Elmo fans

Danny-boy sat through his first Elmo's World segment of Sesame Street today. I know, I know two months is way too young for becoming a slave to TV, but Erin was watching it and he could not stop staring. So here they are:
Erin insisted on sitting next to her brother and brought over her booster seat. I love the expression on Danny's face on the second photo. It is priceless, he he!Today was a fun day! Erin and I got to do some dancing, playing, coloring and even some zucchini fencing (I think the last, judging by Erin's laughter, was her favorite). After the fencing was over we shredded our weapons and put them in the freezer for some zucchini bread later. Later Erin got to play with her two friends, and (Oh my gosh!) there was no fighting and everyone shared (or did not want any of the toys the others were playing with). Though at some point I came downstairs and discovered the sliding door in the back wide open and not a soul in sight in the back yard.

Hence, I strapped Danny into the carrier-backpack thingy and of we went looking for Erin and her guests. I tracked them down to a construction area where they sat on a pile of pebbles and played house. Erin and Jasmine were cooking, than serving the results (piles of pebbles) to Alliyah who actually put them in her mouth and spat them out. She said it was okay because it was a pretend food. You've got to love 3-year-olds! I had to interrupt their fun as I found this activity unsanitary and corralled them closer to home to play house in a more suitable location.

What will tomorrow bring?
Ta ta for now!

The injuries

Erin is watching Cat in the Hat (she is turning out to be a devout Dr. Seuss fan), Danny is taking a nap and I have a moment of peace.

Both Erin and Danny have a similar trait-their nails grow at an insane speed. It seems like I have to trim them every other day. Hence my poor baby is scratched up, partly because of his little arms flying all over the place and partly due to Erin being sooo affectionate. That is not the worst though.

The little dude was napping in his bouncy seat yesterday while I left them two for a moment alone. The next thing I know he is screaming his head of and Erin is trying to shhh him. I am not a 100% sure what transpired, but my guess is that Erin tried to snap in the toy bar in place. Instead she whacked Danny in the right eye with one of the bar's end and continued to scratch his forehead with the same weapon. Seriously! How does the second child make it through the childhood? I am horrified what happens to number three when the oldest two join their forces.

My peace was short lived. Erin showed up to inform me that Danny has blood on his face and that she is going to clean it. I got downstairs in a record time and found my sweet little innocent defenseless child crying his eyes out, his face smeared in blood. Seriously! Erin, tried to tickle him and this is the result.

Oh this girl is grounded! From now on he is travelling around this house under my protection. And Erin, I am watching you!

PS: I just sat down and clipped everyone's nails. And I suppose I could make Erin wear gloves around the house.

You are not tired!

It's been almost two months since my last post. Surviving a day and still having enough energy for a post has been challenging. Tonight I have only one child on my hands, the other one went to the circus with papa.

I have been enjoying our life as a family of four. It is definitely more challenging and takes some adjustment. Now I know that caring for an infant is easy, he he. Tossing a toddler into the mix, especially one as energetic as Erin, makes it exhausting. Danny is starting to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time at night and it makes all the difference. However, Erin occasionally shows up at my bedside at 5 am to inform me that her bed is wet. Add to that that she returns 2 hours later to let me know it is time to get up and to tell me: "You are not tired!" I've told her a couple of times in the morning when we brought Danny home that I was too tired to get up. It took her only a couple days to catch on that if she told me that I am not tired before I make a contradictory statement than by no means mother can be tired. Oh, the logic of a 3-year-old!

I can not believe that Danny has been with us for two months. By now he can hold his neck pretty well, he began to coo a day ago and he smiles at me. Hi is my sweet little guy, my Danny-boy (aka Dania, Daniusha, Danilka and vorobushek (a sparrow))! He is growing pretty fast, though every time I venture in public with him the same conversation keeps replaying:

"How old is he?"
"One month" or now "Two months"
"He is so tiny!"

Thank you for pointing it out! I was unaware that he is little.

We will find out what his stats are in a week. We are going in for his well check up and shots (poor dude!). We actually weighed him at about a month old on a kitchen scale in a roasting pan, he he. At that point he was getting close to 6 lb (he was born at 5 lb 3 oz).

The most wonderful part of these 2 months was that my mama came for three weeks. It is impossible to explain what it means to be with your mama after 5 years of being apart. Of course I see her on Skype several times a week but it is not the same. It was so hard to let her go back... The day she boarded the plane from Salt Lake was one of the saddest days of my life. The thought that I might not see her for another five years is painful...but it hurts even more knowing that she can not hold my babies any time she wants... It does not matter how old I will be, she will always be the most special person in the world to me. I hope I am to my babies what my mama is to me.

Ta ta for now!

Our 5 pounds of cuteness

Going home!

Erin is truly a wonderful big sister. She shares with the baby, wants to hold Danny all the time and does not stop declaring him to be CUTE!

Daniel Brent

I am currently drugged up so forgive me if something does not make sense, he he.
Andrew and I were woken up at 7:30 Wednesday morning by a phone call from RC Willey informing us that the new couch will be arriving between 9:30 and 12:30. Finally! We will have something nice to sit on! This happy thought though did not distract me enough not to notice that I was kinda feeling wet. I made a mad dash for the bathroom complaining about that bladder of mine only to discover (to my horror) that I was soaked with blood and more was coming ( I bet you wanted to hear and imagine this, he he ). Trying not to panic we dressed and Andrew woke Erin up telling her we need to go to the hospital. Our beautiful babe rolled out of bed and headed straight for her overnight bag. Very cute! We got in the car and after yelling at some slow pokes on the road got to the hospital in about 5 minutes. I wobbled upstairs to Labor and Delivery while Andrew and Erin parked. In about 40 minutes I was being prepped for a c section, Andrew was finishing his breakfast and Erin with her overnight bag was driving away from the hospital with aunt Theresa.

We scrubbed up. I was whisked away to get my spinal. After that began kicking in (very fast I might add) Andrew was brought to the OR. Three minutes later we heard our son cry. It was amazing. The moment I heard his voice I began crying myself. Andrew did not cry he just watched the surgery and no, he did not pass out. Here is our first photo together.

Our handsome baby boy came in at 5 Lb 3 oz and 17 1/2 inches. At 36 weeks his lungs work great and he is fully developed to go home with us. Here are some of the photos from his first day of life and I'll tell the rest of the story tomorrow. I'll just add that all is well and life is beautiful!

Erin's birthday !

Erin turned three! It sounds crazy that my baby is not a baby anymore. Time seems to be flying and at the same time just crawling by...That does not make sense, but it feels both ways simultaneously. It's been a wonderful ride and I would not have it any other way!



Pook was waiting for her party the entire week and as her birthday fell on Saturday this year we had it on her actual birthday. She got her first real party complete with decorations, cake and friends. Six little girls came, two five-year-olds Dwen and Jasmine) and four three-year-olds( Cecily, Arianna, Danielle and Alliyah). This number of guests turned out to be perfect! Everyone enjoyed themselves, including me and Andrew, he he.

For her birthday Erin got a backyard pool party. We blew up a pool and put out a slip and slide.

The put the slip and slide on the hill and turned it into a water ride that seemed to work better for our guests than the traditional run and plop on your belly lay out. Andrew was the lifeguard on duty and the ride attendant, though he said he is not sitting on that hill again pouring watter for almost an hour, he he.



Here is the Birthday girl!



After everyone had plenty of fun in the water we had Papa Murphy's pizzas, soda ( a special treat for Erin, he he), a veggie, cheese and fruit tray. It is a miracle what a toothpick does to a piece of food. Someone as picky as Erin will actually eat it!

The dinner was culminated by devouring of the cake. I made an out of scratch chocolate cake with homemade frosting. The cake looked pitiful ( I am not being modest here). I tried to make a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake with all eatable decorations for which I used rice crispy treats. I molded the clubhouse and the glove balloon out of the treats and covered them in frosting, but it turned out to be trickier than I expected, plus the hot temperature outside made it collapse. Nonetheless, it tasted good and Erin was super pleased with my efforts.



We sang the happy birthday song and Erin blew her candle out three times during it. I had to keep lighting it up which she thought was a great fun. Erin ate only her ice cream and the cake icing.



The next day however, Erin ate the cake, thus expanding her bread like food consumption beyond pizza crusts, raspberry muffins (it has to be specifically a muffin with raspberries), crackers and pretzels. For some reason bread just does not tempt her. Every time the sacrament bread comes by on Sunday she says out loud : "Bread! Yuck! Blew!"

Here is the entire gang!



After the cake it was time to open her presents. I attempted to take photos of Erin opening her packages, but Pook was surrounded by her guests (some of whom had wayyyy too much zeal helping her open all the presents) to such a degree that I could get nothing but the shots of her head. I gave up after a couple of shots!

Erin was thrilled to get her presents. Some of the highlights were a pack of bubbles and chalk, Mickey Mouse movies, a new baby doll, a Mickey Mouse pillow and dishes, a Little Mermaid swim suit, flip flops and a beach towel, and a Mickey Mouse clubhouse wall hanging. She also got some clothes, which was greatly appreciated by me, but Erin is not a girly girl so she did not ooh and ah over them, he he.

The wall hanging was a hit with Erin. Taking in the account that it cost just 6 buckos, it was a hit with Andrew and I as well.



To summarize this party experience I'll quote one of our three-year-old guests who declared: "This was the best party ever!". Have an amazing third year our wonderful Pook!

PS: Things I learned while making the cake:
1. Don't forget to flour the pan! Duh!
2. Make the cake the day ahead
3. Use climate appropriate frosting
4. Let rice crispy treats cool down completely before sticking everything together
5. Wear gloves while using food coloring
6. Invest in proper cake decor equipment
7. Enjoy the cake despite its looks!

A not so perfect night and a perfect day

You would think that an almost 3-year-old would enjoy a rodeo. I guess not our Erin. She would have enjoyed it IF she was the one riding horses and anything else on four legs participating in the show. We found that out on Wednesday night when we took her to the Strawberry days rodeo.

The weather was kinda nasty. The wind blew and rain loomed on the horizon, but I figured we'll just dress warm and bring umbrellas. Erin appeared to be excited to get close to all the animals. It is too bad that mine and Andrew's understanding of close was not the same as hers. She kept running along the fence trying to find the entrance into the arena until she saw how all other BIGGER kids got onto the rodeo grounds to catch that cash cow and ride the sheep. At that moment she darted in the direction of the gate. By the time Andrew got to her she was ready to swing her leg over that 4 foot entrance gate. The kid is fast! The next half hour was spent by Erin attempting to get into the enclosure with calves or sneak back onto the arena. Pook kept crying, kicking, whining and so forth. At that point Andrew took her home and I decided to stay by myself to "get out of at least one of our tickets some value back". I enjoyed it, though it would have been way more fun if Andrew were there.



The next day was Andrew's company's annual picnic at the Lagoon. Erin was coming with us for the first time. I really hoped that the night before was not an indication of how our fun Thursday would go. Despite the fiasco at the rodeo Lagoon day was absolutely perfect and wonderful. All three of us had a wonderful time!

We went later in the day as Erin would not last from morning till evening. For the first time I planed for everything, forgot nothing and came organized. At least that's what I though until I got out of a car in the Lagoon parking lot. That's when I realized that the tickets stayed on the kitchen counter at home! My glimmer of hope that Andrew grabbed the tickets died the moment I inquired about them! Andrew did not have the tickets. I was ready to cry and curse at the same time. To put it in the words of Ann of Green Gables - I was in the depth of despair. Erin was chirping about getting on the ferris wheel (where on earth did she learn what it was called and that you could ride on it?)and just beamed with happiness and curiosity. I could not crush this happiness by pointing out that buying new tickets was out of the question. However, the day was saved. Another set of tickets was delivered for us by Andrew's coworker in charge of the event and after a 15 minute delay we entered the park. The rest of the day was perfectly splendid.


I love her delighted expression! We started by riding the ferris wheel


Erin got to ride with papa




She stayed on this ride for a few turns. I love kids rides! They have NO lines!




Andrew got to get catapulted. Though it turned out to be not as adrenaline rushing as being slingshotted last year


Andrew also got to drag race


We all got to ride the carousel


Erin came back to this ride three times

We also went to the water park, the picnic and rode a train through the zoo. By the time we were done it was getting dark. I really can't think of anything what would have made the day more perfect.

Ta ta for now!