We scheduled a family trip to Jamaica in order to participate in celebrating the marriage of my cousin, Laura, and her fiancé, Scott. I'm honored to have been asked to be a bridesmaid (and gladly accepted) while Maksim and Deklan will serve as ring bearers ("ring security"). In preparation, both boys pampered themselves with haircuts (the 2nd ever for Deklan).
Long hair, don't care.
He really enjoyed getting his hair washed (a new salon experience for him) and asked for a setup like this at home.
He wanted to make sure his hair was still long enough to be in a ponytail WITH a braid.
Blow out.
Looking good!
A few days later and it was Deklan's turn for a trim. The hair on the sides of his head continue to be stubborn about growing at all. We tried to keep as much length as we could (he desperately wants a ponytail like his brother) while cleaning it all up and giving it more style.
Last look at these baby locks.
He was a little sad that he was too small for the hair wash station.
Cautiously waiting for this to be over.
After pampering, it was time to find outfits for these 2 young men.
He was so upset when I told him that suspenders CANNOT attach to a pull-up.
It proved harder to shop with these two toddlers than I'd anticipated (especially with the Burlington Mall being an hour away), and I ended up simply ordering a bunch of different options online and mailing back whatever didn't work - which resulted in an enormous amount of saved time - as well as my sanity.
Suspenders, hats and sunglasses thanks to Target's Dollar Spot!
Ready to report for duty in t-6 days!
We didn't find shoes until the night before our flight left (at 5am), but we did it! We're all so excited to participate in the Iosbaker-I-Dos and couldn't be happier for Laura and Scott!
How did we keep busy during our down time this Winter? Maks had a once per week tap & ballet class. He was sold on this studio because it offered a combo class with both tap and ballet - but he has since decided that he'd like to focus solely on ballet. Apparently, "the tap shoes are too loud." We've required him to finish off at this studio until the recital this June, after which he's welcome to transfer studios/classes.
Learning to shuffle, double (triple?) time:
And a special class where friends were able to observe:
Deklan stayed busy during dance class by testing his (my) limits (patience).
Spiderman takes quenching his thirst into his own hands.
We tried to take advantage of the indoor track at the dome affiliated with our fitness center whenever possible. Unfortunately, a snow storm this winter caused the dome to collapse and it won't be rebuilt until this Fall. (Which means less bike riding and no soccer this spring.)
On one of the inservice days for Maksim's school, the family outing group coordinated a fun afternoon at a nearby taekwondo club. Maksim and Deklan were both able to participate (Deklan followed directions for approximately half of the class before I escorted him back to the viewing area - not bad for such a youngster!)
"Yes, Sir!"
Puzzles are always a crowd pleaser in our house. Maksim likes to up the ante by flipping the puzzles over so that they're more difficult (of course he does!).
Admiring Deklan's successful solo completion of his puzzle.
The boys have also been fairly interested in yoga. Maksim's classroom even has a yoga work station in it! I tried to get into the routine of at-home yoga prior to my hip surgery, but haven't been able to do much since. However, I've introduced the boys to Cosmic Kids Yoga, which is a big hit!
Will someone please tell Captain America to cool it on the 5 hour energy? Some of us are trying to namaste in bed.
Kira has mastered her own style Shavasana - she's awake yet COMPLETELY relaxed.
Speaking of hip surgery, I was happy to run across this magazine in our local Whole Foods Market. New Hampshire Magazine's 2017 Top Doctors and Dr. Vailis (my hip surgeon) makes the front cover! Can't complain about that!
Another favorite family pastime is swimming. Deklan is slowly progressing and is now willingly submerging his head int he water to retrieve swim rings. Maksim has always been our fish - I've checked for gills (as my dad used to do on me when I was a kid), but there aren't any to be found. He blew me away when we tested his endurance in the lap pool and he made it the entire 25 meters! A little bit of stroke development and we might have a young swim team participant on our hands in the near future!
Every now and then we'd meet up with Bryon down at Hanscom AFB for lunch or an afternoon surprise (usually when I had other errands to run down that direction or there was no school for Maksim). One evening we stopped on the way home for some mini-golf. It turned out to be black light miniature golf, and Deklan was afraid of it. Daddy and Maks golfed and then joined Deklan and me for some mini-bowling!
One of my proudest Winter accomplishments is that we only had one trip to urgent care! Two toddlers and not a single case of strep, the flu, or even a cold. A tiny ear infection for Maksim after Holiday traveling and that was it! Such a welcome change in comparison to the previous year!
Since we moved to New Hampshire, Maks has been participating in a program at our town library called Paws for Reading. It's not consistently offered, but about once or twice a month he has the opportunity to pick out a few of his favorite books from home, bring them to the library and practice reading them to "Brook the dog."
The program is designed for children struggling with reading or hesitant to read aloud - the goal being to help children develop reading confidence. However, I figured it was a great opportunity for Maksim to continue to foster his love for books and reading. He selectively picks out new books each visit - as many books as he can fit in his backpack - and sits down and reads them to Brook one by one. A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar:
Deklan has been a little bit too young to reserve a time slot to read to Brook, but he spends plenty of time practicing his reading with friends throughout the library.
Here's a little video of him reading to me while we were at Urgent Care post-Holiday traveling (Maks had an ear infection). We'd never read this Dr. Seuss book before.
On our most recent visit, Deklan asked to join in on the reading...
Make yourself comfy, Brook. You might have another little reader in the near future!
Our 2017 Valentine's celebration started early this year, on a visit to the town library.. We were at the library and visited the craft table - a requirement before leaving whenever we stop in.
Maksim made a one-of-a-kind Valentine's Day card to be sent to a Veteran at the nearby VA Hospital. Although I wrote the words, Maksim told me exactly what he wanted the card to say. He made sure to tell him/her "Merry Valentine's!" as well as "Thank you for your service; my daddy serves now, too!"
Bryon was in San Diego during the week of Valentine's Day, so Maks asked to get him a gift early. I love that he's reaching the age where he thinks about others! We were at Trader Joe's and I let Maksim choose two things on his own. He was adamant about flowers - red roses, to be exact. This is interesting because we rarely have flowers in the house. He made a good call on the dark chocolate peanut butter cups, too. Daddy demolished them in two days!
Maksim's current school celebrates Valentine's Day differently than his previous school (and differently than the schools I attended as a child). Instead of giving Valentine's Day cards to classmates, his teacher asked parents to make a single valentine or note of some kind to be read to their child sometime throughout the school day. I loved this idea, and made a Valentine for both of my children! Deklan received his while Maksim was away at school. Maksim received his (as a surprise) during class.
Maksim/Deklan, Happy Valentine's Day! You're humble, fearless and kind. You make me so very proud! Every single day I'm happy to spend time with you, see you smile, listen to you laugh, and watch you learn & grow. You'll always be my favorite "Maksim/Deklan" in the world. I love you to the moon and back! Love, Mama
Bryon prepared his own Valentine to be read to Maks at school. He's not one to celebrate Valentine's Day, so I was curious as to what his card was going to say. I wasn't completely shocked a couple of weeks later when the Valentine's Day cards made their way back home and I was able to read his note, "Who needs Valentine's Day? I love you EVERY day!!!". It was short, simple & spot on.
The littlest Valentine is growing up and wants to be just like his big brother - hair band included.
The boys received Valentine's Day cards in the mail from their grandparents - which included gift certificates for ice cream treats at Dairy Queen. Believe it or not, they'd never been to a Dairy Queen before, so it was a first for them both! I let them pick whatever they wanted. Maksim chose an Oreo Blizzard (he's really just like me in more ways than one!) while Deklan ordered a Triple Chocolate Brownie.
THIS is the face Deklan makes when I ask him to take a picture before eating his ice cream treat.
There was silence, sharing, a few "brain freezes" and (as expected) no leftovers...
3 years! Time really does fly! Days and weeks can seem to take a lifetime, but the years really do pass so very, very quickly!
(Patiently) waiting for us to finish singing to him.
Blew out those candles like a pro - time to dig in!
Anyhow, January 28th marked another year around the sun for our littlest man, Deklan. We celebrated with some cake and opened a few cards he received in the mail from relatives.
Listening - very carefully - to The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. It was especially interesting to see their reactions because the don't know the original version of the story!
It was extremely cold the weekend of Deklan's birthday, so we decided to hold off a week before taking him on his birthday "adventure" - a trip to the ICE CASTLES! The following Sunday we loaded up the car and drove an hour north into the White Mountains...
A rare picture of me & my boys.
The castles were interesting and the kids had a lot of fun roaming around, finding tunnels and going down ice slides. My unstable hip make things challenging since we were basically walking on 6" of snow and ice pellets. And, it became chilly quickly. A cookie break and some warm drinks helped. Bryon's always such a good sport and genuinely excited and willing to participate in activities with the boys, so that makes our family adventures twice as much fun.
Ice Castles Tunnel:
Ice Castles Slide:
So excited!
We tried to stick around as long as we could because once the sun goes down the castles are backlit with lights and sound/light shows ensue. We were able to hang on to see the very beginning of it, but headed out for dinner and a drive home shortly after the sun set.
Happiest of Birthdays to you, Deklan! I can't wait to see what's in store for you (and the adventures you take us on as well) throughout 2017!
