before (and wish they had given me... but they didn't) along with her medical and personal information, and was given the green light to go and see my baby!

I had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and am trying to keep myself in check for Christmas (unlike for RP's birthday when it literally took her over an hour to open all of her presents!). I won't lie - single parenting (or, just parenting in general) is WAY harder than I thought it would be, and the worries haven't stopped since those flights last year. I worry constantly about whether or not RP is getting enough attention from me, learning the right things, and yes, does she know how much I love her, and does she love me as well? In my heart of hearts I know the answers to that, and I was kidding myself last year when I thought that once the process was done and we were home I would STOP worrying, and just start enjoying. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy each and every day with my little princess (yes, even the challenging ones), I just realized that the worries won't ever stop - they just change with time - but she will ALWAYS be my little Russian Princess...

November 30, 2009
Our very first meeting

November 25, 2010
Our first Thanksgiving as a family!

Without the love, support, and encouragement of my family and friends I never could have gone through this process, let alone survived it, and while I'm sure it sounds cliche', it was all completely worth it. My life is truly transformed by this tiny little princess who calls me "Mommy," and without the incredible support system I had during the process, and especially now, I wouldn't be where I am today. For all of you, and for RP, I am truly thankful...

One year ago...

As we prepare for Thanksgiving (which I can't believe is less than a week away!) I can't help but to remember Thanksgiving time last year. We left the Saturday after Thanksgiving to trek to Russia for the first of three trips, and to meet the little girl who was destined to be my daughter. I still remember the anxiety and anticipation as I packed the suitcases again... and again... and again - and tried to hold tight to what little was left of my sanity as I waited on pins and needles for the oh-so important travel visas to arrive.

Fast forward a year and I can't remember my life without my little RP. She has blossomed into a charming, silly, chatty little girl - far from the sullen, anxious, and tearful little munchkin that I met on that very first day. While the process was long and hard, I don't regret a single moment of it and truly know that it was my labor of love.

I had so much to be thankful for last year, and it doesn't seem possible that I could possibly be MORE thankful this year... but I am. I truly have the best friends and family on the planet, and in less than a week I'll be celebrating RP's first of many Thanksgivings with her, family, and friends... and despite having been sick with pneumonia for the last two weeks, despite RP having just gotten over a nasty sinus infection, and despite a rash of sad/bad news overall this last week... I truly feel blessed.

How many costumes does one child need?

So, I believe I have mentioned before that I am NOT a big fan of Halloween. I have always hated Halloween, probably stemming from being painfully shy throughout my childhood (imagine that!) as well as having to trick-or-treat for both my brother and I when he was very young (somehow he always managed to get deathly ill for major holidays - especially Halloween!). That being said, I am trying very hard NOT to cloud RP's experience with the fact that I could do without Halloween altogether and not feel like I'm missing anything.

As such, we have had RP's Halloween costume in her closet for almost a month now - a "Disney Parks Exclusive" Snow White costume, compete with official Snow White hair bow headband and sparkly red shoes. I completely forgot about the fact that she would probably have a Halloween party at school, and since she attends on Mondays and Fridays, this will be an event she will participate in.

As much as I love her school I am not about to send her "real" Halloween costume to school with her for her school party/costume parade. As tiny as she is it took me forever to find a Snow White costume that would fit her, and I've seen her clothes after being at school all day - not pretty! Since I had to leave work early yesterday for a doctor's appointment, I swung by Walgreens to check out their costume selections and lo and behold ended up buying her the cutest little busy bee costume. It is technically a baby costume, but it fits her perfectly and will hopefully hold up to the rigors of daycare.

So, for someone who hates Halloween, I have now purchased TWO Halloween costumes for one child. Ahhh... the joys of motherhood! :)

RP's "Busy Bee" Costume for school

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall... Who is the fairest of them all?"

Where is the year going?

We are only a week and a half away from Halloween, and I still can't believe it. Where has this year gone? RP isn't excited for Halloween, although she seemed pretty enchanted with her costume, which I tried on her the other night and am happy to announce that it fits PERFECTLY!!! Of course, she was MORE thrilled with the pink princess bucket that I bought to go with the costumer, and even went so far as to take it from the closet and sleep with it once - I had to hide it until the big day!

I'm still not sure where we'll be trick-or-treating, but there are a few Halloween parties/opportunities coming up that we may take advantage of instead. Now I'm hoping that this costume will still fit in March when we head down to Disney World! Yes, that's right - our entire family is headed for Spring Break in the Magic Kingdom - officially booked as of yesterday.

As the weather turns colder, RP and I have enjoyed some fun at the local pumpkin patches, but like her Mommy, RP is a summer girl at heart. She is NOT thrilled with the temperature change, and seems annoyed with having to put on so many layers of clothes (not to mention having to wear a coat, socks, and shoes after months of going barefoot!). This weekend will be spent breaking down and buying RP her winter snowsuit, and I can't believe it was almost a year ago that I was anxiously awaiting my trip 1 dates and trying NOT to buy everything in sight!

Here's a quick pic of RP and I at the last visit to the pumpkin patch - hopefully one of these days I'll actually get her to look at the camera and smile for pictures! :)

October already?

I can't believe it is already October - where has this year gone? Things have been pretty hectic around here - last weekend RP and I headed to the pumpkin patch to enjoy some fall weather (it was actually COLD - brrr!!!), and this past weekend one of my best friends got married, so it was a full weekend of wedding festivities!

RP is doing well - she continues to amaze me each and every day! She remembers the darnedest things (sometimes things I wish she wouldn't - like every time she yells out "Oh gawd!!!" when something upsets her or goes awry - and in the same tone as Mommy does, imagine that!), is starting to learn to count (favorite number is 2 - everything HAS to be two!!), learning her colors (favorite color is blue - just a coincidence that it rhymes with "two?!?!"), loves to sing and dance (she ripped up the dance floor at Miss Carey's wedding - literally!), and has boundless energy that I wish I could bottle and use myself!

With Halloween only a few weeks away RP's costume is now up in the closet, ready for the big day! She is going as "Snow White" this year, and I can't wait to see how she looks all dressed up. I even found a "My First Halloween" outfit for her to wear for the rest of the day on Halloween, which is pretty ironic considering she is almost 2 1/2 years old now. I just hope she enjoys Halloween and stays in the costume for trick-or-treating, although at this point I'm not sure exactly WHERE we'll be trick-or-treating yet. Ahhh - fun times! :)

More transitions...

Two weeks ago I transitioned RP from her crib to a toddler bed. While she still seemed pretty content in the crib (and I was happy to have her confined so she couldn't get into anything or get hurt), she just seemed "ready" for a big girl bed. A friend of mine was kind enough to loan me hers, and within 10 minutes we had the toddler bed set up, crib mattress on it, and RP's entire face lit up as she realized this was all for her! She must have climbed in and out of that bed 100 times during the day, smiling, giggling, and throwing herself on the bed, as if to reaffirm that it really was hers.

For as much as she loved her new big girl bed, actually sleeping in it proved to be another story. She was TERRIFIED to move from it, and she cried and whimpered for over an hour that night before she finally drifted off to sleep, with Mommy in there rubbing her back and kneeling next to the bed to comfort her as she was truly scared of this new transition. The next morning she cried for me to come and get her out of bed, but perked up when she realized she could actually climb out on her own, and from then on she has LOVED her new bed.

We've had a few scary moments in the last few weeks with the new bed. About three nights in, she managed to slide through the bars of the rail and ended up on the floor, under her crib (which is still in there until Papa takes it apart to get it out of the room - I had NO idea that it wouldn't fit through the door!), where she woke up screaming. Two nights later I was awakened in the middle of the night to blood-curdling screams when she somehow managed to get her head stuck in the same railing, which prompted me to ask Papa to remove the safety rails entirely, as I couldn't handle the vision of her choking to death in the bed because she got stuck again but this time couldn't breathe - **shudder**

This past weekend I ordered new "official" toddler bedding for her new bed, and washed up the crib bedding to pack away. I won't lie - I cried when putting that bedding away. It's been six and a half months and she is already growing up way too quickly for me. While I did enjoy the fact that she let me sleep in until 8:30 - 8:45 a.m. this weekend (something I haven't done in MONTHS), I'd sacrifice the sleep for more time with her in this stage of life. She is a bundle of energy, with quite the emerging personality, and I'm trying to soak in and treasure every moment I can, as she is truly growing up way too quickly...

Home six months!

Well, I have to admit - I'm late on this post. RP and I celebrated her being home with me six months on August 27, but time got away from me and I am just now able to update.

I can't believe six months has gone by already. I remember distinctly picking her up at the orphanage on February 24, clothes and diaper in hand (because, as my coordinator so delicately put it, I was picking up a "naked baby" and needed to be sure to bring ALL her essentials!). The minute they handed me my bundled up little munchkin and scooted us out the door was the best, yet most terrifying, moment of my life. Her big brown eyes were like saucers in the van on the way to the airport - she was completely mesmerized by everything she saw and was experiencing, but never once cried.

Fast forward three days. We were bleary-eyed when we arrived at the Moscow International airport and our driver was sweet enough to not only escort us into the airport, carrying bags and barking orders in Russian to everyone around him, but he also pulled strings so we didn't have to wait in the HUGE line to get through immigration. That process seemed to take forever, as not one but THREE different people gathered 'round to examine all her documentation. Luckily (for them or for me I'm not sure - just "luckily") I don't speak Russian and couldn't understand their commentary, but after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, we were released through to our gate, thus beginning 18 hours of travel.

RP hated being buckled into her seat and let everyone on the plane from Moscow to Zurich know it. Ditto for the flight from Zurich to Chicago, but at this point I had been up for over 24 hours and truly didn't care. I just wanted to get home. I have never been SO excited to land and get off of a plane as I was that day, and I couldn't wait for RP to meet her Papa, see her new home, and start our new life together.

I can still feel the sense of relief of walking into my own house, petting my frantic puppies (after two weeks away they were beside themselves with joy at my return, and LOVED RP from the start!), and settling into a routine. Then it dawned on me - what the heck was I going to feed this child, who was completely OFF any sort of regular schedule, had just woken up after falling asleep in the car, when I had been gone for two weeks. Right, wrong, or otherwise, RP's first meal home was oatmeal, and she glared at me the entire time she ate it - still not certain about what was going on around her and terrified that at any given time I was going to take everything away from her... again.

We "celebrated" RP's six month anniversary by attending Open House at her daycare/school. She had a BALL showing off her classroom and friends, and I received a lot of great feedback from the Assistant Director and teachers. While RP definitely has her "moments" she is truly thriving at school and has made significant progress in catching up developmentally with her peers. In the last six months she has grown 3 inches, gained 4 pounds, and has gone from an English vocabulary of zero to chatting and babbling non-stop, with new words and phrases every single day. I don't know what the next six months holds for us, but I'm looking forward to the adventure!

RP's first meal at home after 18 hours of travel - oatmeal!

Being silly for Mommy getting ready to leave for Open House at school