Katerina's First Camera

Katerina has been fascinated with cameras since she first arrived and whenever pictures are taken, she wants to immediately see the "pittures" on the camera's LCD screen. Fisher-Price came out with a Kid Tough digital camera this winter which was sold out everywhere at Christmas time when I tried to purchase it. I finally picked one up yesterday, and Teetah gave it to her as a gift. She slept with the camera and when she woke up at 3am this morning she continued to take pictures. She figured out all the controls herself; how to turn the camera on, take the pictures, look at them, go through the ones taken, delete them, etc. The quality is not great, less than a megapixel, but she's actually taking pictures, and I'd say 1 out of 5 is framed well. She loves it and walks around saying "Say Cheese" or "Smyyyil". Please don't ask why she's sitting in a box with stuffed animals. She saw the box on the way to her room, pointed and said "I need that!"











And here's some of the budding photographer's results:
Mama taking a picture of Katerina taking a picture of Mama. See above 1st picture of Katerina taking a.......etc, etc.






Papous and crib pals

Tea & Cupcake Party

Katerina invited Ya Ya, Papous, Nancy and Carolina to her tea & cupcake party.

Dinner Out With Friends on March 4th

Celebrating the last day of Chinese New Year at a Japanese Steak House!

Crib Mate Update

I emailed the 3 other families who were in our travel group, but I've only heard back from one so far. I am going to try again on 3/13, the anniversary of GOTCHA DAY. The one that responded was Katerina's crib mate when she was in the orphanage; Jessica McHenry. The Ayres girl was in foster care with Katerina and I'm anxious to catch up on how she is doing, as well as the Sevarino girl.



Jessica in China









Some current pictures of Jessica and family

February 2007

Chinese New Year - February 18 through March 4

We celebrated Chinese New Year at the big bash sponsored Westchester Chinese Association, Organization of Chinese Americans, Westchester Evergreen Association, Families with Children from China and Huaxia Chinese School. This is the second year FCC has participated in this party with the Chinese American community. I was one of about 15 organizers and it was great fun (and a lot of work) to pull this together. The party was a huge success and we had about 800 attendees in total - 225 from Families with Children from China.

I was so busy at the party, that I wasn't able to take even one picture. I have put a call out to attendees for pictures and hopefully, I'll get one of Katerina. But I did get these great photos.













I do have a couple of pictures from before we left the house which shows her adorable outfit.


Katerina had a fabulous time; the crafts, the lion dance, dinner. But I think she had had it by the time the 1 1/2 hour performance came around at 7pm; young girls playing Chinese harps, dancing girls, magician, older folks dancing and chorus, etc. We had to get up (and of course we were in the middle of a row “excuse me, so sorry, yes us again” ) and leave the auditorium at least 15 times. When we were in our seats she was talking loud (excitement) about whatever was on the stage causing heads to turn around; some with amused affectionate looks, others with slow determination to let us know she was invading their space. I think she was one year too young and will enjoy it much more next year.

Life at Home
It's really been a blessing to be home and have so much time with Katerina. We've really been bonding and it's made a big difference in our relationship. BaBa is still number 1, but I am a very close 2nd. She sometimes even will reach out for me when he's holding her which never used to happen. She did the sweetest thing the other morning. She woke up early and Constantin brought her into our bed. She leaned over to me and stared deeply into my eyes. She took her hand and began brushing the hair out of my eyes. She kissed me on the face twice. It was so tender. Made mush meal out of me!
Although I haven't been working, I've been extremely busy. I swear I don't know how I used to squeeze in a job! I was very busy preparing for the Chinese New Year party, but primarily I've been organizing things that have needed attention for quite some time, catching up on paperwork, basically just getting life in order. It's terrific. I have started working with one client and am trying to build up enough of a clientele that I will not have to look for a salaried job at the end of June when my severance runs out.

Teetah
Our babysitter, Nancy was on vacation for 2 weeks. Popi, Constantin's sister, stayed with us a for a week and it was a big help. She and Rina found lots of time to bond. Rina calls her Teetah (her way of pronouncing Thea, which means Aunt in Greek) We took no pictures. (Boy, am I falling down on the job!!) She'll be back for a week sometime this month and we'll make up for it.
YaYa & Pappous
Rina has really bonded with Constantin's parents. They've been with us since early January and will return to Greece sometime in March or April. It's been wonderful to have them here and they are just so in love. For 82-year-olds, they are amazingly spry. They each walk on the treadmill every day unless it is nice enough to walk outside. YaYa (Greek for grandma) dances with Rina, gets down on the floor and plays, follows her running around the house, each of them pushing a baby carriage with a doll or stuffed animal. They wait each morning next to the baby monitor in the family room to hear her to wake up. They must have watched Mary Poppins 20 times already. They do not speak English, but communication has not been a problem. With laughter, affection, gestures and voice inflections they've been doing fine. Katerina is understanding some greek and responds appropriately.

Birthday Parties
Lots of birthday parties since the beginning of the year:

Olivia turned 3 - awaiting pictures

Katie turned 4 - My Gym in Yorktown












Emily turned 4 - Leapin' Lizards in Portchester












   Jenny turned 4 - Club Fit Briarcliff












Katerina loved her goody bag princess accessories. First dress-up experience.










What's in a NameRina has fallen in love with her full name this month - Katerina. She says it constantly and pronounces it like Cat-Tea-Rina. One evening she went on for almost 1 hour, turning her back to the audience (that would be me, Constantin, his parents and Joseph), writing with a pencil on a piece of paper, then she would turn around throw her arms in the air and yell Cat-Tea-Rina and then clap furiously....and we'd all clap furiously and shout hooray. We were having such fun, I forgot about recording the moment. By the time I brought the camera into the room to videotape, it was a more perfunctory performance. Another great photo/video opportunity lost. So she is now comfortable with her name, and we have her nickname Rina. I was so worried that someone else would give her a nickname before we settled on one. And you know it was bound to happen when you have a name with 4 syllables.

Full Sentences
She is really in the talking zone. We are amazed at her vocabulary and don't know where she's picked up some words. She's constantly chattering; particularly when she is in her crib at bedtime. The conversations she must be having with Chickaree Chick, Big & Little (curious) Georges, Ba Ba Bear, Mouse, etc. Not only does she talk to them, but she sings to them. Last night she was rocking one to sleep. It's interesting that she has not yet taken to dolls; only stuffed animals.

The other night she rode her tricycle into the kitchen where Constantin, his mother and I were preparing dinner and she said "Hi Guys". As Constantin was putting on her coat recently, she said: "Wait a minute Ba Ba". And the longest sentence to date was this week's "I want that book Ba Ba, please"

She recognizes most letters - upper and lower case. This has come about primarily with the exploration we've done on a particular Learn to Read website - Starfall. It's wonderful. It makes learning ABCs and reading fun. In addition to recognizing letters, she also recognizes some words. She knows her numbers through thirteen, skipping 10 and hanging on thirteen once she gets there. So it goes "eight, nine, eleven, twelve, thirteen, thirteen, thirteen, thirteen, etc."

Gimme and Mine
Katerina attends nursery school 2 mornings a week and in addition to learning how to paint, put on her coat by herself, socialize with others, she has learned "Gimme" and "Mine". We've gotten her to soften Gimme with "Gimme, please". I guess someday we'll get to "Please may I have". Sometimes she'll substitute "I want that" or "I need that" for "Gimme". And then we have "Mine". Everything is "Mine". When Constantin's mother went over to give him a hug, Katerina ran over, grabbed his legs and said "MINE!"

I'm Sorry
Rina has learned I'm sowwie from the few times she was on the naughty stool (thank you SuperNanny) for flinging food. She now spontaneously will say I'm sorry when appropriate. Last night she was bringing me something and knocked over a bottle of seltzer which spilled a little..and said I'm sowwie and the time she smacked her head into my nose when we were playing and said I'm sowwie.

Bless You: If she doesn't get a "Bless You" from someone when she sneezes, she'll say it herself.

First snowfall
We had a very mild weekend but had a least one snow storm and that thrilled Katerina. She went tubing in the backyard.













Other Noteworthy Items

Favorite foods: Still macaroni and cheese, fruit, cheese, but she's begun to eat eggs, chicken, and mixed vegetables as well. She loves her "coffee" in the morning ( a shot of decaf in a glass of soy milk) and drinks water or water with a little juice most of the time. Of course, cheddar goldfish/bunnies are still the favorite snacks. She really enjoys Japanese miso soup with tofu and gyoza (fried dumplings).

Oreo Cookies: Major milestone - ate an oreo cookie the right way on her own. Pulled the two halves apart and licked the icing. On to Mallomars.

Potty training: NOPE, not yet. She knows what the potty is for and has observed her friends using the toilet, but has no interest. Diapers suit her just fine for the time being. I really hope she's out of diapers by the time we go on vacation in September.

Things Chinese: She identifies Chinese writing as Chinese, and certain types of clothes as Chinese, and Chinese people. She will point and say "Chinese". At the Chinese New Year party, when we sat down for the evening performance, the curtain opened and the stage was lavishly decorated for the holiday. She pointed and said "Chinese".

Attack of Barney: One afternoon a friend, AnnMarie, and I were stuffing ticket envelopes for the Chinese New Year party when we hear this whining screechy sound from Katerina's room where she was with AnnMarie's daughter, Katie. We walked down there trying to determine the source. We then thought the sound had moved into the hallway and all gathered there looking up at the smoke detector thinking maybe it was coming from there. Rina and her friend went into the living room and suddenly the noise seemed to get fainter where we were and prominent in the living room. Constantin's parents by this time were also trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. We called Constantin at work and he decided he'd better come home. He drove to the house from Peekskill - 20 minutes away - and within 1 minute he located the source; it was the Barney doll that Katerina had been carrying around and was now lying on her play table in the living room! Boy, did we all feel foolish. Outsmarted by Barney...superdeedooper!

January 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR
It's been a hectic month. I became the Coordinator for the Westchester chapter of Families with Children from China, and in addition to reviving a chapter that's been dormant for over a year, plans for the Chinese New Year party - February 24th - are underway.

I also made a decision to join Healthcare Innovation Partners, a consortium of 8 independent consultants and try to build a practice that will meet my financial needs but yet give me more time at home with Katerina.

Constantin's parents are visiting until the end of March and we will baptize Katerina while they are here.

NANOOK OF THE NORTH
Katerina had pneumonia in December and is just recovering from RSV. Poor thing is miserable when she's sick.
DEVELOPMENT
Katerina is talking up a storm. She has begun speaking in full sentences, asking questions, and answering questions. She can recite (and sing) the entire alphabet and recognizes many of the letters. Her favorite letter is W. The other day we were driving in the car and she started yelling W, W, W. I looked all around and realized she was looking at the WALK sign. She does confuse M with W, however; today we passed McDonalds in the mall and she yelled out W.
She know parts of her body, such as nose, in 4 languages: English, Chinese (she takes Chinese language lessons and listen/watches Mei Mei CDs & DVDs, Spanish (the babysitter is from Peru and teaches her some basic words) and now Greek since Constantin's parents are visiting and speak only a few words of English.
Katerina calls herself RINA and the nickname has stuck in school, with her friends and now we call her Rina most of the time.
For the past several weeks, she has been responding to "I Love You" with "I Love You". Last night she put her arm around Joseph and gave him an unsolicited "I Love You". Tonight she walked over to Constantin, grabbed his legs and said: "I Love You". And me? Chopped liver!

November through December Update

THANKSGIVING
November began with the excitement of the upcoming holidays. As usual, we had Thanksgiving at our house. The usual suspects enjoyed the day with us: Cousin Larry, Gail, Kara, Cousin Donna, Judith, Jessie & Ben. As an added treat, Aunt June was with us. This was the first time she had Thanksgiving with her children since moving to Florida 10 years ago.



MOUSE

Katerina has fallen in love with Mickey Mouse! And this was just from a coloring/sticker book. She had yet to see an animated cartoon. She became obsessed with "Mouse" as she calls him. We began taping the Mickey Mouse clubhouse cartoons and no matter how many she sees, it's always "More Mouse". I got a Mickey Mouse Christmas DVD which she wanted to watch over and over again. I took her to the Disney Store in the Westchester and she walked in with her mouth open, looking upwards where Disney characters were dangling from the ceiling and let out a whispered, in awe, WOWWWWWWWWW. She certainly is my daughter! Can't wait to go to Disney World with her.

SWING
Constantin felt that Katerina was not able to get enough exercise during the chillier months because she could not play in the park. So, how do we resolve this problem? We purchase a swing/rings/trapeze contraption and hang it between the kitchen and dining room. Doesn't everyone?

CHRISTMAS
Returning from Florida on December 15th it was a mad rush to prepare for Christmas. I decided to put thoughts of everything else on hold prepare for Katerina's first Christmas. We decorated and she loved the tree. She was fascinated with one particular ornament of a panda bear which my mother purchased for Katerina in China when we were there to pick her up in March.

Keeping with tradition, Joan & Dan arrived from Florida a few days before Christmas and Joan & I had our annual last-minute shopping adventure along with our annual Christmas lunch at Epstein's Kosher Deli (go figure). Katerina joined us the next day and had a ball at Bloomingdales. From that day on, every time I pull into a parking lot near stores, she says "shopping".

As usual, we celebrated Christmas Eve with George and Deb. It was a lovely relaxing evening. And as usual, we went to Uncle Bobby and Aunt Susie's the next day. Because Bobby was working that day, the festivities did not begin until 4pm. Joan & Dan and Teri were there as usual and George & Deb came late after visiting her family in Long Island. Special this year was that Len & Diane joined us. They were in Pennsylvania (her family) and around NY (his family) and worked it out to spend Christmas with us.

To say she was overwhelmed with gifts would be an understatement. There were so many that we decided to save some for New Year's day which is the traditional gift opening day in Greece.

VISIT FROM GABRITSOS COUSINS

What a treat. Cousin George & Iliya with kids, Christos and Sylvia were visiting from Greece. They spent an afternoon with us which was incredibly enjoyable. I had never met the kids before and none of them had yet to meet Katerina. It was very special for Constantin, because it was the first of his family, with the exception of his sister Popi, to meet Katerina. They adored her. How could they not? The kids were particularly taken with her and asked their parents on the drive back to NYC if they could have a little sister from China.

NEW YEAR'S
We had a quiet evening at home. I stayed up for the Times Square ball to drop, but Constantin was out by 10:30am. Joseph worked at Briars and came home at 12:30am sporting a shiny hat and noise makers! His first grown-up New Years celebration.

MORE GABRITSOS COUSINS
Alatia & Sevi were visiting from Greece and spent a day with us and stayed until the next morning. Georgia came up with them but took the train back to NYC in the evening. Again, Constantin was delighted that his cousins were able to meet Katerina and she was in rare form. Georgia had her dancing all over. I've got some great videos.

SPEECH
First full sentence: Come on, follow me! Cute moment: When she spotted Aunt Susie she started asking for Uncle Bobby. "Uh Bobby", "Uh Bobby" in escalating tones. When responding in the affirmative it's "Uh huh"; wonder where she got that from.

HEALTH
During December, while I was in Florida, Katerina came down with pneumonia. Unfortunately, this prevented her and Constantin from coming down for Dad's service. She had a high fever and was very listless for days. We were warned by Dr. Traister that we could expect her to come down with everything this winter since she has not yet built up immunities for germs in the US. Apparently, they have different germs in China!