Perhaps Dietrich's first word was "bo-ehll" because of his love of fish. Who live, of course, in a bowl. Alas, last night, three of our four grown-up guppies died. One baby was born, but he/she and his/her mamma aren't looking too lively. The other two babies were in a different bowl and seem healthy. I don't know what killed them, but I cleaned the bowl and we shall see how things look tomorrow morning.
But, even if we lose all the guppies, Dietrich will still have fish in his life. The little guy doesn't know it, but he's in training -- one of my goals is to have him walking really well on the street by the time another Baby O enters our life. (No, that's not an announcement.) I'd like to be able to push baby in the stroller while Dietrich and I walk to the grocery store down the street. On my own, it's about a 5-minute walk. With Dietrich, hmmmm ... 30 minutes? An hour? It depends on how many birds walk by and must be chased, how many buses drive past and must be pointed at, how many stairs he notices and must beg to climb.
Anyhow, the finish line for which we aim is Dietrich's Aquarium, also known as the fish tank at the grocery store. From my perspective, it's a sad sight: Way too many fish crammed into too small a space. (Though one day there were tiny crabs in there, and that was pretty cool.) But crustaceans or not, Dietrich LOVES it, runs full-force toward the tank, and makes fun "oooooo" sounds of delight. The other day, he was so happy that he turned right around and tried to hug a 6-ish-year-old girl who also had her nose pressed up against the tank. Dietrich just wanted to share the fishy love, but she was having none of it.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
D's big week
Two significant events in our little bug's life this week. First, on Wednesday night, he said his first grown-up word. For a while now he's been saying syllabic baby words that are recognizable, but aren't quite all the way there pronunciation-wise. (Da-da, du for duck, ni-ni for night-night.) He makes some awesome animal sounds. And now, he says "bowl." That's right, Dietrich's first word is bowl, a word we rarely use and have never tried to teach him. (Unlike mama. "Dietrich can you say mamamamamama?")
The scene: Eric was making him vitamin-fortified baby pudding (baby cereal made with 6 percent milk and vanilla sugar -- try it, it's yummy) while I was giving my testimony at small group. He said, "Ok, now I'm going to put the pudding in your bowl," and Dietrich repeated "bowl." Except it was more like, "bo-ehlll." Again and again he said it while Eric cheered and swung him around the kitchen. The next morning, he woke up yelling, "Da! Da! Bo-ehll!" Yesterday I put a bowl on the counter and he demanded, "Bo-ehll!" He's totally fluent in bowl.
So, that's the happy news. On Saturday, however, we had our first emergency-room visit with Dietrich. He slipped, hit his chin on a plastic stacking block, and required two stitches. I think the most traumatic part was trying to figure out whether to go to the doctor. I'd never thought through which wound attributes require a trip to the clinic. Anyway, this one wasn't too bloody, but it was wide and only got wider when Dietrich, you know, moved. At all. And I didn't think I could keep him perfectly still for the next week while it healed, so off we went. We are thankful for our friends here who served as advice nurse and ambulance service so we didn't have to take public transportation. And the doctor was calm and unflappable, despite Dietrich's screams, which were audible down the hall in the waiting room. And that was after the anesthesia. But it was worth it, because when we took the Spiderman band-aide off last night, the wound already looked so much better. We'll go back Thursday or Friday to get the stitches out.
As a side note, I'm so glad we didn't have to do an emergency-room visit before we knew Russian. It was so convenient to be able to talk to the doctor fairly freely ... although we did have one funny moment near the end when we thought he was telling US to take the stitches out on Friday.
The scene: Eric was making him vitamin-fortified baby pudding (baby cereal made with 6 percent milk and vanilla sugar -- try it, it's yummy) while I was giving my testimony at small group. He said, "Ok, now I'm going to put the pudding in your bowl," and Dietrich repeated "bowl." Except it was more like, "bo-ehlll." Again and again he said it while Eric cheered and swung him around the kitchen. The next morning, he woke up yelling, "Da! Da! Bo-ehll!" Yesterday I put a bowl on the counter and he demanded, "Bo-ehll!" He's totally fluent in bowl.
So, that's the happy news. On Saturday, however, we had our first emergency-room visit with Dietrich. He slipped, hit his chin on a plastic stacking block, and required two stitches. I think the most traumatic part was trying to figure out whether to go to the doctor. I'd never thought through which wound attributes require a trip to the clinic. Anyway, this one wasn't too bloody, but it was wide and only got wider when Dietrich, you know, moved. At all. And I didn't think I could keep him perfectly still for the next week while it healed, so off we went. We are thankful for our friends here who served as advice nurse and ambulance service so we didn't have to take public transportation. And the doctor was calm and unflappable, despite Dietrich's screams, which were audible down the hall in the waiting room. And that was after the anesthesia. But it was worth it, because when we took the Spiderman band-aide off last night, the wound already looked so much better. We'll go back Thursday or Friday to get the stitches out.
As a side note, I'm so glad we didn't have to do an emergency-room visit before we knew Russian. It was so convenient to be able to talk to the doctor fairly freely ... although we did have one funny moment near the end when we thought he was telling US to take the stitches out on Friday.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Provision
We know that we only live in Kyiv thanks to the financial sacrifices of others. But this weekend brought extra blessings. First, on Saturday, a family that's moving back to the States gave us lots of lovely, warm winter clothes and boots for Dietrich. They're size 5T, so we're thankful for the extra storage space in our new apartment. And, for me, for the FUTURE, they passed along several pairs of maternity pants.
On Sunday, Eric preached at a village church. A family from our church in Kyiv has a dacha in the village, and there they grow fruit and veggies. Eric brought home 20 pounds of potatoes and beets, plus a huge jar of homemade grape juice. What bounty! My favorite part is the smell. It's the scent of earth: rich, fertile, fresh earth. Our whole kitchen smells like a sunny day in the garden.
On Sunday, Eric preached at a village church. A family from our church in Kyiv has a dacha in the village, and there they grow fruit and veggies. Eric brought home 20 pounds of potatoes and beets, plus a huge jar of homemade grape juice. What bounty! My favorite part is the smell. It's the scent of earth: rich, fertile, fresh earth. Our whole kitchen smells like a sunny day in the garden.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Seeking wise counsel
Some dear friends sent us an Amazon gift card for Christmas. I rather enjoy possessing (and not spending) a gift card for a while. It's nice to know that, if I have a day when I really need a treat, I can order one up for free. Eric is not like me. That card is burning a big-time hole in the pocket of his Roebucks. (Him: "Um, when do you think that gift card expires?" Me: "NEVER.")
I won't be able to put off buying something with it much longer. Eric already knows exactly what he'll purchase with his half. I want to get some music for Dietrich. And that's where I'm stuck. So, if you have kids, grandkids, or any level of knowledge about music for children, would you please leave a recommendation? I'm easy; I just want something that will delight Dietrich without making me go out of my gourd. Thanks!
I won't be able to put off buying something with it much longer. Eric already knows exactly what he'll purchase with his half. I want to get some music for Dietrich. And that's where I'm stuck. So, if you have kids, grandkids, or any level of knowledge about music for children, would you please leave a recommendation? I'm easy; I just want something that will delight Dietrich without making me go out of my gourd. Thanks!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Me 'n my Mac
It's been a long month, workwise. Last year, it became apparent that I needed a laptop if I was going to keep working at the seminary. For months, Eric had been letting me use his computer several mornings a week, but that was starting to get in the way of his ability to work efficiently. We asked several people to carry a Macbook over for me, but none were able. So, I decided to send it using Meest two-week air shipping.
Meest is an amazing shipping company that somehow manages to get boxes full of valuables through customs without the recipient needing to pay. Boxes shipped via Meest consistently arrive, on time, with everything still in them. I love me the Meest.
But, in this case, my computer got stuck in customs. So, while it was supposed to arrive the second week of December, it showed up the second week of January. But it showed up! And I didn't have to pay! However, I had hoped to spend the quiet holidays figuring out the new operating system, setting up the computer, transferring everything from my old computer, and working on a brochure for the Talbot program that needs to be done on the new computer because of its updated software. Instead, I spent the holiday doing useful things like sorting through the thousands of pictures on the Kyiv Theological Seminary server and making a file of the best of them for future use. It was a good thing to do, but not a pressing need.
While my new Mac is far from contributing efficiently to my life, it's in good enough shape that yesterday I was able to deliver a general KTS brochure to the printer. And just in the nick of time, because they hope to give out copies at an exhibition next week.
Sadly, I'm not really enjoying the Macbook yet. It has a ton of cool features, and I'd love to spend days playing around with it. Before Dietrich, I would have. But trying to figure everything out in the 15-minute chunks (the approximate length of time that Dietrich will play on his own before he's back in my arms, or wrapped around my leg) that currently mark the passage of my days has not been nearly as fun.
Do I sound cranky? I am a little cranky. But I bet in a month, I'll be best friends with my new Mac and she and I will look back on this post and reminisce about a time before we really knew each other.
Meest is an amazing shipping company that somehow manages to get boxes full of valuables through customs without the recipient needing to pay. Boxes shipped via Meest consistently arrive, on time, with everything still in them. I love me the Meest.
But, in this case, my computer got stuck in customs. So, while it was supposed to arrive the second week of December, it showed up the second week of January. But it showed up! And I didn't have to pay! However, I had hoped to spend the quiet holidays figuring out the new operating system, setting up the computer, transferring everything from my old computer, and working on a brochure for the Talbot program that needs to be done on the new computer because of its updated software. Instead, I spent the holiday doing useful things like sorting through the thousands of pictures on the Kyiv Theological Seminary server and making a file of the best of them for future use. It was a good thing to do, but not a pressing need.
While my new Mac is far from contributing efficiently to my life, it's in good enough shape that yesterday I was able to deliver a general KTS brochure to the printer. And just in the nick of time, because they hope to give out copies at an exhibition next week.
Sadly, I'm not really enjoying the Macbook yet. It has a ton of cool features, and I'd love to spend days playing around with it. Before Dietrich, I would have. But trying to figure everything out in the 15-minute chunks (the approximate length of time that Dietrich will play on his own before he's back in my arms, or wrapped around my leg) that currently mark the passage of my days has not been nearly as fun.
Do I sound cranky? I am a little cranky. But I bet in a month, I'll be best friends with my new Mac and she and I will look back on this post and reminisce about a time before we really knew each other.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Too bad I don't have a camera phone ...
... for today I saw two sights that would have illustrated the cold, cold, cold that we're experiencing.
First: You can buy a liter of milk packaged in plastic bags here. On our path to church today, someone had dropped a bag of milk, and it burst. But the milk froze so quickly that it formed a fairly compact, ameoba-shaped puddle.
Second: When you go into a store in Ukraine, you have to check your bags. Today, at the bag-check counter at the new grocery store across the street from our house, I noticed a row of 15 forlorn-looking single gloves waiting for their owners to come back and collect them.
First: You can buy a liter of milk packaged in plastic bags here. On our path to church today, someone had dropped a bag of milk, and it burst. But the milk froze so quickly that it formed a fairly compact, ameoba-shaped puddle.
Second: When you go into a store in Ukraine, you have to check your bags. Today, at the bag-check counter at the new grocery store across the street from our house, I noticed a row of 15 forlorn-looking single gloves waiting for their owners to come back and collect them.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
It really 'tis better to give
A highlight of my 15 months as a mom was last night, when we set Dietrich's presents (four guppies, a shape-sorting bench, two puzzles, colored pencils and a lion-shaped chair) under the tree. I couldn't wait for this morning, when he'd come in and see them there, waiting to delight him.
We had a late start to our mellow day, sleeping in late because we'd gone for a walk around midnight to watch the fireworks. As we woke up, made coffee and started putting together brunch, my anticipation just grew. And his reaction didn't disappoint. Here he is with Alex the lion and just reveling in the joy of new toys and lots of time spent together as a family.
We had a late start to our mellow day, sleeping in late because we'd gone for a walk around midnight to watch the fireworks. As we woke up, made coffee and started putting together brunch, my anticipation just grew. And his reaction didn't disappoint. Here he is with Alex the lion and just reveling in the joy of new toys and lots of time spent together as a family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
