Halloween, Pumpkin Patch and other Festivities

We finally made it to a pumpkin patch this year. We did not make it to our usual Bates Nut Farm, but we did go to one closer to our house. There were still lots of great opportunities for pictures, the place just wasn't as big and exciting as Bates Nut Farm, but I am sure we'll return there next year when I am not pregnant and have a lot more energy.

Halloween Festivities lasted the whole week. We carved pumpkins one night. Sascha's preschool had a special pumpkin patch treat for them and I was able to come and volunteer and watch her have a great time doing all the activities that they had set up for them. They also had a dress up day Friday before Halloween and a little parade for parents to take pictures. Since she absolutely loves Mickey's playhouse show, we knew she would love to be Minnie, so that was her costume this year. In dance class she also dressed up and then of course on actual Halloween day. She was very excited to put her costume on, unlike last year. She loved going door to door saying "trick or treat!" and then followed it up with "Thank you!" and "Happy Halloween!". She got scared once before we headed out, and it was this green monster mask that a boy had on. She ran into daddy's arms and cried until we took her away from him. That was the only costume that bothered her. Here are a few photos from Halloween.

On other news, funny stories, and updates...

Preschool has been going well, aside from you catching a cold there and then giving it to me. It's now been lingering in our household for over a week! Your teachers tell us that you have adjusted very well. You're very talkative, and social, you listen well and even take a nap (which is something you rarely end up doing at home). You eat most of your lunch too which is surprising because meal times have gotten pretty difficult for us.

It seems that if you get something on your plate that's unfamiliar, you start to whine and freak out and throw a fit. I have to cook something for you separately. Most of the time when we eat, there will be something you won't like, and you'll start crying about it. So we are working on the crying and the whining because it's really starting to get old quickly. The other "terrible twos" thing you love to do is not listen to us, or do the opposite of what we ask. I would ask you not to push the rocking chair and you look at me and start doing it harder and say "yeah, I push it". It's also amazing how stubborn you can be. We'd try to help you by cutting things into pieces when you eat or take smaller bites, but you refuse. You get really mad if we broke things into pieces, or you get upset if things don't stay on your fork or spoon starting to bang at the table or fling things around in frustration. So we try to help, but you refuse... until 2o minutes later you start to come around. Dinner time lasts forever at that rate!

You've been saying some funny things lately. Daddy always sings songs to you right before we leave your room, and usually he starts off with "old McDonald" per your request, well a few nights ago, he started singing it and you tapped him on his arm and said "No Old McDonald daddy... I am too old", haha. You're too old for that song! So then you said you wanted "Twinkle twinkle" and he started singing that one, but once again you stopped him and said "But where are the stars?" Apparently he had forgotten to turn on your lady bug that projects stars onto the ceiling, so he had to stop and go turn those one for you. Then he sang the ABC song and you were done. All these songs you now know by heart and sing with us. Another song you love to randomly sing is Happy birthday to you. We've heard you sing that in bed so many times now.

You have done amazingly well with going on your potty. I have now taken away the small potty's and you just use the cushy toilet covers. You have not had a single accident at preschool or home or anywhere else for nearly a month and your diaper is completely dry at nap time so I stopped bringing your pull-ups to school. And a few nights ago we noticed that your diaper was dry at night too. That only happened once or twice, but still I am very excited to have you out of diapers, except for night time! Especially since we're about to do the whole diaper changing thing again very soon. We always praise you for using the potty and now you seem very proud of it, especially when you go #2. Such a big girl!

Yesterday you got to go to Disneyland with Grandpa David & Grandma Laurie as well as Zac and your cousins Carolyn and Angelina. You got picked up and spent the night at their house which you've done once before, and then the next morning you were off to Disneyland. You had a blast meeting the princesses, going on the rides and seeing Mickey's playhouse at California Adventure. It must have been such an exciting day for you. Mommy and Daddy stayed home and rested. We got to go out to dinner the night before. I wanted to have our favorite Taste of Thai food - spicy noodles, especially since that's what I had the evening I went into labor with Sascha. I was hoping it would do the trick again. Well it didn't this time around. So the next morning we went to breakfast and enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day walking around near the beach. We missed you a ton and would get updates from grandpa on how much fun you're having! Because it was getting so late already, they decided to keep you another night and bring you back the following morning.

It actually seemed like a good idea because to have them take you for the night. I had a ton of contractions fairly close together that night and was convinced that we were going to have the baby, but to my disappointment they sort of disappeared after 4 or 5 hours and around midnight or 1am I fell asleep. It would have worked out perfect since you were already taken care of and we wouldn't have to bother our families in the middle of the night. But it looks like your baby brother is nice and cozy inside and does not yet wish to come out. Lets see how long that will last. I am on the waiting list to get induced Wednesday or Friday of this week. Unless he makes an appearance on his own or I don't get either of those days, then it will be next Monday the 15th for sure. In which case you may be sharing your birthday with Uncle Zac.

This will be my last post until the baby arrives. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I want to spend more time with Sascha because I know she will not get the same kind of attention that she's used to getting and she is still our little munchkin. We really love having a daughter, and we are excited to add a little boy into the mix. That way daddy doesn't feel so outnumbered!

New Rooms

Rooms are almost finished. Sascha moved into hers last week, so Jeromey was able to start painting the baby room.

Her room took forever. It's amazing how slow things happen when you have a little child running around keeping you extra busy. It also doesn't help that we schedule a bunch of other things at the same time. Jeromey just did a 100 mile bike ride from Irvine to Mission bay to raise money for MS. He had a great time, but that meant the whole weekend was basically gone in a blink of an eye! So yes, this little room project (that turned out to be a pretty big room project!) was started over a month ago, and it's finally done!!! I think it turned out great! Now we hope Sascha likes it too. She has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming. Not sure why... night terrors? We had thunder and lighting one night, so that could have scared her as well.
We were finishing it up in the evening, and you were running around like crazy playing with things you shouldn't be playing with and we let you stay up late too because we weren't done with the room. You seemed excited about it. You and daddy read a few books on the bed, and it was time to say good night. You started fussing and saying you want your small bed, and we said that you're a bit girl now and have a big room with a big bed. You got out of the bed at least a dozen times, but eventually you went to sleep. It just takes you a while to fall asleep. Sometimes you stay in your bed for over 45 minutes singing and talking.





A few more things need to go up on the wall, but it's basically done.

Now onto the baby room. It's a work in progress and here is what it looks like so far. We are missing the crib. It's actually broken and we are trying to get it fixed. The wall border is going up this weekend and a few accessories for the walls as well. And we'll be all done!



As for me, we had our ultrasound at 35 and half weeks, and the baby is down which is great. He was measuring big, or about a week ahead as before - 6 lbs (Sascha's weight when she was born). I am already 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced, but of course that doesn't mean that the baby will be here next week, I could stay like that for weeks. I hope to make it to November... my guess or wish is he'll be arriving early November, but you never know! I am definitely feeling ready... I've felt very "heavy" and pretty tired for the last 2 weeks. Some nights are better than others, but I usually get up every 2 hrs and not always able to go back to sleep. Last day of work was this monday! I've just been at home getting things in order, visiting friends. I already feel much better, more prepared, and organized. Must be the nesting kicking in. We can't wait to meet this little boy! I can't believe I am going to be holding a small little baby in my arms! It's all a bit surreal, but I feel very lucky already to be mommy to a little boy.

Photos at the pier

I really wanted to get some pictures of us done while I was still pregnant, and we were able to go to the PB Pier with our friend Vanessa who snapped a few shots of us and my big belly.

It was such a warm and beautiful day, Sascha really enjoyed being outside.

Family Shot


Us with the munchkin

Baby Shower at work

I got a surprise shower at work. I've been asking everyone to not make a big deal about it, and not do anything... maybe just a small lunch with our group, but I came to work Thursday morning to discover my cubicle covered in decorations and baby boy stuff! It was all super cute and completely unexpected. I was about 5 minutes late to a meeting that was set up for 9am, so I was rushing to get there when I first saw the balloons sticking out, and went "Oh No!". I am not a huge fan of a lot of attention, so as usuall I felt my face get flushed and my eyes teary! I don't get surprised often, but they definitely got me... and this is the 2nd time around! Last time I was convinced we were gathering for a "retirement party" for one of the guys leaving our group. It was super sweet of everyone, and I feel very lucky to work at a place with such awesome people!


A few weeks ago I went out to tea with a few girlfriends. It's just something that we like to do every now and then. Go to cute tea shops and hang out for a few hours while enjoying little sandwiches and scones and yummy tea. Well they surprised me there with a few gifts as well. I told everyone that I am not having a shower this time around, I really feel like I just had one very recently and didn't want anyone to go through the trouble of organizing it. I don't think most people have one for their 2nd ones anyways, not that I think there is anything wrong with having one. Plus there is really not much that I need, I have all the big things and I even have a ton of clothes from Marina's son Matty. It worked out very well. She just had a baby girl and I was more than happy to pass on Sascha's girly things to her as well. It makes me happy that someone else gets some use out of them.
Here are a few photos from my coworkers phone camera of my cubicle. Many people stopped by to say congratulations, hard to miss a ton of balloons, garlands and boy things all over. It looked very festive.

Ultrasound @ 28 weeks

I had this done over a month ago, but forgot all about it with so many other things going on. The baby measured a bit bigger again, so that's good... looks like he's growing well. The main point of this ultrasound was to check the kidneys because of our history with reflux and most measurements taken were normal or borderline. There was one measurement of the cross section of one kidney that was over the normal 4mm mark. The doctor did suggest that we do a follow up ultrasound of the baby's kidneys once he is born. From what I've read, there is about 30% chance of this baby having the reflux that Sascha also has, so we just have to be aware and know what to expect. There may still be nothing to worry about. These measurements are very preliminary and it's one of the most common ones that turn out abnormal, so I am not thinking too much about it at this point, we'll know more when the baby is born.

The ultrasound took a very long time, for some reason something looked "strange" on the image w/the placenta, so after the tech took the images to the doctor I had to lay down again for the doctor to try and get a better picture, when they still couldn't they had to check the cervix and make sure I wasn't dilated, because of the way things looked on the images. I got a bit worried of course, but once everything got cleared up, things were fine and I was on my way out. I won't be having any follow up ultrasounds at the hospital, unless there are other reasons for it. I'll be having one at 35 weeks at my OB's office to check the position of the baby. He's been moving a ton lately! As soon as I lay down and try to go to sleep the kicking begins, and it's strong! It's like a party had just begun. :) The 3rd trimester aches and pains had begun weeks ago, and I am feeling cramps and a lot of pressure once I get up after sitting for a while, and then I am feeling back pains if I am standing up, walking for a long time. I am usually getting up 3 times a night to empty the bladder, so I guess I'll be ready for all those middle of the night feedings that are coming my way. At least now I am able to go back to sleep most of the time. I asked the doctor what her policy on inducing is, and after 38 and half weeks I can be induced, hurray! I of course have a feeling the baby will be here before due date like last time (especially because I just feel like I've gotten much bigger belly w/this pregnancy). I am sure it could mean nothing at all and I hope I don't have any issues and make it to at least 38 weeks, but I am definitely not going over my due date of November 19th. We are getting more and more excited to meet this little guy. It would of course help if we had a name picked out too, but we are still contemplating. We have a favorite or two but we still haven't decided for sure. Seems like girl names are much easier for us than boy ones. We just can't seem to settle on one. At one point we had the middle name decided and now that's changing too. Hope we decide in the next 2 months!

I only got one picture from the last ultrasound and it was of his face.

I am now at 33 weeks, 7 weeks to go! Time is definitely flying by and we are getting more and more excited for this baby to come out so we can meet him. I've also been a little anxious about it. How will Sascha adjust? What's it going to be like - a family of 4, with two little kiddos under 5 years old! Definitely some exciting times ahead!!! For now I am just really trying to enjoy our time with her because I know once the baby comes, my attention will have to be divided and limited, so for now I am still enjoying having her be the center of our universe.

Great Grandparents

Today your great grandfather and my grandfather Mikhail passed away. We found out a little over a month ago that he had Cancer which has spread to many of his organs, and being 90 years old of course there would be no treatment. The last few weeks have been tough to watch... he got really weak and skinny, slept a lot. Almost 2 weeks ago we took you to see him because he seemed to be getting much worse and when I saw him, we asked if he would like to see you and he seemed to be excited at the opportunity, so I brought you with me. He was happy to see you. Of course you wouldn't sit still very long so it was a very brief stay, but I was glad that he got to see you before he went. He was the last grandparent on my side. My grandma & his wife Sofia had passed away last October and we all miss her terribly. Before that both of the grandparents on my dad's side Maria and Lev also passed away within a few years of each other. You never met grandma Maria because you came along after she passed, but you did see grandpa Lev a few times when you were a baby. Of course you will not remember them which is why I wanted to make sure I said a few things about them and post some pictures.

I was a lot closer to the grandparents on my mom's side, probably because they always lived in the same city we lived in, and as a child I spent many many days at their house. Grandma Sofia was one of the most sweetest and selfless people I have ever known, she lived for her kids/grand kids & great grand kids. There wasn't anything in the world that she wouldn't do for us. You were named Sascha after her because she is just the most wonderful person and I loved her very much. Both grandparents have been through a lot in their lives. They survived World War II. Both grandfathers fought in WW II, and have earned many medals and honors for it. Grandpa Mikhail had even written a book about his experiences with the Nazi's and specific battles he fought in. On his 90th Birthday in November there was a front page article in the San Diego Union Tribune about his contributions in WW II. He was a very brave young man, and none of us could imagine the hardships they've gone through in their long lives. They all lived to 85 and beyond and that's truly impressive considering how difficult life was in Russia, and they adapted the best that they could once we came to the States in 1993. Grandpa Mikhail was especially motivated. I will always admire his drive to learn and to challenge himself is so many ways. He was determined to learn English, he stayed very active in the Russian Jewish Veteran community through out his 17 years here. I've definitely always admired his ability and desire to never stop being curious and taking each challenge as a learning opportunity, it was definitely something he's taught all of us in the family. I am sad that i will not be attending his funeral or the wake. It is sort of a custom Russian/Jewish, I really am not sure who comes up w/these things, but a pregnant woman is not supposed to go to the cemetery or the wake. I was hoping to at least be present at the wake after wards, but my family insisted and said he wouldn't want that. I was really upset at first, but I do understand where they are coming from. Since all of them have passed in the last 5 years, and I've gone to them all, I just wished I could have been there for grandpa Mikhail's too. I am sure there is going to be a lot of great things said, as he was a remarkable man, and many loved him. I will be able to pay my respects after the baby is born.

I also have fond memories of the grandparents on my dad's side. I've spent a few summers visiting them in Odessa on my own as a child and with my sister and we always had a great time. Grandpa Lev had 7 siblings and his parents, who he never saw after he came back from WW II, he was led to believe that all of them died in the holocaust since his family lived in the outskirts of Poland at the time and the Nazi's had come there to destroy the Jews. It was such an awful time in history, and it's something he had lived with his whole life.

I am sad that you will grow up not knowing them.

Us with grandpa Mikhail & grandma Sofia

I will never forget my grandparents dancing at our wedding. Towards the very end of the reception, we did a song where the couples dance and they call out the number of years that they have been married and the couples leave the dance floor who have been married the shortest amount of time. Back in 2005, they were already married over 60 years, so of course they were the last couple dancing on the floor. Grandpa was so into it, he was having a blast, my grandma tried her best to keep up. It was one of the sweetest moments that I will cherish forever... and I am so happy that they were there.

Not a recent picture. Sascha is about a year and a half. But it's rare to find a picture where they are both smiling, and this is probably one of the last ones... so I chose this one.

I could not find any pictures of my other grandparents, most of them are not digital and need to be scanned, but I will be sure to add them here once I get them from my dad.

This was the eulogy that Jeromey read at his funeral... I had written it only an hour before his funeral and emailed it to Jeromey while he was still at work, so he could print it out and read it at either the funeral or the wake. Many of the things I already mentioned above... but I wanted to post it anyways, so that I know I can always look back and read it here. It's about both grandpa Mikhail and grandma Sofia.

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I have so many fond memories of my grandfather Mikhail since we were lucky enough to have always lived within a 20 mile radius of each other my whole life.

I remember spending many days in their home back in Sevastopol where Grandma Sofia and Grandpa Mikhail would help take care of my sister and I. It was certainly a second home for us, and we looked forward to spending time together .

I remember him enjoying going to work, and one time in particular, I even got to visit him in his office in one of the tallest buildings in the city, which was very exciting for me as a child.

During some months of the year, my grandfather would take me to the parades that used to happen in near their home, and I cannot forget walking hand-in-hand with him and grandma in the beautiful green parks.

I always enjoyed the time I spent with both of them. I have always had great respect for both of my grandparents. While Grandma was the rock that kept things together in the house, Grandpa was the determined, motivated, and extremely hard working provider. He took so much pride in what he did, and it was always known that he was doing it to take good care of his family.

As I got older I remember the message he would constantly share with us, "hard work and dedication will persevere". He was always very encouraging to both my sister and I about how important education and learning was. He really practiced what he preached, and by this tremendous example that he provided, both of his children worked very hard to earn & achieve the many things they have been able to accomplish in their lives. I can only thank my grandparents for giving their children and eventually their grandchildren those values.

Grandpa always placed such a strong emphasis on learning. He also used to say to us “Live 100 years, Learn 100 years, and you will still have much to learn.” Coming to the states in his 70's, it was clear that his learning never stopped. He looked at each challenge that was presented to him as an opportunity to learn: learning how to drive a car, learning how to speak English, he never stopped trying, it didn't matter if his speaking was not yet perfect, he would try to get better at it, and he took every opportunity to encourage all of us to do the same each time a challenge was presented.

Another very honorable quality that I have forever admired about him is his desire to help others. Regardless of whether you had asked him or not, he would offer to try and make things better if he saw the need. Not just our family, but other people around him as well. He seemed to be the person people turned to for help, and he would always try to do his best to provide it.

One of the best memories that I will ever have is one that happened almost 5 years ago, when he danced at our wedding with grandma. Towards the very end of the reception, all of the couples were asked to dance together, and as they called out the number of years that a couple has been married, the couples that had been married for the shortest amount of time would be asked to leave the dance floor. Back in 2005, Grandma and Grandpa were already married over 60 years, so of course they were the very last couple dancing on the floor. Grandpa was so into it, he was having such a wonderful time living in the moment, and my grandma tried her very best to keep up. It was one of the sweetest moments that I will cherish forever. I am so very grateful for this lasting image of love and devotion that our grandparents both gave us.

I will always love him and miss him greatly.

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An Update

Potty training is going well. You are now accident free at daycare and at home about 90% of the time which is pretty darn good. We still have trouble when we go somewhere, I have been putting you in a pull up just to be safe, or may be out of laziness because I don't know if I will encounter a bathroom in time, and if you will be willing to sit on one of these folding potties which I purchased. Sometimes you do very well on it, other times you refuse to use it. It just seems a lot harder for you to go when you're not in a familiar place. I try to take you, but you resist, but when you actually need to go, you don't know where to run to like you do at home or daycare and you don't always ask to go. So it's a work in progress, but I would say you're about 80% potty trained. :)

My pregnancy is going well. It's definitely a different experience being pregnant and taking care of a toddler. My back pains go away and come back, usually they come back during the weekend when I am doing way too much. I gone to a few prenatal yoga classes and have regular visits to the chiropractor & massage therapist which helps loosen things up. We have another ultrasound at 28 weeks to check on the kidneys of the baby, so I am looking forward to checking the little guy out on the screen. With Sascha we only had one ultrasound, and w/this one it's already our 3rd one. I feel like I am getting pretty big, and carrying this one very differently, it just looks like a have a big ball under my shirt. I am really starting to gain some weight I think, or at least that's the feeling I get, although my doctor said I've only gained about 15 lbs so far. 3rd trimester is just around the corner... We are very excited to meet this little guy! It's probably time to start working on changing up the rooms, but we haven't really started. Still have 3 months and there is not a whole lot we plan to do other than paint and put Sascha's new room together. It will be so fun to have her go to a big girl bed... we can start reading her stories in bed.

Seems like Sascha is ready for a little sibling to come along. She is so excited when we see our friends with babies. She talks about them, she always asks to hold them. At daycare, most kids have been all around Sascha's age, and recently they got a one year old and a 5 month old, and Galia tells me how she always comes over and is very gentle with the baby, and how she always wants to help. You are especially concerned if the baby cries. So cute! We've always told you to be gentle, and now you kiss my belly almost daily. I hope you have an easy adjustment when this little boy comes. You seem very independent, and a non-jealous type, at least lately so hopefully that means you will have an easier transition. Part of me feels a little bit bad about the whirlwind of things that are all coming your way in the next 3 months. You'll be moving rooms, going to a big girl bed, you will have a surgery, then 3 weeks later you will most likely start preschool and then in another 3 or 4 weeks the baby arrives! I am really going to try to break up all of these events to give you as much time as we can, but some of the events are really out of my hands. I am sure you will be fine, I just can't help but worry.

The surgery has been moved up to September 15th, so we now have more time to recover and probably start preschool in mid October. I've talked to multiple doctors and it seems like all of them have a similar opinion of just getting it over with considering that there has been no improvement in the last 3 years. So it gives me more comfort to go ahead with our decision and just hope that everything works out in the end. Everyone says how fast kids heal and you won't remember it being so young, hopefully it won't be too traumatizing or painful. It's really one of the worst feelings to see your kids in pain, hurt or sick, and not something you can truly understand until you have a child of your own. I have said this many times, but now I can see why my parents would worry as much as they did, and why they may have seemed so overprotective or unreasonable. You really can't understand why until you have kids of your own.

Oh did I mention that we got a huge playset in our back yard now. Early Bday/Christmas present! You waited patiently for a week to get it all built and it took daddy all weekend long, but at last this was your excited face... you love it! And we love watching you play on it!

And here are a few from our latest outing to the zoo

Potty training sure doesn't come easy

I must say that I've been dreading the whole potty training thing for over 6 months.

I first started on this process back in May, and it didn't go too well. Then I decided not to push it, although we tried stickers, M&M's, sticker chart, big girl underwear with Elmo and Mickey & Minnie on them. You went #2 more often than #1, but it was always on your terms, you never would sit on a potty when I asked you to. Well a few months have gone by and I've decided to start getting serious about it once again, especially after hearing that you go at the day care all the time, I thought it was mostly because all the other kids go, so everyone does it at the same time, and then you are interested. So I suggested that you wear underwear and not pull ups anymore, and we're now on day 3 and it's been going ok. So far you've had 1 accident at the daycare per day. At home we are once again having a tougher time. The first day as soon as we got home, you went in your clothes, then I changed you, and almost immediately you did it again, and then for the 3rd time, this was all within 1 hr of being home... I was like what? So I stopped putting anything on you and let you run around naked, and you went on the potty twice #1 and later #2. The 2nd day was a bit better, you promised to keep "minni" dry... and when I took you on the potty once we got home you went, so I trusted you. Well we had 2 accidents, and then once again I had to leave you naked. I am not sure what it is, but you seem to remember to go on the potty when you're naked, not when you're wearing underwear & clothes. And pull ups don't really help at all, you have no problems going in them. So we'll see how this weekend goes. You are still pretty excited to get treats like M&Ms and princess and kitty cat stickers so hopefully that can keep you motivated. I still don't think you have very good control of it though... so once we go out in public I am not sure what to do, put you back in pull ups or keep you in underwear and just let you have accidents? Well one way or another I think we're getting there and I am excited about that!

The other thing which delayed me sticking to this potty training is we went to visit your urologist after having your annual VCUG and ultrasound tests done. He told us that it's actually harder for you to be able to go #1 and get everything out, since some of urine refluxes back into the kidney it's almost impossible for you to really empty your bladder all the way.

So more on the topic of visiting the doctor. This year we were able to have your VCUG done w/sedation. You were such a good girl through it all. It was still tough towards the end because they took the gas off, and you realized what was going on and started crying... but it was still easier than the previous years! Since I couldn't be in the xray room, I just observed from the window, and daddy was so amazing with you, he had Mickey mouse toy on his shoulder, and Mickey Playhouse episode playing on the Blackberry so that you can just focus on the show and now the scary things that are going on around you. Ultrasound on the other hand was super easy, you laid down without a problem and we told you that the lady will just take pictures of your tummy and your back, and you didn't seem to care one bit. You got a ton of stickers at both appointments and you were one happy little girl.

The actual urology appointment was a bit tougher for me to handle. We already knew after your VCUG that you still have the reflux, although we didn't know if it had improved at all, I knew that chances of that are very low, so going into our doctors appointment I thought I had prepared myself for bad news - which is having to do the surgery. Daddy and I have discussed this prior, and both agreed that we didn't want to wait another year and have you on more antibiotics, and then having to repeat the awful VCUG test once again, when chances less than 20% of it actually fixing itself. So like I thought the options were presented to us, and we quickly agreed on surgery especially since baby #2 will be here in November, and it will be much easier for both of us to focus on you 100% of the time and help you recover. After both the doctor and the nurse went over surgery details, I broke down... I couldn't handle it anymore. I kept looking over at you, of course you had no clue what we were talking about, you were just roaming around the room, jumping and looking out the window and I felt so sad that you have to go through something like this... and I still get really emotional thinking about it, and I think about it almost daily. I am sure it doesn't help that I am emotional as it is due to pregnancy. It just became so real, and my eyes tear up at the thought of it.

I am of course thankful for the fact that this condition is not really life threatening and treatable, and it's fixable with surgery (this kind of open surgery is 95% effective, so we definitely have high hopes that it will have a positive outcome). I am thankful for how advanced things have become in the medical world, and that I have the luxury to take my child to a place like Children's hospital where they will take very good care of you, and of course I must only think positive and hope for the best. With all that said, I can't help but feel scared and helpless. Your surgery is scheduled for middle of October... which is so far from now. I was really hoping to be able to get it over with quickly in August or September, but the urologist we see seems to be all booked up. We are on the wait list in case something gets canceled but it's not likely. Now I have to delay your preschool start as well, but that's really the least of my worries, I just hope to get through this quickly and have a successful result.

These un-related to potty training :) pictures were taken at your nephew Aaron's All Star Baseball Game. You hardly sat still through any of it, but we enjoyed coming to watch him play. Even though I or Baba chased you around most of the time. You climbed on these really dirty bleacher seats and we were telling you to get down and be careful not to hurt yourself, and you were making these funny faces at us.

This is just one of many


Just a pretty blue eyed little girl that we love to pieces!

Singing Songs & Rhymes & Books

I am always impressed with how kids remember things and create associations with places and people. We already knew that you loved listening to music, and dancing and have great rhythm (which I think you get from your daddy). He's always humming, signing, he's been making songs up about bath time and brushing your teeth since you were born. Now you start signing his songs and others randomly, and it makes us laugh! You even get the rhythms right... so even if the words are off sometimes, we still recognize what song you're singing right away.
Once on a long car ride home, you and I went though a hand full of songs. ABC song, Twinkle, Twinkle song which is probably your favorite and you know all the words too, Rocka-baby (that's what you call it), Old- McDonald are a few that you just request as soon as we're done with one. The Old-MacDonald song is particularly funny because we wait for you to name the animal and tell us the sound before we sing it. So you've named off a few funny ones like octopus, and turtle to all be on the farm w/a pig, a dog, a mouse, and an owl, a turtle, a ladybug, and lots of others I can't remember anymore.

You also know a few common baby rhymes, even Russian ones that I grew up with. Unfortunately I don't remember most of them by heart, so you learn them from hanging out at Baba & Deda's house and you have so much fun when Baba does them with you. I love seeing your face light up when you see them as well as Inna, Grisha and Aaron. You talk about them all the time and as soon as we tell you that you'll see them you get super excited. Sometimes when we pick you up from daycare, you ask to see them, it's like you know that they're just around the corner from where we pick you up.

But back to the music and singing & books... You usually pick out a few of your favorite books to read after we brush your teeth. You definitely have favorites, and for a few nights you'll ask to read the same book as the night before. There are so many that you now remember. Not only the names of the actual book, but the content. As I flip the pages you finish my sentences... it's pretty incredible, your brain is just like a little sponge of information.

Since most of the nights daddy is actually the one putting you to bed while I relax or finish cleaning after dinner, I actually miss it because I don't want to forget how precious this time is, and then when I do it, I am reminded again how lucky we are to have you in our lives.

A few weeks ago when I would walk into your room to tell you to go to sleep (this happens because you constantly leave the room or start wandering around when it's bed time). You say "I want to rock", which means you want to go on the rocking chair with me and sing some songs. I really love that time, even thought it's usually past your bedtime, I love how you snuggle up next to me or lay around my growing belly and look up at me or the stars & the moon projecting on the ceiling, and just lay there calmly singing the songs with me. Sometimes you touch my lips when you want me to stop, and you continue singing on your own. This has become the last part of your bed time routine and has made a world of difference because you get all calm and relaxed, and you are much more willing to stay in your bed after we're done. It's just so precious, and totally reminds me of when I would nurse you before bedtime in that same big purple rocking chair and how much you depended on me when you were so tiny and now I can still be there for you. Part of me wants to hold on to these moments and hope they never go away! Knowing that's not very realistic, I will enjoy them now and remember them always.

I haven't been able to upload any pictures in a few weeks because our MAC broke :(, so no pictures in this post.

Father's Day

Our Father's day was pretty low key, similar to the Mother's day we had last month. Although Jeromey had scheduled to help a friend with a video job without realizing that it falls on Father's day, so he actually had to work a great part of the day. So we had to try and make the most out of our morning together.

Daddy loves going out to breakfast and we don't do it too often so I wanted to either go to a favorite place of his "Cafe on Park" in Hillcrest or a new place that we could pick in La Jolla so that we could go spend some time at the beach later on. But since I woke up feeling a bit sick and hadn't had a very good night of sleep, we decided to keep it local and go to Panera for breakfast and coffee. Afterwards we took Sascha to a park in 4S Ranch so that she can play in the sun. Well I completely forgot that there is a splash zone right next to it and

I didn't bring anything for her to wear to run in the water or a towel to dry off. At first she didn't seem interested in going, but after she was done w/the slides and climbing, running and swinging, she wanted to explore the water park... and we let her. I had a change of clothes for her, so I said why not, let her run around in her clothes and get it soaked... needless to say she had a blast. Here are a few photos from our morning together.

Getting Help going down from a very tall play structure

Swinging away together

Right before getting really soaking wet! I wish I had taken more pictures of that!

Thank you daddy for being such an amazing husband, best friend and an amazing father. We are truly so lucky to have you and love you with all of our hearts! We love you for everything you bring to our lives, and know that you will always be there,we can count on you and you will never let us down. It brings such happiness to me, to see Sascha run up to you and greet you after a long day at work, the quality time you spend with us cannot be quantified. The love I see in your eyes when she puts her head down on your shoulder is indescribable. The baths, the nighttime stories, even the brushing and flossing her teeth, the little things that you do every day! You are the best daddy on the planet to our little munchkin daughter! I also love that we will have a boy, and you will have such a different bond with him, love him as much as you love all of us, and teach him to become a man that you know he can be. I hope he gets all your wonderful qualities and I look forward to seeing that happen.

You gave me the biggest gift of all and that's Motherhood. I couldn't imagine sharing that bond with anyone else. I know it sounds cheesy, but I feel like our life is complete together and you have given me something that I was missing and didn't know about it. I love how you always try to surprise us, even though I get nervous when I anticipate something going on. You are still determined to do what you set out to do, and it always ends up so very special and memorable... just the way you wanted.

I knew when I first met you that you would be an amazing father watching you with your little brother and my little nephew. I think it was one of the very first things that I was so impressed by when we first met.

I love you!!!

Ultrasound at 18 weeks

We had our anatomy ultrasound today. All the measurements looked great. It was confirmed that it's definitely a boy! He sure wasn't shy about showing us that one... it was one of the first things that popped up on the screen. So we got our confirmation after a spoiled surprise. Part of me is still a little bitter about it, another part is happy to know ahead of time. It was exciting to see the baby move, he was so active, the lady had trouble getting some of the pictures of the heart because he was constantly moving. He measured almost a week ahead! The doctor said she would like me to come back for a 28 week ultrasound to check the kidneys again because of Sascha's history with the reflux. The baby's kidneys measured normal, but she said they appeared very pronounced on the cross section picture, so we'll go once more to make sure that things are ok.

He wasn't shy taking pictures, seemed like he even posed for a few with his hand up, we even have one with a thumb up. I started feeling him move sometime last week. It's definitely one of the coolest feelings ever!

Profile

I don't think we have any doubt that it's a BOY!

Yawning?

So seeing him on the screen today once again made things so real for us. Crazy to think that in just 4 more months we'll be a family of 4. Wow... are we going to have our hands full or what? haha

I think we are up for the challenge, yes it's not going to be easy, but all so worth it.

Being pregnant for the 2nd time is definitely not an easy task. I can truly say I enjoyed my 1st pregnancy a lot more, probably because I had more time to focus on me, be in better shape, and just take care of myself... well and Jeromey (sometimes ;) ). This time around, chasing after a toddler is no easy task while being pregnant. Sascha likes to run away, or throw things and I am constantly on the go. Weekends are the hardest because we're always on the go, and through out the week I am resting at work since I am sitting down most of the time I am there. I seem to have some back issues, mostly one one side, but they are pretty severe. Ones I probably had in late 3rd trimester. It's a bit scary because I still have long ways to go. Sometimes it's very painful to walk, I am already so slow as it is, I can only imagine what it will be like as my belly grows. I am sure 20 weeks will fly by really fast... once I am looking back at it and i won't remember any of the aches once I have a beautiful baby boy in my arms! That's when the work really begins anyways! For now we will enjoy having dinner with just having to take care of one little one, instead of the baby crying and Sascha throwing food on the floor.

Sascha will be a big sister!

We are pregnant! Due date is sometime around November 19th. Seems like we all like having our birthdays close together, so this one is going be a few weeks before mine and Sascha's. :) At least it's not December... unless I am 2 weeks late, and I sure hope that's not the case!

Our first appointment went well, we saw the heart beat and the baby measured a little over 8 weeks. I felt like I was so much bigger so early on, that I was actually scared to find out if we were having twins. I was happy to see one baby and a heart beat.

We have decided NOT to find out the sex this time around. It was something Jeromey asked for first time around, but I just couldn't do it the first time... I am too much of a planner, but I promised that for our 2nd time around it can be a surprise. Well it didn't exactly go according to that plan...

We also had our first trimester ultrasound. The baby did not cooperate and get into the proper position to do the measurements and we were scheduled to come back the next week. However, the baby did cooperate and show us something else, even though we really didn't want to know.

The ultrasound tech tried all sorts of different ways to get the baby in the right position, but no luck, all of the sudden we saw the baby's 2 legs, and here is what happened after:

The tech: "Who do you have at home?

Us: "A girl"

The tech: "Well, I think I know what you're having"

Us in a hurry: "We wanted to keep it a surprise!!!!!!!!"

The tech: "Oh... well that can be fun!"

As she is saying this... we see 2 legs up on the screen...

We look at each other and know exactly what we're looking at! IT'S a BOY!

She even printed a picture for us! Thanks lady... which part of "I wanted to keep it a surprise didn't you hear?" Unless of course she printed it before we blurted it out.

We didn't even think to give her a heads up on not telling us the sex prior to her getting started, mostly because we were there for the 1st trimester measurements, not the anatomy ultrasound that happens at 20 weeks, and because I am only 12 something weeks along... who would have though that you'd be able to see this early and this clearly.

After her reaction and the confirmation of the picture it really wasn't hard to figure out. There is just no way she would be this sure if it was a girl, although she never officially announced that it's a boy!

So we both left a bit in shock, we are of course super excited, but this really wasn't the way we expected to find out. But I guess this is the way things are meant to be. After a nerve racking and long appointment without any results other than finding out what we didn't expect to know,

we returned for another ultrasound the following week and the baby cooperated with the measurements and all is well, so we were very happy to hear that!

Here is a picture from one of the ultrasounds @ 12.5 weeks