Proud of Myself

I am please to announce that I am now able to download pictures from my phone again! Now I can share with you (though later) more of Isaiah's adorableness that I have captured at random moments during the day when I didn't want to take my camera around with us.

For instance, this is what he looked like Thursday after we shared an ice cream together in the park.

(don't worry, Wendy, I did wipe off his face, but not until we were done eating because the ice cream was melting, and neither one of us would have wanted to miss a bite, just to have a clean face)

And how is this possible, you might ask. Well, first I must admit that I did not take very good care of my first USB cable. The end that goes into the computer got crushed under a chair. I'm not proud of this part of the story, just so you know. I usually take much better care of things. But the good part, that I am proud of, is that without Thomas' help (he's the techie wiz of the family) I found a new USB cable. Yes, here in Russia! And it was cheaper than anything I had seen that I could have ordered online and had shipped to someone in America for me. And the lady who sold it to me was even nice! So I feel proud of myself for a technological and linguistic accomplishment.

And now you shall all benefit with cute random pictures. You're welcome. Have a grand day!

Family Day in the Park

Last Saturday was BEAUTIFUL, and if I could emphasize that through the typed word any more emphatically, I would do so.  After days and days of rain prior to Saturday and then again since Saturday, our day of family fun in the park is like a mental oasis...oh, it really can be warm and sunny and lovely and like summer in this city!

We packed up a picnic in our special picnic backpack (rather than picnic basket) and headed for Муринский Парк, this amazingly green park with a river flowing through the middle of it that has bike paths and walking paths and tons of luscious green grass (no, I'm not exaggerating here, it is luscious).  We even bought ice cream after lunch as we leisurely walked around the park soaking in the longed-for sunshine!

So, of course, I took a few pictures (with Isaiah's "words"):

What's Daddy doing?  That's what I want to do, too!

Why would anyone want to be inside when they could be outside?  What could they possibly be thinking!

What a great day!

Recent Vacation

Saturday we took a little vacation after my language lesson.  Where did you go?  You might be asking, considering that I made no mention of us going anywhere beforehand.  Well, we took a little trip to America, while never leaving the comforts of our own apartment.

This little adventure was prompted by a few special finds at a store that we recently found, though it's been there for a long time.

Any guess what this is?

I'll give you a hint:  It goes well with what's in the frying griddle, so that the food on the griddle doesn't taste like it's from the griddle but rather from somewhere else entirely.

Now can you guess?  Hmm, I'm so tempted  to make this a contest of some sort to see who can figure out the mystery of the Russian product that sat on our kitchen table.  If people want to guess, I promise to come up with a fun prize!

The next "find" didn't come from the store near our apartment, but rather via the Internet:
Yes!  We got to watch BASEBALL!  Real American baseball.  And even though the Braves lost, it was still fun.  (and we're enjoying a month of baseball thanks to mlb.com, though unfortunately I receive no benefit by mentioning them here)

Naturally, we couldn't eat our hotdogs and watch baseball in our kitchen!  Oh no!  I set up a couple little tables in the living room while Thomas cooked the dogs.  Isaiah was wondering when he was actually going to see something on his plate.

And when everything was complete, Thomas brought in the guest of honor:
After almost 2 years of searching this country (wherever we happened to be in this country that is), we finally found Dr. Pepper, not more than 100 yards from our apartment!

Here's a closer look at the beautiful cans containing that delectable beverage:

This was the first time since moving to St. Petersburg that we have been able to buy Dr. Pepper in this country.  We've bought it in Finland.  We've bought it in Germany.  Friends brought some to us on their trips to Finland.  Our parents thoughtfully had a supply in their fridges for our trips home.  But we had never, until Friday, bought Dr. Pepper in Russia.  And. It. Was. Good.

So, the table was set; the game was cued; and we enjoyed every moment!

It's meals like this that make me proud to be an American!

Try This One, Mastercard

2 Hotdogs:  $0.89

1 Drink:  $0.45

1 Ice Cream Cone to share:  $0.45

Special day with Little Man:  Priceless

Naptime with Isaiah

This morning I am going to a follow-up appointment.  Thankfully, our dear friend Luda is going to come and stay with Isaiah so that I don't have to haul him through a couple of metro stations that have tons of stairs and no lifts.

Another good thing is that Isaiah is pretty tired from a late night Sunday and no nap Monday.  Lord willing, Luda won't have to worry about him "napping" in this fashion:

Something Fun

So, these pictures are actually from our anniversary in December, but I just had to share them when I finally got them off Thomas' phone.  Aunt Luda came and stayed with Isaiah so Thomas and I could have a special night.  After our really great dinner, we took a little bus ride and then walked along the Neva River towards the Hermitage.  Here we are on Palace Square with the Hermitage all lit up behind us:

But this is my favorite picture.

Anyone else kissed on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, Russia?  Ah, the perks of missionary life.

Please Pass the Honey

Tonight at supper Isaiah wasn't all that hungry apparently.  We've been trying to put some weight on him actually since he's the same size as kids 1/3 of his age.  It doesn't help that one of his necessary medicines is actually an appetite suppressor, kind of a bummer.

Anyway, tonight at dinner he ate the pasta that was prepared for him, but he was having some major problems with the chicken.  I won't go into detail on that, but trust me, it wasn't pretty.  There wasn't that much pasta for him, so we pulled out the good ol' lavash (a great bread that Deanna brought us last night!).  Thomas started dipping pieces of the bread in honey that happened to be on the table.  Well, Thomas wasn't fast enough.  Next thing we see is Isaiah reaching over the tray of his chair and dropping pieces of his bread into the honey and then trying to get them back out as if to say, 

"Hey, that's really good, I want more of that stuff on my bread, and Daddy you are falling down on the job, so I'm just going to find a way to do it myself."

He might not talk much, but he sure can communicate!  I so wish that I could have caught that on film (as the old saying goes).

From the Back Seat

This is what happens when you let a little person eat a cheeseburger from Hastee Tastee (that would be in Yazoo City, MS) in the car without careful supervision.

In case you can't tell, there was mustard EVERYWHERE on his face and hands and the car seat belts.  He ate the whole thing though!  Those are some good cheeseburgers!

Snack Time with Little Man

Here's how it goes:

Right hand:  granola bar  Left hand:  1/2 of a chocolate chip cookie

Excitement

Bite of cookie

Bite of granola bar

 Drink.  Repeat.

Unexpected Reaction

So, what's the last thing that really made you cry?  I'm not talking about tearing up; I mean really letting the tears flow.  Probably something sad, I'd imagine.

I recently had a good cry.  Can anyone guess why?  Check out the Thanksgiving dinner post above for a hint.  The person who guesses the closest will get something special from Russia.

Oh, but my parents and Thomas' parents are disqualified because they already know--sorry!  Y'all will get something special from Russia anyway--US! :)

Better With Two

Isaiah doesn't really like to be alone.  He'll do it, but he doesn't like it.  I try to let him have some alone time for a little while every day because I think that it's important for him to know how to entertain himself.

Friday mornings I try to get some major cleaning done, you know, the big stuff like mopping floors and cleaning the toilet and the tub and such, things that are better done in a block of time.  I often clean Isaiah's room first so that he can play in there while I clean the rest of the house and therefore not be crawling around on wet floors.

So where am I going with this?  One morning I woke up late and wasn't able to get my quiet time in before Little Man was up, so I put him in his room to play while I did my reading.  He was not thrilled about this situation, and by the time that I was done reading, he was more than ready to be OUT OF HIS ROOM!

We were having company, so in my mind, "not cleaning" was not an option.  What do you do?  Well, I don't know what you do, though I'm sure that you have some wonderful ideas.  What I do, however, is this:

And Isaiah loved it!  We got this Kelty Kids TC 3.0 thinking that we would use it for traveling purposes to have more hand carrying capabilities in airports.  I have now found another use for it, and both of us were quite happy.

Don't worry, he's completely secure!  We even dance around to the music that I must have playing while I'm cleaning.

How Low Can You Go?

At the end of the recent Harvest Festival, (see post below), there was a limbo contest.  Even though we missed most of the festival events, I'm so glad we were there for this one!  Isaiah laughed and laughed and danced and laughed some more!  Too fun!

Here's Thomas' attempt at the limbo.  He made through a few rounds!

And here's Isaiah enjoying himself to the fullest!

All in all a good day!

'Til it Hurts

You can do lots of things that hurt, but this is my favorite thing to do until it hurts!

Way Up High in the Sky

Living in St. Petersburg affords us all kinds of interesting experiences.  Last week we had yet another first to add to the list.  Our field director from InterAct was visiting with us while he met a team of people coming to do some work in Siberia.  We got to hang out with the team for a little bit before they headed further east.  Naturally they wanted to see some sites of St. P while they were here, and we were happy to help out with showing them around.

We went to St. Isaac's Cathedral, a really fascinating place.  During communism it was actually a museum about atheism.  Now it's been given back to the Orthodox church and is a museum for them.  It's really quite impressive.  And if you pay a little extra you can go up to the colonnade and see the entire city really well.  Having never done this before, I was excited to make the few hundred step hike.  Thomas and I swapped Isaiah back and forth as we climbed our way to the top.  But this isn't the "first" that I really want to tell you about.

About half way up, Thomas was carrying Isaiah and made the tell-tale sniff.  Yep, you guessed it, we had a little delivery to take care of.  In case you are wondering, there wasn't exactly a changing station in this twisting stair case leading us to the top.  Nor was there a changing station once you got to the top.  Not wanting to leave Isaiah's, um, gift, unattended, we did what we had to do.  

And now I can say that I've changed a diaper "way up high in the sky" with the wind whipping around and everything.  Yeah, life is never boring with Little Man.

Thomas and Isaiah--notice the relief on both their faces. :)

I'm not actually trying to look like a Russian woman here, it was cold, and my ears needed warmth!

It's fun having visitors for lots of reasons, but one of the reasons is because we have a chance for family photos!

How Could You Not....

...love this face, complete with the crumb from his hamburger bun!