His 1st Birthday

After debating for several weeks what we should do for Maks' first birthday (as caring father, more than once I suggested we don't do anything), we decided to invite a few of our friends with their young kids for a birthday party in the park. The heat is on in San Jose, but we managed to find a park where we could escape the heat, eat some food (including my signature dish, Russian salad), and even open Maks' first birthday presents. Below is a photo story of the event.


Right as we arrived, most of his friends have not showed up yet, and Maks began to wonder whether he has any friends in this world and if this will be the worst birthday party ever.


Never mind. His friends are all here, and Maks continues to be popular among girls, even the older ones.


And here comes his first cake! I'm happy to report that his mom prepared it from scratch, and it was a good one.


OK, time to open up some presents and find out how much his friends truly value him. Or not.


Who gave me a brick for a present? Father, that's not funny.



Ah yes.. Did I say the cake was good? Some kids still like riding in a stroller.



And here is the whole crew. Maks may never again in his life have as many guests at his birthday party.

Thanks to Darbys, Ericksons, Hales, Ashcrafts and their kids for his best birthday ever! I'll send you the link to the full photo gallery in a few days.

I'm Cooler than You

I have not had much time to get out and shoot outdoors lately. Besides, the weather is too hot, too boring for nature photography, and gas is too expensive.

So I thought I'd share one more picture of this little character. One other fun thing about this age is to see all the faces Maks pulls as he attempts to communicate with us a new level. I could easily turn it into a "100 faces of a 1 year old" project and complete it in one day.

Happy Birthday to Maks!

The long awaited first birthday finally arrived and today is a day of celebration in our little family, as Maks is finally no longer an infant. Now he’s a big boy (to compare what he looked like on his first day of his life, click here). The first year in a life of a human is always the most challenging. The life risks are many, but on top of that, they have to learn to see, to eat, to walk, to babble, and even to cheer at hockey games. Maks has succeeded on every front and no doubt we are the proud parents. Here are a few random highlights from his first year in our family.

• During this year, he almost trippled his weight and doubled his height (I think...)
• He simply doesn’t know how to stop talking. He babbles all the time, and now can say “dada” “blah blah” and “Blackberry”. Yes, papa’s Blackberry phone is his favorite toy, and we heard him repeat the word out loud after us once.
• He’s always ahead of our awareness in his development. Last November he learned to turn himself, and before we realized it, he flew head first from the bed to the floor. Luckily, it was a carpet floor, but this was probably the worst day last year, as it not only shocked him, it shocked us even more. No worries – a bruise and he’s fine.
• Maks was visited by his grandparents on both sides of the family. The flight from Moscow was not a fast one for my mom, but driving from Utah via Sierra mountains is not an easy task either.
• During his first year Maks flew to Utah five times (don’t ask me why), flew to Hawaii and back, and visited Yosemite National Park, along with numerous trips along the Pacific coast of Northern California.
• After we got back from the hospital, he’s been bathed every day last year but two days (you’ll also have to ask Becca as to why)
• The longest he’s been away from Becca is five hours
• His best time in 100m crawl is 43 seconds
• He’s been to 5 NHL hockey game, including opening match of the Stanley Cup final where San Jose Sharks faced Calgary Flames. Mama decided to go buy some food, and as she was gone, Maks started crying (we were losing that game, so he was just looking at the scoreboard). When Mama came back 15 minutes later, not only were Ivan and Maks relieved, so were several hundred fans sitting nearby.
• He can now sleep through the night for 8-9 hours straight, and generally acts as a good boy.

Happy Birthday Maks!

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

Although a day late, I'd like to wish happy anniversary to my wife Becca. We got married four years ago in Manti, Utah and wow - what a journey it has been. We both graduated from graduate school at BYU, we moved to California; we travelled all over the map in the United States; we've been to Russia and UK together; we've been to numerous hockey, basketball, football and soccer games together, again, all over the world; we changed jobs; we ran races together; we went to Becca's all-time favorite Lamb Days in Fountain Green, UT; we made many new friends and and overall, led a happiest four years of our lives together. Oh yeah, and we had an offspring, but more about it in the next post.

PS - the picture is from four years ago.

Retraction & Apology

On Sunday, June 22 a claim was made by Ivan stating that Maks weighed 21 lbs. Unfortunately, this is incorrect. I just weighed him on the same scales, fully clothed, and Maks only weighs 18 lbs. So either we are starving him or somebody misread the scale. Sorry Maks! Just because you are turning 1 year old on Thursday doesn't mean you get to sit front facing. Maybe, you and your dad should take another look at your diet... And I'll keep feeding you 7 times a day!

BTW, Sorry for the lack of blogging your blogs lately. We just moved yesterday and we are in between homes. Packing and cleaning was crazy. More info. later!

Bruin Don Hansen

Happy 7-week Birthday Bruin!!! I never announced the birth of my newest little nephew, because I wanted to show a picture of him. Well finally I stole a picture off of Stacy's new blog. Cute little Bruin was born May 5 at 3:31 p.m. 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 19.5 inches long. (Same height as Maks, but a little heavier). My brother, Aaron, and his wife, Stacy, soon learned after Bruin was born that he had bilateral clubfoot. When I first heard the news, I was a little stunned and speechless. I wondered to myself, "What are they going to do???" And then you ask yourself, "What would I do if this was my child????" Well, Stacy and Aaron are very strong individuals and have tons of faith. Stacy is seriously such a Wonder WOMAN and great example to me. I am so glad and proud she is my sister-in-law!! She recently started a blog and you can check it out to see Bruin's progress. He is making great strides (no pun intended)! I can't wait to meet him in July when I go and visit. And I know Maks is so excited to have a new little boy cousin (no offense Hincklee)!

Hi Everybody!

It's been a while I posted an image of Maks, so here you go. He's as happy about life as he's ever been as he's about to turn 1. BTW - he now weights 21 pounds. Big boy.

Happy late Father's Day!

I had the absolutely BEST Father's Day weekend! And I am not even a father. This was seriously more my celebration than Ivan's beginning with my mom arriving on Tuesday afternoon. She, Maks and I enjoyed shopping for fabric at the Vietnamese Fabrics-R-Us for my curtains. (No, I have never used my sewing machine that my mom gave me for my bridal shower. She is the only one that has ever used it. Sad -- I know.) We had so much fun at Trader Joe's and hanging out watching the HGTV channel. On Thursday, I took my mom to Dr. Grace, an Acupuncturist, as a late Mother's Day treat. My dad and sister, Lea, travelled 12+ hours on Friday and met us at In & Out for a delicious hamburger and shake. On Saturday, we all drove to Oakland for a temple session (thanks Lea for watching Maks) and then crossed the Bay bridge to San Fran for a walk on Fisherman's Wharf and some ice cream at Ghiradelli square. Sunday was designated for a Father's Day BBQ at my mom's cousin's home. It was fun chilling out with some of my fam and watching "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio". Then at 4:30 a.m. this morning, I gave hugs and kisses to my mom, dad, and sister as they embarked on their long journey back to UT! It was a short visit, but I am so glad that my DAD (and Mom and sister) could spend Father's Day with us.




And finally, a SPECIAL shout out, to the best father for the Makarov family. Ivan - Maks and I are so grateful to have you in our lives. We love you! Happy Father's Day! And thanks for sharing your See's with us.

Dealing with Oil Crisis

Last Friday morning I was reading several articles in the Wall Street Journal written by economists who thought that we're finally at the point when oil prices were stabilizing and we should see a drop in retail oil prices. On the same day, someone somewhere in the Middle East said that an attack on Iran is inevitable and that caused the oil to skyrocket to $138/barrel. The prices jumped $11 in one day (remember the day when it was the price of a whole barrel?). We may not see a spike in retail prices for a week or two (retail prices lag behind market prices by a bit), but don't expect your gas bill to go down any time soon. What do economists know?

We can't control the markets, and unfortunately, living in the States, we can't just stop driving and start taking public transport everywhere (for comparison, I never drove living in Moscow, there was no need to). Our pay does not increase whenever gas prices jump, but the life is getting more and more expensive, since oil is a live blood of this country.

I don't know how you all feel about gas prices, but Becca and I are at the point when we feel it is time we do something about it. First, last year we upgraded our cars to more efficient vehicles. My Civic gets 35 miles a gallon on a freeway versus 25 I used to get from my old Prelude. Second, we are driving together as much as possible. Third, we decided to cut on other expenses by switching to cheaper cable, better cell phone plan, cheaper car insurance (yes, we actually did switch to Geico and saved 50%!), eating out less and drinking water with cereal instead of milk. Fourth, we will take less road trips this year than we used to. It's getting too expensive to drive out of town.

Personally I predict that the oil will hit $5/gallon in Northern California by July 4th. However, there are plenty of ways to deal with this oil crisis and someday we'll recover. America will finally begin using more of its own oil. We'll see more public transport in use. We'll use alternative energy vehicles. Until that happens, we'll all have to find our own ways of dealing with these rising costs.

How are you dealing with these new gas prices?

Really Worth It?

So, one of my best friends, Amanda, is expecting her first child in September. And yesterday, she sent me an email:

"Did you ever go to any of the Lamaze classes? What are your feelings on them?"

This was my reply, "Hmm... very good question about the Lamaze classes. Ivan and I did it all wrong, but we didn’t want to do classes. I don’t know if birthing classes and Lamaze classes are covered together. I think Lamaze classes could be helpful, but honestly, it is mainly to help you focus on breathing and not the actual birthing pain. And depending upon whether you go natural or have help then you might not need anything to distract you. I heard from some women that the nurse really just tells you know how and when to push. I have a birthing DVD that you can borrow. I will send it to you. Ivan and I tried to watch the 5 – 1 hour segments at once. (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!!) We got sick of it and then turned it off. Several weeks later, we decided to watch it to finish it, but this was after my water broke (not gushed), so very bad idea. You want to take it in strides, so Adam (her husband) won’t get bored and so that he will pay attention. (Nothing against Adam, but this is what I should have done with Ivan). Actually, I watched the whole thing, but wanted him to watch it, too so I turned it on that night while he was working at midnight finishing up some last minute things, just in case we went to the doctor. I don’t suggest this at ALL!"

Since I can't really answer my friend's question. (I'm a bit subjective.) What would you tell her? What are your experiences? Are Lamaze classes covered in the Birthing classes? And are they really worth it?

To Tip or Not to Tip

I did it. After two different reschedulings, I broke down and FINALLY went to the salon yesterday. I was given a great referral to see Mary at Tangles (she actually moved to Mona Lisa). I am trying to be conservative with the budget, so I figured I would just take care of the roots with a touch up of blonde for my partial weave. Mary was super nice and did a fabulous job, I decided by the time I left. However, she had an assistant/shampooer? that rubbed me the wrong way. Not literally. She was just annoying with the way she talked AT you, her fake attempt of caring about any conversation, mannerisms, and so forth. I decided I didn't want to get my hair trimmed at that time, the extra $60 was a little hard to swallow. Any way, after the color, the Assistant shampooed my hair w/o head massage, added toner, and then dried my hair with the blow dryer and brush. At this point, she started actually speaking to me. My hair is pretty long as I am trying to grow it out, so it took her a while. Plus, my hair was a bit snarly. The girl totally pulled and yanked at the knot with that darn big ROUND brush without even apologizing. I don't have a tender head nor a hard head about medium, so it did sort of hurt. But how would she know? And she didn't even apologize! Finally she finished. I told her I didn't need it straightened, because it was late in the afternoon, she proceeded to grab the hot iron and said she'll just smooth it out a bit.

I'm pleased with the color even if Mary didn't follow the pattern from my previous color. (It must be difficult or something???) So I look extra blonde. Ivan LOVES it! I gave her my VISA card, but Mary couldn't take it, because she wasn't programed in the card swiper machine yet. The Assistant was like, cash or check only. (Luckily, I brought my checkbook, because I never carry cash especially $115.) And then the Assistant said do you need cash? "The bank is across the street." No, I am fine thanks.

Needless to say I wrote out the check and gave it to Mary. She gave me her card and I shook her hand (cheezy i know), but she said it was nice to meet you and I said it was nice to meet you too, it seemed appropriate at the time.

After that I walked out and did the just-got-a-hair-do; no-more-roots catwalk down the sidewalk in Downtown Los Gatos. Pretty hot! In the car, I felt incredibly guilty about the no-tipping the Assistant. I didn't even know her name, so I couldn't have written her out a check or maybe I should have.

Side note - I don't think she is only Mary's Assistant, because while I was writing out the check, she was telling Mary that she was working for so-and-so that week and asking Mary if she could get paid, "she needed money". I thought this was a bit unprofessional in front of the customer. (When I was a busser at a restaurant I didn't ask the waiters to pay me in front of their customers.)

So, should I go back and tip the Assistant or does the stylist tip her out of her tip? If so, then I probably short tipped Mary. BTW, what is the right percentage for Mary, the stylist? I could send a little card and put some money in there for Mary/the Assistant. But I wasn't very please with her. I liked Mary's service and I'll probably go back there, but not for another 4-5 months, since I am coming to UT in July. What would you do?

First Things First

What we do the first thing after we wake up tells us something about ourselves. For example, when I get up, I turn off my alarm on my Blackberry phone, and then read my email. I like staying connected and it also helps me to wake up. When she wakes up, Becca sits there for few minutes trying to decide if she wants to go work out. Most of the time she then gets out and goes for a run outside (since we live in California, she is free to do that any day she wants.. no more "snow" excuse). She likes to debate with herself about everything.

When Maks wakes up, he loves looking out of the window to see what's going on outside. He's all about learning and discovery (at least for now), and since we live next to a school, there is always a lot of things happening outside.



What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

I Forced Him to Play

Jen S. tagged me, but I was already tagged recently, so I made Ivan play!


1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Attending Moscow State University (MSU) studying engineering. Seventeen years old. Swimming and working as a computer operator

2. Five things on your to do list today:
- sleep
- swim
- work
- photo shop
- watch Champions League final (Man United vs. Chelsea)


3. Snacks I enjoy:
- Sweet Retreat frozen yogurt
- See's chocolates
- pistachios


4. What would I do if suddenly I were a billionaire?
- Buy a sports franchise like San Jose Sharks
- Pay off Becca's student loans and other debt
- Take my wife on a shopping spree
- Travel
- Invest the rest

5. 3 bad habits (that my wife can't stand):
- clipping finger/toe nails into bathroom sink
- putting empty ice cube trays back into freezer
- pretending to listen to my wife

6. 5 places I've lived:
- Moscow, Russia
- Tver, Russia
- Manchester, England (mission)
- Provo, Utah
- San Jose, CA

7. 5 jobs I've had (not in any chronological order):
- Accounting lab TA
- Walking toy (think Little Cesar or Mickey Mouse type character)
- MTC teacher
- 5 a.m. Custodial in Harmon Building on BYU campus (2 weeks)
- International Tax Accountant, CPA

8. 5 things people don't know about me:
- license at age 23 years old; first car soon after was a 1980 Datsun
- met Manchester United futbol team's head coach Alex Ferguson
- guest on BBC (UK National radio)
- collected metal cans when 9 years old (ask me about it later)
- Prefers cats over dogs

Mean Sprinklers

or is it mean parents?