Our Christmas Story

It is almost the middle of January and I am just getting around to record our Christmas memories ... I guess better later then never. Looking at this picture I realized ... again ... how fast our children are growing and that I really don't have any day or hour to waste. I need to spend as much time as I can with them, enjoy their company, their humor, and innocence.

Christmas was fun and relaxing, we had lots of family time together and found countless excuses to just do nothing but watch movies and eat popcorn. Christmas was so anticipated this year ... mostly because I totally confused the children with all the things that I used to do growing up and wished to share with them. In the same time we started new traditions too, like making our gingerbread house from scratch and ending up using real carpenter tricks to keep it together. We laughed so hard as I struggled to build it ... must be a repeat next year.

We got our tree only a week before Christmas - we always do it this way, so the whole concept of the Holidays stays special. Our tree reminded me to Hungary, with the cool little ornaments that my Mom used to make out of pine cones and cinnamon sticks. Lutza and I spent a lot of time making felt stars and hearts which we gave away as presents to friends .... and none actually made it to be hang on our tree. It also took us a week to complete the popcorn string ... on all those cold evenings the popcorn was just eaten faster than I could string. BUT when it was finally done, it served the children well on nights when they didn't eat their dinners and got hungry before bedtime ... imagine a competition of who can bite the kernels off faster without using hands.

Christmas was special because the children made it special. Lutza and Vidor exactly knew what to expect ... so we mixed it up a little bit.

Santa comes to Hungary on December 6 ... due to some weather delays he only arrived to us on the 7th (in reality I totally spaced out). He requires children to clean their boots and put them in the window ... of course he only comes to good children so listening, obeying and well behaviors were A+'s on that day. Wish we could do this well every day .... work in progress I guess.

On this picture is the drawing Lutza made for Santa ... I took a picture of it in the evening ... good thing because Santa liked it so much he took it with him.

The Hungarian Santa is a humble Santa, in my childhood he used to bring only oranges and nuts, maybe something a little sweet. So keeping the traditions, the children got only a few little things.

Christmas is about Baby Jesus ... he was a gift to us and we celebrate his birth by getting gifts from him. In Hungary, Jesus brings the Christmas tree and the presents. Sorry Santa, but by this time you are already back in Finland, resting up for next year.

But, we had to bring in the American traditions as well ... So Santa (this time the one from the North Pole) came and left presents in our stockings for Christmas morning .... AGAIN (talking about confusion). Among all the toys, cars and dolls, the packages of underwear were a huge hit for all three of the children - favorite characters ... "Can I put one on right now?" So we had to do laundry too on Christmas morning so our darling little children could wear their new undies.

Oh, life is good ... small pleasures and memories make it so special. I can't even express how grateful I am to have such a wonderful family!

Vidor and the Beanstalk

We had lima beans in our soup last night, so daddy told Vidor a story. This is Vidor's first time retelling it.

Goo is two!

Little less than three years ago we were living in a small house with two babies, I just applied to a Teaching Certification program and we were planning our future .... but God had different plans and little did we know, but his plans changed our lives like we would have never imagined. Our dear baby, Bendeguz was on the way and he quickly reorganized everything. We are so grateful to have him and he reminds me every day that "In his heart man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

Our little boy is the wild card in the bunch, the sweetest-cutest little man who goes by many names: Guzman, Guzer, Guzie, Goo-Goo, Gu. And as many the names are, even more are the adventures with him around.

He is the little boy who sings "Happy Birthday to Me" - origin unknown. I have no idea how he found this grammatical tweak to the song, but he used it generously during his birthday week.

He is the little boy who loves to sit on people's faces - so they can't even take a breath - who climbs tables and chairs and performs acrobatic trick just like his brother and sister. On this picture he proudly wears his pirate mustache that he got after climbing the office table and him and dad found an eye-liner.

He is the boy who goes along with every game, but who is very picky and particular about his clothes. Out of three costume options, at Halloween he would only wear the elephant with joy. Just like L&V, he also refuses to wear certain shoes, pants or coats if it does not suit his fancy - making me throw my arms up in dismay "but he is not even two". He also enjoys putting sister's clothes on (hopefully he will not get upset at me in about 12 years that I spilled the beans).

Did I say yet that he is 'all boy' ... he is right in Daddy's footsteps. Dirt, grime, sand don't bother him. As one of our relatives would say 'go big or go home' - this could easily be Guzer's motto.
He only has two speeds: fast and faster - regardless of being on wheels or foot.

He is the little boy who had this smile since he knew how to smile. He is a master of copying faces. As a chain reaction, particular faces sweep through the family - starting from sis to brother to him. If he does not get his way, he folds his arms, crinkles his nose and says "I am angry" in such a way that I can't stand not to smile.

He loves Avocados "Cado" as he calls it. He is known for eating two in a sitting, along with anything that is made out of meat. He could also win any eating competition against his brother and sister. One day he will have a plank on a restaurant wall for his accomplishments.

We celebrated his birthday with turkeys in a blanket and chili - a few of his favorites - and a sad fire engine cake that was not the height of my cake decorating career (the only time I used store bought frosting due to Guzies allergies, and it slowly started to flow down .... bad news big time). The presence of special friends and lots of balloons however made the day.

We love you little Guzie so much, thank you for teaching us new things every day!

Dear God, thank you for the snow

My little Lutza turned to me while looking out the window watching the snow fall "Mommy, thank you so much for making the decision that we will have snow". I thought it was so sweet ... that in her eyes I can make huge things like snowfall happen. So I told her "oh, no, Mommy did not do that, you should thank God for sending us snow". "Ohhh" she said, "I can do that".

She folded her little hands, put her elbows on the window sill and said a 'grateful-prayer' that just blew my mind away. It went something like this:



"Dear God! Thank you so much for the snow, thank you that it is really coming down now and sticks too. Thank you for the trees and the grass and the backyard! Thank you for our warm house and our clothes. Thank you for my friends and for my stinky brothers (she quoted this from one of her favorite books). Oh, and thank you so much for our soldiers, our good soldiers who fight the bad soldiers to protect us. And thank you for bubble gum!"



Needless to say, I could not listen to her without tears in my eyes.



"Dear God! Thank you for my little Angel who is sleeping away in her bed now so she can play in the snow in the afternoon."

Things that I learned this Halloween ...

Children in costumes remain miraculously still.

Putting the seeds back into the pumpkin is more fun than taking them out.

Eating oranges while carving pumpkins is not a good idea.

It is hard to put frosting on cupcakes without using your tongue.

Princesses don't wear cardigans ... and most certainly don't wear leggings under their dresses.

Friendly neighbors transform ... a lot ... but they are still friendly.

Chubby elephants tip over and they stay that way.

ALSO

Draw whiskers on your pirate boy so he does not notice what you are doing (otherwise he will FREAK out from the sight even though he is super handsome).

Don't underestimate a child's imagination when it comes to monsters - Monsters are everywhere.

Lay off the "What do you say?" after each received candy.

One lollipop can keep a child from wanting to open every single piece of candy.

But three lollipops will give a child the worst tummy ache and never seen tantrum effects.

And finally please, please, please know when to turn around when Trick or Treating.

P.S. Let me know if you need any candy.

Hellooo Fall!

I am so happy that fall is here ... well, I have been happy about it for about a month but did not have a chance to share how much I was looking forward to crisp mornings and the smell of pumpkin pie. Summer was fun and even though I never wanted it to end, it was great to get back to school and to our old routine. It may sound strange, but when I have more things to do and a lot on my plate I can get so much done (and get them done right) ... unlike on long summer days when I have all the time it the world and lazy to do a thing.

We have all started school and the three children are attending their Toddler/Pre-school classes while I teach. With a rough start - read it as Bendeguz screaming for three hours day after day - we slowly settled into our routine and finally going to school does not make my little babies shake their heads in dismay 'no-no-no-school' when I turn into the parking lot.

The small pleasures of fall and the turning of the season surprise us every day. All the new things like getting out the coats and boots, drinking hot chocolate or harvesting our goodies from the garden are loads of fun for these three babies. I am so grateful to have them so I can look at the world through their eyes and truly find joy in the smallest things.

So these are the things we have done in the last month:

Harvested apples from our small tree.

Enjoyed the last rays of warm sunshine with special friends.


Climbed the Great Harvest Bear even though we were not supposed to.

Were brave enough to go down on the big slide ... but only once.

Found cool pumpkins to sit on.

Went SUPER high on the swing.

Drove with the biggest smile.

... and like Lightening McQueen.

Said 'Cheese' in a rather cheesy way.

Tried to find the way out of the maze.

Ran like crazy for the first 5 minutes until it sank in that we actually have to find the way out ... and it is not that easy. "Are we going to spend the night here?" was Lutza's first worry.

Rode the cow train.

And found one that was just perfect for our Guzie - the Lucy Goosey.

Motorcycled on the beach.

Looked pretty.

Shared the fun.

And were proud and grateful to have such wonderful brothers and sister.

Welcome Fall!!

Vidor is 3!!!

My special and most favorite big boy just turned 3 ... He is an amazing child who fills my heart with love and joy.

He is my cuddler.

He is my big helper.

He is my assistant in baking and cooking.

He is my shadow when we are gardening.

He is my daredevil.

He is a boy who would fetch me stars ... but only when he wants to.

He is a loving brother.

He is my emotional and sensitive darling.

He is my son who tells me 'I love you' many times a day.

He is my dirt monster who hates shoes and lives for the outdoors. He may have a bit of Gypsy blood in him ;o)

He is my adventurer who loves the open space .... his eyes have to see far and wide ... trains, airplanes, birds, boats ... nothing goes unnoticed.

He loves a good laugh and to be goofy.




He understands how special he is ... and he is so patient. He may take a glance at his dessert ... but only one and only from the corner of his eyes while being sang to.








Vidor's 3rd Birthday was probably among the most talked about event of the summer ... especially because we have been anticipating it since America's Birthday (4th of July). The terms 'today' 'tomorrow', and 'yesterday' may make some cloudy sense for 2-3-4-year olds, but the term 'your birthday is next' is just HUGE. So since July, we have been talking about cake flavors and themes on daily basis, and the ideas changed more times than I remember.

At the end we celebrated with special friends sharing dinner, Cars cake, treasure hunt and playtime! It was a lot of fun!