All the "fine" things we learn at daycare

Don't get me wrong, Vanie has learned tons of new words, songs and what not at daycare... you can even understand the words in some of the songs he sings. And yes, the ABC's song actually has more than 3 letters now, even if most of them are still k's and s's and x's. :-) - we are getting there. I can only imagine what his teacher go through every day. I know i would not be able to do it with so many kids, day in and day out.

In addition of all the nice things, Vanie has also picked up a few funny and bad ones as well as some bad behavior.
His favorite phrases right now are:
"Oh, my gosh" - clearly something from daycare as we don't say it at home
"Get away" - with attitude when he is not happy and doesn't want me to touch him or show him how to do things.
"C'mooooon, mommy" or "C'mooon, daddy" is something you hear quite often in our house as Vanie is in this new phase where he wants us to play with him. Trust me there is no "c'mon" when it comes to doing things such as brushing teeth, or washing hands or eating - everything has to be done by HIM ALONE.
Some other favorite phrases:
"Look at that!"
"Look, mommy, i did it"
" I want" and "I no want"
"No, mommy, Vanie's turn" or "No, daddy, mommy's turn" - he is big on "turns" right now expecially when it's about his turn. :-)

On the bad behavior, just a few months ago he was being pushed around by other kids and apparently now he has started doing that to other kids himself. Some other not so nice but favorite activities - throwing his shoes. We are not sure what to do as he doesn't act up when at home or with friends' kids. From what i hear, this is just a stage that he will pass but knowing that we don't know much about his genes or the 9 months before he was born makes us think about anything he does twice and 3 times. I am sure this is just a phase - afterall, he is well behaved at home -to the extent a 2 yr old one can behave well :-).

Vanie's new girlfriend

Our dear friends, Eva and Daniel, visted today with their kids from Boston (we've been friends with Eva since the late 90's when we move to the US). Their girl, Elena, is 4 1/2 yrs old and what can i say, Vanie just fell in love. He didn't even take a nap today (needless to say he was really cranky by 5pm) and spent the entire day playing and running around after her and with her. On top of that we saw at least 2 or 3 helicopers flying really low over Laguna Beach which made Vanie's day even more perfect (this kid is obsessed with all flying objects and firetrucks).

Fun at another birthday party

Alissa, the birthday girl



Vanie - horrified from the fact that the kids are beating up and braking the horsie (the pinata)

The bottom curls are gone

Vanie is starting to look much more like a boy than a baby with the new hair style. Here is my sweetheart!

More Holiday Pictures

Christmas Eve Pictures

Look at him now...

Daddy's little Stoychkov... for those of you who don't know who he is...

Dec. 11 - Gotcha Day

it's been a year since we got custody of Vanie. I can't believe it... and yet it feels as if we've been a family since he was born.
I honestly don't want to relive that day - i was so stressed and afraid i felt sick the entire day. After a long questioning session (me more than Jason), we were given the rights to become the parents of Yvan Alexander... we got him that night from the orphanage (after a long 4 ½ hours drive through the snowed in mountains).

We didn’t necessarily celebrate the day but we will start doing so soon. I think, Vanie will understand and appreciate it much more once he is 3 or 4 years old. Right now, it’s all about Santa…

Vanie's 2nd B-Day Party - Video

We had to do the candle spiel several times b/c some of Vanie's older friends just didn't want to wait for Vanie to blow out the candles... :-)


can you tell why all the boys are glued to the cake? ... They all wanted the train which , of course, was all Vanie's!

I still have to send out the "thank you" cards to everyone that brought Vanie wonderful presents.

Vanie's 2nd B-Day Party

Here are a few pictures of Vanie's b-day party in the 1st week of December…




The event itself was great but there was a lot of stress before we actually got to have the party. You'd think that living in So Cal (even better, OC), you would get to enjoy the constant sunny So Cal weather that goes along with the heavy real estate prices.... think again. We almost canceled the park party and moved it to out club house. I think i visited weather.com than yahoo new the week before the party. Anyway, we reserved the club house, as well, just in case but were really lucky that in didn't rain for the party (it drizzled just a few hours before that).
The kids had tons of fun (even though not all of Vanie’s friends could join) - more playing at the slides and swings than anything else.
I can’t wait for his 3rd b-day part… who know’s what he will be into then.