Certificate of Citizenship

It's official! We received in the mail Valerie's Certificate of Citizenship. It has her passport picture on it and is very official looking with a fancy seal from the Department of Homeland Security. It states that she officially became a citizen of the United States on June 25, which is the day we landed in Atlanta. Now we can apply for her Social Security number. I'm not sure how to do that, but I'll soon be finding out. We've also decided to readopt her here so that she can get a TX birth certificate. We have her original Russian birth certificate as well as another Russian one listing Todd and I as her parents but if we lose this or it gets destroyed we would have to apply to Russia for another one. This way, she will be able to go to any courthouse in TX and get a copy. Considering how many certified copies of our birth certificate we needed for this adoption process, I think it will be a good idea to do this. We don't know how to go about that yet either so I have a little research to do. Any advice would be appreciated!

Valerie Has Been Showered (Spoiled)!

Valerie had 2 showers last week! She is officially spoiled. She will definitely be the best dressed little girl in Monahans! Last Thursday, after lobby hours, we went up to the bank where Todd works and were treated to a great party with a beautiful cake, delicious fruit (which Valerie loved), and punch. It was so nice and everyone did way too much. Todd is lucky to have such a great group of sweet, caring people to work with. They aren't just employees, they're friends!Blaine helped open all the gifts, some of which were for him! Valerie loves a party and being around people so she had a great time!

Valerie had a ball roaming the bank, eating off of everyone's plates, and showing off her new clothes, shoes, hats, etc.


Look at my gorgeous friends! They are just as sweet as they are beautiful! They threw a shower for us at the church on Saturday and went all out to make it really special. The food, cake, decorations, invitations, eveything was so so nice. There was even a slide show playing with pictures of both of our trips to Russia! I am so blessed to have so many great people in my life!

Check out this cool diaper cake. Both pretty and useful! We enjoyed looking at it for several days and then Blaine disassembled it and there were a LOT of diapers in it!

Blaine and several other cute kiddos gave me a hand with opening the gifts. Some of the sweet cards made me cry! Once again, Valerie received so many nice things. I was just overwhelmed by it all and my first thought was that all of this (the showers, the gifts, so much attention) was too much, that we really are being spoiled rotten. But then I think about how there was no joyous celebration when she was born. No one to throw her a party when she turned a year old. No one to celebrate all the special milestones and accomplishments that little ones make and I decided to just enjoy this special time. I am so glad that we have so many people that care about us and who want to celebrate our new "little miracle" and that now Valerie has all these great people in her life too! May we always remember to be such good friends in return.

Something Pretty!

After the huge grass fire in April that came through and destroyed everything, I got a little down looking out into a pasture that was nothing but sand, usually blowing sand. One day Blaine came across a packet of sunflower seeds in a drawer and asked to plant them so we could have "something pretty" to look at. I am so glad I agreed because they really are beautiful flowers. Polly Sue kept them (and the rest of our yard) alive while we were in Russia. It was well over 100 degrees and windy most of the time we were gone so she had a big job! Something Pretty!

These blooms are huge and you can already see tons of seeds forming in the middle of each one. Any tips on roasting the seeds?

Valerie loves to go out and dig in the dirt when we water the flowers.

This sunflower is over 6' tall!

Nana and Bub's House

Last Saturday evening we went down to Nana and Bub's house. It was Valerie's first time to go there so she had a wonderful time checking out a new place. How lucky she is to not only have two sets of grandparents nearby but also a great set of great grandparents! She is a well loved little girl.

Valerie posing with Nana

A special moment with Bub

Nana and Bub's Porch

All the grandkids, including Todd when he was a kid, have enjoyed Nana's turtles. I'm sure these two will get out the nail polish and "brand" some before the summer's over!

Our Little Russian Cowgirl

Turns out our little Russian princess is really an All-American tomboy! She prefers outside to inside, dirty to clean, loud to quiet, fast to slow, trucks to babies... you get the picture. I know her daddy can't wait to get her on a real horse. She sure loves this one. She is always pointing for us to get her cowboy hat for her. If we do, she expects to go outside right then! She is one rough and tumble little girl (which is actually a whole lot of fun)!! However, Donna has started me a hairbow collection and when Valerie finally grows a little hair I plan on making her wear them!

First Fudgsicle!

Messy

Messier, But Happy!

Messiest!

All Clean!

Every day Valerie is experiencing new things! Things that we think of as ordinary or as simple pleasures are fascinating and delightful to her. It brings me so much joy to watch her face as she experiences eating fudgsicles, walking barefoot in grass, going swimming, holding a kitten, watching fireworks, playing in the sprinkler, and tasting a peach for the very first time! I love all these firsts and look forward to many more!

Home Almost 2 Weeks

What a busy time we've had! Todd is back in full swing at the bank and on the ranch. I've been unpacking (finally all finished), finishing up adoption details, getting my house back in order (ha-ha), and being a Mama to a toddler. I forgot just what a constant job a toddler is! Valerie unrolls an entire roll of toilet paper and while I'm cleaning that up she dumps a bottle of bubbles, and while I'm cleaning that up..... You get the picture! She is into everything.

We really have had a great time with her since we've been home. She just has the happiest little personality! She smiles, laughs, dances, throws kisses - a real little charmer. I worried last week that we went too hard because we swam, went to parties, shopping, dinner with friends, had our annual 4th of July brunch, all kinds of stuff. But she just seemed to enjoy everything we did so much. We all had lots of fun but we ended up wiped out last Sunday, overslept and missed church, which is not something we ordinarily do. But things will slow down, most of our friends have met Valerie, and we'll get a little more scheduled for the rest of the summer.

How is Valerie doing?

• Eating - No problems, she has slowed down a bunch and will eat just about anything we put in front of her. My kind of girl!
• Sleeping - I lay her in her crib, she smiles at me, sticks her fingers in her mouth and falls asleep. That goes for nap and nighttime. She naps anywhere from 1 to 3 hours a day. She has slept through the night every night since we've been home. This is just unbelievable for me because I rocked and walked Blaine for hours every night until he was about 3 and he was not a napper. This is awesome! Woo-hoo!
• Attachment - I think Valerie is doing great in this area. She is definitely very social and not clingy but she makes sure she knows where I am all the time. She goes to other people but quickly reaches back for me. She is very affectionate and loves all the hugs and kisses. She has great eye contact. She is definitely a mama's girl but when I'm not around, she and Todd have some great times and are connecting very well. Blaine and Valerie wrestle and play like brothers and sisters do. I think the month in Russia we spent as a family was a wonderful thing for us in the area of attachment.
• Health - We went to the pediatrician today and got a great report on Valerie! She is a normal, healthy little girl. I already knew that but it was good to hear the doctor say it. She is in the 10th percentile for height, 5oth for weight, and 90th for head circumference. Surely all that will even out as she grows! Blaine had a big head too but it fits his body now. My mom always said it was all the brains in there! Blaine had a check up today also and is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. He's 4 feet tall now and weighs 54 lbs! Valerie weighs 27 lbs and I can't remember exactly how tall she was. I'll have to look it up. She got 4 immunizations today. She had gotten many vaccinations in Russia but it was time for the next dose of some and she got the Varicella vaccine as they don't do that over there. As a matter of fact, chicken pox was going around the orphanage while we were there. We did get a referral today for an eye specialist because there were several notes in her medical about astigmatism and something else having to do with the eyes due to her being born premature. The doctor didn't see anything unusual but wants us to check it out just in case.
• Speech - Valerie has about 10 words that she says which I think is pretty good, considering she's only heard English for a little less than 6 weeks. She says Mama, Dada, Bubba, ball, night-night, bye-bye, hi, knock-knock, yum-yum (num-num), and the most frequent: no-no! She gets her little cell phone out and walks around the house saying no-no into it. She shakes her finger at you when she says it. I wonder where she got that? Pretty soon we are planning to contact our early intervention people here in Monahans and get her evaluated to see if speech therapy (or anything else they might recommend) would be helpful. I'm all about giving her every possible advantage to get caught up developmentally.
• Communication - Even though Valerie isn't speaking much English yet, she is understanding a lot of what we say and she figures out ways to let us know what she wants. Tonight I asked her if she was ready for her bath and she ran to the bathroom and started pulling off her clothes. She puts on her hat to tell us she wants to go outside. She tries to climb in her high chair when she wants to eat. She has the grunt and point down real well - Reminds me of how we acted while we were in Russia in the market. She flops in the floor and has a fit to let us know she doesn't appreciate us taking something away from her or making her come inside! She gets her point across well!
• Social - In a family of pretty quiet and reserved people, Valerie is our little social butterfly. She just really enjoys people, especially other children. She went up and touched and smiled at every kid who came in the doctor's office today! She waves at everyone we pass in the grocery store. She knows when she is being watched and is quite a little ham!
• Motor Skills - Valerie wasn't walking at 18 months on our first trip to Russia. This concerned us so we were relieved to see her come walking into the room on Trip 2. She still definitely toddles around and isn't very graceful but she is getting better every day. One thing that is both good and bad is that she is a little daredevil and not afraid to try new things! She is a climber, Lord help me. Her fine motor skills seem about average. She can feed herself pretty well, pushes buttons, manipulates small objects, etc.

We are all just in love with this little girl. I still look at her everyday and have to pinch myself to believe that she is finally here with us. She is an answered prayer and a dream come true!! I thank God for my wonderful family and know they are a gift from Him. I hated the wait we endured to get each of our children but oh how extra sweet it is now!

I got a new camera and will post pictures soon!