Happy Mother's Day

Be sure to pause the blog music before you hit play to view!

Pat created this Mother's Day card for Audrey to send to me! It made me cry!

This free digital greeting card created with Smilebox

I hope that all of you have a Happy Mother's Day as I will have!

Accotink Academy Preschool Spring Recital

What a beautiful day we had for Audrey’s preschool recital! She was so excited to sing and dance…..and to be with her friends!

We arrived early and met up with my friend Karla. Her daughter Isabelle is in Audrey’s class. The girls took photos together and had their photo taken professionally as well. I can’t wait to see that! Because Karla volunteered to set up the recital she was able to secure seating for a few of us. We had great seats close to the stage in the center. Thanks for saving me a seat Karla!!

Our friend Mary and her daughter arrived to see Audrey perform. Audrey was so happy knowing that they would be there. Thank you for coming and sharing in Audrey’s day!

There were different Accotink classes performing at the recital – 3 year olds, 4 year olds, Jr. Kindergarten and the Kindergarten classes.

18 Song & dance routines were performed. Audrey participated in singing:

Waving Time

There’s No Place Like America

You’re A Grand Old Flag (she was waving her little American flag)

Come on Everybody

Following the Leader (she danced to this song)

Sing

Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye

It was impressive to hear two songs sung in Spanish:

“Que llueva!” – It’s Raining

“Los Pollitos Dicen” – The Baby Chicks Sing

The Kindergarten class performed a song playing recorders too!

I’m disappointed that my camera didn’t take very good photos! It was difficult. My hope is that other parents will share photos with Audrey in them!

Here are the photos I do have from Mary and the best of what I took.

Mostly About Audrey!!

I hope that one day we can meet Ria, her husband Eric and little Lucy. Lucy was in the babyhouse with Audrey. They were good friends. I shared with Ria the one and only photo I had of Audrey (group photo below) before we met her. I took this picture of the photo that was on the babyhouse wall. Lucy, Audrey and their friend Gelman are all in there.

It was Ria who translated and discovered what the banner in the photo says. It says, “May There Always Be Sunshine.” It comes from a Soviet Russian song written for children.

The poetic English translation of the song goes like this:

The sky’s bright blue.

The sun is up high –

This is the little boy’s picture

He drew it for you

And then wrote there for you.

Just to make clear what he drew.

Chorus:

May there always be sunshine,

May there always be blue skies,

May there always be my mama,

May there always be me!

Apparently Ria said that she has a early video of Lucy trying to sing a song. She has discovered that “this” was the song!

Here is a YouTube version of the song –

*Pause the volume of the music on our blog first in order to hear this video.

While watching this video Audrey looked confused. She didn’t understand what they were saying. She seemed to like it and after awhile she began humming the tune. Apparently this was performed at the babyhouse by the older children.

Thanks for sharing all the info Ria!!

Forgotten Photos

These photos were taken of Audrey and other children before we met her. A translator, Makhabbat, working with a different adoption agency sent us these photos while we were still in Kaz. They’ve been in a separate folder and I found them today!

Sweet Audrey

The Little Things

Audrey remembered that green is my favorite color when she made me a picture with lots of green in it.

Dislikes: Chocolate Pudding

Likes: Yoplait® Whips® Chocolate Mousse Style yogurt.

Words by Audrey

“i is pronounced like a short i”

“i” bit– Little Bit “I don’t love you a “i bit” I love you a lot Mama!”

Driving on Hilly Roads

Audrey calls hills “slides.” She likes to go “Weeeee” when we go down and when we go up!

Waking Up

Audrey will yell at me from her room. “Mama, its wake up time. It’s light outside. Wake up Mama!”

Car Talk

Dudes (or People), Get peddle to metal! Go faster!

Saying Yes! Sometimes she says…..

Aye aye Captain Mama

Yes, your majesty (it’s been awhile but she’s saying it again)

No thanks to Wubbzy...Audrey sometimes sounds like him!

Okay sometimes I do too :)

Mama, I want to take off my shirty shirt shirt.

I'm going to wash my hanny hand hands.

Oh my goshy gosh.

Coolly cool.

Can I have a snacky snack?

Holly Hobbie Girl

Children’s Book

This book is geared for children in the 7 and older age range. We have it and plan to share it with Audrey when she’s a little older. It has beautiful illustrations and what they call 12 enchanting tales from across Central Asia. The stories tell myths and folklore from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.

TALES TOLD IN TENTS: STORIES FROM CENTRAL ASIA

By Sally Pomme Clayton

House Update

Pat recently had a look at the house to see what’s going on. These are just a few of the photos Pat took on April 10^th.

I’m excited about some of the choices that I made for the office/craft room! The furniture in the room is a mixture of pieces made by Pat and 1920’s vintage pieces refinished by him. I have a stamping desk with paper holder, bookshelf, cubby unit and two 1920’s Keystone kitchen cabinets! I love the calming blue that will be on the walls mixed with furniture that is black and cream!

Office/Craft Room

Room Color: Nordic Blue by Valspar

Curtains: Waverly Damask in Black & Cream

AUDREY’S Room

Accent Wall Color: Oh So Pink by Valspar

Room Color: Meadow Wind by Valspar

Curtains: Floral Damask in Green & White

All Over Interior Wall Color: Natural by Valspar

Accent Wall in Kitchen: Wicker by Eddie Bauer

Happy Easter

This year Audrey was very shy and didn’t want to sit on the Easter Bunny’s lap. Mama had to be nearby. It took eight different takes just to get this photo! She kept getting distracted by children waiting in line. Finally when I said it was time to go....Audrey said she wanted to take one more picture. What you see is the result!! Whew!! After she received her lollipop she was quite happy. She told me that she wanted to go back to see the Easter Bunny to give him a hug. So…..we did. She immediately walked into the bunny’s arms for a hug. Her shyness was gone.

I think what I'll do next year is let her see the Easter Bunny one day and then come back the next day for a photo. That's what we did with Santa and it helped. Of course next year Audrey will be 5 and who knows what her reaction will be.

Easter 2010


I remember when I was a little girl on our trip to Disneyland. I was afraid to hug Mickey Mouse. I really wanted to. When I finally got enough nerve to do it, it was time to go home and I cried because I never got to go back and hug Mickey. I want Audrey to remember that she got her hug!!

Here is Audrey with the Easter Bunny 2009…..what a difference a year makes! Our little girl is growing.

Easter 2009


Easter Photos

Cousin Nancy from Wisconsin sent Audrey adorable bunnies, chocolate eggs and a sweet Precious Moments magnet. I waited a little while after egg and basket hunting to draw out the enjoyment of the day. In one of the photos in the Slideshow above Audrey is sending you a big kiss Nancy!! She sends a big thank you too!!! You made her day even more special.

Chocolate
I have been giving Audrey “a little” chocolate here and there. I can’t give her too much though or she develops a pretty bad reaction. She is quite sensitive to many things.

Showing Off New Princess Hairclip

Grandpa Shirley, Aunt Kathy & Cousin Zach sent Audrey a fun package for her birthday. She received a few Princess hair accessories (like shown below), Princess brushes, giant puzzle and board Game (Goodnight Moon). She was in Heaven. Thank you!!!

Back From San Diego!!

Wow……we did not want to come back to Virginia! We really had a great time and the weather was wonderful. It was great to see Pat too.

Pat took me to see the model homes and to meet the wonderful ladies in the office. Out of the three models I felt that he chose the best house to suit us. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief because I liked it. I didn’t have a doubt as I trust Pat completely. He felt good that I liked the house as well. All of the models were beautiful though.

Our home is really much more spacious than the photos can ever show. The ceilings are high as well. I can’t say enough about the light that comes through. Our home will not be dark by any means!! I can’t believe how much storage space we’ll have. Even the coat closet downstairs is like a mini room! In addition to all the cabinets in the kitchen we’ll have 17 drawers!!! We will put all our storage to good use there is no doubt.

We measured windows in our home. None of the windows are standard size so we ordered a few window treatments that we will need immediately through our Interior Specialist, Julie.

The exciting part about working with Julie was choosing what we’d like to do with our floors. Ultimately we decided to tile most of the first floor with 18” x 18” tiles in a nice warm and neutral shade. The living room and family room will have neutral colored carpet – not too light nor too dark. We thought it best to put vinyl flooring in the laundry room.

We also measured the space where the refrigerator will go. We plan on buying a Samsung French Door top with Freezer bottom. It was hard to find one without the ice dispenser on the door. We’ve read (and friends have told us) that they break easily so why spend the extra money on a fridge with that feature?

We chose our new LG washer and dryer too!

As far as paint colors go…..well we took a trip to Lowes and I fell in love with some of their color choices. We took all of our paint chips with us to our new home and had a blast deciding together what colors we would like. The laundry room and the office/craft room will still be blue. Audrey’s room will be pink and green. We found four different warm neutral shades for the rest of the house….now we have to choose which one! About Audrey’s bathroom and the powder room….still loving the Home Depot color.

MEXICAN FOOD
I did get my Mexican food one evening!! We had dinner with my Aunt Bernie at a favorite place she likes to go to. She took to Audrey and Audrey took to her. It wasn’t until later that I realized we didn’t have our camera to take photos of our time together. There will be plenty of that after our move.

The photos here are from my camera. Pat took many more and I haven’t seen them yet. So this is it for now.

NEW PRESCHOOL
Pat took me to a few preschools that he had already visited as well as a few others. We narrowed it down to two schools. Boy, it was tough. It really was. Both preschools would offer a great deal to Audrey. So by process of elimination…..we chose to go with one that cost less. We are happy with our decision. She will be attending El Camino Preschool. We will enroll her in their summer program. She’ll have fun, meet new friends AND get her foot in the door for fall enrollment!

WORDS BY AUDREY
U-loo-corn – Unicorn

Prize - Surprise

He looks like a puppy! – She loudly said about the man who had his airline ticket stub in his mouth while he put his luggage overhead.

Mama…look at that man with all the tattoos! – While she pointed to a guy on the airplane.

Do you love me Mama (as she says with a smile)? - I hear this all the time. She loves to hear how much we love her!

Look Mama there’s a bridge with a tunnel under it! Surprised me how much she knows!

Mama, I want to eat octopus legs. But I don’t want real ones just fake ones! She doesn't like seafood of any kind....she loves to be silly!

Mama, here is a picture of your Mama, Grandma Shirley. I made her with short hair because she has short hair. She went by the photo of my mom on our fridge. Blew me away!

Mama, I want more presents from Santa. I told her she has a long wait!

The last things we talk about before Audrey goes to bed are usually the first thing she wants to talk about in the morning.

AUDREY SINGS…..pretty darn cute!
Sing by The Carpenters

Country Roads by John Denver

Toot Toot Tootsie by Al Jolson

BIRCH AQUARIUM – San Diego, CA
We took one day to do something special with Audrey. We were going to go to SeaWorld but took my Aunt Bernie’s advice about going to the aquarium. It ended up being a perfect day!

We’ve never seen Audrey so excited. She would constantly run to a window ahead of us and tell us loudly to “Come over here!” She didn’t want us to go ahead of her because she wanted to show us the fish.

She enjoyed the tide pool and probably would have loved to stay there awhile longer. We will certainly have to go back.

One funny moment…..Audrey wasn’t paying attention to where we were because there was so much to look at. I was right behind her of course. At one point she was calling out to Papa to look at something. I knew she thought the man next to her was Papa (Pat was in a different location). I told her a few times, “Audrey that’s not Papa.” Finally she looked up and was surprised…..it really wasn’t Papa! The man took it all in stride and chuckled (as did we & the man’s wife).

BEACH BABE
Audrey will have summer fun with water at her preschool…..but also at the beach. We’re really not far (7 miles from the ocean). Here is Audrey’s upcoming beach wardrobe!!

OLD FRIEND……
On Audrey’s birthday I received a message from a woman (Ria) who found our blog almost by accident. She recognized the babyhouse and she recognized Audrey! It turns out that her daughter (Lucy) was one of Audrey’s best friends at the babyhouse!!! There was another friend. A boy named Gelman. Ria is in contact with Gelman’s family too. We had no idea that Audrey had special friends at the babyhouse until now. One evening Ria and I spoke for 4 ½ hours on the phone!! I felt a great connection with her. I could go on and on.

Here is a photo that Ria sent to me.

Lucy is wearing a blue kerchief, Audrey is wearing a pink hat and Gelman is wearing navy.

Sweet little Lucy sent Audrey a card and colored a picture for her!! Audrey loved it! Thanks again Lucy & Ria!!

ALEX’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
Audrey’s little friend Alex turned 3. Alex had his party at a place called “Jump Works.” It is basically a very large room filled with those large inflatable bounce units to bounce in, bounce on and slide down. I looked at little Alex and Audrey making a run to the largest inflatable unit (Dragon’s Tower)…..a giant slide. They had no fear….I did though. Eventually my friend Mary Ann (Alex’s mom) and I decided that if the kids can do so could we. We did it together. My throat hurt from screaming the rest of the day! I went back for more. Audrey had a blast!!!

AUDREY’S OFFICIAL 4TH BIRTHDAY PHOTO FUN