A great weekend!

What a special weekend with our little boy. Every weekend is fun, every weekend is special. We are just counting our blessings that the Lord brought us such a great kid. He contantly overwhelms us with how sweet he is, how perfect for us, how much we love him. Here is the rundown of another fun weekend in the life of Daniel.....

Saturday took us to Huber's Orchard for strawberry picking, or should I say strawberry eating? We picked for about 2 minutes and then he realized eating (and throwing the stems) was much more fun. I don't think I have ever seen him eat so many strawberries. We had a grand time!

Sunday morning was his very first school bus ride. We parked across the street from church and rode over on the bus. He didn't want to get on at first, but once he saw that mama and papa were coming too - he climbed right up. He kept smiling at me the entire time!

Then on Sunday afternoon we went out to Uncle Jon's place to visit the horses and do some fishing. It was his first time fishing. I got him a little Shrek fishing pole on clearance and he has been dying to try it out. It was the perfect spot for a 5 year old with a short attention span to fish. As soon as your line dropped in the water, you got a bite. They were small fish, but we pulled them out one right after the other. He kept yelling, 'Hooray!'

It feels like we are finally settling in to a routine with our weekly schedule. He always asks me what we are doing tomorrow - over and over. He will say, 'Mom - tomorrow?' and I will tell him and he'll say, 'and then? and then?' We go over the entire week. I don't know if that's just a little kid thing, or if he is wondering how long this will last. I forgot to learn how to say, 'You're here forever!' in Russian. Over time we are seeing that he is becoming more and more secure. He is able to play in his room by himself for short stretches, and go to the bathroom by himself. Not that I think he should be independent at 5, but it is good to see that he feels comfortable and not constantly looking for us to make sure we are still here.

We feel so fortunate that he has had such an easy transition. Preparing for an adoption, I did a lot of reading about possible 'issues' - behavior issues, attachment, etc. It's good to be informed and we certainly could have things come up in the future, but for now he seems like a well adjusted kid. He sleeps great at night - no fear of being by himself. He eats well, but we don't have any food issues. We feel like any issues we have had are just normal parenting things. He is pushing his boundaries to see what he can get away with. We have spent some time standing in the corner for hitting or not obeying, but that is just normal kid stuff. He seems to be attaching to us well. He is a lovable little guy and loves to give us hugs. He seeks us out when we are in public and comes to us for comfort. Whatever they did in the orphanage, they certainly brought up a well adjusted little boy. What a delight! Thank you Lord for giving us abundantly more than we could ask or imagine!!

I love you

Three simple words, but what an impact!

As is usual for us on Tuesdays, Kelly and Daniel met Pop for dinner before he headed off to his Discipleship Curriculum class at church. As we were going our separate ways, Daniel gave Pop a HUGE hug and said, "I love you, Pop". Honestly I was quite moved as that's the first time we've ever heard him use those words - in English or Ukrainian. It was a very touching moment and really overshadowed all of the other (not so good) moments of the day. Needless to say, I've had an extra spring in my step since then. Whoo-hoo!

To Catch you up!

OK - I know it's been awhile since I posted. I am getting used to being back to work and juggling my time. I am still taking lots of photos, but they are all stuck in my camera!

Today was Daniel's first day of day care. As with most other things, he did just great. We were so proud. I actually met a lady over the weekend that speaks Russian, so I had her tell me how to say school in his language. Once he heard he was going to school, he was pretty excited! He woke up and said to me first thing, 'Mama work, Daniel school'. They said he did really well, and even interacted with some of the other kids. He was very polite at lunch and kept saying, 'Thank you!' What a relief! Hopefully tomorrow will be an equal success.

Here are some other posts to catch you up.......

Indy Visit

We went to visit our friends in Indianapolis for the weekend. They have a little boy too and we had a great time visiting, catching up and enjoying their company. Here are some photos......

Daniel really enjoyed Robert's train:
Bonnie and I took the boys to the Children's Museum and they had a great time:

We played so hard, we wore those little boys out! After a quick nap, we saw 'Up!' in 3D:

He is settling right in to our lives just great! We didn't know how he would do, spending the night in a new place. This was the first time he hasn't slept in his own bed since he has been here and he was just perfect. He slept the night through. Of course, we were right across the hall so that helped. We were so proud of our little guy!

First Formal Photo

Isn't he just the cutest thing? JC Penney's did a pretty good job. Here is our big five year old:

A Daniel Shower

This post has been a long time coming, as I have been collecting pictures from others. Our Bible study group was so sweet and put on a wonderful shower for Daniel. It was so awesome and over the top. Marion's house was decorated perfectly to celebrate a little boy (as you can see from the photos) and the spread they had was amazing. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone that came, and everyone that sent us good wishes. Jason brought Daniel over and he had a BIG time! He is set up with toys and goodies for a long time to come. Your generosity was overwhelming and we just can't thank you enough!

Car Races

The First Car Race!!! What a big event for Daniel and Papa! We decided to start him out small, to see if he had the patience for an entire evening. We went to the Sportsdrome in Jeffersonville. He did pretty good. He was antsy between races and during the cautions, but while they were racing he was pretty enthralled. He kept asking about Mark Mark (this is what he calls Mark Martin) - any yellow car is Mark Mark. Then we had the ultimate redneck experience - they actually did figure 8 bus racing! I couldn't believe we were there, but I have to admit that Daniel seemed to enjoy that the most. Watch the video to see how excited he was:

Standing for the National Anthem. Look at our little American:

Splash Park

Mom went back to work this week. If I thought I didn't have time before, I reeeally don't have any time now. Yikes! It was an easy return to work because Jason was off this week so Daniel could spend the week bonding with Papa. It was good for them to have more time together. They had a great week!

We went to visit Klondike Elementary School this afternoon. That's where Daniel will be attending Kindergarten in the fall. They have a great English as a Second Language (ESL) program there and we met the principal and the ESL teacher. They were both great and we think he will be really happy there. The ESL teacher was amazed by the amount of English Daniel already has and how eager he was to learn. She was showing us some of their materials and he sat right down and started pointing out all of the things he knows. It was great!

We continue to be amazed by how quickly he is picking up English. His comprehension is really great. He knows what we are saying most of the time. And he is constantly asking me what things are, and repeating things. He will come over to me and say, 'Mom, what you doing?' It is so cute! He is learning not just words but phrases too. He will say: Let's Go!, Come on!, Just a minute, Daniel sleepy. He can sing the song from Mickey Mouse clubhouse, count to 20, spell his name (while mom writes it out), he knows about 30 different animals, the list just goes on and on. We are so proud!

This afternoon we went to the splash park at the zoo. It was his first time there and he had a GREAT time! He was a little timid at first, but with Papa's encouragement he found out how fun it could be. They had a fountain that the kids could pull a lever on to shoot out water. Every time you pulled the lever, the water came out in a different spot. He was so intrigued with it and spent lots of time there. He paid close attention and learned the pattern so he could run when it was going to squirt him. He knew where it was going to squirt next and tried to get Papa to stand there. It was so cute!

Race Cars and Treasure!

With Mama heading back to work today, Papa was given the opportunity to stay at home this week with Daniel. They had a very exciting day all planned out.

After stopping by Ford to wrap up some loose ends, they headed down to Elizabethtown to go geoaching. Little did Papa know that the trail he selected for today was roughly eight miles long. It wound through the woods and around Freeman Lake and they got 15 caches along the way. There were frequent stops, of course, to throw rocks into the lake and to check out the wildlife. They saw bluegill, turtles, tadpoles, frogs, woodpeckers, and some lizards. Papa got a workout as he carried Daniel on his shoulders for roughly seven of those miles.

Afterwards, they headed up to Clarksville to visit Frank Kimmel Racing (http://www.frankkimmel.com/) so Daniel could see some real-life race cars. He's been watching them on the weekends with Papa and is already a Mark Martin ("Mark Mark") fan. For those who don't know, Frank Kimmel is a 9-time ARCA Champion and has raced occassionally in the top tiers of NASCAR. The folks at FKR were awesome and allowed us to have free reign of their shop. Mr. Kimmel was there turning wrenches with the rest of his crew and went out of his way to show the boy around. He even let Daniel sit in one of his racecars and posted the picture on their website. Papa has never seen Daniel smile so big in all his life. With Mr. Kimmel's car being yellow like Mark Martin (and they both have gray hair), Daniel said, "Thank-you Mark-Mark" when Mr. Kimmel handed him an autographed fan card. He got a big kick out of that and said he's definitely been called a whole lot worse. All of the folks at the shop were exeptionally nice and it was a great visit!

Who knows what else is in store for the rest of the week!

Daniel and the Champ!

Wading pool

It was pretty hot this afternoon so we decided to blow up the wading pool that Omah and Foffee got Daniel for his birthday. He loves his bath but we weren't sure how he would take to swimming. We thought we would ease him into it and this was the perfect introduction. He was a little timid at first. It was cute - he didn't want to get his swim trunks wet so he kept pulling them up. The water out of the hose was frigid! Then Papa got home from a 12 mile bike ride and hopped in with him. That's what he needed to feel safe and then he LOVED it!! The pictures tell the story better than me!

Check out how much English I have now:

New American Citizen

We got an official looking envelope from US Citizenship and Immigration Services today. Surprise! It was Daniel's certificate of citizenship. Woo Hoo!! It's official now. He is a United States citizen. Congratulations sweet boy!

Happy First Mothers Day!

What could be better than a day with my beautiful boy? What a happy day! Yes, that is a rubber snake! I am the mother of a boy. I have been running, ball throwing, bug touching, plane watching and all things boy!!

Thank you

This post is to thank all of our friends and family for your overwhelming outpouring of support. I am still working on my thank you notes - so they should be coming! But I wanted to thank you here too. I think part of the reason that Daniel has transitioned so well is because he has had such a warm welcome from all of you and feels so loved. We are all doing great! I wanted to share these few photos with you. This just scratches the surface of all he has been given!

Thank you Trindy, Lisa and card girls for such a warm welcome home:

Thank you Dave and Debbie for all of my 'Cars' goodies:

Thank you Laurie for bringing us a meal on a week when mom really needed the help!

Thank you Dawn, Lisa and families for the great wagon - it's already been everywhere and he loves it!!

Thanks Bob and Judi for the frog rain ensemble. We've had the right weather for it lately and he looks so cute:

Thank you Babushka and Dedushka for the tee ball set. No exagerration - we play for at least an hour EVERY day!!


Thank you Andrew and Meredith for the zoo membership. That's the gift that keeps on giving! We will enjoy it all year long!!

Thanks Omah and Foffee for the slinky (and everything else!).

Thanks Ken, Steph and Chase for the water gun. WOW - a gun that shoots water? A perfect gift for this boy!

Thanks Uncle Jon and Aunt Jenn for letting us come out and feed the horses. He asked me 5 times the next day if we were coming to see you guys again:

Thanks Laurie for my awesome 'Daniel' quilt. I sleep under it every night:

First Birthday Party!!

Today our little boy turned 5. My dad asked me if I could remember what I was doing 5 years ago today - because that's when Daniel was being born. Wow - what a thought! We were living in St. Louis and unaware that the boy who would change our lives was making his appearance.

We didn't want to over-do our celebration and overwhelm him, but we had to make the most of his birthday! Before I left Ukraine I asked Galya to teach me the Ukrainian word for Birthday so I could tell him what day it is. She asked him if he knew what a birthday was and he didn't. He had never celebrated his birthday before - so today was another first!!

We spent the day at the zoo. (thanks Andrew and Meredith!) It was an amazing time for him. We tried to tell him about the animals he would see, but I don't think anything could prepare him for actually seeing them up close and in person - giraffe, monkeys, penguins, lions, snakes, rhinos. He kept saying, 'WOW!' It was so fun for us to enjoy the time with him. We will really enjoy that zoo membership this summer!! Here are a few pictures.....

Then we had dinner and cake in the evening with all of the grandparents (also known as the Daniel Fan Club). It was a small celebration, but just right. It was so fun for him. Seeing the joy on his face as we all sang was priceless. You could tell that he felt so special! He was having such fun blowing out the candles that we kept lighting them and singing and letting him blow out again. We decided we would make up for all the birthdays he missed so we sang and blew out candles 5 times. I think he knows what Birthday means now!!