Nikolai

May 2008
Nikolai had a sad spring. His dog, Charlie, developed cancer in his front leg. After much treatment and pain medication without any success a decision was made to ambulate Charlie's leg. At first Charlie recovered better than anyone expected but less than a month later Charlie began showing signs of pain again. It was determined that the cancer in his leg has spread to Charlie's torso. Nikolai started the pain medication again but the cancer spread quickly, After many trips to the vet we all finally knew that nothing could be done about Charlie's cancer and his life was declining quickly. On April 2, Nikolai made the decision to put Charlie to sleep. We found a vet who came to the house and allowed Charlie to be put to sleep at home in Nikolai's arms. The procedure was very peaceful. Obviously Nikolai was extremely upset but he was able to make the final decision about Charlie's life and to be in control of everything. We are proud of Nikolai's ability to think everything through and to allow Charlie to have a last meal of Mcdonalds! He kept Charlie on such a strict diet that allowing Charlie to have a couple of cheeseburgers was tough for Nikolai! After Charlie's death Nikolai was extremely depressed as was his dog, Abel. So last month Nikolai rescued another dog, an Australian Shepard named, Max. While no dog will ever replace Charlie as Nikolai is discovering, Max is giving Abel a playmate and Nikolai something new to focus his attention on.

Update: February 2008
Nikolai finished his high school classes and officially graduated at the end of December. Although he was happy to finish high school, he does seem a little bit lost without the structure of school. We have been trying to help Nikolai find a job that he would like. Unfortunately Nikolai has some pretty lofty goals for himself in terms of employment. Nikolai doesn't understand the idea of starting at the bottom and then slowly climbing the ladder to the top. Nikolai scoffs at local entry level jobs and hopes to get a job as a chief in a fancy restaurant in Las Vegas. No matter what we say, Nikolai thinks many of the available jobs are simply beneath him. In the meantime Nikolai has been helping us around the house. He loves taking care of the dogs and is always agreeable to driving his younger brothers to their various recreational activities.

November 2007
Nikolai has been working with a dog trainer to help teach his Australian Sheppard puppy, Abel. Abel is five months old and he was born deaf and blind. Nikolai loves Abel, as you can see he even had Abel's picture taken professionally!. Nikolai takes Abel to various dog parks to socialize him and is teaching Abel how to walk on a leash. As you can imagine, training a deaf and blind dog can be very challenging. There is no way to call out or signal to the dog to get his attention. Nikolai must be within arms reach to get Abel's attention. Every command must have a different touch signal. Luckily Abel is a smart and loving dog and Nikolai has tons of patience. It will be interesting to watch Abel's progress and also Nikolai's skill as a dog trainer.

September 2007
Nikolai went on a 7-day cruise to Alaska with grandma Sue along with Ivan and Alin. Nikolai really enjoyed himself. He was most interested in the dog sledding and really liked the day excursion to a snow dog training camp. During the trip Nikolai took a lot of pictures, about 90% were of the different dogs he saw in Alaska. On board the ship Nikolai spent quite a bit of time in the spa. In fact any time his cruise-mates couldn't find Nikolai all they had to do was check the spa! Nikolai said he liked the food variety but loved the desserts the best. He got a little too used to ordering two pieces of chocolate cake from room service each night before he went to sleep. It was a sad day for Nikolai when he got home and couldn't get his daily "fix" of chocolate cake delivered to his room!

April 2007
Nikolai is working toward receiving his high school diploma. We were unsure that he has the skills to get a diploma since we knew he would need to pass the high school exit exam. Fortunately for Nikolai the high school exit exam has not be officially approved. If Nikolai attends high school for a fifth year and attempts the high school exit exam a total of three times, whether or not he passes the test, he will receive his diploma. Nikolai will take a few of the classes during his fifth year of high school that he missed during the first four years. Nikolai will take all of his required classes in a Special Day Class setting allowing his to receive extra help and modified curriculum as needed. We are happy to see that Nikolai is motivated to get a high school diploma.

March 2007
Nikolai has moved into his own apartment. It was a hard move for everyone. We are so proud of Nikolai but we also miss him at home very much. Nikolai is actually living down the street from our family home. He is sharing the two-bedroom apartment with Hunter. So far the guys seem to get along well. Nikolai still spends a lot of time at home, helping with the pets and his younger brothers. Nikolai is enjoying having a kitchen to practice his cooking in without too much interruption. Thanks to a donation from Nena F. Jurek, Nikolai is able to buy a few new kitchen utensils for his apartment. Nikolai continues to attend community cooking classes with support and he also attends high school full-time. Nikolai also participates on a Speed Ice Skating team and will start increasing his practice from once a week to twice a week at a local ice skating rink. We are very pleased to see Nikolai involved in some community activities.

February 2007
Nikolai has enrolled in a cake decorating class twice a week with his friend, David. He is very excited about the class and has used his own money to purchase much of the supplies required when decorating cakes. Nikolai is practicing almost every night with the new cake decorating equipment. After only a few classes, Nikolai is able to make roses out of frosting and also other delicate designs on a frosted cake. Nikolai is able to use his natural artistic talent and his eye for design when he decorates cakes. The teacher has been quite impressed with Nikolai's unique cake decorating style. Pretty soon Nikolai will be able to decorate all of our special occasion cakes, we can't wait!!.

December 2006
Nikolai is doing well in his senior year of high school. Besides school, Nikolai volunteers at several places, helps his brother with his personal care needs and has a paid position in the high school cafeteria. Nikolai has decided to pursue his interest in cooking after he completes high school. He is excited to start applying for various Culinary Arts schools and programs. He has already completed several applications and scheduled a few interviews. Nikolai's first choice is to attend culinary arts program at Orange Coast College. Although he has been able to save some money, Nikolai wants to give a special thanks to Barbara Corcoran, Inc and International Christian Adoptions both of whom made generous donations toward Nikolai first semester of classes.

October 2006
Nikolai is a senior in high school this year. He is already starting to check out local cooking schools to attend following his graduation. We are encouraging Nikolai to take some adult education classes to improve his English language and reading skills before enrolling in a vocational school. Nikolai is still considering that option. :-) In the meantime Nikolai recently turned 18-years-old and enjoyed a dinner at Benihana's with several of his brothers and a friend. Nikolai received several nice gifts but Nikolai is most excited about getting his own bedroom. We are working with a contractor to finish plans and begin construction. We hope that Nikolai's bedroom will be finished before the new year.

July 2006
Nikolai has been busy all summer cleaning animal cages! No, Nikolai isn't working at a local pet store...he is cleaning the habitats of all of his small animals. Nikolai has over 20 hamsters including two litters of babies, one guinea pig and three bunnies.

Nikolai has at least eight cages and a large rabbit hutch in his bedroom. He is very good about caring for his animals and can often be found either playing with his animal or cleaning their cages. The boys love coming in to Nikolai's bedroom and even try to sneak in when Nikolai not home. We keep telling him to charge admission to his petting zoo!

Update: March 2006 Nikolai (17) has been a Godsend since Jim's hospitalization. Nikolai and Ivan have taken it upon themselves to do almost all of the household grocery shopping. They are able to create a shopping list, cash a check at the bank, do all of the necessary shopping at a number of different stores, then come home and put everything away. I can't tell you how fantastic it is to NEVER run out of fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, eggs and bread! We never after worry about whether we have the items we need to prepare our meals. All of the shopping Jim and Nikolai did together has really paid off. Having Nikolai, along with Ivan, become so independent in this area has helped out the family tremendously.

Nikolai has also taken it upon himself to visit Jim at the VA hospital every day. Nikolai takes the time to update Jim on household issues, as well as, work with Jim on menu planning for the next week. Nikolai is very attached to Jim, and he has put forth a real effort to help out around the house, even more than usual, in Jim's absence.

January 2006
Nikolai has enjoyed two trips to Las Vegas in the past few months. He loves Las Vegas and especially now that he can do the driving. While in Las Vegas, Nikolai loves eating at buffets and going to the various shows. During the past two trips, Nikolai has attended the Cirque Du Soliel shows "O" and "KA." Nikolai also like checking out the shops and the sights on the strip. Nikolai hope to make another trip to Las Vegas in February.

Nikolai is a junior at Huntington Beach High School this year.  Despite 20 extra pounds of hair on his head, Nikolai is doing well in his studies. He hopes to take some ROP cooking classes next semester. Eventually Nikolai hopes to be a chef at a fancy restaurant in Las Vegas. In the meantime Nikolai cooks dinner for the whole family several times a week. Nikolai can prepare an entire turkey dinner with all of the fixings by himself. He can also prepare some wonderful desserts. The boys always love when Nikolai cooks!