Summertime fun

Okay, I admit, I was simply unable to narrow down the choices of summertime fun photos any further than this. You can see Lonya at swimming class at the college, Sergey splashing in the pool after sliding down our playset slide, Lonya up at the top of the slide contemplating the ride, and Sergey up to mischief with the garden hose. This has been the most fun I have had out on the lawn since I was a kid.

The boys have adapted well to their home. They love being here, they love their house, and they love the dogs. The cats are still making themselves scarce.
Both boys are doing well at school. Sergey has really started talking a lot the past month or so, however he is not as understandable as he might be. Urtle lop means purple lollipop, etc. But he is throwing 3 word phrases together regularly ("more milk please" "more fruit please" "more cookie please.") His teachers say he is getting a little more assertive at school, which they think is a good thing. He has always been assertive at home! He is certainly 2, with all the cuddliness and yet bids for independence that age brings.

Lonya had his 4 year old birthday and at his most recent run of vaccinations he was in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. His teachers still say he's doing great. He has had a few time outs, however. We have noticed testing behaviors at home, which always take us by surprise, since he has been such a good boy. We also notice after a scolding he likes to encourage Sery to do things he's been warned against ("pssst.....Sery, jump on the bed!"). But he loves to be given a job helping one of us make dinner or set the table. He has the alphabet memorized and a number of songs. His English is remarkable.

After our successful readoption and second parent adoption in May, the bonding between boys and their mamas continues to strengthen all the time. We just love them both to pieces and can't imagine our world without them. And they are really affectionate brothers, too. The staff at the preschool always comment on how excited they always are to see each other. The boys had the opportunity to meet with extended family this summer. They enjoyed having lunch with and playing at a superb playground with Aunt Hazel and Uncle Hal. Then they got to spend a very fun day with Aunt Pat and Uncle Bruce and all their cousins large and small. A couple weeks later they flew to Chicago and had a great time seeing Grandma and Uncle Jeff and exploring a lot of fun activities in the Windy City. They had their first boat ride, their first bus ride, their first beach trip, several taxi rides, and another zoo experience. Plus they played in a huge outdoor fountain, ate at a sidewalk restaurant and got caught in a true midwestern flash downpour (taking shelter by the lions under the eaves of the Art Institute). They keep asking to go back to all these places (better rev up the tractor, Uncle Bruce, and turn down the trundle beds, Grandma!)

Those visits to relatives constituted our summer vacation for the year, but we have also taken the boys to Alki Beach, to the Woodland Park and Point Defiance zoos, and to various other fun places around Ellensburg, at the same time as Sue has done heroic efforts around the house. She managed to actually refinish a substantial section of the house--professionals wanted $20,000 to do it--and will be able to get the rest done early next summer, now that she has the hang of it.

Heading into the next school year, we just feel totally blessed to be a family.