Ukraine Adoption

Little Miss Personality

And so we begin Tara's second summer as an American...

So I pick her up from pre-school at 5:30 pm yesterday and she is swinging on a big tire swing with her best pal Natalia and they are giggling like they share an inside joke. "Hi MOMMY!" Tara shouts as I walk up. Hello! I say. She pauses, looks at her friend who is leaning up against her and they are laughing again. "Two more hours Mommy, OK?" Tara tells me. Sigh. I guess I'm the only one having a hard time getting back into the work/school routine after vacation. SHe wants to stay at school even longer.

John theorizes that for Tara, going to pre-school is like going to a party every day. So many cool and fun things to do with a bunch of kids your size and really nice teachers who have patience sent from on-high. Can you imagine the repeated phrases they hear all day from each kid? (Watch me! for one)

So we were finally on our way home where we were hosting a barbecue for neighbors who are moving away. It was only three families including us. I told Tara it was a party. "Who's birthday?" she asked. No one's, it's just a party. "I want cake" she says. I tell her there will be some cookies at this party. About 10 minutes later she asks again, "Is it Austin's birthday?" No, it's no one's. "Is it mine?" No, yours is in the winter. "OK."

You guessed it, 10 minutes later, "Will there be birthday cake?"

You can just see her little brain working, all the time. She's figuring things out. She's right, what's a party without birthday cake?