First Christmas

In Poland my family celebrates Christmas for 3 days. We start with the main dinner on Christmas Eve. We open the gifts right after dinner; Santa brings them when the first star appears in the sky. Christmas Day and the day after, we spend with our family by watching movies, going to the park and eating.

Here, we usually meet for dinner with our Polish friends on Christmas Eve. We cook Polish food a couple of days before the holiday.
This year, Santa decided to stop by.
... which was not the happiest moment for K.
After Santa left, K was more relaxed and spent some time with her friends.
... and her daddy.
After returning home, K was too exhausted to open her gifts, so we waited (with her gifts only!) until the next morning.

First she needed some help.But soon she knew exactly what to do.
Before we knew it, all the gifts were open.

A Perfect Tree

As a kid I never had a fresh tree at home. It was considered too pricey and messy.

With a little bit of encouragement from Len, we've been getting a fresh tree every year since we got married (except for last year when we were convinced Klaudia would be here by Christmas - she didn't show up until 3.5 weeks later). The tree we usually get is not that expensive, and I don't mind the mess afterwards. What I love about it is the smell and the atmosphere it creates.

This year we were invited by friends to go to a tree farm to get our own fresh tree. This was very special because it wasn't just about choosing the right tree, it was also about cutting it.

Here we are still looking for IT.

... looking for it and sipping a hot cider:
When we found it, it was time to cut it. The farm people taught us how to do it so that a new tree could grow in place of ours.

On the way to our car, Santa stopped by to say hi. It turned out, K is not a big fan of Santa. She welcomed him with a big cry. She was doing much better when he left.

And, even after he left, she kept looking making sure he was GONE GONE.
Before we left, we said bye to our friends.

Then it was time to set up our tree...

... and then decorate it.

The Crawling Boot Camp

...written a couple of weeks ago...

Klaudia is 10.5 months old and she is NOT crawling or walking. It seems like every other child her age and younger is, but Klaudia is not. We laugh with Len and say that she is working on her looks first.

Since day 1, K has hated to be put on her stomach, so to save her from tears, we haven't done it much. This I believe is one of the reasons why she's not crawling yet (I know, I know every kid has her own timing). From time to time though we do put her on her stomach, to which she reacts with screams and cries (that are sooooo heart breaking that's why it's daddy who does it). She screams and cries until we give up and put end to it. And because she is never on her stomach long enough, she doesn't know how to get on her fours; she just lays there like a bag of potatoes.

A few weeks ago, I took over a couple of classes and am subbing for another teacher 2 extra nights a week (now I'm gone 4 nights a week). All my classes (5 as of now) are going great, but I have to admit, I am ready for a break.

Len has been forced to stay with Klaudia during the most difficult time of the day - evenings. I have to say - he mastered it. Even when I'm home, Klaudia loves when her daddy puts her to bed. She doesn't mind that it's the bottle she's drinking her milk from, as long as daddy gives it to her.

K and L have their own routines now, too. They usually go for walks (to the mall if the weather is not too good), dance and...

The other night, I called Len between my classes to see how they were doing. I could hear K screaming in the background. When I asked what was going on, Len said he had her do the crawling boot camp.

And, when asked what their evening routine looks like when I'm at school, daddy replies: we walk, dance, sit on a couch, drink beer and fart.

Teeth # 7 & 8

They are here! This time, K's fever went all the way up to the scary 103.8! With a little help of the Tylenol, the fever went down and never came back up.

8 teeth down, 24 more to go.

A Crazy Hair Day

One day K's hair did not want to cooperate with the rest of the family.

A Trip to SF

A couple of weekends ago, we went to SF, and as always we stopped to have dinner at B.ubba G.ump.
All this delicious food and loud music put little K to sleep.

An Update on Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers are easier to use than we all thought. Klaudia and Len don't mind them, and I love using them. The only disadvantage or advantage (depending on a point of view) is... they give Klaudia a JLo's butt.

Another Tooth

Tooth #6 is here. No fever this time, but many many sleepless nights. K is up every hour, nurses and goes right back to sleep to wake up in an hour or two and do the same drill over and over again.

Here is our little bug:

Thank Goodness for Cheerios

Whoever came up with Cheerios was a genius. K loves to eat and ... play with them. Cheerios are the mood improver, time killer, and life saver.

It's Here...

Tooth #5!!! At 10 months of age, Klaudia has welcomed it with a fever (102.6 - gone the next day), some crankiness, and a lot of hugs and kisses from mom and dad. The birth of the tooth was also accompanied by a lack of appetite for solids (good old nursing came in handy).

Since the new tooth made its debut, K has been sticking her tongue out. It must be feeling good on her gums because she keeps doing it all day long.

Happy Halloween!

K's BFF

Klaudia's Best Friend Forever is Shiloh, the same girl who was born on the exact same day as K. Shiloh's mom helps us out a couple of nights a week when I go to work and before Len gets home. K and Shiloh play together then, and on the weekends Len and I take these two for a walk. It's a treat watching them interact together.