Where has the time gone ....

I can't believe that it is December and Christmas is a little over the week. I have seriously slacked in keeping up the blog and posting about Roman and Maxim!!! We had an exciting October with our SNOWTOBER storm and I can't remember the last time we did trick or treating in the snow or had a snow day for school but this year will definitely be remembered for some time!!!

Pumpkins ... Trick or Treating and Snow!!!










November came and went just as fast as October and this year we got celebrate our 2nd GOTCHA day with the boys and our 2nd Family day outing!!! We are trying to mark every GOTCHA day with a family activity and this year we decided to travel to Brighton Beach, NY ... also known at "Little Russia by the Sea". We had a great day and for a short time felt like we were back in Russia ... the smells, the language and the food were so reminiscent of our time in Yekaterinburgh while we waited to bring the boys home!!! We ate in a "true" Russian restaurant and when our waitress brought our soup, Stephen and I were both transported back to our baby home visits and the smells that would greet us as we walked in to the building to visit with the boys!!! We walked in and out of the little shops and smiled as we heard all the people speaking Russian ... we still remember the basics and people seemed genuinely pleased with our attempts to say "hello" or "thank you" in Russian! We stocked up on our favorite pelmini's and at the end of our trip we had a great Family Day with our own two exhausted Russians!

GOTCHA DAY 2011



December arrived and this year the boys are very excited for Santa to arrive! We began a new tradition on Thanksgiving eve ... Our Elf on the Shelf arrived from the North Pole! After much deliberation the boys named their Elf, "Jake" and each morning they excitedly look to see where Jake has landed that day! Maxim was very excited to see Santa this year and for the first time both boys agreed to visit with him and take a picture with Santa! Stephen commented while we watched, he didn't know who was more excited for this .. me or the boys!! ME ... I've waited for this day ... to take my boys to visit Santa and have them tell their wishes and tales to the jolly man in red!!! Roman and Max told Santa all about Jake and Santa promised to look for Jake that night when he returned to the North Pole .... he also requested a few cookies for him and carrots for his reindeer on Christmas Eve and both boys happily agreed to leave them out for him!!



VERY, VERY Excited to speak with Santa!!!



It's been a busy Fall and even busier Christmas season for all of us!! Roman and Max are getting so big and continue to surprise, amaze and make us laugh on a daily basis!!!

I recently made the decision to close the blog at the end of the year! Life with the boys is certainly and adventure and doesn't leave much free time for posting! I will post some of our holiday happenings over the next few weeks and on December
31st I will close the blog with one final letter to the boys who have blessed our lives and bring us so much joy! Thank you all for following our journey to Roman and Maxim and for being a part of our life over the last 2 years as we have become a family!! We have loved all the comments left for the boys and hopefully one day when this blog becomes a book for them to read they will feel all the love that has been shared with us over the past few years!!!

I will post about Christmas and I'm sure there will be lots and lots of pictures to share so keep checking back to see how Roman and Max enjoy Christmas this year!!

Fall means ... soccer .. apple picking and the Big E!!!

Fall is here in New York and the Pupek's can tell just by looking at our calendar and seeing that weekends are busy with something from September - November!!!

Roman and Max began playing soccer this Fall! It's so funny to watch ... they should call it magnet ball because once the whistle blows and the ball goes into play ... no matter what team they are on all the kids run to the ball and chase it!!! They only play for 6 weeks so our first time playing soccer will end just in time for Halloween! Roman really enjoys the game and Max is having fun!!!








Fall in New York also means Apple Picking ... YAY!! We went early this year to get the best selection of apples .. Cortlands, Macintosh, and Red Delicious! The boys love apple picking and they really enjoyed the home made apple pie we had for dessert that night(my first attempt at making the dough from scratch) YUMMY!

Taking the wagon ride out to the orchids

Roman helping our friend Jason pick some apples

Getting a ride from Daddy




I love this pose ... all done apple picking and heading back to the stand!

Fall also means a trip to the Big E in Springfield, MA!! For those who don't know the Big E is the New England State fair and it's such a blast! I couldn't wait to share the GIANT slide with Roman and Max and they LOVED it ... now we can't wait to again next year!!!

Stephen made some new friends in the dog area!!! This boys name is Hunter ..so cute!!

Roman and Grammy making a new friend!

Here comes Roman and Mama on the GIANT Slide

Max's first ride on the GIANT slide with Daddy

Hanging out with Grammy

The Big E Cream Puff ... a must have!!! So good!!!





The end of day ice cream cone!

First Day of School -- 2011

Tuesday, September 6th was the beginning of another school year in the Pupek house!! This year both Roman and Maxim are attending Montessori school but they are going to a different school than Roman went to last year!!! They were both very excited to go to school on Tuesday and meet their teachers and make some friends!! Roman is still with Ms. Sheeran (she left the old school and we loved her so much we followed her) and Maxim is in his own classroom with Ms. Ellis. They both love the first day and surprise of all surprises they had a day off already this week when school was cancelled on Thursday for the floods caused by all the rain we've been getting since Irene!!!

Here is the best part of the first day ....



New pack packs ... so excited!!!

Sporting the new "jammies" for the first day of school!

Summer time....

I have been bad at posting updates about the boys but I guess that is a casualty to life with two active children, a full time job and trying to maintain my sanity on a regular basis!!! Max and Roman are GREAT ... full of life and looking forward to summer and swimming daily in the pool!!! Roman finishes his first year of Montessori school on Friday and is already excited to go back in the Fall ... not sure how he is going to fare this summer without Ms. Sheeran so maybe we'll invite her over for a barbeque just so he can get his "fix"!!! Max has one more week of school/daycare and then he gets to start Montessori in September and he is very excited about going to "big boy" school!!! He is going to do great but I know he will miss his friends ..Lucas, Gavin and Rian and not to mention Miss Stephanie and Miss Sherry ... he has loved his pre school room and all that he's done since January when he moved up!!! A few pictures ..courtesy of my mother in law ...her camera is never far away when she is with the boys and these are great shots of some summer fun!!!

Only one more week of work and then July off so look for more summer posts and pictures of Max and Roman as we enjoy our July adventure and lots of summer fun!!

Big Boy Rooms

I finally got a chance to finish Roman's room and he is now in his new "Car and Truck Room" and Max is still enjoying his "Thomas the Train Room". Both boys have fish ... Max's fish is Harry and Roman names his fish Monkey!!! It's nice they have their own space and they do spend time in each other's rooms!!!

Roman was very excited for his "Car and Truck Room"




Max in his "Thomas the Train" room


Meet Harry!

Red Fish .... Blue Fish ...

When you have a pool in your back yard and the weather starts to get warm ... the question you get every day is ..."Can we go swimming???" ... You might think I'm nuts but there are only so many ways you can say "No ... it's still to cold" ... sometimes the only way to explain is to let them learn first hand!!!


Everyone is getting ready for the first swim!

This is as far as Max got ... once his toe hit the water he turned around ... went back into the house and got dressed!!! Hasn't asked to go back in yet =)

Roman's first jump of the "season"!!!

The face says COLD but he said NOPE and kept swimming!!!

He swam for 10 minutes before getting out!!! He's crazy but he will be the "fish" in our group!!!

Notice the wet suit ... SMART MAN!!!!

Okay ... just in case you think we've lost our minds as parents ... the water was about 68-70 degrees when they went in ... we had towels and sweatshirts waiting on the deck!!! Has it detered Roman ... NO ... he was back in this weekend ... the child is NUTS ... he loves to swim and when he goes in he stays in for a good 10 - 15minutes!!! He's going to be a blast this summer when it's actually warm enough for the adults!!! Max ... now Max is a different story ... he has yet to ask to go back in ... he does NOT like cold water and he won't want to go in until he knows for sure the water is WARM!!!