Christmas/BDay 2013

Hi all,

Despite the excitement over Santa coming, on Christmas Eve day we were all under the weather.  I know the kids only get the magic of Christmas for such a short time and it was disappointing to feel rotten on Christmas but Peter took Bek over to Mer's for the day while Rin and I rested up so we could see everyone later.  When they came home, we looked out the window and it was snowing.  So there was a little Christmas magic going on.  Crazy that just a few days ago it was 70.

That night we were all feeling a bit better so we had dinner over at Jen/Eric's with some friends.  Every time Peter and I leave a get-together with our them, on the drive home we say to each other "You know, that's just a great group of people.  We are so lucky to have them in our lives."  I hope that my kids will be surrounded by friends like this when they are adults.  A group of people who make their life just a little more fun, make hard times a little more bearable, and make them aspire to be good people who earn their respect and friendship.  It is essential to live a good life. 

And then it was the big morning…

Leading up to Christmas, I kept asking Rin what he wanted most for Christmas and the thing that he was most adamant about had to do with his best friend- his Blue Bunny.  The thing he wanted more than any toy, any book, any video game was for Bubby to come alive.  What is Santa to do?  I’m sure he spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to let this sweet little boy down easily and what Santa decided to do was leave a note with Elf about why he couldn’t do it.  Rin was disappointed but really he sort of understood.  Sort of.    

But the boys were extremely excited to see what Santa had left.  They just loved it all- the Batmans the candy the Rainbow Looms the books the Playdoh the arts&craft the stuffies the dartboard but most of all.  They loved the fact that they got a pet fish.  Yes, little Pebbles came into our lives and these boys were insanely excited about it.  Little boy love is the best. 

We also, of course, did the annual trip to LBurg where they were buried in gifts and cookies as they should be by their Gigi and Mar.  And we were joined by their Aunt Pam and Uncle Rich who were I think a tiny bit overwhelmed by the little boy enthusiasm and spunk.  When it was time for them to leave, Bek told them, “Get your butts outta here!”  Such attitude out of nowhere.  But I’d take it as a term of endearment since he says the same to us.     

And then it was time for birthdays.  We ate cupcakes at G/M’s for Rin’s and then headed home to DC.  Bek's bday was a good day and now we have figured out what we want to do for their parties. It was pouring down rain so instead of going to the zoo like he had requested we decided to head to the bowling alley in our neighborhood and it did not disappoint. Now both of them are in agreement that this is where they want to do their bdays. Party figured out?  Check!  And it’s gonna be a good one.

Love to all, -m 

Dec 2013- The Christmas Spirit and the Nutcracker Obsession Begins

Hi all,

Down with the turkeys, up with the Santas.  I don’t love Christmas and the “I wants” that come with it but I do love to decorate and to spend time with family.  And I love the buildup to the big day.  Making gingerbread houses is fun (almost as fun at eating them) and hanging the stockings and decorating the tree is a good time.  And I love the excitement on their faces as we put things up around the house and they talk about Santa (SANTA!!!) coming to our house.

I overheard Rin the other day ask Bek “Bek, what’s the best part of Christmas?” and Bek, of course, answered “Presents!” (What else, right?).   Rin corrected him “No Bek, It’s the Christmas spirit and spending time with family.”  I’m pretty sure he was just repeating something they talked about at school, but that’s what I think too little RinCakes.  I really could do without the multitude of gifts. I would love to just celebrate what we already have- good friends and family, a roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs.  All the ‘stuff’ is unnecessary.  OK, so it IS fun to get a cute new necklace from Anthropologie in my stocking (Yes, Peter I’m talking to you) but really I think it would be fun to minimize a little bit.  Watching them rip through one gift just to get to the next is too much.  But I do love to watch my kids’ faces when they open something that they’ve been hoping and wishing and waiting for months to get.  It does sort of make the gift buying a little bit fun.  But really to me it’s just the extra sparkle everywhere that’s the most fun- the Christmas music on the radio, the decorations along the streets where I shop, and the twinkly lights on peoples’ houses.  It makes the world feel a little bit more special for a while.

This year as part of the buildup, we went to see the Nutcracker at the Warner Theatre and Gigi came up to join us.  The boys both really enjoyed it (even though Rin fell asleep during the second half poor, exhausted little boy) and Aibek is now completely obsessed with all things Nutcracker.  I’m not sure if it was the costumes or the dancing or music or just the excitement of getting to do something new and different but he absolutely lovedit.  After we went, he would recognize when they played the music from it on the radio and would tell me, "Dat when da boys dancing in da Nutcackuh" and he was right.  I think my guy might have a thing for music.  For movie night he wanted to watch any and all Nutcracker movies and Rinat wanted to also (yay!).  I just love that my sweet boys enjoy something that I spent so many years loving myself.  I remember going to the Dallas Ballet’s version of the Nutcracker when I was young and getting a chance to meet some of the dancers afterwards still in full makeup and costumes and I thought it was the BEST THING EVER.  They were just like dolls come to life- like the nutcracker himself.  I loved it so much that I decided that I wanted to be one of those dancers.  And so I was.  I danced in the Nutcracker for maybe 6 or 7 years I think (Mom?  Help me out).  I started out as one of the Bakers who came out from underneath the giant lady’s skirt, then moved onto being a mean rat, and then a brave fighting soldier.  And that’s where my dancing career ended.  Sadly, my curves aren’t made for ballet.  I am not sure how long my sweet boys will enjoy going to watch the performance but I did love taking them.  I could feel my body trying to do the steps as the music played (because, of course, I memorized everyone’s parts during the endless rehearsals).  And I remember how exciting it was to hear the orchestra start to play the overture as we got our makeup on back stage.  And especially, I remember the moments right before I stepped onstage in front of hundreds of people and the butterflies mixed with excitement.  It’s so fun to remember that time in my life.  I hope my boys get to do lots of things that both scare and excite them.  And I hope that they get to relive them in some way with their children when they are older like my boys have given me.      

And now that we had gotten into the Christmas spirit, it was time to get the tree.  We knew there was bad weather heading our way and so we quickly headed out before the stand closed to bring home a tree to decorate.  And I’m so glad that we did because the next day we woke up to snow falling outside.  There was no power for an entire day but I didn’t really mind it.  I lit a fire, read a book, played Christmas music on my phone.  It was really sorta nice- like a little vacation from real life.  I couldn't get anywhere because of the snow and everything was closed anyway so there was no pressure to get anything done.  The kids played outside with their friends and I just relaxed.  It was nice.  And really, there are so few times in my life when I have gotten the picture perfect Christmas scenario or hanging ornaments as it snowed outside that I just really enjoyed it.    

My sweet hubs and I got to sneak off for a weekend of rest and relaxation in New Orleans to belatedly celebrate 20 years together (and our 16^th anniversary).  We wandered around, ate good food (Mmmm… Bananas Foster made especially for Peter at Commander’s Palace), took naps, had no schedule at all to follow, and of course there was the obligatory trip to Café du Monde with good milky coffee and those fabulous fluffy beignets with so much powdered sugar on top you can barely find the beignet underneath.  It was a lovely weekend with one of my favorite people.  Sometimes I can’t believe that Peter and I are still together.  I don’t mean that in a bad way just in an ‘I can’t believe we’re this lucky’ kind of way.  Because we are lucky.  It’s crazy how life turns out sometimes.  In high school, if you had asked me where I thought I would be when I was 40, I never would have imagined that I would be married to the love of my life with two gorgeous boys who came to us from so far away living in the country’s capital.  It was so far off my radar.  But here I am and here we all are.  Who needs a load of Christmas presents when you have perfection?  That’s gift enough. 

Love to all,  -m

And here are some lovely things that I couldn’t figure out how to fit in but I don’t want to forget

*Rinat did air quotes at me

*Bek talks about the sofas in our family room in terms of boats "You get offa my boat!"  You get on 'nother boat!"

*He also likes to tell us when he’s mad, “You fired from dis house!” and point to the front door.

*We were reading a book about belly buttons and I asked to see Bek's and he answered, "It's closed for business."  Too funny.

*The boys came up with a secret brother handshake that I wasn’t allowed to see.  Adorable.

Nov 2013- First Ever Tooth Fairy and a Kaz News Article

Hi all,

One of Rin’s assignments at school this week was to come up with an “artifact” or a family heirloom to bring and show everyone and talk about why it was special.  Rin chose to show everyone the Armstrong Desk that will one day be passed down to him.  It was built in 1882 I think (could be wrong) on his great great grandfather’s farm and has been passed down through 4 generations now and Rin is so excited that it will one day be his.  He loved the story behind it and the writing in it that was put there long ago.  And he has informed me that Hannah (my doll) will one day be Bek’s because he has Howard in his name.  Not sure it’s valuable to anyone but me but that’s alright.  He does actually love to play with her.  But Bek has never had a lovely that he depended on like I did with Hannah and Rin does with Bubby.  I think maybe it’s because I am the lovey.  Peter and me are the ones he seeks for comfort and consolation when he’s upset and that’s quite ok with me.     

(I’m going to try and find Rin’s project sheet and scan it here)

 

And our little Bek has been learning a lot too.  He told me he wants to play hockey so we signed him up for his first ice skating lessons and it was so cute.  They gave him training wheels (aka a bucket) to help him get across the ice and it was literally the cutest thing I have even seen.  But that sweet boy of mine is a teacher’s worst nightmare because he thinks he is HILARIOUS all the time.  He falls down once and laughs and it’s cute but then the 50^th time, it gets slightly annoying and the 500^th time is just plain aggravating.  He hasn’t figured that part out quite yet.  But so far he seems to like it and he wants to know when he gets a helmet with a face mask.  We will see where it leads.

 

Now, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday- what is there not to like about good food and spending time with good friends, and family?  This year was no different.  We took a trip to LBurg to visit with their new cousin for Tgiving and the boys were so good with her. Rinat took it very seriously as always, making sure she was safe and handing her toys and binkies if she was fussy. And our non-baby-loving Aibek actually warmed up to her too.  Maybe it’s because his big bro is such a good role model.  One night we were eating dinner after putting the kids down and he came out of his room to tell us, “Ann!  Ann!  Da baby cryin'!” and seemed very concerned.  I love that he’s looking out for his sweet baby cousin already and I hope they both continue to do so for her lifetime.    

And our little boys are just trucking along living their little boy lives.  Bek says thing daily that I just want to bottle up and keep with me forever.  He tells me all the time, “You my best mommy.  Mine lub you.”  And he constantly tells us that he missed us- whether it’s because Peter was out of town, or Bek was at school, or he was just sleeping.  I love it.  When we have pasta, the boys have dubbed parmesan to be either ‘rain’ or ‘snow’ cheese depending in the grater that I use.  Just for the record- if given a choice Bek always wants snow cheese.  Always.  And he’s very enthusiastic about it.  They make even the everyday things so much fun.   

And then there’s my big grown-up boy Rinat.  He wants to grow his hair out like the guy on his favorite show, Kickin’ It, and I sort of love the idea of him having it all shaggy.  So I told him that as long as he takes good care of it- keeps it clean and brushed- that he can grow it.  I don’t have a lot of faith that he will but we’ll see. 

Rin has started making breakfast a lot.  Complete with signs pointing us in the right direction and the name of the restaurant (Waffle House- guess what’s on the menu?) and menus and all of it.  We come downstairs and he has an entire buffet set out with plates, utensils, cups, drinks, and different food options.  Everything from fruit to waffles to cereal to milk and juice.  I love the entrepreneurial spirit that he has in him.  Have I mentioned he has also had stands selling the following- cookies (stolen from our pantry), paper airplanes, interesting rocks, golf balls (stolen from the garage), and a variety of other things.  

My big boy has also finally lost his first tooth too.  OK, so “lost” maybe isn’t the most accurate.  He had it pulled is how it came out but it came out nonetheless.  And I was informed by the dentist while it was being done that having it pulled means the Tooth Fairy brings twice as much money.  I think TF (or the dentist should have given a little advance notice) should have planned ahead a little bit better but I’m sure she has a few extra bills in her Tooth Fairy purse.  Or maybe Mister Tooth Fairy can stop by the ATM on the way home.  In any case, our big boy was super excited to find a $10 bill under his pillow in the morning and a toothless baby was excited to get a tooth.  Maybe it went to AG- who knows.   

Fall is my favorite time of year.  The leaves crunch underfoot and pool at the bottom of the slide and the world slows down and hunkers in for the winter.  It’s when the air gets crisp and Rin tells me he’s a dragon as he blows steam out of his mouth in the morning.  I just love the feeling of it.  I love the cozy days to come when we all gather around the fire and spend more time together in the same room. 

One of those cozy things I did this month was make some steaming hot lagman.  It’s so weird to have such strong emotions about a place that I only spent a few months in but there really is something about Kaz that feels like home to me.  Maybe it’s because it is where we actually turned our family into a family instead of just me and Peter.  In any case, I have very fond memories to eating lagman in Astana a lot- both the stew and the fried kind- across town from our apartment at the place by the highway.  And it is what we ate in Karaganda on the day we met Bek.  I remember I didn’t eat very much that day because I was so nervous but within that bowl of noodles are some wonderful memories. 

And this month we had the opportunity to show off our gorgeous kids. Not just here on this blog but on a real bonafide Kazakhstan news website. There were some people doing an article about outcomes of US adoption to show the people of Kaz that we are not awful people but rather that their little citizens have a good life and that they are thriving.  They came to our house and interviewed us for four hours and took photos of our boys.  I was nervous that we would come across wrong or that they would write unflattering things about us (don’t know why, there’s no reason they would, but I was still nervous) but when the article came out it was so wonderful.  It was great to read about the other families and hear their stories.  It was great to read in the comment section from people in Kaz that they (mostly) thought it was good that we had adopted their Kaz kids and were glad they are doing well.  I hope that any parents who had to place their children in baby homes were able to read it and find a little peace knowing that perhaps their children were in a loving family now.  And I especially hope my kids’ parents were among them.  I hope it with all my heart because although we have never had the chance to meet them, they mean the world to us. 

http://www.voxpopuli.kz/en/post/1601/kazakhs-adopted-by-americans

Love to all, -m