Annika's first school year in a nutshell

Annika just finished up her last day of the first not quite daycare, not yet preschool school year in her hopefully very long educational career. At what age is it, by the way, kosher to start instilling your goals into the subconsciousness of your kids? Like when you say, you are going to be a doctor or a lawyer? Not that I do that or anything...
Seems like just yesterday I was an emotional wrack, writing this post about her first day.
This school year was great for so many reasons. The best part was when I would drop her off, come home, put Leo down for a nap and have me time. Every Thursday and Friday. For 2 whole hours. All the knowledge and skills Annika got come close second and I'm not even embarrassed to admit it:)
There were other moments worth mentioning too. Like the time Annika picked her nose throughout the entire Christmas performance (1 song), or when she inquired whether her teachers were wearing panties or not, or how she would refer to preschool as work for a while, or call her teachers Mrs. LaFountain and Mrs. LaDampsey all year long (it's just Mrs. Dampsey:)). I'm really going to miss hearing stories about her and having school-related conversations in the car after pick-up. It took her forever to start telling me what she did at school. For the longest time, school was, according to Annika, one big long snack break. But, oh, she would go into such detail about those snacks. Then gradually she started telling me more. First it was tattling (so-and-so pushed me!), then it was bragging (I pushed so-and-so), and then it was denying (I didn't push anybody. No one was even at school but me! We didn't read any books. We didn't sing any songs!). But the most fun part of it all was when out of the blue she would sing a song that I never heard before, or say a prayer that I didn't teach her, or tell me all about how Jonah was eaten by a big fish, or how firetrucks have a long metal ladder to help firefighters save people... It makes me so happy that my independent girl has her own little life that doesn't involve me and that she is happy. Just the best.
I can't believe how much she's grown in one year.

big little girl

Today quite possibly was a day of a new era in Annika's life. Not to sound presumptuous. But.
My little bunny is growing up.
First of all, Annika roamed a store outside of the cart and didn't even break anything. It was the very very first time I let her walk in the store. I needed to just grab a nail polish at Walgreen's and I didn't want to mess with carts. So, I had Leo in one hand and Annika in the corner of one eye. I strategically avoided the candy aisle, but we ended up however walking out with a princess lip gloss and a goldfish container. I couldn't say no, because what if she remembers that day as well as I will? :)
Then nap time didn't happen. And I know she was tired, because on top of preschool, I took the kids to the Y with me for an hour. Leo passes out for 2 hours after the Y and it's a close 2nd reason why I go there. Annika usually does too, because she is worn out. But not today. She just hung out in her room, throwing books all over the floor and singing. I was a little frustrated, because my whole sanity on any given day is proportionately related to the length of naps. But now that she is in bed before 8 (and didn't even get out once to ask for water/story/song/kiss/potty), it's very nice. Off to meet my carb quota for the day and maybe do my nails. The sky is the limit. 

Annika says...

I walk into our bedroom to Annika yelling at my husband's computer.
- What are you doing?
- Trying to wake up the computer.

- Annika, can you sing the Masha song (referring to a song from the Russian cartoon "Masha and The Bear")
- But it's not pleasant to sing the Masha song right now. 
(not sure what was up, because it sure was pleasant 10 minutes ago and about every 5 minutes before then:))

- Mom, I want some raisins.
- How about I give them to you after dinner?
- How about you give them to me now? I think that would be a good thing.

Looking at her name written on her sippy cup:
- Oh no! It's not going to be able to be my name any more. The 'I' is erased. 

One night she was refusing to eat her dinner and kept pushing the plate away.
- Annika, you will eat the dinner I made and you will be thankful.
- I will not be "spaseebah"full. 
(spaseebah is thank you in russian)

One morning as I put her shirt on...
- You messed up my eyebrows mommy!

- Mom, what am I wearing.
- You have a pull-up now, but let's go pee on the potty.
- I have no reason to pee on the potty.

- Give me a kiss.
- But I gave you a kiss yesterday. That's enough.

This next one is not so much funny, but so sweet:)

One evening we were talking about Greg's mommy and daddy (Oma and Opa). Annika asks me:
- Where is your mommy?
- She died sweetie. I hope she is with Jesus.
- Awe. Are you sad?
- I was at first, but I'm not any more. Now daddy, you and Leo are my family and I'm very happy.

A little bit later she gets hurt and as usual wants me to hold her.
- Hug me, mommy. Hug your family.
:)

I just love that girl!

Leo is 6 months old!

I say this all the time, but I'm once again flabbergasted... dumbfounded... and stupefied at how fast children grow up. It seems as though just yesterday morning Greg and I woke up in a hotel room at 4 am to drive across highway to the hospital for my 5:30 am C-section. I can even feel the butterflies I was feeling then. I was so so SO nervous about that surgery and was mentally rehearsing a speech in which I professed my undying love for Greg and Annika, and how I wanted him to find a good mother for our kids if I didn't make it, and how he should never ever wash whites and colors together. I know! But what can you do when you are 39 weeks pregnant in the middle of a very hot summer and it's 5 am and you haven't eaten nor are allowed to eat for the foreseeable future? Pregnant + hangry+ no coffee. A gallon of fluids via an IV did little for me, except maybe made me so swollen that even my ear lobes looked pregnant.

Then they made me walk to the operating room in that gown that had no back. But at 5:30 no one cares (a little part of me did though, no coffee and all). The OR was so cold, my top and bottom teeth couldn't find each other, much like my thoughts. I was so nervous I could barely talk and I kept asking if it was normal to feel so nervous and if I was going to die. Then the anesthesiologist gave me the spinal block and it worked before I even counted to three (mississippylesly). And I repeatedly asked if I was very exposed and if everything was going according to the plan.

I knew I was being cut by the smell of the burning flesh. Awesome! To keep my mind off of the smell, I asked Greg to tell me about work, because that always makes me snooze:) I didn't.

That part was quick and then the doctor and the nurses started pushing on me something awful to get the baby to come out. I thought a car was driving over my chest and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe and once again started asking what was going on and if I was dying. I wasn't. Praise the Lord for the most comforting anesthesiologist who stood by my ear and told me things like, "this is supposed to feel that way... your O2 levels are perfectly normal... it will be over in just a couple of minutes". And it was and we heard a tiny squeal and then it was all a blur of people spilling out stats, one of which stood out the most  - A BOY! 

And I did die, of love and admiration. And I die every time I look at his sweet face that I kiss a million times a day.

Little 6-month stats:

He is a very chill little mister, much like his daddy, who loves observing everything around him, adores his sister (and has a healthy fear of her too:)), sleeps very well (7:30-7:30, sometimes with a little snack once + 2 one-two hour naps), and is a champ eater (95% for size). He sits up and grabs everything in his sight and promptly puts it in his mouth. He can roll, but doesn't like to, much rather prefers lying on his back and chewing on his own toes:) 

Family fall pictures... what?

Can you believe that we don't have ANY pictures of all 4 of us yet? It's true. Those empty IKEA frames are looking mighty lonesome hanging on the walls.
Last weekend I took some photos of our friends Lindsey and Collin and their little stud muffin, William right here in our back yard. In return, Lindsey offered to snap a few shots of our family.
We aren't known for moving too quickly in the mornings, plus ALL of us like to sleep in. But the pictures were scheduled for noon. Plenty of time to get ready. Or so I thought.

baking with a toddler...

... is a lesson in patience, I'll tell ya. Have you ever baked with a 2-year-old? How did that go for ya? Did you have any batter left for those muffins? Were you able to find your kitchen under all the flour?

I love involving Annika when I cook. I always know it's going to be a lot of work, but it's either that or she will nag me senseless. So I choose the lesser of two evils:)

did this really just happen?

This happened yesterday. Technically, it's not preschool. They call it play-group, which is kind of like pre-preschool, but i wouldn't be myself if I didn't make a reason to psych myself up:)

Little lady is very social, so I wasn't worried about her being clingy or sad or scared. Yet, I was nervous all morning. Got up at 7:30 with an alarm clock (whoa!?) and got myself ready before waking up my big girl for her big day. Greg had to be at work at 8, so I was anxious about being on time. 

Annika was excited and in preschool spirit the moment I walked into her room. "I'm going to preksool, mama?" "I wear my backpack, mama?" I even let her eat breakfast at her little craft table.

It was a big deal and Annika made sure all the walls in our house heard that. Mr. Leo sure did and woke up ready to eat his breakfast. The moment I realized there was no way we were going to make it out the door on time, our daddy made it back home. We all got ready and even had time for pictures. We made the whole thing into a bigger deal than necessary, but it's the beginning of her (pre)school career, people! 

The 2 hours went by much too fast to get anything accomplished. I just sat there at home twiddling my thumbs until it was time to get back in the car and go pick her up. I'm sure I'll get some sort of a productive routine going, but I was just so excited for her to tell me how her day went. 

She ate cheewios and cwackers and just wore her backpack and no hit anybody and play with pretend cheese and see new fwiends, that's how:)

And a couple of pictures from my iPhone

weekend love

Weekends on the lake in the summer are absolutely glorious. Forget the boxes that are still occupying your garage a month after you moved, there is lake fun to be had. And that's exactly what we've been trying to do every weekend. Boxes can wait, but the summer days are dwindling. 

It takes us an eternity to pack everything for the day at the lake (an eternity and a full trunk... my goodness!), but the effort is worth it. We drive to our lake house, spread our numerous belongings on the lawn and just... chill. We pack lots of snacks and drinks, invite friends and spread out on the towels all ready to eat and drink and talk and sleep and occasionally stand up to jump in the water to cool down. Annika usually skips lots of these things and just eats and jumps in the water. Leo mostly sleeps. Greg spends most of his time in the water. And me... I like to sit on a towel in the shade... marveling at the goodness of life. 

conversations with my two-year-old

The other afternoon, I decided that Leo had spit up on himself enough times to warrant a mid-day bath. Annika loves to be involved with everything concerning Leo (including asking to see his poop, when I change his diaper... sorry for that!). So I let her "help me".
We sit down by the bath tub and I start washing Mr. Leo, who loves baths very much and doesn't make a peep. So it's me and Annika having this lovely conversation.

- What are you doing, mama?
- I'm giving your baby brother a bath.
- Why?
- Because he isn't very clean, baby. You saw how much he spit up on himself.
- Why?
- Well, babies always spit up a little bit when they eat.
- Why?
- Because if they spit up too much, then there won't be anything left if their tummy.
- Why?

Then she got distracted by bubbles in the little tub and I had a minute of quiet. Enough time to think that, man, the girl's got the "5 whys" technique down...

And then...

- What are you doing, mama?
- I'm giving Leo a bath, baby.
- Why?

oy...

Mother of the Year award goes to...

Me!!! Yesterday was one of those days where I could have totally won that award (it exists, right?). Super productive from dusk till dawn, kids were little angels all day, homemade dinner was delicious, laundry done... And I looked fabulous through it all. 

Okay, that was a lie, beginning to end.

Instead, I took Annika to daycare having forgotten her diapers, sunglasses (which are a necessity for that little diva!), and her Show'n'Tell item. Later in the day it also occurred to me that I had forgotten her wipes and to dress her in all black (the daycare had some sort of a theme going... but don't ask me what it was, I wouldn't know).

Mr. Leo got his fair share too. I woke up in the morning wide-eyed announcing to Greg and later to my little Instagram world that my baby boy was 1 month old. The boy was in fact only 4 weeks old and who would have thought that you actually go by dates and not by days of the week when celebrating one's birthday? He will be 1 month old on the 17th and I hope it was the only time I forgot my child's birthday.  

Little buddy also got a boo boo (yes, it's boo boos and awees ands ouchees in this house!). I was making shrimp and grits for dinner and holding Leo as I was stirring the grits. Right as I though that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to have a child so close to a cooking pot, some very hot grits splattered on both of us. Poor guy has a little blister on his elbow and I have some serious wounds on my mommy soul. 

Total mama fail! My poor, poor children. 

* I was ready to drink wine at noon yesterday. But I held off, I swear! I think...  

Annika says...

Here is another, smaller, installment of Annikaisms. There are so many these days that I can’t keep track any more:)

Talks to self:

Where is Annika? There me is!

-Annika, if you have a baby brother, what should his name be?

-Sister.

-What are you doing, huh, mama?

-I’m drinking coffee. What are you doing?

-Not drinking coffee.

Starts (fake)crying and I don’t respond. Comes up to me and in the most pitiful way whines:

-      -Ask what’s my matter.

Greg gets out of the shower and Annika walks in right after.  All I heard was:

-Daddy’s tail!

… and then everyone died. Laughing!

a two-week-old, a two-year-old, and two exhausted parents in love

In case anybody missed the news - a brand new Winn joined our family (almost)2 weeks ago. Meet Leo Thomas Winn. A sweet, sleepy, cuddly bundle of cuteness who is an exact replica of his big sister, which makes him an exact replica of his dad. I've been robbed of any sort of resemblance with my child yet again. I guess it's all right, all I did was carry these offsprings in me for 40 long, not-so-pleasant weeks and have undergone 2 major abdominal surgeries to get them into this world. No biggie, children, thankyouverymuch!

So far, Leo has been very easy. Sleeps, poops, eats, sleeps, repeats... 3-4 hours stretches of sleep at night. Very happy and content when awake. Unlike his sister, who was very "vocal", especially in the rare moments someone dared to not hold her. She was a good sleeper, gotta give her that!

Speaking of the big sister... This has a been a bit of a challenging time with her. On top of her terrible twos (which alone would have been enough!), the parentals made her move houses and brought someone else to love on into the family. I mean, the guts! My little girlie has been nothing short of traumatized. Once a happy-happy sleeper, she now cries and cries and wants to hold my hand until she falls asleep. Once a sweet little baby girl, she now acts out like a teenager. The ''NO, MOMMY!" is oh-so-prevalent in our house these days. 

Just in the last 3 days things have gotten better with her sleeping. She is getting used to her new room and is once again happy to talk to her toys and animals before falling asleep. (We had switched her to a toddler bed, but quickly realized she wasn't ready, so back to the crib she went!). But the behavior is still a bit off and this is something she'll have to outgrow. 

Annika does love her brother though. First thing I hear in the morning is "I want to go see my baby Leo!". She wants to hold and kiss him all the time. If only she would understand that she doesn't necessarily have to hit him first, before kissing him.

And us... Well, we are adjusting. There've been tears, tiredness, but overall we are managing. Even though we both can't wait when the littles start playing with each other, we are trying to enjoy this stage of life. We know it's all going to go really fast, so we want to cherish these moments.

*** Gee, I really need to break out my real camera again... If only I could find it in this mess...***

on my year of being a sahm

So, I'm nervous. It's been a big year for our little family. What, between Greg becoming a business owner, and us buying a house and getting ourselves a new baby...

Plus, I'm about to embark on a whole new adventure. I just finished my school year before becoming a stay-at-home mom for 12 months. I only had about 3 months at home with Annika, and every morning I was jealous that Greg got to get up, get ready and go to work. I truly hope this time will be different, because I'm wanting to embrace my babies and the every-day ups and downs at home with them. Many people, including my own husband, might think that I chose to take a year off because I needed a break from work, because I wanted an "easy" year... Ha! I KNOW it will be a much more difficult and challenging year than the year I would have spent working. But it will also be more rewarding to me. And that is WHY I made that decision. Time flies... I don't want to look back and say "oh, I wish I had spent more time at home with my kids."  

Maybe I'm naive, but I'm hoping that this year will be a busy one and that I won't actually be "staying" at home all the time. Annika will be starting preschool at the end of summer. I'm planning on library visits, walks to farmer's markets, play dates, outdoors adventures... And tell me if I'm being completely crazy here, but I'm also hoping to spend some me time... like working out, doing DIY projects, decorating our new house, reading, photographing, blogging. Too much? K, we'll just play it by ear then:)

One of my resolutions (and this one is really worrisome to me... in the sense that I think I'm going to fail!) is to speak more Russian with the kids. I started pretty well when Annika was a baby, but little by little Russian almost disappeared from our home... Apart from Greg occasionally pointing out my body parts in Russian to Annika. Wish me luck! I want to raise my babies bilingual, because this is one of the best things I can give them. Aside from chocolate, of course... 

Alrighty, now that I've set super ambitious goals and plans for the year, I'm going to go pray to the Almighty. Seriously...