Everything is ok now Nana is here!

My mother arrived this morning at 3am. She always comes in the middle of the night because she takes the train from Charleston SC to Cleveland. She is afraid to fly and no offer of Valium, liquor or knock out gas will change her mind. As far as she is concerned the train is fine, even if it took her more than 24 hours to get here and especially when her new grand daughter is at the end of the line.

Nana is really excited about being here. All of her long distance shopping and blog stalking have not satisfied this grandmother. She is a woman on a mission-to spoil silly one very lucky little girl. She arrived this morning with 2 VERY large suitcases and a stuffed to the brim overnight bag, (maybe they don't have weight limits on the train?) She was also carrying a party dress on a hanger. One perfect party dress for Nina. When dart tried to take the dress and put it in the car she pulled it away from him and said "I carried that all the way from South Carolina, I don't want it to get wrinkled". (This of course is the only woman I know with perfect creases in her jeans!)

BTW the reason for all the luggage: apparently Mom has a one way ticket. She is planning on staying "as long as we need her", at least until she is convinced Dart & I know what we are is doing:).

Read more...

Even A Princess Has A Bedtime

First Princess Nina tries to charm her way out of going to bed

When that doesn't work she tries the pouty tantrum

But in the end even a Princess has to go to bed

Read more...

I'm a Horse. What are you?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4707 begins today. This is the year of the Ox.

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest.


I read a couple of legends of the Chinese Zodiac, though I will admit my knowledge thereof is pretty much limited to what I can gleen off the paper place mat at the Tai Wah buffet. Here is what I've learned...


LEDGEND 1-Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in ox years tend to be painters, engineers, and architects. They are stable, fearless, obstinate, hard-working and friendly.


LEGEND 2-The Jade Emperor in heaven to decide the order of the zodiac, he invited all the animals to participate in a race. The order of the zodiac would be decided by the order in which animals finished the race. When the competition started, the ox was leading the pack, but the rat jumped on his back. Since the rat was so light and small, the ox did not realize that the rat was hitching a ride. As the ox approached the finish line, the rat leap off his back and was crowned as the first animal to complete the race. After all the creatures finished the race, the order was finalized: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
According to legend, those born in a particular year of an animal are said to possess particular character traits associated with that animal.


When we began our Chinese adoption I thought our daughter would be born in the year of the Pig. By the time we got to our log in date I thought the year of the Rat. I bought stuffed animals for each and I am starting to accumulate a rather interesting collection of critters. I am sending out a New Year's prayer tonight that my China daughter will be born, healthy and beautiful in the year of the Ox. One more animal for the collection!

Read more...

Proof Positive That New Adoptive Moms are Hormonal Too...

It is hard to believe that it has been one month since our “Gotcha” day. It seems like yesterday and years ago, all at the same time. It is an odd thing to want something (or in this case someone) and then to finally get it. There is a space inside you that was filled by the wanting that suddenly is gone and in a strange way missed. I’m not saying this is a bad thing just that it is an abrupt change. You have to figure out how to stop living in the future and start living in the now. So much of my emotional energy went towards getting our daughter and it went on for so long I think I got used to it. Longing became my constant companion. I am not saying I am sad or anything like that, and certainly I would not want to go back to a time without Nina. It is just an observation. I have moved from one stage to another, adopting to adopted.

Of course, if I’m feeling like I have a lot of changes to deal with can you imagine what Nina must be going thru? We keep talking about the little girl we met that first night in the Baby House. Who was she, certainly not the same child we know today? The baby we met was terrified. The trauma she endured over her short 21 months hurt her so deeply we wondered if we could ever get thru. I remember saying she was my little broken bird. For 20 days, Nina cried at the sight of us. Cried and walked, head down, eyes averted, ever compliantly to us. She was vacant, emotionally withdrawn and she did what she was told. She was scared, so very scared. And for 20 days, we wondered if we could mend our little bird. We worried if in 90 minutes a day we could reach the heart of the beautiful baby we were already completely in love with. Only the last couple of days during that first trip did we have even a glimmer of hope. We clung to it, imagined an entire lifetime of love around it.

A month after Gotcha day, we are just amazed at the change we have seen in Nina. The girl who never spoke in the orphanage and was labeled as “speech delayed” already has 25 English words including two word sentences. She knows the sounds that the; cow, pig, bird, owl, dog, cat and horse make. Over the past couple of days, she is even counting to five. I would describe Nina as happy, giggly even. She loves her Mommy and Daddy, her brothers and her puppy. I don’t even recognize her as the same child we first met, and I can’t help but think if there is this much progress in a month surely she can accomplish anything.

It scares me to imagine her being in the orphanage, unadopted, lost in the “groupa”. I didn’t request a toddler, I wanted a baby like so many others. I should not have even met Nina. My agency called me on the “off chance” that I might consider an “older child”. I said yes. Thank God, thank God! I am told that many of the children in Nina’s group, the “older children” are never adopted: too old, undesirable, risky. Nina is proof these children are so much more resilient than we can imagine.

I know I am rambling. I guess sometimes it is hard to believe how all these twists, turns, and giant leaps of faith worked out so perfectly. I think about our journey. I imagine all the things that could have gone wrong but didn’t. I look at this beautiful child. I know God is good. That place that was once filled by waiting is now overflowing with love and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Read more...

Kazapalooza 2009

I remember learning about the first Kazapalooza last year and thinking it looked like a fun time. I loved looking at the pictures of all those beautiful faces and I was so wishing my baby was already here. But of course back then I was still waiting for our dossier to be sent to Kazakhstan. Wow, what a difference a year makes!

Nina is here and she is a blessing beyond measure to us. Moreover she is happy and healthy and adjusting well enough that I feel confident about committing to going to Kazapalooza 2009. So we will be heading to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville for the June 5-7 festivities. I am hoping to see some of the families I have met along this journey (either in person or thru the blogosphere). So many in the Kaz adoption community have inspired and supported us throughout this past year, it will be nice to finally meet some of them (and their Kaz Cuties) in person. If you are going too please drop me a line. Hope to see you there!!!!

Read more...

Cyclones Take 2nd Place

Nolan's hockey team made it to the Championship game yesterday after 2 wins and a tie. They played hard but in the end lost 1-3. They ended up finishing in 2nd place which was quite an accomplishment. Nolan was understandably disappointed, he is a fierce competitor and he really wanted the win. Still he took a minute to greet his newest fan after he received his trophy and then let her join him in the locker room. This is the stuff that melts a Mommy's heart...

Read more...

Small Spaces

Just about daily Dart sends me a pic from his camera phone to let me see what the Bean is up to. Today I got a picture and a video. I think all toddlers love to crawl into small spaces. Too cute. Daddy's little bookworm

Read more...

Happy Birthday Aidan

Aidan turned 14 today. Our family tradition is funny hat, dinner of your choice and presents with our immediate family (sometimes parties later). Today though Nolan and Dart had to leave for a 3 day hockey tourny and Kiefer went skiing for the weekend with friends so instead we had a birthday breakfast. Aidan was happy though since he claimed an entire pan of cinnamon rolls as his birthday cake

Aidan's birthday marks the end of the holiday season for the Printy's. We start on Nov 26th with Nolan's birthday, of course thanksgiving is somewhere near there, before we know it, it's Christmas Eve then the 25th is Christmas and Nina's birthday, December 30th is our anniversary, next is New Year's Eve/Day, then Jan 7th is Kiefer's birthday and finally the 17th is Aidan's birthday. Whew.

Anyway my dear Aidan, happy 14th ...and yes in 18 months you get your drivers permit :)

Read more...

You Are Invited...

I started sending the invites today and should have them all out by the end of this weekend. I think they came out pretty cute. I am using MyPunchbowl to send them out electronically. I haven't ever used e-invites before but given the short notice I thought I would give it a try.

Read more...

Prayers for two beautiful families

Nina is doing great and I am grateful everyday for the wonderful blessing she is to our family. Today though my thoughts are with two other families.

Jill and Wade, an adopting couple we met during our first trip to Kazakhstan, are headed back to Ust today to bring home their boys. Jack and Josh are two of the most charming and good looking brothers you've ever seen (and I know boys!). During their first trip Jill and Wade proved to be quite good at rocking those boys to sleep and I hope their baby whispering skills work for them on the long plane trip home.

Sadly the other family in my thoughts today is facing the tragic loss of their baby boy. Beautiful Griffin was only 7 months old but somehow he had found a way to bring hope to a family already in mourning for their beloved brother Carl Roth. Griffin's loss is unfathomable. His Aunt Erin is like a sister to me and my heart breaks for her and for Griffin's devoted parents, grandparents and family who have lost some much. Much love to all of you.

"Griffin Jacob Waggoner came into our lives on June 19, 2008 and went to play with the angels on January 14, 2009.
We will miss him dearly and remember is infectious laugh, sparkling blue eyes and sweet blonde curls. "

Read more...

Nina's new best friend

I don't think Nina is afraid of the dog anymore, at least not his backside....(BTW is this pup a saint our what!)

Read more...

Doctor doctor give me the news...

Nina had her first visit with our family pediatrician this afternoon. It is official she is a healthy little peanut. Nina is definitely on the small baby charts. Her height is less than the 3rd percentile, weight between the 5th and 10th percentile. Her head circumference though was 25-50th percentile so normal range. She weighs a whopping 22 pounds! In the waiting room she played with a little 9 month old boy who was bigger than her, wow!!!

Nina loved her doctor at the baby house and I’ve heard the same from other adoptive parents. I am beginning to think that the doctors at the orphanage gave the kids much needed individual attention. Consequently Nina’s reaction to the doctor’s office was entirely positive. When we sat her on the exam table she immediately picked up the stethoscope and put it around her neck like she must have seen the doctor do. Then she put it on her ears and “listened” to her heart. It was just amazing to see how much detail is absorbed by our little sponge.

I know the image quality is poor but we had to grab a quick photo of her with the cell phone…too cute.

Read more...

Working Mother Guilt

Yesterday was my first day back to work. Everyone kept asking how I was doing implying that I must be emotionally devastated to be away from Nina. I don’t know maybe I’ve been a working mom for too long but I don’t feel that way at all. There is nothing wrong with not being with your children 24/7. These people are well-intentioned, heck most of them were working moms themselves, but I think we unintentionally send the message that moms should feel bad about being away.

I am in a generation of women who were told we could have it all; “bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, never never let him forget he’s a man” and apparently, we could also clean the house, take care of the kids, volunteer at school, manage the hockey team, scrapbook and take a relaxing yoga class-right. My generation however had no role models for real life working moms. Instead, we had a bunch of “you can have it all” slogans and guilt-a whole lot of guilt.

Here is my reality... Yesterday I got up at 4:30am. I got dressed and was glad to wear makeup and heels and have my hair combed. I got Nina out of bed and we rocked and cuddled until she was ready to get down. I had breakfast with Nina and Nolan and at 8:15am I slipped out the door to work. On the way, I got my Dunkin Donuts coffee (my treat) and some donuts for my staff. I then jumped back into my work never once worrying that Nina was suffering.

At about 10am Dart sent me a picture of Nina from his cell phone showing me the outfit he dressed Nina in. Since I was at work dart finally had some alone time with his daughter and got to figure out the whole “tights and hair bows” thing, (OK truthfully he totally forgot to comb her hair but he did put on the tights!)

At 12:45pm I went home for lunch and peeked in on my sleeping baby. Back to work in the afternoon, again no worries. I went home at 5pm, a little early, and was thru the door at 5:10pm. Nina was just up from a long nap sitting in her high chair having juice and a slice of cheese. She greeted me with a squeal and we played the rest of the night.
 
Personally, I think the whole experience is good for both of us. I am able to enjoy outside interests (not to mention earn a living) and Nina learns that Mommy always comes back.

I like my career and I have worked hard to be successful. I am proud of my accomplishments there. Clearly though I love my family and enjoy being a Mom. These things are not incompatible. What does not go together is happiness and guilt. The working mom/stay at home mom debate is entirely irrelevant for today’s woman. 

Perhaps it is due to my advanced age or my 18 years of parenting experience but from my vantage point, I think the secret is knowing your own priorities (notice “your own”) and letting everything else go.

No guilt necessary.

Picture for my Mom who needs her daily Nina fix...this is nina putting on her "lipstick" . She is sooooo girly. I love it!!!

Read more...

Welcome Home

Jet lag, colds and new baby have gotten the best of us. We are all pretty beat. The trip home was excruciating and none of us is sleeping through the night yet. I feel like we are some sort of weirdo suburban vampire family up all hours of the night. Our body clocks are so messed up right now, we need to find and hit the reset button.

THE TRIP HOME...
Our trip home was tough but not for the reason I expected. I was all set to deal with a screaming baby on a plane but Nina was much better than I could have hoped. In about 30 hours of travel, she difficult for only 3 hours total. Mercifully, she slept most of the time. What was difficult was the airlines. It started with a 2.5 hours delay getting out of Almaty. We ended up waiting in the International Departure Lounge for nearly 5 hours. Don’t let the word “international” fool you, this is just one big room with a few duty free shops (inexplicably closed an hour after we arrived), a bar and a smoking lounge. We tried to find something for Nina and the kids to eat but were told the yogurt was “not fresh”, there was no milk, no juice, no food. They did have beer, vodka and candy. Breakfast of champions. So we raided our supply of cheerios, chewy bars and juices. By the time we boarded we were already 7 hours into our trip home.

On board things didn’t get much better. Let me just say here I will never, EVER fly with KLM or Northwest again. We were not offered a bulkhead/bassinet seat, which was my first disappointment, but I could deal with that. We bought Nina her own seat so she would have some space to sleep. The real problem was that although we purchased a child seat, provide her age (24 months) and requested a child’s meal we did not get it. Even worse when I told the flight attendant that I would just take a regular meal I was told she had to make sure all the adults on the plane had a meal first and IF she had extra Nina could have one. Yup that’s right but hang on it gets even more obnoxious.

Eventually KLM was able to spare an extra adult meal for Nina and we did the best we could feeding her a yogurt and some fruit and supplementing with yet more cheerios. By the time we arrived in Amsterdam we were 3 hours behind schedule. Luckily, we did not miss our flight but our plans to buy food for Nina at the airport were shot. By this time I am out of juice, milk and she has eaten about a pound of cheerios. I hope for the best. No such luck. Our next flight was KLM’s partner Northwest. The plane, a 757, was shockingly small for a transatlantic flight. Again, we started poorly; our seats were all over the plane. Nina and Nolan whose tickets were booked as children aged 2 and 9 were each seated by themselves about 10 and 12 rows behind us. Since we were so late to board, there was no way to change so we moved the bigger kids to the rear seats. Once we got going I asked again for a child’s meal. There was none. OK been there done that. Then I asked for a cup of milk and this was the piece de resistance, I was informed that the milk brought on board was for coffee and there was none to spare for our baby. I must have just stared at the flight attendant; I mean are you kidding me? Another passenger heard the whole thing and started insisting that they find milk. One half hour later I was, begrudgingly, issued my one cup and told that was it. Add to this the fact that the lavatories on the plane were all out of order by the time we landed, and the entertainment system stopped working about an hour into the flight and you get the idea-Northwest sucks.
I could have kissed the ground when we arrived in Detroit, not only because we were freed by Northwest or that I was close enough to smell the McDonald's fries but my baby was finally in the US and about to become our nation’s newest (and cutest) citizen. The Immigration process was very simple and completely lacking in ceremony, except of course for Kiefer crooning in his best Borat impression, “Velcome to Amerrrrica”! The rest of the trip home was uneventful. We had one more weather related delay and finally walked thru our front door a little after 10pm. The whole trip door to door was 28 hours.

Now the good, albeit mundane, stuff….

Nina is doing great. She slept in her crib the first night we were home; she is great about naps and bedtime. Also she is eating more varied food every day. (At the baby house when I asked what she ate, I was told “everything”, but apparently, “everything” means soup.) We have tried to introduce new foods each day. If she doesn’t like it at first, it very possible she will devourer it the next day. She is a kid that does not like new or change. I am chalking it up to institutional life, but I am pleased that we can see progress almost by the hour. Today she ate, scrambled eggs, turkey, Munster cheese, bread with cherry preserves, cantaloupe, grapes and a strawberry.

The day after we got home, we scrambled to baby proof the house. We have put up gates and outlet covers, cabinet and toilet locks. Nina took the ride to Babies R Us to get all the gear and absolutely loved riding in her car seat. The cashier at the store said my baby looked just like me…well yes of course she does:)

Our first night Dart’s parents had cakes for Kiefer’s birthday and Nina’s arrival, the next night they made us a prime rib dinner and today they brought a great pot of beef stew. God bless these wonderful Grandparents.

So far Nina likes to; play the piano, pretend to be chased by the dog, cook in her kitchen and run laps around the house. I am stunned at what a happy, healthy, curious and completely normal baby she is. Her vocabulary has exploded; she repeats everything and even has 2-3 word sentences. She understands even more. Just now she was dancing to the theme song from Drake and Josh.

We now gladly leave behind the angst and drama of “adopting” and move into the gloriously mundane days of parenting.

Read more...

Home Sweet Home

We are home and exhausted except for the Bean who slept a huge part of the past 30 hours. Nina is now busy showing us all the places and things we need to baby proof. Details later, after this brief hibernation....

Read more...

Happy Birthday Kiefer

Lots and lots of attention has been paid to my youngest but my oldest is a real sweetheart too. I can hardly believe he is 18 today. It seems like just a minute ago my 10 pound 3 oz little monster was born.

Read more...

Dasvidania

This is my last post from Kazakhstan. I can’t say I am sad to leave. I miss home. I miss my family and friends. I miss English, driving my own car, and diet Pepsi. I am sick of smog, restaurants, and hotels. I will not put Kazakhstan on my list of places to which I must return. Nevertheless, I will always be grateful to this country and the people we have met along the way. After all, I am leaving Kazakhstan with the most wonderful little souvenir ever!

Best Souvenir Ever

Today marked the final step in the international portion of our adoption journey. We went to the US Embassy here in Almaty and obtained the final paperwork and approvals to bring Nina home. The appointment itself was once again lacking in any pomp and circumstance. No fireworks, champagne corks or releasing of doves but we did get Nina’s Kazakhstan passport complete with US Immigrant Visa and a sealed brown envelope which we have been told to deliver to US Immigration unopened. That’s it we are done.

Our little Immigrant

Tomorrow morning Nickoli will pick us up at our hotel at 5:30 in the morning for our 8:20am flight. We are again going through Amsterdam and then Detroit before arriving in Cleveland at 8:35pm on January 7th. We don’t have very long layovers at any one place which is both good and bad. The whole trip is only about 24 hours (I know “only”) but if we have any delays well that will not be good. (Think good thoughts!) The 7th is also Kiefer’s 18th birthday and with all the travel it looks like his 18th will last 36 hours-that’s pretty cool. It’s funny even the prospect of 24 hours of plane travel with a very active 2 year old sounds appealing when home is the destination.

I love my Daddy

I keep thinking, “what a long strange trip it has been”. To be certain adoption is not for the faint of heart (nor is adopting a 2 year old who has spent most of her short life in institutional care). So many times in this process, I was despondent, certain “she” would never come. Sometimes I muscled thru my sadness on pure stubbornness, determined not to let the “process” beat me. Mostly though I just couldn’t bear the thought of not having a daughter and therefore endured whatever pain, lack of control and disappointment that came my way. This has been the single most exhausting test of my patience and emotional fortitude. I am much stronger than I knew. Kazakhstan Car Seat

Now nearly on the other side I am like all new mothers, suffering from blissful postpartum amnesia. I catch myself saying all those things that used to sound so cliche, like; “she was worth the wait”, and “she is the child for me”, and “I would do it all over again” and of course, it is all true. I once was certain my daughter was in China, and perhaps a second daughter is there for me, but today I know the delays in the China program and the seeming host of setbacks were part of the incredible set of circumstances that led me to this daughter, one I was destined to mother…My Nina Bea.

This will look great in my room

Read more...

SOS International Clinic

We had our medical appointment today. Boy was that a big nothing. Honestly I am not sure what the point of this is other than being yet another "don't ask why international adoption hoop" we must jump thru. The exam consisted of weight with her shoes and snow pants on and on an adult scale, height again shoes on and still the nurse added 2 cm, pulse ox, listen to heart and lungs and look in ears, nose and throat (barely). Then we paid our $125 bucks and were told our paperwork would be ready by the end of the day. Silly, but still another minor milestone in our adoption adventure.

Read more...

Room with a View

Read more...

InterContinental Life

I didn't hear much about the InterContinental also known as the Ankara on the kaz boards but it turns out to be a very nice although expensive place to stay. The breakfast buffet this morning was amazing. I can't think of anything that was NOT there. There was a Japanese breakfast section with rice, bean spouts, tofu and sashimi. There was 12 feet of pastries laid out, an espresso bar, fresh squeezed juice, cooked to order eggs, caviar, 10 different meats and cheeses, all sorts of fruits, berries, nuts and cereals. Plus the usual American style breakfast foods like pancakes, french toast, bacon etc. Awesome, and all that for only $200 for the 6 of us (and I think Nina was free). Forget cereal and yogurt, tomorrow morning we are having the caviar, salmon and truffles special!

The hotel does have a pool and spa which is a huge bonus. Outside it is grey and snowy and the pool is just what we need for the kids. So we took Nina this morning for her first swim and she absolutely loved it. It is hard to believe she was afraid to take a bath just a week ago. Right now Nina is napping after her hard morning of playing in the water and I did get an appointment for a massage for this afternoon. So we are hunkering down and relaxing before the big trip home. I do think we will venture out tonight for dinner and maybe some ice skating. It is a good day.

Read more...

We are in Almaty

Fun with a napkin...

We arrived safe and sound in Almaty around 5pm. Nina's first plane trip was only slightly traumatic. It was all fun and games on the plane while we waited to take off but man oh man when the engines turned on and we took off Nina was absolutely terrified. She quickly calmed down and then went to sleep for the rest of the flight. I am so glad we had the extra time in Ust with her. I think I was much better equipped to comfort her because of it.

Leaving Ust was surprisingly emotional. Kiefer made some friends while we were in Ust and they came to the airport to send him off which I thought was really cool. Nolan, who is always sad anytime we leave anywhere, gave his heartfelt goodbyes to Arman, Aidan has been ready to go home since we got here. As I walked across the tarmac to board our plane, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the enormity of the situation. My throat tightened and my eyes welled with tears. I squeezed and kissed Nina, my god we are actually taking her home, it was almost too good to believe.

Baby Babushka

In Almaty we went to the InterContinental Hotel. It is pretty nice and really nice compared to the Shiny River. The boys acted like we just arrived in Shangra la. We had dinner which was really (I mean really) good and then crashed. The boys have their own room so Dart and I had a peaceful evening watching Nina dismantle a new hotel room.

Arrrgh, now she's a pirate

I can tell Nina is feeling the stress of all these changes but all things considered she is doing great. Our new words yesterday were; hello, bye bye (with a wave), and bird (tweet, tweet). We are here until Wednesday. Sunday is a free day when we can explore, not sure yet what to do. We might just skip the "cultural stuff" and swim at the pool. I know pathetic, but there is a spa here and mommy could really use a hot stone massage. Monday is Nina's medical visit and then we have an Embassy appointment on Tuesday. Almost done.

Read more...

Last Night in Ust

This is our last night in Ust-Kamenogorsk; we leave for Almaty tomorrow afternoon. We thought we were meeting in the lobby with two other couples adopting at the baby house for a bon voyage drink but things quickly spiraled out of control. The employees here at the Shiny River were having their New Year’s party and I guess since we have all been here so long they decided to include us in the festivities. It started with a bottle of vodka brought to us by one of the partying security guards and ended up with music, dancing and some weird potato thing on a string game, (which Dart won!) We can still here the music pumping away but I think we left just in time. A rather large blond woman looked like she had Dart in her sights. A few more swings of the potato and we might not have been able to hold her back.

Read more...

Nina say "butt"

We almost can't believe it, Nina is repeating everything she hears. She is a sponge for language. I am not sure what to think since we were told that she has a developmental delay in language. According to the babyhouse director that she understands everything but speaks very few words. I am begining to wonder if maybe the problem was noone spoke to her because she has picked up so many english words and phrases in just the last couple of days it is hard to keep up. So far this is what she is saying;

Daddy, big bus (with arms open wide), car (followed by vrooom vrooom), all done, all gone, poopie, bye bye, book, more and uht-oh . Also we get "uh ah" with a shake of the head for no (a lot) :).

Of course now that she is a bonified parrot, the boys have made it their full time job to teach her to say "butt", ha ha ha-very funny boys.

Read more...