Paska

It is no secret that one of my favorite things to do with my girls is bake. We don't do it very often because baking usually means making something that is filled with far to much sugar and butter than is advised for anyone on any given day. Since it is Easter next week I had to make the traditional Mennonite Easter bread called Paska. I am very modest in saying that I make pretty much the best paska ever. Plus, my family has cream cheese spread that we put on it that is to die for!

Friday afternoon Livi and I tackled the big task and made a double batch. Since it was too big to all fit in my mixer we had to mix it all together by hand. Sofie was awake by this point and LOVED getting her little hands in there.

Such joy and determination!

Rising! I love this 'rising bowl'. My grandma has used it for as long as I can remember. 30 years of paska, grandma buns and zwiebach has risen in this bowl and now it is mine :)

I forgot to take some pictures of the finished product, but I assure you it is delicious! Happy Palm Sunday!

I'll give you just a quick of our week here too...

Monday we headed in to our first appointment to Children's Hospital for a heart check on Sofie. We were not expecting any complications, we just wanted to check that the info we got from Bulgaria was correct. We were told she had a foramen ovale that didn't close at birth but closed before her first birthday which resulted in a small heart murmur. Sofie did awesome the entire exhausting day. I was worried she was going to need sedation for her ECHO but she did amazing! And for her ECG she was perfect too! We got there early and they got us in right away. After all three appointments we were out of there before the last appointment was even scheduled!

The super good news is that Sofie's heart is completely normal. "Normal, normal, normal." was how the specialist put it. There is no need for follow up until she is 60 years old and there is not even the abnormal murmur we thought! Yay!

Tuesday Livi had preschool and I another doctor appointment with our GP just for some paperwork to be filled out. Then I stopped in for a visit with a friend until the kids nap time.

Wednesday was dance for Livi, then Sofie's first OT Early Communicators group. There are ten kids in the group and I think 8 of them all have DS. Pretty much the cutest group of kids in the world :) They work on sounds and speech and gross motor skills. They even get homework. Hopefully it will help Sofie progress even more in her speech, which is the top priority for us at the moment.

It was really good for me to see Sofie in that setting and see other kids with DS her age. I haven't really connected with other mom's who are at her level. I know you aren't supposed to compare kids, particularly kids with special needs, but I have to say it was really nice being in a group where Sofie was not the exception. They were all the same. I didn't feel self-conscious about any of Sofie's behavior at all. (I don't generally but every once in a while it happens in front of judging mother's eyes.)

Thursday had Livi's preschool again and I had a nurse come to do a physical to up my life insurance a bit.

Friday was a day of rest and a day for making paska! I think this was the day when, instead of sleeping, Livi decided to brush her hair with a round brush. 9pm at night and I'm trying to get it out of her hair...

Thankfully no scissors were needed!

Saturday was busy. The girls had their first swimming lesson classes. Livi did awesome in her Preschool 1 class and Sofie didn't do so well in her Parent and Tot class. Sofie does great in the kid pools and walks around like a pro, but she didn't like being held by me and being where she couldn't touch.

Today, Sunday, we babysat two more kids. We had four kids three and under! Thank God Jon was home to help. I don't know how my mom did it with four under four years old!

We are hoping for a quieter week ahead and a fabulous first Easter for Sofie next weekend!