Not all of you know this, but Andy and I have a small basketball "court" in our backyard. I love to play Horse, so this was one of the selling points on the house for me. When the kids first came here, I just assumed they would like it too. However, after seeing it, Mie Mie quickly informed us that she was afraid of balls. The one sport, she said, that the ball didn't scare her was soccer. So, we went and got a soccer ball. The only problem was that she didn't really know how to kick, pass, intercept, etc. So Andy decided to give her a soccer lesson one day, and Boone decided to join in. Mie Mie did really like it and will be playing soccer in the fall. (She is still scared of other balls - except for four square balls.)
...Pictures will be posted after adoption is finalized....
Learning to kick. I usually don't notice how much she mimics us until I see pictures like this... she often comes out copying the exact moves that one of us is making. I think it's cute.
Boone "stealing" the ball.
Trying to get the ball away from Andy.
It didn't work!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Utah Ski and Sundance Trip
It is sad, but true. I went 32 years without ever putting on ski boots. When I was little I just didn't have the opportunity to ski, and then as I got older I started to be more afraid of skiing. But in the last couple of years, I have really wanted to. So, around Christmas time I started talking with my friend Candice about going on a ski trip. We talked about a lot of possible destinations, but if I was going skiing for the first time in my 32-year-old life, I wanted to go to the best place I knew of... Park City. When my sister reminded me of the Sundance festival that happens each January, the decision was made. We quickly booked one of our timeshares in Midway, UT, bought tickets, rented a car... and in a few weeks we were off.
We had a ton of fun! We spent most of a day with two of my sisters that live in Utah, (well one of them just moved to Chicago.) Then we tried to get into some of the films by standing in the wait line. See, we had planned so late that there weren't any normal tickets left. Unfortunately, we didn't get into a movie... but we had a lot of fun waiting, and we know what to do next time!
Then we went skiing at the Canyons resort in Park City. Andy and I signed up for ski school, (Andy is typically a boarder so it was new to him too.) We had a lot of fun. I really liked the morning! I was doing so well, I only fell once, so I didn't really learn how to get up. After lunch we headed up to our first official run, and boarded the ski lift.
I don't know what it is about ski lifts, but I was terrified of it. And when it was time to get off, of course I leaned back and fell. But the lift operator didn't stop the lift and people came crashing into me from behind. And I couldn't figure out how to get up because my skis were still attached, (and I was being hit from behind.) The ski instructor yelled at the lift operator to stop the lift. Instead, she came over and grabbed my hand and tried to get me up... and there was a horrible pop in my hip. But I was up, and then she stopped the lift. After I was up. (Just in case it isn't clear, that is not what is supposed to happen!)
The instructor asked me if I was fine, I told her I was, and off we all went. There was a turn right away, and as I tried to wedge to turn, my hip cramped and I fell. I got back up and tried to go again. I fell three times in 5 minutes. So... I had the luxury of going down the hill with ski patrol on my first day. It should have been embarrassing, but it kind of figures that would happen to me! It had already been a long day of skiing, so we headed back to the condo.
That night President Hinckley passed. Because we were in Utah it was a huge deal, and we watched several news stories about it.
The next day we woke up to a full-on blizzard. We were supposed to go snowmobiling, but when we called to ask if it was still safe, they said that they weren't even going out. So instead we put on all of our snow gear and went on a walk outside of our condo, it was a lot of fun!
When it was time to go we drove back into Park City to shop and have lunch, and then left for Salt Lake. We got to Salt Lake about an hour early, so we stopped at Temple Square to look around. We had a really fun time and hope to be able to make this an annual tradition! (And yes, I am excited to ski again and NOT come down the hill with ski patrol.)
We had a ton of fun! We spent most of a day with two of my sisters that live in Utah, (well one of them just moved to Chicago.) Then we tried to get into some of the films by standing in the wait line. See, we had planned so late that there weren't any normal tickets left. Unfortunately, we didn't get into a movie... but we had a lot of fun waiting, and we know what to do next time!
Then we went skiing at the Canyons resort in Park City. Andy and I signed up for ski school, (Andy is typically a boarder so it was new to him too.) We had a lot of fun. I really liked the morning! I was doing so well, I only fell once, so I didn't really learn how to get up. After lunch we headed up to our first official run, and boarded the ski lift.
I don't know what it is about ski lifts, but I was terrified of it. And when it was time to get off, of course I leaned back and fell. But the lift operator didn't stop the lift and people came crashing into me from behind. And I couldn't figure out how to get up because my skis were still attached, (and I was being hit from behind.) The ski instructor yelled at the lift operator to stop the lift. Instead, she came over and grabbed my hand and tried to get me up... and there was a horrible pop in my hip. But I was up, and then she stopped the lift. After I was up. (Just in case it isn't clear, that is not what is supposed to happen!)
The instructor asked me if I was fine, I told her I was, and off we all went. There was a turn right away, and as I tried to wedge to turn, my hip cramped and I fell. I got back up and tried to go again. I fell three times in 5 minutes. So... I had the luxury of going down the hill with ski patrol on my first day. It should have been embarrassing, but it kind of figures that would happen to me! It had already been a long day of skiing, so we headed back to the condo.
That night President Hinckley passed. Because we were in Utah it was a huge deal, and we watched several news stories about it.
The next day we woke up to a full-on blizzard. We were supposed to go snowmobiling, but when we called to ask if it was still safe, they said that they weren't even going out. So instead we put on all of our snow gear and went on a walk outside of our condo, it was a lot of fun!
When it was time to go we drove back into Park City to shop and have lunch, and then left for Salt Lake. We got to Salt Lake about an hour early, so we stopped at Temple Square to look around. We had a really fun time and hope to be able to make this an annual tradition! (And yes, I am excited to ski again and NOT come down the hill with ski patrol.)
The first day I was so excited by the view, I woke up at sunrise and took mass pictures. I had a lot of good ones, this is one of my favorites.
This is from the day we spent with my sisters. That is Keira closest to the camera. Liel is furthest away.
Andy skiing down the hill.
Dzana skiing down the hill.
Andy all geared up the day we went hiking outside our condo.
Andy and I outside of the condo the day we left.
The flag flying half-staff at Temple Square to honor President Hinckley.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Learning to Frisbee
Frisbee has a history for Andy and me. When Andy proposed to me he said that I had to learn how to play frisbee before we got married. I was a horrible frisbee-thrower, but I got pretty good at it. Andy and I have spent hours playing - before we were married, when we first moved to Washington, and ever since. When Boone came to live with us we taught him how to play frisbee with us... so it stands to reason that we would want the kids to as well. So, one day we walked over to our park where there is a nice big open field. (I have lost many frisbees in blackberry bushes and had no desire to repeat that with the kids.) And we taught them how to play. We started out having them hold our hands when we did it, then we started throwing it to them from pretty close, and eventually we formed a big triangle and played with Mie Mie. (Nigel can't quite throw that far yet!) They had a blast, it was some of the first "big" laughs that we saw from both of them. Eventually they started playing keep away and just running back and forth with the frisbee, but even Nigel can kind of throw it now. Actually, he probably throws it better than I did when Andy proposed.
....Pictures to be posted after adoption is finalized....
....Pictures to be posted after adoption is finalized....
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
A Trip to the Park
I promise not to write as much as I did in the two updates last week... since I skipped a few weeks, I have a lot to catch up on! Last week was a big week for us. Nigel and I visited a playgroup for the first time. We had another caseworker visit with less than 24-hours warning. The kids are really affected by case worker visits, so we also had to handle their moods (tantrums) for the next two days. I spent those days trying to keep them as occupied as possible so that there wasn't time to tantrum! So we also visited the office one day.
Our friends threw Mie Mie and Nigel a "welcome to the family" party (shower) on Saturday. They had a lot of fun, and more importantly, got a lot of the things that we have been needing for them. The party also seems to have helped Mie Mie feel some permanence in our family, which is a nice twist. We had a lot of fun too!
This weekend we also got Mie Mie a goldfish to care for. She named it "Spots" at first, and then changed it to "Lucky". Then on Monday she told me that she wanted to name it Meraid, but it's nickname could be Lucky. Meraid is her deskmate at school, so I suggested she talk to her about naming a fish after her before getting too attached to the name. Apparently Meraid was super excited to have a fish named after her.
Mie Mie gets out of school early on most Fridays. Last Friday we headed to the park to spend our extra time. There is a really nice park a couple of blocks from our house. We stayed there for almost two hours straight. The kids had a lot of fun, and Nigel tired himself out so much that he actually fell asleep! I enjoyed the park because I was able to have some "grown-up" conversations with adult friends on the cell phone while the kids were having a blast on all of the toys. Mie Mie spent at least an hour on the merry go round. Nigel spent almost an hour in a toddler swing... I have never seen him laugh so much!
......Pictures to be posted after adoption is finalized.......
Our friends threw Mie Mie and Nigel a "welcome to the family" party (shower) on Saturday. They had a lot of fun, and more importantly, got a lot of the things that we have been needing for them. The party also seems to have helped Mie Mie feel some permanence in our family, which is a nice twist. We had a lot of fun too!
This weekend we also got Mie Mie a goldfish to care for. She named it "Spots" at first, and then changed it to "Lucky". Then on Monday she told me that she wanted to name it Meraid, but it's nickname could be Lucky. Meraid is her deskmate at school, so I suggested she talk to her about naming a fish after her before getting too attached to the name. Apparently Meraid was super excited to have a fish named after her.
Mie Mie gets out of school early on most Fridays. Last Friday we headed to the park to spend our extra time. There is a really nice park a couple of blocks from our house. We stayed there for almost two hours straight. The kids had a lot of fun, and Nigel tired himself out so much that he actually fell asleep! I enjoyed the park because I was able to have some "grown-up" conversations with adult friends on the cell phone while the kids were having a blast on all of the toys. Mie Mie spent at least an hour on the merry go round. Nigel spent almost an hour in a toddler swing... I have never seen him laugh so much!
......Pictures to be posted after adoption is finalized.......
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Late April Snow!
Last week was Mie Mie's first week in her new school. She has a nice teacher and seems to be really enjoying it. This is a relief because she spent the three weeks prior telling us how much she hated school. And when I would say, "Surely you must like something about school," her answer would be, "Sure. Recess, recess, music, PE and art." We have thrown ourselves into reading. At first we were reading the first Harry Potter book out loud to her every night. Now she also has books that she reads to us. We just finished the first book from the Magic Treehouse series. She reads every other page to us. She does struggle significantly with her reading, so it is important for us to spend a lot of time with her on it. We have already seen her go from dreading reading time to begging to do, "just one more chapter?" On average we have been reading 45 minutes a night. And some days we have had no TV... other days we have had 30 minutes. I'm pleasantly surprised about that.
Last week Nigel had his first play date with Gwen Bean, who is also 2 and is about 4 months older than Nigel. It went really well. I think both Anna Marie and I were surprised. They played together, and sometimes on their own... they shared, and there were no meltdowns. Not too shabby for 2 year olds.
Last Friday Mie Mie had her therapy appointment in Olympia, which is about 2 hours from our house. She is going down there during her transition, and in late May will be moving to a therapist in Kirkland - only 15 minutes from our house! Nigel and I went to go take Mie Mie out of school early on Friday to make her appointment, and then it took 20 minutes for her to get to the office. So we were late. It was snowing like mad. We jumped on the freeway and made it to the appointment with 2 minutes to spare. The therapist was 15 minutes late. (urgh!) Then Nigel and I entertained ourselves in the lobby for an hour during her appointment. It was sunny in Olympia, but I knew it was snowing in Snohomish and I wasn't sure how much. We got in the car and headed back home. We got stuck in the traffic through Ft Lewis and Tacoma, but that was expected, (there are no carpool lanes on that part of I-5.) What I didn't expect was to slow down to 10 mph in Seattle and to maintain that speed all the way to Lynnwood. by the time we got to Lynnwood it was 6:30. We had left Olympia at 2:45. The kids were screaming and fussing in the back because they were starving... and Nigel hadn't slept in the car more than 10 minutes, so his lack of the normal 2 hour afternoon nap was also contributing to the mood. I decided to stop in Lynnwood at Applebee's to fix the food problem. While we were sitting there we watched an amazing amount of snow fall. I got back on the freeway to finish what would normally be 20 minutes to get home, but instead it was almost an hour. We probably had 6 inches of snow at our house already. We got home at 8:30. It was a really long day. The snow kept falling all night and was still falling when I woke up at 7 the next morning. Then it warmed up and the snow started melting, so I let the kids go out for a few minutes before it was gone. I didn't really have to worry, because it started snowing again that night, and we still had snow until yesterday afternoon at our house. It was one of the biggest storms we had all year, and it set a record for latest snow fall. I guess the earlier record was April 11 in 1972.
On Saturday we also went to the library with the kids. Can you believe that it was Mie Mie's first time to a library outside of school? She's going to turn 8 in July... I couldn't believe she'd never been to the library. We got her a card and she checked out 3 books and a movie. She was super excited. Nigel also got two books, one with a choo choo train and one with a plane. (He LOVES planes, trains and cars!) Then we went and met the Stutzmans and Zaniewskis for dinner on Saturday, and Mie Mie fell in love with all of them.
All in all we are adjusting pretty well. We are still finding our routine, and starting to have some less-than-perfect behavior from Mie Mie. But, our disciplining tactics seem to be working really well with that. Last night she was an hour late to dinner. (She was out in front of our house playing with her friends, so we could see her. We also reminded her to come in a couple of times.) So she came in to us cleaning up dinner and cold spaghetti sitting on her plate. She wasn't happy, but we explained that she chose to have a cold dinner by not coming home at dinner time. She couldn't argue with that. We also explained that playing with friends is a privilege that you lose if you do not obey the rules. So today she is not playing. :) We know that it is going to get very "fun" with her soon!
......Pictures to be posted after adoption is finalized......
Last week Nigel had his first play date with Gwen Bean, who is also 2 and is about 4 months older than Nigel. It went really well. I think both Anna Marie and I were surprised. They played together, and sometimes on their own... they shared, and there were no meltdowns. Not too shabby for 2 year olds.
Last Friday Mie Mie had her therapy appointment in Olympia, which is about 2 hours from our house. She is going down there during her transition, and in late May will be moving to a therapist in Kirkland - only 15 minutes from our house! Nigel and I went to go take Mie Mie out of school early on Friday to make her appointment, and then it took 20 minutes for her to get to the office. So we were late. It was snowing like mad. We jumped on the freeway and made it to the appointment with 2 minutes to spare. The therapist was 15 minutes late. (urgh!) Then Nigel and I entertained ourselves in the lobby for an hour during her appointment. It was sunny in Olympia, but I knew it was snowing in Snohomish and I wasn't sure how much. We got in the car and headed back home. We got stuck in the traffic through Ft Lewis and Tacoma, but that was expected, (there are no carpool lanes on that part of I-5.) What I didn't expect was to slow down to 10 mph in Seattle and to maintain that speed all the way to Lynnwood. by the time we got to Lynnwood it was 6:30. We had left Olympia at 2:45. The kids were screaming and fussing in the back because they were starving... and Nigel hadn't slept in the car more than 10 minutes, so his lack of the normal 2 hour afternoon nap was also contributing to the mood. I decided to stop in Lynnwood at Applebee's to fix the food problem. While we were sitting there we watched an amazing amount of snow fall. I got back on the freeway to finish what would normally be 20 minutes to get home, but instead it was almost an hour. We probably had 6 inches of snow at our house already. We got home at 8:30. It was a really long day. The snow kept falling all night and was still falling when I woke up at 7 the next morning. Then it warmed up and the snow started melting, so I let the kids go out for a few minutes before it was gone. I didn't really have to worry, because it started snowing again that night, and we still had snow until yesterday afternoon at our house. It was one of the biggest storms we had all year, and it set a record for latest snow fall. I guess the earlier record was April 11 in 1972.
On Saturday we also went to the library with the kids. Can you believe that it was Mie Mie's first time to a library outside of school? She's going to turn 8 in July... I couldn't believe she'd never been to the library. We got her a card and she checked out 3 books and a movie. She was super excited. Nigel also got two books, one with a choo choo train and one with a plane. (He LOVES planes, trains and cars!) Then we went and met the Stutzmans and Zaniewskis for dinner on Saturday, and Mie Mie fell in love with all of them.
All in all we are adjusting pretty well. We are still finding our routine, and starting to have some less-than-perfect behavior from Mie Mie. But, our disciplining tactics seem to be working really well with that. Last night she was an hour late to dinner. (She was out in front of our house playing with her friends, so we could see her. We also reminded her to come in a couple of times.) So she came in to us cleaning up dinner and cold spaghetti sitting on her plate. She wasn't happy, but we explained that she chose to have a cold dinner by not coming home at dinner time. She couldn't argue with that. We also explained that playing with friends is a privilege that you lose if you do not obey the rules. So today she is not playing. :) We know that it is going to get very "fun" with her soon!
......Pictures to be posted after adoption is finalized......
Monday, April 21, 2008
New Kiddos Update
Well, it has been an eventful three weeks in our home. Mie Mie and Nigel officially moved in with us on April 4th. We had them for the two prior weekends as well. The first weekend we celebrated Easter, I put that post up on the old site. The second weekend we took them to the zoo. It was Mie Mie's first time to the zoo, ever. She ended up going to another zoo (Point Defiance) later that week with the YMCA camp she participated in during her first spring break. Lucky girl got two spring breaks in a row because she transitioned schools at the perfect time.
We went to the Woodland Park Zoo, which has always been a bit of a disappointment to me because I was spoiled by the San Diego Zoo. (I also really like the Oregon Zoo, but we can't take them out of state while they are foster children.) Mie Mie, however, did not know the difference. She thought it was the "awesomest" place and has wanted to go back ever since. She did let us know that there were not enough monkeys and that the kangaroos were too small. Poor Nigel should have been taking a nap during this zoo trip, so the smiles were few and far between! He also had the flu, (he really came down with it the day after,) and he generously passed it along to me within the next few days.
The first week that Mie Mie and Nigel were officially with us I was miserably sick with the worst flu I can remember catching. Actually, the doctor told me I had the most positive flu test they have seen so far. I measured my temperature up to 104, and I consistently ran a temperature for almost 3 straight days. This was all during Mie Mie's second spring break, which was not so fun for her... we weren't able to do anything! We also had a visit from their case worker on one of the days I was running a fever, and she let me know that I was probably suffering the affect of PPSD "post placement stress disorder"... a purely made up ailment, but I will take the excuse! I had all these grand plans on how the house was going to be perfect before visits started, but it was a complete and total wreck, because I was incapable of functioning! I am almost better now... Nigel and I are both still draining a little bit, but his cough is gone and mine is on the way out.
We have really had a lot of support in the last several weeks, and it has been needed and much appreciated. It is unbelievable to know that we have these two kids that are sleeping in our house at night and depending on us for everything. In some ways they are still strangers to us, but we feel like we are really starting to get to know them. Nigel has been struggling with a temper and mood swings... which is normal post placement, but it is really testing my patience daily. Mie Mie has been a delight... so far... We have been busy acquiring stuff. We finally found a bed for Mie Mie so that she doesn't have to sleep on our old guest bed anymore, and we had to buy her a new wardrobe to prepare her for school. The clothes that she came with were all at least a size too small, and her shoes were a size and a half too small! Nigel, too, has needed some new things... but not to the same degree.
...Pictures will be posted after the adoption is complete....
We went to the Woodland Park Zoo, which has always been a bit of a disappointment to me because I was spoiled by the San Diego Zoo. (I also really like the Oregon Zoo, but we can't take them out of state while they are foster children.) Mie Mie, however, did not know the difference. She thought it was the "awesomest" place and has wanted to go back ever since. She did let us know that there were not enough monkeys and that the kangaroos were too small. Poor Nigel should have been taking a nap during this zoo trip, so the smiles were few and far between! He also had the flu, (he really came down with it the day after,) and he generously passed it along to me within the next few days.
The first week that Mie Mie and Nigel were officially with us I was miserably sick with the worst flu I can remember catching. Actually, the doctor told me I had the most positive flu test they have seen so far. I measured my temperature up to 104, and I consistently ran a temperature for almost 3 straight days. This was all during Mie Mie's second spring break, which was not so fun for her... we weren't able to do anything! We also had a visit from their case worker on one of the days I was running a fever, and she let me know that I was probably suffering the affect of PPSD "post placement stress disorder"... a purely made up ailment, but I will take the excuse! I had all these grand plans on how the house was going to be perfect before visits started, but it was a complete and total wreck, because I was incapable of functioning! I am almost better now... Nigel and I are both still draining a little bit, but his cough is gone and mine is on the way out.
We have really had a lot of support in the last several weeks, and it has been needed and much appreciated. It is unbelievable to know that we have these two kids that are sleeping in our house at night and depending on us for everything. In some ways they are still strangers to us, but we feel like we are really starting to get to know them. Nigel has been struggling with a temper and mood swings... which is normal post placement, but it is really testing my patience daily. Mie Mie has been a delight... so far... We have been busy acquiring stuff. We finally found a bed for Mie Mie so that she doesn't have to sleep on our old guest bed anymore, and we had to buy her a new wardrobe to prepare her for school. The clothes that she came with were all at least a size too small, and her shoes were a size and a half too small! Nigel, too, has needed some new things... but not to the same degree.
...Pictures will be posted after the adoption is complete....
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Welcome to the Kovar Khronicles
Hello people! Many of you are familiar with our website http://web.mac.com/dzana. Up until this spring, I was maintaining a blog and uploading pictures to this site. Unfortunately, I have had some issues with that site for the last several months... without going into too much detail, I have decided to join the masses and start a site on blogspot instead. :) I did port over all of the blog entries from the other site. As long as that site is still up and running, the links within this blog will take you to our webpage to view pictures and other information. However, I am not planning to update anything there beyond what was completed as of this spring.
So what will you find here? Updates about our family, how we are doing, what the kids are up to... maybe some rants or introspection as well. If you know me you know that I love to take pictures, so expect some of those as well! Be forewarned that we cannot post pictures of our two beautiful kiddos until their adoption is finalized, but I can tell you stories!
So stay tuned and check back. I am sure to have less trouble with maintaining this page!
So what will you find here? Updates about our family, how we are doing, what the kids are up to... maybe some rants or introspection as well. If you know me you know that I love to take pictures, so expect some of those as well! Be forewarned that we cannot post pictures of our two beautiful kiddos until their adoption is finalized, but I can tell you stories!
So stay tuned and check back. I am sure to have less trouble with maintaining this page!
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