A day set aside for her

Our friends from school hosted an excellent shower for Zoya the other afternoon.  Here are some highlights.

A toast from Betty

Smachna food

Zoya staring intently at Cassie

Soon-to-be friends Ellie and Kynslee

Traditional embroidered shirt and a silver spoon from the Ukrainian staff

Amazing pinwheel quilt with bright fall colors

Also from a collection of staff members and a local artist

Some of my favorite things:
1) Holly was so proud of herself and went to great lengths to make sure that she found a brown and pink outfit this summer because Ken once mentioned how silly he thinks that color combination trend is.
2) Silver spoon = no cavities
3) Not related to the shower, but a couple days later we learned a Ukrainian saying that if a child pees or poops on you, you're invited to the wedding!

A unique birthday party

Saturday marked Rawly's second birthday and Zoya's first month.  With slumber still in our eyes, Ken and I went in to Rawly's room singing "Happy Birthday" (there's a tradition in Mexico were the birthday person gets woken up to "Las Mananitas", so we modified the idea, maybe we'll make our own song one day too.  Then Ken and Rawly made special number "2" pancakes for us.  Rawly loved his "happys" (candles) and kept wanting to put them in his food all day long.

The birthday boy dressing himself

Our friends Johnny and Ira go down to orphanages in a mining town called Krivoi Rog about every other weekend.  They really wanted to give some of the kids something special--coming to Kyiv.  Most of the children have never left the orphanage grounds (unless it was to transfer to a different orphanage.)  So they raised funds to bring twenty kids for the trip of a lifetime.  They came by overnight train and went sightseeing, to the zoo, ate lunch at McDonald's, played soccer at the new stadium where the EuroCup will be held this summer, and then split up to have "family dinners."

Anton, Artyom, Sergey thought that Sloppy Joe's were hilarious

Banana split sundaes

A masterpiece in the making

Our neighbors (from Idaho too!) on the left and Peter (from church) translated for us.  

Watching the festivities

Not sure who was more excited, Ken or the boys

Happies for everyone

С Днем Рождения!  Happy Birthday!

Too stuffed to finish

Big boy bed and other firsts

The "men" (from school) brought over Rawly's new bed during naptime, so when he woke up he and Dad were able to set it up--everyone approved of the new addition, even Zoya.  He's now had two sleeps and two naps in it--hurray!

Rawly driving Zoya on the first of their many adventures

First snow--so good she's sticking out her tongue to taste it

Rubber ducky

Ah shucks, do I have to bathe?

Getting help from Dad and Brother

Not so thrilled

In Dad's arms

Much better

PB and Jam

Our household has been ablaze with new things...Here are some of the latest:

First PB and J--Duzhe Smachno (Super Tasty!)

Dad and Rawly's impromptu "jam" session...(sorry, not too exciting--the video won't load, boo hiss!)

Life together

Tucking her in with "Don Quijote"

Homecoming

Who turned out the lights?

Dr. Victor assured me that he will be happily awaiting our return in another year and a half!

A walk in the park

Making sure that she didn't go anywhere

Grandmas on excursion

Cuddle time

Our quest for pumpkins eventually brought us these two bad boys!

Tummy time

Kisses for Jack, his first pumpkin

It's difficult to remember Rawly at this age.  Ken and I remember leaving the hospital completely clueless as to what our life as parents would entail, this time around was a little different.  Now don't get me wrong, at each new phase we feel exactly the same--"OH NO! How are we going to handle this?"  But it always works out.  We are super grateful for the families here that share their little parenting tidbits with us and for our friends and families back home for your love and support across the distance.