School Starts

Daniel and James are both back in preschool this year and are off to a good start. Rebecca continues to move forward in leaps and bounds. She engages everyone she sees and seeks their attention but clings onto me or Jeanine if we attempt to hand her off to anyone right now, so she is going thru a new phase. She is extremely secure in her sleeping habits and asks to take a nap when she is tired and seeks out her brothers when she wants to play with them.


We had a nice trip into Boston this month to visit the New England Aquarium. Rebecca really liked the train ride and her time with Mama, she went all day without a nap and did fine. James had one mission and that was to see the shark and stingray which made his day and Daniel just enjoyed the jelly fish and walking around checking out the coral reefs and sea plants (why didn’t that surprise me).


I included a few pictures of Daniel and James in the back yard….. As I was writing this Rebecca was taking a nap and Daniel and James were playing outside. Daniel kept coming in and shouting “Papa there are chipmunks in the back yard and they are making holes in the yard and they shouldn’t do that! Can you come and look, I think you will be mad at them.” I told him I was working on something and I would be out in a minute. A few minutes later he comes running in again and says “I think they are digging holes in the lawn because they are thirsty and looking for water can I give them some water?”. I said sure and gave Daniel a cup of water and looked out and James was busy building a tent. Daniel came in several more times for water and was careful not to spill any on the floor as he left. After I finished I went out to find Daniel had dug 7 big holes in the yard looking for the chipmunks so that he could see if they were getting enough water, it was really cute, well except for the repair work I need to do on the lawn.

Summer recap

Labor day is almost here I just received an email from Brook and Michelle who we met in Astana where they were adopting their little guy Spencer. Spencer and Rebecca were roommates and we had our court dates on the same day (this day last year to be exact). Brook and Michelle sent along photos of Spencer who seems to be growing by leaps and bounds and have had a great summer. It was really good to hear from them. They informed us that they met up with Easton’s parents Scott and Shari and that Easton is doing well.
The email inspired me to update the blog:
I cant believe how fast the time went by. Elana and Jenya left for Kazakhstan last weekend and it was very sad to say goodbye. We had a wonderful time with them in between their travels to the cape and Colorado, North Carolina….. Connecticut! They really saw the country when they were here. Elena will be back in the states next week escorting a little girl to Los Angeles. So she is very busy.
We had a couple of trips to Davis farm which has a water park, Rebecca continued to show she had no fear of the water and stayed wet the entire time we were there.



On the July 29thwe drove up to Maine (Point Sebago lake) for the MAPS picnic and stayed overnight. We had a great time and met many new people, saw some familiar faces from the past. James referred to the entire event as our trip to Libby’s house and cant wait until we are invited back. They had swimming, we ate lunch in a big tent, went for a boat ride and had ice cream under a huge blue and white umbrella.


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Trip to Science museum (Butterfly garden):

Breezy Park

A stormy day turned into a good day at the beach…… we were scheduled to have Victoria and Stephen overnight and then spend the day at Breezy park while Elena stayed and entertained the kids, but the weather forecast looked ominous so plans were held off. As Thursday arrived we decided to give it a go, defy the forecast and embark on a new adventure.
We arrived early and were able to get a picnic table next to the beach. Daniel (who doesn’t like swimming pools very much) was the first one in the water and stayed in all day. James ventured out to about “knee deep” but preferred to play in the sand. Rebecca has no fear at all. She kept walking out to deep water, didn’t mind getting her face wet when she tried to reach rocks under the water which were too far beneath the surface for her to reach. Elena and Jenya purchased tickets for the waterslide, Although Jenyas first try was his last. The slide was a bit too fast for him and he couldn’t manage to slow down. I explained how to adjust the speed and he may try it again (as well as Elena) the next time we go. James loved heading over to the water slides (without asking) so we had to keep running after him. One time Elena said she would chase him down and finally caught up to him at the entrance to the slides (where the line begins). Elena said she told James we needed to go back to our table and James started yelling “Help!!..... Help!!” and Elena said all the Staff were looking at her and wandering what was going on as she persuaded him to go with her. She came back to the table laughing and wondering if the police were going to arrive soon.
The day was fun for everyone. We had a blast digging tunnels, building castles and streams. Well, I guess speaking for myself, I know that I did. Jenya had chicken tenders with sweet and sour sauce for the first time and it became his latest new favorite.
Rebecca went the whole day without a nap and after some soft serve ice cream we headed home. Daniel, James and Rebecca were asleep within minutes of leaving the park.

Elena and Jenya's Party

Here are some pictures from a gathering we had for Elena and Jenya. We put the word out that they were in the US for the summer and many families came to visit for the day. It was nice to see that most of her friends, in the area, were able to attend. Although, I spent more time then I would have liked tending the grill, I met some great people who shared their adoption stories, brought photo albums which sparked the recollection of many interesting and funny stories from their travels. Elena seemed to enjoy seeing all the little ones and how they have grown over the years and catching up. People came from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire as well as Massachusetts.
Most of the children were from Nezabudka (in Karaganda) which is the same baby home that Daniel and James where from and they had the opportunity to see Arthur again (they roomed together at the baby home).

Rebecca's Baptism

Finally getting a chance to update my blog again. Long story but my computer got fried, so I don’t have access to my email addresses or photos until I get the hard disk recovered. So I have a new laptop !! Our spring and summer (so far) has been very busy. Rebecca continues to be a great joy to our family. Daniel and James have finally come to accept her as a family member and not a visitor who will be returning to Kazakhstan someday.
Elena and her son, Jenya, from Karaganda have come to stay with us for the summer. We became good friends during the course of our 3 adoptions. We have busied ourselves with some trips to the zoo, local parks and attended the Children’s festival in Boston earlier this week. There has not been much down time.
Rebecca was Baptized (finally) on June 30th, which was a nice gathering. I will add some recent photos and try to update the blog more often.

Rebeccas' Baptism



Sliding out of the "Bouncy bounce"



Jenya and Elena at the Zoo.


Rebecca cooling off on a hot day.




James with a present from his teacher.


Daniel "building" a tree in the street.

Getting Ready for Easter

Hi everyone, we haven’t posted in awhile and wanted to catch up. We had a long winter. I don’t think we went a week without someone having the flu or a cold, but we utilized it as well as we could with trips to the museum and visiting relatives. Rebecca has been getting a lot of attention from her brothers and family. She went thru a very difficult attachment phase and now is beginning to feel more comfortable around strangers again and is very social. Its no surprise, after being exposed to her brothers all day, that she uses her voice non stop.

She isn’t fully walking but takes a few steps and then falls. Rebecca doesn’t like to cruise around holding onto the furniture but would rather crawl. I am not a big advocate of walking because it just means they get into trouble that much more quickly, so I am not pushing the whole walking thing, I can wait.

Daniel and James are excited that it is getting warmer outside and have been talking about summer activities like picnics and going to the beach, they ask almost every morning if we can go to Rockport. A couple of days ago I was busy playing with Rebecca and Daniel asked me if he could pack his bag for the beach (just in case it gets warm out) and I said sure.
About a half hour later I saw two bags sitting next to the front door. I noticed one of the bags had Rebecca’s clothes in them and I asked Daniel why he had packed Rebecca’s things and Daniel said “Papa, Rebecca wont like all the sand and wants to go back home now, I think she misses Kazakhstan….we can drop her off on the way to the beach”. I guess this was his subtle way of telling me he needs more attention. It is so hard to give them all the attention they want and I think Daniel and James are still struggling, after all these months, with the adjustment of having to share with their new sister.
I wish I had more energy and there were more hours in the day……. I am enjoying every minute with them.

Where is winter?

It has been awhile and I wanted to update the blog sooner but we have all been busy with life stuff. It has been really crazy with 3 kids in the house and everyone having a different schedule. All the kids have just exploded with energy, I don’t know if it is their diet or what. My quiet time for the past couple of months has been Sunday mornings while Jeanine takes the kids to church. I really should be going too but there is always some reason I need to stay behind. Anyway, nothing drastically new.


Rebecca has been growing in leaps and bounds, moving forward on all her fine and gross motor skills. If we are playing in the living room and Rebecca feels she isn’t getting enough attention she just stands up in the middle of the room, puts on a cute smile and starts clapping her hands. She is still cruising, no walking on her own yet. It is so funny how kids act sometimes. She is transitioning from 2 naps a day to one and has been a great sleeper but doesn’t seem to be as tired for her morning nap.

James’ gross motor skills continue to improve and strengthen. He still looses his balance more often than others but it is less frequent than it use to be. He is afraid of shadows in his room and I worked to try to eliminate the ones that are bothering him, to no avail, he is still sleeping in the living room. I frequently transport him to his bed after he falls asleep, but he awakes at night frightened and runs back to the living room. Not sure what to do, but we are working on it. School has been very good for him as he develops more social skills. His latest thing is making paper airplanes.


Daniel is going through a huge social change and is talking about his friends at school. His imagination is in full gear and asking a 100 questions a day!! “Hey Papa, if I was made out of stone, I would probably have to walk like this”, “If bats live in caves does that mean they are not afraid of the dark?”, “Do they have bathrooms in caves?” “Do pinecones feel sad after they fall off the tree?”. So needless to say there is plenty of discussion going on around the house.



It has been a very unusual winter, not that I am complaining. It is February and the snow shovel is still in the shed out back. I seems every year around November/December we have our first main storm and I have to walk through the snow, getting snow in my shoes, to retrieve the snow shovel, mumbling words reminiscent of my high school days and kicking myself for not getting it out sooner and then telling myself that next year I will put the shovel on the porch before the first snow, but for some reason it never happens. The rock salt for the drive way and steps are in place and the deicer is in the windshield washing fluid, scrapper in the car. Its not that I forget the shovel, because I do remind myself every time I put away something in the shed as I ready for the onset of winter. I openly realize this may be a small glimpse into one of my character flaws or at the very least a mental block. But the good thing about some character flaws is if they go on long enough they can sometimes take on a more nostalgic feel to them. So as the boys get older and they say “Hey we are getting a big storm tonight, shouldn’t we get the shovel out of the shed?” I can proudly say “It’s been a long standing tradition in the Pippitt family to wait until after the first snow fall to retrieve the shovel from the shed, it builds character!” I can throw another log on the fire and feel good about the family traditions we have built. The high school language may still be present as I retrieve the shovel the next morning but at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing it is all being done for the sake of tradition!

Blogger isnt cooperating with photos today....I will try to add them later.

Happy New Year !!

Happy Holidays !! We had a very nice Christmas and were very busy with travels and visiting this year. Rebecca continues to grow, thrive and is just always happy. She is cruising now (started last weekend) and has started identifying objects by pronouncing the first letter. Daniel and James’ first words were mama so I was bound and determined for Rebecca to say Papa first. I have been working with her ever since she got home, so what happens………..Jeanine comes home from work, Rebecca looks over with a big smile and says “Mama” and rushes over to see her… okay so you can only control so much……..kids have a mind of their own, I am not taking it personally, but I am sure that when she starts to write she will have a little more compassion for me and write Papa first…. Not that it is a big deal or anything.
Our tree is really dry but we have our Orthodox Christmas this weekend and will be celebrating together with Jeanine’s family, so we should have some more Christmas pictures. Among others we heard from Rebecca’s friend Spencer via his mom and Dad (Brook and Michelle) who we met this summer from Michigan. Also, out of the blue we got a call from Laurel and Kathleen Warkentin from Alberta, Canada who we met 3 years ago in Karaganda. They are all doing well and Tyanne (age 4 from Nezabudka)has really grown, we received some nice pictures from them last week.



Daniel was cute this morning, he missed his bath last night (long story) and when he got up this morning the first thing he says is “Papa that wasn’t nice that you made me miss my bath last night. I need to take 2 baths today.” Daniel is going thru a difficult phase (for me) has been a real handful lately and knows just what buttons to push and just how far he can push things before getting time-out. I am hoping this doesn’t last too long.