Graduation...Junior Kindergarten style

I had one VERY excited 5 year old on my hands this week...."Is it graduation today?" I got asked many times over the past few days and yesterday I got to say yes. The kids had to be dressed and in their class for 3:45 so I decided to pick Ciera up after lunch, bring her home, bath her and put her hair in curlers before her nap so she could have cascading waves for her graduation.

Hair up, she naps and I work. To her credit she only complained once that they hurt, but they are the spongy ones so I think she was just being a wee bit dramatic! Her other option was heading to daycare in the morning with curlers in but I could not do that to her (or me)!

Finally the time comes to get her up...darn hair is not quite dry so short of putting her head under the old fashioned bonnet (which we don't own, but it'd be handy!) I burn my fingers repeatedly trying to dry the curls....what we do for vanity. Her hair comes out of the curlers in ringlets, but I was afraid to brush it then thinking it might just straighten it. It's interesting, her hair has a natural wave to it but curl it and it lasts all of about 5 minutes...I don't get it.

We both get dressed, Ciera asked for makeup, mom said no, Ciera asked for perfume, mom says yes . While I am getting dressed, Ciera walks in reeking with perfume asking if she can put some on the back of her neck....."ummm no honey I think you have enough on"

Off to daycare we go, in her classroom I brush her hair out.....this was the result....

not quite what I was envisioning but not too bad for my first effort :-)

I head down to the room where they are doing graduation, sitting there I hear the start of "Pomp and Circumstance" I start to tear up and realize "yikes this is only JK!", in walks my daughter looking so serious. She would not look at anyone as she walked by, my sister Linda was taping for me and in watching it back last night I can hear her saying "Ciera, Ciera" but to her credit Ciera did not look, apparently she was following instructions from her teachers.

The ceremony was very cute, her class all got up on stage and sang a song and then recited Psalm 100, then each child went to the microphone and said "when I grow up I want to be a....", Ciera got there and said

"when I grow up I want to be an astronaut"

Of all the things she could have said (Batman, a boy, etc) this was somewhat of a relief, but still I cried, I'm so proud of her....she said it loud and proud.

The Senior Kindergartens did a similar thing and then they called each of the children's names and they received their "diploma", we were told it was a fake one so not to worry if they scrunched them up!

The head of the daycare then got up and made a little speech starting with the words "I'm going to try not to cry..." which of course made me tear up again, then she said how so many of these children she had known since they were in diapers, which made all the kids laugh and go "ewwwww" and how proud she was to see them growing up (more tears from me, and of all days I had no Kleenex, the mom behind me had handed me some when the kids got up on the stage). Then the clincher, they had put together a slide show of the kids and their teachers from various things they had done over the year and played the Rascal Flatts song "My wish", that's when I lost it (on a good day this song makes me cry), I had to hold myself back from sobbing. A friend said today "for the wedding bring a large size Kleenex box and a drop sheet", thanks Peter...you are right!!

Here is my graduate......

My Wish (Rascal Flatts)

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

Rain won't stop us!!!

The past 3 years we celebrated our Forever day by heading to the Zoo, this year as I am saving my vacation days for our return to Kazakhstan I am being chintzy with taking vacation days so I thought "OK, I'll take a 1/2 day and we can head to Wonderland for a few hours". When I dropped Ciera off this morning I told her I would pick her up early and that I would have a surprise for her. Her response "Our baby?!!!", no honey not today!

I had to explain the significance of today a few times, but I think she "got it".

So at 2:00 I head off to daycare to pick her up, of course that is the exact time the rain started to spit a bit. As we walked out of daycare the tempo picked up, but by the time we got to Wonderland it seemed to have stopped. We went in to get our seasons passes finalized and then it started to rain a bit harder. I had thrown our umbrellas in the wagon, I tried to convince Ciera that mommy fish really needed to stay in the car but she would have no part of it, so I tucked her under the wagon seat and hoped for the best, so we put up our umbrellas and bravely headed in. I discovered the HUGE advantage of Wonderland in the rain, midweek...not a line in sight. We rode quite a few rides and several we stayed on for a 2nd run, there were truly that few people around, now granted we were in Planet Snoopy but still. The ride would stop and the attendant would just say "is everyone staying on?" We found that riding on a roller coaster in the rain is really great fun, and by about the 3rd ride we were pretty much soaked through on our shorts as all the seats were wet, Ciera thought this to be quite funny "we look like we peed our pants!!" she noted while laughing.

All in all we had a great time, and even though we were only there for 2 1/2 hours we got alot of rides in...and dinner...and the required purchase of cotton candy.

By the time we got to the car Ciera looked like she had been in the shower in her clothes (she rode more rides than I did, as I can't go on all of them in the kids section) and I had to strip her down in the car and wrap her in a blanket in her car seat, I plopped the cotton candy in her lap and we headed home. About 10 minutes later she declared "I've had enough sugar" (don't you just love this kid!) and 10 minutes from home I heard snoring.......yikes no it's only 6:00!!! She woke up as I carried her in and we both put on our jammies and cuddled on the couch to watch some tv.

Ciera decided this would be a perfect day to go back to the "I am not going to smile for pictures and will look away from the camera at all costs", so our pictures are not the greatest...oh well!

What a wonderful day!!!





At least we ate out of the rain!!!

Enjoying the bucket-o-cotton candy

Crashed!!! With a soaking wet mama fish on her lap, I had to wring mama fish out before I "let" her in the car, then when we got home into the washer and dryer she went!!!

Happy Forever Family Day

Four years ago today I was sitting in the Directors office at the then named Nezabudka Babyhouse in Karaganda, my sister Linda holding the video camera....and me trying desperately to keep my stomach in check (nerves!). I really wish I could remember what was said but I was so excited and nervous.....I do remember someone saying that the "girl" and I resembled each other. Then I heard the words "we are bringing her down now", and then in walked someone with this tiny 13 pound 13 month child in green pants and a striped shirt, she looked so tiny and sooo scared. They handed her to me.....thank goodness I was sitting down.....she started to cry and someone said "do you have any toys?" so I handed her a giraffe rattle as I struggled to not sob myself. This was the moment I had waited for and envisioned for so very long, holding my baby girl! We sat there for a few more minutes and then we went upstairs to room 4 and I didn't want to put her down, I also didn't want to overwhelm her. Once on the floor she started to crawl around, poor kid I kept picking her up to hold her and kiss her, I wish I knew what she was thinking probably something like "who is this crazy woman and what is she saying I can't understand what she is saying, but I kinda like being held!"

Over the next few weeks we got to know each other, and we experienced many many firsts....I fed her, changed her diaper, took her outside...for the first few times outside I held her as it was so new to her and she was totally overwhelmed, she looked like she was in shock. Finally we graduated to the stroller and again the first couple of times she just sat there and did not move, by the end of the 2nd week she was leaning over the edge watching the wheels...something she is still fascinated with today!!!

While Ciera is still petite 30 pounds and 40.5 inches tall at 5 years, she has grown and blossomed so very much. While she was "late" to walk and talk, once she started she never stopped! Today she talks non-stop and moves non-stop, she LOVES ALL sports and complains "I NEVER get to exercise"....yeah right!! Her confidence in herself has just recently come out and it has been a great joy to watch this happen.

It's funny, I hear people say "Oh I love the baby stage the best" or "I love when they are independent", I'm finding I love every stage the best, whatever stage she is in I love it the best.

Ciera is (not that I'm at all biased!!) a great kid, she has a wicked sense of humour and comes out with some really funny lines and some very interesting questions...this morning she asked "how can Jesus hear us if he does not have a baby monitor?"!! But she is also a good kid, polite, empathetic, loving, caring...and I love her to pieces!!

I have no doubts at all that she was MEANT to be my daughter, and everything that happened in my life happened when it did for a reason........ so that Ciera could be my daughter.

I love you baby girl, I am so happy and proud to be your mom!!