Okay -- Who's Billy?

I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post.. life just seems to be getting ahead of me!!

Anyway N came home with this turkey she made in school for Thanksgiving. On it it says she's thankful for mommy, daddy, B, Mrs. Blase her teacher, and.......BILLY!

Okay -- so I ask her "Who is Billy?"

"Oh, Billy likes me!" she replies.

I guess it's okay she's thankful that Billy likes her. Especially since she now says she doesn't like Billy-- she says he screams too much.

"No I didn't eat B"!

Oh and here's a funny story for ya.....

Steve the other day was in the kitchen and yelled for me to come and help him understand what she was trying to say.

Steve: "Brandie, do you know what she's talking about... I can't figure it out?"

N turns to me and says "Member mom.... member... you ate B. member"

Me: "Ate B... ah... no.... are you talking about when I blow on his tummy, or eat his toes... is that what you are talking about?"

N: "NO.... you ate B! " she then puts her hands in front of her belly and sticks her belly out. "Member mom when B was in your belly --you ate him!"

Me: Remembering she saw a picture of me when I was preg. (I will spare you the photo!) and asked why my belly was so big. I remember I told her B was in there. At that time the talk ended. But now I'm realizing she had understood it differently than I thought.

Me: "ah.. no honey, I didn't eat him."

N: "if you didn't eat him, how did he get in there?"

Steve: "good question,-- the stork did it!" he says as he walks out of the room.

Me: "God put him there." I said

N: looks at me and asks well how did he get out?

Steve yells from the other room..."again the stork did it!"

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Then a few days later she asks why Sophie our little dog has black eyes. I told her it's because that's the way God made her. She looks at me and what seemed to be in total understanding says... "oh, when you ate her too."---- NO I DIDN'T EAT SOPHIE!! No Sophie was never in my belly!!

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Then at dinner one night she asked me "so, mom, you ate B and B's here, so you ate me and now I'm here right."

I look at her and smiled and said.... "Yes you both are here and mommy and daddy love you both.. and for the last time NO I did not eat anyone!! okay."

She smiled and continued eating her dinner.

The mind of a five year old!!

We Lost One!!!

That's right N lost her first tooth yesterday.!!!

Halloween!!

Halloween was great! Our neighborhood does a "Trunk or Treat" where the kids do a parade and the parents park near the community center. Then the kids walk around to all the parked cars and "trick or treat" out of the trunks of the cars. I was told to decorate the trunk so I did, but this was my first year and I quickly found out that not everyone does. Oh well, the kids liked it.

I like this system better than walking around our neighborhood... we live in the woods -- and we'd have to drive our kids around and it would take a long time. N loved the fact that Walter and Sophie were able to dress up and participate too.

B enjoying a peanut butter cup.

Walter in his skeleton costume.
Sophie dressed up as a angel.

No Sophie isn't smelling Walter's butt, it's just a bad photo angle.

B in his Tigger Customer.

N's class photo.

B at N's Class Party.

And Finally our little Princess!! A true Cinderella.

What worries me is she now knows that Halloween is a time to dress up, and she was commenting on how "nice" the horror masks were!!! I think this may have been the one and only nice and pretty Costume!!

First Snow Day

Yes that's right --- N had her first Snow Day and Day off school. Tuesday morning she woke up to a winter wonderland. Her eyes lit up and she was sooooo excited! We had to tell her there was no school that day. She looked confused but seemed to accept it. What's funny is she ran back into her room and got her photo book that we gave her during our first visit to the orphanage, she ran out and said "Look!!" She showed us the photo of our home, and sure enough it had snow. Makes me wonder how much she thought about the snow and wondered when she'd see it since it was in the photo and we brought her home in the summer. Steve was impressed and commented on what a memory, because neither of us remembered it was a winter photo of the home.!!

Oh and I wanted to say the first photo of N -- she is wearing a white and blue sweater and hat a good friend of mine made her. N just loves it.!!

Life Flies When You're Having FUN!!

We have been very busy over the past month!!! I'm sorry I haven't updated the site, I hope all the pics in this post make up for any hard feelings!!!

Well, lets see, over the past few weeks we went on a trip to South Carolina and North Carolina, N wrote the alphabet for the first time, she started school, we went pumpkin and apple picking and as you can see took lots of photos. I hope you enjoy!




This is a family photo taken at the apple farm.

N picking apples with my dad.

A family photo of my side, my two sisters, mom and my dad being goofy (not uncommon).

B finally happy he caught an apple.

B thinking he can eat the apple... after all he does have six teeth!!

B fighting the urge to throw the apple at someone.

N and Steve after picking the ONE!!

N and her cousin A taking a snack break in the corn maze.

Making mommy happy and posing for the "Kidz photo"

N and A with my mom.

N with her first dozen and a half of roses (yes she got more than me -- I only got 12 red roses!!)... which Steve gave to her on our wedding anniversary. (I didn't realize kids got gifts too... hahaha) I think he just wanted to be the first guy to give her flowers --- and it worked... he made her soooooooo happy! Then she asked "Papa, why you give mama and N flowers?" He looked at her and then at me and said... "Because I love you." How sweet. Meanwhile here I was later that night joking around asking if I would get three dozen next year -- he looked at me and asked why-- I said because you brought home two bouquets this year. He said... no honey they really are her roses not yours!!! Well just burst my bubble!!

This is N's first time writing out the alphabet.

N's first day of school, as we leave to go to the bus stop.

N as she got on the bus.

N in her classroom.

Steve and the two kids relaxing on my grandparent's dock in SC.

N and my grandfather getting ready to fish.

We've got a loose one!!

Both N and B have updates!!

B is now officially crawling. You put him on the floor and he's off. Now I can't let him play on the floor play gym without me hovering overhead. He heads right for cords and things he shouldn't!

N is concerned her tooth is loose. She has a space in the back of her mouth from one that was already pulled (it happened back in Russia-- we don't know when).. and the adult tooth hasn't grown in. So I think she thinks it's going to be a space forever.
Last night she came to me in tears... "MAMA MAMA.... look!!" Now how do you explain the tootfairy? Her English is coming along great. She only speaks English to us with a few words still in Russian.. but it's all English now. And she seems to understand everything Steve and I say. In fact the other day I called one of her girl friends from the children's home.. (I know the family she was adopted into) We put them on the phone together.. and she only spoke English to her. How sad! I've had people who speak Russian try to talk to her.. .she wants nothing to do with it. She only responds in English.

Our school visits are going well. We visited the lunch room and the library on our last visit. She was shy but curious. These were new rooms she hadn't been to yet. She seems okay in the hallways now and likes looking into the classrooms. She seems to enjoy our visits. Since she was shying away from he new rooms we sat down and spoke with the librarian. We even sat in the story reading space and read a book together. I also had her sit at the table in the lunchroom. Next time I'll bring lunch and we'll eat together.

This morning -- out of the blue she asked me if she sleeps at school. After saying a quick.. "NO, no..." I explained how daddy goes to work and sleeps at home, she will go to school and sleep at home. ( I think N thought the school was an orphanage. In Magadan when the orphans turn 7 they go away to school. It's a boarding school. So I think that's why she was asking if she'd sleep there.) She seemed happy with the answer and even told Steve when he called that she wouldn't sleep at school. It makes me wonder what other things she's thinking about. I think this is the first time she was able to communicate her fear.... well this and her fear of being toothless!!

Happy Days