Birthday - Part 1

Happy Birthday Cosi! We love you and we're so thankful to have you as our daughter :) Let the celebration begin!

Cosi's birthday started with a nice cup of tea...



















only a little bit spilled...



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and, then onward with the painting of nails...













Trey wants in on the action!













Cosi & Daddy went for a walk outside. Check out Cosi's sweet new boots! They're great for walking up & down 4 flights of stairs :)



















If it's your birthday, then you're pretty much guaranteed a ride on one of these!















Then, Cosi & Trey watched Mommy shower. Or - maybe Trey just watched Cosi (his favorite person in the world). This is the view from the shower.
















Then, we took Cosi to an indoor playplace and this is how she feels about getting her picture taken. I took a lot of pictures anyway. It's my daughter's 4th Birthday. I'm going to take some pictures.



























Zip Line



















Cosi decided it was more fun to let go mid-ride.



















Trey wanted in on the action.













Cosi sure does like hanging out with boys. Notice how she brushes her hair back in the picture. It's her classic "I'm flirting" gesture.














But, she still makes time to shoot the air cannon with her daddy!













Look! There's a good target! Let's shoot him and see if he can still sit up by himself :)



















After the playplace, we stopped by Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. The Blizzard Machine was broken, so we got this!














A serious eater, but she's still happy to share...




















Then, back to business...













As we exited DQ, we met some new friends. We're always happy to cozy up to law enforcement. And - Cosi was promptly gifted a milk drink.














Trey was complimented for his enormous size and big eyes.














Then, we came home and ate a Ukrainian style meal. I made some potato dumplings and stuffed cabbage leaves. Cosi didn't like it very much, so we ended up feeding her goldfish crackers, a cheese stick and some mandarin oranges. I guess all the American food has gotten to her. We sat in our living room, because our dining room table was covered with stuff and I was too tired to clean it off. Plus, Cosi likes trying new things, so it was a good choice.













We forgot to take a picture of Cosi blowing out her candles on her cupcake. This is the first time we've been the parents during a birthday, so we're still learning. Thankfully, we're having a party for her tomorrow and we promise to do better. Here is a picture of the smashed cupcake after Cosi had her way with it.














Happy Birthday Cosi!!!! Let the Birthday weekend continue!!!!

One Birthday Coming Up!!!

Cosi turns 4 this Friday, October 21st! She has no idea what this means, but we're excited for her :)

Pictures will follow, but here are some of the birthday plans:

-Cupcakes with butterfly decorations on top (made with candy brought from USA) - I predict Cosi will love picking off the candy. Then, she'll pick apart the cake and get it all over the floor and maybe a little on the table. She'll have a great time. If we're lucky, that skinny-minny might even eat some of the cupcakes. More likely, her mother will be eating cupcakes for breakfast every day next week. Yes, I am that undisciplined. I'd put them in the freezer to discourage myself, but then I'd just eat frozen cupcakes. Did I mention that her father is allergic to eggs??? and, therefore he will not be indulging in said cupcakes.
-Birthday Pictures at an East Asian photo studio - Trey will join in this endeavor, as he is now 6 months old. Seriously, pictures will be posted as soon as we get them. This could be hilarious.
-Cosi will be trying out a new dance class on Saturday. If it works out, we will be paying the big bucks and getting her a membership. She doesn't have any other outlets for organized activities, so I think this might be really good for her. It might also be really hard for the rest of the class, especially the teacher. We'll see... I'm preparing for the possibility of being kindly asked never to return, which is guaranteed to be much harder on me than on my happy little girl.
-A small birthday party on Saturday - I might be attempting to make Ukrainian food for the party. Originally, Rob & I decided to buy pizza from a restaurant (seemed like the easiest thing to do), but then I remembered that Cosi doesn't like pizza as much as Rob & I do. And - it's her birthday, right? Cosi likes mashed potatoes, hot dogs, oranges, yogurt... So, now I'm rethinking food for the party. I'll keep rethinking it until, oh maybe Saturday morning, or hopefully Friday night. Either way, we'll be eating Borscht sometime this week!

We are so thankful for our little Cosi girl! Here she is after pulling all of her clothes out of the cabinet and rolling around on them. What can I say? She likes clothes.

Remembering, again (Yes, April is a difficult month)

Today would have been my mom's 53rd birthday. I have friends who are older than that, which helps me understand why losing my mom feels so strange. She was 19 when I was born, and I made an easy transition into adulthood, relating to my parents more as peers.

I often think about how different our lives were. My mom, who always wanted to travel, hardly left the East Coast (until her trip to visit us!), while I've been to more places than I can remember, and all I've ever wanted is to settle down in the suburbs. By the time she was my age, my mom had been married 15 years and had two teenagers and an 8-year-old. We're still paper pregnant with child number one.

But regarding personality (and hair), we were so much alike. My mom and I always had secret looks that we gave each other when people would use a word incorrectly. We both loved to read (and my Lord of the Rings addiction probably began when she read the series to me a few months before I was born). We were good with numbers. We both relied too much on reason and tried to hide from our feelings. And we both were much more affected by my dad's death than we ever realized or let on.

Losing mom felt like losing my last connection to my past. Who do you go to when you need to remember the name of your kindergarten teacher? Who else knows the name of distant cousins? Who else knows all the embarrassing stories of your youth?

Happy Birthday, Mom. We miss you deeply.

Remembering

Today would have been my dad's 60th birthday. I don't think I ever was able to imagine my parents in their 60's- they always seemed so young to me, more so as I grew older.

My father taught me the importance of childlike faith and the value of play. No one worked harder than my father did, but he also took every chance to laugh, relax, and enjoy every moment. He was always trying to figure out what would make someone smile, and I hope I've inherited that precious gift of making people comfortable.

As hard as it was to imagine my parents growing "old," it's been even harder to imagine my future without them. My children will never know them as grandparents. I won't have them to turn to when facing the compounding confusion of adulthood. Maybe most of my sadness is pretty selfish- maybe that's usually the case. I feel deprived of the future I expected. Even now I wonder what home-spun wisdom my father would have to say about all that (and what down-to-earth practical perspective my mom would give).


Happy Birthday, Dad.
We're celebrating in our own way here- a continent and a lifetime away.
Maybe we'll watch Oscar and eat popcorn with M&M's...
Love,
Rob and April