Family Life

Grace Girls | Building & Cooking Over Fire

homeschool, Motherhood, Uncategorized

This week we had our second Grace Girls meeting of the new school year. Our last meeting was learning how to properly set a table.

We started our night out with the devotion reading and a light discussion about what we read in our Bright Lights curriculum.

The meeting was hosted again by Ms. Darla and she taught the girls a lot about Fire Safety.

We learned what to wear and not wear around a fire. You want to wear jeans and short sleeves preferably. No flowy tops, dresses, or skirts. Hair must be secured back safely away from your face or cut short so it doesn’t catch on fire.

The most important question to always ask before building a fire is if it is legal to for a fire to be built there. Certain states have different regulations & seasons when fires are permitted, while other states ban fires all together due to high risk of forest fires.

When choosing a location to build your fire you want to look for:

  • No overhanging branches
  • Nothing flammable within 10 feet
  • The amount of wind the location gets
  • Is a pit provided? If not, dig one before building a fire to keep it safely secured in one location. It is best to line your pit with rocks.

Next Ms. Darla explained that we only burn wood for fuel. However for tinder & kindling you can use small branches or twigs, pinecone, evergreen branches and needles, pet fur, dryer lint, sawdust, or paper.

The girls worked together to group the wood in piles of large & small, and tinder/kindling in a bucket. She had bags of pinecone she had already collected over time.

Ms. Darla taught the girls different ways to build a fire, and what each kind is called. I had absolutely no idea there were so many different ways to make a fire. I thought it was just one way: build it 😂. The visual designs were really neat & helpful.

The girls then got into groups to pick a type of fire to build. Each group did a really good job!

We then went back around the fire to learn a bit more fire safety before we could get started.

We learned that you NEVER leave a fire unattended, and that you NEVER build a fire without adult permission & supervision.

If you do need to leave your fire for any reason: put it out first using water, covering with dirt or sand, or by spreading it out to reduce the heat.

Next, it was time to build the fire. Sasha really enjoyed this part. She was so adorable carrying the biggest log she could hold over for fuel.

The girls did a really good job building the fire. They even decorated it with pinecone and evergreen, draping kindling along the top and sides to make it pretty. It definitely was the prettiest fire I’ve ever seen!

Ms. Darla taught the girls about different tools needed to start a fire. She taught them about using fire starters and how they are important tools to pack when camping. She also taught things we could use if we don’t have Firestarter handy. She taught about the different size lighters and what each is good for. She also taught that when handling fire, we always use leather gloves to protect our hands.

For liability reasons, Ms. Darla lit the fire for the girls. They did such a great job building it! It burned really, really well and evenly. It was so beautiful and cozy – a perfect way to welcome in the start of cold nights here in Ohio.

The girls hung out for awhile, running around playing Ghost in the Graveyard together – another fun & spooky way to welcome in the season changing to Fall. They swung in the tree-swing and caught up with friends, while Mom’s got a chance to catch up with each other too.

Once the embers were hot enough, Ms. Darla began getting the fire ready for cooking while the girls went to the table under the light to start making their campfire Pizzas.

Once they were finished assembling their campfire Pizzas, Ms. Darla put them carefully on her makeshift oven set up.

She used fire grates, with racks on top of those. She then placed a baking sheet on top of the racks, and used a disposable baking pan lid as a cover to trap heat. Once the lid was on, she placed a smaller secondary disposable lid on top and filled it with hot embers to add heat coming from under, around, and above.

Once the Pizzas were finished cooking, she carefully removed them from heat and transferred to each girls paper plate. Ella said it was the best pizza she’d ever had, and that’s a big compliment coming from someone who doesn’t typically enjoy pizza.

This was such an awesome experience for the girls! I really wish I had a group like this when I was little – it really would have set me up for homemaking success later in life and taught me really necessary skills for living as an adult. I’m grateful to have it now with my own girls though – it’s even better together than it would have been on my own as a child. I’m grateful for the strong mother & daughter relationship foundation we are building. I really appreciate these classes and feel like I learn so much with them! The girls are always very excited to go.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Grace Girls | Table Setting

homeschool, Motherhood, Uncategorized

Grace Girls is back in session for the new academic year! This makes our third year attending Grace Girls! Our first meeting was last night & the girls learned How to Set a Table.

Grace Girls is sort of like an etiquette class where homeschooled girls get together to both socialize and learn how to grow up to be Proverbs 31 Women (aka homemakers). They have so far learned knife cutting & Kitchen safety skills, how to preserve fresh vegetables from the garden, how to plan meals, how to host a fall feast, how & when to start a meal train cooking for someone in need (elderly or sick neighbor, a family who welcomed a new baby, new family moved in, a death in the family, etc.), how to make corn husk dolls, and how to hand sew, mend, & embroider clothes. My girls have mentioned to me how grateful they are to learn these skills & how useful the classes have been for them. 

Homemaking is something I had to teach myself starting from the very, very basics. I did not have a homemaking mother growing up. I am very grateful to be able to pass these skills on to my children while also still constantly learning new things myself.

Ms. Darla hosted our meeting. She taught the girls different ways to properly set a table. She worked on a tray, placing different styles, layers, & color schemes together.

She taught us that the most important parts to setting a table are consistency & making our guests feel welcome & wanted, rather than overwhelmed & intimidated.

She had different learning stations set up for the girls to take turns at so that no one space was too overcrowded.

Ella really enjoyed learning how to fold napkins at the first station. I particularly liked her napkin with the flower pocket. I would like to start setting our own table napkins that way for fancy meals & gatherings. It is so beautiful & will be an interesting way to use our flowers from our garden.

Mia loved picking flowers & putting together mini bouquets for table settings. I have never thought to do miniature personal bouquets for each guest, but I love that idea for future gatherings too. It especially sounds nice for a breakfast or brunch gathering.

At the second station, the girls each took turns setting their own place settings using fancy dishes. They enjoyed creating color schemes with the dishes, napkins, & placemats. Sasha had a lovely time arranging her favorite dishes – they were so much fancier than ours at home.

The third station was to set a Christmas themed table. I love the use of real pine needles & pinecones. That is so beautiful & festive. I’ll have to remember that for our own Christmas dinner!

Ms. Darla rented every book her library currently had on table setting, napkin folding, and hosting for the girls to look through to pick their favorite tables. She asked the girls what meals & what seasons the tables were set for. I took some photos from different books that I plan to use at my own home!

Of course we had to check our her beehives while we were there because we have plans to add our own to our home next year! Luckily, Ms. Darla also teaches homeschool families about beekeeping & honey extraction, so I’ll be able to get off to a good start!

We had a really fun time at last night’s meeting & we left feeling like we learned a lot. I love that each of my girls who attended found their own special talent to bring to homemaking & future gatherings. Ella found a way to make her love for origami useful at the table using napkins, Mia’s love for plants & nature brings creativity + beauty to the table’s decor and ambiance, & Sasha’s love for creating a beautiful space for each person she loves will be useful for setting each place at the table. Each person’s talents come together to create a magical gathering & after all, the most important part of the table is togetherness.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Botany 🌱

homeschool, Motherhood, Uncategorized

The weather has been so beautiful lately, we have been trying to do as much of our Botany classes outside as we can! We have put a ton of work into our back yard as a family, so it has been a really peaceful atmosphere to do our classes in.

Sati & Rocco decided that they wanted to take the class with us today as well.

The first thing we did today was learn the parts of a plant, and what each part is meant to do. For example, the stem sucks up the water for the plant and keeps it upright so that it can grow big & strong to support the weight of the plant. Sometimes a little man-made help is needed by using cages or trellises.

Then each girl picked a live plant with roots to examine & draw in their Botany workbooks. Mia worked with a Blueberry Bush that was purchased. Ella worked with a tomato plant that was propagated when a piece fell off of my tomato plants while planting.

When we were finished examining, drawing, & labeling our plants, the girls planted them. Ella added her to our tomato patch (and thought it was funny how small it was compared to the rest of them, *pictured below*) & Mia added hers along the fence next to my root vegetable garden.

Speaking of root vegetables, we also discussed them in our lesson today!

When we were finished we prepared our green bean seeds in a jar of water for next week’s lesson & checked back on our seeds from last week’s lesson in their ziploc bag “greenhouses.” The girls observed what has happened to the seeds over the last week, and what they think will happen over another week. Next week, we can check on our little pots from our Art, Play, Hike day & see how our wildflowers are doing also.

Botany has definitely been our favorite science unit so far!! It’s been so much fun to do as a whole family together & very hands on in every unit. I also love how many beautiful plants that we will get out of this unit! I’m excited to start incorporating some Botanical field trips into our classes also! We have a few fun ones picked out!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Some Homeschool Happenings This Week

homeschool, Motherhood, Uncategorized

We are really enjoying homeschool so far. We are still figuring out what works for us and what doesn’t, but the nice thing is we are allowed to adjust our days for what works best for our family.

Ella really enjoys insects a lot. She found a dead bumblebee and was asking lots of questions about them & inspecting it.

I scored this awesome poster that really adds to our Living Education Atmosphere.

Typically we just do school on the weekdays, but honestly education never ends & sometimes events are limited to the weekends. This Sunday, we went to the Ukrainian Festival & watched Ukrainian dancing, listened to Ukrainian music, planned on eating (pierogies sold out FAST & only meat options were left), & shopped for some items. I signed up to join the Ukrainian Women’s League of America.

We were supposed to see Shakespeare in the Park this Saturday, but we were rained out. We still had our picnic at the park, checked out the nature center (sad to learn it is still mostly shut down since covid with no plans to re-open at this time, and played on the outdoor playground.

Ella found a cicada which made her very happy. Cicadas are her favorite insect.

We went to the library for Family Storytime. It’s mostly geared toward the three younger kids, but the older kids still enjoy it too. They mostly go for the tech time after crafting & to pick out new books though. I enjoy picking up new cookbooks to try new recipes.

For math one day we made a “Hungry Adding Robot” that Mia picked from a math book we picked out at the library this week. We love our library trips. The kids had a lot of fun picking out projects for us to do over the course of this “term.” We also had a lot of fun making this.

I really love that we are able to do the activities together as a family, but the big girls still have their own individual work to do too.

For science one day we made Nature Journals to collect various nature the girls find. Each “journal” has 4 paper bags to fill with things they find interesting on our nature walks. We can use our Nature Anatomy books to identify new nature we haven’t seen before.

Today we took a field trip to Highfield Discovery Garden. The story in the garden today was Dragons Love Tacos & they got to pick Taco Topping Veggies from the garden. They got tomatoes, peppers, and radishes. They remembered that radishes were mentioned last week in The Tail of Peter Rabbit.

They played on the tree house playground & in the garden, spent time exploring in the nature center, picked a book each in the little library, and put on a puppet show. We also packed a picnic lunch to share in the garden Cafe. Moses really liked watching the trains go around the tree house tracks.

Overall we had a really good week. We completed all our group & individual work we had planned. Time to make dinner & get ready for Ella’s first volleyball game!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Parenthood Perspectives

Motherhood, Uncategorized

I may never be the type of mom that knows how to get stains out of clothes, but I am the kind of mom that throws our stained items in a bin + throws a random “tie dye party” with the kids in the back yard every now & then.

Knowing what to use to get stains out doesn’t make you a better mother. You don’t have to be Pinterest perfect to be a good mom. Life is not one size fits all. Live outside the box & find the solution that works best for you. You are already enough ♡ & so am I.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Ukrainian Pancakes (Syrniki)

Motherhood, Recipes, Uncategorized

Sasha & I made Syrniki this morning for breakfast! Syrniki are Ukrainian pancakes made from Farmers Cheese. I didn’t have time to pick up real Farmers Cheese, so I used cottage cheese as a substitute. Next time I make these, I’m going to stop in at Marina’s European Food Market and pick up some real Slavic Farmers Cheese.

In case you don’t know us personally, I am Ukrainian & my husband is from Russia. I was lucky enough to grow up learning some of the Ukrainian/Eastern European culture from my dad & his family (his sister, Mary, & her polish husband, Vince, both who are sadly no longer with us.) I loved going to their family parties! Learning the traditions, hearing the language… I loved their accents. I’d ask them to speak to me in Ukrainian, and in Ukrainian they would say, “why should I speak it if you can’t understand it?” I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. I learned a few words growing up, but never the language.

Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted to marry an Eastern European man. I gave all of my children a Ukrainian (or Russian) middle name to honor our heritage: Kaden Yuri (after my dad) 💙, Ella Aleksandriya 💗, Mia Nataliya (after Niko’s birth mother) 💗, Sasha Katiya 💗, Athena Mariyah (after my dad’s sister & my mom, both Mary… *side note: it isn’t supposed to have an “h” at the end. I’m still mad at myself for agreeing to putting that) 💗, & Moses Kolya (after Niko) 💙.

Since the invasion, I have decided to go “full Ukrainian.” I’ve taught myself how to read & write their alphabet confidently. I can now speak Ukrainian at an elementary level. I am teaching my children as I learn so we can be fluent at home. My husband has tried teaching me Russian over the years (which is very similar to Ukrainian), and I’ve tried Rosetta Stone in the past so it wasn’t totally unfamiliar to me, but this time it just clicked- almost like it was unlocked from my DNA bank. I finally would be able to not only understand what they were saying to me, but respond too. I’m so proud of myself.

In addition to all of that, I am learning how to cook Ukrainian foods so that I will be able to pass recipes down to my children to continue embracing our culture for generations to come.

Today we made Syrniki & it turned out REALLY yummy so I decided to share it here.

Gather your ingredients.

  • 2 16oz containers cottage cheese (farmers cheese if possible)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

I have a large family & wanted to make sure that I had extra to send to my parents to try. If you have a small family; cut this in half, or make & use for breakfast prep/freezer breakfast meal for later.

Mix together.

Sasha hard at work mixing everything together in a big bowl.

Meanwhile, pour some oil of your choice on a skillet on the stove and let it heat up.

Wash your hands again. Leave them a little wet, but not dripping. Grab a smallish size amount of cheese mixture and form into a patty & place on stove. Wet hands again & repeat one by one. You’ll want to fry them until they are golden brown. DO NOT move them until you see the crust forming on the bottom & the top looks flat like pancake batter, no longer like cottage cheese (the cottage cheese will slop all over the pan if you flip too soon). Flipping is more difficult than with American pancakes.

Once both sides are golden brown, transfer to a place &…

Serve.

I served these with peaches. I had planned on making cream to go with them as well, but got too overwhelmed with the flipping that I decided peaches were enough. Next time I will definitely make the cream ahead of time because it would be a very nice treat to go with them.

Now that I made them and know what to expect, I will feel more confident making them from here on out. I am excited to try them with various toppings, especially other fruits & jams. They are more savory than sweet, so the fruits bring a natural sweetness to them. They are really, really good though- the kids even said they were delicious!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Big Summer Cuts

Motherhood, Uncategorized

We found the BEST kids salon in the world. Seriously.

It is SUCH a cute place! Its like a miniature version of a grown up salon and everyone who knows me, knows how I feel about miniature things 😍.

Seriously though, I couldn’t get over how cute this place is! As soon as you walk in they offer you a drink; water, cold brew, or local craft beer. I can almost never turn down a cold brew 😉.

There is a cute little gift shop with adorable hair accessories and little toys. There’s a hair product section of kid-safe products for sale as well. There’s also a play section with wooden toys in the waiting area to play with.

There is also a room for nails & glitter tattoos which is where the birthday parties are held. The receptionist was telling us about more future plans happening that will make this kids salon EVEN better! I can’t wait to see how that is even possible!

Before

During

After

Mia got one braid in the front + purple glitter. Ella got two braids tied behind like a ninja which could not be a more perfect hair style for her + blue glitter.

Mia kept her long hair just trimming off the dead ends, but Ella brought hers closer to her shoulders so that it would be a lot easier for her to maintain without taking too much length. She has very thick hair that locks up really bad. Brushing her hair has always been a traumatic event for both of us, so I am really hopeful that this new style helps. It definitely looks adorable!

This really was such a fun experience and is going to be our haircut home from now on. We have officially become that family that will only go to one place for the rest of our kids lives. Seriously though, it’s that great of a place! We will definitely be back for Mia’s birthday in August for a pamper sesh!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Celebrating Moses

Crafts & DIY, Motherhood

We had our parents (minus my mom ☹️) & Kaden over tonight to celebrate Moses’ birthday. We were supposed to last weekend, but most of our family had a cough and/or runny nose, so we postponed to tonight, but unfortunately my mom tested positive for covid today so she stayed home.

My original plan was supposed to be a grill-out, but since it rained on & off all day, we moved it inside instead so I just threw something small together.

I used our tree stump cake stand from our fall forest wedding for a homemade chocolate cake. I made little “s’mores cups” out of garden seed starter cups & filled a fall mini loaf pan with gummy bears. I grabbed a stuffed squirrel we had & had the kids find me some sticks to place in a vase for decor.

I found these cute little cake toppers on Amazon and just stuck them in cute. My dad commented that it looked better than the ones I get from a bakery which made me sooooo happy to hear & really proud of my hardwork.

We ordered a variety tray of Subway sandwiches since our food menu changed on us. I also put out Pretzel twig sticks, wild berry mix my dad brought, and some babybel cheeses that I drew spots on to look like ladybugs.

I found this cute woodland theme party set on Amazon. They were adorable.

I made the garland finding photos on Pinterest that looked similar to the plates. I printed them out, glued them to construction paper, them laminated them & cut into individual pieces. I used a hole puncher to make holes and tried some yarn through to hang up. It barely took any time at all and looked really cute.

Moses was pretty nervous by the candle. He took a few bites of his piece before throwing it on the floor.

The handsome guest of honor with his super adorable “I’m Ukrainian, what’s your superpower?” Shirt.

It was really small, but it was only his first so realistically he had no idea what that whole shindig was for. It was still cute though and I hope everyone had a nice evening celebrating my Mosie Man.

Niko told me that I am “the best mom in the world” when he came home from work which really meant so much to me. He knows how hard I am on myself about being a mom & always thinking I’m not good enough/not doing enough so that really meant the world to me. I just hope the kids think it, that’s what really matters.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Little Summer Cuts

Motherhood, Uncategorized

We went with Grandma Colleen to lunch today at Panera (I had a pick 2: Mediterranian Veggie Sandwich + Strawberry Poppyseed Salad without chicken… SO yum! The girls both had mac & cheese + strawberry yogurt) then took Sasha + Athena to get their hairs cut for summer!

We wanted to break the girls up by the big & little so it wouldn’t be as overwhelming for anyone which was a really good idea.

Before

During

After

They look so cute & behaved so well today. I was so proud of them!!

Back to mom life.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

A Year With Moses

Motherhood, Uncategorized

I can’t believe it was Moses’ birthday yesterday!! A whole year has passed since he was born. He’s my best friend. My little dude. My Mosie Wosie. We have a special connection that no one else can understand, but I’ll try to explain it to you ❤

This photo was taken the day before he was born.  I was so excited to meet my baby. We waited until birth to find out the gender.

Towards the end of the day I began feeling extremely nervous. More nervous than with any of my others babies births. A different nervous, like something was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t know the gender, or maybe it was because I was using a different doctor & hospital this time because of financial reasons. Whatever it was, my intuition is strong.

I woke up still nervous as can be. A total anxious wreck. More nervous than excited. My father in law asked if I was normally this nervous. I said, “no. Not at all.” We headed to the hospital.

Before surgery, I had a terrible feeling. During prep, I had to have my spinal done twice because the first one wasn’t done correctly. This time I felt a “pop” that I’ve never felt before in any previous c-section. I remember hoping I wasn’t paralyzed when this was all over. 

During the surgery, everything seemed to be going fine. They let me know I would feel pressure, and my husband said “it’s a boy!” The look on his face was all worth the wait. That was one of my favorite memories of seeing Niko.

They didn’t let me hold him right away. That was weird. It didn’t hit me that something was wrong yet. I asked to hold him. Niko handed him to me and took this photo of us. I began feeling really weak. I was pouring sweat. I told Niko he needed to hold him. I began feeling scared. This didn’t feel right. I asked Niko to hold my hand. I felt like I maybe wasn’t going to make it through this time.

I was told the doctor sliced my bladder and another team was on their way for a bladder surgery. I don’t remember much else until we got back to the room. My brain isn’t ready to remember yet.

The doctor told us we were not allowed to have any more babies because my uterus & bladder are now fused together. I was told I would need to wear a catheter for at least 2.5 weeks, possibly indefinitely- just depends on how well my body heals.

After an extremely traumatic birth experience, we made it through- alive & together. He was perfect.

Because of the birth trauma, nursing was difficult for us in the beginning. Everyone around me was trying to push me to give in to the formula, but I dug in my heels. There was NO was I was going to sacrifice nursing my baby.

My husband had to be home with the girls, so I was alone most of the day + night in the hospital- that was really hard for me. Like really hard. I held a grudge about that for a long time and every now and then those hurt feelings still pop up.

My mom came as often as she could to try to keep me in good spirits and fed. Normally I love me some good hospital cuisine room service, but I’d rate this cafeteria 1 star at best.

While I was alone in my room, my emotions hit me. I was in total shock over what happened. I felt betrayed being left alone, especially so quickly, after what happened. I felt grief and loss over the fact I was told I couldn’t carry anymore children, that was not our plan at all and that decision was taken from me. I felt anger for that. I felt worried that my sadness would affect my bonding with my son. I felt guilty for being upset. I was unsure of what the outcome of this injury would be. I was worried about what our financial situation would look like since Niko had to take off work to be our primary caregiver. I was a total mess of emotions

I was stuck inside a shitty hospital, with a shitty view, and had no idea what the future was about to bring so I cried. And while I was crying a nurse walked in. She did she said nothing. She did her business then left. Then returned with a piece of paper, maybe it was a packet, and told me she needed me to fill it out. It was scale to find out if I had post-partum depression.

I didn’t have post partum depression. I had birth trauma, natural emotions, and was totally out of control of my own body & health. I had a life changing situation occur

Once we came home, I began feeling better. I don’t do so well in hospitals. Never have. Usually I’m up walking around as soon as I return to my room and beg the doctors to let me leave until the minute my discharge papers are in my hand.

I was pretty immobile with the catheter. When I laid down, all of the urine pooled until I stood up. I’d have to stand at the top of the stairs while my husband walked the bag down it to get it to fully drain. Turns out, it was put in incorrectly and wasn’t properly draining. I learned this while checking to see if my bladder healed. They strapped me to this metal table horizontally, but they had to turn the table up vertically to get it to drain at all. I’m lucky I didn’t get a serious infection.

For the first several months after I was still moving much slower than normal, but I was loving every second of getting to know Moses. We have been inseparable since his birth.

He is a total Mama’s Boy & I couldn’t be happier about it. Since he’s our baby, I try to appreciate the moments more. I try to not complain when he needs more of me than I have to give. I will carry him as long as he’ll let me. I will nurse him as long as he wants. He’s my baby & I won’t rush these precious last moments.

He’s my second chance at being a boy mom. I messed up my first time so badly & was “robbed” of my boy mom experience by my relapse after his c-section. I missed so many important parts of his life while I struggled to get sober. I so desperately wanted a second chance.

I got my second chance & this time I won’t mess it up. I was convinced for so long that God wasn’t going to let me have another chance with a son as “punishment” for not taking better care of my first. I was given another chance in exchange for my ability to have anymore children. He was well worth it.

[*Just to clarify- I do not see my girls as a punishment at all. I love them each to death, they are amazing & have taught me so much about sisterhood both at home and the broader sense of the word. They are each a piece of me and a necessary part of my life lessons, some I’m learning now & others I’ll continue to learn along the way.]

He has the sweetest heart & knows just how to melt yours. He’s a total cuddle bug. He loves music & dancing to it. He’s picky about food, but when he really likes something he makes it know with a loud “mmm” and a smack on the highchair. He’s shy around new friends, but once he opens up he has such a fun personality. We can’t go anywhere without someone stopping to comment on how beautiful of a boy he is. On two totally separate occasions, an elderly woman has walked up to him just to tell him he makes the world a better place. That can’t be coincidence.

He still nurses regularly throughout the day and at least once at night. He’s in 2T clothing already and around 25 pounds.

He has 8 teeth. 4 on top, 4 on the bottom. He’s cruising along, but not yet walking on his own. He’s starting to say a few words. He now says “stop” when his sisters are bothering him too hard. It comes out more as “op,” but it’s clear he knows what he means. He also now says “up” when he wants to be held.

We had a really nice simple birthday celebration for him last night We ordered Larosa’s Pizza and shared cake & ice cream. He “opened” his presents and played. His real celebration will be this weekend.

I am so very grateful for Moses and this past year. He has brought us so much joy, gratitude, and so much love. He has so much love just flowing from his tiny little body. His aura is absolutely hypnotizing.

I am excited to see who he becomes as he grows. I will continue to take these moments all in and not take any of them for granted. Before I know it, these days will be a distant memory that I miss terribly, no matter how hard it gets sometimes.

We love you so much Mosie ❤ You truly do make the world a better place because of you.

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov