BIG 2!!!!

Zoe is a big girl now- she is going to day care, doesn't use diapers, eats grown-ups food (spicy Indian and Mexian food are her favorites!) and wants to do everything by herself.
She has recently turned 2 years old and it's about time to share some pictures from her BIG Birthday party!

For her birthday, Zoe invited her friends for a cook-out in her yard. She was hard to catch on camera, as she had many little guests to entertain, not to mention lots of food, desert and a splash ground that needed her supervising.
But here's a glimpse of our BIG Birthday girl, being chased by her friend Carolina:
And here she is with her old parents:
Here Zoe with some of her birthday presents:
Some more pics of the birthday party:

And, of course, the four-letter word- CAKE !!!!
a little bit of cake on Birthday girl's face, means it was worth saving for later ! :)


....and some ice cream for Daddy:

Summer vacations

Zoe started her summer vacationing early this year- on May 16th when she flew to Ukraine to see her grandma Lada and the rest of her Ukrainian family.

Here she is with her grandma Lada:

Picking gigantic Ukrainian daisies (while losing her American shoes :)

and playing on the play ground with her cousin Solomia (behind her):


Zoe also took a train trip to Moscow to see her god-mother Alena and her 4 Russian cousins.

Here she is on the train with her other great-grandma Lyuba- the train stopped through grandma Lyuba's town for over an hour and she came out to see us:


And in Moscow, Zoe got to play with all four of her cousins, ages 5,3, and twins of 1 year and 2 months. She also experience what it's like being the "middle" child :)

Here she is, eating crepes with twins Lisa and Aglaia:

... and hanging out with her cousin Maya:
and departing Moscow, here she is with her god mother Alena:

Zoe also made a brief visit to the Carolinas in early June, where she went to pick up her doggy, Meeshka (we finally moved into a new apartment that allows four-legged residents)

We stayed in South Carolina just a couple of days, with Zoe's uncle Brad, aunt Melissa and cousin Ellis.

Here she is enjoying the hot Carolina weather in a pool with her little cousin Ellis