Husker outfit makes its debut

On Thursday, 8/28, we went to Portrait Innovations for Amanda's 5-year pictures. The manager was our photographer, and she had Amanda giggling up a storm. The cards were free with my order, so I had the Husker inscription put on them. A plain picture would have shown up better here, probably, but I thought the cards were so cute! (Looks like my scanner didn't get part of the right side, but that's just borderThis picture shows much better. I had lots of cute pictures to choose from - Aunt Patty's Husker outfit was perfect for her pictures! (And Patty said it's still in keeping with my ladybug theme, with the red and black - but that might be a stretch) =)
This last Saturday, we went to a birthday party in a park for Maddie (4), a little girl from daycare. Amanda's first "invitee" birthday party! Maddie's mom, "Ms. Amanda" (Amanda's former teacher), had rented a bouncy house which the kids loved, and a sno-cone machine. It was pretty chilly, but the kids enjoyed the sno-cones anyway. Maddie wet her pants shortly after we got there, and I had brought an extra outfit along (in case Amanda might need it - not so much a potty accident, but getting wet or dirty or cold or whatever), so Maddie borrowed Amanda's extra pair of jeans. It was a fun party, and as we were cleaning up, a church group was setting up nearby in the park. The pastor came over and invited us all to join their carnival. They had a huge bouncy house, a small obstacle course/slide blow-up, a concession stand with sno-cones and a table nearby with 10 or more do-it-yourself flavors, a train with individual cars for kiddie rides, and two horses for horse rides. Wow, what a carnival! I walked over with Amanda and some of the other party kids joined us. It would have been great if the weather had been nicer, but the rain held off and the kids had a blast. Amanda got to ride each horse, went in the bouncy house many times and on the train many times. It was a fun party that turned into a whole afternoon of fun!

Sunday, after church, lunch, nap, we went to my nephew's soccer game, as his Lincoln team was playing an Omaha team here in Millard (part of Omaha). It was a bit chilly, but we enjoyed watching the game with Keith, Brandon's dad. He was great with Amanda, and she had fun joking with him and being silly. Keith pointed out Brandon, and Amanda tried to say hi, but I told her not to bother him - he's busy playing soccer. Well, at one point (the ball was out of bounds down the field) Brandon was standing resting by us, and Amanda said very loudly, "Hi Brandon!" Brandon looked over with a bemused smile and gave a small wave, as the other parents on the bench chuckled. She's pretty entertaining to be around, that's for sure.

Amanda had her 5-yr pediatrician check-up on 8/29. Nothing too exciting. She's still 3'2", and is up to 31.5 lbs, which is good. She got a shot (can't remember what for) and the inhaled flu vaccine. She was NOT thrilled with the shot, of course. On Friday 9/5, she had a follow-up eye appointment with Dr. S Troia. He thought everything still looked pretty good, although her left eye is still turning in a bit. We're to see him again in 6 months. He told me to let him know if I see her left eye start to really turn in, and maybe it's the power of suggestion, but I noticed it tonight although I hadn't noticed it before. I'll keep watching it (I was going to say I'd keep an eye on it, but stopped myself).

Whenever we go to a doctor, Amanda asks many times, "What are you going to do to me?" or "What are they going to do to me?" Makes me feel bad for her - she's had a lot of experience with doctors in her first 6 months in the US. But she's pretty good about it - just asks and is calm (until a needle shows up).

I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamt that my dad had said something that offended "the Russians", and I looked outside and saw a group of them flying in. Floating in. Think Mary Poppins without the umbrella. I alerted everyone and we locked the door as if to prepare for a fight (not that they'd take Amanda but that they were upset and were going to attack us). When they arrived, they did not fight with us but were actually just visiting, and then I remember the "queen" lady was in a parking garage with my sister Barb and me, trying to find Barb's car. Dreams are WEIRD!!!

I had my third post-placement meeting with my home study worker last month, although it's the first one to be sent to my adoption agency and Russia. Russia requires reports at 6 mo, 1 yr, 2 yrs & 3 yrs from time of adoption. My state and/or home study agency require a very early visit (first few weeks) and then again at 3 months or so? I don't remember exactly, and I didn't get copies of those reports (I did get a copy of the report sent to my adoption agency-all good!). Since I adopted in January, I'll need to meet with my home study worker right around Christmas time for the next three years, in order to get the report finished, officially apostilled, sent to the adoption agency, translated and sent to Russia by the end of January. Christmastime is not great timing, though. I sent her an e-mail today asking how early she thought we could meet in December. It's so early to be thinking about Christmas!!

BTW, Russia "requires" reports? Maybe I should say Russia "requests" reports. Amanda is my daughter and there's nothing they can do if I don't send reports (I'm feeling deja vu - I think I must have written about this before). It's best for current and future Russian adoptions, though, if adoptive parents comply with the reports and allow Russia to know how adoptees are. Because it's so important to the health of international adoption, many adoption agencies require a deposit which is refunded when reports are sent in. My agency required a $1000 deposit and I should receive a refund of $250 with each submitted report. My friends who adopted from Guatemala thought this was strange - Guatemala doesn't have that requirement (at least at the time - could be something that changes). I'm not sure which countries require reports and which don't.

More random thoughts later. =)