Christmas 2009

Christmas this year was a sweet time for Aleks, Maia, and I. We decided to spend our first Christmas at home, without the stress that traveling can cause.

The week before Christmas we had a few friends over to decorate "gingerbread" houses (made with graham crackers) and had a blast enjoying their company.

Seriously, how cute is she?!

The older sister.

Our house was decorated and the stockings hung on the mantle with care.

(Right after I took this picture, Maia rolled off the couch onto the floor. She's ok.)

Maia was super excited for Santa to come in the morning, she was dressed in her red pajamas ready for a good night's sleep.

(You can tell the level of excitement by the blurriness that are her arms.)

After Maia went to bed, Aleks and I ate the mole poblano chicken enchiladas that he had spent all day making. To read a full description of the event, you can check out his blog.

Maia woke us up on Christmas morning at 6, and after her breakfast of peaches and oatmeal, we opened presents!

After Maia went down for her morning nap, Aleks and I had breakfast. I had made a Kringle, (a Skandinavian pastry), which my mom usually makes on Christmas morning.

We spent most of the day taking it easy, watching movies, and going for a walk. We received a call from my mom around 1 with the news that her mother had passed away. Grandma has been sick with Alzheimer's for awhile and has been in and out of the hospital since June. She was such a special lady and there will be an emptiness with her gone. The sadness of losing someone I loved has also made me so grateful for the strong family ties that remain. The memorial service will be on Jan. 2 in Castro Valley and we plan on being there. I look forward to celebrating my Grandmother and helping support and show love to my Grandfather.

Aleks and I spent the rest of the day cooking. It was a really special time for us to talk about our families, Grandma and Grandpa, and many other things. Although the circumstances are crummy, Aleks and I were able to bond closely that day.

Our favorite moment of the day was cuddling up with Maia on the couch and watching the Muppet Show. She loved it and we were able to get some rare snuggling from her.

Here are some pictures of our Christmas dinner:

Yeast rolls that I made

Aleks did an awesome job with the steaks, look at the crust on that thing!

The menu:

Filet mignon with goat cheese and balsamic glaze

Mashed potatoes

Rolls

Arugula Salad (aren't you proud mom?)

I also made a bouche de Noel. I think it looks pretty, but unfortunately, it didn't taste very good. It was just really rich without a lot of flavor. We ended up throwing it away...

We hope you had a blessed Christmas. Love to you all.

Huge Leaps

In just the past few weeks Maia has made some huge developmental leaps. Here are some things that Maia is now doing:

When we say "Clap your hands!", she claps her hands

She signs "more" and "all done"

When we say "Shake" she shakes her hands up and down

She now waves hello and goodbye

and my favorite:

She plays peek-a-book by hding her face in a shoulder, blanket, or whatever is around

She's too much fun.

Christmas and Chanukah is upon us.

My wonderful wife usually writes these Blog updates, but I have been given the task of reviewing our 2009. Every year we write a Christmas letter and it always seems like the next year can't get better, but somehow it does! This year was no exception with lots of amazing highlights. So in no particular order...

• On April 4, 2009 weighing 8 lbs and measuring 20 1/2 inches long, Maia Lee Sternfeld-Dunn was born! A friend said that before kids, you exist as a couple, but after kids, you are then a family. How true that is. Maia is now 8 months old- learning lots, growing strong, and putting on quite a show. For more about her check out earlier entries in this blog.
• After a year at teaching WSU, Aleks was offered 2 other jobs. One was for a visiting Assistant Professor at Central Connecticut College, CT and the other was for a tenure track position at Casper College, WY. After much discussion between Emily and Aleks, as well as the current department chair, Aleks returned to WSU for another year. He now has a new title: Clinical Assistant Professor. Fancy isn't it? Overall, Aleks is enjoying his teaching job, has great students, and gets to teach really interesting classes.
• This year Emily began teaching at WSU as well. She teaches applied voice as an adjunct member of the WSU Faculty.
• Emily has continued to grow her private studio as well. She has a full studio with 14 students, both studying piano and voice.
• After about four years Aleks has finished his dissertation and successfully defended it! He is now officially a doctor... but not the kind that helps people.
• It has been a good performance year for Emily. She recently gave a WSU Faculty Recital consisting of music for voice and non-keyboard instruments. She is also a finalist in the Coeur d'Alene Young Artist Competition and will compete in the beginning of January.
• Aleks had a busy year of composing. Along with completing his dissertation, he finished a a piece for English Horn and Cello that was commissioned by oboist Keri McCarthy. Aleks also has three more commissions that he is working on. In addition, Aleks received a grant from Meet the Composer, had a new band piece published by FJH publishing, had his recording of Joker's Wild released by the Kiev Philharmonic, and had his Sonata for Alto Saxophone selected for a CD release on Capstone.
• Aleks and Emily are no longer home owners. While this is sad news for some, it is great news for them. After sitting on the market for longer than they wanted, their Connecticut cape-cod sold, and they are now waiting patiently for a little geographical stability before they buy again.
• Emily has developed a great group of friends who are also new moms to children Maia's age. They meet about twice a month to visit and have the babies interact. Emily is so grateful for these friends and loves seeing Maia play with her friends.
• Aleks has a new passion: cooking authentic Mexican food. He started his new hobby with mole sauce and has continued with pork verde, tacos, enchilladas, salsas... the list goes on and on. Aleks and Emily are continuously trying to find new cabinet/counter space for all the dried chilies Aleks is buying. They are eating really well though!

We feel truly blessed for so many things in our lives right now. We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and very happy New Year!

Love,

Aleks, Emily, and Maia

Love letter, 8 months, and a Thanksgiving Cruise

Lately I've been thinking about how thankful I am for my husband. Here are a few reasons why I love him so much.

1. He is always making me laugh.

2. On the longest traveling day we've ever experienced (by ourselves or with Maia) he regularly asked me "What can I do to help you?".

3. He doesn't hold a grudge when I'm super cranky with him in the middle of the night. Granted, I shouldn't be mean even if I'm tired, but he's figured out how to ignore the crazy things that come out of my mouth at 4 a.m.

4. When we were on the cruise and I was in the cabin most of the day while Maia was sleeping, he let me use his Kindle, even though he was in the middle of a book.

5. He sometimes goes out after dinner to get me ice cream.

6. He likes to cook, so I don't always have to make dinner.

7. He comes home after work to watch Maia while I teach and never complains about it.

8. He works his butt off applying for jobs and competitions.

9. I know that he's always trying to better himself professionally and personally.

10. He cleans the bathrooms.

I'm so blessed to have him as a partner.

Maia is 8 months old on Friday! It's hard to believe that she's already that old. She's cut her first tooth, it's the bottom, front left one. She's not crawling, and just until recently hasn't been too interested in it. However, in just the past few days, she's been rolling all over the floor to get from one thing to the next, so I think crawling is in the near future. She gives kisses when you say "Can I have a kiss?", open mouth and everything! We've started getting some really good belly laughs from her and it's becoming apparent that Maia has a good sense of humor. The other day she thought it was very funny that I couldn't find her boots as we looked all over the house. Maia also knows to look around for Daddy when I ask her where he is. She also says dada, we think in reference to Aleks, but it's not consistent yet. On the cruise we held up a ball and said "ball" and she said "ba". Coincidence? We're not sure, but it seems like she's definitely begining to at least think about talking!

For Thanksgiving, Danni took us on a cruise to celebrate her 60th birthday, which was in June. We had a wonderful time and Maia was the queen of the cruise. By the end of the week, almost all of the dining staff knew her name and loved saying good morning to her. Maia would bestow smiles on all who said hello. I'm sure she's wondering where all her loyal subjects are now that we're home.

Bathing Beauty in Jamaica

Lunch in Cozumel, Mexico.

All dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner.

Flirting with the restaurant staff in Grand Cayman.

In the ocean in Jamaica.

Swimming in Jamaica. Maia loves the water!