Miss A's Updates - 31 Months

Today I am in a better mood. The sun finally showed up after a few days of a very depressing weather. I mean, hello, we are in June. My spirits are up because it is Friday and I get to spend a few days with my family.

Any who...Miss A had a 2.5 years (crazy, huh?) appointment a month late and here are her stats:
Weight - 30lbs (my 30 lbs of happiness :)) 50%
Height - 3 feet tall exacly 60% I think

It gets a little bit tricky not that she knows she is at the doctor's office. She really dislikes all of the nurses but she can handle the doc OK. She let the doc check her but only after following mommy's example. The doc checked my ears and only then she was OK with turning her head. She didn't get any shots and boy am I thankful because when miss A gets mad and upset now days, it lasts a while.

She is still talking a lot and her vocabulary constantly increases. She talks in sentences now and can carry real conversations. She lets me know about her day in daycare, what she ate, who was there, who dropped her off and so on.

I am not sure if it is only my child that does it but it is seriously crazy.... Whenever she says something she wants me to repeat what she said. I think it is her way of making sure I understood her. So, I've read articles where they say that women talk about 20,000 words a day. Well, I can honestly say that I probably speak about 2,000 words before 6pm and then rest after I pick her up from daycare. :)

She sort of understand jokes now. It is pretty cool to see her brain work. I'll (daddy) make a joke, she'll process it for a few seconds, then have the biggest grin on her face and says "neeeett (no). A few days ago, she didn't get a joke though. When miss A asked her daddy where mommy was, he said she went on vacation. She started crying and saying that we were supposed to go together. Yesterday, she asked the same question and got the same reply but this time she smiled and said "neet, she is at work".

We are still having poop problem. She'll only go twice per week. I can see she is being uncomfortable at times but she'll still hold it in. The doc suggested Myralax and we'll probably try it.

She loves to cuddle up with daddy before bedtime (and I am assuming in the morning when I am at work). She is so gentle with him, so carrying, and so lady like. She'll say "idi suda" (come here), hugs him, and they just lay there until I ruin it all and ask the husband to leave because she wouldn't get dressed otherwise.

She has learned new songs at daycare:
Twinkle, twinkle,
Mama, pervoe slovo
Krilatie kacheli - bits of it only

We listen to a lot of kid's songs in the car and she tries to sing along. Love it!

She is growing out of her 2T clothes. Some of her tops are still 2T but the pants are now all too short. Thankfully, this mama has a whole new wardrobe for her next size :)

Your favorite phrase now days is "ya tebya lublu" (i love you). You can say it randomly throughout the day and/or right after a huge tantrum including crocodile tears you misbehaved. I am not really sure you know what they mean but I pretend that you do.

Ariela is still enjoying gymnastics class. She is doing all of the tricks mostly by herself. I call her a princess of the trampoline. Seriously, this kid can jump and can jump very, very high bringing her knees up, doing open/close, and sit drops. I believe jumping on mama's bed everyday has been a good practice.

She has a few girlfriends from daycare and one from playground that she loves (sometimes there is a small step from love to hate, but it happens to the best of us). She is not really friendly with other kids and thinks the whole playground, gym, zoo, library, world belongs to her and her friends only.

She is still a charming, carrying, sympatheric lady but this time just throw a many few toddler tantrums in there. She loves to play together, color, sing, dance, and jump. She loves puzzles, letters, flash cards, balls, and playing with water.

Mommy and daddy are pretty fond of you. You make us laugh and giggle like little kids. You let us see the world from your pespective leaving all the problems and worrying behind. You taught us how to put someone else first. You taught us a whole new way of loving someone. Baby girl, we love you and don't you ever, ever forget it!


Love,
Mom

Blah Post

I was going to write about miss A and what she has been up  to lately but I am just not in that mood.

I've been looking for a  new job. I am grateful that I have a job right now but I feel like I am stuck in this position with no career and intellectual growth opportunity. Anyways, I've been to a few interviews in the last month. Both companies invited me for a second interview and it all sounded promising. I don't usually keep my hopes up but there is always a tiny, teeny feeling inside of me hoping to hear the good news. I liked the second company, the people, office, environment but not the location. After two weeks of waiting I just got a rejection email. Even if it wasn't the perfect job, I still feel bumped. I feel like my education and experience is not enough for a senior position and my salary requirements are too high for a mid-level position. Why hire me when the company can hire a person with Master's and/or CPA.

On this note, I've called one of the universities today. I want to see how many classes I'll need to take in order to get a Master's degree and how much it'll cost. I am pretty sure the cost will be huge and it'll need to be a commitment on my side. But it doesn't hurt to ask and think about it.

Lately, a lot of questions have been up in the air. I hate being in this unknown stage.
Refinance or not, stay in the city or move to the suburbs, where to look for a job (if we decide to move eventually), public or private school for miss A, and lastly, the big one mr. V has asked one child or two.... Really?!?! It was never a question for me. I always wanted two kids. I want miss A to have a brother or a sister. I want to see her be an older sister, to see them grow up, play, fight, hug, and kiss each other. That question totally blew me off and I almost started crying yesterday. I am sure we'll figure out the answers and solutions to all of those questions but sometimes, in the moments like this, I wish mr. V wouldn't be such a planner in everything he does.

Family Vacation

We came back a few weeks ago from our third vacation to Mexico. 5 hours on the plane and about 30 minutes shuttle ride and we reached our destination in Riviera Maya.

This was the longest plane ride for miss A. We woke her up bright and early. For the first few hours she seemed a bit lost and sleepy, but as soon as we got on the plane, she was back to being adorable, smiling, can't sit-in-one-place-for-two-minutes toddler. I was hoping she would at least nap for an hour   two hours on the plane but universe was against it. The girl didn't nap at all. I was sort of prepared to entertain her for 2-3 hours on the plane but not for the whole flight. Come on, enormous amount of stickers, drawings, and books can only last maximum two hours. The rest of the time she was entertained by coming up with the ways of drinking milk/water - from a cup (like a normal person), straw (also normal), spoon (semi-normal), dipping her fingers (so not normal), and of course that whole fun ended with milk being on her outfit.

When we finally got to the hotel, I was able to relax a little bit. We checked in, went straight to our room, changed into swimming gear and off we went to the pool. We traveled with two more families this time and their kids, but miss A was the oldest one. The whole week was just relaxing. We woke up, had breakfast, swam in the pool, played in the kid's area and water slides, ate lunch, napped, swam in the pool, had dinner, watched a show, and put baby down to bed. We kept pretty much the same routine for a week. We also spent a day on the beach, where we jumped on waves, watched enormous amount of fish passing us by, and miss A and her daddy attempted to make a castle. Let's just say attempt is a good word for it and they both need more experience in that area.

We traveled with two more families and their kids and this was out first trip with the crowd. Miss A was the oldest one and I think she was a bit bored with the younger kids. But, nonetheless, she had so much fun! I think her mission this trip was to see how deep into the water she can go all by herself. She wasn't into swimming. She got in the water, went until the water was at her shoulders, yelled to get our attention "ya bol'shaya devochka" (I am a big girl), then got out of the water and that followed by about 125421 more times of doing the exact-same-thing. Honestly, I thought she would get bored after 10 minutes but no, the girl kept on going. She would take breaks for a smoothie, ice cream, and photos with a monkey and birds. Even though she was mastering her skills of getting into the water, someone (aka moi) had to be right there next to her. I was pretty much her shadow in the pool. Three steps into the water, three steps back, step up, step down, three steps into the water, and so on. You get the point. This whole shadow thing got much better once I was supplied with a drink. Dirty Monkey and Sangria were my two beverages of choice.

A little more on traveling with other families. We've known these people for a long time, even before marriages and kids. One couple was very laid back and just went with the flow. We are sort of like that too. The other couple, however, was constantly complaining. They are doing pretty well financially right now and think they can buy the whole world, resort.The room wasn't cleaned on time. The server didn't come to the pool area (we told to try next time get spot 0.25 miles closer to the pool, just a thought). The food selection at breakfast was horrible (mind you, the girl said it and she doesn't even eat breakfast). Blah.... I got sick of hearing all this after a few days and just ignored.

Apart from this, we all had a great time and I can't wait until our next vacation. The best part is I got to spend time with my family. A week with my little girl without every day stress, cell phones, computers, TV, and other things that distract me from being there just for her. A week of seeing how happy, silly, grateful, she is for us taking her there. A week of seeing her eyes light up and shine. A week of watching her play and playing right there with her. To me, this was a week of paradise and I couldn't have asked for more.

Two and a Half

The title says it all. Baby girl, today you turned two and a half years old. It is just unreal and unexplainable. It seems like you've been part of our lives for the whole two and a half years but at the same time we've only been blessed with your presence for a short two and a half years. I recently asked you dad what was our life, evening, and weekends before you were born because I simply don't remember. You basically took over my life and there is nothing wrong with that.

Let's see what you are up to now:

1. We came back from our family vacation a few weeks ago. It was your third time vacationing with us in Mexico and forth time flying with us.

The flight was about 5 hours and it was the longest one for you. You didn't sleep on the plain at all, even though I was hoping you would give you mama a break. We woke you up early too (around 6am) but that still didn't do the trick. I think you were just excited about the adventure ahead of you. Let me just say, girl, you had a blast! I'll do a separate post on the vacation later.

2. You are becoming way too independent. I kind of like it and kind of don't. I love to see how you are being all grown up. You can easily dress yourself, put on shoes, zip up the jacket, eat/drink without help, sit on a big chair, get into car seat, and other things you can already do by yourself. But I really dislike that you don't need my help as much as you used to. Now I notice that I try to help you and you put on your big girl panties and tell me you can do it by yourself.

3. Now that is finally starting to get warmer outside, you and I can finally head to a playground after I pick you up from daycare. You go crazy and wild there especially if you see Sophia (playground/gymnastics buddy) and/or girls from daycare. You run around after each other, jump, slide side by side, play with sand and ball. I love watching you interact with other kids. But please just stay away from mean, older kids. Last week, you tried to pick up some sand next to a girl who was also playing with sand and she just pushed you away, blocked the sand, and tried to yell something. It melts my heart to see you so helpless and clueless. And quite honestly I wanted to smack that girl. So, for every one's benefit, let's just play with nice kids.

4.  I call you our little monkey nowadays because that is exactly what you are. You repeat everything we say.

5.You've become quite talkative and can have a real conversation. Whenever you don't understand a word, you put a hand to your ear and ask "chto?" (what?). Whenever you hear a sound outside or inside the house that is not familiar to you you always ask "mama, chto eto bilo?" (mom, what was that?). Whenever it works to your advantage you always say "ya bol'shaya" ( I am big) and whenever it doesn't you go "no ya malen'kaya" (but I am little). You are one smart cookie.

6. You are a big fan of candy and ice cream. You had quite a lot of ice cream on vacation and now we are slowly cutting back :)

7. You still like Luntik and he is been your favorite cartoon character for quite some time now. I wonder when you'll want to switch. Anytime, baby girl, anytime. That music and voices are getting old and are pretty annoying. I've tried introducing new cartoons but you watch one episode and then request Luntik.

8. You love to color and enjoy when someone is drawing with you. For example, you dad will draw you a letter or a shape and you'll color the it inside. Then you'll ask for a new shape and that will go on for about 15 minutes.  

9. You play with your older cousin and your baby cousin. You look up to the older one and try to take care of the younger. You'll kiss Alyssa especially if other people watch you do it and go "ahhh" and "oohh, how cute". I've noticed that you'll stop with the kisses if no one is watching you or you'll get their attention and will kiss her again. You just love attention.

10. Speaking of attention, I feel like you constantly need it. You still don't like to play by yourself. You always want other people to watch you do gymnastic tricks or just to see how cute and silly you are. You crave it and you know how to get it.

11. I also call you a drama queen occasionally. I am quite sure we'll sign you up for a theater program and you'll be good at it. I think it is in your genes. No, no, you definitely didn't get it from me or your father. Most likely from older generations. Who knows, maybe you'll grow up to be famous and all :)

12. You are really affectionate, especially with your daddy. You'll hug and kiss him. You'll lay on his chest whenever he is not feeling good. You'll stroke his hair and tell him it'll be OK (skoro proidet). Your daddy is quite fond of you too. I've known him for many years and only you, baby girl, can make him smile so often.

What more can I say that I haven't said before. My love for you grows everyday. I don't think there are words to explain what you mean to me, to us. Just now that we love you to infinity and beyond.

With all my love,

Mama

Miss A's updates

My baby girl,




I apologize in advance for not writing as much as I should be about your accomplishments, new skills, new words, and your life. It just so happened that I was cleaning my work email and stumbled on the email I’ve sent to your dad where I copied him on your 2 year blog post. I’ve read it again for 89th time probably. It made me cry. It made remember what you did and said almost six months ago (does time fly or what?). It sent me back in time and let me re-live those moments. And here I am again, sitting at my desk and thinking why I don’t do this more often.

Your vocabulary is constantly increasing. You talk in sentences now. You are a little copy cat and repeat everything we say. My favorite is when you wake up on the weekend and start telling me stories from previous week, day, or just some random things from a while back. Seriously, it is the cutest thing when you open your eyes, make sure your mama is home, and then off you go with your stories. The latest ones have been about Mickey and his paw hurting him and about your baby cousin Alyssa who didn’t feel good in a car.

You love cartoons. Miss A is totally over the Toys Story cartoon and her favorite character, Buzz. Now, all you want to watch is Luntik, the Russian cartoon. At least it is a bit educational and has a moral at the end of each short episode.


You are mastering your puppy eyes skills, especially when you are asking for one more cartoon and/or candy. You’ll make a sweet face and ask for one more cartoon in the evening and I’ll say it is the last one and ask you what will happen after and you reply “the last one and then sleep”. You don’t always follow what you say though. We are working on it though.


You finally started to notice your baby cousin Alyssa. She is 14 months younger then you are. You’ve paid absolutely no attention to her in the past, except when she touched your toys and you didn’t want to share. Now you are giving her toys, watching over her, trying to play together, help her get up when she falls, share candy and other yummy food with her. It makes me think that you are almost ready for a baby brother or sister. Although when I ask you if you want to be a big sister you reply without even thinking “NO”.

You also want to play with your older cousin but that little scorpio has a mind of its own.

You like going to daycare, which makes me sooo happy. I love to know that you are taken care of and have friends to play with. It does make me sad at times that I am stuck at work and can’t spend more time with you.



I’ve purchased an I Like You book in pink and I think it is time to take it out and start using it. I want to record the funny phrases and episodes of your everyday life. I am sure I’ll always come up with stuff to write in your book.


You still enjoy your gymnastics class. Your favorite is the trampoline jumping and sit drops.


You love going to a Japanese restaurant. Your favorite dish is the teriyaki salmon with rice and avocado. You also steal some “susi” (aka sushi) from us but first you take out the seaweed since it is “kaka” to you.


You sing the ABS song and Clean Up song when you help to clean the toys. Your teachers at daycare always mention that you are the best helper. You are learning to count. It is quite funny because you skip some number and also mix Russian and English numbers. It goes like this “odin, dva, three, four, five, vosem’, devyat, dvenadjat’”. I also started to teach you letters at home.



The first thing you say when you enter daycare is “ya v trusikax” (I am wearing panties). You want everyone around you to know that you are a big girl in your big girl underwear.


We are going on a family vacation in a few weeks. I’ve been telling you about the pool, waterslides, playground, and choo choo train. You’ve requested a pink swimsuit, white sunglasses, white hat, and red nail polish. Seriously, how did you come up with such a glamorous outfit all by yourself?


You like when we have guests over. You want to show off your toys, gymnastics skills, and how you can put your princess puzzle together all by yourself.

Lately, after we come home from daycare, you want to change your clothes and pick out a skirt, tights, and pretty black shoes. Again, seriously, how do you come up with those outfits? Your Mama hardly ever wears skirts, but you seem to love them!

Every month with you is joy. Every day with you is full smiles, laughter, tears, snuggles, and hugs. I am not a big fan of you becoming more and more independent though. I want you to be your mama’s girl forever!

With all my love,

Mom

It is about time

For a new post. I usually have some ideas randomly hit me and by the time I get to my computer I totally forget what they are. So, I'll just spill what is going on in my head.

1. (Bare with me...I am a little emotional... it is that time of the month). Mr. V is getting better. Slowly but surely. I don't get to hear a lot of complaining anymore from him. At this point, we can go a day at a time without talking about his hands, ears, back, teeth, etc. But there isn't a day where I want to ask for his help and then stop myself because I know if he'll help then it'll set him back again. It is little things like taking out a garbage, bringing extra chairs for guests, bringing laundry, and so on. Being the only man in the house, I am pretty sure he feels sucky that he can't/shouldn't do any of those stuff. I go on for days thinking I am a super human being and that I can do it all by myself. And then I collapse. I get emotional and stressed out. I understand that in reality I can't do it all and I need help. Believe me, it takes a lot to come to terms with that.

2. I've read quite a few posts on husbands, significant others, and potential husband materials and all of the bloggers mentioned how lucky they are to have husbands, their soul mates, their partners in life and they can't imagine their lives without them. Well, of course I start to question my relationship and no good can come from that, just trust me on that one. Mr. V is a very nice guy. He is smart, handsome (at least I think so), honest, could do all the manual work around the house. BUT...he is not 100% perfect and neither am I. We fight, we quarrel, we get angry with each other and don't let go and forget easily. He likes to tell people how to live their lives and I hate it. He likes to comment on my lack of knowledge on a particular subject and i hate it. He likes to comment that I read the wrong books (chick flicks) and I hate it. This whole comment/hate thing can go for pages. So, did I marry the wrong guy who doesn't understand me or all those ladies out there just sugar coat their relationship? This feels like Sex in The City question.

3. I want to feel at least a little bit appreciated and cherished. And maybe he does and just doesn't show it well. I don't need flowers, jewelry, or chocolate, actually scrath that I do need chocolate. A simple Thank You can go a long way. And throw in a few words  like "i feel lucky to have you in my life", "thank you for packing my lunch, cooking dinner, doing and folding nicely my laundry and so on" and you'll win my heart all over again.

4. I was raised in Ukraine where the roles for women and men were basically written in our constitution, j/k.
Men = providers, women = raise children, keep the house clean, and have dinner on a table at 6pm with a plate and a fork on a table. My family was a bit different but that is besides the point. But we live in US now. Where women and men share all of the responsibilities. They both earn $, cook, clean, do laundry, raise kids and so on. WTF is wrong in my house? Yes, my income is slightly lower then Mr. V's but I still bring home a significant amount. Why do I have to be the one doing everything around the house? And then I get to hear Mr. V say "but I cook". Yes, dear, you can BBQ once in a blue moon. And my dearest husband is really good at taking the groceries I've bought without telling me and throwing something together. While I should be thankful (because it also happens once a quarter), I feel angry because I've spent hours looking through the recipes online and getting excited a particular one that my whole family would enjoy.

But Those Are My Words

Lately, my little sunshine has been talking non-stop. It is fun to hear to express herself with words, although every now and then I have to guess what she said. I think she gets a little bit annoyed or just thinks her my is dumb. Relatives and strangers don't even try to understand her. They just look at me for translation.

But anyways, here are a few phrases I've heard in the last few weeks that sounded familiar.

"Mom, shhhh! Daddy is talking on the phone" (Mom, shhh! Papa razgovarivaet) - miss A told me as I was asking her a question and daddy was talking on the phone.

"Mom, don't sing. I sing" (Mom, ne poi! Ya poi) - as soon as I open my mouth to sing a song that she knows, she stops me and wants to sing by herself

"Mom, shhh! Daddy is sleeping" (Mom, shhh! Papa spit) - I've heard this one a few times already, as I sit by her crib and talk to her before she doses off to sleep or if I wake up with her in the morning and daddy is still sleeping.

You know why those phrases sound familiar? Because I've said them a few  multiple times before.
I can't believe she is using my words against me! :) At least I don't swear in front of her. Although, the husband and I heard a few times a word "fuck" coming out of her mouth. It went something like that "fuck....pause....fuck, fuck, fuck. The husband and I just starred at each other. I am pretty sure  we both blamed each other for her increasing vocabulary (at least I did).