An unpublished draft from Nadia's 2nd birthday....

Today you are two years old. It was two years ago that I began several journeys. First, I started school for my MSW a few weeks prior to your birth. Second and most importantly your mother and I became parents for the first time when you were born.

All journeys have been fantastic but you and your mother are the inspiration that keeps me driving to be a better man with each decision and step I take.

When you were born at 1 lb 10 oz. I was scared. I feared for your life most of your stay in the hospital. Watching you grow these first two years has made me feel like I can accomplish anything I choose to accomplish.

As you started school a week ago I was nervous as could be but your mother was confident that school/day care was the right decision for you. She was right and you are enjoying school until the end of the day when your friends leave :).

I want to wish you a happy birthday and hope you read this one day and reflect back on the journey you have already made. Your journey is an inspiration to me and I hope one day it becomes an inspiration to you as well.

You are loved by many and we will celebrate tonight and on Saturday with family too.

I promise to always let you know I love you.

Forturnate and deserving...

In looking back on a post from 2011 regarding Nadia's first bath and how much she did not enjoy it I had time to reflect on our family journey since that point.

For Nadia she has grown and grown and she now asks for baths. She loves baths and I enjoy watching her play with the shower sprayer and her toys. 

For me, I sometimes or a lot of times used to knock myself in the matter that I was not a good enough person to deserve the two most important people in my life. And a few of the people closest to me would reinforce the idea that I was not good enough over and over to me. I have since learned that I do not deserve to be treated like shit as that makes me angry and resentful. In turn it affects my behavior negatively but that is no excuse as I need to own up to my actions.

I am the right person for my place in my life and that includes Nadia. I am so grateful for her. Not a day goes by without me thinking of her when I am in meetings in New York or now at home.

All the while through this journey I knew in my heart that the path I chose was chosen for us and our future. I am sorry that many did not feel the same but at least Nadia will still have those people in her life for motivation. I will never understand how family tries to predict your failure. 

Now, what you may not realize is this is a post from 2011 that I edited to remove a person I will not speak of on this blog. Below is the original ending text of this post and it made me realize that I need to ignore the distractions in my life and really step for Nadia's care. 

The quote below was from David Woititz, a friend and man in my life who died while I was holding his hand in the mountains of northern NJ late last year.

As I looked back on Nadia's first bath I realized how I showed up during those times and I am proud of that. It was not how I drew up beginning my MSW at Rutgers but I am further along the career path and I am better for it. A man said to me once my daughter came home, "I was very concerned but I said to myself, he is the right man for that position on this earth. He's got that." Well, I can reflect and say that I did have that now but during the time it was tough to see two people I love battle and all I could do was show up. Of course this has been spun recently, but that is not what this blog is about.

Then I realized that my part of the battle was showing up. Just show up and be there. One of my cousins said to me once that sometimes you need to pickup the phone and call a person. It might just to be to listen, feel completely awkward, and not know what to say. She was right as that is what showing up is all about. Be there and listen. Advice is usually not needed or helpful but presence for me was what carried me through.

The two paragraphs above were from three or four years ago. Had I known then what I know now, I would not change anything. Divorce was not an option for me but that did not mean it was going to happen. It was thrust upon Nadia and I. It is something that I thought I would never experience again after my childhood. I feel like I lost even though I got a lot. Having lost Nadia for 150 days a year is devastating to me and it is not something I am sure I will get over for a long time. That really is the only negative for me of this divorce besides its affects on Nadia.

Shedding..... and Instagram page link fixed on the right of the blog....

As summer has begun I am in the process of shedding the additional weight I put on during the last school year. I am currently running at least three days per week and those runs are about 45 minutes long. I am certain I have lost weight but I have not weighed myself to see how much. The real goal is too feel good and that goal has been accomplished. However, that same goal needs maintenance.

Packed weekend with Luna Parc and J&J trip for some Hoboken Beer Can Chicken. 3 more tortuous nights of school with one quiz and a small part of a paper and I am done till September.

I need to get working on some weeding for our corn as you can see where we weeded that the corn has grown much higher. the corn is coming and we will be overwhelmed when the ears are ready.

Goings on...

On the eve of the one summer class I am taking this semester I choose to reflect on the past three weeks where I have had some work and no school at all.

Reflection, I really enjoy spending time with Tash and Nadia. Tash and I have been enjoying several parties and we will continue outings until the end of June. Actually, we booked every weekend to spend with friends and family over the next several weeks. Tash has been busier than I lately and has little time for jewelry making and gardening but she has squeezed some in sparingly. She is working on a new chapter of her own as well which hopefully help her find more time.

While my in laws are farming away I had some leisure time and I was given a plot of land to play. I proceeded to plant 2 lbs of corn (6,000 seedlings), and 6 lbs of dwarf sugar peas (18,000 seedlings). I am not boasting about the work I am doing. It is fun for me and I will be inundating those that know me with corn in about 70 days if things go as planned. Sorry, we will be eating all the peas… I think….

And we started working our at a local gym 6 weeks ago... very cool and exciting. I hope to shed the weight I picked up along the various towns I have been traveling through over the last year or so.

As we approach a new chapter in our lives this fall, it is exciting and terrifying for me. Tash is confident that things will work out and every time she has said this in the past she was right. So this time I agree and feel good bringing my feeling of being terrified down to mortified. Actually, I feel quite good and confident in our abilities to get things done.

Nadia is approaching 20 months old and she will actually be there on 6/9/13. Time is not flying by at all for me and I am thankful for the time I get to spend with her and Tash. Watching her grow and learn is exciting and it is fun to watch her learn two languages at the same time as well. I am actually picking up some new words as she does as well.

This week, Social Work Research II begins… and I saw the first movie Social Work Research I a while back and I was not entertained. I came out of that class knowing that I did not want to do research unless I absolutely had to… maybe this next professor will help change my stance on that. After July 3^rd, it will be 8 weeks with no school and come September the new chapter begins. I will try to post one more time before then….

Grueling journey.....

Finally, my Fieldwork Practicum I & II are complete. I thought it would not be a big deal when I decided last August that I could get up at 4:30am everyday and maintain my full time job while attending classes and trying to help at home along with the new fieldwork that I would have to complete. I did it but certainly sacrificed my health a bit in the process so I will need to begin a gym regime starting next week. Not to mention the sacrifice my family has made for me which I am forever grateful for....

The great news news is that I am getting about 20-30 hours back for my week depending on much sleep you give me back.

The greatest news is I can get back to my regular schedule of not blogging.

I had an interview for a Fellowship with Rutgers yesterday and I am hopeful I will get it but I am not sure the interview went better than mediocre. I am sure I will have an answer by the end of April so fingers crossed with the hope and optimism that maybe my judgement of myself is a bit harsh.

After the interview I got to hang with Nadia as we listened to our Bob Dylan Best Hits on vinyl. She is continuing to catch up in size and she is doing great with her languages. The Russian is coming on strong even though it was delayed at first as she spoke English first. She is now using both with the words she speaks. Her English words still outnumber her Russian words but I have a feeling that will turn around sooner rather than later.

Tash is doing well and feeling better lately too. She is working away at her job that she enjoys very much.

Tash has also begun planting her two gardens (one veggie and one to sit in and enjoy) and they both will be beautiful sights to see come May and June.

As for other planting news... the orchard has basically doubled in size with 42 trees planted a few weeks ago. Lena and Baba Nina have planted onion, garlic, and potatoes in the field so far this season. Tomatoes and other veggies are planted in door right now and will be moved to the fields at the right time.

I have 4 more weeks in this semester with two fairly large papers to write and then I am done until May 29th at which point I will take a 6 week course. After that I am done until September. After the current semester ends I will be taking a two week break from work or a staycation as some call it. I will be going to the beach and hanging around the home with Nadia and Tash when she is not working.

So, if you want to hang during those two weeks give me a call as Nadia and I can come and visit.

Lastly, I want to mention how grateful I am towards Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth and Middlesex Counties and the children I worked with in their programs. With all of the adversity facing the children in many of their programs they still find time to be children and that was great to see and be a part of for the short time I was there....

A Walker Amongst Us.....

Well, remember when I posted 5 weeks to go.... I really mean it this time as I forgot about spring break.

Anyway, as some of you know Nadezhda began walking on March 8^th, 2013. Significant for many reasons besides the most obvious of a child taking their first steps as a human. March 8^th is International Women’s Day. First it will be easy to remember when she first walked because of that but second it is a major holiday in Russia.

So, you might be wondering how it happened. Well I was holding Nadia and I went to put her down for a second. As I was going to put her down she made me put her feet on the ground first and I expected her to then sit or turn around and grab my leg to hold herself up. What happened next startled me as she started to run away from me. I grabbed and then Tash and I made her practice walking for 4-6 hours. It is funny because once she did it she has improved greatly since that day. I am so grateful to have Nadia and Tash in my life. I am a lucky person. 

With my schedule being consumed with a lot of things I figured that Nadia's first steps would be taken when I was not home. However, I was lucky and I am so happy that her first steps were taken in the presence of Natasha and me.

As for me I continue to grind away through my field placement and I have four more weeks of fieldwork over the next five weeks. After that I will have about 2 weeks of school left but two major papers to write.

At the end of the semester I will have about two weeks off before I begin six weeks of a summer class and then I will be off for the rest of the summer. I must say I am looking forward to it.

Until next time… 

5 weeks to go.....

Well....

After getting up at 4:30am since September 1st and getting home 14 hours or so later from Monday through Friday I can say that the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight.

I said this to my field instructor and his response was... "Well, you have to be careful there because sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is an entrance to another tunnel."

With that said I am enjoying this tunnel exploration but it has been grueling and exhaustive.

Nadia, Tash, and I took sometime for a four day visit to Miami Beach and that was a lot of fun a few weeks ago. I have overcome my fear of flying and even though I was a little nervous I never really panicked as I have in the past. I also did not drink a bunch of alcohol to help me overcome this issue. In Miami we just laid on the beach for a day, visited an amazing botanical garden, and drove to Key Largo for no reason really.

My fieldwork ends on April 15th but my last day will be April 10th as that is how my schedule is setup.

Nadia is doing well and it is likely she will no longer be seeing her therapists after their next visits. She has made great progress and she is almost completely caught up. Any day now she will be walking as she is very close.

Well, that is it for now as I wanted to keep in line with my blogging schedule of every six months or so.

The second wind is on its way....

Halfway through the semester and I am exhausted but I am hopeful for a second wind that will come about soon.

I am learning a lot at Big Brothers Big Sisters with my field placement and I am having some fun too. Our school programs started this week and I am looking forward to the start of one next Tuesday that I have been a part of through all the steps.

Many children in this world are without mentors or good role models. This is especially true when it comes to male role models. Men in our society do not really step up to help out society as mentors and role models. Of course there are many exceptions to this but it seems women care more about being mentors and role models based on the statistics I have seen. BBBS is always looking for "more" men to step up and become Bigs to mentor young men and women.

Even though I am exhausted I am able to rely on a few things that are driving me to the finish which is closer now than it was when I left the house this morning at 5:30. First, being an example to Nadia is extremely important to me. Quitting never enters my mind as a serious thought because I want Nadia to view her father as a man who got a late start but completed everything he said he would. I want her to see a man who slept a bit long but still chased his dream when he woke up. I want her to see or at least hear about her father's resilience.

I am doing what I am doing because I have a desire to really have a positive affect on society. I want to help people change their lives for the better. Of course there is no way I could do this without the support of Tash and her family. We are lucky in that we have family to watch Nadia each day we are working and I am going to school. With Tash working full time now we are lucky to have who we have in our lives.

One of the programs I work at with BBBS is at Monmouth Medical Center where Nadia was for the first two months of her life. The program kicked off on Wednesday and I was not overwhelmed but I certainly felt a wave of good emotions when I was there. While waiting in the lobby I saw one of Nadia main nurses who cared for her a lot. It was great to see her and show her some updated pictures.

At Nadia's 1st birthday party we had a lot of fun. We joked a lot and never dipped into any morose issues. I am happy that we were able to share our joy with some of our family members. Some were not able to make it but they were missed and I am sure we will see almost everyone very soon.

Home again....

We arrived home to much fan fare (for Nadia) on Monday night. We split our trip from Georgia in half by staying overnight in Roanoke, VA and it is likely we will be visiting there once again with hopes of exploring the city a bit. On our way home we visited the Shenandoah Caverns  as well and they were amazing. Spires, bacon, water, minerals, and crystals all come together in one place to form amazing caves.

We stayed in Western NC for 5 days visiting a trout farm, Hot Springs, downtown Hendersonville, Asheville, The Grove Park Inn, and stopped to show Nadia her first water fall at Looking Glass Falls. We also had the best pizza available in Asheville thanks to Thom.

After our NC visit we headed down to D&Ks down in Georgia. On our way to our their home we stopped at the Cabbage Patch General Hospital. Yes, a place which seems to be where Cabbage Patch dolls are born. It was slightly creepy but very neat and Nadia chose her first Cabbage Patch doll by chewing on its head.

We had a blast once we made it to LaGrange with a Friday night pub visit for Dennis and me and then a visit to a southern party the next day with oysters (fried & raw shucked by me), fried shrimp, fried tilapia, stuffed mushrooms, ribs, pork, swedish meatballs, spicy lasagna, mac and cheese, mash potatoes..... and much more. It was good grub for sure.

Sunday morning was our last day in Georgia and we were treated to biscuits, gravy, and eggs by our friends Dennis and Kerrie.

And now back to the grind.... School starts next week along with my field class at Big Brother Big Sister in Asbury Park. I am nervous and excited but I am certain that I will work hard and that will guarantee my success.

4 weeks of summer left....

Well, it has been a great summer break for me thus far. We took Nadia to the beach twice now and Tash's grandmother also joined us on our visit to IBSP last week. I am hoping we get to the beach again soon as IBSP is a great beach to go to and it is also cheap.

We visited Luna Parc back in June as well and now we are left with 4 weeks till the end of summer. Of course, we also had over 60 of our friends and family members over for a successful picnic in July.

I have landed my field work program at Big Brother Big Sister in Asbury Park. I will be working from 12-7 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. My work is allowing me to shift my schedule around so for that I am super grateful. I will be trained and eventually have my own caseload at BBBS. I will mainly be working with children in after school programs. Although this is not my area of interest I am looking forward to it. So when September rolls around it will be family, school, work, internship, gym, and eating. I will sleep in December.

We also have a vacation scheduled for about 8 days or so and we will be traveling south. First we will be visiting our friends in Georgia for a few days and then back to western NC for 5 or 6 days. It will be Nadia's first trip south and our first vacation in two years. We are certainly looking forward to getting away.

RANT ALERT
Lastly, we joined WOW this week in order to exercise on a regular basis. Back to the gym... Of course every time we go to a gym to sign up they always figure out a way to irritate me. One time they handed us a $300.00 check to cover their member fee... to me that was just stupid because only an idiot would feel they are saving the $300. I know they do this to everyone but I of course take it as a personal attack on my intelligence.

The man at WOW took all our information: credit cards, DLs, emails, phone numbers and said over and over $5 per week no contract. After he filled out all the paperwork and we were there for 30 minutes he mumbled.... Oh yeah... each year you have to pay an annual maintenance fee of $50... and of course I get upset because of how he waited till the last minute to mention this. It was not about the $50 as $300 per year for a gym is pretty cheap but I cannot stand car dealership sales practices (I tolerate them at car dealers)  and they make me livid when I encounter them. Of course, Tash is there to talk me down after I called the fee a deal breaker and some other things that I will not write here. I should also mention on our first day there was found that over 10 of the treadmills are "waiting for parts." To which I stated.... "So much for the maintenance fee."
END RANT

Ok, on to Nadia. She is doing great. She is trying to crawl every day and she loves various types of vegetables and fruits. She also has learned how to do a neck bridge when she is attempting to move. I did not know wrestling practice passed through one's genes.

Nadia is growing and catching up each day. She has a hearing test coming up. She is alert and is very active with various verbal noises. She will be uttering her first words soon I suppose.

This weekend we will be relaxing and doing some work at the house.

Bye for now.

Family picnic.... 1 week away....

Hmmm.... no time to post or just too lazy. Probably both.

I am wrapping up a summer course at RU on Chronic Illness and Disability over the next week. And.... I received confirmation today that BBBS.org has offered me a fieldwork position for the next semester. I am very excited about this next step in my life.

So.... I have to write a paper by Friday and study for a final exam over the weekend.... and then it is 7 weeks off with a vacation during August to the South.

More importantly, our middle of the week family picnic is next Wednesday. We are excited to see people we have not seen in a while. Friends will be stopping by all the way from Georgia..... and family is already here from Moscow... OK she did not come for the party but she came to see Nadenka as are all the people coming to the party.

If you did not receive the invite... then call me... if you do not have my cell phone then email me.... if you do not have my email then... call or email someone who does. Food, booze, horseshoes, and plenty of things for kids to do like till the fields and water the crops....

This feeling thing.... and Frenchtown.

After this week I will have school two nights a week from 6-10:30 pm for six weeks. I will then be officially ahead of my degree program. I hope to do the same for the winter program and again next summer.

I like school but it makes me miss being with Tash and Nadia.

Nothing makes me realize that more then this past weekend as Tash and I did some farm work and then got away to Frenchtown, NJ for some lunch and shopping. Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love author) has a new cookbook out and Tash went and got a copy signed for a friend. Frenchtown is a beautiful little city on the coast of the Delaware River. There are many towns like this along the western part of NJ. We walked, shopped, and had some lunch. We will definitely be making our way back there one day.

Another place we think might be a good place to visit is Stockton, NJ as we passed through there on our way to Frenchtown. Next weekend we will be visiting Lambertville to find an antique piece of furniture for our bedroom.

I hope this feeling never goes away but each day I leave home for somewhere I cannot wait to get back home to Tash and Nadia. I love spending time with them and days like yesterday make life so easy.

Life is good and easy.

F#$%!

Alright, so I decided to make a conscious effort to eliminate cursing from my vocabulary. I know..... I know.....

However, I have become a bit embarrassed by it lately, especially because I never even hear the curses coming out of my mouth. I am a person who controls a lot of things and cursing is just not one of them, yet.

So, I did some research (yes it exists) and two days ago I wrote about things that make me curse, why I think I swear so much, and a list of reasons on why I want to stop cursing. The one thing this exercise has done is make me aware of the curses.

I cursed two times yesterday at work within two sentences and twice today. Today was a bit funnier as I was speaking to our receiving person and I said, "This person does this all the f$%^^$g time, f!#k I cursed."

The main reason I would prefer not to curse is that I would rather have Nadia hear them elsewhere so I can speak with her about them in a way that she respects me.

I have begun to realize my language is going to become more and more important in my career as I move on. I need to be more articulate and at least appear to be more intelligent. Dropping out cuss words will certainly help with both.

I even asked Tash to gently remind me if she hears me curse. She asked how should I do that? I said gently because I really have no idea why the thing I read said should ask for gentle reminders. I guess it is to avoid discouragement.

Yeah, I am that weird.

Dry.....

Obtaining an MSW requires a lot of reading.... I mean ALLLLLLOOOOOOTTTTT of reading. One of the cool things this semester was we received a list of 30 or so novels and we had to evaluate the person in the novel.

I picked Dry by Augusten Burroughs for a few reasons. One the shortest articles with my midterm paper were related to alcoholism and two his book was published by a customer of mine.

The book was excellent and I highly recommend it for any one who likes to read or someone you know who may be dealing with alcoholism in one way or another.

Conditioning of the young ones....

I have not been posting as much due to school, work, and truck repairs. I have a huge paper due next Tuesday and then four more case studies and one group research project due by the first week of May as well.

Nadia is doing really well. Her feedings are increasing and she is going to the doctor this week for her six month checkup. She is almost turning over completely and she is now communicating in many other ways besides crying with oohs, agoos, and loud screeches here and there.

We have Tash's brother's birthday dinner on Saturday and my godson Leo's birthday party on Sunday afternoon in Kinnelon, NJ. A beautiful area in Northern NJ.

Tash is busy with work and school and taking care of Nadia when she is not at work although she still works from home when Nadia cooperates.

Lastly, because I must fight social issues as a social worker.... Recently I was at a Babies R Us and I noticed something and when I passed it a second time I questioned whether society is conditioning children on the roles they are supposed to fulfill in life. I know everyone will say they tell their children they can be whatever they want but children follow the norms of society and Babies R Us is telling your child when their role in life is.

I know many people will think it is no big deal but children base their actions on what they see and not always what they are told. Case in point, when parents smoke in many cases their children smoke even though their parents tell them it is wrong and they should not do it.

Off my moral high horse I step on Equal Pay Day as women in America are currently paid an average of .77 for every dollar a man earns for the same work.

Laughing and the upcoming weekend.....

Well.... this weekend begins a stretch of party weekends with one off weekend over the next five weeks.

Nadia has started what I would call a sustained laugh. She is now laughing several times a day and her first known laugh was with both Tash and I in the room together so that was cool. See our instagram page for updated pictures as she is growing fast and becoming very heavy.

Nadia will be attending a celebration of family birthdays on Sunday as we will head to UJK on Sunday in celebration of UJ's and Jen's birthdays. We are very excited for our venture as it will be Nadia's first trip away from home besides a ride to the train station or some type of doctor visit. I need to buy some type of travelling bed which I will do tonight.

As for me personally, this week I had a pretty rough exam but I am sure I did well on it because I was prepared. I will begin fieldwork in the fall and I found out this week that I will have to make some changes and choices come September. I am confidently concerned about it. I think that is the best way to describe my mind right now as I know I am making the right decision but it will require some serious dedication and determination. Who is better than me for taking stubbornness and making it work in a positive manner?

Tomorrow I will be finishing up the replacement of bearings and brake rotors in my truck. Tash and I were deep in PA when a squeaky bearing finally gave way prompting us to drive home very slowly from PA. What I did not tell Tash was that we had no brakes for the last hour of the trip. When I would push the brake, the rotor would move because the bearing was not holding it in place. Right now my truck is sitting on tree stumps with the front wheels off and the brakes and hub have been completely removed. The hub with the bearing issue was also bad but I found one on Ebay so that part is arriving today. Once I have that part I will attach the lug bolts and the new rotor and then I need to go to a mechanic tomorrow so they can press the bearing races into the hubs.

We made it home safe with the broken truck and planted 37 fruit trees on the farm the next day. So, three years from now we can eat tons of fruit and talk about “the trip.”

I am looking forward to wrapping that up quickly tomorrow as I have a 1:00pm haircut in the highlands.

Speak to you all soon!

Saturday morning with dad...

Mom is working today so I am all alone with Daddy. Pretty soon my dad is leaving for the garbage dump to take our trash to the dump. Baba Lena will take care of me while dad is gone. 

Dad is on Spring Break this week so he does not have any homework to do but he probably could work on his final paper for psychopathology.

I have to eat more when dad is feeding me because he thinks there is something wrong with him when he feeds me and I just do not feel like eating.

Anyway,  on some weight news I have crossed the 9 pound threshold and I continue to grow at a monumental pace. I am healthy as could be and I am sleeping well at night.

I have been experiencing some drool and bubbles and I keep hearing my mom and dad speaking about these things called teeth. I am not sure what they are yet but I will update you as soon as I find out.

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Nikki are coming to visit again this weekend and I am really excited. Uncle Kevin held me and I found it very easy to fall asleep. I think they are going to drop off some cookies and then go out to lunch with my mom and dad.

One last thing I wanted to update you on is that my dad has been leaving his Macbook next to me when he leaves the room and it also stays on for a bit. I figured I would mess around with it and I think I have pretty much mastered blogging. Now, if I can just figure out how to setup an email for myself.....

Uncle Sonny...

On this day last year as many of you know we lost one of the center pieces of our family. He was a man who was always concerned about everyone else. He was always happy when his jokes made others laugh and he was always heartfelt during reminiscing about others we lost. He lived a full life and he worked hard to help support everyone in his life. He was a family man!

Evidence of his greatest enjoyment can be seen with the various pictures of him holding his grandchildren as they push at his face. He really enjoyed and loved his family and I know I can speak for our family when I say we enjoyed him and we were lucky to have a man of his stature and compassion in our lives.

Women and bottles...

As a father of a girl I must admit that I cringed and became infuriated about a recent news incident. When I heard a certain famous person call a women a slut and state she should post videos of her sex acts online for all to see because she believes birth control should be part of a healthcare plan I became upset. As a student of social work and one who has a daughter I guess these types of things should upset me. In America we all chip in for things we might not believe in. For example war, many people are against but they are forced to pay for it.

Anyway, I do not want to get too political here but it is a shame that a man can degrade a women through the press in such a manner. It seems some believe women are less equal than men in today's society and the truth is they are less equal but they should not be. Do not fear as I am on a mission to fix this.

On to more pleasant thoughts.....

As Nadia keeps growing I keep washing bottles. A bottle washing master as I would like to think. I wash 9 bottles in less than 20 minutes and that includes the various devices that the bottles consists of as well. Tash asked me the other day how I wash the bottles so fast. I think it is because I do it more often and I do not really wash them but rather just rinse them with hot water. Do not tell her my secret please.

Nadia is beginning to utter sounds other than crying when we talk to her. Tash hears most of it but Nadia lets me in on the conversation when I am home once in a while. One of the things that makes me happy to is how she follows me around the room with her eyes as Tash is holding her. I go up to her to say things and when I walk away and turn around her eyes are zeroed in on me no matter where I go.

It is amazing to watch her grow and think that almost 5 months ago she was less than 1/4 of what she weighs now. Of course that seems like no big deal but as most of you know quadrupling in size when beginning at 1 lb 10 ounces is a huge difference. Last week she weighed in at 8 lbs 1 ounces.

Nadia will be 5 months old on March 9th.

The weekend past...

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Nikki stopped by this weekend and you can see some pictures in our Instagram feed to the right.

We also went out to The Alps again and I must say they change the menu constantly and the food is excellent every time thus far. If you come to visit we will certainly take you there for lunch or dinner.

After a three day weekend it is back to the grind as I have class tonight and tomorrow with a midterm tomorrow.

Yesterday I went to a Starbucks and observed everyone in the place for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Human beings are amazing creatures and it was a lot of fun to see the quirks that many of us have. I will be writing a short 10 page paper for my midterm in my Psychopathology class and this observation was part of the project.

After my observation Tash and I had a nice lunch at home and we then took the baby for a walk on the farm. Walks on the farm always help Nadia fall asleep.

I am also taking a 2 hour lunch tomorrow from work to watch a presentation from two of my SW colleagues as they release their research results about the changing landscape in aging social work. I will be receiving a Certificate in Aging Social Work along with my MSW so this will be relevant to my field of study.

We are actually thinking about a family party to introduce Nadia sometime in the late Spring or Summer season. We have not set anything in stone yet but my in laws certainly have the property for such a party. We have not gone over the details with them yet either but we were thinking of it being a family picnic type deal…. Anyway we are slowly thinking about this as there is plenty of space to host almost 100 people for sure…. TBC….