Our little "French" fashionista

Merci Tantie Yael.... my special outfit from Paris FINALLY fits me... I must be growing though I tell Maman that I am just a baby, not a big girl ;0))


Contrary to most kids, Anna desperately wants to remain a baby....probably because she wants to regain some of the precious baby moments with Maman and Papa. She proudly points to herself as says bebe, then Maman et Papa. I tell her big girl and she responds..nah.....bebe! She knows her place in the family! Don't worry... big or small, you'll alway remain our little one, Anna. If you want to remain "little" for the time being, we will certainly indugle. I don't blame you one bit!!! We want to hold on to those precious baby moments too... (well, perhaps except the diaper changing ;0)))

First outing of the summer holidays

School is out for Yannik!!!! We celebrated by going for a day trip to the coast... smelling that nice sea air, indulging in a few treats... and yes, meeting a very friendly crustacean.

I want you to eat it first ;0))

Oh yeah, Papa...if it tastes soooo good, you eat it first ;0)))

As promised, photos of the famous Russian carrot salad... perhaps not Annabelle's first choice of meal ( I love her reaction...not too impressed I think) ...but certainly ours!!

Lost in translation again...no, she's speaking Swedish!

Ah...how Far-Far and Far-Mor (Sven's parents) will be proud. Lately, Sven and I have been calling Annabelle "lille kikka" - Swedish slang for "little girl". Today, she just began shouting it out proudly with a big smile on her face.

Delay in language? What delay? She just needed someone to speak to her!!! When we first met her, Anna did not speak. During our bonding, she began babbling along and saying Maman, Papa and Yaya (for Yannik). Now, she is picking up new words in foreign languages for her (French, English and now Swedish) every week! Sometimes, it takes us a few days to figure out what she is actually saying. She had been saying what I thought was pita for over a week...Yesterday, I finally figured it out.. Pizza!!! Of course, our favorite food ;0)))...now that explains the jumping up and down as she says it. I had thought, boy...is she ever excited about pita ;0))

Keep talking Anna... we are here to listen!!!

Memories of Petro - Yummy carrot salad!

We're attending the annual International adoptive family picnic this weekend and wanted to make a dish that reminded us of our stay in Petro. When Sven brought up the yummy carrot salad that we had enjoyed so much, I felt we were handed a challenge...first trying to find a recipe... and then, making it!!! The salad was so spicy, not at all like your typical raisin carrot salad here... We thought it would be like finding a needle in a hay stack. Well...success! (pictures to come!) We thought we would share the recipe and background for those of you who enjoyed it as much as we did during our stay in Petro: From Yulinka cooks Russian:


This spicy dish is known as “Korean carrots” throughout Russia and the former Soviet republics. How did that name come about? “Korean carrot salad, morkovcha koreyska, is a legacy of Stalin's mass deportations of ethnic Koreans from the far eastern Soviet Union to its western frontiers," ...
Method:

Make this salad a day before you plan to eat it. It needs to marinade overnight.

You will need about 1 pound of carrots, cleaned and peeled, the longer the better. Use a mandoline to slice them into thin, spaghetti-like strands. Place in a large bowl. Mince 2 garlic cloves; add to the carrots.

Sauté a small, diced onion in about ¼ cup of sunflower oil until the onion is soft and translucent. Add 2 tbs. of whole coriander seeds and cayenne pepper to taste (I used about ¼ tsp.) toward the end of the cooking time. When the onion is done, immediately add it and any leftover oil to the carrots; toss.

In a bowl, mix 3 tbs. of white vinegar, 2 tsp. of sugar, and 1 tsp. of salt. Add dressing to the salad, and mix well. You can also another handful of whole coriander seeds. Refrigerate 4-5 hours; preferably overnight.

Life is tough!

Welcome Anna to the terrible twos. No, she was not being disciplined.... merely presented with what she thought was the food of her choice! (guess mini-gos are a bust!) She asked that Sven buy some for her and than this... She was so precious and so dramatic that Sven wanted to take a pic for posterity. We love you unconditionally Anna... even when you don't know what you want ;0)

PS - I was reading my favorite international adoption book....whining and protesting are signs of both attachment and transition to family life! Very healthy (at least for the child ;0)

Princess Annabelle and her vacuum

Annabelle making her entrance at court... yes, we all applauded... and then laughed when she sat herself down right next to her toy vacuum... quite the Cinderella! Don't worry.. she was not put to work ;0) What a hoot our little one is. Though she takes herself very seriously, we like to think that she is indeed very theatrical!