Ana's First Easter

Here are some photos. Details to follow soon.

"Over There"

1. Ana and Papa at Pepper's Pizza
2. Ana and Aunt Helen and Grandpapa's birthday party
3. Ana kisses Melany at Danny's Dissertation-Defense Party

[Phil]
We haven't really updated in a while, but I can't say that there's a lot to tell. Ana continues her progress learning English, and one of her favorite things to say is "over there", thus the title of this post. She also says "thank you", "no", "yes" (which sounds more like "yesh"), "Lola, no!", "sorry, Mama" and "Harold" (when she wants to watch "Harold and the Purple Crayon" on TV). She also says "what?" a lot, and we're not sure whether it's because her hearing may be impaired (as with a lot of cleft palate kids) or if it's just kind of a knee-jerk 4 year-old thing to say in response to any statement.

We're continuing with gymnastics, and Ana got very wide-eyed today when a somewhat older girl (maybe 6) was in our class and did a cartwheel on the balance beam. Our class is kind of a do-it-yourself thing, however, so she'll have to wait until she gets in a more regimented class to actually learn how to do things like that. For now we jump on the trampoline, do somersaults on the mat, swing from the parallel bar, etc. It's just to get the children acquainted with the concept of gymnastics.

Preschool continues to go well. She seems to have made a number of friends there despite the language barrier. I suppose it helps that we have a very international preschool -- there are a lot of kids from Asia and Latin America, and even one from Russia in her class. The Russian girl doesn't seem to remember Russian very well, but she did say "Privet!" ("Hey!") to me the other day.

[Robin]
She has really being learning new things every week. Ana now knows her way around town and can tell when we are on the way to school or going home ("doma"). She also surprised me the other day when we were on the way to the grocery store and she pointed out the window and said she wanted to go swing and she was pointing right at the driveway of the community center.

When we can get her distracted from wanting to play "Mishka" ("Bear" - where she either chases us or one of us chases her), she has really enjoyed playing games on the computer (she has gotten to be very good with maneuvering the mouse) , completing a US state jigsaw puzzle, dancing to tunes on her boom box, and braiding/arranging Mama's hair.

She loves going over to Carmen's house, and it has been a joy to watch her develop a relationship with her. Now when there are five objects in a book to be "divided"-one goes to Papa, one to Mama, one to Lola and one to Carmen. This bonding has been so easy that last night when we wanted to help another couple get ready for their adoptive trip to Ukraine, we had Carmen jump in to take her for an hour---Ana had no tears, or even sadness at this prospect-- just "bye Mama!" when we dropped her off.

Here's one funny story about Ana. Last night when we were getting ready to go meet the couple, I was looking around for my purse. Ana was excited to be going over to Carmen's and was ready and waiting with her coat on at the door. She asked impatiently "Carmen?" And I said, "Yes, as soon as Mama finds her money." Ana said "Oh" and dashed off to another room. She came back a few minutes later and said "Here, Mama" and handed me a few coins she had squirreled away for her piggy bank. It was so cute and smart.

Best of Breed

In non-Ana related news, here's a photo of Ch Koppertone's Classical Minuet , who won Best of Breed for the vizslas at the Westminster Dog Show. I still think Lola's prettier!

-Phil

The Next Yuliya Beygelzimer?

[Phil]
Robin's out of town, so I had to entertain The Bean today. One way was to take her and her tiny child-sized tennis racket to the pitiful court at Umstead Park for some intros to the game I love so much (and am not very good at). She did really well, hitting about 1/4 of the balls I hit to her. Still, I couldn't help getting all Richard Williams on her once in a while: "Ana, look at the ball, don't look at me!", "That attempt was just pathetic, I'm sorry", "Ana, run for the ball. It's not going to come to you!"


But afterward I told her she played very well and would be a great tennis player. She seemed pleased.

-Phil
PS. Re the title: see here

The Next Olga Korbut?

1. Trying out the trampoline
2. Learning to tumble
3. "Fall of the beam, and there will be no lunch for you today!"


[Phil]
Ana and I just started parent-child gymnastics classes this week at Sport Art Gymnastics in Chapel Hill. It was great fun. This little girl definitely needs an outlet for her boundless energy! We also bought her a kiddie tennis racket yesterday. Swim lessons are next on the list! A bored Ana is not a happy Ana, as we have learned too well!

Photos from Ana's Christening

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1. Ana puttering around with "Rebyonok" ("Baby") in our house an hour before the service. We had her wear the "Ana" dress since Christening represents a child's being awarded his or her Christian name.
2. Ana, Robin, and the Godparents.
3. The Dutch side of the family! Can you tell???
4. The Hammonds (minus Aunt Helen - I I think she was helping set up for the post-baptism dinner at that point).
5. Isabel, Keegan, and Ana playing during the post-baptism party.
6. Grandpapa Philip and Ana.
7. Aunt Helen and Ana.

[Robin]

Ana was very excited about the Christening. We think this is because Phil told her that we were having a party for her. When she got to the church, she just squealed with excitement to see all her cousins, friends, and family members. She stood up on the pew and pointed at everyone. Nevertheless, she (to our great relief) was on her best behavior during the service (minimal squirming!). This was accomplished by sandwiching her between Isabel (our Goddaughter and a very mature six year old) and Godfather Spott. They kept her entertained and "shushed" her appropriately. And, Linda gave Ana the sweetest lace gloves and pearly handbag for the Christening, so she spent a good deal of time trying these on and off during the service. When we got back to the house we had a great time enjoying one another's company. The grown-ups in the upstairs with drinks in hand; the kids downstairs with juice. Ana was thrilled to see everyone there--the Williams family (Godparents), Aunt Helen, Godmother Carmen, Godfather Spott, Phil's Dad and Linda (Grandpapa and Memama), Phil's Mom and Baxter (Baba and Papa Baxter), Phil's Aunt Beth and Uncle Skip (B & Skip), my Mom and Dad (Grandma and Grandpa), and my sister Tina and her kids. Phil's mom made "rebirth" cookies with butterflies that were all the rage at the event.

[Phil]
Basically, the adults stayed upstairs, ate Time Out fried chicken, had some cocktails, and watched football. The kids were sort of a dim roar from the basement rec room. At one point they were playing some game that seemed to be "Run Away from the Toy Mop!"

It was a great time overall, and Tammy at Chapel of the Cross did a great job making all of us feel relaxed. And thanks to the Waters and Brown families for coming to the service. We're sad that you couldn't make the after-party. Believe me, there were a lot of biscuits left!

A World Away from Kramatorsk

1. Dancing with Papa
2. At the indoor pool
3. Watching the skiers and snowboarders at the Mountain Lodge
4. Relaxing with a cookie in the Great Hall

Last weekend we had the great pleasure of taking Ana to our favorite vacation destination, The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. The trip was our collective Christmas present to one another. We arrived Friday afternoon and immediately took Ana to the Homestead's bowling alley, which is in the basement of the spa, next to the indoor, spring-fed swimming pool. The lightest ball they had was 8 pounds, so we helped her roll it toward the pins. There's no way she could lift it by herself! Interestingly, she was only excited about the rolling of the ball and not at all concerned about how many pins she knocked over.

During the evenings, The Homestead offers dinner and dancing in the main ballroom. Mama and Papa had grilled duck breast and a "tuna parfait", while Ana had spaghetti and french fries. At first she was intimidated by the live band that was playing, but we did manage to get her out on the floor for a little dancing.

Probably her favorite activity was swimming in the indoor pool. As I mentioned before, it's fed by a natural hot spring, so the water is very warm and smells great. Ana was hesitant at first (I'm not sure she's ever been in a pool), but then got in Mama's arms with some coaxing. After that, she totally loved the pool. The only bad part was when Papa succumbed to Ana's cries of "Ya sama!" ("I can do it myself") and let go of her briefly. She promptly sank like a stone and I quickly retrieved my shocked and sputtering daughter. But she's a trouper and very quickly got over the scare.

This Sunday will be Ana's Christening at our church. We're having it during the 5:15 service, since that's the one we usually attend. We took Ana there for a trial run when we got back on Sunday, and it was a total disaster! She still doesn't understand the concept of being quiet at certain times. We left the church during the second hymn, much to the relief of our fellow parishioners! This Sunday we plan to keep her out on the playground until the appointed time. Wish us luck!

-Phil