Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Pumpkin Seeds
My absolute favorite thing about Pumpkins, is roasted pumpkin seeds. I kind of actually like carving the pumpkin, too. It's much harder than my Daddy made it look but it's still just as fun!
Pumpkin "Patch"
Like most 2-year-olds, Eliana has been fascinated with trains lately. I found a train in a nearby town that takes a trip to a Pumpkin Patch. The Pumpkin Patch was really just a patch of grass along the side of the train tracks (I even found a "produce" sticker on the side of one of the pumpkins--HaHa.). It was terribly, terribly hot but the girls had a blast so it was all worth it!!
Even with all the farm animals for petting, my girls wanted to pet the dogs. They even asked for dog balloon animals. Wonder where they got their love for dogs.
Even with all the farm animals for petting, my girls wanted to pet the dogs. They even asked for dog balloon animals. Wonder where they got their love for dogs.
My Heart
It's right there on those steps.
(Don't worry, there's plenty more room left in there...AHEM---MATT!)
Trip To Colorado
My favorite sister and her family moved to Colorado this summer. While it's sad that she's not in PA anymore, it's so awesome that we get to go visit such a beautiful state. The girls and I landed in Denver during a HUGE snowstorm. Sasha was in awe of all the snow and even started "playing" with the dirty snow that had fallen off cars in the parking lot. Because of the weather, it took us over 3 hours to get to Kerri's house and much to the girl's dismay, her town only got about 2 inches of snow. They still found plenty to make snowballs.
The weather was cold when we first got there but it warmed up to typical fall weather, a much welcome change from the heat and humidity that will not leave Florida!
And let me tell you how cute the girls were in their Colorado Cowgirl costumes!
The boys, well...well, they are boys and I think they are cute, no matter what!
More Pictures Here!
Skycoaster in Colorado
Jakob talked Kerri and I into doing it and I'm so glad he did. It was awesome. We were 1300 feet in the air and flew out over a gorge! It was beautiful. I couldn't feel my legs but I did not throw up! Enjoy!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
I can't believe it.
I started going through Sasha's old clothes. Eliana is now wearing the same size that Sasha was wearing when we brought her home. In fact, I should have gone through the stash earlier because a lot of the clothes are already too small for Eliana! It's awesome pulling out some of my favorites and knowing they will be worn again. It's also pretty sad because Sasha is growing up way too fast.
Here's my big girl modeling one of her old shirts.
Here's my big girl modeling one of her old shirts.
Daddy's Birthday
We had to celebrate Daddy's birthday a few days early because he was out of town for the big day. He got a pair of Grumpy flannel pjs and a key chain with a picture of his 3 pretty girls on it!
Waking up is hard to do!
Sometimes it's hard to get out of bed when it's raining. It's always hard to get out of bed when it's cold outside. Waking up next to this sweet puppy makes it the hardest to get out of bed!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Who Knew?
The girls did this all themselves. Each girl had a "tent" and their own DS in the tent. I had about 15 minutes of total quiet while they played separately, with NO FIGHTING!!
Lucky kid!
I took a peek at Eliana through the review mirror the other day as I was driving. I was overwhelmed with how much she looked like her birthmother at that moment. It actually brought tears to my eyes and not tears of sadness, either. I am so proud that she looks like a woman who is beautiful both inside and out!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Drag Queen Cinderella
Who knew? I certainly didn't or I would have talked Eliana into a different character! Yikes!
So that's how it works.
Sasha's school is participating in Jump Rope for Heart. Sasha brought an envelope home to collect money and she was showing the pictures of the children to Eliana, "Ellie, you see these three children. They have sick hearts. So if I raise money, I might get a toy".
Well.....ok.
We had a talk and she even allowed me to check the box indicating they should save their money, that we didn't need the gifts.
Well.....ok.
We had a talk and she even allowed me to check the box indicating they should save their money, that we didn't need the gifts.
Buddy Walk
Yesterday, the girls and I had the opportunity to participate in the National Down Syndrome Association's Buddy Walk. We walked with Emerson's Entourage and had a great time! I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to do this because it really was a learning experience for Sasha. I tried to explain Down Syndrome the best I could to a 7-year-old. Sasha had a lot of questions after the walk and after seeing all the children with Down Syndrome but I'm so proud of the questions she asked. It was definitely a learning experience for all of us. Thank you, Emerson for touching our lives!
Sasha racing a clown and in true Sasha fashion, she ran into him, he tripped and she won.
Cooking with Aunt Laura
We had a very special visit from Aunt Laura who has become quite an amazing vegan chef. On the first night, she gave up some control in her kitchen and allowed the girls to help her make sushi! It was DELISH!!!
Where did my baby go?
I just sold Eliana's high chair. I cried. Eliana cried too, but not for the same reason. 
That's My Girl!
When Sasha puts her mind to it and really focuses, she rocks it! They all came home in the same week!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sharing
I was asked to speak about our adoptions on an Adoption Panel at a local RESOLVE meeting.
In order to organize myself, I had to type up our story but I ended up not reading it word for word when I spoke. Just thought I'd share!
Hi. My name is Kristi K. and I haven’t peed on a stick in 5 years!
I don’t know why but I always had a feeling I would have trouble getting pregnant. After I strong-armed…I mean decided with my husband that it was time to start a family, we talked about my fears. We both knew right from the beginning that we were open to adoption. In fact, I had often thought about adopting an older child after our biological children were older. I was a teacher and had fallen in love with so many of my students and I knew that I would have no problem loving a child that wasn’t biologically mine.
I will spare you each and every detail of the infertility testing because you don’t need to hear it. After only a year of trying to conceive, we ended up in Dr. Trolice’s office where he confirmed my intuition that it would be hard for me to get pregnant. He was also convinced that he would get me pregnant and I didn’t doubt him. Then we discussed our options. We made a treatment choice and I walked out with a handful of prescriptions and a schedule for about….. one billion future visits.
It was so unfair. I knew I always wanted kids. I was a great Aunt and a fabulous teacher (if I do say so myself) so why should I be made to go through this hell to be a mommy?
After grieving and opening myself up to a few good friends about our treatment options as well as our thoughts on adoption, one of them said, “It really sounds like you are trying to talk yourself out of this. I think you really want to adopt.”
I really hate when other people are right! I did want to a mommy more than I wanted to become pregnant.
My husband and I had deep discussions that night and we decided to adopt from Russia. We never even considered domestic adoption at that time. We had heard all the horror stories (we didn’t know at the time they were overblown or not true) and we weren’t interested in that drama.
My obsession moved from trying to get pregnant to researching Russian adoption. We chose Russia because we had heard it would be relatively quick and painless. HA! HA! I had a student in my class that year who had been adopted from Russia the year before and she and her sister were amazing children. We also wanted Caucasian children and that was our best chance at that time. We decided that we would adopt 2 older children, up to age 8, preferably a sibling set.
After quickly choosing an agency, we were ready to get started. When we got the list of documents we needed to complete for our dossier, my type A personality went into overdrive and I turned into a NUT. I drove my husband crazy. I drove my friends and family crazy. I even drove myself crazy! I think I wrote our name and address a least 100 times! Just as I felt like we were getting to the finish line, I would get another email with yet another form to fill out my name and address stating one thing or another. Kristine K., XX, FL, Yes I am healthy…signature. Kristine K., XX, FL, We have a home…signature. Kristine K., XX, FL, I wear a size 7 shoe…signature.
Each of these documents then had to be notarized with precise wording, and then apostilled in Tallahassee. If just one word was incorrect in the notarization, they wouldn’t apostil it and you would have to have it redone.
We were lucky because our agency was with us every step of the way. In fact, before we even turned in our paperwork, they had an unofficial referral for us WITH pictures. I opened the email file and saw 2 beautiful, tiny children. Little Igor was 4 years old at the time and Eugenia was 7 years old. They even sent us a video of the children and we were instantly smitten.
And then, we got stuck. We got stuck in Russia’s adoption law changes. Our agency was no longer accredited in Russia but was still able to process independent adoptions. Then, our agency was no longer able to process independent adoptions in the region where Igor and Eugenia lived.
Next week came. Next month came. 6 more weeks, 10 more weeks, and then months went by and still nothing. It was breaking me down. It was so much harder than that stupid negative pregnancy test because I knew where my children were. I knew what they looked like. I even knew the sound of their voices. I thought about them all the time. Their time was 12 hours ahead us so I imagined them eating breakfast as I was settling down for the night. When I woke up in the morning, I mentally tucked them in to bed but I couldn’t hold them and my heart was breaking.
In September, 6 months after we first saw pictures of Igor and Eugenia, the agency called one day.
“Are you sitting down?” she said. INHALE “No, it’s not what you think.” EXHALE
They had a 3-year-old Russian girl in South Florida who was available for adoption. She had been adopted in Russia by another couple through our same agency. The couple was having some personal problems and was no longer able to parent her. Were we interested?
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
They immediately emailed us a picture of a teeny little blonde girl playing with a puppy. We went to visit her that weekend. We loved her right away but we also loved Igor and Eugenia. What in the world were we going to do? We knew we weren’t prepared to adopt a 3 year old and then possibly just a few months later bring home a 4 and 7 year old, all needing lots and lots of love, possible therapy and medical treatment.
Since we were struggling with our decision, our wonderful agency offered to make a 3 way call to Igor and Eugenia’s orphanage so we could ask questions about them. That call lasted all of 3 minutes, just long enough for the director to tell us that the children had been moved to a boarding school and were no longer available for adoption. “Don’t worry,” she said, “they are smart children and will do fine in their lives even without a family.”
Just like that, they were gone. We knew it was fate stepping in to tell us that Sasha was meant to be our baby but it didn’t stop the pain of losing Igor and Eugenia.
We cried so hard for those children we thought would be ours. It’s been 4 years since we adopted Sasha and I still think about them often. I even carry their picture in my wallet. The best way for me to not cry over them is to think of them as our guardian angels. Had we not waited so long for them, Sasha would never have come into our life.
We are so lucky because she is such an amazing child. She’s so funny and loving. She adjusted to our home so quickly and she bonded to us right away. It really does feel like she’s been with us forever.
Because she adapted so well and so quickly, we didn’t wait long to start the process for our next adoption. After the heartache of losing Igor and Eugenia, we knew for sure we weren’t going to go through Russia again. We chose domestic adoption assuming we could deal with any of the drama that may be sent our way.
We went to 2 different informational sessions with Orlando agencies and chose who we would work with. I highly recommend informational sessions. They answered so many of our questions and fears and we felt even more comfortable continuing with a domestic adoption.
The paperwork was super easy after what he had done for our Russian adoption. The hardest part of our domestic adoption was putting together our profile. I felt like if I just chose one wrong word, if I put an ‘a’ instead of a ‘the’ or if I wrote one page too many or one page too little, it would keep us from being chosen.
I guess I did something right, because our profile went active in mid-August and in mid-October we were chosen by the first birthmother who looked at it! Our baby girl was due at the end of December.
We were so lucky because we got to meet Eliana’s birthmother and some of her family before she was born. Her birthmother even gave us her ultrasound pictures the first afternoon we met.
During the wait, we had a lot of confidence in Eliana’s birthmother but there was still that teeny little bit of doubt in my mind that she may decide to parent. I told myself that it would be ok if she did because she really was a wonderful woman.
We weren’t there for Eliana’s birth but we spent her 2nd day in the hospital with her birthmother and the birthmother’s mother. At the risk of sounding corny, these moments will always be in my mind as some of the most beautiful times in my life.
The following day, our agency called in the morning and told us to be at the hospital around noon. We would wait in the lobby until the Termination of Parental Rights papers were signed. I was like an expectant father as I paced the waiting the room.
We waited about an hour in the waiting room and then I FINALLY saw the social worker walk out of the elevator! We signed a few papers and then went upstairs to bring home our 2nd daughter. Her birthmother was still there and her mother and stepfather were with her. She asked to feed Eliana one more time and of course, we were fine with that. “Is that all you want?” I wanted to ask. “Can I give you the moon?”
I think the hardest thing I have ever done in my life is when Eliana’s birthmother handed her baby to me. On one hand, I was filled with joy because I was now the mommy to two beautiful daughters. On the other hand, I was fighting overwhelming guilt because it felt like I was taking a baby from someone I truly admired and genuinely liked. It was truly a bittersweet moment.
We have a semi-open adoption. We still keep in frequent contact with Ellie’s birthmother sending email and pictures about once a month. We both send gifts during the holidays. I don’t see us ever losing contact.
Adoption isn’t for the faint of heart but neither is infertility! Despite all the ups and downs, I wouldn’t take back one tear, one pregnancy test, one pill. I wouldn’t take back one phone call that ended in tears, not one piece of all that paperwork, not even one bottle of wine! I wouldn’t take back a thing because I would never have my 2 girls. Some people go through the pain of labor. We went through the pain of adoption. The end result is priceless. In either instance, the end result is priceless.
Now, someone tell my husband that it’s time to do it again!
In order to organize myself, I had to type up our story but I ended up not reading it word for word when I spoke. Just thought I'd share!
Hi. My name is Kristi K. and I haven’t peed on a stick in 5 years!
I don’t know why but I always had a feeling I would have trouble getting pregnant. After I strong-armed…I mean decided with my husband that it was time to start a family, we talked about my fears. We both knew right from the beginning that we were open to adoption. In fact, I had often thought about adopting an older child after our biological children were older. I was a teacher and had fallen in love with so many of my students and I knew that I would have no problem loving a child that wasn’t biologically mine.
I will spare you each and every detail of the infertility testing because you don’t need to hear it. After only a year of trying to conceive, we ended up in Dr. Trolice’s office where he confirmed my intuition that it would be hard for me to get pregnant. He was also convinced that he would get me pregnant and I didn’t doubt him. Then we discussed our options. We made a treatment choice and I walked out with a handful of prescriptions and a schedule for about….. one billion future visits.
It was so unfair. I knew I always wanted kids. I was a great Aunt and a fabulous teacher (if I do say so myself) so why should I be made to go through this hell to be a mommy?
After grieving and opening myself up to a few good friends about our treatment options as well as our thoughts on adoption, one of them said, “It really sounds like you are trying to talk yourself out of this. I think you really want to adopt.”
I really hate when other people are right! I did want to a mommy more than I wanted to become pregnant.
My husband and I had deep discussions that night and we decided to adopt from Russia. We never even considered domestic adoption at that time. We had heard all the horror stories (we didn’t know at the time they were overblown or not true) and we weren’t interested in that drama.
My obsession moved from trying to get pregnant to researching Russian adoption. We chose Russia because we had heard it would be relatively quick and painless. HA! HA! I had a student in my class that year who had been adopted from Russia the year before and she and her sister were amazing children. We also wanted Caucasian children and that was our best chance at that time. We decided that we would adopt 2 older children, up to age 8, preferably a sibling set.
After quickly choosing an agency, we were ready to get started. When we got the list of documents we needed to complete for our dossier, my type A personality went into overdrive and I turned into a NUT. I drove my husband crazy. I drove my friends and family crazy. I even drove myself crazy! I think I wrote our name and address a least 100 times! Just as I felt like we were getting to the finish line, I would get another email with yet another form to fill out my name and address stating one thing or another. Kristine K., XX, FL, Yes I am healthy…signature. Kristine K., XX, FL, We have a home…signature. Kristine K., XX, FL, I wear a size 7 shoe…signature.
Each of these documents then had to be notarized with precise wording, and then apostilled in Tallahassee. If just one word was incorrect in the notarization, they wouldn’t apostil it and you would have to have it redone.
We were lucky because our agency was with us every step of the way. In fact, before we even turned in our paperwork, they had an unofficial referral for us WITH pictures. I opened the email file and saw 2 beautiful, tiny children. Little Igor was 4 years old at the time and Eugenia was 7 years old. They even sent us a video of the children and we were instantly smitten.
And then, we got stuck. We got stuck in Russia’s adoption law changes. Our agency was no longer accredited in Russia but was still able to process independent adoptions. Then, our agency was no longer able to process independent adoptions in the region where Igor and Eugenia lived.
Next week came. Next month came. 6 more weeks, 10 more weeks, and then months went by and still nothing. It was breaking me down. It was so much harder than that stupid negative pregnancy test because I knew where my children were. I knew what they looked like. I even knew the sound of their voices. I thought about them all the time. Their time was 12 hours ahead us so I imagined them eating breakfast as I was settling down for the night. When I woke up in the morning, I mentally tucked them in to bed but I couldn’t hold them and my heart was breaking.
In September, 6 months after we first saw pictures of Igor and Eugenia, the agency called one day.
“Are you sitting down?” she said. INHALE “No, it’s not what you think.” EXHALE
They had a 3-year-old Russian girl in South Florida who was available for adoption. She had been adopted in Russia by another couple through our same agency. The couple was having some personal problems and was no longer able to parent her. Were we interested?
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
They immediately emailed us a picture of a teeny little blonde girl playing with a puppy. We went to visit her that weekend. We loved her right away but we also loved Igor and Eugenia. What in the world were we going to do? We knew we weren’t prepared to adopt a 3 year old and then possibly just a few months later bring home a 4 and 7 year old, all needing lots and lots of love, possible therapy and medical treatment.
Since we were struggling with our decision, our wonderful agency offered to make a 3 way call to Igor and Eugenia’s orphanage so we could ask questions about them. That call lasted all of 3 minutes, just long enough for the director to tell us that the children had been moved to a boarding school and were no longer available for adoption. “Don’t worry,” she said, “they are smart children and will do fine in their lives even without a family.”
Just like that, they were gone. We knew it was fate stepping in to tell us that Sasha was meant to be our baby but it didn’t stop the pain of losing Igor and Eugenia.
We cried so hard for those children we thought would be ours. It’s been 4 years since we adopted Sasha and I still think about them often. I even carry their picture in my wallet. The best way for me to not cry over them is to think of them as our guardian angels. Had we not waited so long for them, Sasha would never have come into our life.
We are so lucky because she is such an amazing child. She’s so funny and loving. She adjusted to our home so quickly and she bonded to us right away. It really does feel like she’s been with us forever.
Because she adapted so well and so quickly, we didn’t wait long to start the process for our next adoption. After the heartache of losing Igor and Eugenia, we knew for sure we weren’t going to go through Russia again. We chose domestic adoption assuming we could deal with any of the drama that may be sent our way.
We went to 2 different informational sessions with Orlando agencies and chose who we would work with. I highly recommend informational sessions. They answered so many of our questions and fears and we felt even more comfortable continuing with a domestic adoption.
The paperwork was super easy after what he had done for our Russian adoption. The hardest part of our domestic adoption was putting together our profile. I felt like if I just chose one wrong word, if I put an ‘a’ instead of a ‘the’ or if I wrote one page too many or one page too little, it would keep us from being chosen.
I guess I did something right, because our profile went active in mid-August and in mid-October we were chosen by the first birthmother who looked at it! Our baby girl was due at the end of December.
We were so lucky because we got to meet Eliana’s birthmother and some of her family before she was born. Her birthmother even gave us her ultrasound pictures the first afternoon we met.
During the wait, we had a lot of confidence in Eliana’s birthmother but there was still that teeny little bit of doubt in my mind that she may decide to parent. I told myself that it would be ok if she did because she really was a wonderful woman.
We weren’t there for Eliana’s birth but we spent her 2nd day in the hospital with her birthmother and the birthmother’s mother. At the risk of sounding corny, these moments will always be in my mind as some of the most beautiful times in my life.
The following day, our agency called in the morning and told us to be at the hospital around noon. We would wait in the lobby until the Termination of Parental Rights papers were signed. I was like an expectant father as I paced the waiting the room.
We waited about an hour in the waiting room and then I FINALLY saw the social worker walk out of the elevator! We signed a few papers and then went upstairs to bring home our 2nd daughter. Her birthmother was still there and her mother and stepfather were with her. She asked to feed Eliana one more time and of course, we were fine with that. “Is that all you want?” I wanted to ask. “Can I give you the moon?”
I think the hardest thing I have ever done in my life is when Eliana’s birthmother handed her baby to me. On one hand, I was filled with joy because I was now the mommy to two beautiful daughters. On the other hand, I was fighting overwhelming guilt because it felt like I was taking a baby from someone I truly admired and genuinely liked. It was truly a bittersweet moment.
We have a semi-open adoption. We still keep in frequent contact with Ellie’s birthmother sending email and pictures about once a month. We both send gifts during the holidays. I don’t see us ever losing contact.
Adoption isn’t for the faint of heart but neither is infertility! Despite all the ups and downs, I wouldn’t take back one tear, one pregnancy test, one pill. I wouldn’t take back one phone call that ended in tears, not one piece of all that paperwork, not even one bottle of wine! I wouldn’t take back a thing because I would never have my 2 girls. Some people go through the pain of labor. We went through the pain of adoption. The end result is priceless. In either instance, the end result is priceless.
Now, someone tell my husband that it’s time to do it again!
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Photo Shoot
Eliana and Sasha were modeling for each other. I can't post any of the pictures taken by Sasha because Elilana was in her Birthday Suit. I do, however LOVE this picture of Sasha. It's soooooo her! 
Whole Foods
It could be one of my most favorite places! I actually DON'T MIND grocery shopping at that store. Eliana LOVES that they have wee grocery carts just for her, however I do have to check the cart before we check out. She has a tendency to pick things off the shelf and add them to her cart. On this trip, she wanted Peppermint oil and asian noodles.
Why I do Laundry
So the boys have someplace soft to sleep. You know, because we don't have SEVEN dog beds in our house for them. 
If I were a really good dog mommy, I would buy this for them. They would be the most relaxed dogs in town.
If I were a really good dog mommy, I would buy this for them. They would be the most relaxed dogs in town.
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