Vanya turns 6!

We my baby is now 6 years old. It really made me reflect on how time flies. It is so hard to believe that the boys have now been home for almost 3 years now. For Vanya, that means in July he will have been here longer than in Ukraine. Amazing!
From a meager beginning of 5 1/2 pounds, 18 1/2 inches long at birth to his 26lbs, 2' 11" at 3yrs old, my little man now stands tall at 42 1/2 inches, 39.5 lbs and still thinks he owns the world!
He had done a countdown to his birthday for the last week and the day finally arrived! Of course he woke up at the crack of dawn and wanted to announce that today was his birthday. Mama didn't mind though because he came into our room and in a loud whisper voice said,"Mama, did you know it is my birthday today? Can I come snuggle with you?" (thus ensuring that mama wouldn't send him back bed as it was still dark outside) So he climbed in bed and wiggled himself right up to me with a big grin asked,"What time will it be when I open presents? I wish if it were that time right now but I know we need to snuggle a little more till its light out, right mama? You're so beautiful." Yep he is a charmer. I remember when he was first home and would come in in the middle of the night and climb in bed with us and go right back to sleep. He would put his head right under my chin and curl up so that not even his feet would reach my lap! Well he still fits pretty well but has some long lanky legs now and talks from the minute he wakes up till after I close the door to his room at night. Babushka and he get along very nicely that way!

It was present opening, picture taking (with the funny glasses of course) and pancakes and off to school. His kindergarten teacher is just great and allowed us to have his party at recess which she helped me with. We had a beach ball race and jump rope fun before we went in for cake and ice cream. I have gotten smart over the years and got the individual cups of ice cream and individually packed drinks to make it easier as well as the disposable table cloth that can just be picked up off the tables and thrown away. No fuss no mess. He wanted a superman/batman cake but mama evidently didn't hear right and got a spiderman cake with a batman candle. He was just as happy with that and didn't complain at all. He was just happy to be the birthday boy. I stayed to have lunch with him (brought him chic fil a, his favorite) and his class in the cafeteria. I will have to make sure to say nice things to those lunch ladies. Boy, what a job! You couldn't pay me enough to be in charge of a cafeteria full of kindergartners. Aggghhh!
He asked if he could come home with me when I was leaving and since his teacher said they only had choice time and one other thing left I said OK. He really just wanted some alone time with mama to jump on the trampoline, eat a popsicle in the tree fort, and be pulled on his new skateboard. I think I enjoyed it as much as he did! We both miss that time we used to have when he was in preschool and would get home about 2 hours before the other boys.
Once brothers got home we all packed up and went to the park (the big slide as they call it) for some play time while we waited for papa to get home. Our daughter Mayra had come over that morning to give Vanya his present and was coming over that evening to watch Yuri and Veecha while we took Vanya out for his special birthday dinner. She had her wisdom teeth pulled on Monday so even though she has been a little sore and such it has been really nice to have her around almost daily this week. She is such a blessing to us too and we are going to miss her very much when she moves to DC soon.

Vanya want to go to Great Wolf Lodge for his birthday dinner so he could eat and then play at the arcade there. There is a new restaurant there called Jungle Jim's and while some of the food is not so great, the atmosphere is really cool. It has a big round floor to ceiling fish tank and all the kids meals come with a treasure they can pick from a big treasure box at the door. Outside you can put your face in one of those cut out things (he was a little too short but got on his tiptoes). He was so tired and didn't eat that much but had a great time at the arcade afterwards. He really enjoyed being able to lead mama and papa around and pick his favorite things to do.
When we ran out of coins we went upstairs to leave and got there just in time for a little show they do in the lobby. He sat on mamas lap on the floor and cuddled up and watched quietly.
We put his superhero movie on in the car on the way home thinking he would fall asleep but no such luck. After getting him home and in bed he wanted me to lay down in his bed with him while he fell asleep. Usually I don't get all the way in the bed and lay down. I sit by the bed (which is on the floor) and just rub their head or cheek but he wanted the full snuggle for his birthday. I'm glad I did because what came out of his mouth shortly after that brought tears to my eyes. He said with his tired little raspy voice," Mama, thanks for giving me a life with a papa and mama and grandparents and brothers. I love my brothers and all my family. Good night mama, thank you for my birthday." Wow! Such a profound thought for such a little boy. I didn't even think he thought about things like that. Shows how much I know!

A very blessed mama mama mama

ps I will have to add the pictures later after I figure out how to download from my new camera.

Long time no blog (long entry)

Wow! I can't believe it has been so long since I updated this blog. So much has happened since that missions trip last August. So I will attempt to hit the highlights and hopefully not take so long in updating the next time.





VANYA
We debated back and forth as to whether or not to send Vanya to kindergarten this year or give him a little more time to mature a bit. Well Papa decided that it was time to cut the apron strings and send him on so much to mamas chagrin my little man started kindergarten. He is very bright but his enthusiasm for fun overwhelms him and so he has earned his very own behaviour chart for each day. At first he had to earn 8 smiley faces out of 11 to be able to play with his best friend in the neighborhood, Emma. He didn't seem to mind not getting ANY smiley faces at first but once he found out how boring it was not being able to go out and play he started to try a little harder. We think he has finally caught on (6 months later) and has now had over a week of almost ALL smiley faces daily. He is reading well and can sounds out words wonderfully. The attention span and attention to detail will have to wait as he can only keep it together but for so long. At the beginning of the year he would just melt down when he got home over simply being asked to put his shoes away (which he does every time he comes in the house) but he now has the ability to hold on a little while after getting home and then by meltdown time he can go outside and play. He played soccer for the first time this fall and really wasn't at all interested in being where the ball was or getting in the action but enjoyed playing around with all the kids. We're gearing up for tball now and hope the interest level will be a bit more this year. He sure does have a good throw!


VICTOR
Victor started school out very strong and mama was impressed with his reading and enjoyed listening to try to figure out words. Perseverance has not been his strong suit up to now. He still had some serious melt downs when he couldn't figure something out or if he just didn't "get it". He played soccer in the fall and did a good job paying attention and really enjoyed being the goalie. I think because there was less running involved. We had intended to sign him up for wrestling in the winter but the wrestling league evidently didn't get off the ground this year. Boy, he would be great at that. He is such a bull dog and can really hold his own when he wrestles with Yuri or papa. Strong boy! Hopefully next year we can get him involved. He needs something of his own to be good at. As the typical middle child, he often times gets overlooked or lumped in with the younger or older brother. I do have to say that he is by far my most obedient son and always has his things picked up and does what he is asked right away. He still gets his feelings hurt easily but is learning how to be better about that. The wii games are a real attraction for him and his hand eye coordination has greatly improved. Never thought I would enjoy letting him play video games alot. He also excels at his jump start computer game and has surpassed both his brothers. Strange thing is that he can learn all on his own better than with help. If I intervene and try to help him figure something out he acts as if he has no sense what so ever and can't even answer simple questions that I know he knows. He doesn't do this on purpose, I think it just throws off his concentration when he can't just get into his own little box by himself. He has struggled a little bit lately as the bar has been raised in reading and the other subjects. New things take him a while to get but once he gets it then he is off to the races. He is a joy to talk with one on one and has recently been baptized. We are still working on being able to help little brother without being condescending or mean but he has come a long way from trying to give him away at the mall! His smile continues to light up a room and his confidence is booming. Hooray!

YURI
Ahhh, my leader. Yuri is a very bright young man and has really matured alot this year. He is learning how to fit in with other kids and isn't quite as shy as he has been in the past making friends. His school work is going OK, still excelling at math and science but struggling in reading and spelling. His speech has not improved very much so it is hard for him to sound words out and spell them right when he can't pronounce them correctly. Still makes me mad that the school won't provide speech help for him. I'm having him retested this spring. Yuri really excelled at soccer this fall and we played him by age instead of grade after finding out he would have been on the same team with Victor and was by far bigger than all of the other kids. Once we moved him up to his age he really thrived and did a wonderful job of being a team player and passing. He is a great defender but also loved to have the thrill of scoring. Very competitive. He then played basketball for the first time this winter and enjoyed it but probably wouldn't choose to do that again. The boys on his team had all played several seasons and had a hard time passing to him because he was just learning and most often couldn't get the ball where it needed to go. Live and learn. He just had his try outs for baseball and is excited to be playing kid pitch this year. He has a good sense for where he should be and has a strong bat. Papa has fun playing catch with all of them and they can now all catch a fast ball and get it back to Papa in record time. Should be a good season. Yuri's favorite time is when mama can lay down with him at night and scratch his back. I'm so glad for that and wish I could do it more often. He really likes to talk at night and tell me all the things he thinks about. He is still figuring out how to choose friends that don't get you in trouble and how to not go along with the crowd if they are doing something wrong but he is making good progress. He is very proud when he does well on his spelling tests and is starting to be able to write and edit his own stories. He also became well aware of the difference in age of his class mates as compared to himself. If it were up to him, he would like to be in 4th grade next year instead of third but the thought of extra work to make that happen was not at all appealing to him so 3rd grade it will be. He is getting a bit more calm but we are still working on trying to help him not be so easily offended or angered by his little brothers. That high pitched squeal he has is enough to burst an eardrum (Veeeeeeeeecha! Vaaaaannnnnya!). He is still my best organizer and has strategically placed all of the containers they have hijacked from the trash into their new kitchen (Xmas present from Uncle Brian) where they could no longer be seen by the naked eye or by papa who wanted to throw them all away. Gasp!

TRAVIS
This is Travis' final year at Liberty University. When he graduates he will be commissioned into the army and will serve in the Virginia National Guard in Winchester, VA. He has expressed and interest in being a police officer. Not so sure I like the idea of him being a police officer but when he sets his mind to something I know he will accomplish great things. I would just worry about that middle of the night phone call saying something happened to him. Guess I'll just have to pray that God will protect him and watch over him which I know He does anyway. His unit is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in Spring 2011 which I'm not looking forward to either as my knees are going to be worn out with all the prayer that that will require. Totally worth it though. Recently when he came home for a visit and was in his ROTC uniform it reminded me of how fast time flies. I remember him as a little boy and now he is all grown up and looks so strong now. Looking forward to what God has in store for him.

MAYRA
As always, Mayra continues to be a blessing. She comes over periodically and spoils her brothers and mama always enjoys some "girl" time. She has gotten a wonderful opportunity to go to DC with her company and possibly work with the Mexican embassy(which she has always been interested in). Many doors have opened for her and she has made such great decisions. We are very proud of her. Although she and her boyfriend are no longer together it was a hidden blessing in that she is now free to move to this new position unencumbered and ready to tackle the world. She went to see her mother in Mexico after Christmas and got to see her nephew and grandparents and such. Her mother just graduated from college also and Mayra got to be there to cheer her on.I know that was a special time for all of them. She will be moving to Washington in the next few months and we will all miss her very much. Victor was ready to move with her!

CRYSTAL
Crystal got married last June and is now expecting her first son in May. We think he will be early though as all signs point that way. What a weird feeling being ready to be a grandparent and still having a 5 year old at home! Agh! She was working as a nanny and her husband, Max, is a manager selling Verizon services. They still live in Northern Virginia so they aren't too far away to visit. Mama has gone on a bit of a baby spree and has outfitted Cameron Wyatt fairly well so far. Boy I love all the baby stuff. They have much cuter clothes for boys now a days. Papa will be fixing our rocker and making it ready for the new parents to rock our little bundle to sleep. Prayer continue for mother and baby. We hope to keep him inside for at least another few weeks. We have his sonogram on the frig already. This grandparent thing might be pretty cool!

MAMA and PAPA
Well, what can we say! We have never been this tired, this busy, or this blessed in our whole lives. Papa would like to find a new job but is hanging in there with the one he has and making sure he is providing for us all. He has a little more patience with the boys as they are now a little older and little more able to do things with him. Mama continues to try to keep up with everyone and do a little ministry too. Another adoptive parent and I have started a resource center to help those interested in adopting from Ukraine. We are hoping it will be a fruitful venture. Lots of prayer needed for that one. The orphan ministry at the church is going well but the time is coming when the torch will need to be passed along. There is another missions trip planned but alas I will not be leading it or going. :( I will miss seeing all the kids but will still be involved in setting everything up and following the journey.
God continues to open and close doors in our lives and I am excited to see what's next for the Passanita Nut House.

OK, now all of you who have been hounding me about updating my blog can be happy knowing it has been done!

mama mama mama