No news is good news, right?

After church a couple weekends a go--almost 39 weeks

The grandmas arrived on Friday, October 7th, jet-lagged, but ready to welcome their soon-to-be granddaughter into the world.  Unfortunately for us, our little bundle of joy is taking her sweet time contrary to all our efforts--spicy food, lunges, at least a set of stairs (ten flights or more.)  As I sit here typing, she's swaying from side to side, kicking a foot here and there, but the movement we're wanting isn't coming...I'm only two days overdue, but I don't feel anything like I felt in the weeks preceding Rawly's birth--granted, he was a good two pounds heavier (though at this rate, she might just catch up with him.)  I'm off to the doctor tomorrow, so we'll see what he has to say.  Both grandmas are starting to get anxious (and probably apartment stir crazy as well.)  They're getting the hang of things around here, picking up a few words and phrases, braving the stores, and even reading the Cyrillic alphabet (well kind of!)  Rawly appears to be ready too, at night he makes sure we pray for "bibi", his baby sister and gives her a goodnight hug or kiss!

*Update, we went to the doctor Friday, everything is still good...just waiting and trying to be patient.  Last night our power went out, so I walked the stairs with a flashlight.  Down ten flights, up fifteen.  As I mounted last step, my flashlight went out, so walking back down to floor ten was a bit interesting, but I made it. 

School's back in session

 

So far so good, we're both enjoying our classes and--as much as we loved spending the summer with friends and family--to be back to our own place.  Thanks to all of you who made our summer so great and refreshing!

First day of school--33 weeks

Is it really true?

It seems like having our second baby wouldn't come as such a shock as the first.  By this time, we should know the game right?  Well, I still feel like everything is a surprise.  I guess I like it that way, so it works for us!

Here's what we've been up to lately...

37 weeks

Having a blast baking with Mom and snitching handfuls with Dad

Reading with Pedro

A lovely day in the plaza with the Runyans--the golf club goes EVERYWHERE with us

Monkeying around in the forest by our apartment

He even finds the time to do the dishes

Jammin' on the gui-tar

Just like Dad

Is the house on fire?

It was difficult pulling off a surprise, but we did it!  I couldn't get Mom to leave without me, so thanks to everyone for helping set up everything!  When we pulled up, Mom was scared that the house was on fire (the last time there were a bunch of cars in the driveway was when the huge black walnut tree had crashed onto the wood shed)!

Jesse, Nikki, Ken, and I had a double date--making cake balls and hawaiian pork the night before the big event.  Sue Wolf brought masses of roadside sweet peas (what my parents had at their wedding.)

Three generations of lovely ladies... the Chasse's family picture was one of our favorites from Mom and Dad's wedding album.

The cousins--Saraya loved playing with Rawly

Flower girl and the bride (Auntie Nikki)

The Thomas', long time neighbors and my 2nd and 3rd grade teacher

Uncle Jim and Aunt Laurel--what a lovely couple!

Dinner by candle light

Romantic, eh?  One of the many charming attractions of Kyiv--just the three of us sitting around our kitchen table sharing a scrumptious meal while gazing into each others' eyes.  That's how I'm choosing to view it at least.  We're all in the process of trying to adjust to the ten hour time change, so in hopes of regulating Rawly's system, we opted to try for a late bedtime tonight.  We were just sitting down around 8:30 to eat dinner when the power went out (luckily we had finished cooking!) about about two hours later and it was back on.  One thing I do not recommend is trying to entertain a tired toddler and stay awake yourselves without the use of the electric light bulb.
Yesterday was the end of our 20 some-odd hour journey across the Atlantic.  Amsterdam handed us two trips through customs and an 1 1/2 hour delay; we arrived at last to our home sweet home.  We were greeted at the gate by one of the friendly bus drivers and then again at the door with the all too familiar cloud of cigarette smoke (oh where are the joys of clean Camp Creek air???)  Traffic jams aided to our final homecoming two hours later.  Our constant fear since last October break--the stench of humid mold filled our lungs as we opened the door. Next the washer overflowed, and then the breaker kept breaking from our new AC unit.  Welcome home:)  We're back for year three--third time's always a charm--so let's see what the future holds!
It was so good to visit with many of you over the summer.  We always hope to spend more time with more people, but the reality is that summer vacation is not so much of a holiday as we generally hope.  We were able to relax and watch Rawly enjoy discovering the world in which we live; what more could we have asked for? 
Dial up internet prevented us from being "connected and we did also have a little snafu with pictures on our digital camera,  so I'll try to update our summer adventures as best I can in the upcoming weeks. 
May the romance continue!
Ta-ta for now, ARK

Carpe Diem

June 21st has always been a date that I liked, first it's my cousin's and grandpa's birthday, secondly it marks the longest day of the year, and thirdly it generally means summer is in full swing.  I'm sure that most of you are dreaming that today summer will actually begin behaving like it ought and say good bye to the dreaded cold and rain--all I'm wishing for are shorter days ahead.  How contrary to the dreary darkness of winter.  (And Ken, he's simply baffled as to why hockey is still on TV.)

Light starts shining around 3:45 am here and lasts until well after 10 pm.  I'm sure that my attitude should be one of seizing the day, I'm just not sure how much seizing one can do with inducing a seizure (interestingly enough, the act of which is also called seizing.)  Anyhow, each night we make Rawly's room into a little cacoon, covering the blinds with two blankets, placing a folded sheet on top of the window in his door, shutting out the light from our windowed door also--hoping that our feeble attempts will be able to fight the light for one more night of slumber.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

For some reason this last week he has not wanted to fall asleep for anything. Tonight, however, we were coming home from dinner with some friends and he practically feel asleep in the stroller and was asleep on the changing table.  Let's hope it lasts 'til (late) morning.  *Late for us is around seven.

So here's to carpe diem--what are you going to do with all the light on this day?

Happy birthday Kathryn!

The sights, sounds, and smells of Spring!

 

Easter break has been the turning point of spring for the past two years.  We came back from break and the cherries were in bloom, then it was the lilacs and chestnuts, next (my favorite) something which I believe might be black locust--it has the most intoxicating smell.  Along with spring comes a million and one events.  People seem to want to break out of winter hibernation with a bang, so we've kept ourselves quite busy most evenings and every weekend.  Needless to say, we're looking forward to a (hopefully) more relaxing summer!  Though our road trip though BC last summer is one our all time favorites, this pregnant mum is hoping to do a little less traveling back and forth.

Kyiv in non-winter months is a very social place.  In the evenings as we walk to our friends' places, the parks are full of people of all ages.  Kids playing on the playgrounds, groups of older men or women, gaggles of youth.  There are a couple of makeshift stools and table outside of an apartment building where people sit and play some type of board game, other times you'll see a babushka and younger children sitting spitting sunflower seeds.  When you stop and think about it, it's pretty cool.  I love all the walking that we do here (again, this is when the weather is nice and we're not trudging through un-plowed streets.) I enjoy hearing people laugh and sing.  But it's what we haven't heard the past two nights that's been truly great...Saturday our landlord had an AC unit installed for us.  Living on the south western side of the 10th floor can get quite hot which has forced us to sleep with our windows open at night.  But since Saturday, we've had three rest-filled nights without waking up to the pack of wild dogs who inhabit the forest, no more drunkards shouting at one am, and no blaring neighbors' TVs.  What peace!

As for interesting things that I've seen this spring...there have been so many times when I've wished that I had my camera with me.  But there was one that needed no photo, a surprise that I knew would come one day while living here, but that still only made it mildly less shocking.  Coming home one afternoon, I rounded the corner to find a mom dangling her sprawled bare-bottomed girl.  Potty training here can begin as young as one and I've heard that it's quite common (and socially acceptable) for kids to take a squat whenever and wherever they need.