How can you not love Halloween??

With cute stuff like this around!

What does the waiting feel like???

Waiting to pick up our daughter has felt like waiting for Christmas morning as a child.  You feel like you might just burst with excitement and anything you can do to prepare for the day is exciting.  I found this on Wikihow.com, maybe this will help me.

How to Wait for Christmas Morning
Tips

• Try not to think about the presents you are getting because this will only make it harder to fall asleep.   She is definitely a gift.
• Most people can't get to sleep if they are excited. Relax and take deep breaths.   This is near impossible.
• Pretend it's just another day. This is perhaps the most key tip there is.  I'm trying to stay focused on my boys and the holidays.
• Try showering or bathing just before you go to bed to ensure that you will feel nice and clean.  Oh that does sound nice.

Warnings
• Do not try and wake up your parents on Christmas morning before they want to wake up. Parents value their sleeping time!  You mean don't wake your husband to see if he is thinking about her too?
• If you decide to listen to music, skip the Christmas carols. These will only make you more excited for the big day. The same goes for Christmas stories if you decide to read. I already a lullaby playlist for her.
• It's great to be in the Christmas spirit, but don't overexcite yourself. This will only make it harder to sleep. Would decorating her room be the equivalent of this one???  I'm pretty sure I have over excited myself on this one  (just gave my father in law a hug and kiss because he said he was going to frame the mirror for me this week)  LOL

• Do not try anything dumb such as taking 'sleeping pills'. These are either ineffective or illegal, unless they are prescribed. And your doctor probably won't give them to you unless you have a sleeping disorder or something. I probably have too much to do to try this one.

We have court dates!!!

I'm so excited I'm doing back flips!!  We have court on 11/7!!

Our Russian Princess Shower

Our friends and family threw us the sweetest shower on Sunday.  We received lots of wonderful gifts and had a lot of fun making bows and decor for her room.  The decorations were super cute and in keeping with the Russian theme we had wonderful pasteries, tea and some Russian punch.


Everyone at the shower decorated a letter to hang on her wall.  Some went home with cuts and/or burns on their fingers but I for one think it was worth it.  Look how cute it looks!

There's been a crime!

These two bandits claim they were framed!  Do you think they are guilty of the "Play Town" bank robbery?  Please vote off to the side.  If found guilty its early bed time all week!

To vote, you have to go down the page and sign in under "followers".

Gotcha Day Outfit!!

Day 4

So today we left to visit P at 9am. We got to the baby home about 10. We put the protective plastic wear on our feet and went in. Our visit with P today was a bit different than it has been. She is no longer nervous or apprehensive when she sees us. She came right in and within a few minutes she was ruling the place. She was very opinionated about what she wanted to do and what she didn't want to do. She is very independent and we will have to work hard to change that. We will have to teach her to depend on us and count on us in order to attach. After our visit we went to have our medicals done. From there we went to officially sign the papers indicating that we want to be her parents. After that we went to lunch with our translator Galina. She was wonderful. She talked openly and honestly about life in the Soviet Union days. She explained the ways in which the Russian people are better off now and the ways in which they are not. She spoke of the troubles they have today with money and healthcare. I really enjoyed listening to her it was so interesting. After lunch we went back to the baby home for our final visit. We found out when she learned to walk and when she stood for the first time. We played with her for about an hour. She colored, stacked cups, danced, and played ball. Then her care taker came to get her. We gave her the blanket we had made for her and her picture album. We took some pictures of her with us and with the caregivers. We gave her kisses and then off she went. I turned to Joe and broke down. It was so very hard to leave her today. Joe and I both cried all the way to the car. Gilina felt so sad for us. Her and our driver Boris took us to a souvenir shop to buy a few more things for our family. We got out of the car and had to ring a door bell to enter the shop. While we were in there they offered us shots of vodka or "sweet wine" which btw isn't wine...it's sweet hard liquor. We quite enjoyed the novelty of this. we purchased a few items and then headed for the hotel. It was quite the day. We are headed home tomorrow morning. I can't wait to get home and hug my boys. I miss them terribly.