Saturday, September 10, 2011
... Maybe She'll Now Learn to Ride!
Looking good on a bike, hoping to learn to ride soon! All is well! School is going great - she loves riding the bus and sitting with her friend. Thoughts and realizations and all of the new stuff that came with America and family are starting to settle in. Afterall, it has been 4.5 months now in America, and she has added 15 pounds and 2 inches already! We hope everyone is well! Greetings from all of us!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Birthdays
Karina and Robert had birthdays! Robert is a beagle who turned 10. Karina turned 13! Wow! All is well, and we thought we'd update some fun birthday pictures for everyone.
Surprise!
Happy Birthday Robert & Karina!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Father' Day!
Papa had a good day today. We made breakfast for him and he opened his presents. He got a new bathing suit (palm trees on orange and black faded background - ohhhh! which is much more stylish than his purple "Barney" trunks from our days in Florida when we first married - yes, it has been that long since he got a new suit!). Papa also got a matching beach towel and a HUGE coffee mug, hand decorated by Karina! Plus, a motorcycle card! He was thrilled. Here are his first Father's Day pics! We hope you enjoy! It was a happy morning, indeed! Papa likes being a Papa!! He loves his daughter so very much!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Star Light, Star Bright...
...first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
Ironically, Karina learned this rhyme in school today, and she made a wish at school. Then, not knowing this until after the fact, I took her to Target today to offer insights on what she would like to have for her birthday. We learned many new words as we combed Target for close to 3 hours, exploring every isle and item with a red scanner in hand. Each time she found something that she would like to have for her birthday, I clicked the scanner to register it to a wish list. It was quite fascinating.
At first, I was like, oh no, I cannot do this for she will be overwhelmed and it is not right to put her in such a situation given her background. Then, I said to myself, well, she is very particular and likes to have choice, so setting her up for her first birthday in America at the end of this month only to get things she may not be attracted to is not fair to her either. Our neighbors across the street had a big party this past weekend, and she is convinced that birthdays in America have big tents and many, many cars. Oh well.... I opted to go with the wish list and hedging my bets in that direction instead.
Interestingly, she chose 50 things which was huge and she was in awe of herself! Her choices were all quite reasonable. A bag of M&Ms - wow, what a cool thing to have! She likes chips, can she include some pringles too? Sure, we'll click into the list anything and everything that you would like to have. We can't say you will get it, but it is fun to dream.
Here is her first wish list - of all the things in the entire store, this is it! From the eyes of a soon to be 13 year old new to America! https://www.target.com/lists/find Search by List ID: List ID: 012128800000054
A few things not on the list that I snuck into the cart when she wasn't looking and so far, I'm safe to say she doesn't know about are a pair of Hannah Montana sunglasses, her favorite candy (Rafaello with white coconut), Kinder chocolate (Google images has pictures of this candy, the eggs with surprises in them are her favorites!), and I ordered a pair of silver sandals in a 5.5 2N (difficult size to find, she wears my shoes size identically!).
Tonight she is having trouble getting to sleep. She is working mazes in bed. We have field day at school tomorrow - the last day of school. She is prepped and ready to go. Her name is on her hat, and a lot of what is going on is a need to know what is going on. I think the best thing I did to day was to ask her tonight: "Do you have any questions about tomorrow?" That one question turned our evening 180-degrees for the better. There is a huge need-to-know, and we forget how much they don't know that we assume they know. It is so hard being a kid in a foreign country, in a family where you don't know what a family is suppose to be, and with boundaries that are developing as you are in many cases. Nothing short of a miracle, to be honest.
Start Light, Start Bright, I wish that Karina learns tonight that we love her endlessly and that dreams are good things to have! I wish I may, I wish I might see the dreams she dreams come true and I wish that those dreams are good dreams that make the whole world a better place for everyone, including her and those she loves.
Ironically, Karina learned this rhyme in school today, and she made a wish at school. Then, not knowing this until after the fact, I took her to Target today to offer insights on what she would like to have for her birthday. We learned many new words as we combed Target for close to 3 hours, exploring every isle and item with a red scanner in hand. Each time she found something that she would like to have for her birthday, I clicked the scanner to register it to a wish list. It was quite fascinating.
At first, I was like, oh no, I cannot do this for she will be overwhelmed and it is not right to put her in such a situation given her background. Then, I said to myself, well, she is very particular and likes to have choice, so setting her up for her first birthday in America at the end of this month only to get things she may not be attracted to is not fair to her either. Our neighbors across the street had a big party this past weekend, and she is convinced that birthdays in America have big tents and many, many cars. Oh well.... I opted to go with the wish list and hedging my bets in that direction instead.
Interestingly, she chose 50 things which was huge and she was in awe of herself! Her choices were all quite reasonable. A bag of M&Ms - wow, what a cool thing to have! She likes chips, can she include some pringles too? Sure, we'll click into the list anything and everything that you would like to have. We can't say you will get it, but it is fun to dream.
Here is her first wish list - of all the things in the entire store, this is it! From the eyes of a soon to be 13 year old new to America! https://www.target.com/lists/find Search by List ID: List ID: 012128800000054
A few things not on the list that I snuck into the cart when she wasn't looking and so far, I'm safe to say she doesn't know about are a pair of Hannah Montana sunglasses, her favorite candy (Rafaello with white coconut), Kinder chocolate (Google images has pictures of this candy, the eggs with surprises in them are her favorites!), and I ordered a pair of silver sandals in a 5.5 2N (difficult size to find, she wears my shoes size identically!).
Tonight she is having trouble getting to sleep. She is working mazes in bed. We have field day at school tomorrow - the last day of school. She is prepped and ready to go. Her name is on her hat, and a lot of what is going on is a need to know what is going on. I think the best thing I did to day was to ask her tonight: "Do you have any questions about tomorrow?" That one question turned our evening 180-degrees for the better. There is a huge need-to-know, and we forget how much they don't know that we assume they know. It is so hard being a kid in a foreign country, in a family where you don't know what a family is suppose to be, and with boundaries that are developing as you are in many cases. Nothing short of a miracle, to be honest.
Start Light, Start Bright, I wish that Karina learns tonight that we love her endlessly and that dreams are good things to have! I wish I may, I wish I might see the dreams she dreams come true and I wish that those dreams are good dreams that make the whole world a better place for everyone, including her and those she loves.
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