No. 17

Cupcake and I are leaving tomorrow for Florida to visit Grandma. We are almost ready to have a little fun in the sun with Aunt Reesy too.

When I went to get the mail there was this little box. In the box there was this most adorable bow with a CUPCAKE button. Thanks again Tracy! Tracy is on the blogroll under "Rhyne & Jake." I am waiting to see if there is a website with her great bows. When I get it I will post it.

The funniest thing is it completely matches Cupcakes outfit on the plane so when I return I will post the whole outfit!

No. 16

What a fantabulous weekend! Maria brouhgt over baby Tyler, and Laura & Rich brought over the Prince & Tiger. Andrea, Mario, and Baby Nic stayed for the weekend. Four super happy families couldn't help but notice all of the miracles in the room. It was so great to see how awesome they all played, ate, and LOVED to find their Mommy's!!!

Next Big bash- July 21st for Cupcake's Birthday. ANy Blogger Buddies in and around town (MD), Send an email for an invite!

Hope you enjoy our pics!!!


When picture time was over...the 2 hams were still posing! Baby Tyler and Cupcake are real camera shy!!!

The water babies couldn't get enough!!! Tiger & Cupcake finish up to head out for a popsicle!
The popsicle ATTACK on Tiger! Cupcake is ALWAYS posing!

The Mommy's attempt of a group photo!
A follow up to the KISS...they went in for a nap. Sleeping beauty wouldn't sleep which is funny because she always sleeps and Baby Nicolas is nevr keen on the nap thing..HAHA!

After naptime we dressed them for a photo shoot...

Cupcake decided to nap while Nic decided on whether on not he was going to participate in the photo shoot....

No. 15

Cupcake, give Baby Nic a Kiss...

We have been so excited all week waiting for Andrea, Mario, and Baby Nic to come spend the holiday weekend with us. They arrived yesterday. Cupcake knows how to greet her little friends. In return BIG HUGS from Baby Nic too. Stay tuned for 2 more Blogger babies to arrive tomorrow!!

No. 14

Here are the pics first for a change, lol.

We made it to MONDAY! A little runny nose, a cough, and big smiles but we have made it! SO what do you do with your sick child...Well my husband thought putting her in the trash can ( a new one )would be funny. Yes, she thought it was funny. I almost had a heart attack. As I go to take the picture she stands up and almost falls over with the trash can. Luckily Dada to the rescue. He caught her, I almost cried, and she laughed her booty off!

Her PONYTAIL- Do you see it is flopping over? There is no more signature Cupcake tail standing straight up!

Everyday I am seeing her grow so fast I am amazed. The past week her play has even changed. She goes right to her play area, does her stacker, a puzzle, and her magnadoodle without me putting them in front of her and helping her. She used to need me to hold the stacker, show her where the puzzle pieces go, and place the magnadoodle pencil in her hand. My independent girl is doing so fantabulous. I might cry as soon as she doesn't need me to pick her up to put her in the tub. Then I will lose alot of status in her book!

N0. 13

How appropriate to be entry #13! Oh where, oh where has my little Cupcake been all week? Wednesday late afternoon Cupcake had BRIGHT PINKY cheeks and by nighttime had 103.5. Oh my- someone forgot to tell me sick babies are no fun and NEED so much love. This was our first REAL sick moment together. As usual emotional NEW mommy wondered was she ever snuggled, cuddled and given loving baths all through the night. Why do I think about it? I am so happy I could jump, skip, hop, and RUN to Cupcake's every need. She is so sweet, loving, and accepting of every kiss. Every little drop of love she gets she returns ten folds. I beg her not to give me anything. Just to wake in the morning to receive her smile, or watch her grab my legs as she sprints to me when I get home is so PRICELESS. Two and a half days of a whiney, crying, uncomfortable, and frustrated baby may have petrified me this time last year but I felt privledged to have my sweet little Cupcake all snuggly and lovey to nurse back to health. Today she was faking being better so I didn't take her out. She was trying so hard to be well, smile, and play but she just couldn't function without a little sleep.

Today was the first morning I wasn't there when she woke. It was WAY MORE difficult than expected. Unfortunately I had to leave for court by 8:15 and she didn't wake until TEN. YES TEN! Sleeping beauty always likes to sleep but she has had some serious beauty rest during recovery.

Bad news no pics. Neither one of us are fit for the camera but hopefully this weekend will bring normality.

Have a Great Weekend!!!

No. 12

After having a wondeful lunch with Lizzy, Tracie, and Jordie...We headed to our first time to KINDERGARTEN! I mentioned before in the other blog we visited my mother's 4th grade class but I may not have mentioned my mother teaches kindergarten too. Oh BOY did Cupcake have a blast! Also my mother's children are so sweet! We can't wait to visit again!

No. 11

Arriving in the US on March 10th, we celebrated 2 months home with Cupcake yesterday. We had so much fun and I think she did too!

I will post a bunch a pics from yesterday and Wednesday but it is now 8:45am so I am going to wake Little Cupcake so we can go on a shopping marathon to get stuff for Sunday lunch and cards and presents Mother's and Grandmother's.

Have a Happy Mother's Day and a Wondeful weekend. I know no matter what this will be the BEST Mother's Day in this household!!!

No. 10

Today was the first day we were bottle free. Cupcake didn't seem to mind to much. She loves Special K with strawberries, spaghetti O's with meatballs, yogart, fruit, and FRITOS. I can not believe my child is eating so much JUNK! My mother NEVER fed us junk. I do try to make fresh veggies, and chicken in the blender but NO WAY!!! I am just so happy to see that she realized she has teeth and can swallow. A matter of fact we have Early Intervention coming on Thursday for her evaluation but this was my main concern. The past week I have seen her change so much. She is more expressive! The girlie diva attitude is in 3rd gear gear, and the personality is sparkling. Sometimes she seems like such a 12 month old but other times she is such a big girl.
When I put her to bed we slow dance for a song or two to Baby Einstein's Mozart. When we get near the end I hold her straight in front of me whispering sweet dreams to her. When I said I LOVE YOU, she gently puckered and kissed me. It was so cute I started to tear. Of course she will give me kisses ANYTIME I ask but after we me saying I love you so many times after she kissed me- it triggered the most special kiss EVER! OK- I am just so goo goo gah gah for my little Cupcake. If I tell her she a few more times she is the most perfect baby in the world and she can do nothing wrong- She may start to believe me, LOL.

No. 9

It was a big week for Cupcake. I wish I found a minute to blog more often. I still can't figure out where the time flies!

Monday We met my friend Margaret for a walk in the park in the early AM. I went to work for a couple hours. I started working at my father's office. She barely knows I am gone. After I put her down for a nap I RUN. I come home about 2 hours after she wakes. Marco and Soledad are here so she has fun!

Tuesday we went to lunch with my Grandmother and took Cupcake for her first ToysRUs outing. She had fun but we had a better time. She started to take a nap on one of her toys so it was time to go. Thanks for the cartful of toys Grandma. Want to take me to a jewelry store next week?

Wednesday we went to the new park near our home. It was reall nice but she pulled this crying stuff when it was time to go so I asked her if she was joking and kept walking to the car. Oh yeah- since she is the BIG SHOT walking girl she likes to run further when I call her but she loves to hold hands too.

Thursday we ran around shopping and it was the first day we had only ONE bottle for a meal (breakfast). We went to play with Sophia and her new puppy. Uncle Daniel came in to play and meet Cupcake for the first time so this weekend was going to be FILLED with shopping.

Friday- Of course we shopped all day with Uncle Daniel. We played outside and went shopped a bit more!

Saturday we went to Best Buy (YUCK!) but Dad really likes it. After we all went to Bertucci's for pizza and Cupcake played with her ravioli. I think the BEST part of going out to eat (even though I do prefer to cook) is Cupcake can destroy the floor and I don't have to scrub it again, lol.

This morning Cupcake had her first Birthday party at "My Gym." Her girlfriend Irenee turned 2. She didn't want pizza, cake, or to sit adn the circle and play games but she would NOT get off the trampoline so it is time for Mommy and Daddy to buy one- 911!

First trip to ToysRUS-
Going for a walk with Sophia-
Having a good day at Sophia's House-

Spending Irenee's Birthday on the trampoline-

No. 8

So last night was the first night WE went out since leaving for Moscow February 9, 2007. My Mom and Larry stayed with Cupcake which is GREAT because NO ONE else is staying with our daughter for a very long time EXCEPT for them. We went to a cocktail party at Lizzy & Cousin Ruby's. We had a blast. It was tough to swallow that I wasn't bathing and putting my daughter to sleep. The first time I didn't hug & kiss her before she went to sleep. I KNOW she doesn't mind but I did feel like I was missing out.


This morning the 3 of us had breakfast and enjoyed the beautiful weather on the deck. We came in to give Cupcake lunch. After lunch she was just walking around the house. For the first time EVER she made an effort to play with Buttercup who is our female lab (Scooby is the male). Here is a pic of them together.

No. 7

Where do the weeks go? How could my last post be on Monday? What did I do all week? All I know is everyday I feel like we utilize every waking moment but I can not account for our accomplishments. We did surprise Marco at the condo which is a second home in the city that Marco is renovating. Cupcake is walking beautifully and soon to be jogging. She ate her first egg for dinner tonight. Yippee one more thing I can get her to eat but she was hunting around for a bottle. We are down to 2-3 bottles a day which is better. Her cute little sounds crack me up and her addiction to the bath gets me so excxited for the pool to open in a couple of weeks.

Her favorite toys this week are her Puppy (which goes with the FP house) and New book ( by Vtech)which reads the nursery rhymes to her (2 thumbs up from me!) and her new classic car from her friend Baby L- OMG it is soo CUTE!

No. 6

Saturday's adventures were a BLAST!!! Cupcake and I went to visit Laura, Tiger, & The Prince. Often I joke we are a little country but only 10 miles outside the city but we went to the COUNTRY! Cupcake had a blast. She loves The Prince and Tiger. It is nice to see 3 sweet children play all day together, on their own, and so QUIETLY! Of course the girls don't talk much but they make their points! Since Cupcake has a Mommy who is not so outdoorsy it was really great for her to see Tiger's sheep, sit on Laura's horse (Spanky), play on the trampoline (she was in heaven), and go for jeep rides with The Prince.

When we get home I am so excited to show Marco the 45 great pictures but he became fixed on Cupcake going for a ride with an older boy. I set him straight quickly! This is THE PRINCE, he made sure Cupcake was safe!!!

Anyway, on our hour ride home I explained to Cupcake we can't have horsie's, sheep, or anymore animals but our 2 dogs because Mommy and Daddy are too irresponsible. We reached our maxium responsibility level with 1 baby and 2 dogs. Oh- I forgot to mention we do not do the outdoors well either!

Stay tuned for Wednesday's trip to the Baltimore Zoo.

No. 5

Confessions of a new Mommy...I am tired a different kind of tired. One I am learning how to deal with! Maybe a little more than usual since I have been sick for a month but a 18 month old can really tired out a 35 year old! Cupcake is learning so much. The first pic is "Where is your Belly button?" and she is with both of my grandmother's. I am not sure how many photo opportunities I will have with both of her Great Grandmother's since one lives out of town
This was priceless! These pics are from last week but as you know I am ALWAYS behind these days!

Now let me tell you a bit about Wednesday. I swore a million times I would never talk about POO. Why talk about POO? I can't stand POO talk. I am not a big fan of diapering and look forward to potty training.

Anyway, after 20 minutes I her Cupcake cooing and googling in her cute little voice. Very strange when she usually passes out. I run up to check on her and notice smears of BROWN on her beautiful pink sheets. I had NO CLUE what I was about to walk into. NO ONE EVER TOLD ME ABOUT THIS!!! She is a MESS! I grab her up carefully in fear of an overflowing diaper, then I stand her in the tub, and proceed to hand bathe her with wipees. YES a whole pack of wipees as the bath is running. I sit her in a shallow tub as I am anxious to check out her room. OMG OMG OMG- 911 please help! My daughters baby bumper, linens, blankies, and stuff animals have been attacked by POO!!! Tears are streaming down my face, my child is in the tub, and I am stuffing everything in a garbage bag. Quickly I change her linens, wipe down her bed, find a new collection of stuffed animals, and blankies. I run back to the bath as I have been running back and forth every 5 seconds worried about leaving her- I rush back to shampoo Cupcakes' hair, and give her a final soap down. Now she is shiney clean and so is her room.

Let's try again. Now she is comfy clean she goes right to sleep!!! So sorry for talking about POO but I may need therapy!

Thursday was a great day ALMOST! See Cupcake's face below- this is how she was ALL DAY! She decided she was going to refuse a nap and Mommy was to weak to protest after yesterday. We climbed Up and DOWN the stairs a few times, played her piano for a few hours, threw her blocks and stackers all over the room trying to acheive the loudest BANG on the floor possible, we sang head and shoulders a few hundred times (Cupcake's request) and Pattycake followed by Where is Thumpkin a few million times. So my precious little Cupcake is doing great but her Mom is a bit gray, slightly exhausted, and could really use some sunny days so we can get out a bit more and play!

No. 4

I was trying to set up so I could post lots of pics every week but if anyone knows how to help so all the pics show on the post I am in need of assistance!

www.flickr.com More of lmmontillo's photos

No. 3

What is better than waking up to your childs face covered in a runny nose, pink cheeks, and glassy eyes as you are hurrying out to the doctor to get the results of your labs for TB, HIV, & everything else under the sun since it isn't normal to have high fevers for 3 weeks.

I just wanted to cry. I think I did in the car. I changed her, washed her, fed her, and left her with Solidad and Marco but Daddy doesn't count when the market is about to open! Meanwhile I probably gave my daughter something terrible too.

The good news is I was cleared for TB, HIV, thyroid, iron, potassium, Hep, and whatever else, but not cleared on possible pneumonis because I didn't make it to radiology for chest x-rays. Hopefully I can get into somewhere tomorrow. The doctor ordered another set of labs since she thinks they don't look good but if this isn't enough she gave me another form for another set next month too!

After being gone for an hour- I was rushing home to Cupcake as I wanted to be with her so badly! She giggled, cried, and gave a quick hands up to me as I walked in the house. She made my day! I wasn't sure if she was going to look at me after abandoning her this morning! We went upstairs and snuggled and wiped noses all day until my Mom came to help. We gave Cupcake a bath, a warm bottle, and played. To bed she went to bed at 6:30 as I am prepared to see her pink little face, and runny nose in a few hours!

Another great Mommy moment- Cupcake's Daddy informed me while I was sprawled out hogging the bed last night- I slept through my daughter's wailing and bawling for her Mommy! OMG OMG- What did you do? Why didn't you wake me? Hmmm- I changed her, washed her face, and held her until she was ready to go back to bed. Forgetting to share your child with your spouse is NOT NICE!!! He is SUPER DADDY! He may not be available for an hour in the morning but Mr. Nightowl really is so impressive with his daughter!

No.2

Today Marco brought in the mail as usual. He handed me the BIG YELLOW ENVELOPE. I smiled and handed it back to him to open carefully since carefully and Lauren do no usually go together. Cupcake's Certificate of Citizenship arrived. After I edit her name and personal info I will post it.

Today was the first day I have felt like myself but it looks like Cupcake and I need to get X-rays to clear us for pneumonia. We should know by next week.

Our daughter is WALKING! Really walking. She is walking so much she is wanting to eat more too.

Most of you may or may not know but Cupcake protests food as she is addicted to her bottle. Do you know how many people want to give me advice on why I shouldn't hold her like an infant and feed her? TOO MANY!!! The past week she has been super adventurous. She has eaten a few bites of banana, strawberries, mac & cheese, PB&J, and mashed potatoes. She doesn't enjoy it but she is exploring. It just isn't enough to call it a meal so after we play around she gets her big PHAT 12oz bottle with a Gerber fruit, rice cereal, and whole milk. When her belly is about big enough for her to tumble over she usually pushes the bottle away.

Today we met my father and Leslie for lunch. She was giggley as usual and played with aother child. Whenever she sees children she is very sweet and friendly. Then we went to the grocery store. You know what you see at the store about 2pm? A million mommies and babies!

We came home so she could have playtime, dinner, and a bath so when daddy comes home she can play until bedtime. I would like to end with happily ever after but an hour later I hear SCREAMING and BAWLING....RUN FOREST RUN! SO I run to her to console her. Marco suggests I make her a warm bottle. The baby was STARVING. Did I feel horrible putting our daughter to ed starving? YESSSSSS - ARGGHHH , I really felt badly. After her bottle she went to sleep like a yummy little Cupcake!

No.1

What do you do on your ONE MONTH HOME day? We got dressed, had breakfast, and hurried to meet Tyler & Maria at a Gymboree Class. I am not sure who is more bored with the toys at home but I will guess ME! Anyway the kids had a great time.

I had to run to the Doctor so Nana & Grandma K (Cupcake's Great-Grandmother) came to babysit.

Later Cupcake and I met Daddy, Nana, Poppy Larry, and Grandma K for dinner. It was just another pleasant day minus the doctors!

Introduction

Welcome to "Life with Cupcake." Most of you have probably followed our Adoption Journey to Russia. Today we have been home for ONE MONTH!

A quick recap of how we got here...I woke up in April of 2006 and told Marco we were going to Russia to find our daughter. I began the research for 6 long weeks. May 15th I made our first appointment on June 1, 2006 for us to meet a Social Worker from Creative Adoptions in Maryland. They were only accredited in Russia until June 9, 2006 so we had to select an agency for placement. Alliance For Children in MA was our final decision.

By July 21, 2006 we had EVERYTHING completed, I-797C in hand, and our dossier was on the way to Russia.

In October I told Marco we are leaving for Russia. He asked me WHY?... I know I come up with a bunch of outlandish plans but this was FOR REAL! Anyway we got our plane tickets and we were off to Kazan, Russia. As in many adoptions....THINGS HAPPEN and SOMETIMES THEY JUST DON'T! After we were given our referral with a disclaimer warning if you do not accept this child there will not be another little girl, WE CANCELLED! A little more complicated because we were also informed a new Judge was Anti-International Adoption. A family went to court 13 days before our departure and DID NOT get their children. Our agency disclosed, gave us our options, and with little thought we switched to Moscow Region. Switching our dossier to another region cost us a month.

We departed for Moscow on December 1, 2006. After declining 3 referrals of baby girls who we felt we were not capable of parenting, we met CUPCAKE! We heard so many times, you will know when it is right but we didn't buy it! It was true. She was the "IT" kid and we were meant to be her parents!

After a long holiday season we had court on Valentine's Day. Hearing that we were officially the Father and Mother of Cupcake was the first time tears streamed down my face. Since Moscow is long second trip, Marco had to return to the US shortly after court. Week 2 I was SOLO in Moscow but met up with all of my wonderful friends. Maria & Jeff, Laura & Rich, Melissa & Mike, Scott & Lisa, and my special SBP Kate came to spend the weekend with me so I took her to meet Cupcake.

On February 25, 2007 my family arrived. My mother and I brought Cupcake back to the apartment on the 27th. Papa Larry, and Uncle Joe were waiting for our arrival. From this day forward life was complete.

After a week, it was Just Mom, Me and Cupcake. It was getting hard as we were so excited to return home. March 10, 2007 we boarded Flight 31 from SVO to JFK.

We were surprised at the airport by our friends Andrea & Mario holding a US flag and a Welcome Home banner. What a wonderful surprise!

Finally I could put our daughter in Marco's arms! After a 4 hour ride to Baltimore...I realized our Adoption Journey has come to end, our life as family has just began, and our daughter was the most amazing little girl in the world. Most of all we were the luckiest parents in the WORLD!

Last week I got the call for our first Post Placement Report- it was time to move on to a new blog, our new story, and "Life With Cupcake."

We look forward to sharing the next chapters of our lives together... Our first day as Cupcake's Mommy & Daddy