A Little Girl's Dream Comes True

There is something truly special seeing holidays and special events through the eyes of a child.  And when they wish and dream for something for years and see it finally realized, it really warms the heart!

Kristina has had a love for dogs going back - way back - to when we first met her.  The Security/Grounds Keeper at Baby Home #6 had a dog on the grounds and the kids used to watch it from afar - certainly never getting the chance to touch it. 

Kristina (left), 27 months old, yelling "Baka" - short for sobaka ("dog" in Russian)

And some of Kristina's friends at Baby Home #6 lined up at the fence looking at the dog, too.

Over the years, Kristina has asked strangers politely "Can I pet your dog?" and then turning to me, "Mommy, when can I get a dog?".  Halloween has been challenging at times because Kristina, since the age of 3, would ask at each house, "Do you have a dog?" instead of "Trick or Treat"!  And I can't tell you how many times Kristina has watched the movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" sealing her destiny to someday have her very own "Papi" or "Chloe".  And I can't leave Santa Claus off the list, who, apparently just didn't have enough room in his sleigh.

Well, it happened.  Two nights ago, an opportunity presented itself.  Some friends of ours received a dog from a family member and they couldn't keep it (they had just gotten another dog a few nights beforehand).  Jon was over there Thursday night when Kristina fell in love with this pooch.  He sent me this photo with the text message:  "What do you think...."  My response "You're breaking my heart - we can't get a dog yet."  That text never went through for some reason....thank you iPhone....

First picture of Kristina and the puppy

On Friday morning, when running between patients, I received a text message from Jon "OK, the ball's in our court - we can have it tonight.  I say go for it."  And so the decision was made to add to the Deary family!

We surprised Kristina that evening by taking her over to our friend's home.  She had no idea that we were coming home with a puppy.

Of course I cut the video off right when Kristina said, "Look at me - I'm shaking!  I'm so happy!"

Kristina and her friend, Bella.

The drive home ~ ha, the pup is like a  deary in headlights!

So happy to be home!

Two peas in a pod

So while Kristina got a crash course in taking care of the puppy, I ran to Wal*Mart to pick up some necessities (who else is open at 10pm?).  After getting a small bed, crate, food, toys, and potty pads - we were set to be new parents!



Kristina decided to sleep on the floor next to the crate - the pup's new condo.

The two girls slept but only for an hour before the puppy was wimpering and wanted to be let out.  This went on all night... I got up and took the pup to the bathroom where we have the pads and surprisingly enough, that's where she has done her business 75% of the time!  Around 4am, I crawled into Kristina's bed and let the pup sleep next to me.  For 4 hours, there was peace ~ but boy am I exhausted today.

While Jon was at work, the 3 of us crawled into my bed (well, the dog stayed on her own bed on my bed...).



Our first road trip - to Petco to get a collar and nametag!

My good travelers:  both fall asleep in the car!

So how do we feel about this little critter?  I grew up with dogs and cats and so did Jon.  We've wanted to get a dog but just didn't have the space in our lives for one (literally and timewise).  With changes coming up in the next 4-6 months (I'm losing my job at Cedars after 16 1/2 years since the Rehab Unit is closing down) this is forcing the issue to make changes now.  We started purging stuff to Good Will this weekend and getting items ready for a garage sale in November.  This little one  with the Walter Cronkite-like eyebrows doesn't take up much space but she has certainly crawled her way into our hearts and we love her!

And now for her stats:
Sex:  Girl
Age:  9 weeks
Birth Date:  July 8, 2015
Adoption Date:  September 11, 2015
Breed:  50% Chihuahua and 50% Yorkshire Terrier:  a Chorkie!
Weight:  1 lb.

And her name..........


Maty!

Poor little Maty (pronounced Matt-ee) was called various names for the first 15 hours home but Kristina was the one who ultimately chose Maty (actually "Maty Serene" according to Kristina since she's such a calm doggie).  The reason for Maty?  This tiny, tiny dog is like the final tiny surprise you get when you open the last Matryoshka doll....thus, Maty is a derivative of Matryoshka.  ;)



Maty is tiny in size and will get bigger...but not much!

  


Welcome home, Maty Serene Deary!

Sweet dreams, little one ~
you are a dream come true for Kristina!

Good Gracious ~ 3rd Grade Already?!!

Father Time --- please take a break and slow down!

The new school year is now in session and our big girl is ready to take on the challenges of 3rd Grade.  This last week has been filled with lots of preparations:  finding a cool backpack online (with a matching lunch box, of course), browsing the "Back to School" aisles of Target to buy supplies for her new teacher as well as Kristina, and find that special outfit to wear on the first day.

Last night's preparations started out with such good intentions:  prepping lunch ahead of time, setting out the morning's clothes so no last minute wardrobe changes, and getting to bed super early.  Got 2 out of 3 ---- this girl tossed and turned for over 90 minutes before falling into a deep slumber.

This is how Kristina preps her clothes the night before!

My sleeping angel will wake up a 3rd Grader!

 


Lunch was ready to go:  Chicken noodle soup - her favorite!
 

Upon waking up in the morning, this is our ritual for 5 minutes...she hugs me tight...I never want to let go.  I will do it as long as I can have her sit on my lap!

Knowing that Kristina is a talker in class and quite distractible, I made sure she had a good, healthy breakfast and took all her vitamins...staying away from anything sugary.  Everything went like clock-work on Day 1 and we made it out the door on time!

Ready to walk to school!

Just as we were walking out the front door, Adam and his family were walking to school, too!  Adam and Kristina were in the same 2nd Grade Class and made their First Holy Communion together.

Our little girl

At the point where she'd rather walk with friends vs. hold onto mom and dad's hands...

Friends reunited after summer break!

Third Grade Girlfriends:
(L->R) Gabrielle, Casey, Maya, Avery and Kristina

As much as she was looking forward to seeing her friends today, Kristina was really looking forward to seeing her 2nd Grade Teacher, Mrs. Ro, again.  She missed her and wrote her a notecard over the weekend telling her so.

Mrs. Ro, 2nd Grade Teacher, greets all the students and asks them what they did over the summer.  Kristina responded "I went to Florida!"

Mrs. Ro writes each student's name up on the board indicating which Classroom they are to go to.  Kristina heads to Room 11.  Hmmmmm, wonder who the teacher will be!

The Anticipation....

When we learned that Kristina was going to be in Mrs. Temple's class, I nearly cried.  I was overjoyed!  We met Mrs. Temple last year at the school's Open House and really hit it off.  Mrs. Temple was born in the Bronx (one of my peeps!) and is a huge NY Yankees fan.  But more importantly and seriously, she is so down to earth and very "team" oriented with parents.  She's a hands-on teacher who gets the kids involved in lots of projects (vs. pencil-to-paper in silence, like other teachers), believes in physical activity as well as mental activity (even requested that each child bring a mitt from home as she gets them out there every week to play baseball), makes sure that they pay homage to the US Flag every morning (not all teachers do, unfortunately), and made it known that our children will be writing in cursive throughout the year. :)

Arriving at Mrs. Temple's Classroom

Assigned to the desk right up front...someone knows our little social butterfly already!

Awww, saying good-bye and not too big to get a bear hug!  Pretty sure we won't see this in 4th Grade...

I said a prayer last night just hoping that no matter what teacher Kristina would be assigned to, that it would be the one who would help guide our daughter on the path to liking to read (which she doesn't like to do, because it's difficult for her).  Jon and I met with Mrs. Temple briefly after school and she was so approachable stating "I've been doing this a long time [>14 years].  I'll keep an eye on her and let you know how she's doing."   {Insert Happy Dance!!!}

Best wishes, sweetheart ~
it's going to be a wonderful year!  xoxo

First Holy Communion Celebration!

For the last two years, Kristina attended Sunday CCD classes in preparation for receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion.  I knew that being the sentimental one I am, this would be a very touching day for me.  And Kristina knew it, too.

* When we were in the dressing room at Sears trying on dresses, I teared up.

* When I decided to make her a veil and I put one on her in JoAnne's Fabrics store, I teared up.  "Oh, mooooommm - are you crying again?" Kristina asked, accompanied by a hug....

After trying on 9 dresses in 3 stores, this was the one that put a tear in my eye. 

Two pics of the veil I made for Kristina.  Not sure what possessed me....like I had so much free time on my hands???   I was very happy with it in the end and it held up through the entire ceremony.

Grammy and Poppy flew in from FL for the big day so this made it even more special to have both sets of Grandparents see their only granddaughter receive the Sacrament.

We knew that it would be crowded since there were more than 120 children participating...with lots of family members toting cameras, iPads, etc. - ready to capture the moments.  Luckily, I found all our family and friends in the church's plaza as we waited for the 8:30am mass to conclude before we could make our mad dash to find the most desirable spot in church.  I thank my friend, Tere, for having the foresight to enter the church through the side door in order to snag some seats up in the front of the church (so we could look at the faces of the children instead of the back of their heads).  Mission GRAB-SEATS-IN-THE-FRONT-ROW accomplished!  :)

It was a very nice mass and even though we were all instructed by the priest not to take pictures during the mass, every parent still had their cell phones and cameras quietly snapping photos of their precious children making their First Holy Communion.  Bless me Father, for I have sinned....I took photos of my daughter receiving her First Holy Communion...and I would do it again.

Here are my favorite photos from this glorious day!
 

We ran out of the house and already I'm snapping photos!

Our next door neighbor, Uncle Marc, abandoned his garage sale for one minute to take a pic with his biggest fan.

Avery and Kristina have been going to school together since Kindergarten!

This was a precious moment I wish I had on video as each girl was complimenting each other on their shoes, hair, veil, gloves, purse.....

Meeting in the classroom with teacher, Ms. Maria, prior to Mass.

The first 6 girls practicing their angelic poses!

Receiving the Body of Christ

And the Blood of Christ

After the ceremony, Kristina was greeted by BFF Gaby (Kristina's first friend upon coming home)...

...and here they are the week beforehand when Gaby made her First Holy Communion!  (Same church, but Gaby goes to the Catholic School so they held their Mass on a different weekend.) 

 

Cousin, Alex!!!



Running to see the Grandmas!



Our Family photo!

With Nana and Grampa

With Grammy and Poppy

 

With Uncle Bryce, cousin Alex, and Michelle

 

With Aunt Zoe and Uncle Don!

With cousin, Joe!

 

Kristina with Gaby and Tere

Kristina with Gaby and Andrea.  Next year it will be Andrea's turn!

 

Kristina with our wonderful neighbors, the Gonzalez family.  It meant a lot that they were able to come by. 

Couldn't pass up saying a prayer in front of The Holy Family...

...where I prayed for years to be blessed with a family.  And here she is!

 

No matter what, always my little angel...

They did it!  Beautiful girls!



A very special photo -- with all the Grandparents!



For two years, while the girls were attending CCD for 90 minutes each Sunday morning, Jon and Zoltan would go for coffee talk...or whatever guys talk about...
 

Daddy and his not-so-little girl!

After the extensive photo shoot at church, a small group of us got together along with Jasmine's family at Rosie's BBQ for a luncheon.  It was a delicious meal shared with wonderful family and friends!

Our "small" group between the two families totaled 30 people!

Getting some Kristina lovin'

Tricia (my God Daughter), Aunt Laura and Uncle Ned (Aunt Laura's dad)

Poppy and Grammy

Grampa and Nana

Michelle and Uncle Bryce

 

Too bad cousin, Alex, didn't fill us in on the joke!  :)

Friends Monaliza and Zoltan (Jasmine's parents)...we can all sigh with relief - the planning is over!

Hmmmm, something from Uncle Bryce and Michelle!

Kristina and daddy get a laugh over the Star Wars t-shirt from Uncle Bryce and Michelle

Reading cards

Kristina received a beautiful Precious Moments figurine from Gaby and family.  All 3 precious girls!



Tere, Gaby, Daniela, and Rene were able to join us!

First Communion Blessings for Kristina & Jasmine

Hmmm, maybe not so quite angelic!!!

All three friends, growing up!

 

God Bless our Kristina DeAnn!