It's a Wonderful Life :)

I know, long time no writey! Life is sooooo busy around here raising a three year old...and my darn internet has been a major issue the last four months or so. The Verizon people finally got their acts together and fixed what ever problem they refused to acknowledge was in existance - giving me a blogging voice once more! (I think my comment of "In all of the help you ARE NOT GIVING ME, Please understand I am not only HORMONAL, but I am still feeling the warm fuzzy security of "The Nations most Reliable Network" I heard on TV the other night"... LOL)

What a wonderful Christmas we have had. My beautiful daughter (Who still hates to have her picture taken...it took 121 shots to get 11 good ones this year. Poor Picture People!) is posed above. Yes, I a blond again :) She loves Santa and gifts, her brothers and Snoopy. As a family gift this year we took all the kids to Knott's Berry Farm. Of course in good old Patterson fashion nothing went as planned. It decided to snow and we barely made it over the ridge. The park was closed the first day due to rain. (It actually snowed in Malibu..One for the record books here in otherwise sunny Ca.) and the first day found us mostly sitting in the hotel room. Later that afternoon we braved pooring rain to take the kids down the road to Downtown Disney and pass the time at Build a Bear and the Logo store. We went the Pirate Dinner Adventure Show where Chris, Bryce and Aidan had somehow become part of the show. The food was great~and we made it to Knott's the next day. It was beautiful and the air was clear and crisp. All mountains around us were a white as could be. Kaydee loved the Subacca (that's my Russian spelling for dog) named Snoopy, was entrigued with the horse carriage ride, and showed us we can travel with her just about anywhere, and she is an absolute Angel! All in as a very good year. We are so blessed!

Kaydee is a well adjusted child, loving and might I add BRILLIANT! She copies all that she sees, never seeming to forget anything. She likes to pretend she is a kitty and paws, meows, and rubs her face on us. So sweet. She loves her brothers, and has grown 2" in 6 months. Can you believe that? Our little Princess has gotten a lot of healthy food and it is showing. And boy does she have long legs!

In other areas, she is doing very well in preschool, and likes to beat up on the poor unsuspecting little boys. No one takes toys from her anymore...wonder why? I tell her that is no way for a Princess to act, but she just smiles and purrrr's her way into my lap. A couple of acknowledging nods and all is forgiven.

Is it even possible year ago I was losing it because the state messed up my Dossier Apostilling??? It all seems so long ago....

I will try to up load other pictures...they are still on my camera.

Love to all!
K~

Kaydee with our best friend G. She loves G and when sitting on a chair climbs abioe his head. He said she is like a cat trying to get to the highest point! LOL

I cannot believe it has been so long since I posted a full thought entry...at the same moment!

Where does time go??? Christmas came and went, spring is in full bloom...and here I sit, typing away to a post saved MONTHS ago...Sheesh! I guess later is better than never. But this does really go to show that once the adoption process is put waaaay behind ya life starts zooming ahead at light speed pace and before you know it the daily blogging of celebrations and frustrations becomes a distant memory. Like child birth you forget the pain, and relish in the new life you have been entrusted with.

And since I have received countless emails requesting updates - and I do read them folks, I've just been overwhelmed - and I knew it was past time to put fingers to the keys and get the job done :)

A year ago I received word that we had a referral...A REFERRAL! I still remember the shock and pure joy I felt. The tears I cried at work with the photo I saw. And could we travel in a few weeks???? Isn't that just CRAZY???? It has been a YEAR! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???? I sit in awe when I think about those moments when God showed He was in control...and answered our prayers for the referral of a healthy and darling little girl!

So here is what I started in October, added to in November, and will finish in March...:)

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Life with Kaydee has been so much fun and the days fly by. I cannot imagine what my life would be like without my beautiful Princess in it. And those who know me personally will agree that Kaydee IS the PRINCESS. And, regardless if what he says her Daddy is thoroughly wrapped around her little finger!

After about the 50th email asking why there we no updates I decided perhaps I’d had better get to cracking on some journal entries so you awesome folks and family out there can be brought up to speed. Going back to work full time has busied my days and I run out of time to do the little thing like update Kaydee’s blog. I promise to make a better effort.

So, since I have A LOT of ground to cover, let’s get to writing, shall we?

Is it truly possible that this time last year I was squeezing extra minutes out of my days chasing down finger prints and paperwork? That I had no daughter to come home to. Tee hee hee....and only a dream of mothering one? Amazing! God has blessed us ten fold and now that I look back I can see where it was all in His plan. But the truth of the matter is Oh how hard it is to just TRUST!

In three short months we have reached so many mile stones. Kaydee’s first day at preschool and first play day. Her first time in the pool, having a cold, a birthday party American style, and riding her bike. Then there are the personal things: The first time she hugged me instead of the other way around. The first initiated pucker and kiss on the mouth. Kaydee running to me with her arms open wide yelling ‘Mommy!” when I come home. Rocking. Holding. Humming. And, my favorite ever; Her running her fingers through my hair, putting her little hands on either side of my face and cupping my cheeks…then whispering in what we fondly refer to as ‘Ruglish” – a nice combination English words and a whole lot of Russian – as if it is sooo very important that I listen. I catch myself longingly looking at her. Remembering our first look at her picture, looking at her and remembering the first time she stood the door of the orphanage holding her care givers hand. Staring at me and never shedding a tear as she sat in the lap of a stranger. It is emotionally overwhelming at times…This child of mine. I love her so very much…

AND, we are growing! Even though she still wears a size 2T, Kaydee has put on 5 lbs and has grown about ¾ of an inch in 3 months. THAT is from some good old American vittles and luvin. She does tend to eat better, but is still just as picky. She still loves to torment the cat, but holds back a little more reserved since our oldest feline friend gave Kaydee a piece of her mind, and paw for that matter. The Dogs remain a favorite fascination, as long as they are behind a fence that is, and trailing behind Daddy is still a top notch time in Kaydee’s daily planner.

Our most recent exploits took us the beach Labor Day weekend. It was cold. It was wet. It was overcast – but with home being over 100 degrees, it was awesome! Any excuse to get away and out of the heat is a good one on my book. Kaydee saw the sand and waves for the first time, although I do believe the moment was pretty lost on her, and way more special for Mom.

Kaydee did okay in the trailer, was easy to watch at play, did VERY good shopping in old downtown San Luis Obispo, and loved to watch movies in the trailer with her brothers when it got too cold outside. She ate popcorn with Aidan, and her bigger Bubby’s threw her back and forth in the air. That silly girl, she so LOVES that stuff and wanted more and more. She’s not afraid of ANYTHING.

Dress up is fun with a little girl. She likes to wear her Bubby’s hats, Mommies shoes, Daddy’s shoes, her ballerina skirt, glasses, and basically anything not nailed down. She takes her clothes off and runs around in her undee’s ~ and at times nothing at all. Any towel is an instant cape, and she holds on to the silliest items for dear life as if they are her treasures – like sting and nails and plastic bottle caps. As I am writing this Kaydee just came around the corner and said ‘Momma’ until I turned around. She has Aidan’s Firefighter hat on. I asked her if she had on Aidan’s hat and of course she said “No. It’s Kaydia’s hat”(She pronounces her name Kay’deea’. She cannot get the EE ending down yet) Too funny…it’s so Kaydee! She has so many bruises on her lower legs we joke and name them. She is a rough and tumble girl in a Princesses body. I just hope the Social Worker realizes it is from play. If you look at Kaydee she bruises! Her skin is turning the prettiest shade of light olive and losing the paleness, but she is not nearly as dark as Carrington - although I really think she will turn darker like Carrington did. I’m quite jealous…

I tell myself I will not forget these moments.

November:

The holidays are so much fun with a little girl. Kaydee loves to shop. She sees a pile of big leaves and gets lost in them. The decorations are for fun. The fireplace is a fascination, as is the frost on the car when she runs her fingers through it. Hot chocolate, warm clothes and 'fingers' hand gloves. Rosey cheeks. Pink polka dotted boots as she follows her daddy out the the fields. A beautiful pink coat reminiscent of the days of old, complete with hand muffs.

Could it possibly be this little Princess is all mine???

February:

A new adventure. We left Kaydee and the boys with our dear friends in Fresno last weekend. More than the loneliness that I felt while driving away from our drop off point, I was worried as Kaydee had a very bad cold and fever. She was in good hands and loved to pieces, but it was still not the normal thing for me to do - leave my child while ill.

The reason for our trip was my companies top performers trip. It is on their timeline - not mine. So when the plane tickets are bought, you go...

This year we were back in New Orleans. We really enjoyed ourselves so much more this time around than the last time we came. We were at the beginning of Mardi Gras, ans there were parades almost every hour on the hour. In one parade I had so many beads my neck ws hurting. We went on a walking tour of the lovely homes in the Garden District, and my highlight was a trip to Oak Alley Plantation. It was the first trip away with my husband that did not involve the stress oif adoption!

I enjoyed jyself immensly, but in the end I was truly ready to go home to my babies.

Unfortunately Kaydee faired only 'okay' while I was gone, and we came home to a VERY unhappy little Princess. She cried nightly for her 'Steffafie' and was hitting in preschool, clinging to my leg, and even hitting her teacher. It became clear quite quickly that we were dealing with some separation issues that I WAS not expecting. I really thought she would be okay...So, we have now figured out she was not ready to be left behind without us - yet. With an adopted post institutionalized child you just don't know what to expect and what exact time line you are running on. So, there goes our 25th anniversary trip :) I will not be leaving her behind for a loooong time. At least not until I am sure she will be okay.

Good news was a week later we did get our lovely little Princess back, and we are back on track.

Here are a few more pictures of our dear little Princess Kaydee. Take care my family and friends

And thank you God for my little blessing…

I am back to work full-time and that means Kaydee is now in Preschool…

*SIGH*

Kaydee started full time preschool on the 18th. How sad I was to leave my little Princess for the entire day, but it had to happen. I feel comfortable with her attachment to us, and the gals there are very sweet, so it seems the right place for her.

Kaydee in front of her class calender board on her first full day of Preshool -

nervous and working that thumb!

John and I had ‘eased’ Kaydee into this transition with a few days here and there at two or more hours or so each time. The first day we just visited. The second we visited again but I left the play area for about 15 minutes and observed Kaydee from behind a window. The third day she stayed for two hours and I picked her up, the fourth the same, but Daddy got her. By Monday we felt she was as ready as she would ever be. The first day was okay, no tears. The second full day though was met with a few more challenges. It’s actually kind of funny the way she goes about making her feelings known, yet still following direction with out arguments. Here is how Kaydee’s drive to preschool progresses…it’s really kinda cute:

First we put in her shoes…’whimper’

Then we put her lunch in her back pack…’whimper’
Then we leave the house…’whimper’ and a VERY slow walk to the car



Kaydee and her backpack slowly making her way to the car...

Open the car door, and a long ‘whimper’, but she gets up in the car any way
We then start driving to school. “Hummm. Hummm.” Those who know Kaydee personally know this is an old habit still lingering of her saying ‘No.’
When I make the left turn to the front street, and then the drive way of her school, I get more “Hummm’s”

Then I say, ”Okay…We are at Kaydee’s school! You like Kaydee’s school!” I take her out of the car, and as I carry her I tell her “Open the gate Kaydee.” She reaches up for the high knob and turns it, opening the metal gate. All the while still saying “Hummm”.

When we go through the doorway, I set her down to sign her in. Again with “Hummm”, Just a bit louder now…

Putting away her backpack

She then takes my hand as we walk to her class and she e-v-e-r so s-l-o-w-l-y puts her back-pack in her cubby, still whimpering and alternately saying “Hummm.”

Then we walk to the back door where the early children are playing. She starts to cry. Not full fledged, but with enough tears to let me know she means business. I makes my tummy hurt to hear her cry, but it is a little cry, not a big ‘temper tantrum cry.’

She tightens her arms around my neck, and hugs me close. I tell her it is all right and Ms. Jennifer will play with her and Daddy will be there soon. Another “Whimper and Hummm.”

She then reluctantly goes to Ms. Jennifer and cries. Once again making my heart hurt. I wave good bye and say “Donstinvonia” (my spelling…”Good bye” in Russian) And I leave the play ground area . I watch her from behind the two way door and she is fine…working the crowd of teachers who just love her to pieces. By the time I am out the door to go to my car I hear no more tears.

Upon a check in call, I can hear her laughing in the background, and Ms. Jennifer says she only cried for a little while and has been playing happily ever since. She was the line leader and Ms. Jennifer’s helper. Much to my surprise she does settle down and take a nap. This we did not expect her to do as she hates to sleep. But given her past experience with lots of little beds and other children napping, I think it is in her normal order of things, so she does it. Not without a little bit of protest before hand, I’ve been told.

When Daddy shows up at the gate there is a happy little girl playing, and she screams (Really, she screams! ) “DADDA!” and is gathered up and taken home to her castle in the country.

When I drive up she sees my car, yells “Mamma!” and we play our little chase and tickle game as soon as I walk in the door. All is well with her world now, and we look at her school work – praising her and telling her “Headashawl!” – (My spelling again - “Very Good!”)

Then we start all over again the next day…sigh…I pray she adjusts quickly to the routine of Preschool and actually enjoys her morning routine to her day to play.

In other areas Kaydee is doing so very well. It is hard to believe she has only been here for almost 7 weeks. She repeats words, dances, sways and sings to Veggie Tales.

Kaydee and her favorite baby Nanny gave her...

She loves her doll baby and makes sure it is on a pillow with the blankie Nana made her. She snuggles with us, still loves to be held, and adores her bigger brothers.

After her bath Kaydee likes the blanket her Nanny made her.

Night time still continues to be a struggle. She cries and kicks and wails at all hours. She always looks like she is trying to kick something off of her legs. It is a real tear jerker to watch our otherwise happy Princess go through what ever it is that is affecting her. We have tried everything we can think of but mainly just making sure nothing is touching her and waiting it out seems to be the only thing that works.

Attachment is so very important with a PI child. Both John and I feel Kaydee is doing very well in that area. She immediately stops and/or comes back when we call her name, even in a crowd. She takes a whole long while to leave our arms or side even with a close friend or family member. And looks for us all the time. Of course the fact that she would rather be with us than daycare is a good thing too. I stay with her in bible class, and although she doesn’t seem to mind another child sitting on my lap, just try and have Daddy do that. “No way, Jose!”

There are so many times during the day when I wish I had my camera ready to catch her fun and special moments forever in time. Like yesterday when she was perched up on the ladder to the pool. Carrington was making water shoot out of his mouth like a fountain, and Kaydee would take her finger and poke his cheek to do so. Then, as their game progressed she started turning Carrington’s head in the direction she wanted the water to shoot. Soon after Carrington decided to turn his head so it shot at her. That girl laughed so hard! It was such fun to sit back and watch the interaction between the two of them.

And then last night she was playing with her two cousins and all three of them were holding hands and turning in a circle. The oldest cousin was singing ‘Ring around the Rosies” and although Kaydee had no idea what it was she was doing, she was having a good old time doing it! After a little successful female bonding she finally decided to share her baby dolls with her cousins. Too cute!

Here is Kaydee dressed as a knight where she sword fought with Carrington and Aidan...

I tell myself to remember these times forever. I have missed out on almost three years of my precious Princess’s life and I feel I have so many emotional holes to fill. Tonight before bed she sat in the rocker in her room, and motioned to me to sit with her. I picked her up and sat with her on my lap. As she held her newest bear friend, we read aloud one of her pop-up books with sounds. Carrington sat next to the chair and as we said the words of the pictures in English, he repeated them in Russian. She laughed in glee each time the noises happened. The three of us had the most wonderful time doing this.

Another moment to remember forever…Thank you God!

Kaydee is THREE!

Kaydee's actual birthday 'day' started out pretty normal. 8/8/08...What a great set if numbers! I woke her up and said "Happy Birthday Princess! It's YOUR day!" Of course she just looked at me :) Her party was not until Sunday, so the rest of the day was pretty normal. I brought her some balloons which were a hit with her. I love the first "OHHHHH!" we receive when she experiences things for the first time. It was obvious she had not seen balloons up close before. She played with them (supervised of course) for hours. When they would not float any longer, they ended up bunched together and she proceeded to kick them all over. (I finally had to pop them this morning because the darn things refused to deflate!) Here she is after a bath still playing with them...

Finally Sunday came and after church we had her actual birthday celebration. I ended up with more guests than I had counted on, but in the end it all worked out okay. Obviously Kaydee didn't know what was going on...but she went with the flow and was the best little Princess ever.

We still worry about the effect of big crowds on her, as she still gets overstimulated easily, but she did okay. (Nanny even taught her to 'fall down' LOL...really a fun thing to do if you 'want' to fall down :) She jumped in the bouncy house, and did pretty good with the other children. She is getting use to my sweeter than ever nieces, although she still doesn't want them to touch her :) First we served hamburgers and hot dogs. Kaydee was more inclined to indulge herself in sliced tomato's, cheese, and a few slices of hot dogs.Here is one of her cakes. There is a long story to them but I won't get into it now :) I had already started cutting into the last one when I remembered I hadn't taken a picture yet...so that explains the slice mark....LOL...I says 'Happy 3rd Birthday Princess Kaydee'. All of her decorations had butterfly's and flowers on them - and the best part is it was all in a clearance bin at the party store for 99 cents each...I so love a party on a budget! AND, it was exactly what I wanted!

Of course next came the cake and the Happy Birthday song. Kaydee had no idea about candles, and as you can gather from this picture was not in the mood to co-operate in the very least. Carrington tried to explain to blow them out, but to no avail. So Aidan did it for her. The Princess hat she liked so much before sits on the chair as she refused to put it on. Bummer!

Then we opened presents. She was gifted with a little of everything, educational toys, dress up shoes, a blanket, clothes, movies and three dolls. Her play time is all set now :)

And then her big brothers brought out their surprise....A new BIKE! She jumped up off my lap and was on it in a flash! She rode it all through the house until we managed to move it outside. She has played on it every day since. This was the present that she seems to love the most.

Brother Chris followed her around the house and protected my walls thank goodness!
The hat and wand didn't go to waste, Carrington - ever the 'family comedian' - decided it fit him fine!
After a tiring day, Princess Kaydee had enough. She fell asleep in my lap at 5 pm. And since this little girl HATES to go to bed, you know she was soooo tired. I had to take this picture...Isn't she a dear? Is it any wonder we are so very much in love with this child so full of life?


So, that was Kaydee's first birthday celebration as an American. I took the time to pray extra long to God and thank him for this special day...the day that belongs to my daughter. It is the day He gave her life, and we will have the honor of celebrating it as a completed family for as long as he will allow us....

Thank you Lord!

And more pictures....

So, history has repeated its self and once again I am having a love/hate relationship with Blogger. Try as I might it seems to take days for me to find a spot in time where my pictures will actually upload and not get cut off. So, FINALLY here are some pictures of our Princess being herself...First, what day would not be complete without the tumbling and tormenting of the bigger Bro Carrington? Kaydee loves nothing more than to ride the shoulders of her brothers, and rough house around with them...

My niece had her birthday party at our home last weekend. Here is Kaydee eating a few bites of cake. And that was pretty much her limit. She really does not like anything too sweet or with flour in it. Her hips will thank her around age 30....LOL!

I just HAD to share the Princess potty picture...Look at that face! Oh yeah, and note she is holding her brothers Nerf gun she stole out of their room. I tell the gal is a female Rambo...

Look who got caught red handed with her brothers Lego's - Again!

Kaydee's favorite chair....this is where she loves to sit and read her books. I couldn't choose between the two pictures, so here are both! What a sweet little Princess! She is getting a little bit better with the camera...it only took about 15 shots to get these two :)


Where were my red shoes??? I found them on one little Princess walking around her room. I pulled down her boa and we had ourselves a fun time with that!

Note the Nerf gun - again....LOL! I have had several touching 'firsts' with Kaydee these last few weeks. While out of the house I called her name in a crowd and she turned - that was a great thing as wanting her to recognize our voices and her name are pretty important. She has shyly snuggled with me, and allowed me the privilege of real kisses. She as started shaking her head yes - one little nod - and saying her brothers names. We have made it through three Sunday school classes (mom sitting next to her, of course) and actually stayed in the nursery during VBS (Carrington was there too to help her) which was a big thing because that was the first time she has been without either mom or dad. She did great!

Kaydee rarely throws herself at men anymore, being a little more reserved and stays close to her mommy or daddy. Daddy is the one man in her life at present. She still prefers Men and will smile and flirt with them, but she knows they are not Daddy. Both John and I feel her bonding is coming along well and attachment seems to be in place. I can't wait to get home from work and see her, and it will be hard returning back full time. Even John is saying he will miss her when he, too, returns to work full time. It will be so tough!

So that's all for now. Birthday party is next...

A Cheerful Queen Bee :)

Adoption costs

I have received several enquiries as to the cost of our adoption due to being in Moscow City. Trust me, what we didn't pay in additional travel to another region was ate up by staying in the most expensive city in the world! For those of you researching adoption, I have outlined our costs in the November 07 section of my blog. Hope it helps you. Feel free to email me if you have any questions...

Has it really been three weeks?

It seems like Kaydee has been here forever. She is such a joy!

Here are some fun pictures that show the true nature of our dear little Princess Kaydee. At one moment she is a girl, loving her bows and frilly socks. The next she is a rough and tumbling tomboy following her Daddy around and playing in the dirt.

She loves the trampoline and spends quite a bit of time there with Daddy and brothers. Note the pretty dress..."Who cares Mommy? I'm having F-U-N!"

Kaydee caught on film in mid air...absolutely no fear!

The Kaydee we first met who had no smile, now does so constantly. She is opening up to other people, realizing they are all okay. She is charming and engaging, making friends easily.

She had her first hair trimming by the fantastic hair guru Martha. Daddy gladly reported she sat there like a little lady and was as good as gold. Isn't she darling?
Here she is with another favorite past times...riding the horses. Can you say "Giddy up?" She can! LOL! Except it comes out more like "Gee ah!"

She runs through the house giggling and loving to be tickled. As a matter of fact, that has become my ritual with her as soon as I walk in the door from work. She runs up and tags me and I have to chase her down...as she giggles away. Sometimes she will hit me with the Spiderman pillow from brothers room and away we go...running all through the house. It was funny when one time Carrington put his hands on his hips and stated "Now SOMEONE is going to get HURT running through the house like that! Take it outside!"

Hmmm, wonder where he got THAT from? LOL! Yeah, I about peed my pants I laughed so hard after that comment :) Hmmmm...I wonder who has been in her brothers room?

I got to talk to V today, giving her a quick report on Kaydee’s progress in our family. It is so hard to put into words how wonderful this child is…But I do try. In the beginning, while V was apologizing for Kaydee being older than what we had originally asked for, and as the roller coaster ride continued its course in Moscow, we were being given the daughter we were suppose to have. She was everything I asked God for: Healthy, engaging, girlie - girlie, loved to be held and rocked...just in a bigger package :)

Kaydee’s 3rd birthday is coming up, and we already made the pilgrimage to the party store for her invites. The theme is princess of course, and her invite was a tiara. Too cute! She has her own Princess hat and wand. Sooooo sweet!

That's all I have time for now!

Till later...

Queen Bee

Ahhhhh, the life of a Princess.

Kaydee in her dress up princess skirt and crown from my office friends...

My day begins with a my Mommy picking me up and giving me lots of hugs and kisses. Then it a quick trip to my pink 'Princess Potty' and it is off to breakfast. Over all I prefer yogurt, but occasionally wander into cereals or fresh fruit. After a glass of milk I am whisked away to my bath and then an awesome bedroom where Mommy dresses me in for my day - not forgetting the appropriate bow for my outfit and then I am ready to face the gruelling task of being cute!

BUT, I REALLY like my baths!

One more minute Mommy, PLEEEEEASE???

They are fun 'cause I get to play with the two nice light up duckies and Princess wand my Mommy's office gave me. I have my own butterfly wash cloth and towel to dry off with...also from my Mommy's friends. I think I like those folks a whole lot. Oh yeah, and if I get really dirty playing with Daddy and brothers, then I get another bath at night... Then I get dressed in my nifty - What else? - Princess jammies! Mirror, mirror....

I have become a shadow for my bigger brothers. They all love me soooo much! I am their Princess too! Each treats me very well, and although I have bitten and pinched Aidan, he still loves me too! He chases me through the house and tickles me. I follow them around and like to get into their stuff. That darn door to their room remains closed, but as soon as I see it open I make a break for it and get the LEGOS! Yahoo! Luv them Legos!Big brother Chris comes by our house just in time to rescue me from the owners of the toys I like to get into...and he plays with me - with no pesky little brothers allowed :)

Whatever my brothers do, I have to do also. It is, of course, a little Princesses prerogative. They jump on the trampoline, I jump too. I especially like it when Chris turns me upside down. That Mommy keeps saying be careful, but I don't care...Faster, faster! Higher higher! Giggle giggle!!!

Jumping on the trampoline with brothers Chris and Aidan


They eat on dinner trays to watch the newest showing of Avatar - Yep! I'm game! Let's EAT!

After a morning of playing and reading with Mommy. I watch her get ready for work. I even have a pearl necklace that matches hers I put on. We sary on perfume, and the occasional sented lotion, mmmmmmm.

Then we load into the car to drive and meet Daddy in front of Mommy's office.

Kaydee's first meal with the family...

Daddy takes me home, feeds me and my brothers lunch, and then it off my my mid-day Princess beauty sleep. Sometimes my big brother Chris comes to visit when he is not on duty fighting fires. He is usually tired so we take a nap first - then play. He makes a great pillow!

After that is when the REAL fun begins! I help feed the chickens, mow the lawn (Have you ever ridden on a John Deer? They are the BEST and I like it when daddy turns the corners real fast!) For kicks I chase the roosters and torment the cats. Someone has t0 keep them in line!

I like to help daddy straighten up. Here I am helping put away my clothes'...Kinda...Why can't they hang on the refrigerator any-o-how? Theres a bar isn't there? :)

To keep cool we play in the sprinklers. Now that's what I call fun!

There goes my hair!

I play in my room alot. I like to play dress up and when I am not stealing brothers Legos, I occupy myself with a crayons and paper (Under Mommy's watchful eye of course) and dolls. Oh yeah, and the occasional book reading. I don't really like TV, and I will stand at the door and cry until someone takes me outside.

My room is lovely. I have a garden all around me, and a picket fence bed - neato! My dresser and walls are pink, and I have flowers everywhere! Butterflies adorn my walls and bed, and Mommy tells me they mean 'New Life'. Hmmmm, what ever that means :) I just want to take them down and play with them. Oh yeah, and I have the neatest little chair. It is all mine and I like to sit in it and read books. My bed has a beautiful quilt on it, lots of pretty pillows, and soft blankets I refuse to use...

On the wall above it there are some letters. Mommy told me is says "Such a big miracle in such a small little girl"...Sounds pretty cool to me! I also have a wall of hair bows...You can never have enough bows...or SHOES!

So, that is my day...exhausting huh?

Kaydee's dedication

The best pictures we could get of Kaydee in her traditional Russian dress.....

We presented our Princess Kaydee to our church last Sunday in her beautiful Russian dress. It is a time of celebration and commitment on the part of us and our Church family in the raising of our sweet girl. Her honorary uncles and aunts were there, along with her brothers (accept Chris, he was on a fire out of town - Yeah! for overtime sweetie!!!)

It felt so right to dedicate this little angel to the Lord, seeing as after all He delivered her to us!

Finally home!

Okay, okay, I hear you all! I know it has been too long!!!!!


I am so sorry it has taken so long to write about Kaydee’s home coming, but we kinda took a detour. (I'll explain down below). I have actually tried to post what I did log off line for 7 days now and for some reason have had nothing but problems with my internet connection. And since the pictures are on our lap top, I have no choice but to access from there, so it has taken longer than necessary.

I have tried to post the most relevant pictures of Kaydee and the family, but as I have said before Kaydee does NOT like the camera, so a good happy shot of her is hard to catch. Also, you will note many pictures are with her daddy. That is because #1, I hate my picture taken :) #2, I am usually the one holding the camera, and #3 , over all she prefers him most of the time :)

BUT-I am so very in love and in awe with this little Princess who has touched our hearts and lives. Each day is like Christmas morning, and I cannot wait to see her rosy cheeks and hug her tight!


Kaydee in front of the airport at drop off...at the lovely hour of 3:30 in the morning - YAWN!

Okay, so the return home. Many other new adoptive parents have stated this leg of the adoption journey will remain forever blocked out of their minds. I cannot say ours was THAT bad, but I deffinately do not wish to repeat it :) Our flight was L-O-N-G. We decided to approach this part of our post-delivery ‘drug’ free and left out the often mother recommended 'travel sleeping remedy' of Benadryl. Now it is not that I agree or disagree on its usage (Some children don't need the extra emotional trauma that comes with the long trip home - I think it is an individual choice how you decide what is best for your child) we just felt that she would do okay without it. For the most part she did. The only thing that was really a problem was the evil ‘fasten seat belt’ sign. Kaydee absolutely HATED (Note BOLD lettering!) the seat belt and would cry at the top of her lungs the whole time she was strapped in. The staying power of this little girl was probably her saving grace in the orphanage as she is like the Energizer Bunny…she keeps going, and going, and going - Till someone either gives in, gives up or does what she wants. (Post note - THAT has changed since getting home and having a better environment for NEW training) The plane was not the perfect place to challenge her.

Kaydee liked looking out the window and was fascinated with the other planes on the tarmac.

Running through the play area and burning up some energy!

During our lay over in London she liked the play area in terminal 5 and did a good job of stretching her legs out. We boarded our plane for the 10 hour leg home with no issues…until take off. Seat belts again. At one point it got so bad that a lady in the back of the plane yelled “Won’t someone do something to help that baby”? Yeah, Kaydee cries like a baby...no high pitch screaming, more like a wailing, wailing, wailing, Thank goodness for that part. She has a throaty cry. It seemed like that evil sign word NEVER go off, but after a while the fasten seat belt sign did go away and we sighed in relief - prematurely. Nope. Now she was REALLY mad and totally inconsolable. The lady next to us thought she was being kind and offered me a Dramamine. O yeah, that will work. Let’s TOTALLY drug her with over the counter drugs for ADULTS into ‘no mans land’ and see what happens. (She must not have children, 'cause no one in their right mind would give a 2 yr old that stuff.) Needless to say the ‘well meaning’ lady in the back started yelling out again to do something about ‘that baby’. Then came the Steward asking if there was anything he could do to help. I told him unless he spoke Russian or had a special way with little girls that kept 'em quite that I was not aware of, then no. He was a very kind guy though. After the folks around us found out the situation at hand they were all very nice and tried to help out anyway they could. Quit giving us dirty looks and moved on with head phones tight to their heads. Kaydee was showered with potato chips, crayons and paper, and a few walks around the plane. By the time we landed 10 hours later I was physically and mentally exhausted. Kaydee had only slept maybe 1 total hour the whole trip. I 'm pretty sure I don’t want to EVER go through that AGAIN.

At LAX we went through customs and immigration with no real issues and were on our way home in no time. Alas there was no fan fare to welcome Kaydee as most of our friends were away at Dinky Creek camping, and gas is too expensive to drive two hours away to meet us.

So, we stopped by Nanny and Papa’s house which was on the way home and had a nice visit. Kaydee was true to form and went right to her Papa – this girl LOVES men! Unfortunately I could not get my camera out fast enough for a good shot with him, but here she is with her daddy afterwards and that tongue out...which means she is being fiesty!

Nanny gave her a sweet cabbage patch doll baby with it's own home made blanket and showed her the 'Nanny playroom'. We took a few pictures and then were once again on our way home.

Princess Kaydee is home! Note the true 'Russian expression' with no smile...

Upon pulling up to our drive we sighed in relief, took showers and a bath (Kaydee) and then were all in bed.

We were excited that the timing allowed us to repack our stuff and head up camping with Bryce, Carrington, Aidan, and our friends - so we left the next morning. It was super to have the boy’s meet their sister, and for Kaydee to meet her extended family. We played in the water, went to the lake, rode on jet skis, roasted marsh mellows, and generally had a terrific time bonding. It was a great move on our part as there were no outside influences to disturb us, and Kaydee got to bond with everyone a little of the time, and us a whole lot of the time. I highly recommend it.

Kaydee with Uncle Mike ...

And Nan... ... And Uncle Kevin with Clayton

All has not been fairy tales for our Princess. A few days into the trip we did get to witness the aggressive and disagreeable Kaydee. She really took the job of pushing the line to see what she could get away with pretty seriously. Nothing major, but little things like not wanting to sit or stand or walk...you get the picture :) Happily it was very short lived .

She did a number of fun things like when she got really talkative and pointed to herself and saying “I Tanya-Kaydee’ (Pronounced with out the ‘D’. She hasn’t quite got the hand of that yet) and then to the trailer, ‘Dome”, and the car, “Machina-car!”, and finally to me and in the sweetest voice ever said ‘Mamma”. She is very smart!

Having fun swinging the ball. Note the camo to please Daddy. Her hair bow, frilly white socks and camo ballerina shoes were to please Momma :)

Watching a video in the trailer with big brother Carrington

Kaydee is very much a ‘girlie girl’. She likes her hair done, loves bows, and getting dressed in anything. She likes her shoes and lines them up nice and neat. She likes to be rocked and held – constantly holding her arms up to be picked up. Her favorite foods are cucumbers and sliced tomatoes. She has a great appreciation for fruit snacks and they have become quite handy in stopping what would be a fit dead in its tracks. She will go to just about any man, or at least smile cute and hold out her hand. Dd is still #1. She is quite attached to him. Myself? I’m just the Mommy…and when Daddy is in the room no one else exists but him. My turn will come soon enough. In the mornings when he is gone she is Mommy's little girl.

Her room is coming along. I still have a few things to do, along with the hand painting on the walls. She seems to like it well enough. She naps easily, yet hates going to bed at night. Go figure. The bed we have is working well, we just need to work the bugs out of the getting her in it :)

All in all, we have been blessed with a very beautiful little ‘Princess’. It feels like she has been here longer than 2 weeks.

Yes, we have been blessed in deed…Like in real birth I am already forgetting the 'pain' of the labor: The mounds of paperwork, endless document searches, and the frustration. As with the words from Little Wonders from 'Meet the Robinsons". (If you have not already viewed this awesome video, I would encourage you to do so). "Let it go, the hardest part is over. Let your clarity define you. We will only just remember how it feels. In these small hours, these little wonders, twists and turns of faith, I cannot forget the way I feel right now.

Hmmmm, and right now I would say the Queen Bee is very happy!

Chao...more later.....:)