More Pictures from Petras 1st Birthday

Petra 1st Birthday more photos

Petra Little Birthday Cake

Petra First Birthday January 14 2010

We had a great time at Petra's First Birthday (celebrated on Sunday, Jan. 17th)! Ofcourse, it would've been nice to have more friends show-up, but for those who made time to spend a lil' time with us - it was very nice of you!

I'll post some pictures.

- Kevin

Petra First Birthday PARTY

We're celebrating Petra's 1st birthday, tomorrow!

Let's see how it goes...

Attached is the card we made for Petra, and the invitation (if I can find it)...

Petra Hangin Out in Kaniv Ukraine

My Girls are Home

My girls are home! Natasha and Petra finally made it home on Sunday night. (It's Tuesday, now)...

Basically, whatever could go wrong did just about go wrong with the flight to Ukraine and the flight home.

Snow delays, lost luggage, lost stroller - twice, leaking ceiling, no "free, spare" seat for Petra to sit on (so she had to sit on Natasha's lap the whole time - but I think we saved like $500 that way, at least), and some crazy people sitting next to Natasha. *She didn't tell me everything, but I think she said she was sitting next to a crazy, terrorist looking guy...

It was just a coincidence that a huge snow storm hit Europe while Natasha and Petra were visiting. I think it was so bad that Frankfurt Airport cancelled all flights on Saturday - the day they were supposed to fly home.

One of the worst things is that Natasha's family lives like 1 1/2 hours from the Kiev Airport - and everytime they travel there they need to hire a taxi. Well, it gets old real quick when you have to keep paying to go to the Airport, and then back home after you wait for 3 hours just to find-out your flight is cancelled. Then, you have to keep calling the Airport to find-out if the next possible flight is actually going to happen. Then, you have to keep your fingers-crossed as you drive to the Airport, that the conditions don't change - which would mean you'd have to turn-around and drive back home. (Not, to mention when her parents are trying to pick us up from the Airport, and they're not sure if we made it on the flight that we were supposed to be on)...

Overall, though, Natasha did have a good visit with everyone. Everyone really enjoyed seeing her and Petra! Natasha said it was sad to visit with her Grandpa, who's getting older...

Natasha was frustrated with how bad things have become in Ukraine. Prices for things have increased so much. Another problem is that people work for months and months, and their bosses don't pay them. There's a fine line between being patient, and keeping faith that as long as you keep going to work - then, hopefully your employer will decide to pay you... This past trip, Natasha's found-out that her uncle finally quit his job (which I think he had for a while) - after his employer did not pay him for four months of work...

O.k., I'll go ahead and post this. I'll try to choose some pictures from the trip.

Also, I wanted to share how Petra reacted when she saw me. She was sort of surprised that she hadn't seen me for such a long time - and it was like she was remembering that I did exist... And, then when we brought her home it was so neat how she saw all of her different toys and her books, and she got so excited as she remembered - "Oh, these are all mine! I knew I had alot of cool stuff!!!"

Later,

Kevin

New Year - New Experiences!!!

So, it's 2010! I don't think anyone is sure of what to expect in this new year... Let's hope it's "change" from 2009... Only a few more days and my girls will be back home! It's been nice to have a break from the routine (I've been able to stay-up late, playing video games, and sleeping late - no little girls cryin' to have their dipee' changed)... But, I would trade it all to have back the two loves of my life!

I like the "unknowns" that come with havin' a baby (not to mention how much I also love the unknowns that come with havin' a wife)...

But, these experiences are what make life interesting, otherwise we'd all know how it already turns-out, then we wouldn't try so hard...

I haven't taken any pictures, since Natasha has our camera with her in Ukraine, but I can try to find some from off my Computer.

O.k., that's all for now. I'm gonna try to get some sleep, so I can try to finish some more on the wood floor that I'm putting in.