Two years ago today, asleep on US soil for the first time…
Tonight, plus one extra little terror bonus.
Tag Archives: Gus
A Snow Day and a Bad Hair Day
Today was Reed’s first snow day. We woke up to a few inches this morning and no school!
And, during our lazy day at home, this happened…
The horrible self hair cut.
Anyways, on to fun pictures…
Our weather was a beautiful 60 degrees on Tuesday…
Now it is…
And that’s exactly how I feel about it.
His papa handed over his own gloves, since Gus doesn’t have any of his own.
Tonight, I took her to get her hair cut. I realized I had never asked her why she cut her hair, and she told me “To look like you.” “You really cut your hair to look like me?” “Yes.” Oh, I melted. Any disappointment I had about it disappeared, knowing she wanted to be like me.
At this point, when she rested her face up against me, I realized she was burning up. Poor girl is sick. I’m thankful for our wonderful nurse and doctor friends who have kept me from panicking. We will see how she’s doing in the morning and have a better idea of what’s going on and what she needs.
22 Things I love about my 22 month old
Having a toddler is um… challenging? I thought it might be fun to come up with a list of my favorite memories and things about Gus since he came home. This list is in no particular order.
1. Gus’s favorite Christmas song is Jingle Bell Rock. He can’t hear it without dancing, or at the very least, waving his hands around.
2. He used to fall asleep anywhere.
(This was one of his first full days home.)
3. When I tell him that I love him in Russian, he usually responds “Da!” (That means “yes!”)
4. Gus calls Lena something like “Vy-ya.” One of the only other words he uses often is one of our dogs’ names “Nina!”
5. He loves to say “quack quack” and sometimes uses it like our own version of Marco Polo, to check in with me without finding me or turning to see me.
6. He also loves to say “mooo” and if you tell him that, he might show you the cows on his shoes.
7. The thumb-sucking. Oh so cute.
8. Gus often kisses me or rests his head on my shoulder when I pick him up.
9. The incredibly soft baby skin. Those kissable cheeks.
10. Waking up to this. Not yelling or wiggling away, but those very rare mornings when he just wants to lay in bed and cuddle.
11. The pants… did I ever share this? He used to like to pick up a pair of pants and carry it around with him.
12. What a baby he seemed to be when he first came home. I’m sure this picture was taken while saying “Reed, you need to put him down.” Reed would not attempt this now, because he’s aware he’ll get screamed at (by G!).
13. Sitting in baskets. I haven’t seen him do this in awhile, but he used to do it with everything. He’d take baskets of toys, even tiny ones, dump them out and climb inside.
14. Carrying a car everywhere with him. He has mostly stopped doing this and I miss it.
15. Tired evenings when all he wants to do is rest his head on me.
16. His love of things that make scratchy sounds.
17. And, of course, his obsession with that airplane.
18. Playing cars in the bathtub.
19. Sometimes he goes down the slide unexpectedly.
20. His first cupcake experience.
21. He loves his rocking horse, still.
22. His use of the doggie door. Okay, there are times when I really hate it, but it mostly is funny.
Wordless… Saturday?
![gus]](https://i0.wp.com/farm9.staticflickr.com/8349/8276208866_7970b9e81b_m.jpg)
My Pair of Fives
Today begins the 29 days when I have 2 5 year olds! It’s Lena’s 5th birthday!
If you know them in real life, you know how true this picture is!
We went to get our Christmas tree. We went to a park that allows you to cut down a red cedar, an invasive species here. It was pretty fun– wandering around in cedars with the kids asking “What about this one?”
But, lest you think it was too fun…
Someone was mad that his daddy was busy with the tree and couldn’t carry him. He had to settle for me instead, which was NOT okay.
Lena went out on a little date with her papa this afternoon, while Reed and I got her present ready. I decided that he had to help me set it up and wrap it after he found out what she was getting and nearly spoiled the surprise for her. I think it may be a new tradition to have the kids help out with their siblings’ presents, because it was a lot of fun and helped him feel more involved in her birthday.
It was fun to watch her unwrap a present bigger than she is. And to see all of her delight over it!
When I first asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she told me “a Lena cake!” Later, she told me, a chocolate cake. So, I decided on a chocolate Lena cake.
We had some friends over for dinner and cake. It had been awhile since we had seen them and we had a great time.
After our company left, and Gus was in bed, Lena asked me “can I play for just a few more minutes, please? …two minutes, please?” It was already past her bedtime, but she was so sweet and so happy, so she got a timer for 15 more minutes. They got an extra bedtime story too… we just had to read her 2 new books. “Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?” and “Llama Llama Holiday Drama.”
Happy birthday, sweet Lena! We love you and we are so happy to be your parents. We had a great time celebrating you today!
ETA: Sorry about the photos not working earlier– they should be now. They always show up fine for me, so I never know until someone comments to tell me.
a moose in moscow 