5 years ago today

5 years ago today I met this beautiful, wonderful, intelligent child.  She is the best part of my daily life.  She makes me proud to be her momma. 

From the moment we saw her, we knew she was meant to be ours.  We just prayed GOD and the Russian government thought so too.  It took a long time to get everything together that Russia required to get a court date. 

We were extremely joyous to finally get a court date.  Russia said she was ours, to come back in 10 days.

Happy Adoption Day - Court date was 11/15/11 - Officially adopted on 11/28/11

We came back and played some more.

We brought boots for her - she wouldn't take them back off. 

She played on the slide with daddy all day, while waiting to be released into our care.

 

 

She was finally in our arms forever on 12/2/11.  This picture was from the day we carried her out of the orphanage, like we were smuggling precious jewels.  She is our most precious gift from GOD.  For no one else could have moved all the mountains of paperwork so we could be together.

Here is a picture of her sleeping the first night we got her.  It was rough getting her to sleep and the hotel was HOT.  We had 3 twin beds pushed together. 

AND from then on ---- She has been our precious gift.

First day of Preschool

First day of Kindergarten

1st day of 1st grade

Her most recent photo.

She is now getting ready to enter 2nd grade.  She loves to read.  She loves to learn.  She isn't too crazy about math, but is happy to play at recess. 
She is getting smarter and more beautiful every day. (daddy is getting his guns cleaned)  She is my joy and my happiness. 
She is in "skip school"  to try and join the JUMP COMPANY USA club/team.  She is progressing.
She doesn't remember the orphanage (thank goodness). 
She is happy and healthy.  We couldn't ask for more. 
She has all our love forever.
For those who ask why we adopted from Russia and not the USA - my answer is - Because that is where my daughter was.  God put this child in my heart.  He lead me to her.  We were meant to be together.  She is my world, my everything.

I could go on and on, but I have other things to do today.  Like play with my girl. 
THE HAPPIEST MOMMY IN THE WORLD..... Tamra Lewis

 

 

OLESYA IS 7

Olesya is 7!  How can that be?  It seems like just a few days ago that we were in Russia visiting her for the first time.  She was so tiny and sweet and we fell in love with her immediately.  It was all in God's timing.

I can't remember life before her. She is my life, my everything, my best friend. GOD IS GOOD!

Without her life sure would be boring.

I wish I were there the day she were born.  I wish I had those memories to share. The memories I do have are when she was just a little over two years old. June 1, 2011, She seemed happy and content but very shy.  I was told she was one of their favorites. Which probably means that she was well taken care of. She took to Steve right away they were like two peas in a pod. We enjoyed every minute of the time we spent with her in Russia.  It seemed to go by so fast yet so slow as well.  Just hard to explain.  We only got to see her two days and made the decision to adopt her.

It took quite a few months before we finally got to go back for our court date. And then 10 more days later after that to go get her to bring her home. December 2nd 2011 is the most important day of our lives. It was the day she was finally in our arms. We hurried out of that orphanage,  Olesya in our arms, as fast as we could and we never looked back. We kind of felt like we were smuggling a rare gift.  We were, of course.  We did enjoyed our time with her in Russia although we were excited and relieved to finally land in the USA back in New York City on December 8th 2011.  This was the biggest and best adventure of my life.  It took 2 1/2 years from start to finish.

The first few weeks back home were pretty rough.  We had to learn to communicate with each other. And she had to learn a new language.  Within a month she was speaking English very clearly and full sentences. She is very smart and picks up on things very quickly.

She is a smart, beautiful, happy, healthy, curious, opinionated, joyful child. She wants to please everyone. Poor Steve, she always takes my side in every argument.   She is full of questions and wants to know what everyone is doing.

She is doing well in school and is continuously making new friends.

She seems to not remember anything from her two and a half years in the orphanage.  Of course, she was so young.

We have made contact with 3 of her 4 siblings.  The oldest, a sister, keeps in contact with us weekly through www.vk.com.  She is happy Olesya has us.  She seems to be doing well.  She is in school studying accounting and about ready to graduate. 

We hope one day that they will meet.  When she is much older, of course. 

We love this child more than life itself.  She is ours and will continue to fill our lives with joy and happiness.   

 

ORTHODONTIST

Hello everyone,
It's been awhile since my last post.  We have been busy with school and life in general.  She is doing well in 1st grade.  Mostly A's and B's.   She has progressed to 2nd grade sight words and is in an accelerated reading class.  We are very proud.  She is doing fine with Math, although she doesn't like it.  She struggles with subtraction, but is getting there.

I wanted to update everyone with what's been going on with Little "O". 

We have always known she has an under-bite.  Dr. McCarthy suggested we go see Dr. Eckle's Orthodontist.  So we did.

They saw her a couple of times, then I noticed her two front teeth were separating.  So I scheduled another visit.

They performed a 3-D scan - where you can see all the teeth up into her teen years.  Here are the results:
1.  Deep overbite
2.  Upper and lower spacing
3.  Missing 2 upper and 3 lower permanent teeth---- 5 TEETH!
4.  Bite is off.

Recommended treatment is as follows:
1.  Placement of braces on the upper front teeth
2.  Placement of a lower splint base to assist with opening the bite so the top front teeth can move out over the lower front teeth
3.  Placement of upper protraction headgear to assist with the bite correction
4.  Adjustment appointment every 8 weeks
5.  When the correction is complete we will place an upper retainer - worn fulltime for 6 months and then nights only.
6. monitor growth and development
7 a second phase of treatment will be recommended in the future

So last Monday, February 15, 2016 we went in and they put "spacers" (little tiny rubber bands between a couple teeth) in her top teeth to prepare for braces next week the 22nd.  Her teeth have been a little sore but Children's Tylenol has seemed to help.

So next Monday we go for top Braces.  She is excited.  I will try and post a video soon.

She is happy, healthy and thriving!

Signed:
Olesya's mom

GOD GAVE ME YOU!

Hello to all my blog followers.

Today is a VERY SPECIAL day for me.  On this day 4 years ago, we had traveled over 4000 miles and over 20 hours to get to my little girl, Olesya.   This day - 4 years ago.. -the first day we met her she was so innocent and shy.  She came running into the room and I picked her up and put her on my lap.  Stephen was grinning like he had just won the lottery.  I was excited and nervous.  I put her down on the floor and she walked slowly around the room, finding toys to play with.  Stephen got down on the floor and played with her while I took pictures and video's.  The doctor who had taken the train from St. Petersburg, looked her over and checked her heart and said she was fine.  She translated some of her medical records for us while we played.  The first morning visit was quick and didn't last very long.   She was so tiny and precious.

We went back to the hotel and waited for our next afternoon visit.   When we went back in the afternoon, she had changed her clothes and they were outside the orphanage trying to stay cool in the playground area.  We took more pictures and videos.  Our translator took our first family portrait.

Stephen and I are so happy.





The day went by really quickly.  It was really hot and she was really fun to play with.

here she is running from me... she was so rotten (is so rotten)

We left this day knowing that tomorrow we would sign papers requesting to adopt her. Who wouldn't? 

The next morning we got up and got ready to visit with her the second day.  The morning visit went smooth.  Before we left they asked us if we were ready to sign papers.  Of course we were.  So we signed papers requesting to adopt her.  We were excited and more than ready to be her mommy and daddy!

 

 

The second afternoon, we played some more.  I had brought along a dress, to see what size she is wearing.  Here she is wearing an 18 month dress at age 26 months and it was a little big.

 



 

 

It was the end of our second day and first ever visit to Moscow and Tambov, Russia.

 

We said our goodbyes and I was determined she wouldn't have to wait long for our return.

 

Our second family photo (1st visit for Tambov).

 

It took months after we came back home to finally get all the requested papers together and get our court date (November 15, 2011)  and finally in our arms (December 2, 2011) and finally home to the USA (December 8, 2011!).

 

We love her more than we could have ever imagined.  She is the BEST part of my day.... The first person I think about each morning and the last person I think about each night.  

She is happy and healthy and smart and beautiful.  She is friendly and loving and caring and ornery rotten and she loves the little boys.  She already has two marriage proposals in Kindergarten.  She says they both want to marry her, but she tried to kiss another little boy.  Stephen said he thought he would have to chase the boys away... but it seems he might have to keep a close eye on the rotten little girl as well.

 

She starts 1st grade in August!  Are you kidding me - why does time have to go so fast?  If someone could please slow it down, that would be great.   We have had so many first with her and she has had so many first with us. 

 

We missed a lot those first couple years (32 months).  She doesn't recall any of it as far as we are aware. 

 

GOD.... Prayers.....Family....Home......Dream......Happiness... Joy......Peace......Love.......Hope.......

 

GOD GAVE ME YOU!

 

I couldn't be more honored or proud to call her my daughter! 

 

The proud mommy of Olesya!

Tamra Lewis

 





 



November is adoption month!!!!!

I haven't posted for awhile, so I decided that since it is Adoption month, I should probably post and relay our story to those who haven't yet heard it.

23 years ago, my husband and I married.  We wanted children, but for some reason, they never came.  We went through many test.  We even did in vetro in 2003 and 2006, but nothing worked. 

We decided that if we were meant to be parents it would happen.

In May 2009, I had this intense feeling to look into Russian adoption (we had looked into it before, but for some reason, I felt drawn to it again).  I went home and told Steve we have to adopt now.  We talked about it again and I convinced him to sign the papers on June 1, 2009.

There were home study reports, fingerprinting, background checks, verification of birth certifications, marriage license, drivers license, passports, etc (the list goes on and on).  Each month something new needed completed.  After we had everything done, it was submitted to Russia for approval February 2010.

Months go by, a year went by... our paperwork expired in Russia - we had to redo it all.... we did and resubmitted it all... of course nothing changed it was just the process.  skip forward to May 2011. 

We were anxious to hear something... anything.  It had been almost 2 years since we started the adoption process and we were worried this wasn't going to work out either.

May 2011 - an email - they have little girl... . are we interested.  YES.... we are..... she is considered SPECIAL NEEDS due to heart condition and FAILURE TO THRIVE.... we take the leap of faith and say "YES".... June 1, 2011 - We meet Olesya for the first time (2 years to the exact date we signed the papers--- some call this coincidence - I believe it was GODS doing!)  She is available for adoption starting today June 1, 2011.  She was born April l0, 2009.... GOD knew she was there and we were here and waited until the exact time she was ready and the exact time we were ready.  We fall in love immediately..... we were in love the moment we saw her photo... the moment we knew she existed... our daughter...clear across the ocean.

June 2, 2011 we sign papers to say YES - we will adopt Olesya. Our visit was over in Russia and we returned to the US

Lots more of paperwork to be completed (5 months worth) before we finally got a court date.... November 15, 2011.
We returned to Russia.  We visited with Olesya for the time we were there.  The courts approved our application to adopt.... we returned home for our 10 day waiting period.

November 25 we return to Russia to get our girl.  We visit her in the orphanage until Dec 2, when they tell us they are full and don't have room to keep her, we can take her today... Dec. 2, 2011 she is ours - in our arms.  We are excited and nervous.  We are in the hotel for a few more days until her passport is ready. 

We board a train to Moscow, then stayed in an apartment until her VISA was ready.  We were there until Dec 8, 2011.  We left there and because of the time difference we landed Dec. 8, 2011 in NY, USA. 

It has been almost 3 years now.  There have been good times and bad, but we got through them all.  She is a happy, healthy, wonderful, loving little girl.   She is THE BEST!  We couldn't have loved her more if she had been born to us.  She is ours and has changed our lives and the lives of our family for the better.

So if adoption is in your plans, take that leap of FAITH.  Listen to your HEART.  God will lead the way.

People ask me  -why did you decide on Russia - my answer is ---- Because that is where my child was. 

Now she is home.........Our journey continues.......

Who wouldn't love this beautiful child!

Our Olesya....

May 10, 2014,

Three years ago today, I received an email that changed my life forever.  After waiting almost 2 years we finally got a referral for a child. 

(Now go back 2 weeks)Two weeks before this referral.   I started crocheting a pink blanket.  Stephen said what are you doing?  I said – well you never know – we could get a referral for a girl.  I was smiling and had this “feeling” that something was about to happen.  He just grinned and left the room.   I really felt like God was telling me to be prepared for a girl.

What was the referral for, you ask?  A GIRL!  I had always thought I would be a mother to a girl.

It as another 7 months before we had her in our arms forever, but it was worth it.  She is the BEST thing I ever did.  You know how sometimes you wonder what you are meant to do with your life.  Well, I know what I was meant to do.  I was meant to be Olesya’s mom.  She was over 4000 miles away, but that was where she was.  I believe it was all God’s plan for us to be together… for her to be ours. 

 

Steve and I discussed adoption for a couple years before we decided to take the leap of FAITH and on June 1, 2009 we signed the papers to start the adoption process.

“The Adoption Process” is not for the faint as heart.  It is a lot of work with TONS of paperwork, lots of fingerprinting and doctor visits.  Emotionally and financially draining but worth it all!  There’s nothing like seeing your child for the first time.  Holding her and opening your heart to all the possibilities.   HOPING that it will all work out and that your dream of a family will finally come true.  That feeling of LOVE from the first time you see the photo.  The leap of FAITH you take when you say “YES” we will go and meet her…. “YES” we want to adopt her… “YES” to the court in Russia.  It was an adventure of a lifetime. 

Keep in mind, while there is JOY in this adoption process.  There is also sadness.  Sadness, that most likely she will never see her birthmother, she may never know who her birth father is.  She may never meet her other family members.  This is really sad because she is the BEST little girl and they are missing out on all the JOY and LOVE she gives to us all every day.  One day when she is much older, I will tell her all I know of her story. 

My girl turned 5 last month!  She is so intelligent, caring, loving and beautiful and I couldn’t imagine our lives without her.  I thank GOD every day for blessing us with this child.

Olesya Turns 4

Well, Olesya is 4 today!  I can't believe how much she has grown and learned.  She has grown over 8 inches and gained over 6 lbs.  She knows her ABC and 123's (to 12) and sings nursery rhymes and talks... boy can she talk!  She has had a good teacher!  She is an amazing little girl, who everyone falls in love with.  Just look at these pictures.. no wonder..she is a charmer!

She loves to be outdoors and she loves animals.  She has a heart of gold.  I just couldn't imagine her life or ours if we hadn't gone on our adoption journey.  We are so very proud of her accomplishments.  We couldn't be happier!  Every day is a new adventure.  You never know what she is going to do or say next.  She is very imaginative, loveable, ornery, smart, and beautiful!

Everything happens for a reason.  For those that are struggling with infertility, there are other options.  You just have to open your mind and heart and GOD will lead you where you are meant to be.  Just look at what we have now!  The most beautiful little girl in the whole wide world.  Children all over the world need families.  If it is in your heart to adopt, then don't let anything hold you back.  If it is meant to be  - it will happen.  (You know who I am talking to - Katie and Kim)

I thank GOD every day for her and for the joy she has brought into our lives and the lives of our friends and family. 

SHE IS THE BEST!

LOVE TO ALL

From the LEWIS FAMILY!

1 year home update

Well December 8th made 1 full year since we landed in the USA!  Also (on a sad note) the 9th anniversary of my dad's passing .... it's nice to have something good happen on a day when our family is so sad.

Olesya is doing very well.  She is growing and learning more every day!
She is a happy, healthy, smart, beautiful, curious, funny, caring and loveable little girl!  We couldn't be more happy with her and her progress.

She has a cold right now and a bad ear ache.  It is a pretty bad ear ache... she cried for almost an hour... poor little baby... I took her to quickcare and they put some numbing drops in her ear... and she finally settled down.   This was the first time she'd cried for such a long period of time.... I knew it had to hurt.  Thanks to grandma we caught it right away.  I'm not sure if she picked it up at daycare or if it is this crazy weather.  It's been kind of crazy here in OHIO... warm and rainy.

She spent the night at grandma's Saturday night. It was her first night away from us since we brought her home.  I missed her, but grandma said she was fine, of course. 

We love her so much and can't imagine her not being here.  We can't wait until Christmas this year. 
Last year christmas happened all too fast.  I'm not sure she remembers much from last year.  So many changes for her... from an orphanage (where she'd been since she was released from the hospital as an infant at 1 month 15 days) with children around all the time, to car rides (that she loves), train rides (that she hated), airplane rides (thank heaven for the Russian ladies on the plane that spoke English to us and Russian to her-singing nursery rhymes and telling her stories), to a new family and being an only child.  I'm not sure I could have handled that much change in such a short period of time as well as she has. She is a trooper!

December 4, 2012

She makes everyone she meets fall in love with her.  She is so very special!

December 9, 2011 - her first day at home!

I say a prayer to everyone else out there waiting to find their child or finalize their adoption or have dreams of adoption in their hearts.  A special prayer for a friend who needs our government and judge to be on the side of the child that needs parents that care for her.  FAITH, LOVE AND JOY to them on this special Christmas holiday. 

November 15, 2012 - HAPPY ADOPTION DAY!

There are children everywhere that need a family of their own, Whether it is in the same town, same state, same country or different country.   We followed through with our decision - it took 2 1/2 years but we learned alot and are so very happy and would do it all over again in a minute!  It wasn't easy - but the best things in life take hard work and dedication.  I hope our adoption story helps other make an informed decision about international adoption or adoption in general.

I've had a great pleasure of meeting wonderful people in another country who just want the best for children.  They ran around like crazy, getting papers signed and making sure everything was in perfect order.  If we could just get the governments to agree then maybe adoption would be more affordable and less complicated.  Every child deserves a family!

WE ARE SO BLESSED EVERYDAY TO HAVE OLESYA HOME WITH US - WHERE SHE BELONGS!  OUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED SO NOW I PRAY FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE THE SAME DREAMS AND WISHES! 

Here she is shooting her a deer!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!
THE LEWIS FAMILY 

10 months home tomorrow.....

I can't believe it has been 10 months since we brought our little bundle of energy home with us.... it doesn't seem like it has been that long.  She has changed so much in such a short period of time.  We are so very happy with her progress.  She is learning more and more every day. 

We aren't sure how much of everything she remembers.. sometimes she will just say things out of the blue that you know she's heard us say but isn't really sure what it means.  The other day while we were driving home... she says, "you got me from Russia?"  and I said yes... we got on a plane and went and got you and she said "you had a meeting?" and I said yes... the judge and us met and the judge said you were ours and we could take you home... and she said "humm"  like she was thinking it over.  I know the pieces of the HUGE puzzle will come together for her one day.  We just hope we can be good parents and give her a good life so that she will know how much she was loved and wanted. 

She has a little cold today.... her nose is running like crazy and it's suffed up... and she has a little rash that showed up on her forhead on Thursday... it doesn't seem to be going away.... last night I decided a little Children's Benadryl couldn't hurt her.. and gave her a little again this morning... I'm hoping the little bumps go away soon, or I'll have to take her to the doctor and see what they say.... I'm sure it's a allergic reaction to something...but to what?  who knows.  She's only had a couple of other colds so I think that isn't too bad for 10 months...

So I've yet to leave my little girl overnight... but the 18th I have to go out of town for work for one night and so I'll be leaving her for the first time.  Daddy's gonna have to take care of things. 

Steve's Local 80 dinner dance is the 8th of December.  We are planning on going to this and so I've got a hotel room in Charleston for the night... this will be the first time in 1 year that we've been apart from each other.  December 8, 2011 we arrived in Columbus, OH with our package of JOY!  We didn't know what we had gotten ourselves into!  December 8th is a special day - good and bad.... Bad because my daddy passed away on December 8th, my mom broke her shoulder on December 8th one year later and good because we landed with Olesya in the USA on December 8th. 

We are extremely happy with her progress... She's like a little sponge and just picks up on everything good and bad.

She is happy, beautiful, intelligent, curious, talkative, inquisitive, funny, lovely little girl.  She loves everyone and wants to know what everyone's name is... the WHY finally has subsided. (thank heavens!).. now she just walks up to everyone and says "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"  They tell her and then she says, "what are you doing?"  She doesn't answer people back yet (when they ask her what her name is) unless I prompt her to.... but she is getting there.  She's too busy thinking up her next question.  She is very funny.... and when you laugh she says "what are you laughing at?"  which is even funnier... and makes me laugh even more.

We can't imagine our lives now without her and even though she takes up all my spare time.  I love every minute of it.  I LOVE BEING OLESYA'S MOM!

Well my baby just woke up from her nap... gotta go.

8 month update!

I am extremely happy to report that Olesya is doing well.
Better than we could have ever hoped.  With all the adjustments she has been through these past 8 months, we can't believe how well she has adapted.  Grandma have been watching her on Monday's Wednesday's and Friday's (with Aunt Mary filling in as needed) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays she has been going to daycare at the Betsey Mills Club for some socialization and fun time with kids her age. (while daddy and I work).

She actually loves daycare aka "school".  She tells me all kinds of stories.  She just jabbers all the time - I'm not sure where she gets it from (sarcasm)!

She has been speaking really well and doesn't seem to be having any trouble keeping up.  She is in the "why" stage right now... so everything is why, why, why......because mommy says so - now she has me sounding like my mother! 

I haven't gotten any bad reports from daycare yet (knock on wood).  But they also know her history so maybe they have been taking that into consideration as well.  I don't want to use her past as a crutch or an explanation for her behavior forever, but for the time being it does need to be considered.

She sings her ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle and Ring around the Rosey -- they aren't perfect by no means, but she is getting there... I'll have to post a video of her singing one day soon.

Steve is now being called "daddy" and I'm mom or mommy... I think Steve is going to miss her calling him PaPa - but it is all for the best.

Our friends go back next month to get their twins.  Their court date 7/26/12 was a success, however it was an all day event... and almost ran over to 2 days... (ridiculous!)  How absurd!  The children are waiting and the courts think that they need more than a day to decide what is best for them?  what?  it isn't best for them to grow up in an orphanage!  that is for sure!  omg - I could rant on forever about this... but that is all I'm going to say for now...So Russian adoptions need to stay out of the news for awhile - at least until they get their babies home.  the twins will be 3 in September....!  We, of course, want to go visit with them in Long Island sometime so the children can play together again.

We are going to Steve's grandma's 90th birthday party on Saturday.  We are excited for her to see Olesya again.  She hasn't seen her since April. 

Olesya grew over 6 inches in 6 months - I haven't measured her lately.. but she seems longer everyday... I told her to stop growing the other morning and she told me "but I want to grow mommy" and I told her to just go right ahead then!  She's only gained about 1 1/2 lbs though... We are feeding her...she is just going to be a tiny girl... that's all.

We tried gymnastics last month, but her attention span is not ready for this yet.  I was totally embarrassed - she was running all around the place - not listening - being really bad... if I could have crawled under the bench - I would have!   We thought we'd wait another couple months before we try it again (maybe daycare will help her learn to follow instructions better).  I don't think she got a nap that day either - so it was a really long day for her.

She has been taking swimming lessons at the Betsey -so far she can blow bubbles and kick her legs... well she could do that to begin with -- so I'm not sure what she is learning....I might have to try something else.  I'm not really happy that she hasn't progressed and the teacher has cut the 40 minutes back to 30 minutes.. so we aren't getting what we paid for... I spoke up last Sunday and might have made the life guard upset with me... but I am upset with her.. I paid for 40 minutes... I want 40 minutes ... not 30! 

Here is a picture from Cedar Point - it was my company's picnic day!  She had fun "riding the horsey"!

Here we are at the indoor waterpark in Columbus... She was tired and ready for bed!  See she is holding her "bubby".  This is a stuffed dog that her cousin, Christina gave her for Christmas.... She thinks she needs it all the time.  She loved the waterpark and didn't want to leave.  Now she thinks every hotel has a waterpark!  She says - stay at hotel -go swimming... all the time!  LOL

This is from the 4th - she was looking back at me.... she is so adorable - even when she isn't smiling!

This picture shows just how rotten she is!  The orneriness just oozes!  LOL

Here she is from the Zoo in Cincinnati - The elephant had just made the triumphant sound and it startled her.  I just love the sparkle in her eyes in this one!

Well I'll stop with the pictures.. but I just had to share some of my favorites!

We have been taking her lots of places and she has been having a great time.

This month we have Steve's company picnic at Camden Park in Charleston, WV and then we leave on 8/31/12 for a week vacation at the Outer Banks, NC... we can't wait for her to see all the sand and water at the beach!  It should be a fun time for us all!  I am not, however, looking forward to the 10-12 hour drive... we think we are leaving around midnight.. that way she will sleep most of the way.

Family portraits are scheduled for October... can't wait to finally get some nice photos of us all together!

More adventures to come.

Love to all!
The Lewis's



7 month update

Olesya is doing very well.  She is going to daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays and she is taking swimming lessons on Sunday afternoons for the next few weeks.  She loves the water and is just too brave!
We watched fireworks on the 4th of July, she wasn't too impressed.  She met a bunch of extended family on the 4th and seemed to enjoy her day. 
Our friends Dennis and Darlene will be returning to Russia (finally-they leave next week) for their court date.  Keep them on the twins in your prayers.

Isn't she just so adorable! 
Night-time is much better.  Most nights we rock and she goes to sleep pretty easily.  She likes it to be dark outside, so the summer months seem to be harder, because it stays daylight longer.
She is very friendly and says "hi" to everyone she meets.  She is the class "greeter" at the daycare.
We are going to Cedar Point on Saturday, that should be fun.  I hope there are lots of little rides for her. 
She has grown a total of 6 inches but has only gained about a pound.  She is so tiny, but so strong.  We tried gymnastics, but I think she needs to have a longer attention span before we try that again.
She is very flexible so I think she would be great at it, if she could ever pay attention long enough.
More to come.
The happy LEWIS family!

6 month update - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Well, it has been 6 whole months today.  Olesya is doing well.  She has her moments, but all 3 year olds do.  Steve wondered out loud tonight how many words she knew and I said at least 300-400.  She repeats everything you say, even the bad ones that you don't want her to. 

She is doing well with day care, the only problem is nap time (which is no surprise - because we still have issues at home with nap and bedtime).  I'm sure it will all work out. 

We are going for our first overnight camping trip soon... that should be interesting.... she's very excited about it."Ride 4-wheeler" and "play in mud" she says!  LOL  She's such a tomboy!  It will be her first night away from home since we got her to the USA. 
Our friends from Long Island are still waiting for a court date for their "waiting twins".... please say a quick prayer for them.  They are working with a new judge in the same region we got Olesya, and the judge is being, shall we say, more than thorough.

We've been doing 'time outs' with her and she has the hang of them... the other day, she was throwing food at the table so I pulled her away from the table and told her 3 minutes. - she says to me "time out - 3 minutes" --- she was right of course.... so after 3 minutes I say " I put in you time out because you were throwing food" and she says to me "no throw food, promise, sorry, hugs"  and just smiles at me... the little one has already figured out TIME OUT!  I'm not sure how effective it is, if she knows what I'm going to say and says it before I do.  We had 2 time outs tonight for throwing food at the table... it's the only thing I know to do at this point.  I'm trying to teach her a little bit of table manners.... she doesn't do well when we take her to restaurants.  I don't know if she is just overwhelmed by all the people or she is just showing off. 

Here is a picture from May 27th.

Isn't she just adorable!

We are very happy to report that she is doing very well!

We couldn't be happier with her progress.

THE LEWIS'S!

5 months home

Well, we are just past our 5 month mark.  We just completed our first homestudy post placement update.  Everything seemed to go okay.

Here is one of the pictures in the report.

I just had my first Mother's Day.  It was special to finally observe the day and not be sad.  My baby girl was finally with us and we were all happy.
May 18th is approaching... it will be a year ago on that day that we got information regarding a little girl in Russia.  Did we want to proceed?  OF COURSE!

so ornery!

she's got daddy's pinky!

and momma's heart!

June 1 - will be the anniversary of the first time I ever got to hold my baby girl!(above is the picture of our first day together!)  She had just turned 2 and wasn't really talking(boy has that changed!).. but she smiled continually and had us wrapped around her finger in just a matter of minutes.  I will never forget that HOT day an the darn HOT hotel!  The grass at the orphanage was so high, Steve wanted to mow it, but there wasn't a mower available.  It is such a great memory... she is such a special little girl!  She is growing up fast.  The past 5 months seems to have flown by.  I still can't believe that I made 3 trips to Russia last year... me -- a small town girl - now world traveler!  (LOL)

I just love this photo... I titled it A CHILD OF RUSSIA because she just looks so innocent.
I was never so happy as I was on that day! I was never so scared either - scared of losing her.. scared that it wouldn't work out... scared she might be sick... just plain SCARED of all the unknowns!  But - we pushed forward...our dreams were about to come true.  We just didn't realize it would take another 6 months before we'd have her home to be with us for good.

Ton's of paperwork later - she was finally ours!  NOW WHAT?  who knows really?  But she seems to have adapted to the adjustment very well. 
I am about to embark on another change for her.. "day care"  just a couple days a week to give GRANDMA a break and so she can play with other children her age and get some structure to her day.  I worry what she will think.. .we will have to see how it goes.  I'm going to take her in on May 29 and let her check it out... see how she does..Got to have faith!

She is now trying to sing "ring around the rosey", twinkle twinkle, ABC's...

She is learning something new everyday... we were doing flash cards last night... and she got one wrong..... about 1/2 hour later... I asked her what it was again and this time she got it right... she is really going to be a quick learner. 

Here is a picture from June 2... the day we had to leave her until we went back to court on November 15!... She looked really sad... we tried to put on happy faces... but it was hard... and as I look at this photo it breaks my heart to know we left her - if only for a little while...It was what had to be done. 

Enough sadness!  She is home and she is ours forever!  No more sadness little one! 

another photo from post placement report!  Just look at that SMILE!

WE LOVE YOU!
Momma and Papa Lewis!