So I am celebrating Blake’s first argument with me. At least that is what I think it was. Here is how it went down….
Blake: points to a piece of candy on the counter and says “me?”
Me: “No, you don’t need that piece of candy right now.”
Blake: “Da” – which is yes in Russian
Me: “No”
Blake: “Just one”
Me: “No”
Blake: “Why”
Me: “Oh my goodness Blake, I think we are having our first argument!” I scooped him up and hugged him!
Of course some people may think this is weird. Even Justin sort of raised his eyebrows at me while I was boasting about the ‘argument’, but I love to see this progress in Blake’s language skills… even if it is arguing with me over a piece of candy!
I know he understands so much more than he verbalizes so it is fun for us to hear when he surprises us with words he has caught on to. Like tonight when he got to his room he walked over to his dresser and said “Me, jammies” and opened it up and picked some out to put on.
I am a firm believer in celebrating small goals (benchmarks) on the way to bigger goals, and today we are celebrating the first argument and jammies!!!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
More Vacation Fun! – Stop It…
Unfortunately Brady and I are still trying to fight both bronchitis and allergies. Blake and Justin have stayed healthy so far. We are hoping they don’t come down with anything. Madison started coughing yesterday and complained today of her head hurting. I think she may be our next sick one. We wore ourselves down too much during our fun filled vacation!
Blake is learning new words daily. Unfortunately he is overusing a few of his favorites - “No” and “Stop it” and “Ouch”. He doesn’t quite get when to use those appropriately. It doesn’t help that Brady and Madison think it is funny so they will tickle him one time and then ‘pretend’ like they are going to tickle him so that he will say “stop it” and “ouch” (even when they aren’t touching him). I on the other hand am not finding these things funny. And to top it off, Blake thinks this is all a fun game so if Brady and Madison are actually leaving him alone, he will go and get their attention so that they will tickle him again. I will admit that it is cute to see how well they get along and how much they love one another. HOWEVER there are only so many times in one day that you can hear the same 3 phrases and not go a bit crazy.
Here are a few more of our pictures from vacation to St. Louis.
This is at Six Flags. We are big Scooby Doo fans. Of course the kids were quite certain that this Mystery Machine is nothing compared to ours!
We started our visit to the St. Louis zoo with face painting. They each chose their own animal – kitty, zebra, and panda. It was cute for pictures, but as the day went on and the temperature rose I noticed paint smudges on EVERYTHING!
Madison caught a Frisbee that Alex the sea lion ‘threw’ out to the crowd. I love how this picture shows off her toothless grin (you may have to click on the picture to make it bigger). Justin and Brady have nicknamed her boot-tooth because of the shape the whole created by the missing teeth.
Blake is learning new words daily. Unfortunately he is overusing a few of his favorites - “No” and “Stop it” and “Ouch”. He doesn’t quite get when to use those appropriately. It doesn’t help that Brady and Madison think it is funny so they will tickle him one time and then ‘pretend’ like they are going to tickle him so that he will say “stop it” and “ouch” (even when they aren’t touching him). I on the other hand am not finding these things funny. And to top it off, Blake thinks this is all a fun game so if Brady and Madison are actually leaving him alone, he will go and get their attention so that they will tickle him again. I will admit that it is cute to see how well they get along and how much they love one another. HOWEVER there are only so many times in one day that you can hear the same 3 phrases and not go a bit crazy.
Here are a few more of our pictures from vacation to St. Louis.
This is at Six Flags. We are big Scooby Doo fans. Of course the kids were quite certain that this Mystery Machine is nothing compared to ours!
We started our visit to the St. Louis zoo with face painting. They each chose their own animal – kitty, zebra, and panda. It was cute for pictures, but as the day went on and the temperature rose I noticed paint smudges on EVERYTHING!
Madison caught a Frisbee that Alex the sea lion ‘threw’ out to the crowd. I love how this picture shows off her toothless grin (you may have to click on the picture to make it bigger). Justin and Brady have nicknamed her boot-tooth because of the shape the whole created by the missing teeth.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Back from Vacation
This upcoming week is my last full week home (without reporting to the office for work). I am still making a point to enjoy each day that I have at home, but I am getting that pit in the stomach feeling knowing that it is coming to an end. I have said it a hundred times, but being home these past few months has been invaluable!
We had such a great time on vacation. We created a number of memories and had a blast visiting with friends. Here are a few highlights. I’ll try to post more later this week.
The first night in St. Louis we went to the Pitman’s house and had a great dinner. The next day we went to Grant’s Farm together. Here are Max, Madison, Brady, Blake, AJ, and Olivia. We are thankful to have met the Pitman in Russia in December!
When we were driving to St. Louis we received a call from our friends Holly and Jamie. We didn’t realize they were still in the St. Louis area. Holly had read on our blog that we were headed down to St. Louis and decided to give us a call so we could get together. It was great to see them and their adorable daughter Emma. It is always fun to catch up with ‘old’ friends!
Justin’s brother Jake, along with his wife Jackie, and daughter Sydney met us in St. Louis. It was a highlight for the kids to spend part of their vacation with their cousin Sydney. We had a great time at the St. Louis Cardinals game. Here is Blake catching a ride on Uncle Jake’s shoulders. The picture should actually probably be of Aunt Jackie since she was the one that was always picking Blake up when he didn’t want to walk. It didn’t take Blake long to figure that out! :o)
We also had a blast at the Magic House. There are lots of neat things about that place, but Brady and Madison thought I had to post pictures of the electricity ball. So here they are!
As most parents know, the highlight of any vacation isn’t everything you go do - it is swimming in the hotel swimming pool. Here are Brady, Sydney, and Madison jumping in. They would have spent an entire day in the pool if we would have let them.
The last picture to share today is in front of The Fudgery at Union Station. It is fun to watch the ‘show’ they put on while making the fudge and of course enjoying the free sample afterward.
We had such a great time on vacation. We created a number of memories and had a blast visiting with friends. Here are a few highlights. I’ll try to post more later this week.
The first night in St. Louis we went to the Pitman’s house and had a great dinner. The next day we went to Grant’s Farm together. Here are Max, Madison, Brady, Blake, AJ, and Olivia. We are thankful to have met the Pitman in Russia in December!
When we were driving to St. Louis we received a call from our friends Holly and Jamie. We didn’t realize they were still in the St. Louis area. Holly had read on our blog that we were headed down to St. Louis and decided to give us a call so we could get together. It was great to see them and their adorable daughter Emma. It is always fun to catch up with ‘old’ friends!
Justin’s brother Jake, along with his wife Jackie, and daughter Sydney met us in St. Louis. It was a highlight for the kids to spend part of their vacation with their cousin Sydney. We had a great time at the St. Louis Cardinals game. Here is Blake catching a ride on Uncle Jake’s shoulders. The picture should actually probably be of Aunt Jackie since she was the one that was always picking Blake up when he didn’t want to walk. It didn’t take Blake long to figure that out! :o)
We also had a blast at the Magic House. There are lots of neat things about that place, but Brady and Madison thought I had to post pictures of the electricity ball. So here they are!
As most parents know, the highlight of any vacation isn’t everything you go do - it is swimming in the hotel swimming pool. Here are Brady, Sydney, and Madison jumping in. They would have spent an entire day in the pool if we would have let them.
The last picture to share today is in front of The Fudgery at Union Station. It is fun to watch the ‘show’ they put on while making the fudge and of course enjoying the free sample afterward.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Elastic for life?
Ok so my question for parents of skinny children… How long before my little guy can wear a pair of jeans?!?!? I am a big fan of khakis, jeans, things with buttons. I took all three children to do a little school shopping since I had a great coupon to use. Blake loved to try on things just like his big brother. Our problem is he is so little. The only pants that even remotely work are athletic pants that have a waist band we can fold over. Any suggestions on a particular brand/store that caters to children in the 2 percentile on the weight chart?!?!
I make the above comments a bit jokingly. Blake is a bit small for his age, but he is healthy. Our doctor and we are not too concerned about his measurements (assuming that they continue to increase appropriately). He eats regularly, but he also runs around like crazy so I have no doubt he is burning as many calories as he is taking in. He really hasn't gained but maybe one pound since being home despite our efforts. (Now if I could just manage to do that with my own diet and exercise plan we would be doing well!)
We leave Friday morning for our vacation to St. Louis. This is the one we have actually planned all summer - not the surprise that popped up over July 4th. We are super excited to be meeting up with the Pitman family (and maybe the Fritsche family) on Friday evening! Also Justin’s brother, sister-in-law, and niece will be joining us for a couple of days to go to a baseball game and hang out.
Our friend’s daughter, Lauren Hensley, came out and took some pictures for us last week. Here are a few of them.
The Overstreet Family of 5!
Brady sharing words of wisdom with his little brother and sister.
Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.
I make the above comments a bit jokingly. Blake is a bit small for his age, but he is healthy. Our doctor and we are not too concerned about his measurements (assuming that they continue to increase appropriately). He eats regularly, but he also runs around like crazy so I have no doubt he is burning as many calories as he is taking in. He really hasn't gained but maybe one pound since being home despite our efforts. (Now if I could just manage to do that with my own diet and exercise plan we would be doing well!)
We leave Friday morning for our vacation to St. Louis. This is the one we have actually planned all summer - not the surprise that popped up over July 4th. We are super excited to be meeting up with the Pitman family (and maybe the Fritsche family) on Friday evening! Also Justin’s brother, sister-in-law, and niece will be joining us for a couple of days to go to a baseball game and hang out.
Our friend’s daughter, Lauren Hensley, came out and took some pictures for us last week. Here are a few of them.
The Overstreet Family of 5!
Brady sharing words of wisdom with his little brother and sister.
Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A bit of separation anxiety
Ok so the word anxiety may be a bit strong to describe the reaction but….
People ask me all of the time if Blake ever stops smiling. Well, he really is happy most of the time and if he is not happy it doesn’t take much to get him happy again. Any time I have had to leave Blake he has been with Brady and Madison. He is showing great progress in attachment and I am certain that he understands the relationship Justin and I have with him is something special. He has never gotten too upset about either of us leaving because he would just turn to Brady and Madison and begin to play. Well this week Brady was at camp for a day and a friend came to pick Madison up for a play date. That is when the tears started. His little lip quivered and the tears ran down his cheek. I have to admit I was happy to see how close he feels to them and it was endearing to sooth him while he was upset. The tears were pretty short lived as he realized that mom can be fun too and that I wasn’t leaving him. I am a bit nervous about how the last couple of weeks of August will go. I will begin reporting to the office regularly beginning August 5th. That won’t be much of a problem for the kids (it will be a killer for me!) because they will get to still hang out together with their grandmas. Then on August 21st Brady and Madison will begin school. That leaves Blake with one of the grandmas by himself until preschool starts on September 8th. I am sure things will be fine, but I am fully expecting him to be bent out of shape!
Hoping to have some great pictures to share with you soon!
People ask me all of the time if Blake ever stops smiling. Well, he really is happy most of the time and if he is not happy it doesn’t take much to get him happy again. Any time I have had to leave Blake he has been with Brady and Madison. He is showing great progress in attachment and I am certain that he understands the relationship Justin and I have with him is something special. He has never gotten too upset about either of us leaving because he would just turn to Brady and Madison and begin to play. Well this week Brady was at camp for a day and a friend came to pick Madison up for a play date. That is when the tears started. His little lip quivered and the tears ran down his cheek. I have to admit I was happy to see how close he feels to them and it was endearing to sooth him while he was upset. The tears were pretty short lived as he realized that mom can be fun too and that I wasn’t leaving him. I am a bit nervous about how the last couple of weeks of August will go. I will begin reporting to the office regularly beginning August 5th. That won’t be much of a problem for the kids (it will be a killer for me!) because they will get to still hang out together with their grandmas. Then on August 21st Brady and Madison will begin school. That leaves Blake with one of the grandmas by himself until preschool starts on September 8th. I am sure things will be fine, but I am fully expecting him to be bent out of shape!
Hoping to have some great pictures to share with you soon!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Random Update – Part 2
First random thought…sump pumps are VERY important pieces of equipment! Last night I went to our basement to get something from the freezer and discovered that water was seeping in on a number of walls. Several of the cardboard boxes I had intended on emptying while being home from work were getting soaked. Justin and I spent hours getting things off the floor and the water swept to the drains. Thankfully he had another sump pump on hand and he was able to get the water pumping quickly. He guessed the old one died just a few hours before and if I hadn’t had been downstairs last night things would not have been even worse this morning. Needless to say I am going to get more plastic containers to put my albums and photo boxes and things in. Lesson learned!
Another thing I was going to share with you was about the musical “Annie”. It has long been a favorite of mine – I mean the lead character does have red hair after all! In the past year I have seen/heard the songs from the musical and my reaction has caught me by surprise. The song “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” puts a giant lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Here are a few lyrics that get me…
No one's there when your dreams at night get creepy!
No one cares if you grow...of if you shrink!
No one dries when your eyes get wet an' weepy!
From all the cryin' you would think this place's a sink!
Ohhhh!!!!!!!
Empty belly life!
Rotten smelly life!
Full of sorrow life!
No tomorrow life!
[And the one that really gets me going…]
No one cares for you a smidge
When you're in an orphanage!
Wow – this song had a whole new meaning to me! I guess my eyes have been opened to a world beyond ours of comfort and luxury. There is more I could say on this topic, but I would rather keep things up beat for now.
On a happier note, here are some more pictures of our summer excitement!
Blake in is his Russian shopka and Brady’s vest.
1st attempt at bowling.
Copying big brother Brady!
Blake with his buddy Blaine.
Brady and Madison participated in several contests at our local fair. Obviously this was a pie eating contest. Very gross!
Another thing I was going to share with you was about the musical “Annie”. It has long been a favorite of mine – I mean the lead character does have red hair after all! In the past year I have seen/heard the songs from the musical and my reaction has caught me by surprise. The song “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” puts a giant lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Here are a few lyrics that get me…
No one's there when your dreams at night get creepy!
No one cares if you grow...of if you shrink!
No one dries when your eyes get wet an' weepy!
From all the cryin' you would think this place's a sink!
Ohhhh!!!!!!!
Empty belly life!
Rotten smelly life!
Full of sorrow life!
No tomorrow life!
[And the one that really gets me going…]
No one cares for you a smidge
When you're in an orphanage!
Wow – this song had a whole new meaning to me! I guess my eyes have been opened to a world beyond ours of comfort and luxury. There is more I could say on this topic, but I would rather keep things up beat for now.
On a happier note, here are some more pictures of our summer excitement!
Blake in is his Russian shopka and Brady’s vest.
1st attempt at bowling.
Copying big brother Brady!
Blake with his buddy Blaine.
Brady and Madison participated in several contests at our local fair. Obviously this was a pie eating contest. Very gross!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Random Update – Part 1
Well I have been meaning to blog for some time but just haven’t found the time to sit down and do it so I have decided that this week I will make it a point to write some random updates. There are so many fun things we have been doing I don’t know where to start. First of all I have been blessed with some flexibility in my work schedule. So while my 12 week leave from work is officially over, I still have a few more weeks before I am reporting to the office every day. This time to be at home is the greatest gift I could ask for. It has helped so much with the attachment process with Blake and for Brady and Madison and I to enjoy a big part of their summer. I can’t believe how fortunate I am!
Blake is learning so many words each day. It is really fun to hear him just randomly surprise us with what he knows. Last night at the Mexican restaurant the first time the waiter stopped by the table he said “drink” before the rest of us could order. The next time the waiter came back he said “taco”. Justin and I just looked at each other and laughed. We had no idea he knew what a taco was. I also get a kick out of it when people say Paka to him. Many people learned the word paka (bye) and will say it when they are leaving or getting off the phone with him. They say “Paka!” and he’ll say “Bye!” It just cracks me up! There are some things he says that I just don’t want to correct because they are wayyyy too cute. For instance, since the day we met him he has said spa-seebaka for thank you. Well the word in Russian is spaseeba for thank you and cebaka for dog. He combines the two and says spa-seebake. So you will hear many times a day spaseebaka Madison or spaseebaka Mama. I usually correct him and tell him he is to say thank you, but lately I am thinking it is too cute and he won’t be saying it forever so I will just leave him be. It reminds me of when Madison always called skunks – stunks. I never corrected her because it put a smile on my face, and of course she now knows the correct word! They grow up so fast!
There are many more random things I could write about, but I thought I would leave you with a few of our pictures from our 4th of July celebration. We decided last minute (Wednesday afternoon) that we would take advantage of free St. Louis Cardinals tickets on Thursday and then found an awesome deal on a hotel downtown. So Blake’s first 4th of July was a great celebration for all of us. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.
We had really great seat off of the 3rd baseline!
Check out the arch in the background…
We couldn’t be downtown and not go up in the arch. It was easier to get the replica in the picture than it was the entire huge monument!
Getting ready for the parade…
It was really raining before the parade started!
The rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits!
What a special day for Blake….for all of us actually!
There is a great water fountain downtown that people can climb through. Brady and Madison LOVED it!
Blake didn’t think walking around in wet clothes all day sounded like a good idea. He is one smart cookie!
My boys! They are always being crazy.
So here is another crazy thing that happened. We saw 3 free concerts on the steps in front of the arch. The first was Counting Crows, then Nate and Alex Wolf from the Naked Brothers Band, and finally Train on the night of the 4th. There were thousands of people at the Train concert. Madison had to use the restroom so Justin took her and Brady down the steps. After they left, Patrick Monahan – the lead singer from Train, said he wanted a couple of pretty ladies to come up and help him sing the next song. He chose a few little girls that were on the shoulders of their parents down in the front. He had them say their names and the next thing I know I was hearing a familiar voice saying “Madison”! Somehow Justin heard him make the announcement and was able to get Madison down by the stage. She rocked out to Train’s song “She’s on Fire” by singing the chorus with Patrick Monahan. She is on the far right in the photos. We have heard the words “she’s on fire” a number of times since then!
Finally – the celebratory fireworks!
Blake is learning so many words each day. It is really fun to hear him just randomly surprise us with what he knows. Last night at the Mexican restaurant the first time the waiter stopped by the table he said “drink” before the rest of us could order. The next time the waiter came back he said “taco”. Justin and I just looked at each other and laughed. We had no idea he knew what a taco was. I also get a kick out of it when people say Paka to him. Many people learned the word paka (bye) and will say it when they are leaving or getting off the phone with him. They say “Paka!” and he’ll say “Bye!” It just cracks me up! There are some things he says that I just don’t want to correct because they are wayyyy too cute. For instance, since the day we met him he has said spa-seebaka for thank you. Well the word in Russian is spaseeba for thank you and cebaka for dog. He combines the two and says spa-seebake. So you will hear many times a day spaseebaka Madison or spaseebaka Mama. I usually correct him and tell him he is to say thank you, but lately I am thinking it is too cute and he won’t be saying it forever so I will just leave him be. It reminds me of when Madison always called skunks – stunks. I never corrected her because it put a smile on my face, and of course she now knows the correct word! They grow up so fast!
There are many more random things I could write about, but I thought I would leave you with a few of our pictures from our 4th of July celebration. We decided last minute (Wednesday afternoon) that we would take advantage of free St. Louis Cardinals tickets on Thursday and then found an awesome deal on a hotel downtown. So Blake’s first 4th of July was a great celebration for all of us. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.
We had really great seat off of the 3rd baseline!
Check out the arch in the background…
We couldn’t be downtown and not go up in the arch. It was easier to get the replica in the picture than it was the entire huge monument!
Getting ready for the parade…
It was really raining before the parade started!
The rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits!
What a special day for Blake….for all of us actually!
There is a great water fountain downtown that people can climb through. Brady and Madison LOVED it!
Blake didn’t think walking around in wet clothes all day sounded like a good idea. He is one smart cookie!
My boys! They are always being crazy.
So here is another crazy thing that happened. We saw 3 free concerts on the steps in front of the arch. The first was Counting Crows, then Nate and Alex Wolf from the Naked Brothers Band, and finally Train on the night of the 4th. There were thousands of people at the Train concert. Madison had to use the restroom so Justin took her and Brady down the steps. After they left, Patrick Monahan – the lead singer from Train, said he wanted a couple of pretty ladies to come up and help him sing the next song. He chose a few little girls that were on the shoulders of their parents down in the front. He had them say their names and the next thing I know I was hearing a familiar voice saying “Madison”! Somehow Justin heard him make the announcement and was able to get Madison down by the stage. She rocked out to Train’s song “She’s on Fire” by singing the chorus with Patrick Monahan. She is on the far right in the photos. We have heard the words “she’s on fire” a number of times since then!
Finally – the celebratory fireworks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)