happy new year!

learning to ski at indianhead, in the U.P.


sledding with daddy


ice fishing with grandpa


hot chocolate with grandma


snowshoeing in the tall, tall forest

it's been a fun and busy month starting with christmas festivities at concordia (ethan's preschool), aunt julie's house, aunt andrea's house, aunt elaine's house, then a few days (mostly in our pjs) before we headed off for vacation about 20 minutes outside of eagle river wisconsin. our annual pilgrammage to afterglow is more looked-forward-to than christmas for ethan, and maybe me too. it's a wonderful resort chock full of northwoods winter fun. we went tubing, sledding, cross country skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, downhill skiing, supper clubbing, played games, kept the fireplace roaring and the fridge and cookie cabinets stocked with all our favorite goodies.

ethan and kola both enjoyed being the trailblazers in their snowshoes, and although it was a close call with kola's first time out, we didn't have to carry any exhausted preschooler back to the cabin. kola was fascinated by the 8-9" sunfish grandpa was fishing out of the hole in the ice and entertained by the birds at the bird feeder. both boys lapped up grandpa's breakfast cups of cafe vienna and made frequent trips to the lodge to play trucks, foosball, and air hockey. the biggest hit was the closed loop video on the cabin's channel 4, showcasing the resort owners' youngest son, mitch moline, in snowboarding competitions - we watched it beyond the point where it was driving grandma 'goofy' (snowboard pun for the uninitiated.) when we returned home, the boys played 'pete and mitch moline' and took turns sledding on scarves down our (luckily carpeted) hall stairs.

the boys loved the extra attention with grandma and grandpa, and we loved the extra attention from my mom and dad, too! when the kids went to bed, the Over 5 Club's game night began with scrabble, probe, pinochle, and hearts. it was a great way to kick off the new year, illini loss and 6+ hour drive each way notwithstanding. we celebrated kola's 3rd birthday on jan 5th in the great white north, with ice cream cake, thomas and truck presents, and his first pbj sandwich (no nuts until 3!) and will be doing a combined b-day party for ethan and kola next weekend. hard to believe ethan will be 5! kindergarten sign-ups are right around the corner... egads!!

more soon - b/s/e/k

it's beginning to look a lot like winter!

on saturday, sig was all snug on the couch with a cold, so the boyz and i pressed on with the plans we'd already made to go downtown for a holiday pilgrimage. i must admit i was quite proud of the three of us - we showed a heightened degree of stamina and cooperation while braving the cold, wind, snow, Bush protestors, street drummers, crowds, and an hourly wrestle with snow pants, gloves, hats, long underwear...each time we made a pit stop. we were fueled by holiday spirit not to mention regular infusions of hot chocolate, cookies, and chocolate bar sections which were rationed throughout the day. we visited macy's, saw the nutcracker windows, watched my niece jennifer skate in their holiday show at daley plaza, saw a policeman on horseback, visited a fire station, and toured the lobby of the wrigley building at ethan's request. kola and ethan compensated for my restriction of their beverage intake (see pit stop above) by eating white! snow from various gross urban fixtures - bridge railings, newspaper boxes, lampposts... i was very impressed that during the 11 blocks of walking, there was no complaining (ahem, santa) and the train ride was an all-around favorite.

we're had some good news from kola's eye doctor in that the glasses seem to be doing the trick - there may be no patching or surgery on the horizon. we're going for a 2nd opinion later this week, and are hoping for the same prognosis. this is the final week of his therapies and since he did not qualify for any further services (more good news!) we'll be relying on the park district for personal growth and fun. we've signed up for music, gym, art, and basketball/baseball. since he'll be 3 on 1/5, he'll be able to do a few 3-5 y.o. classes with ethan.

we're gearing up for the holidays and kola is just as excited about that as he is with everything else. he doesn't quite know what's in store, but he and ethan have been doing the advent countdown calendar, reading books, decorating, baking, and making regular trips to target-- something's in the works...ethan is probably even more excited about our winter trip up north to afterglow and even tho it's still weeks away, he's started packing for that. ethan is a snowshoeing/ice fishing/downhill skiing veteran and the boyz have been practicing their sledding techniques so there's even more to look forward to. "and kola," ethan exclaimed, "afterglow has a slide!" if you've gone down a metal slide on a cold day in snowpants, you'll know it rivals a rollercoaster!

hope you have a wonderful holiday - we'll post again after christmas!! ho ho ho b/s/e/k

boo!

our not so scary bear and giraffe! kola was incredulous that he could knock on our neighbors doors on halloween and grab fistfuls of candy (our neighbors were very generous and patient:). ethan was happy to show him the way and make suggestions on which might be his favorites. the kids were just as excited about boo @ the brookfield zoo where they each visited their nemesis!

mikola's baptism

we had mikola baptized at our local church (st. giles) a couple weekends ago. i tried to prepare him a little, but the priest and other families were great and the ceremony went pretty well. surprisingly, he wasn't the oldest or biggest kid in the group of 4. as we neared the end of the service and he started getting antsy, i let him know he'd be getting cake and ice cream if he cooperated and it was very smooth sailing 'til the end.

we hosted a family party at the house after the service and of course the preceeding week was full of house preparations. we have had painters and carpenters here the past couple weeks to squeeze in exterior work before the weather changes. the painter promised me he'd have all the caulk and primer on the front porch covered with paint in time for the party. he did, but no one anticipated the 90 degree heat and 90% humidity of the early october day. the morning of the baptism, i put the furniture back on the porch and all seemed fine, but 2 hours into the party, the porch floor started turning into goo!! but i think a good time was had by all, including a badminton family tourney and a welcoming committee for sig's sister andrea who completed the chicago marathon -- plus the race to the party:) sig's dad was missed, but on the way out of the church, kola's godfather and sig's nephew sebastian found a polish penny on the front steps, so maybe he (and busia?) were there after all...

other highlights of the month included a visit to the model railroad set up at the botanic garden, kola's first trip to an indoor pool, and ethan's fun birthday party adventures celebrating with friends carson, finn, and katie.

as always, thanks for visiting with us:) love, b/s/e/k

busy, busy, busy!

wow - the end of the summer blew by like a bullet train! highlights included a visit to our friends' cottage (i'll try to post separately on that once i get photos loaded), a birthday party at the morton arboretum, a couple trips to north ave. beach, visits with friends - many still meeting kola for the first time. here you see kola at his first cubs game - not yet a baseball spectator, we entertained him by running the ramps from the ground to the top deck and stuffing cranberries and goldfish into a small water bottle which he had to fish out to eat.

kola continues on his early intervention 4 therapies a week, p.t., o.t. and language. he's speaking in full sentences and was tested last week for language and is now only 3 months behind for his age. an amazing accomplishment since his arrival in june speaking no english. you may have noticed in ethan/kola's art class picture that he's now going for the harry potter look - does that make him american or british? anyway, we finally got our long-awaited visit to the pediatric ophthamologist who found that kola is far-sighted (and not severely) in both eyes - one more than the other hence the crossing. the first step in correcting this will be glasses for 2 months. if they see enough improvement, we'll continue to work with that. if not, we'll go to a patch, and if that doesn't work, then surgery. he's had the glasses for 4 days and already sig and i are noticing some improvement in the crossing so we'll keep our fingers - er - crossed. we can tell right off the bat that he's seeing better and he's spending more focused (literally) time with puzzles, books, and crayons.

the boyz are doing great. mostly having fun, fewer time outs, better sharing and listening...if this is any indication, i'm updating the blog while they're doing art time are reading books, broken up by the occasional game of chase. they have complementary personalities, and kola has helped ethan be more of a leader and try new things. in addition to the occasional field trip, frequent park visits, and almost daily plastic vehicle time, ethan is in preschool m/w/f ams, gymnastics, art class, and ice skating. ethan is doing great with his writing, has made new friends, and wishes he could go 4 times a week:) kola is in gymnastics and music, both which he loves. kola's tootsie roll for caca program is a huge success and he give us all about 20 voluntary hugs a day. i think what's hardest now for me is the busy fall with all the add'l activities, plus offloading all the baby stuff we'd crammed in the basement. thank goodness for yard sales, craig's list, and brown elephant!

we are sad to report that sig's father passed away last week after a very full 92 years. we'll miss his salmon on sale phone calls and stories but are very thankful he had a chance to meet kola, who he took a quick liking to.

thanks for checking (is anyone still out there??) hugs!! b/s/e/k

paul's pie

our friend paul made and dropped off a wonderful pie for the boyz...this captures some of their enjoyment (all that's missing is the smacking sounds!). it didn't take kola long to learn the word PIE!

when's oktoberfest??

yes, now we have more than one sausage fan in the house - and he's not picky. polish, german, hebrew national hot dogs, bob evans breakfast sausage....he's had it and loved it all! kola's two favorite things in the new world seem to be sausage and machinas. i've learned that machina means more than cars, it's everything with a motor, including my blowdryer. kola was awake early with me this morning and heard the thunder of a rainstorm, and he yelled - machina! i think he thought it was the mother of all machinas out there.

ethan and kola and having a fun summer playing cars/ramps in the house (we continue to stock up at garage sales so everyone has a favorite car in each hand at any given moment.) not to be topped by the collection of plastic vehicles they ride for at least an hour a day outside. they set up plastic parking cones, and each palms a set of keys, and they drive up to me on the porch steps when they need a sippy cup refill. often, there will be a "pick-up game" where other kids pitch in to make a traffic jam. sometimes i'm put to work as a toll booth operator (a leaf is toll change and a stick is an I-pass.) they each have a squirt bottle and towel to wash their cars and every now and then there's an effective trade made.

one of the boyz' favorite field trips was an EL ride to millennium park last week - kola's only previous train ride was more like an amtrak overnite from donetsk to ukraine, which for all of us seems like years ago. now he was able to stand in the first car and see other EL trains come and pass us. "Mama!!! Machina train!!!" he squealed every time. and if i didn't notice, he'd repeat it just to make sure i didn't miss one. passengers were at first amused then just verrry patient. one of the EL riders was very busy fielding phone calls. ethan said to him - "oh, i left my cell phone at home." which got a few laughs, but ethan was serious. between the 2 of them, ethan and kola have 9 cordless phones (2 real, my old dead cell phones)which they love to chatter on. ethan makes plans for visits, playdates, and field trips. kola greets many different callers - ello! ello! okay, byeee.

kola is learning so much english it's amazing. the other day, i was telling the story of our visit to millennium park and the water area they have there, and kola pitched in at the right time in the story, "no drinking!" with a smile on his face. it took me a minute to realize he was tracking and understanding the story and pitching at the right time. he really likes words and songs, which i'm sure helps. today at the grocery store, i handed him each thing we picked out and we named it. if i didn't name what i handed him, he'd make it up. most guesses were chicken or yogurt (for a can of tuna) until i told him what it was. and he'd repeat the word a few times with me until he felt it sounded right. and in line he started naming the woman's food ahead of us - bananas! water (sounds like wally), etc. if he learns too many words, that could get embarrassing!

maybe you can tell, but i'm really proud of how kola's doing, and how attached he is to our family and friends (oh shelley, he calls you belly - we'll work on that.) and ethan is doing such a great job as big brother, teacher and co-conspirator - they have a few squabbles each day, but those quickly dissipate and all in all they help each other, interact a lot (kola: lookit that! ethan: it's a xxx, kola), share more often than not, and if there's a time when my nerves are shot, they seem to turn to each other so mommy gets a little time out.

keep in touch and i know most of you have lost the log-in, so keep the emails coming at bethburdin@gmail.com. thanks for checking!! b/s/e/k