milestones

i tried to take these pics exactly a year apart, and in terms of our robin charting, the first baby was born a year to the day i signed the exit papers at the ukraine embassy. today, i need to complete our "annual report on the development of adopted child" and submit it along with pics to the consulate general of ukraine in chicago. luckily, the report does not ask how many time outs the child has received or how many pounds of whoppers and peeps he's eaten, and i'm disappointed it does not test him on his knowledge of "thomas" characters, types of trucks and trains (and the trick question: how is a hopper different from a boxcar?), or breadth and depth of potty vocab. the report does ask open-ended questions about general development, skill acquisition, achievements (ha - that's where i can slide those in!), motor and language skills, personality, relationships, and emotional development. i'll post a few highlights:) more soon, b

p.s. i guess i subconciously dressed kola in the national colors of ukraine for his "1-year" pic!!

a baby bird-in

robin's nest view from ethan's window


our friendly menards manager (note the donahues' garage remote)


we love to keep in touch! (4 of the boyz phones not pictured)

shelley suggested i chronicle an exciting development in our back yard: robins nesting in our lilac tree - if you look really closely, maybe you can see the first little blue egg in the picture. and i got to thinking what a great metaphor this is for kola's first anniversary. it will be fun for me to track how these dates all match up. looking back at the start of the blog, i see we first met kola a year ago tomorrow! it's so hard to believe it's just about time for me to write our annual report to the embassy in ukraine. sig said i should just send them the blog:) it will be interesting to see what this report entails. luckily, there is no shortage of photos to choose from!! would it be funny or prompt a visit from dcfs if i sent the pic of kola eating the wrapped package of sausage? it's been fun for me to look back in the blog to look at our first meetings together. more reflections soon. feel free to add your own! xo b/s/e/k

mommy i'm pedalling myself...faster, faster!

ethan's treasured key and remote collection





thanks cousin andrew f for passing along kola's new bike:)


with help and instruction from ethan, kola is now pedalling and driving around woodbine. we all made it around the block the other day, and kola was grinning and giggling all the way. do you think wrapping him in bubble wrap would be too cruel this summer? hee hee. ethan has a cupholder and bell as his bike accessories and kola needs an ice pack holder. i've already had to fish him out of a rose bush in the garden and our of the tulip divet in bill's driveway. he always jumps right back on to make sure i don't suggest he take a break. as shelley says, what determination! ethan is very proud of having helped teach kola and is glad to have a pedalling buddy. i think the neighbors on woodbine will see these guys whizzing by their porches on a daily basis. we already have the keys and orange cones, now i need to check ebay for a set of racing flags! xo b/s/ek

p.s. happy friday aunt lisa...a regular customer with her weekly check-in:)