Brothers

Today's huge, heavy snowflakes were a perfect invitation for an afternoon cruise. Mama Candace and Mommy Sue are convinced that they will be losing weight if they continue to be draft horses. We just smile to think of the boys' joy with each new experience.

Speaking of new experiences...Did you know that a carseat box makes an ideal, indoor slide for toddlers? And a big brown box is so tempting to climb into with a good book.

Americanization

We had to post just to put some photos up! For some reason, we can't seem to add photos to previous entries. We have done it before, but it doesn't work this month. The picture of Sergey shows him bouncing happily on one of Grandma's Christmas presents.

We took the boys through a McDonald's drive through this weekend for chicken nuggets and french fries, and then ate them in the car looking at the trees and the river. We confess, the boys have actually seen some tv now too, though thankfully it did not hold their attention more than a few minutes. I know that will change soon enough.

You can see some of the deer that are wintering on our property. This picture was taken from the living room window. The other day we went for a walk and the deer were so curious about Lonya and Sergey that they actually came toward us and then started following us. This was a little concerning to the boys, especially Lonya, and I had to keep telling them that deer do not eat boys. Today at lunch, the deer were a foot from the back deck and stayed there, raiding the bird feeders all during lunch. Two boys, two women, and two dogs watched with great pleasure (and some barking, which was ignored by the hungry deer, once the deer could see that the dogs were behind the sliding glass door).

Settling In...

We've been home now for 16 days. We believe that we're all on USA time now. The boys' adjustment seems to be going fairly well. They haven't refused any meals presented to them, including lasagna, soups of all kinds, spaghetti, casseroles, etc. Drinks are confined to water, juice, and Sery will drink milk. They love the routine of breakfast, snack time, lunch, snack time, dinner. As a matter of fact, that routine does sound pretty good...

Dr. Oldham, pediatrician, gave both boys a clean bill of health, although they must return in a week for a series of vaccinations---seven total for each little guy. OUCH! That doesn't even count the ones they received in Kazakhstan which are not needing to be redone. American children are little pincushions. The doctor noticed that Lonya seems to be particularly playful and engaging and that Sery is a typical toddler who is into everything. And he didn't even see them chasing each other around his examining table before he came into the room.

The two dogs and the three frightened cats presented a real challenge at first. While Sery was trying to climb his way to the top of Sue's head, Lonya's eyes got big and out came the words, "bolshoi sebakas." He didn't seem to recognize from his many viewings of their photos that they completely outweigh him and can outrun him. After one week, the boys and dogs had come to an agreement of friendly cohabitation but the cats continue to be hiding out in the loft. Lonya actually managed to throw a ball more times than Fletcher wanted to fetch.

We have split up the child watching, with Candace home in the mornings and Sue in the afternoons. This schedule is generally working quite well, and provides that when one adult is exhausted, a fresh reinforcement arrives. Work is quite a relaxing time, even in our previously-thought-to-be stressful jobs. Our hats are off to stay-at-home moms!

The only real issue we have had is sleep. Especially naps. On the one hand, we hear "routine, routine, routine." But the only routine that we've yet accomplished is the pre-sleep routine. The boys are not very cooperative in the actual sleep part of the routine. We march onward.

The boys are showing daily improvements in their trust and love toward their new parents. And they do act like brothers---vacilating between the love/less-than-love behaviors and words. We've been trying to focus our energies at building our family so they've not ventured out much yet but that is forthcoming. Thank you all for your patience.

Home, Sweet Home

It's done! We made it! The flight from Chicago to Seattle was relatively benign, certainly less challenging than our imaginations. The worst times were with Lonya throwing a tizzy about having to buckle up his belt during turbulence. He seems to accept takeoffs and landings but the middle of the flight is for pure fun. Not restriction. Candace had to pull him out from under the seats while he made a spectacle of himself. But the flight attendants were very understanding of the boys' situation and helped by getting special treats that none of us "common folk" know exist on those planes. Did you know that they had yogurt-covered raisins? Sery slept on Sue's lap the entire four hour trip, but must have shifted positions consistently on the quarter hour. Thank you Benadryl!

Of course you know that we'd dreaded the seatbelts in the car. OK, again we're proven wrong. Lonya, once he knew that the carseat was all his (again,an orphanage "thing"), he was absolutely compliant. Sery went right in to his seat and went to sleep. Lonya seemed so happy on the way, singing Russian songs quite loudly and swinging his little legs.

Home was tricky with the two Big Dogs ready to meet/lick the boys. We kept the dogs in exercise pens so that contact will be decided by the boys. There were definitely a few startle effects with barking and excitement. Tomorrow should be better. The boys played into the evening, had dinner American style, took baths in their livestock watering trough (no kidding,we have only showers), and then off to bed and quickly fell off to sleep. We can't be this lucky every day but today was a good one!

They're so cute. We look at them and say to each other, "Are they really our boys?" That's an awesome responsibility but we just smile and get soft inside over it.

One last thought...at dinner, we postponed the food until grace. We had just barely spoken that word when Lonya (after a month's absence in the routine)reached out his hands to Candace and Sery. We're telling you, that boy is amazing! Sery had his first dinner in a high chair, which is a big improvement over Mama's lap!

We probably won't continue much longer, but we may post from time to time to show the adjustments the boys are making. Are we ever glad to be home sweet home.

New Year's Eve and Day

Happy New Year's to all. We four had such a long nap on New Year's Eve that we (all four of us, ages 1.5 to 46) stayed up past midnight. It's hard to imagine a more life-changing year ahead! We can only smile with the prospects.

On the first day of 2006, Dja dja (Russian for Uncle) Jeff, the women, and the boys took a walk to the park. The bitter Chicago winds were biting our faces so it was a short playtime on the equipment. Lonya loves the swings and slides and his uncle, whose hand he held the entire way. Sery got a kick out of chewing the ground bark. He was more often on his nose than toes. When he's bundled in a stroller, people smile as they pass because he looks like an overstuffed doll that has legs and arms outstretched.

Lonya is now an expert on escalators and shows no fear. He can conquer Water Tower Place shopping center with the best of them.

Both boys finally saw television. But nothing held their attention for more than a few seconds except for a New Years orchestral performance. Lonya just stared at the orchestra for probably 15 minutes, and Sery showed that he has mastered the on/off switch.

Grandma had deep conversations with Lonya and taught him many new English words. He warmed up to his Grandma right away. Uncle Jeff had Lonya perform for Grandma, saying "Bush bad!" Grandma was not impressed. What? Politics already? Political banter is expected in this house, however. Sery, sadly, at 20 months, cannot seem to hold his own yet in the ever ongoing liberal vs. conservative debates. But he's really good at taking all the books out of the bookshelves and sitting down with them. We really want to thank Grandma and Uncle Jeff for letting us disrupt their rather ordered lives with these two toddlers.