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March 2009

Another busy month in the Politis household.  We started the month with snow which was great fun.  We did not get a huge amount this year but it was still great to play in what little we had.  Eleni has been busy with preschool and dance class.  She has a new pre-teacher (Ms Amanda) who is such a hit that she cries if I come and pick her up before 5pm!  She has been learning a dance routine with her dance teacher, Ms Melissa for her first performance which will be in early May – all the kids in her class just look adorable so I will post the video of the big event.  The routine is danced to the music of the song “A you’re adorable, B you’re so beautiful…….”

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Divababy (aka Sofia) is a little bundle of energy which she has been channeling into terrific tantrums.  She is a smart little thing – says lots of words and does everything she can to be like big sister Eleni.  When we go into the van for instance, she makes a bee-line for Eleni’s carseat and sprints there to get in it.  When Eleni is getting dressed for school, Sofia will invariably take one item of her clothing and try to put it on herself.  She loves singing and can sing parts of many Wiggle songs and Dan Zanes.

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Leo has come leaps and bounds with his language skills – favourite word at the moment is “no”.   He is totally obsessed with cars – on the tv, on the road, in magazines etc.  He loves his matchbox cars so much he has to take at least 4-5 to bed with him.  He is such a big boy too – his feet are huge.  Size 8 XXW.  Getting shoes for him is a complete nightmare.  He is very easy to look after (as long as you have his cars around) and will play with them watching the wheels turn, for very long periods.

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In fact both Leo and Sofia are very big for their age which I forget until I see them with other kids their age.  They are wearing clothes for 3 year old kids and they are not even 2 until May.  Eleni also had a big growth spurt recently (which meant new clothes too).

Christos and I are still working on the basement but have made some good progress.  Christos installed the floors in the basement kitchen and we spent many nights putting in the cabinets.  Every cabinet (purchased from IKEA) had to be carried down from the garage.  Opening each one took a few minutes and then everything had to be put together.  I never want to do this again in my life!  But the kitchen is nearly finished.  The cabinets are in place but we have to put on the doors (another 25 boxes).

The bathroom as been a saga.  Laying penny-round tiles was a challenge as was getting the slope right on the shower pan (we think we still have a problem).  We then had to lay the glass tiles on the feature wall of the shower (not too bad) but due to the uneveness of the walls we have had a hard job with the white brick tiles.  So we have spend many a night cutting tiles, putting them up, grouting etc.  We have the plumber coming next week to hook up everything so we are at the end of the road.

The garden has been my little hobby but it is hard to get out there whilst supervising the kids (who want to visit the dog next door and go wandering down the road and into the bush).  I put in some daylillies, moved some plants and put in some new trees – dogwoods at the back of the property and more river birches at the side.  We also put up a Bluebird house and yesterday when I checked it was delighted to see a well established nest there.

That’s it for now.  In April we look forward to Easter, Leo’s nameday and of course my Dad coming to visit.

Sofia can JUMP (she is 19 months old)

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She is a determined little thing and has been practicing for about 6 weeks.  It paid off and she can now jump.  I just need to get a video of it so I can post it.  I think Eleni was about 2 1/2 years old before she could do it.  Leo is still trying and is hilarious to watch as he thinks he is doing it but just lifts one foot off the ground – men!

Final 2008 Update

2008 finished for us with a visit to London for 2 months.  Christos had a job assignment at JNAC (Joint Narcotics Analysis Centre) which is located at Embankment right in the centre of London.  So we all got on planes to get there, having to fly separately because Christos’s work would pay for him only and Eleni, Sofia and I got a get a better deal on BA.  Leo flew with Daddy.

We moved into a flat in Baker Street which was old and a bit grotty, but a great location.  We had to get this tiny lift up to our flat (which would not fit a double stroller) so it was not really the best place for us.  It did have some great windows which the kids loved as they could sit on the ledge and watch all the traffic and people go by.  Every Monday there would be about 30 Police horses go down the street which was lovely to watch.

We ended up moving to another place which was right next to Paddington Station (famous for Paddington Bear), Sheldon Square.  It was pretty new and best of all, accessible with a double stroller!  Highlights of the trip:

- daily walks to the park for playtime

- visiting the London Eye (although Sofia cried for 1/2 the spin)

- seeing The Sound of Music theatre show with Eleni

- a day trip to Windsor to see Santa, my old neighbours and the castle

- catching up with friends – Nickie, Sophia (from Greece) and Leanne (who flew in from Norway to see us).

- Seeing Santa at Selfridges

- Getting home in one piece!

Let’s Ride

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Leo and Eleni enjoying the new, wrap-around porch-deck.

Time for an update!

Wow – my brother Anthony reminded me how long it is since I have written.  So what has been happening?  The deck is completed (well apart from the staining which is a big job).  It is really great and the kids use it everyday for riding their bikes and pushing their toys.  We have a little ride-on Thomas train that Sofia likes to sit on – she can go backwards on it only so far.  Leo has this cute lion that he pushes but is not really interested in sitting on it – he is into cars and balls big time though.  I had to take his matchbox cars away from him because his YiaYia pointed out that they have small parts that are dangerous for little kids but I relented and found him two safe ones.  He holds onto them, spins their wheels and just lights-up when he has them.  Both Leo and Sofia are saying a few more words – shoe, car, dog, book and up – are their most recent additions.

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Eleni is keeping us on our toes (she is a bit too independent sometimes).  She is still into music and dancing, and also loves to draw and colour.  For some reason she has been drawing pictures of towns and caterpillars.  Her friends (that no one else can see) Allie and Keenie are still very much around and join her for just about every activity. Today they were “helping” me in the garden as yet again I put down more grass seed and straw.  It is the never-ending story of our yard work.  The back is ok but the front, especially the hill is just a dust-bowl.

Our big news is that we are off to London for two months.  We are going as Christos has a job assignment there and will not be back until just before Christmas.  We will be living in an apartment in central London and Christos will be getting the Tube to work each day.  I will be looking after the three kids and just praying that the weather is ok to take them outside.

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My cousin Mark and his wife Linda just had a new baby – a little boy called Charlie – big brother is Billy.  Congratulations to them!

The weather is just starting to get cooler but is really very nice at this time of year.  Unfortunately we will probably miss most of the trees changing colour this year due to the London trip.  I love the autumn here as the area is just spectacular.

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This week Christos is in Florida for work.  He will have a nice break from loud kids and hopefully not get stuck with any hurricanes!  That is about it for news – I will see if I can remember how to post some pictures now!

Happy Birthday to Leo and Sofia – and other news

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My two little babies are now one year old.  Both are walking and just so cute.  They don’t say much apart from Dada and Mama.  Actually that is all they say except Leo whose favourite word is “Art” which of course means nothing except that he is happy.  When Sofia is happy she purrs – she does this weird gurgle sound at the back of her throat which sounds like a cat purring!

We had a little party at home for them where they enjoyed being spoilt and eating cake.  Leo had a “Leo the Lion” on his cake and Sofia had “Tweety-bird” – because she has these huge cheeks that look just like the cartoon character tweety-bird.  Eleni was a good big sister at the birthday and did a great job blowing out the candles.

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At the moment both of them are loving their outdoor swing and playing in the blow-up pool.  Leo is much more game than Sofia which is good as he tends to throw himself around a lot and has gone under quite a few times.  Sofia has better balance and does not like to go under the water.

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Other news is limited – we had a big storm here a few weeks ago and have to get some of the siding, the gutters and probably the roof replaced.  We had huge hail and strong winds and quite a bit of damage in the neighborhood.  We are about to start on extending the deck and are nearly finished the bathroom in the basement. Eleni is still going to preschool part-time and doing dance class.  Cousin Craig and his wife Tracey had a baby boy this week but we are still waiting on a name!

Eleni’s Imaginary Friends

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I think that there are about 5 such friends that Eleni has. They seem to have made their appearance when I was in Australia (maybe she was missing me?). The two most popular are Ally and Keeney – no idea where these names come from. Both are girls who are three years old but apparently Ally has a baby growing in her belly – twins actually according to Eleni. Ally seems to be around a lot. She eats her meals with Eleni then goes and plays with all the other kids (who are also imaginary). She had to go to the doctors the other day too (maybe a baby check-up?). Anyway, it is absolutely hilarious some of the conversations I overhear but very cute. Chris had no idea they were imaginary until I pointed it out to him – I think he thought they were kids at pre-school (they are not, I checked). Well they say imagination is a sign of a good mind – or was it crazy mind?

April – May News

April was a very sad month with the death of Mum on 18th April. We were all at her side when she passed away and whilst it was a blessing for her to go pain-free and quickly, it was still very sad and very difficult. I have posted the eulogies etc at the link “mum” at the top of the page as well as some photos of Mum. It is still just so hard to believe.April was also a time for celebrating with the birth of Kiara Armstrong – to Tony and Julie. Their beautiful little girl was born a week before Mum died. Unfortunately, Julie had to have a c-section but both her and baby did well. Kiara was a healthy 7lb 8 oz and is now making her presence felt in the Armstrong home!

Back here the kids are doing well. Eleni is at pre-school 2 days a week. We originally took her out of school over winter as she was getting too many colds. Well the first week back she got a stomach bug and was throwing-up all night. She loves going to school so we are hoping the illnesses will stop soon. We also have a babysitter for the twins for 2 days a week (4 hours a day). This gives me a precious few hours to do things with Eleni (we went to the park and plant nursery today but I am hoping to start ice-skating and swimming with her!). The swimming should be interesting as she hates getting her head wet when I wash her hair!

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We are also gearing up for Leo and Sofia’s first birthday on 27th May. To think a year ago I had a huge belly with 4 arms and legs wiggling around like mad. They are both standing-up now and can wave bye-bye. Dadda is a common word from them both and I get the occasional mamma too. We will have a small celebration for them at home and I will post some pictures too.

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I am back at work doing some consulting for Standard Chartered. It is great to get the brain going again and to earn some money! Next week we go to DC for 2 nights. Christos has to attend a conference and has finally convinced me to come on one of his work trips with the kids. I am dreading 3 kids in a hotel room but we will see how they go. The twins are now in the same room for sleeping with mixed success. They take longer to go to sleep due to their “talking” to each other. The worst thing is that Sofia has started waking anywhere from 5.30am on and waking up Leo as well! This has got to stop as we seriously need that extra hour sleep.

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We are still busy putting in a bathroom in the basement – it should be great when it is finished but it does seem to be taking a long time. We have also been doing some garden work and Eleni is getting good at helping me pull out weeds. I often think of Mum when I am in the garden as I liked to keep her updated on what was blooming and growing well. Our willows are doing great but I found out our two beautiful river birches have aphids (sprayed the little buggers today!). I have planted some roses (super hardy ones that apparently can’t be killed) and also some day lillies. I have also finally gotten around to planting two Clematis vines on the trellis against the retaining wall. They are actually blooming! We still have lots to do but it is fun watching things grow (well except out basil and a couple of tomato bushes).

That’s all for now…. until next time – ciao.

Leo now has a tooth and can crawl

It only took him 9 months but he got his first tooth a week ago and started proper crawling this week.  Yeah – the fun begins!

February Update

I feel as though I could be repeating January here. All the kids and I have colds again. This time Leo and Sofia both have ear infections as well. It is a constant stream of runny noses and me giving out doses of antibiotics and infant Tylenol etc. So we have made the decision to take Eleni out of preschool so that she does not keep bringing all these germs home. I have actually found a nice college student who will come in three times a week in the mornings to do some arts, craft, music, dance etc with her so that she still gets to do some of the fun things she liked from preschool. Eleni also had her Easter photos done at preschool (with live bunny rabbits) so we can’t wait to see the pictures.

Leo and Sofia are both babbling away but interestingly, it is Leo that “talks” the most. He is still fairly stationary though – he sits and plays quite contentedly and when he wants something he either lunges or rolls there to get it. Also – still no teeth for Leo.

Sofia is crawling and now has 3 1/2 teeth. She is going through the whole separation thing with me now – if I leave the room she crawls after me sobbing. She is starting to pull herself up on things but not sure if she will match Eleni’s feat of walking at 10 months.

Christos is doing well. He as a well cultivated beard now (and has had no kisses from me lately) which he insists on keeping until Spring. It does look nice but boy is it scratchy!

We have finally started on the bathroom in the basement. We had our plumber in to move some of the pipes and yesterday Christos and I filled in the holes with concrete. Chris is now busy doing the framing. We are also looking at underfloor heating as it does get cold in the basement. On the other side of the bathroom we will fit out that part of the basement with a kitchenette – just the basics but good for when we have visitors staying.

We had Christos’ mum, Toni, here for a week whilst he was up in DC for work. Unfortunately, we were all sick and a bit miserable but it was great to have her here with us. Our next visitors will be Dave, Elaine and the family who will be here in mid-March. It will be their first visit to us here so we are really looking forward to it.