The one time mama trumps daddy

I knew it wasn't good when Alayna got off Jason's lap this morning and came to me, not once but twice.  She is a TOTAL daddy's girl and anytime he is home you can find her either on his lap or close by him.  However, there is one time when I can assure you she ALWAYS come to mama...It can only mean one thing...she is sick too!

Bartender can I have another round of antibiotics please?  Strep it is...

Her pediatrician was out today so we went to our urgent care and it took a couple hours, after waiting for so long and then waiting for her meds she was all worn out.  Hoping after nap she is feeling a bit better.

Thankfully Dariya is sleeping better and is feeling much better.

Now off to obliterate, fumigate, eradicate, demolish, eliminate, squash, stamp out, bleach the house, clean like crazy so none of the rest of us catch strep.

P.S.  Our chunky monkey Ukrainian has put on 10 pounds (38.5 #) since coming home and is more than 6 inches taller and little bit is still holding steady at 29# although she has gained several inches since her check up in October!

Oh no, one fell right out of the starting blocks

School started well for all three kids.

Except Dariya woke up Sunday morning at 4am with sinus stuff and wouldn't go back to sleep.  By Sunday night she was really stuffed up but not running a fever and again was up in the middle of the night.  She went to her second day of school on Monday and was happy as a clam when she returned on the bus then like a Mack truck hit her she was DOWN!

We walked into the house and she wouldn't eat lunch (ok she is really sick).  She went and laid down on the ottoman in the living room and tried to sooth herself to sleep.  I tried to get her to eat but quickly gave up and  put her down for a nap.  When she woke up she was running a fever although not a high one so I still thought it was just a sinus infection. By Tuesday her sinus stuff was worse, she was getting her typical sickie rash on her face and her fever was running around 103°, which I knew meant strep.

Off to urgent care we went and sure enough it was strep AND a sinus infection.  We are so thankful for antibiotics after just two doses she is already way better but, was super sad to miss her 3rd day of school.

As I spent many hours rocking her and staring into her beautiful blue eyes in the middle of the night lately, I couldn't help but to remember not long ago this little princess didn't have anyone to comfort her or sing her songs to make her feel better.   It still makes my heart sad that for 3 1/2 years she was on her own.

There are still SO many orphans out there that don't have anyone to snuggle them, please continue to pray, advocate and donate to Reece's Rainbow or other orphan advocacy groups.

Thankful for God placing her in our family and for great medicines that do the trick!

Hurry back to health sweet Dariya!

And they're off...

It has been a busy week meeting teachers, dropping off supplies and getting back into the school routine.  Aidan began school on Wednesday and likes his teacher and is looking forward to what 4th grade holds for him.

Seriously, what happened to my little boy???

The girls were so excited to start back to preschool.  When I put Dariya to bed last night I told her she was going to school in the morning she literally dove into her bed and went to sleep.  LOL

We were a little off when the bus showed up yesterday morning.  Dariya was naked and Alayna was still in her pajamas.  I was questioning my sanity for a moment.  I thought I had lost track of the days.  Whew, it was Thursday and the girls only go on MWF mornings!  Thankful it was their mistake and not mine.

However, Alayna woke up bright and early at 6am and was determined to try her best to get everyone up.  Thankfully Dariya went back to sleep until 7.  They were dressed and ready about 30 minutes early.   They sat at the window as long as they could getting more and more excited.  When they finally saw a bus coming down the street they were VERY disappointed that it was Aidan's instead of theirs.  Last year the girls were picked up a few minutes before him.

But, not too soon after another yellow magic bus arrived and whisked the big girls off to school.  No tears this year, just giggles and lots of waving and kisses being thrown my way.

When they arrived home they were thrilled to tell me about their day and that Alayna was the special helper.

Report has it that everyone had a good first week (if you subtract out the throwing toys...Alayna!)

Praying the rest of the year they all soar!

Lessons at the park

Our city has some awesome parks.  We try to take in new ones all the time.  We happened upon one that was a great set up for the girls with high climbing structures but instead of plastic walls it had metal bars so the girls could easily walk up the stairs.  It is also nestled along a creek for big brother to go fishing so it was a total score!

We were the only ones at the park for quite a while then a family of 2 girls (8 and 6 years) and a 4 year old boy came and played.  This family was enjoying going down the slide together like a train and the girls thought that was cool.  Dariya even jumped in and these sweet kids included her in the train like she was a member of the family.

Then the kids decided to play "ice cream shop" underneath the play structure out of one of the little house windows.  They included Dariya and Alayna right away and started asking them what kind of ice cream and toppings they would like.  I stood back for a second to see what would transpire and to my joy the girls not only interacted but, interacted well.

Dariya was saying and signing strawberry for which kind of ice cream she would like and then signing chips for chocolate chips on top.  Alayna actually SPOKE and made sentences to these complete strangers.  She was saying things like, "I want strawberry ice cream please" and "yes more chocolate chips please".

I was overjoyed.  Just watching the girls be able to fully be included and interact with other kids and be able to be understood was a snapshot of beauty to this mom.

Just a simple day at the park turned out to be so much more, a social and speech lesson all wrapped into one without me having to get involved at all.

It is black and white!

I think you might recognize a few folks especially at 2:20...Please share, Reece's Rainbow has made a difference to over 800 orphans.

What, Summer is over?

We have had such a fun summer together.  The girls have done really well listening at the pool and at parks which made life so much better for Aidan and I.  I feared we would be stuck at home in the fenced in backyard due to one little Ukrainian who likes to wander.  I worried that Aidan would have no fun at all.

Boy was I wrong.  They played hard all summer, enjoyed the grass between their toes and the water splashing in their faces, playing together and with friends.

The weather is getting cooler (thank you God!), the pools are closed during the day and the school supplies are bought.   I guess it is that time again for everyone to head back to school.

This was taken minutes after getting them dressed and ready to walk out the door for the day!

They are all anxious to get back to school next week.  Aidan starts Wednesday and the girls start Friday.  I can tell they are ready as the last few weeks they have all been grumpy and the girls are into mischief often.  I think they are bored with being at home and ready to see their friends (and Ms. Juanita!)

She was giggling at first!

I had hoped Dariya's potty training would hit high gear this summer and she would be going back to school sporting panties instead of pull ups but, she isn't quite there yet.  She has been in panties at home and has gone many days without an accident but has also had many days with numerous accidents.  So we will forge on and pray for drier days ahead.

I am still under the belief that kids will potty train when they are ready and there isn't any reason to push them any faster.  We want her to work her way through every developmental stage that she has missed living in an institution for 3 1/2 years.

Trust me she knows how the toilet works...she and her little sister, flushed 3 monster trucks in one day.  Good thing I have a "Jason of all trades" who stayed up past 11pm taking the toilet apart to retrieve Dariya and the monster trucks. (Please note: no preschoolers were harmed in the fixing of said toilet!)

Good luck teachers, watch out the Cannon chaos are coming your way soon!

Wordless Wednesday: Don't feed the gremlins!

Wordless Wednesday: I think someone has been watching too much Olympics!

Weekend getaway

This weekend my second cousin, Alyssa was married in Omaha.  We were going to make a weekend out of it and go up early Friday and take in their incredible zoo.  However, Dariya woke up with her hair all crusty and her ear looking like this...

Thankfully since last November when she received tubes she hasn't had any problems, but wow this is one bad infection.  So we opted to drive up for the wedding and turn around and come home the same day.

It was great to see family that we hadn't seen in a while and for them to meet Dariya, although they didn't really get a great idea of her sweet personality because she was tired, clingy and cranky.

But, I have to give all three of our kids kudos as they were all great travelers.  Alayna napped both on the way up and back. Dariya never napped (even with melatonin) but she did sit quietly and look out the window. And Aidan is just plain easy.

All three did fantastic during the ceremony which lasted about 70 minutes.

 The unity candle is one of my favorite parts of weddings.  Thankful that I snapped this one before Alayna crawled over me again and blurred the scene.

 Caught this handsome guy hanging out listening to some tunes in the lobby after the nuptials.

 Before we headed back home we met up in my parents hotel room to say goodbye and snap a few more pictures. 

A fun trip but, next time we visit Omaha we will take in the zoo and leave out the ear infections!

This means war...

Aidan thought he had a great idea to cool off his littlest sister.

 After all it has been unbearably hot here for weeks on end.

However, what he forgot was his littlest sister has a bigger sister and she LOVES nothing more than to play games with her big brother.  

One squirt of the water gun and IT.WAS.ON!

The girl's didn't opt for a small water pistol or even the super soaker.  

They went straight for the hose and tag teamed him.

It wasn't long until Aidan was on his knees begging for mercy and the laughter was out of control!

Oh these three, I love watching them enjoy life and each other!

Wordless Wednesday: Look Mom, no hands!