Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Day with Mimi and Grampa, as well as aunt Susie and cousin Alex. The highlight of the day for Deanna was receiving her beloved horsey "Princess", courtesy of Mimi and Grampa. Deanna has seen this horse many times at Costco. Several times when we went to Costco she would see this horse and go nuts over it. She would ride it, pet it, and announce very loudly, "I LOVE THIS HORSE!". This was top of her list but I don't think she thought she would really get it.
The horse now resides in our house, is hauled up and down stairs, and brushed and fed regularly.

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas this year, with all of our family. Christmas Eve was at our house, with quite a lively bunch. Deanna had fun with all of her grown up cousins as well as Grandma and Aunts and Uncles. Deanna took most of the pictures herself.
Jeremy and Jordan spent the night so we could get up early and open our presents. We were all very lucky to get lots of great gifts! Deanna got many things on her list.

Christmas Cards

Every year, since Jeremy was a baby, I have done a picture for our Christmas Card. In the old days, I took a whole roll of film and hoped for one good picture after they were developed. Now I can just take as many as it takes to get a few good ones. The boys were never cooperative for pictures, and still are not. Deanna on the other hand loves to have pictures taken, but she does have her limit. I tried to get a picture of the "kids" at Thanksgiving, but no luck getting a good one.

Here are a few of the non-deleted ones!

SANTA

Deanna is very much into Santa this year. We took her to the mall to see him, and she made him an extra copy of her list. Her "list" is also something she is into this year. Everything she sees at any store she says "put this on my list!" I told her, you know you don't get everything on your list. She looked at me for a few seconds and said "you're kidding me, right?" At least her list is so big she won't remember everything on it anyway. We keep reinforcing the true meaning of Christmas, and that it is better to give than to receive... but I think it will take a few years to fully understand that concept. For now we are shouting "Santa I love you" across the mall.

Christmas Tree

We had great weather for picking out a Christmas Tree this year. We are fortunate to have many tree farms by our house, with very beautiful trees. Every on is truly perfect. We picked ours out in a matter of minutes, so we could get on with the decorating. Deanna is very much into the whole Christmas experience this year, her second Christmas!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving started out with a program by the Kindergarten class. I was the only one who could attend but I shot a video so the whole family wouldn't miss out!
We then headed to the beach, where we like to spend a relaxing Thanksgiving at the family beach house. Our family, and my parents (Mimi and Grampa) had dinner together. Aunt Susie and cousin Alex came down the next day for a visit. Alex (24 year old) took Deanna miniature golfing...alone. When we met up with them, they had played golf, gone on the tilt-a-whirl, and Deanna had a bag of candy, two huge jaw breakers, and some pop. Alex said "I couldn't say no to her!" Well, he's definitely not the first one, nor will he be the last.
The weather was rainy but there were a few sun breaks. I tried to get a few good pictures of Deanna with Jeremy and Jordan, but the "boys" weren't too cooperative.

We got home in time for Deanna to go to gymnastics for parents night out. That equals 4 hours of non-stop activity with her friend! This is the one thing that actually wears her out. A nice end to a fun weekend.

The Fashion Show

Deanna and her best friend from school were in a fashion show at Nordstrom!
They got to pick out their own outfits, and they had a great time.
Before the show there was music playing and Deanna was practicing her diva walk on the runway and dancing. Fortunately when the show actually took place she was a little more subdued but not too shy. My good friend Debbie was nice enough to take some great pictures for us!

Afterward it was on to the last soccer game of the year. Just in time for the heavy rains to arrive. Now we can just focus on gymnastics for a while... and getting ready for the holidays!

Halloween Pictures

This year Deanna was a princess for Halloween! She loved wearing the make-up of course. You can't see in the pictures but she has a fiber optic pony tail that lights up.

She got to wear her costume to school and trick or treating the next night.

She got plenty of candy and thankfully it was gone in a couple days.

But thinking she is a princess is still going on!

The Pumpkin Patch

The kindergarten class went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. We went on a hay ride, through a corn maze, etc. while it was pouring down rain the whole time. So no pictures, too wet to even get the camera out.

So the boys agreed to go with Deanna to the pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin on a nicer day.

We actually went on Halloween Day to a place right by our house, and there were plenty of pumpkins left. Deanna and I carved them later and they turned out great.

The Gymnast

Deanna is really loving gymnastics, and is quickly progressing. When I found out they make a home gymnastics bar I had to get one for her. Being a former gymnast, I would have loved to have this when I was young. We don't have a play structure so she needs things to burn some energy. She doesn't have great arm strength, but this should do the trick.

Our Newest Addition

We have recently added a third dog to our happy dog-loving family! This was not something we intended to do, but we learned of an elderly couple entering an assisted living facility who were looking for a good home for their 10 month old puppy. She is a purebred pekingese, housebroken, crate trained, with shots and been spayed. She is very sweet and gentle, and of course Deanna LOOOOOVES her. What more could you ask for.

A girl and her dog

Someone else loves the dog too

Last month Jeremy and Jordan, along with Jordan's friend Dave moved to an apartment. Boo Hoo!! (I still have hopes they will come back at some point)

Jeremy has not lived here full time for three years, but this is the first time they both are gone. We do miss them very much, but the groceries do last much longer. Also, they don't live far away and still come back to help with Deanna when we are at work. I appreciate that VERY MUCH!!!!

Picture courtesy of Deanna

Deanna is loving kindergarten and reading sentences. I think her reading skills will pass up her verbal skills! Verbally however she is making great progress. We continue to go to private speech therapy weekly and have just started speech therapy at the elementary school. Deanna has great writing and art skills but she has trouble sitting still and keeping her hands to herself during "carpet" time. She also has trouble keeping her hands off things she likes. Many, many times I hear "she sure has a lot of energy". I still think this is all due to lack of experience rather than ADHD. It sure is hard to be still when you are so darn happy!

HOME A YEAR AND A HALF

We have been home with our daughter for a year and a half, but it really seems like forever. She has gone from a friendly, non-verbal, toddler, to a friendly, outgoing, talkative (but not always completely understandable) little lady.

She is very athletic and has been called a tomboy, but she is really all girl at heart. She loves dressing up and playing with makeup and jewelry. She always says "I want to be just like you mama, all grown up". I tell her to just have fun being a little girl, she will be grown up soon enough!

Socially she is doing great. She loves to play with friends, and prefers this to anything else. She can make a new friend anywhere she goes. Sometimes she comes on a little too strong with people she doesn't know so we have been working on boundaries and taking clues from people.

She loves to go to school and is always ready to go on time. She is great at writing, and beginning to read. Sitting still and listening are a bit more difficult, but progress is being made.

At this point she remembers no Russian at all. She really lost it very quickly because she never spoke it. She has been able to verbalize some memories of the orphanage or "the green building" as we refer to it. She remembers some punishments, as well the the ghost in the bedroom that would get you if you got out of bed. I guess that's how they kept 13 children in the same room from getting up.

She likes frequent reassurance that she is always going to be with us, which we happily give. She is very affectionate and tells us she loves us many times a day. Can't get too much of that!

More Soccer

We had our first soccer game last weekend. Deanna made at least 6 goals! (we don't keep score) She really enjoys it. I heard a parent from the other team say "that girl is gooood!"
We have been enjoying really warm weather so far this fall. I'll appreciate it now because soon enough we will be watching soccer in the pouring rain. Maybe her brothers can catch a game sometime....hint hint.

Look Who's Six!

Deanna had a fun sixth birthday. She loves the attention. Her birthday was Friday, so she had cupcakes at school with her friends. Then we took her out to Red Robin for dinner where she enjoyed being sung to.

On Saturday we had a nice family birthday party. She loved all of her gifts and she told me "I'm so happy I got so many toys!" We got her a Disney Princess clock radio that tells stories. She really loved this. I taught her to stay in bed in the morning until the clock said 08:00! It worked!

Its so nice to see such a happy girl celebrating her birthday for only the second time in her life.

Back to School

Hanging out at the Beach

Love that Rosie!!!

We finished up the summer with some fun time at the beach. Deanna and I started out the trip and Jon joined us a couple days later. Deanna has discovered miniature golf and kite flying. We all had a great time and enjoyed great weather.

Today was the first day of Kindergarten! Deanna is going to a private kindergarten, with a small class size and a great teacher. She really needs to be back in school as she is getting bored. She was very happy to go this morning and saw some old friends from preschool. They seemed to get a lot of things done at school today. I think it will be a productive year.