New updates...
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Baby diaries

There are a few things I'd like to mention about...

Sammy is now swimming through the whole pool with only one stop in the middle.  She can also jump in the water and get her face under for a second.  Sammy is still keeping her head way up high when she's swimming because she's afraid to get water in her eyes :)

Sammy's first tooth fell out on February 10th and the tooth fairy left a dollar for that tooth.  Sammy was SO excited!!! Babushka and Dedushka said that tooth fairy also stopped by their house and left another $2 for Sammy's tooth.  Sammy was very happy to hear that.

Right now Sammy can read simple words in both English and Russian.  Of course she learns English at school and we study Russian at home.  She knows the whole Russian alphabet and can read 4-5 letter words.  She's doing really well.

Sammy is doing pretty well at school.  We had a first teacher-parents conference and I'd say that Sammy is about slightly above average.  The teacher said that Sammy is doing really well compare to her skills at the beginning of the year.

Happy moments
Mood:  special
Topic: Baby diaries

Sammy is now 5 years old and she started Kindergarten!!!!  We missed the first day though - Sammy got stomach bug (24 hours one) - :(  She's SO excited about school!!!!!!!!!!!  Sammy loves her teacher - Mrs. Parker and all the kids in class. 

I have a few things to brag about :) :) :)

1) Sammy started her dance classes and she LOVES it.  Her classes are twice a week, 45 min each.  She goes there with her friend Yasha - they are so cute :)

2) Yesterday was the first time Sammy went to a movie theater.  We watched Ponyo and again, she LOVED it.  Sammy said that now she wants to go to the movie theater again, and again, and again :)

3) This is a big one - Sammy started her swimming lessons again and yesterday she swam all by herself!!!!!!!!!!!!  It was about 4-5 feet, but this is a huge success!!!!!  We're so proud of her!!!!!

Sammy's 5th Birthday!
Mood:  happy

I can't believe Sammy is 5 years old now.  Time is flying by so fast :(

This year Sammy's birthday party was really fun.  We had about 40+ people.  Lots of food and great music for adults and for the kids we invited "Curious Creatures", rented a Moonwalk with the slide and had a piñata.  Kids had a blast!!!!  The weather was perfect and the company was even better.  Sammy's birthday cake was in shape of a Barbie doll (made by Irochka) - it was so beautiful!!!!

 

Sammy's present from Mommy and Daddy was a playground - she was SO happy when she saw it :)

 

I'm back...
Mood:  happy

I'm back with more Sammy diaries.   Our wonderful girl is 4 years and 9 months old.  I can't believe that she's going to school (K) this year.  We already signed her up and Sammy is very excited about going to school.  We'll have to try to learn how to read before she goes to school.  Right now Sammy knows whole alphabet and can spell and write her name Sammy, but that's about it.  She has very good memory and remembers stuff that she cares about really well.  Sammy still loves when Mama or Papa read her before she goes to bed.  We still have the same routine - pajamas, milk, brushing teeth, story and then mama singing a song or papa laying down with Sammy for a couple of minutes.

Sammy still goes to Russian family daycare in Framingham.  She loves Lena (her care provider) and all the kids there.

Sammy is such a wonderful child!!!  We've been truly blessed with her.  She's friendly and very polite, always says "thank you" and "please", cleans her room (when we tell her).  If I say "no", it means NO. 

Favorite toys: horses, dolls, computer games, really small toys
Favorite food: candies (of course), frosting from cupcakes, pasta, hotdogs, cesar salad, chicken noodle soup (without meat), grape tomatoes, all sorts of berries, fruits, peanut butter sandwich, fluff and of course pickles.

Sammy is still taking swimming lessons (private), but she does not swim by herself yet.  She's still afraid of water.  Hopefully she'll learn how to swim by summer.

 

Swimming lessons
Mood:  happy
Sammy started taking swimming lessons!  Yesterday (March 2nd, 2008) was her first lesson.  She did really good.  Sammy was afraid in the beginning and cried for a few minutes, but later she loved it and did not want to go home.  Well...  we'll be back next Sunday :)

Sammy is 3.5 years old
Mood:  happy
Topic: Baby diaries

It's been a long time since I wrote anything here..

Here's Sammy's latest development:Favorite TV Shows: Dora, Diego, Little Bear

Favorite movies: Lion King, Peppy - Long stockings,

Sammy loves to watch TV, but I don't let her do it too much.  Usually she watches one or two 25-30 min shows before bed time on week days and about 2-3 hours total (not straight) during weekend.  I think if she could, she would watch TV all day long :(

Samantha loves to wear dresses.  It's getting very hard to convince her to wear pants. It has to be a skirt or a dress.

Right now Sammy favors her Papa.  She loves Mama too, but Mama is the only one who disciplines her.  Most of the time Papa lets her do whatever she wants.  One thing that bothers me is that Sammy does not like to stay with her Dedushka anymore.  He used to be her favorite person around, but now she doesn't like Dedushka for some reason.  He loves her more than anything, but Sammy does not want to do anything with him.  Sammy starts crying when she finds out that she's staying with Dedushka.  It makes everyone feel bad, especially Dedushka :(  I guess we'll have to wait and see if Sammy changes her attitude.

Sammy is now brushing her teeth with real toothpaste (not the baby toothpaste).  She likes it very much and does it properly.  Sammy is very good in brushing teeth and doing it herself.  She still has her bed-time routine: changing into pajamas, a cup of warm milk, brushing teeth, Papa or Mama reading a book and then Papa has to hold her for a minute.  Sammy goes in the bed around 8:00 pm, but she falls asleep closer to 9:00 pm. 

 

No more bottle...
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Baby diaries
Sammy finally gave up her bottle with juice in the morning!  I had to cut the nipple and show it to her so she can see that the bottle is broken now and she can't have it.  She was OK with that...  not very happy, but OK...

Hairdos...
Mood:  sad
Topic: Baby diaries

Sammy's hair are not growing very well.  It's very weak on the back of her head and  is growing SO slow.  Even trimming a little bit does not help :(

I hope it changes soon. 

Sammy's typical week day
Topic: Baby diaries

Sammy usually wakes up around 7:00 am.  She still does not want to give up her bottle with apple juice in the morning.  The first thing she does is she comes to our bed with her blanket and asks for her juice (it has to be warm).  After her bottle is finished, she wants to play a “tickle” game with Mama (if I have time) and then she goes to pick her dress.  Yes, it has to be a dress!!!  Sammy does not like to wear pants right now.  She only wants to wear dresses or skirts.  It’s been on since she turned 2.5 y/old.  After picking her dress, Sammy goes to the bathroom with Mama to brush her teeth and go potty.  After that I’m helping Sammy to put her clothes on, do her hair and put her shoes on.  Now I have some time to get ready for work, while Sammy plays with her toys.  We leave around 8:00am and I take her to daycare.  On the way there (about 20 min ride) we sing songs, sometimes Sammy’s, sometimes Mommy’s.  I spend another 10-15 min with her at daycare (talking to teacher) and then off to work.  Papa or Grandpa (dedushka) usually picks Sammy up around 5:30 pm.  Sammy is home by 6 pm and as soon as she gets home, she wants to watch TV.  She watches TV for a while, has dinner and by 7:30 pm she’s getting ready to go to bed.  Everything has to go in the following order:

-         Put pajamas on

-         Have a glass of milk (warm)

-         Brush her teeth

-         Go potty

-         Read a book (usually papa does it)

-         Papa’s turn to hold Sammy and sing her a song

-         Mama’s turn to hold Sammy and sing her a song

-         A little bit of water to drink

This is it!  Usually Sammy is asleep by 8:15 – 8:30

 

On weekends Sammy has a chance to watch TV in the morning so Mama and Papa can get some sleep J

Good question....
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Sammy's sayings...
A few days ago Sammy saw our wedding picture.  She said "Mama, this is you, papa, Sergei, Matthew, Cali and what about me?  Why I'm not on this picture?"  I told her that she was not born yet, on which she replied "why not?"  Hm.....   good question...

3 year old stats
Mood:  happy
Topic: Baby diaries

Sammy is now 3 years old.  She's a perfectly healty little girl.

Weight - 31 lb

Hight - 37 in

 

Some randome stuff...
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Baby diaries
Sammy loves to sing and listen to songs either at home or in the car. She's always asking to turn the music on when she gets in the car and then tries to sing along. We have a ritual when Sammy goes to sleep - Mama has to hold her for a few minutes and sing her a song. There is usually a choice of "about Elochka" or "about Semechka".

We just bought a house in Holliston and we plan to buy Sammy a new furniture (new bedroom set). She still sleeps in the crib. Sammy is very excited about "big bed". Now she's asking almost every day if we bought her a big bed.

Sammy's hair are not growing very well. Last time she had a haircut was a year ago and about 6 months ago I trimed it just a tiny bit. Since then her hair grew about an inch. :(

Sammy is still wonderfull little girl. She's very well behaved. Of course some time she has her "moments", but who does not. She eats well and still takes her daily naps.

All of our family members and friends are very happy to see Sammy. She's such a good girl. :)

2.5 years stats...
Mood:  happy
Topic: Baby diaries
Weight - 28 lb
Hight - 35 in

NO MORE DIAPERS!!!!!
Mood:  special
Topic: Baby diaries
This is IT!!! Sammy does not wear diapers anymore (even at night time)!!!!

Sammy is a big girl now...
Mood:  happy
Topic: Baby diaries
Sammy is officially potty trainded now (not 100% though). Last 2 weeks she does not wear diapers during day time. Only at night. Sammy is very proud of herself :) and we're very proud of her!

PS: Sammy still likes her new day care. It's been 2 months and we had no problem at all.

New daycare
Mood:  happy
Topic: Baby diaries
Sammy's first day at new day care "Rainbow" was October 2, 2006. It's a small family day care with only 6 kids there. The owner (Lena) let me stay with Sammy in the morning and it was VERY helpfull. When I left, Sammy did not even cry :) She did not cry the whole day and next day. Now it's Sammy's 4th week and she loves this daycare (thank God!!!). I'm so happy for her.

Sammy is leaving Busy Hive daycare
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Baby diaries
Last Friday Ira (the owner) asked us to withdraw Sammy from the day care. She gave us 4 weeks, but we won't stay there that long. Ira said that she's out of her patience and she feels bad for Sammy. Yeah... right... she feels bad for Sammy... like I believe her... She feels bad for herself. I'm pretty sure she did something bad to Sammy and Sammy can't forget it. Sammy's first few days days at Busy Hive Ira told me that she tried to send her to a quiet room... I think that she locked her there for a while and scarred the hell out of Sammy. Sammy loves all other teachers (4), but still does not let Ira to do anything with her. As soon as Ira walks in the room and there are no other teachers, Sammy starts crying. In this situation I really blame Ira. She did not find and did not want to try to find a way to get along with Sammy. She made the biggest mistake the teacher could make in child's first day of new school. I'm VERY disappointed!!!

So we're looking for a new day care right now and Sammy will have to go through the "first day of school" again... :( poor thing... I really hope she had a better experience.

New Day Care
Mood:  blue
Topic: Baby diaries
On July 24th Sammy started her new Day Care "Busy Hive". It's a small family day care with only 10 kids with the range of age from 2 to 5. This is a Russian day care. All teachers and kids speak only Russian. I hope Sammy will improve her Russian very soon. So far she understands everything in Russian, but she would say only a few words. She prefers to speak English.

The first day was horrible. As soon as I brought Sammy do day care, she started screaming like someone was killing her. The rule of this day care is that parents are not supposed to stay with the children in the morning, so I had to leave right away. I was standing outside for about 20 min listening Sammy screaming her lungs off, debating if I should go back and take Sammy back home. I decided (with broken heart) to give her a chance. Day Care owner called me about 10:30 am and said that Sammy is still crying and she refused to eat anything. This day care provides breakfast, lunch and dinner for the kids (all home made) and 2 snacks (usually yogurts and fruits) every day. So knowing that, I did not feed Sammy breakfast. I called back to check on her around 1 pm and Ira (day care owner) said that Sammy is sleeping and she did not eat anything at all... no breakfast, no snacks, no lunch... nothing... she refused to eat and she cried herself to sleep around 12:30 pm. Ira asked me if I can pick up Sammy early today. I came to pick up Sammy as soon as Ira called me to let me know that Sammy woke up (at 3:15)...... I'd never forget those "starving, sad" eyes.... When I saw Sammy, I wanted to cry... she was sitting in her crib and eating strawberries and bananas from a cup and her hands were shaking... when she saw me, she did not know what to do first... to hug me and let go the cup or finish eating first... We put Sammy at the table so she can finish her fruits and gave her juice also. She was so hungry that she started to stuff herself with food and.... on our way home... she threw up in the car... :( When I told Jim about Sammy's horrible day, he wanted to pull her out from that day care, but I know that they (teachers) are taking very good care of Sammy. Three people highly recommended this day care to me and we had to wait for a while to get a space there. Jim and I decided to wait for a week and see if Sammy gets used to this day care. Well... every day was better and better and by now (2 weeks later) Sammy is still crying a little bit in the morning, but she's good all day long and loves to play with toys and the kids. I wish for a day when Sammy comes to this day care and does not cry. It's probably going to take a while because she even cried every morning at her old daycare where she knew everyone and everything and did not want to leave when I'd come to pick her up. I guess this is just Sammy... she does not want to let her Mommy go... :(

Second Birthday!
Mood:  happy
Topic: Baby diaries


Samantha turned 2 years old!!! Yay!!!! We had a wonderful birthday party. Sammy got so many presents that she did not know which one to open first. Everybody (24 guests) had fun even though it was a bit crowded and of course there were plenty of food (crazy Mama). Sammy was very happy to see everyone and she was such a good birthday girl. We had a huge cake (made by Ira) and Samantha blowed candles 5 times because she wanted to do it more, and more, and more...

Yesterday Samantha had her 2 years old check up (doctor's appointment). Here are the stats:

Weight: 25.5 lb
Height: 33.25 inch
Head circumf: 19 inch

What she can do:
- Sammy can sing ABC song (when someone else is singing with her)
- she can count to 5 in English, Russian and Spanish
- first time asked to go potty and DID it!!! (June 3rd)
- says many words (but does not speak in sentences yet)
- when asking her "what's your name" and how old are you in Russian, she answers in Russian: Sammy, dva (means two) and shows 2 fingers
- Sammy does a great job blowing bubbles, she loves it!
- she is very good with any puzzles, even difficult ones
- she can drink from a regular cup without spilling
- Sammy can eat by herself very well, but she often prefers Mommy to feed her (or Mommy prefers to feed Sammy :)
- she can build a nice tall pyramid using cubes

What Sammy likes:
- read books
- play piano
- draw (Sammy says "color" when she wants to draw)
- stuffed animals
- Dora the explorer
- Cats and Dogs
- take her shoes off in a car
- eat in a car
- ride a bike
- be pushed in a small toy carriage
- play "tickle" game
- play with playdough
- watch her favorite TV shows or movies (Baby series, russian Red Hood, Buratino, ABCs, Barney)
- airplanes (a memory from her first flight on April 1st and than on April 8th to and from Dominican Republic)
- and many others...

Samantha turned 20 months old!
Mood:  special
Topic: Baby diaries

Sammy has 14 teeth right now and another 2 are almost out.
She's still not saying much... Here is the list of words that Sammy can say now:

English
Cow (her first word!!! and a favorite animal), cup, car, Cali, please, shoes, baby, color, TV, coat, bye-bye

Russian
Na (here), dai (give me), escho (more), deda (grandpa), baboos (babushka - grandma)

Sammy calls blanket "nigh-nigh" and she loves to snuggle with her "nigh-nigh".

Samantha can eat by herself if she's really hungry, but if she's not (which is most often), I have to distract her with toys or other activities to finish feeding her.

Potty training is not very successful at this time. Even though Sammy sometimes let us know that she needs to do #2 and we put her on the potty, she still never asks to go potty when she need to do #1. But she lets us know when she did #1 in her diaper by saying "ah-ah"

A couple of weeks ago Sammy got her first haircut. We went to a salon and she did not really like that some lady tried to cut her hair. Sammy was very unhappy, but she looked so cute after the haircut was done :)

Sammy really loves her brothers Sergey and Matthew and especially sister Cali. She always gives them kisses and hugs. Cali is Sammy's favorite person in the whole world. Then goes Grandpa Boris... Then Mama and Papa and then Sergey and Matthew and Grandma Anna. Grandma and Grandpa Olivers live pretty far away from Sammy (about 40 min drive), so she does not see them very often, but I hope it will change when Sammy is older and she can go visit them more often.

Sammy really likes to draw with crayons or anything else. In the daycare the teachers call her "little Picasso". She's doing really well for her age.