Monday, September 22, 2008

Picture Day / Nyet Wa-wa Day

Last Tuesday was picture day at school. Now, I am not under the illusion that these school pictures will probably turn out well anyway. I have seen the way that they sit the kids down for 10 seconds in front of a neutral dull backdrop, have them say cheese and the resulting generic smiles that come from them. I have also seen the overprices packages that they offer. But the kids first picture day was kind of a rite of passage. I bought a small package for each of them, mostly for the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and posterity sake. I will be pleasantly surprised if the photos turn out well. We got studio photos taken the week after they were home and I imagine we will get them again before the year is out. They are changing so quickly!

So here is the story of picture day:



They started out the day with fresh hair and clothes. I have no idea what time it was when their photos were taken. I am also hoping these aren't the faces that they made! Of course it ended up raining after I sent them on their way. Sophie's classroom is outside the main building and she told me it was raining when they were on their way to pictures. She also told me about her brilliant plan to use the hooded sweatshirt she had in her back pack from the day before to stay dry. Oh no! The only thing worse than rained on hair is probably hooded sweatshirt hair. ;) I think I faked a smile for her sake (thinking she was so smart) and prayed someone had the decency to fix her sweatshirt head.




I dreamed up a brilliant plan to let Tate play outside in the rain while I cleaned up inside. I put his water table out, gave him a raincoat and an umbrella, and let him have at it. I kept the side door open so he and Keaton went in and out as they pleased and I could see and hear him out there. It was such a nice morning. Kept him busy for two hours! No small miracle with the Tater Tot.


Another small miracle that day was that Lily didn't cry at school. School has been in now for about a month. I think Lily had gotten herself into the bad habit of crying every day at school. Her teacher told me she cries when ever another child is crying. This is no surprise to me, she does this at home sometimes. It is probably left over from her detsky dom and probably had to do with getting attention if you were crying, or getting upset that someone else was upset. Anyway, I thought she was developing a bad habit crying every day so I challenged her to cry only if she really needed to (hurt, etc). Of course she got into the car that very next day telling me "nyet wa-wa" (no crying)! She was so proud of herself. We drove straight to the market and bought things to make strawberry cupcakes with pink frosting in celebration. Anyone in our house will tell you that, "Lily loves pink!" So after dinner we made the cupcakes and after baths we frosted and ate them. We even sang Lily "Happy Nyet Wa-wa Day to you!" (Sung to the tune of Happy Birthday.) She ate it up (the cupcake and the attention) and she didn't cry again at school all week!



Tate's absence in the cupcake making pictures is due to his choice not to listen to mama and papa that day. :( In fact I would say that both boys had a serious training week last week and missed out on several fun things due to choices that they made. Can I just say that I know it will pay off if we try to nip this behavior in the bud, but that it is my very least favorite part of parenting? I just will not let disobedience slide (I can't stand whiny or "smart" children, and it isn't the way God calls us to parent anyway). Good times.





8 comments:

Jewel said...

They are all so darling... love the cupcake idea to reward Lily... you go mom!! :) You will have to post a copy of the school pictures... haha!! The candid at home ones always turn out best... We are having so much fun reading your blog all the time, Krista... thanks for sharing with us!! :)

Courtney said...

I hate the discipline too, but I know that it leads to better things. And we have seen so much improvement in our boys through consistency and their knowledge of house rules (and that we enforce them!).

adopting2fromUkraine said...

Hi,

I was catching up on blogs today. Your children are all adorable!!

I also noticed your children were born in Stakhanov. Our daughter is from the orphanage in Stakhanov, though she wasn't born there. She's been home 5 months now.

We have many, many weeks of memory from that town:)

June
butchee81@yahoo.com

Michelle said...

Yea Lily!!! Keep up the brave face!

I hate the discipline too but I am really strict with Tetyana also. I believe if I gave her freedom all at once she would be overwhelmed and develope bad habits.

Good luck with it all!

Amy...who wanted 4. said...

Ahhh, picture day!
You were smart to order the cheapest package. School photos will pale in comparison to yours.
Love the cupcake idea!
Amy

DeanaMarie said...

The kids look so happy and healthy!!! Sounds like the boys are testing the waters a bit, and they've met their match!

Congratulations Lily!!!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful blog you have! You're right about the disciplining but it is so important. My children do so much better with rules and boundaries.

Amy...who wanted 4. said...

Krista,
I tagged you over on my blog!!!
Have a nice night!
Amy