As parents, one of the things that Jon and I have attempted to do is to find something that makes Kristina "tick". We have tried martial arts, ballet, Hip Hop dance and baseball. Kristina enjoyed all 4 but more so relished in wearing the uniform or tutu and/or getting a trophy or prize at the end of the season than truly enjoying the activity.
We have been considering soccer for next season knowing that would be a good option to work off lots of stored up energy or checking out our city's Cross Country team since Kristina LOVES to run and is barely winded when she trots home from school and I'm following in the car.
It's not uncommon for me to pull Kristina to the side in a store because she just performed a near perfect cartwheel down an aisle after I told her that was inappropriate.
When at Universal Studios, Kristina found some open space and got busy doing what she loves to do!
When an ad for an "Open House" popped up on my Facebook feed at a local gymnastics club, I nearly did a back flip myself! What a perfect opportunity to introduce Kristina to a sport she might enjoy. It was *free* ~ we had nothing to lose.
So last Saturday, Kristina spent 90 minutes tumbling, flipping, balancing, jumping, --- and getting a great workout. One of the coaches approached Kristina and asked if she could evaluate her skills....and our little one beamed at the opportunity. For the first time, I sat there looking at my daughter and watched her as she appeared to be completely in her element. There was a "spark" that was ignited and we could see her intently focusing on what the coach was asking her to do.
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| Kristina's first time on a Balance Beam |
I thought we'd never get Kristina off the trampoline "runway". She nailed several flips -- except the ones I got on camera.
Trying a round off -- off the Balance Beam
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| Coach Melinda evaluating Kristina on the Uneven Bars. She was impressed with Kristina's upper arm strength. |
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| We didn't need to ask...but this is the response we got when we asked Kristina if she would like to try out gymnastics. |
Fifteen minutes later, Kristina approached us for water ~ and in her out-of-breath voice exclaimed how much fun she was having. The coach asked us if it was true that Kristina had not had any gymnastics training. We had to admit that her training for cartwheels, backbends, back walkovers, etc. was self-taught by watching YouTube videos! Kristina was ready not for Beginner nor Intermediate Classes --- but an Advanced Class.
Fast Forward 48 hours and last night, we watched Kristina have the time of her life as she attended her first official gymnastics class. She kept looking back at us to make sure we were watching her...my eyes (and iPhone camera -- with very low storage space!) were glued to her every move. After the 2 hour class, Kristina was hungry and tired. Someone fell asleep quickly!!
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| Kristina and her friend, Jasmine. On Saturdays, Kristina watches Jasmine at swimming class so now Kristina wanted Jasmine to see her at her first Gymnastics Class. |
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| Concentrating on the Balance Beam - learning the basics. Staying on! |
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| Jumping 4" off the Beam. (Note: the girl in pink in the background is on another beam -- Kristina is not jumping on her!) |
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| Kristina is in the center/bottom on the "boulder" practicing for handsprings. |
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| The highlight of the evening: the uneven bars! |
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| Oh....the chalk. Kristina had more chalk on her than an old school teacher used to use in a year! |
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| Getting tips from one of the coaches. |
We are so proud of our girl. Will the excitement last when she sees how much work is involved? The aches in her shoulders from last night's class will subside but we hope her enthusiasm continues.
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And, since I've been so delinquent on posting to the blog -- here are lots of bonus photos of life, in general, at the Deary's covering the last few months!
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| Kristina really loved her 3rd Grade Teacher, Mrs. Temple. Mrs. Temple was instrumental in getting Kristina the help she needed in order to move forward with reading and math. For that, we are very grateful. Here they are on the last day of school in June. |
Kristina presented Mrs. Temple with a gift -- a Thomas Kincaid rendition of Yankee Stadium. All the children signed the outside matting. Note: Mrs. Temple is from the Bronx, too, and is the biggest Yankee/Derek Jeter fan we know!
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| For the first time, Kristina performed in the local Y's Showcase rhythmic dancing. |
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| And tumbling. |
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| And look who came to see Kristina perform -- Nana and Grampa! |
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| Sporting a tad of mascara and feeling all grown up! |
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| Two days after the Showcase, mom and Kristina were off to Florida! |
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| Daddy stayed home to work and take care of Maty. We missed daddy bunches. |
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| Yup - we're excited -- no one sat between us for the redeye flight -- whoo-hoo! |
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| Baking an apple dessert with Grammy and mom |
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| Before we cooked them -- they looked great and tasted delicious! |
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| Andrew and Kristina walking the grounds of "The Girls" (where Andrew works) |
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| Stopped to have ice cream on the way out --- put Andrew to work! |
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| Someone is getting soooooo big! |
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| We spent Father's Day missing daddy -- but had fun with the family bowling. Lots of laughs!! |
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| Cousins John Steven, Andrea and Melanie came down for the weekend and FINALLY got to meet Kristina. It was so wonderful seeing them. |
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| Mom's dear friend, Aunt Rose, and Kristina. Aunt Rose has always been so sweet to Kristina and was even at Kristina's baptism in FL when she first came home from Russia. |
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| Kristina loves her FL cousins! Jimmy (left), Andrew (right) |
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| Auntie Erin found the appropriate reading books for Kristina -- and Kristina finished her first chapter book IN FULL while staying over at Auntie Erin's! So proud of you, K! |
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| Uncle Jim was on a break from work and came to say good-bye to us. We love you, Uncle Jim and Auntie Erin! |
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| Always my baby brother. xoxo |
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| Three generations of LOVE. |
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| We were smiling ~ but inside, my heart ached as we were on our way to the airport. Don't know when our next trip to FL will be. :( |
In July, I was humbled to be the Keynote Speaker at CBD College's 2016 Summer Graduation. As nerve wrecking as I thought it would be -- it wasn't. Knowing Jon and Kristina -- along with Nana and Grampa -- were in the audience, I had a peace come over me when it came time to speak.
So honored to stand with the OT Staff at CBD College.
Left to Right: Mary Kay, Stephanie and Alexandra
Kristina finally got to meet Alan Heshel -- President and CEO of CBD College.
Alan introduced me to the graduates and families and gave me such a warm welcome. He brought up our Russian Adoption and what it meant to him. Alan is from Moscow.
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| Happy Birthday to Dad!! |
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| Any guesses where we celebrated Jon's birthday dinner??? |
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| Kristina LOVES her CA cousins! Alex (left) and Griffin (right) |
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May 2009 - two new moms, both OT practitioners, meet up in Moscow...
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| Kristina and Aslan had both just been adopted and we (along with Amy and Jeff) were new parents trying to figure out this new gig.... |
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| ...and here we are, 7 years later, reuniting the kids for the first time during Amy's trip to So CA in early August. |
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| We had a great day down at the Santa Monica Pier, along with Aslan's sister, Zoe, and Aunt Joan (another OT!!). |
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In mid-August, we celebrated my God Daughter's, Tricia's, going-away-to-college!!
Left to right: Tricia, Me, Riley (below), Laura, Kristina
We miss you already, Tricia!! xoxo
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Just an ordinary day at the Deary compound -- the dog, Maty, harassing our African Spurred Tortoise, Cruiser.
Maty weighs about 7 lbs -- Cruiser weighs probably over 120 lbs.
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| Maty can doggie paddle quite good -- but with so very little hair, she gets too cold in the water. |
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August 16, 2016: Kristina's first day of 4th Grade.
How can this be? I remember Kindergarten...
Kristina will always be daddy's little girl.
I love my big girl the mostest.
I will miss the days when we can walk her to her classroom and give her that kiss goodbye. We wish you a wonderful year ahead, sweetheart!
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| Our 4th Grader is loving school this year...so far. Much less homework than 3rd Grade. Mama is loving 4th Grade so much more, too. (Although we loved K's 3rd Grade Teacher.) |
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| A quick family trip to Knott's Berry Farm -- Kristina is still not a roller coaster fan. |
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| It's not unusual to find Kristina sleeping with Maty -- can you tell Maty likes to FaceTime?! |
