Birthday

Friday, the day of the field trip, was also my birthday. Robi is such an amazing husband and found exactly what would be a great way to show me how much he appreciates me.

Flowers, dinner, wine, the CPO's performance of Wicked Diva's, out to a favourite wine bar and cuddles and love that lasted all weekend. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra's Wicked Diva's was an amazing show. Two stars of the Broadway musical Wicked joined the CPO for some show stopper tunes from Wicked, My Fair Lady, Chicago and music from Liza Minelli and Barbra Streisand were some of the numbers. The two artists, along with the amazing CPO, had us literally on the edge of our seats. Laughing, crying, clapping until our hands hurt. This was a night to remember. Thank you my love!!

We had a great visit with Rob's parents, coffee with close friends and dinner with my family. Thanks all for the well wishes for my 38th, I am very blessed.

steps

I remember every little and big step that Gabor and Aniko have gone through in their short little lives, and remember how the first steps we guide and hold their hand through. I was there for every little moment, big, small, I blogged about everything - first steps, first words, first experiences that we shared together. Now Gabor's steps are large and so full of excitement which I can not experience fully with him. I am there to hold his hand, guide him in what is about to happen and then I have the biggest job of keeping my head and know that he is out the door with good instructions and I've done all I can. He will take all that I've taught him and hope that he will be the best he can. This first field trip experience was a big mile stone for us both, as there were so many firsts.

I wondered all day how his first bus ride was going, who he sat with, what they talked about, how he behaved, did he remember to bring his bag, and pack up all his lunch. Will he listen to his teachers, will he enjoy the field trip, will he behave, use good manners and get a lot of out of the day. 

The school did not mess around with their first field trip, they didn't just take them a block or even a few blocks away, they took them out of the city! They headed down south to Leighton centre http://www.leightoncentre.org/, a full hours drive away so the answers to all my questions and wonders had to wait until the afternoon when they returned, exhausted and full of new memories. 

Our class was top notch with no issues, and now, days later I am still hearing new stories of what they saw and what they did, how his first bus ride was, what he thought of when he was doing particular crafts. I'm more than thrilled to report that he fully enjoyed the experience and that he did get a lot out of the trip. Phew, now with that first step out of the way maybe I can relax more about the next field trips that are coming. I am so lucky that he shares everything with me and makes me feel as though I am there with him. He is such an amazing boy that I know I do not have to worry each time he steps out the door. 

Conrad, Melissa, Adam, Gabor, Mrs. Irving, Isabella, Karim and Lief - CMS first Field Trip 2012

Just returning from his first field trip

Gabor's class, along with 30 other Montessori children, spent the day
exploring the Leighton centre south of Calgary. At pick up the
teachers were full of praise and incredibly happy about the outing. So
far I haven't heard much about his day, but according to the adorable
snores I gather he had a lot of fun!

Life is grand

Feels like we are on fast forward these days. Each and every single moment is filled up with something, and the days are long and fun. We are filling up the time with enjoyable events so we are all happy and can't complain about a thing. Robi has been working long hours, putting in time at the office but enjoying the challenge and the leadership role he has.

I've been in discussions with the school and other moms and peers as it is now decision time for what direction we go in for schooling for next year already. We've chosen to enrol Gabor into a Montessori program to further expand on the skills he has been exposed to over the last couple of years. The teachers at the school are in full support of our decision and are full of wonderful compliments on his behaviour, his strive and his level of education for his age. I know that this could sound ridiculous when talking about a kindergarten student however you must meet Gabor to really see how different he is. He is still a boy and loves to do all that fun play that others do at his age, however he looks at the world in a different light. We were told this week that he is in the top of his class in language, reading, math and although he can be distracted he never loses a beat. Last week at soccer I was sitting in the stands with Aniko just watching helplessly as he was running at full sprint doing all the obstacles and practices set ahead of him with one shoe untied. I felt so helpless, sitting far away amongst the other soccer moms (yes I am a soccer mom and surprisingly enjoy the title) when finally one coach pointed it out to him before he fell on his face. To my amazement he promptly knelt down and tied it into a perfect little knot and bow!! When did he learn to do this!?!? There are so many milestones that are happening all at once, and they seem trite and insignificant to him. I drilled him after he came off the field as to when he learned to do tie a bow, and he said its been months! That all the children at school ask him to tie their aprons and it is disruptive to his work. He too is overstepping these "small" milestones as he can feel already that he has much bigger and better things to get to. I wish I could just video tape his every move as every time I look at him he has changed and grown significantly.

Aniko, ah my sweet princess. She too is growing and learning so much that it is hard to keep up with. She points out letters and numbers that she recognizes wherever we go and is just itching to be able to recognize more and then to eventually read. She is a true performer, and makes us sit and quietly listen to her sing her gibberish songs. Usually in English which is a little sad, but just as sweet as her sound is just like honey. She is following her big brother in every way, but is also trying to branch out and be her own person. She tries to copy me a lot like Gabor did his father, and her little dainty walk and talk melts anyone she comes in contact with.

February already, most of the snow has melted from our neighbourhood and corner of life. The temperature is way above average which makes for walks with Brahms so pleasant but a little mucky. We are so busy during the week that we really love our weekends and time to bond and unwind as a family. Life IS grand!

January is a blur

This month is just flying by with so many exciting things on the go. The children are back in school and Robi is as busy as ever with work. He started a new job a few months back, one which is proving to be the most exciting position for him. He is now a Program Manager for some exciting projects and overseas a lot of important decisions. He works in a small environment of a large corporation and comes home every day satisfied with the outcome of the days. He does get to travel up to Edmonton once in a while and has been able to visit with his cousin Elizabeth so that is also a nice added bonus.

January 10th was an anniversary of sorts for us, as it marked 20 years of being together. Two full decades together, with so much growth and change. Its funny looking back and remembering how we were when we were dating.

The children have asked to pick up Hungarian Dance again, so they are in the Kisjegvirag group practicing on Sundays after Hungarian school. Its a big commitment for us to have one full day dedicated to these activities and we are so proud and happy that they enjoy their heritage so much. It seems that the group has been asked to attend the festival this year so we’ll see how that goes. This would be a big commitment and a large performance for them but they would be exposed to so many other people with the same interests. Neither child is shy and they both love to perform as we witnessed again this weekend at the music concert at Mount Royal University. It was such a joy to see them up on stage, singing, dancing and playing instruments in tune with their classmates.

Dad’s birthday celebrations were just this weekend as well. We had the family over for a visit and as we were setting the table both children asked if Agi would be joining us. They love to have the families over and enjoy organizing as much as I do.

So much more has happened this month, with outdoor trips to the mountains, staying inside during a really cold snap and starting the year out in the best way we know how. We picked up an XBox Kinnect for Christmas so now the children are starting to get into video games. Its been fun jumping around in the basement on those cold wintery nights.

New Year

We rang in the new year by staying home and enjoying our family. Elsie joined us mid afternoon where we played all our new and old board games with the children. So much fun chasing around Mouse Trap and Snail racing and all the other fun games. Once we celebrated "midnight" with the children and they were sleeping soundly we continued with some adult games. Oh my what fun we had saying goodbye to an interesting, topsy turvy year and hello to planned healthy and happy year! We almost missed new years itself in all our fun. Thanks Elsie for making New Years so much fun, I don't know anyone else who could play Disney Charades with us that well.

Christmas time

This time is the most precious, the time to reflect, the time to relax, the time to entertain, the time to spend with family. So my blog will be short and sweet, filled with photos of those precious times.

I hope you too are enjoying Christmas with those you love and remembering the reason.

Merry Christmas all!

Merry Christmas és kellemes Karácsonyi ünnepeet

Christmas has always been a time to reflect on the past year and to send you our love for the coming year. Our year started out on a high, had one full month of worry and scare and is ending on an even higher note. A full mixture of everything to keep us on our toes. We brought in the New Year in Southern California at Disneyland and Legoland with my sister Elsie for a fun filled trip geared just for the children. Once home, we quickly started to work on a dream vacation, a seven week trip to Europe, Hungary, Serbia, France, Germany and we spent the better half of the year working out the details and planning what we had hoped to be a vacation of a lifetime.

As life sometimes does, we were thrown a curve ball the first day of summer, Robi started to feel ill. It became serious and he was in and out of the hospital for nearly a month not knowing exactly what could be done when finally, it was determined that surgery was necessary to get us past this hurdle. He had a blocked intestine from scar tissue from the operations he had when he was an infant. The surgery was intense but it was a necessary evil to get him past this and recovery was slow but, he is a strong man and pulled through great. He still has a very sensitive stomach and we need to watch him and always think about activities he can’t do, food etc. Due to his sickness our trip to Europe had to be cancelled and as fate would have it this was our first vacation in twenty years of traveling that we bought cancellation insurance, so luckily, most of our money was returned.

Once Robi was healthy it was time to think about what sort of holiday we could put together before school started again. We decided to head to Boston for a few days and took an amazing cruise to Bermuda. What an incredible group of islands, this is a place we would like to return to sometime in the future. We also returned to California to see Disneyland again in October for a couple of weeks to spend Halloween with the Disney characters, another great holiday for the children. Both holidays were amazing and gave us such amazing memories. On the first we were spoiled like royalty and we met some great like minded people and personally got to know a living master artist. He has since become like a family member to us and we hope to go visit him soon in either Hungary or his home town in Israel. The second holiday was so beautiful as we were able to show my Aunt around our favourite place on earth as well as had a relaxing cruise from Los Angeles down to Mexico.

This year Gabor has started Kindergarten and Aniko is attending preschool. The Montessori program allows them to spend half a day together in the same classroom, however it is a rare occasion that they work or play together during that time. They are both bright & beautiful children, inside and out. Gabor is very interested in soccer, music, math and languages and Aniko is a very caring 3 year old. She seems to be taking steps a bit faster than expected and is already very intelligent. I look forward to finding out where her interests lie but currently she loves gymnastics and would like to get back into a dance program. Life is one fun roller coaster ride and we are thankful you are part of our journey. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and all the love, joy and health in the New Year.

Kedves Mindenki!

Karácsonykor úgy nagy álltalában mindig vissza szoktunk tekinteni az év fő eseményeire és szeretetünket küldeni mindenkinek az Új évre. Hát legyen úgy most is!

Az új 2011-es év, tele izgalommal és örömmel kezdődött. Majd később egy teljes hónap tele aggodalommal és félelemmel. És végül mégis egy boldog, kalanddal és szeretettel teli év lett belőle. Viszont megtanított olyan leckére is, hogy nem szabad az életet túl könnyelműen venni, mert mindenki élete örökre megváltozhat egy rosz pillanaton belül.

Dél Californiában voltunk a gyerekekkel és Elsie nővéremmel, ahol meglátogattuk DISNEYLAND-et éd LEGOLAND-et a gyerekek kedvéért. Haza érkezésünk után rögtön elkezdtünk tervezni és dolgozni a nyárra betervezett, 7 hetes Európai (Magyarország, Szerbia, Franciaország, Németország) utunkon. De a sors, mint általában, másképp döntött.

Robi a nyár első napján lebetegedett és ki-be járt a korházból egy hónapon keresztűl, mert az orvosok először nem tudták pontossan megállapítani, hogy mi okozza neki a fájdalmait. Mikor megállapították, (kisbaba korában többször műtötték és a kisbél varratok most gátolták neki a kisbelek működését, ami roppant nagy fájdalmat okozott neki) utánna meg sokáig tárgyalták az orvosok hogy mi lenne a legjobb kezelési módszer. MŰTENI kell, volt a határozat! Hosszú műtét volt de szükséges és szerencsés! Lassan gyógyult ki belőle, pedig jó alkatú és erős akaratú volt. A lényeg az, hogy a műtét sikerült és most már jól érzi magát. A hasa, még mindíg érzékeny és vigyázni kell, hogy miket csinál fizikailag és hogy táplálkozik. Természetesen a betegsége miatt lecsúsztunk a tervezett és befizetett Európai útról, de hála Istennek 20 év óta ez volt az első eset, hogy kivettük az utas biztosítást és így szerencsénkre visszakaptuk az utiköltségnek a java részét.

Mikor Robi már egészségesnek érezte magát, ismét elkezdtünk körülnézni, hogy milyen nyaralást tudnánk betervezni az iskola kezdete előtt magunknak. Elhatároztuk, hogy elrepülünk BOSTON-ba (USA) egy pár napra és onnan hajóval tovább BERMUDÁ-ba. Csak azt tudjuk mondani róla, hogy BOSTON az egy nagyon európaias város, sok szép amerikai történelmi múlttal és BERMUDA pedig valami csodás szép kis sziget csoport, ahová még vissza fogunk menni.

Késő ősszel, Október második felében ismét útnak indultunk és vissza mentünk Californiába hogy a gyerekek együtt tölthessék HALLOWEEN-t (Okt. 31) a Disney karakterokkal. Ez is, mint a másik kettő is, egy nagyon sikeres vakáció lett, tele örömmel és boldog pillanatokkal.

Az első vakációnkon, melyen fenségesen bántak velünk, találkoztunk egy néhány hasonló gondolkodású egyénnel mint mi, és személyes meghívást is kaptunk egy festőművésztől akivel annyira összemelegedtünk, hogy jóformán családtagnak nevezhetnénk. Reméljük, hogy majd hamar meg tudjuk őt látogatni vagy Magyarországon, vagy Izraelben, ahol lakik. A második vakációnkon örültünk, hogy sikerült megmutatni kedvenc helyünket e földön, CALIFORNIÁ-t nagynénémnek és még ráadásúl hajókáztunk is egyet a Csendes Oceánon az USÁ-ból Mexicó-ba.

Gábor az idén már nagy-óvodás lesz és Anikó meg kis-óvodás. A „Montessori” óvodás program megengedi nekik, hogy félnapot együtt tölthessenek egy szobában, habár ritkán van az, hogy együtt dolgoznának ill. játszanak. Mindkettő nagyon értelmes és szép gyermekek, kívűl is belül is. Gábort nagyon érdekli a foci, zene, számtan és a nyelvek. Anikó meg egy szerény, törődő 3 éves intelligens kis személy aki nagyon gyorsan halad éveihez viszonyítva. Epedve vájuk, hogy milyen irányba fog az érdeklődáse fejlődni. Egyelőre szereti a tornát és a táncot. Az élet egy izgalommal és örömmel teli hullámvasút és köszönetünket fejezzük ki, hogy ti is részesek vagytok abban, hogy ilyen a pálya amin együtt vagytok velünk és mi veletek.

Kívánunk mindannyiotoknak kellemes Karácsonyi ünnepeet és egy szeretettel, örömmel, egészséggel teli Új Esztendőt !!!

Robi, Nancy, Gábor és Anikó.

Thank you Arpibacsi for the translation of our Christmas letter, it is very much appreciated and reads much more poetically than I could have ever done.

Anya and Gabor Day!!!!

This year the children and I have been so busy with all our events and school that I have been missing my alone time with Gabor. Aniko has long ago dropped her naps which is wonderful as I have several hours a day alone with her, however Gabor and I have not had any alone time for several months. It was time to have an Anya/Gabor day, so we planned out exactly what we wanted to accomplish and then picked a day. The weather cooperated with us as most of our activities were outside play, I think it even reached 8 degrees, full sunshine and no wind! We spent the morning in our neighbourhood first creating a great fort in our yard, singing, dancing and playing with Brahms. Before we knew it an hour had passed so we decided to change scenery and took off for an adventure in the woods and down to the river. We ran into so many animals along the way, Blue Jays sung beautiful songs for us, twice we saw deer grazing along the river and prancing by us and flocks of geese flew above us. We had a great adventure in the woods then ended off everything on the golf course where the wind seemed to pick up in the openness and chill my already frozen feet. Time to purchase warm boots suitable for long plays outside and wool socks. In we came in for a MochaChai (a special warm milk with a neither mocha nor chai, however affectionately named long ago by Gabor), change of socks and off for Sushi for lunch. Gabor sometimes acts like an adult so much that I forget that I am out with a six year old and enjoy serious conversations with him. Shopping for Aniko's Christmas gift came next and once he found exactly what he wanted it was time for more outdoor fun. Tobogganing and more running around our woods and golf course. It was such a fabulous day for us and we both had twinkles in our eyes. 7 pm came too quickly but our bodies were tired, Gabor finished his prayer for the night thanking for such a beautiful day and wishing that every day could be like that.

Aniko spent her first ever day alone with my parents. They picked her up from school at noon and brought her home to their place. She skipped out of school and so happily and proudly went along with them. They built snowmen and played for hours, worked out on the treadmill and had a really great time alone. All their eyes were twinkling with fun and love by the end of the day. We have all vowed to have more days like this one.

Christmas concerts weekend

The Magyar Iskola (Hungarian school) had the children put on a little event for us before mass on Sunday. The smaller children recited a verse together, the older children had their own verse and the oldest children put on a little play for us. It was a beautiful ceremony and both Gabor and Aniko were little stars for the audience, which included Elsie and the grandparents. Gabor is like a little man, so perfect in anyway and Aniko certainly stands out in the crowd. I was a proud parent as they both remembered all their lines and so proudly looked for us amongst the others.

We lunched in the basement of the church with everyone and then headed off to attend A Child's Christmas at the Jack Singer. 32 of the most talented young women vocalists accompanied by the orchestra and two very young pianist along with the Mayor all entertained us. It was a fun day and the children were amazing through it all as they needed to sit quietly for the mass and then the 2 hour plus concert. I was again proud when at the end of the concert the people in front of us turned around to put on the jackets and only then realized there were small children behind them.

This was a great way to ensure the Christmas spirit was with us, all the plays and music and smiling loving people would put even the biggest scrooge into the mood.