Sophie as Birthday Princess

Sophie's third birthday "party". It was just Pete, me, Sophie, Liam, Rachel and Dominic. Everything seemed to be new to them- the hat, the birthday cake with candles, blowing out the candles, the presents. Bedtime was not good- they were way overstimulated from the toys!

Cousins Playing

The cousins playing together on our deck and in our backyard. The curly haired cutie is Dominic, my nephew.

A Picnic at Pontiac Lake

It was a warm day, but the water was very cold. After our picnic, we took the kids down to the lake and they experienced a beach for the first time! They loved the sand, and they are real water lovers. We rolled up their pants, but soon enough they were naked with only diapers on, after falling in the water a couple times. Tantrums ensued when we made them leave.

Pics at the Playground

This is our local playground in Farmington. Its really nice, and there are loads of families that go there, so there are a lot of other kids there at the same time!

Pics from the last few weeks Part 1

Radio Flyer

My friend and boss Linda got the kids this great Radioflyer wagon. They're not so keen yet on sitting in it, but they do enjoy pushing and pulling it! I had the camera on some interesting setting apparently.

Discovering Her Tutu

Yesterday morning, Sophie discovered the pink tutu that my co-worker/friend Carolyn gave her. She was playing in the closet, standing on her toy box and pulled it off its hanger. She immediately took off her pj bottoms and put on the tutu. She wore this while eating breakfast too. Here's the lovely photo of her in her tutu....notice the overnight diaper hanging below the tutu....She's getting into my dining linen drawers to find something to use as a blanket for her bunny who's going to sleep.

After we went to the park, I was in the kitchen and the kids were playing. I went into the dining room and turned around to find this....that's a hat I thought I would have her wear to the park and decided not to.
So, at this point, as I'm taking pictures, Liam is saying "EE Ya", meaning "Me too." So, Sophie kindly, and not terribly gently, puts the hat on Liam so I can take pictures of him too.

And here's Liam, comfortable in his masculinity, wearing Sophie's cute hat (and his Cars pajama shirt which he refused to take off when I dressed them).

P.S. I forgot to mention that Sophie wouldn't let me dress her, so she dressed herself. Her shirt and pants are on backwards!

Last Night Went Well!

So, the kids started getting cranky around 4ish. I got a lot done and didn't hit the "frustration overload" point I usually do. It was Pete's turn for bathtime, so I worked on the necessary paperwork more. Bedtime went really well! We played a bit, then told them it was soon time for sleep. Sophie fell asleep really quickly. Once again, Liam didn't want to sleep. We called our Russian friends and had them talk to him, but to no avail. Marina suggested we just let Liam run around and tire himself out. So, we took him downstairs with us. He played quietly, and would sometimes curl up with me. We told it was time to go to bed, and he willingly went. Pete took him upstairs, Liam got in bed and said, "paka Papa." He went to sleep willingly, playing with his cars. I think they needed the exercise, and I think Liam needs time with Mama and Papa sans his sister.

Wish us luck for today!

More Pics for Fun!

Wednesday's a Better Day

Things aren't easy here, and we have our ups and downs. We're still trying to get ourselves into a good routine. One good thing, once the kids are asleep, they stay asleep. I've been able to sleep until 9am, which I've needed, as you'll see.
I'm going to be honest here. Every day, I wake, feeling refreshed. By about 3 or 4 PM, I'm totally frustrated. I think today will be better though! The last two days we've haven't been outside. I took them to the park by myself for the first time today and it went well. We played, and they terrorized the geese. They ran quite a bit, which is good for everyone in the house. I then drove around for 45 minutes while my mom made lunch. Sophie fell asleep in the car and Liam calmed down. They're upstairs playing with my mom right now. Thus, I am photocopying documents for our consulate registration and updating the blog. Ahhh.....bliss! I feel so behind on everything.
Mama is getting the brunt of violence around here. In the last week, Sophie has thrown two different things at my head. The first time was a Winnie the Pooh phone, which was fairly heavy. It hit me in the mouth and gave me a fat lip, bruises and a cut lip. Last night, she threw a hard plastic bath toy at my head and hit me. They both throw a lot, but its honestly not usually heavyish things at our bodies. Liam rages most nights at bedtimes, and its both scary and very upsetting. Last night he bit me four times. You never want to see anything like this in a child, because its really looks like the child in The Omen. We're still trying to figure out how to help/rectify/handle this. I have faith we will get there...we have to.
I've started making things from my sneaky chef cookbook. So far I've made Guerilla Grilled Cheese- not such a hit, Unbelievable Chocolate Chip Cookies- a hit, "Saucy" Meat Sauce- not such a hit with the kids and the French Toast recipe, which was also a hit. I have loads of purees I need to make, and my food processer is getting a workout!
I'm posting pics finally!
Nakey babies who didn't want to put clothes on
We see this often, usually accompanied by the word "Dyee", meaning "gimme" in Russian.
Liam the day we picked him up at the orphanage. Snazzy undershirt!
Both kids in the apartment in Moscow.