Where'd Stalin Go?

A few years ago, Bryan bought a set of wooden Russian stacking dolls at an antique shop in Cape Cod. We recently gave them to Sylvie to play with and she loved them. Little did we know she would have her first lesson in the history of Russian leaders. The dolls include the likenesses of Lenin, Stalin, Krushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev. Listen to Sylvie ask the questions deep in the hearts and minds of toddlers everywhere, "where'd Stalin go?" and "where's Krushchev?"

Spring is in the Air!

As some of you may have heard, Sylvie and Dylan have fallen in love! Stephanie and I noticed a change in them the other day at the playground and ever since they have been smitten with each other. This amazing weather led us to the Botanical gardens on Tuesday. Sylvie and Dylan loved seeing the ducks, turtles and fish. At one point, they held hands which led to a hug, which led to a tackle, which miraculously did NOT end in tears. It must be love!

Reunion

(L-R) Zoe, Sylvie, Reuben, Bea, Jules, Linden, Alexei

THEN...
On Saturday, April 12th, we had a reunion with our friends from our childbirth class. It was so great to see how the kids have grown into little people! It's hard to believe we have all kept in touch over the last almost 2 years. I hope we continue to have these reunions even as all of our lives go in different directions.

NOW....

Budding Sports Fans

As long as Bryan has it his way, Sylvie will be an athlete or at the very least, a sports enthusiast. He taught her at a very early age to answer the question 'who's number 2?' with a 'Jeter' response. According to Bryan, she will like all things Syracuse and all things Yankees. Peter and Bryan are already plotting their first Yankees game excusion with the girls.

To balance things out, I will make sure she knows that a triple lutz entrance is from a back outside edge. She WILL know who Michelle Kwan is!

Peter, Statia and Zoe came over for dinner on Sunday and some basketball game was on. The girls sat quietly on Peter's lap, watching the game and enjoying the guys excitement. I can't remember a time Sylvie sat so still without making a peep!

Other big happenings involved Zoe taking two large handfuls of cookies and stuffing them all in her mouth.

Big Girl Dancing

New Moves

Big Girl

I feel like Sylvie really looks like a big girl now. There were moments not so long ago where I could still see the baby in her, but not so much anymore. Luckily, along with the tantrums, come the really funny moments and expressions. Here are a few.

Who is this?

Sylvie has a new side to her personality these days. We are desperately hoping it is a phase. For the last week and a half, she's been very clingy (with me) and extremely emotional. She's also been extremely defiant and had more tantrums than we have ever experienced. The power to distract her has gone by the way side. It's like she has a longer attention span and hangs on to how mad she really is! Please tell us this is a phase and it won't last forever. What do we need to do to deal with these tantrums? We're trying to sort it out. In the meantime, here's the new face of Sylvie!