Catching Up

We meet again... its been a long time and we have lived some great moments in the Kudin Family over the past few months (ummm yeah,  so much for goal to write once a week... ). Let me explain... no there is too much, let me sum up.  Here are the highlights:

Trip to Idaho
In April we took a quick trip to Idaho to see the family before Mama's belly got too big to share a plane seat with Hannah.... we almost made it.  The flight there went beautifully, the flight home was another story. All of us were pretty uncomfortable, and that would have to include the lady in front of us getting a "chair massage" as Hannah kicked/ bumped her seat constantly and the kind couple sitting next to us in our row.  They were sweet enough to pick up Hannah's toys and cups when the darling dropped them and it was a good thing cuz this mama wasn't about to try!  I even picked up on some potential sibling rivalry as baby boy try to "kick" Hannah off my lap every time she settled against "his space". A sign of things to come?  I hope not!

The visit itself was lovely!  I had the chance to spend time with my Dad and catch up with many of my siblings, friends, and their families. We got to see most of Hannah's 27 cousins and in general had a great time.  At the end of the day, the trip was worth the travel and I am so glad we were able to squeeze it in!

Proud to Be An American!
With his citizenship ceremony approaching, Sasha and I decided to take a weekend and see some of the fun US historical sites in our general area. We ended up at Williamsburg, VA and loved it!  We learned a lot about the beginnings of the country we love and enjoyed making some great family memories.
It was a great preparation for the best event we have visited all year... The Mount Olive Pickle Festival!

Why the Pickle Festival you ask? Well its not because we got a free "pickle plant", from which we harvested exactly one cucumber, or because the fried pickles were fabulous, or because there was an entire section of the festival dedicated to religious bands (they called it the "Praise Stage" - I love the south).

Nope. While all of that was lovely, we loved the pickle festival because (of all the random places) that is where Oleksandr Mikhailovich Kudin (aka Sasha), along with about 30 others from all over the world, became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America.  It was every bit as emotional and exciting as I thought it might be. I love my country and my family and it is such a relief that we are united now in our citizenship!

Most importantly, this is one more door of opportunity for my Sasha - another key to helping him live his dream of practicing medicine here in the U.S.A.  Its been a long journey, with so many set-backs and he has never lost hope. I am sincerely amazed by his determination, humility, and work ethic. America - you are lucky to have him.  Ukraine - you will always be a part of our family culture. Mount Olive - thanks for the Pickle Festival!

The Oooocean!
We took a weekend trip to Wilmington, NC and came back with a toddler in love with the ocean (though to say it correctly, you MUST draw out the ooooo part of that word. Did I mention that this age is awesome? If not, let me state for the record that I LOVE this age, Hannah is an absolute riot! But, I digress. Back to the ocean...).

For those of you who haven't been to Wilmington, NC let me take a moment to highly recommend it. It has lovely beaches, a beautiful downtown area with a river walk shops, restaurants etc, cobblestone streets, a great Aquarium, and for the history buff - the USS Carolina is docked there. You can take a tour of the ship if you wish. It was a cool experience, if not a bit to hot and tight for my liking in that ship, especially at 7 months pregnant.
I must admit, I am pretty proud of myself for climbing up and down all those ladders and squeezing through tight spaces.
I think the other tourists may have believed me to be a bit crazy, and maybe I am, but simply could not drag Sasha away from it. He really enjoyed it!  In short, we had a lovely trip.  However, there were two major consequences to our trip:

1. Hannah connected going to the ocean with wearing flip flops.  She officially wants to wear them everyday, everywhere. When I tried to get her to put on "pretty Sunday shoes" for church she held up the flip flops and stated "these pretty Sunday shoes." When I take them off of her for nap time, she cries. If I leave them on until she falls asleep, she wakes up as I take them off - no matter how deeply she is sleeping.  If we get her to bed without the flip flops - its the first thing she asks for in the morning.  No good morning Mama, no hello or I love you. Just "where's sandals?".  Its our first official toddler phase... and its pretty cute, though the stinky sandal feet are not :)

How to properly pronounce "Ooooocean!"

2. My little lady can not stop talking about the ocean. She is fascinated. So much so that we have made it a point to get to the beach a couple more times since our first trip.  If you want to be entertained come to our house (or Skype, we love to Skype!) and ask her about the ocean.  Watch her little face light up as she launches into her stories about splashing in the water, the birds, the fishes, the turtles, the sand and seashells.  She will probably tell you all about sandals as well.. as they are key to the oooocean experience. 


 Watching her develop likes and dislikes, seeing her personality take shape in an almost tangible way is probably my favorite part of motherhood right now. I am seeing my daughter develop into a little girl and I sincerely enjoy who she is becoming!  Its been a fun few months of development for all of us and we are excited for the new developments that will (hopefully) be coming our way this week as we await the arrival of baby boy Kudin.  Stay tuned...