Bubble Wrap

Bubble Wrap
Video sent by mstitzel

Popity Pop Pop Pop

Popity Pop Pop Pop!

Ana had a blast with this bubble wrap!!! We have been busy this week! Ana had another evaluator come out to figure out this whole "speech therapy" business. This Friday she will FINALLY start her "program". However, we won't be with the state too long because they will drop her out of the system when she is 3 (in Oct.) and we will enroll her in the school system. I've already started the paperwork so that it is a smooth transfer. She is doing SO WELL with her words though. I'm just being cautious.
She had her post placement visit today and it went well. I think we get to keep her! :) Only 3 more to go. We also updated our home study for Andrew's paperwork. We spent all weekend redoing all the paperwork for Andrew's dossier. We have appt. with the doctor, accountant, police, and Marc's boss this week to finish his dossier and I hope to have it in the mail by Monday. Marc put in his preference's for our next assignment today. We will find out in Oct. SO Oct. is a big month for us! Ana turns 3, I turn 32, we find out our assignment AND we might have Andrew by then!!!

Chicken Dance

We met our friends the Gempler's at the German restaurant and the girls had a blast on the dance floor. The Daddy's took the girls to dance and it was hilarious. They put on quite a show!

90% Trained!

She is doing FABULOUS with her potty training. She use to do the sign for potty to tell us and now she uses her words! We use the pull-ups for night night time just to be on the safe side and sometimes she makes it through the night. That is the only time she has had an accident in over a week.

Up and Going Again!!!!

Finally got our computer back!!! We have had some feedback finally just today about the speech therapist! She will hopefully be coming out Monday to start Ana's program. We will know for sure tomorrow. However, Ana is doing SO well with her words. Just within the last couple of weeks she has been using her words more and more and they are clear. She even has combine two together..."go mommy","open it", "that a way"... she has really come along way in three short months!

We will have Ana's post placement visit next Tuesday and with that the social worker will be updating all our paperwork needed for Andrew as well. We were told to still plan for the end of Sept. to travel to get him. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Papaw and Grannie Visit!

It was so neat to see Ana with her Papaw and Grannie. We went down to the mall and had these pictures made of them. I think they turned out great! She loves her Papaw and Grannie. I love this picture. Genuine happiness and love!

We were sitting in the living room playing with a karioke machine that Ana's Aunt Angie and Uncle Matt had sent along with Grannie and Donald. SOOO fun! I don't know who enjoys it more...me and Marc or Ana!Papaw and Grannie taught Ana how to feed the ducks!
Cuddle Time!
Silly Papaw!

San Diego or BUST!

We spontaneously decided to go to San Diego with a group of friends to celebrate Drew and Laural's birthdays! (Drew and Laural are the ones next to Ana). We went to Sea World and Ana enjoyed it but I think she is still to little to really grasp the big picture. The audience participation freaked her out and we learned the word for "scared" in Russian! But after the loud noises of the clapping audiences went away and the animal shows started...she was very curious and enjoyed it! We fed the dolphins and it was awesome...Ana said she wanted to do it "again"!
She LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the beach...as we expected! I wish we could have spent more time there!

Ana LOVES Drew! We spend pretty much every Sunday with him doing church and Cracker Barrel! :)

We went to the USS Midway. The Navy has a much tougher lifestyle than the Air Force! What an amazing way to serve your country!

Ana and Josette slept most of the way home after a long and fun weekend!

Major Ana

Dada met us for lunch and she grabbed his hat and put it on!

Jenny and Paige Heyl!!!

Jenny is one of my best friends from college and she and her daughter came to meet Ms. Ana from Houston the beginning of August. The girls had a blast from the time they met at the airport! It was a wonderful visit! This picture was taken at a new kids craft store that has just opened up....SO FUN! Paige and Ana were so cute in the tub! Washing eachother's hair etc...

Computer Issues!

Our computer is in the shop and we are suppose to get it back Friday (we hope), so we will send you the greatest and latest then! :) Ana DID get her US Passport this past week so we have official US indentification for her! Yippee!!!

It's a good thing...

Her new thing is "a thumbs up" for when something is "good". She just had a piece of candy here and it was GOOD! I think she got this good thing from the Wiggles...it's pretty funny!

Fountain Fun

Fountain Fun
Video sent by mstitzel

After dinner with our friends the kids decided to play in the fountain...FULLY DRESSED! It was still 100 degrees outside at 8:00 pm, could you blame them?

Linette and John Baylor!

Linette is my college sorority sister who adopted John Baylor three years ago from Russia! She and her husband are the ones who hooked us up with our agency, our international doctors, have "been there" and KNOW what we have been through...good and bad! It has been so nice to laugh and cry happy and sad tears with them! It was pretty special to have our little Russia babies meet and play together. They left yesterday to go home to San Antonio and I showed Ana a picture of John Baylor today and she got SOOO excited and smiled SOOO big and yelled..."Oonnnyyy" (for Johnny!) We miss you guys already!

"Riding Along In My Automobile..."

"Do A Little Dance..."

Andrew Update!!!

FINALLY, we got a phone call this past week from our adoption agency. They are confident that they will receive their new accreditation from Russia the end of Aug. or early Sept. As soon as they get this accreditation, we can travel back to get Andrew! However, ALL our paperwork expires in Sept. so we are having to redo ALL of it! Good news is we know the ropes pretty well now and hopefully we can have it completed by the end of August. Andrew is 15 months now. Please keep us in your prayers for patience and guidance as we begin the "end" of our journey to complete our family!

She's growing up!

This picture was taken in Sedona this past weekend. Well, we are potty training! I REALLY wasn't ready, but she kept taking her diaper off (and it would be dry) and she would go straight to the potty and "do her thing". It was just silly to say..."No Ana, Mama's not ready and your little 12 month size booty slides right out of panties and pullups!" And today was a perfect day...NO accidents and dry diaper all day. I'm having to use her size 3 diapers when we go out because that is the only thing that fits her. Otherwise, we hang out with a bare booty all day at home. It's been about a week now and I think we are about "trained". I bought some Elmo panties today and I guess I'll just have to stitch em on the sides to make them smaller to keep them on! ALSO, just tonight she decided she wanted to sleep in her twin bed again. She pointed to it at bed time tonight and we told her she had to stay in it or she would go back to the crib...we just checked on her and she is sound asleep...in her "big girl bed".