More Shoes Please....

MG loves her shoes, my shoes, daddy's shoes... crocs, boots, sneakers, flats, heels ... any shoe that gets left out or she can pull out of a closet she tries on. She puts it on, walks around for a bit, and then kicks it off and puts another one on. If she is wearing her shoe she just slips mine on over it. :) There are shoes everywhere in our house. I swear I pick up more shoes than toys. But really...who can blame her...who doesn't love shoes.

In her favorite furry boots from Auntie Michele ... and her shirt that says, "More Shoes Please." (seriously I found it at the Gap)

First Halloween.

I'm finally getting a chance to post some pictures from Halloween. MG had a ball ... she loved climbing the stairs and then getting to pick out a piece of candy. Lots of fun!

Trick-or-Treat

On a mission with her cousins!Checking out the goods.Mmmmm.Just one more?MG and her Pumpkin.Ladybug on the loose at the Lake.

8 Months Home.

8 months ago at our apartment in Moscow - 16 lbs

Today picking out pumpkins for Halloween - 25 lbs

Apple Picking.

One year ago.

Warning - Very long post and they will continue as we hit all of our big dates over the next few months, "The Call," "The Meeting," and "One Year Adoption Day." (we will be celebrating in Disney World:)

It was one year ago today we got "The Call." What a whirlwind it has been since that day. Such a whirlwind that I never wrote about the day and never posted her REFERRAL PICTURE. I don't even think our families have seen the picture. (seriously)

Although I forget alot these days I still remember most of that day. It was Wednesday and just like every Wednesday we were expecting an update from our agency. At that point in the process we were expecting the same update we'd been getting every Wednesday ... "no children available at this time."

Our agency called around the normal time ... she said hello and how are you and then I heard her very casually say... "There's a little girl" I remember being hung up on the girl for a bit because we had assumed it would be a boy. I think she gave me her age and little background and asked if we wanted more information. Obviously we said yes! She said she would send us a picture and the information she had. More information would come in a week. My next call was to Dan.

I was scheduled to leave that Friday morning. Not a big deal but it was a work retreat in the Adirondacks ... which could mean no blackberry service. My agency assured me we would not get anymore information until the following week. Dan and I agreed to keep it to ourselves until we got more information. He was home alone all weekend and couldn't share the news and I was off on a work retreat and couldn't share much. Not easy after waiting two years.

Friday morning I left for my trip and we stopped for lunch ... I went outside to try and check my e-mail and I saw an e-mail from my agency with the subject line, "More information on XXXXX." Ahhhh! I tried to open it and lost service. I remember trying everything to get service the rest of the way, tried it when we got to where we were staying, tried it while I was trying to find my way out of a corn maze (seriously) .... finally in the car on our way to Lake Placid I got service. I reviewed the information and called the agency at 4:55 on a Friday. They answered all my questions and told me they secured the referral earlier in the day and to call them on Monday if we wanted to travel to meet her. I was alone in a co-workers car in the middle of a parking lot in Lake Placid. I called Dan and we decided .... WE'RE GOING TO RUSSIA.

We spent the rest of the weekend apart and finally when I got home on Sunday we got to tell our families and friends.

Here it is ....The picture that melted our hearts from across the world.

And here she is ... one year later.A happy girl! Notice the tongue still hanging out!

Rockport.

Romo's new girl.

Cheering for the Cowboys! Dad, are you sure I'm cheering for the right team?
Cause I'm pretty sure that my Uncles are saying I have the wrong team!

So many pictures...

I didn't know where to start. MG had such a wonderful birthday. She was so good for her big party ... I don't think there was one tear. She even clapped when we finished singing her Happy Birthday. It was a perfect "first" birthday.

Birthday Morning !
(Notice the shirt. So excited to see them at the Gap. She will have one every year for the next 5 or so years.)

Birthday Evening
(Still a little unsure about what is going on but she's got her cake)

The Birthday Celebration
(Mmmm more cake! Butterflies and Bitty Babies!)

Happy 2nd Birthday Grace.

In a land far, far away .... our little blue-eyed blondie was born. It was a Monday and we had celebrated the boats races over the weekend and were back to work. I was getting ready to go to Switzerland ... little did I know how close I would be.
Last year on her birthday we still thought our first child would be a boy and we were at the end of our rope with the adoption process.
Thank god we never gave up because this year she is here to celebrate! She started the day with a big stack of pancakes and a few gifts from mom and dad. She almost jumped from the top of the stairs when she saw the gifts downstairs.
We don't know very much about her birth mother but...SPASIBO...wherever you are!

Just a peek.

Birthday. 7 Months Home. New Baby Cousin.

We're getting ready to celebrate MG's birthday this week and to welcome the newest cousin next week. We can't wait to celebrate and meet Baby S! And can you believe she has been home 7 months...it's been almost a year since we got "The Call."

Our trip was great and filled with fun, FOOD and great friends. MG had a great time but was a little scared of the ocean. Remember the pictures from Easter when she hated the car .... she did 6 hours in the car without a tear. She also greeted all of us with a perfect "HI" one morning. I have so many pictures and will get some up this week. We did a mommy and MG shoot and also MG in her birthday dress.

The dentist went very well. Dr. D hadn't seen her since the cleft team visit in March before her surgery. He was very impressed with the condition of her teeth and gumline. He told us to keep up the good work and he probably wouldn't be seeing us that much. YEAH!

More Firsts.

Lots of firsts for MG this week. First day at daycare, first ponytail (sort of) and later this week we'll head to her first dentist appt. and then her first trip to the ocean. There will be tons of pictures from the ocean. I have lots of photo shoots planned but will leave the camera in the car at the dentist. :(

What is going on? Why are we up so early?

You're BOTH going to work all day??

Mom ... this is NOT a ponytail!

6 Months Home

Strolling Along....

Love the butt cheek hanging out!

Imagine for moment ...

I stole this link to article from a fellow adoption blogger. It's worth a read and really tries put you in an adopted childs shoe's from birth to final adoption.

http://www.a4everfamily.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=120

2 more Tutu's...

Does my belly look big? Is this better??

Tutu Fun. (for mom not mg)

"Not more pictures""Can't you take a picture of the dog or dad""Seriously Mom ... I'm going to fall asleep"
"Do not say CHEESE again""What did you say about my belly""I'm outta here"

Sweet Summertime.

Summer is flying by. MG loves the water and LOVES to be outside. She had her first cold this week... poor girl we kept saying, "She hasn't been sick at all." I think we jinxed her. She is feeling better and getting ready for her first concert tomorrow with all the girls and a couple boys. Laurie Berkner is here in town and we have tickets for the 2nd row!! We listened to her over and over again while we were in Russia. Now she usually stays in the car but for the past few weeks we've been singing and dancing every night to get ready for the concert. (Stop laughing) Seriously I know every word to every song. Hopefully MG likes it!

Sweet Cousins.

Girl's Day Out.

Ready for girl's day! What a cutie pie...just love her to pieces.

5 Month Baby Boy Available in Pakistan

I've had many people ask me about our adoption and International Adoption in general so I wanted to pass along this information in case anyone is interested.

There is a beautiful baby boy available in Pakistan. For paper ready families the paperwork to switch to Pakistan is minimal. Fees are 1/2 of Russia, and it is 1 trip of approx. 3 1/2 to 4 weeks total.

If you are interested or know someone who is, call Lorien at Lighthouse Adoptions right away. They should also be getting girl referrals soon.

Lighthouse Adoptions, Inc.
4281 Spring Lake Blvd.Ann Arbor, MI 48108
(734) 418-2493(734) 418-2513 (fax)
Lorien's email:lorien@lighthouseadoptions.net

We did not use Lighthouse for our adoption but can't say enough good things about Lorien. I watched many other adoptive parents use Lighthouse and bring home children from Russia quickly and everyone raves about Lorien. She was so wonderful to us and we weren't even with Lighthouse.

And no I am not working for Lighthouse just want to help other families that are interested in adopting and help children find a home.

Peek-a-boo.

Home 5 Months.

Having fun in the high chair. What a doll she is. We are so lucky.

French Festival "Firsts"

First fireworks - First parade - First weekend in the Cape - First night away from us at Grammy's (almost two but we couldn't part with her a second night) - First night at the Lodge - First time meeting so many people that have been waiting to meet her.
Great Weekend.

Who will adopt the orphans?

The link below is to an article that explains what is going on in Russia and why adoptions are taking longer. It really sums up all the factors in one article. I wish this article was out before as it would have helped explain when people asked why our adoption was taking so long.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/advertisers/russia/articles/society/20090624/who_will_adopt_the_orphans.html

Happy 4th of July!

We did an early morning photo shoot so that I can capture MG in all her American gear. There will be alot of pictures today. Such a big holiday for us and it takes us back to February when we landed at JFK and she officially became an American citizen. Also as many of you know she is named after my grandmother (Grace) and grandfather/dad (Victor). My grandfather passed away on July 4th about 29 years ago ... so today we will call her Little Vik. We usually save it for when she is tooting and burping ... hopefully we can skip that.

Strawberry Fields.

I usually don't post pictures of other people's children but this was so cute I couldn't resist. Hope you don't mind J. Notice MG's belly is this picture, she is getting so big so fast. She has a doctor appt. on Tuesday so we'll see how much weight she has gained. My back is telling me about 4 pounds.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

4 Months Home and 21 Months Old!

Home 2 weeksHome 4 months

It's hard to believe she has been home for 4 months. She has changed so much. She was so little and pale it makes me want to jump on a plane and adopt 10 more. If only it were that easy.

She is growing so fast, catching up to where she should be in size. I swear her hair looks longer every time she wakes up from a nap ... and she has baby pudge that is so stinking cute. She continues to do well .... still babbling, no words yet. She will start speech therapy next week to help her progress. We know that between the language and the palate surgery it is going to take some time and work. The attachment has gone very well and attached to Dan or me is usually where you will find her. No complaints from us ... 4 months ago she would go to any stranger on the street. Now she knows who her mom and dad are. Only three more months until her birthday! I don't want her to get any older as I hate that we missed her first year and half but I can't wait for her to have a real birthday. Fun!

Yesterday she joined Dan and his class for the Olympics. Their country was Russia so it seemed appropriate that our little Russian doll be there with him.

Happy Birthday to Kylie. We hope you enjoy your day!

Russian Dolls

Bathing Cutie

The Grace Face

Tickle.Tickle.

So ticklish ... and finally a little baby pudge.

Hole-In-One.

On Cloud 9.