Seven Days in Kyiv: August 14-20

Five significant happenings this week:

1. I finished freezing 64 cups of tomato sauce. Only bell peppers, salsa and spinach remain on my to-freeze list.

2. Eric and I took Dietrich out on a special excursion to get him a new passport. When you're under 16, your U.S. passport is valid for five years, and Dietrich got his just after he was born.



Clearly, it was time for a new picture. Thankfully, it was much easier to photograph Dietrich this time around. (In the photo above, we had to wake him up, hold his head at just the right angle, and get him to keep his eyes open -- not an easy task with a 2-week-old.) As is typical here, Dietrich started out not smiling at all. But that made him look angry, so the guy at the photo place encouraged him to smile. He turned up the corners of his mouth just the wee-est bit, resulting in this sweet shot:



The easiest way to apply overseas is for both mom and dad to be present, with supporting documents that prove their parentage. Everything went quite smoothly at the consulate, and the passport was ready in just two working days. However, the consulate is more than an hour away, so I have yet to go pick it up.

3. Lev learned to climb.

Lev climbs from josie oldenburg on Vimeo.

Don't let this video fool you. He's on top of everything - the bed, the sofa, the windowsills. One day, I found him perched on our biggest suitcase, his little body pressed up against the balcony window. It's chained shut, but still! My heart!



And he's discovered that certain items (overturned cooking pots, the laundry bin) can give him a little boost. He's long loved to climb onto the bathroom stool, but he just realized that he can pick that stool up and move it wherever he wants. There are no more safe spaces.

4. We did have another Schlaack attack. Now our cabinet doors close. The floor, however, is a lost cause and we will need to have a specialist look at it once the weather turns cooler.

5. Casey came back! And this year, we're hoping that she will split her time between playing with just Dietrich and playing with just Lev. So far, Lev has not agreed to this plan.

And here's a little something for the grandparents ...

Lev wakes up from josie oldenburg on Vimeo.