Cleveland Family Fun

Maksim and my cousin Branko.  Cutest photo of the trip!

My Aunt Mika lets him do whatever he wants.  Fresh cut grass and all access to a hose = big mess

My Uncle Svele and Aunt Bozana with their two sons, Branko and Ivan.

M.  Maksim playing with my cousin Ivan and Vicki the dog.

My cousin Milos and his fashionable tutu-wearing daughter Ana.

Our ladies in pink.  Maksim with his godsisters, Iliana and Ivana.  Maksim watching some tunes and munching on snacks with his cousin Ana.

My cousins Milan and Suzi with their adorable boys, Luka and Sasa.  They made Maksim and me our very own Wii characters.

What Cleveland does not have a lack of is its green everywhere (I almost forgot) and an abundance of family to play with Maksim.  Take a look at these snapshots of Maksim absorbing all the attention and having the time of his life.  We wish they all lived closer but I did secretly whisper in every kid's ear that we live near Disneyland and therefore their parents have to bring them to San Diego for a visit!  Sneaky, sneaky!

Love,
First Gen Fam

Cleveland Jeep

Maksim mastering going in reverse

Grandpa and Maksim

This post is way overdue.  We already have been back from our trip for over a week.  Shame on me.  One of the highlights of the trip was Maksim's new jeep.  Grandpa spoiled him on this one.  This was day one of our trip and Grandpa couldn't wait for him to take a ride. My Aunt Mika joined us to watch this spectacle.  I debated with Stan whether or not he would know how to ride it since it was battery operated and he would need to push the pedal to go.  To my suprise the little bugger figured it out almost immediately and he is not even 18 months old yet (don't let his size fool you).  My heart melted to see him ride the jeep and we laughed with every spin around the driveway.  Too bad we couldn't take it to San Diego but we do have high hopes of Grandpa moving to SD soon!  The moving truck will have to make room for those wheels!

More pictures from our trip to come soon!

Love,
First Gen Fam

Summer is Here! ViX Swimwear Memorial Day Sale!

Summer is here.  Do not miss out on this great ViX Memorial Day Sale.  Stock up on bikinis, cover-ups and other beach essentials. ViX Swimwear is running a Memorial Day Weekend Sale to kick off summer!  Get an additional 25% off sales items with the code: MEMORIAL25!  They are offering a FREE pair of flip flops with every $150+ purchase, enter code MEMORIALFLIP at checkout.  Lastly, they are still featuring FREE SHIPPING on all orders!   


I am in the market for a new bikini that will work with my growing bump!  Going to ViX Memorial Day Sale now to do some shopping.  


Love,
First Gen Fam

Suggestions When Traveling with a Toddler

We recently came back from a trip from Cleveland.  We headed back to my home town to visit with family and go to my best friend's wedding in Pittsburgh.  In this post I am going to focus on what I found to be helpful when flying with a toddler.  These are helpful tips that worked for me but keep in mind every kid is different.  


We desperately tried to keep the munchkin from taking his afternoon nap which kind of worked since he only slept a little bit on the way to the airport.  On our first flight, San Diego to Denver, he pretty much slept the whole time.  The flight from Denver to Cleveland he was up and wide awake.  When I say "up" it means he was running on a full tank of gas as if he took a shot of 5-hour energy.  


Here are my helpful tips when traveling with a toddler (or at least with Maksim):

• Moms, where your hair up, back, or however you can keep the little ones from making you look like you didn't brush your hair for months
• Bring snacks.  All kinds because you never know what they may be in the mood for.  I brought chocolate too.  I know it's not the best but it's better than a screaming toddler!
• If you need milk, water, or juice for your toddler ask right when you get on the plane.  That way you do not have to wait until the beverage cart comes around.
• If possible don't let your toddler know there is an aisle or that they can get out.  You give them that option then that is probably where you will have to hang out for most of the flight.
• Head phones!  Not yours of course but the free ones the flight attendants give out.  I gave some to Maksim and he played with them for hours by plugging them in and out.  He broke them within 5 minutes but still had fun with them.
• Download games, movies, shows, on your phone, ipad, laptop whatever.   I downloaded everything in advance of the trip.  We are Mickey Mouse obsessed in our home so that show was a must!  See below for toddler apps that I recommend and are free!!!  

My Fav Free Toddler Apps
When I was first looking for games or shows to download on my iphone I had a really hard time.  Most were too advanced for 1-2 year olds but with much trial and error I found these free ones that I love:

1.  Kids Song 2 Machine

Fun songs and interactive elements and sound effects are activated when touching the screen.  Maksims says "balloon" whenever he sees my phone because this app has floating balloons he can pop.   

2.  Elmo Calls

Pick up the phone, Elmo’s calling! Receive video calls, audio calls, and voicemail from Sesame Street’s own furry, red monster.  Really cute!

3. Dance Mickey

Dance Star Mickey lets you to be his dance instructor! Create your own dance for Mickey and see if he really is a dancing star.  The music gets Maksim so excited.  It's basically a stuffed toy of Mickey Mouse dancing around.  Hey, but it makes my little guy smile!

4.  Yahoo! Kids Song and Story

Don't ask how I found this.  It's all in Korean so I really cannot give an explanation of the app.  There are short songs and bright, colorful cartoons which Maksim really enjoys.  He might end up speaking Korean? Sometimes his jibber-jabber sounds like another language, who knows.

5. I Hear Ewe

Simple game full of 24 different authentic animal sounds and 12 different vehicle sounds. When your toddler taps on an animal or vehicle icon, the game will verbally announce what type of animal or vehicle it is and play a recording of its real sound.  

Enjoy and happy traveling!  Up next, photos from our trip!

Love,

First Gen Fam

And Now...We Become 4

Maksim checking out his new sibling right before he crumbles the sonogram.  Jealous already?

Our little boy or girl?

Yes!  It's true.  We will be a family of four soon!  We cannot wait to have Maksim be a big brother and are so happy the kids will be close in age.  I am officially 15 weeks pregnant and that baby is the size of apple per my Baby Center week by week notification.  I found out I was pregnant in March and have been dying to announce it but being a little superstitious and wanting confirmation from my doctor I held off.  The due date is November 11 and it seems so far away.  I have many more pounds and backaches to go!

I am one of the lucky few that don't get nauseated with pregnancy but I do say "Hello" and "Good-bye" to many other things that are a result of being pregnant.  Below is a small list of "Hello" and "Good-byes" I have compiled.  I want to be able to look back on these one day.

Hello....

• most importantly to my little baby!
• growing belly.  I have a bloated tummy look at the moment.
• boobs!!!  Seriously where did these things come from?  Honestly, I don't like when they are bigger.
• stretchy pants. Sooo comfy.
• backaches.  My chiropractor says it will only get worse as I get bigger.  Great right? 
• major fatigue.  This is my major symptom and there is no fitting it.
• friendly strangers.  Everyone is so nice to you when you are pregnant.  Doors get opened and everyone seems to smile at a lady with a big tummy.

Good-bye.....

• skinny jeans.  We shall hopefully meet again in one year's time.
• clearish skin.  Why, why, why, must my hormones go crazy and cause massive breakouts!
• alcohol.  A half glass wine here and there is okay but I can only imagine how much more fun my BFF's wedding could have been if I could have had 2, maybe 6 glasses of wine!
• sushi.  I will miss you spicy tuna roll.  Sushi will be my first post pregnancy meal out I guarantee it.

With all the good and bad that comes with pregnancy the best part of it is I will have another baby that is part Stan and me.  The first one turned out magnificent so we have high hopes for this next one.

The due date is November 11 and it seems so far away.  I have many more pounds and backaches to go!  Next month we find out if its a boy or girl.  I have a feeling it's a boy for some reason but I guess we will see.

Love,
First Gen Fma

Disney Store

We took Maksim for his first Disney store trip.  He was amazed from the first step in with the glittering floor, huge TV projection and of course all the toys.  We headed to the back of the store where the original characters of Disney hang out.  Maksim was able to point out who was Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Mickey Mouse.  It really melted my heart.  I was a Disney child growing up so I loved being in the store just as much as him. They even had a table for kids to color at while the Beauty and the Beast movie played on the huge projection.  He was a good boy and shared his crayons with an adorable little girl next to him.  He shares....it's too sweet!  It was a stimulation overload for my little guy and from the picture above you can tell we made his day.  I live for moments like these.

*Note:  Look how skinny Papa is looking!  He has lost 15+ pounds already.  I'll have to have him blog about his diet and exercise routine soon.  Funny we happen to run into his cycling instructor while walking through Nordstroms.  Keep up the amazing work.  Maksim and I love you.

Love,
First Gen Fam

To the Max

t-shirt - American Apparel (softest more comfy tee ever)

maxi skirt - Nordstrom (comes in beige and a print)

belt - Forever 21

shoes -  Impo from Loehmanns

aviator sunglasses - Anthropologie 

jewelry - Vintage

This is my first outfit post ever.  I have been hesitant to put one up but I really fell in love with this purple-blue maxi skirt. For all you tall ladies this is the maxi skirt we have been waiting for.  I am 5'8 and am wearing 3-4 inch wedges in the pictures.  Its really long but you can easily fold up the elastic band to make it shorter without it looking bulky.  I paired it with a simple t-shirt along with a no fuss sock bun to stay comfy and casual since we were heading to a birthday party at Medieval Times.  I am looking forward to wearing it again soon!
Love,
First Gen Fam