Arabian nights, like the Arabian days...

In as much as I would love for Rawly to only have eyes for me, he's met his first fling--a cute little German girl! She's three months his elder, but about the same size. Her motor skills are more refined than his, and she has two little teeth poking out--I think that's what did it for him. For her, it was his red hat--her dad sang "Rawly in red is dancing with me..." in his German accent. She's quite proactive too, during their first meeting she reached right out and grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go! On their second encounter he got up the nerves to touch her leg and she swatted him away like she was saying, "As if!" (At least that how the moms interpreted it.) Last night there was live music at dinner and the two of them looked like they really enjoyed dancing as their little squeals of delight filled the night air.It's been fun to see them interact (probably more so for us parents,) she's the first baby that he's touched or communicated with. When we get back we'll have to do a better job at fulfilling his social needs and finding him "play dates."

Skidamirinkadinkydink

Skidamirinkadoo, I love you! I love you in the morning and in the afternoon; I love you in the evening and underneath the moon. I love you! These are the words that you'd here if you were hanging with the Chapmans for any period of time over three hours. For a little over a month now Ken and I have been swaddling Rawly to sleep with a song and a wiggle thanks to the good doctor from “The Happiest Baby on the Block.” Some sleep philosophies might say that this is our crutch—but boy howdy how I enjoy it. There are two reasons: first, Rawly finally sleeps enough during regularly scheduled naps and at nighttime (he's slept through the night four times already and generally wakes just once around 12:30 for his nightcap.) The second is that I absolutely love putting him to sleep! It brings me so much satisfaction when I can bring a tired, fussy boy into sweet slumbering bliss in five to ten minutes (quite often less than that.) Watching Rawly sleep (or I'm sure any sleeping baby) is one of those eternal nows—those moments in life when you just want time to stay still and remain in the joy of the moment. Even during those times when it takes a little longer, he's extra tired and crying hard and loud, we remind ourselves that these times will be short lived. Soon he'll be climbing into his own bed and before we know it, I'm sure he'll be falling asleep in his dorm room or his first apartment. Oh how we cherish our little Rawls (when he's awake also)!
It's quite possible that all babies do this, but here are some things that Rawly is up to lately...He's always loved lights so walking around our lit up resort at night full of marvelous new wonders for the little guy. When he wakes up from a nap he arches his back, stretches his arms out above his head, and as soon as he makes eye contact, he grins from ear to ear. We recently received a big diaper changing (no roll away) foam pad, when we put him down for his change his arms and legs start pumping with uncontrollable glee. And if we move our face over his, blocking the bright light, Rawly's eyes pop open as he squeals with his toothless grin. Once he has on his clean diaper, we flip him over and play games, sing songs, or just talk and giggle back and forth. Also he has begun to gnaw on his fist and slobber all over the place--new toofers here we come! He loves his fist so much and sometimes chokes himself when he opens his fingers inside of his mouth, so that he starts this cute little cough. He's also started to stick out the tip of his tongue a lot when he's smiling, mouth full of bubbles. We have been blessed with such a mellow, laid back and happy baby!

Living in limbo

It's been a rough few weeks...after much debate, we (temporarily) moved into another apartment. As many of you know or have heard, our bathroom has issues. I'm not going to lie, I cried the first day we got here when I saw the bathrooms. Nothing was actually wrong with them, they were just a little different than I had pictured. Old tiles, 50's green (like an old Chevy wagon), then another green for patching broken ones, and a shotty job with larger, newer tiles on the floor that didn't quite make it to the wall on the back and one side and had piles of "gunk". It's no wonder that pictures of our apartment didn't include the bathroom. Over the past few months we've grown fond of our cozy little apartment, except for the hazard zone. Right before Rawly was born water started dripping from the pipes near the toilet. And that crevice between the floor and wall, well it would be wet in the morning and dry up during the day. There arose a damp icky smell that we tried to mask with candles. It became habitual to take a deep breath, run in, relieve yourself, wash your hands, and escape as quickly as possible. The pipe was fixed in December, but when we came back from Italy, it began leaking again. Then the hot water went out. At first we thought, well, they must be fixing the leak. But it never came on again.
A week they said. Fair enough, our bathroom was to be remodeled; tiles taken off the wall, bleached, moldy grout removed, etc. The way Ukrainian time goes, I figured on at least two weeks (it's kind of like the "manana" of Latin culture.) Week one passed; week two brought the news that if the hot water was fixed, then they would go ahead with renovations--as they "Europeanized" our bathroom. Apparently Europeanizing involves enclosing all visible water pipes--an added plus.
Then just this last Thursday we were told, "The guys are there to work, can you make sure everything is out and ready, now?" It was the middle of the day, and we had classes to teach, so I went over after school. The guys had begun and as an added bonus they were also tearing apart our shower bathroom! (Most Ukrainian apartments have a toilet room and a separate bathroom.) So it had been two weeks. Two weeks to begin, not finish! We'd moved clothes and food to the new apartment, back to the old one, then to the new one. Living between the two places has proved to be difficult. They taped off our bedrooms so that they don't get dusty, but the kitchen and living room are a different story as they've become the storing place for all of the tiles. We go on vacation next week and they are supposed to be done by the 26th--let's hope so! Then we'll be back to our home sweet Ukrainian home!!!

My silly quirks

I like numbers. Generally odd numbers; except for today’s date. Today is grandma’s birthday. I know that she has passed on, but it’s still a happy day in my heart. From the time I was a little girl, I’ve enjoyed the day. With Grandma living in California, I never actually spent the day with her. But, I remember seeing her charm bracelet when I was nine or ten and ever since then this day two days after Valentine’s Day has been special.

Speaking of the grandmotherly type…this morning on my way in, I was accosted by BG (Galina has a similar stature to my grandmother for those of you who loved her, you know what I mean.) Anyway, BG looked at me in that “tisk, tisk” sort of way and said, “You have to keep your breasts warm. What is this open jacket? And…wet hair? Ahh, where is your mother? She would get you right (as she swatted my backside.J)” I think that this must have something to do with another Ukrainian superstition that if a girl sits on concrete without a cotton barrier for warmth her ovaries will freeze. While I was pregnant I sat on cement steps, benches, water fountains just to prove my point—am I ornery or what?

That song, “Only in America!” keeps ringing through my head, but instead I sing, only the elderly—honestly who else could get away with that? Luckily, I find the whole situation quite humorous!

In my defense, we walk only 300 yards from our apartment to the school (some days Ken doesn’t even wear a coat, but I guess his milk isn’t going to freeze!) It’s just under freezing today, but our apartment is SOOO hot from the radiators, as is my classroom. So I enjoy the brisk jaunt. It makes me feel alive! Since my ovaries never froze, as far as I can tell, the milk will keep flowing whether or not I zip my jacket.

Recent highlights

Yesterday while giggling and looking up at me, Rawly interlaced his fingers with mine. I don't even think that I know how to begin to explain that connection.
Saturday our school had a baby shower for Rawly. I teared up (big surprise) as Ken thanked everyone there for their support before and after Rawly's birth. We are so grateful for our friends and co-workers here and so thankful for their love and generosity. Right after Rawly was born, a family arranged meals for us for two weeks and gave me some English DVDs to watch! And at the shower, they were just as apt to jump in and help another family in a similar way. There's a special bond being formed among us all. It's a relationship that couldn't be duplicated. We rejoice at silly things like finding "real" tortillas or Parmesan cheese in the supermarket. We share in the excitement of travel and the struggle of immersing ourselves in another culture--which can be a daily challenge. Being a language teacher, I've always tried to combine culture into my lessons. Being immersed in a completely foreign one, I'm constantly reminding myself, "Take a step back Alyssa." But it sure is difficult sometimes!
On another note, I don't think that I communicate this enough...Ken is really fantastic! During the end of my pregnancy, he took over and did the shopping, most of the dishes, and a lot of the cooking. And even now he jumps in to make dinner without being asked :) Tonight's fajita night (thanks to Mom for bringing over spice packets!) As I'm sitting here, he just brought me a slice of red pepper--one of our favorite treats. This morning in the hall Ken and I were chatting before school began, our school Registrar commented on how strange it was to her to always see us together because most of her married friends did everything in their power to not be with their spouses--let alone would they want to see them at work everyday. What a sad existence! We are so fortunate that we get to work along side our best friend (as cliche as that may sound.) While I'm tooting his horn...the other day one of Ken's students brought in guacamole to his geography class (it was the first time that many students had tried it--so weird). Being the "guac" connoisseur I am, I ran up the stairs after his class began hoping to get a spoonful of the beautiful greenness. What I stumbled into as I rounded the corner was one of the coolest classes ever! His students were in the middle of a mock EU conference where they were debating which countries should or should not become a part of the EU. The kids were completely engaged in it and were having lively, relevant debates siting intriguing facts and current events that weren't even on my radar. It was sweet. Don't worry, I did get a taste of goodness later in the period!