Our first Christmas

Yes, this is a bit late, but like most things since I've become a Mom, I severely underestimated the amount of time and energy preparing for Christmas would take! That being said, it would seem that RP had a WONDERFUL holiday!

Christmas Eve was especially wonderful because it marked exactly 10 months since RP and I walked out of the orphanage in St. Petersburg as a family. Ever since sitting on Santa's lap at her Winter concert at school, all RP could talk about was Santa coming to her house, and this year Nana and Papa spent Christmas Eve with us so Santa could make an appearance on Christmas Eve AND they could be here to watch Christmas through her eyes (and help Mommy survive it) as she opened presents right after he left.

Like most two-year olds it didn't take her long to get the hang of opening presents, and not only did she rip her own open, but also "helped" Nana, Papa, and Mommy open theirs. Seems that little RP figured every present under the tree was for her, and we had to stop her from ripping open the gifts that Mommy had purchased for other family members and friends - if it was under the tree, it was fair game! After presents she spent 20 minutes arguing "no night-night Mommy," with me before grabbing my hand (and her pillow) and leading me upstairs where she promptly crashed.

Opening all these presents is hard work...

Christmas Day was spent at a family friend's house, again with Nana and Papa, and of course more presents. This was followed by Christmas Day - Part II with Aunt Sarah, Uncle Chris, and all our cousins at Nana and Papa's house - with more presents. Watching all the kids open their presents together, let alone see their faces when Nana announced their big present - a trip to Disney World in March - was priceless.

We're going to Disney World!!!

I'm pretty sure RP was slightly disappointed this morning to wake up and find that, for the first time in three days, there were no special celebrations to get ready for, nor any gifts to open. We're working on getting back to some sense of normalcy, since nap and eating times have gone out the window these last few days, but already I miss the hubbub of the holiday, only in that it was such a special time for us this year. While in some ways I feel that I actually missed some of the holiday because I was so busy trying to make sure everything was perfect for RP's first, I am comforted in that she had such a great time, surrounded by people who love, adore, and yes, spoil her rotten, and that this was the first of only a lifetime of holidays to come.


I can't wait.

Santa's workshop

Despite my best efforts my basement now looks like Santa has relocated his workshop from the North Pole to just outside of Chicago. I swore I wasn't going to go crazy with Christmas, and even set a budget to stick to when shopping - the problem is that I got SUCH good deals (for whatever reason) this year that I was able to get WAY more than I fathomed I could while using that budget, so Santa and Mommy are going to be VERY good to RP this Christmas.

I might be the only one, but I'm not sure where the year went. The beginning of the year was all a blur to me - the waiting and prepping for my court date, flying back and forth to Russia, then bringing my little RP home. The next few months were a blur as well as we got settled at home and established a routine, which was followed by summer months of school and work. I have NO idea where summer went, and I barely remember fall, but it is freezing cold here, snowing, and we are a mere 17 days away from Christmas, which I can hardly believe.

With all the craziness holidays (and holiday scheduling!) brings I'm not sure when I'll be able to update this again, so please consider this an early holiday blessing to each of you - I hope you all have safe and happy holidays with your loved ones, and that the new year is great for each of you!

Happy Holidays!

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! :)