Daughters of China

After sending our paperwork to China, I joined a Yahoo group of others who had sent their dossiers around the same time. We were Dossier To China (DTC) April 2005 and dubbed ourselves the Pandas. During those long months of waiting, we encouraged each other and shared plans and preparations. Then the referrals started coming and we followed each others' journeys via blogs and websites. We are still going strong and share lots of information, no longer exclusively adoption related, but just stuff. I'm hoping to make plans to meet one family in or near Disney World in December. (Look for her in the video, she is Grace Sh and comes from the same orphanage as Katerina and was adopted just a couple of days before). Another I hope to meet in a couple of weeks at FCC's Culture Day in Liberty State Park, NJ; Dallas. As we each passed our one year "Gotcha" anniversaries, one of the members put together a DVD for all who wanted to participate showing each girls referral picture and then a picture one year later. I think 50 of us participated. Look at the difference in each girls eyes from referral (dead/vacuous) to one year later, shining and sparkling; full of life. I dare you to get through this without crying.

Happy Mother's Day

Although this is my second Mother's Day, I was able to more fully appreciate it this year. Last year everything was so new and there was so much I was trying to figure out. I no longer feel awkward when I say "my daughter"; in fact, it feels extremely natural.....like it's always been this way. And I can't even describe how wonderful it feels when Katerina calls me "Mama".

Katerina surprised me in the morning with a potted marigold she had decorated in school. She was so proud carrying it to me with a big smile on her face. After going to church, we went out for brunch in Cold Spring where I had my favorite: Eggs Benedict.

Terrible angle for me, but the only picture I have of the two of us on Mother's Day

After a short nap this afternoon, Katerina decided she wanted to make me cupcakes. Look how serious she is in the pictures below.

A Day at the Zoo - May 4th 2007

Strolling back to the parking lot at the end of the day

Happy Birthday Popi & Linus - 5/1 & 5/3/07

First it was Popi's birthday on May 1 and the hats made an appearance.

On May 2nd we celebrated Linus' birthday. As you can see, donning "The Hat" is required.

Hey, I want to get in on this birthday stuff!

Don't I look adorable in hats?

Muscoot Farm 4/28/07

Our first FCC Westchester/Bronx outing since reviving the chapter was at Muscoot Farm in Somers. Not a spectacular turnout, but enough to have a lot of fun. I'm hoping we'll build enthusiasm and support as we continue to hold fun events.

We had some camera-shy girls hiding behind a tree

Tess & Katerina - Best Buds - April 22, 2007

We stayed overnight at Chris & Kate's the night of his 40th birthday party and Katie's Mom babysat for Katerina & Tess. They have such fun together. In the morning we went to a friend of Tessie's birthday party at the Little Gym; afternoon at the playground, followed by some grilled hamburgers & hotdogs. We are so lucky that we have such good friends with a daughter Katerina's age and more importantly the fact that they love spending time together. More than any other friend, Katerina really plays and interacts with Tessie.

A little morning biking to get those juices flowing

Fun at the playground

And then there was Finn . He can't wait till he can play with the big kids.

Getting this picture was like herding cats

The lovely Loftin family

We couldn't get Katerina to cooperate

Christopher's Big 40! April 21, 2007

Christopher turned 40 and Katie threw him a big party.

You Haven't Changed a Bit after 34 Years!

Constantin's childhood friend, Nikos, came to visit. They haven't seen each other since they both left Greece at the age of 18; Nikos to Sweden and Constantin to the U.S. They've kept in touch on and off and more regularly now with Email. It was a treat for both of them and they had a great time catching up and reliving old times.

Birthdays - Church & Schmabe

In early April we celebrated both Church & Schmabe's birthdays - March 22 & April 9th. I bought special birthday hats and Katerina loved them.

There's a New Puppy in Town - April 17th

George & Deb got a little yellow Lab puppy last week. Leo is 9 weeks old in this picture.

Homeward Bound - April 12th

After 3 months, Constantin's parents headed home to Greece. We've had a lovely visit and Katerina will miss them terribly. I can't even imagine how much they will miss Katerina. The tears were flowing as they left. The good news is they will be back next year and hopefully we'll plan a trip to Greece in between.

Easter - April 8th

This year Greek Orthodox Easter and Catholic Easter fell on the same day. It was cold and rainy on Good Friday evening so Katerina and I did not accompany Constantin & his parents to church; much of the service is a candlelight procession outside. Saturday we made Easter eggs; pastel colors for western Easter and a batch of the deep red for Greek Easter.

Katerina's first Easter Basket

After opening her Easter basket, we went to George & Deb's for a wonderful meal. Deb's family was there, Bill & Paulette and Church & Sue joined us later.

Katerina was happy that Paige was there as well

Who will get the Killer Egg??

Katerina & Paige face off

Katerina's egg prevails!

It's been a long day