Seven Days in Kyiv: July 3-9

So, it's been a while. (Several people have mentioned that they're weary of seeing Eric's foot stuck in the elevator door!)

To catch up: In late April, the inspiration for Seven Days in Kyiv (i.e. our family) flew to California for a five-week trip. We had lots of reasons for going -- but meeting Baby Betty and seeing the first Talbot—Kyiv Extension students graduate were dominate.



Our time in California was wildly fun -- and wildly busy. (Here are Aunt Jit Fong's pictures of Dietrich's first roller coaster ride and a celebratory dinner for my grandma's 90th birthday. Perhaps I eventually will post about Disneyland, Gilroy Gardens, Lev in a swing for the first time, In-N-Out Burger, the beach, visits with special friends, snail collecting, long car naps and tree climbing.)

In California, Lev celebrated his first birthday and ate cake off his pants. (Isn't it nice that Jit blogged all this stuff so that I don't have to? Thanks, Jit!)



We flew back to Kyiv, repacked, and flew to Germany for two back-to-back SEND conferences. The first conference included some sessions for husbands and wives, but the wives also had a lot of down time. It was just what I needed -- the proverbial vacation from our vacation.

Also during this time, Eric started a new job as SEND Ukraine's Area Director.

And that about sums up the past two months.

Thankfully, I came home from Germany feeling relaxed, but I think my keeping-up-with-life-in-Kyiv muscles atrophied during all that time away. It didn't help that Lev got sick, his nanny had to skip a day to go get her homesick daughter from the family dacha, and Dietrich had to wait several days for the medical note that allowed him to go back to preschool. (Even if you're on vacation, if you skip three days, you need a note.)

So, on July 3, we were visiting our friends, the Hoglunds. We got married at about the same time, moved to Kyiv at about the same time and were in language school together. They had a baby, then we had a baby. Then they started ministry at Kremenchuk Regional Bible School, and we started ministry at Kyiv Theological Seminary. Then they had another baby, and then we had another baby.

Our lives have taken similar paths, and I'm so thankful that the Lord saw fit to have those paths intersect.





Now they're moving back to America -- but we're not. So this was a good-bye visit, our last time at our "vacation home on the beach," as we like to think of their apartment, which is just a short walk from the Dnieper River.

The Hoglunds are amazing people who, despite the fact that they were about to pack up or sell all of their belongings, put all their moving tasks aside to make time for us. And, it was a great visit. After two weeks of steady rain, we got a three-day reprieve that allowed the kids to play on two of Kremenchuk's excellent playgrounds and to swim in the river. (This time outside was quite necessary, as Dietrich and the Hoglunds' eldest developed the fine art of comparison -- "I'm bigger, faster, older, have more toys, etc." At one point, their daughter was in tears because she said her new nightgown was the best thing in the world, but Dietrich said Jesus was the best thing in the world. Ah, Jesus as weapon. Teaching him early, we are.)







Though Lev's been taking steps for months, he started truly walking at their house -- all those big kids to keep up with! His first outdoor steps were in the Dnieper. I love that.



We stuck around for the Fourth of July (no fireworks or watermelon, but we did have pulled pork with BBQ sauce), and on the fifth we boarded a bus back to Kyiv. Though we will see the Hoglunds again on their way out of Ukraine, I was glum. But all the boys (even Eric) quickly fell asleep and stayed asleep for nearly the whole ride, so I got to sit quietly and enjoy the beautiful Ukrainian countryside. About 80 percent of the ride was through fields, and about half of those fields were sunflowers. It's hard to stay glum when you have a sweet sleeping toddler on your lap and you're looking at thousands and thousands of the most cheerful of all flowers.

During the summer, enough kids go out to the village or on vacation that all the remaining kids get lumped into one big group. Which means, starting on Wednesday, Dietrich was in a class with littler kids, and with much bigger kids, and with a different teacher every day (so far). He seems to be adjusting OK to the change. Sometimes, Ukrainian preschool seems like cultural bootcamp. Yes, things change unexpectedly here quite frequently, so why not get used to it when you're 4?

While Dietrich was at school on Wednesday, I had the chance to go for a stroll with another mom from our building. We occasionally have visited a Sunday-night church here, and she attends that church, but we didn't know we were neighbors. She has a 10-month-old and she's patient with my Russian, which has only deteriorated with every new child. (Or, to put it in a more-positive light, my Russian is excellent if I'm talking about nursing or pooping.)

We walked to the produce market, where I saw that it was green bean season. That changed my plans for the rest of the week a bit, for I try to freeze enough green beans to get us through the winter, but they are hard to find and have a very short harvesting season before they get too tough for little ones to eat.

I bought about nine pounds of beans, then spent Thursday afternoon blanching and freezing. That got me 11 servings. Saturday morning, it was back to the market, with Lev in the Beco on my back. He was the hit of the market. Babywearing is not very common here, and Lev tends to stare at people in such a way that they think he's miserable. So they say something, like, "Little boy, you're uncomfortable and hot on your momma's back, aren't you?" Then he breaks out his thousand-watt smile and starts cooing back at them. They always walk away charmed.

We lugged about 12 pounds of green, yellow and purple beans home, then I spent a good chunk of afternoon processing about half of them. I can only put in about two hours at a time, because I run out of ice for the cold-water bath that they need. You cannot buy ice here, and our two little ice-cube trays can only make so much. I've taken to freezing water in small loaf pans and muffin tins, but our freezer can only hold so much. So, two hours at a time it is.

Wow, that was a lot of writing about beans. And that kind of sums up the week. Are you sure you don't just want to look at Eric's foot stuck in the door? That might be more exciting.

Seven Days in Kyiv: Week 29

On Monday morning, Eric was rushing off to teach his theology class, Dietrich and water bottles in tow. We have two lifts. One is small, smaller than a Target shopping cart. (WAY smaller than a Costco shopping cart.) The big lift provides a much more comfortable ride, especially in the morning when the whole building is trying to leave -- but it generally doesn't come to our floor.

So, it seemed a special treat when the doors to the big lift were just closing as Eric and Dietrich stepped onto the landing. Eric stuck his foot in the door. And the door? Well, it didn't care that there was a foot there, and kept right on closing. He called me to come get Dietrich, then called a neighbor to come pry the door open. He could feel the door closing more and more, but they got him free before his foot was crushed.



This is a new peculiarity of this lift, and it is so hard to remember! I've nearly missed getting stuck myself a time or two since then.

Eric usually takes Dietrich to sadik in the morning, and I pick him up. But since he was teaching, Eric often needed to be at the seminary early enough that Lev and I took Dietrich. I don't often get a chance to connect with other parents at sadik, since we pick Dietrich up after lunch, and most of the other kids stay through dinner. So, I was thankful when this rather-wild schedule resulted in the opportunity to help another mom out.

Her baby was sleeping when she came to drop off her two older boys, and twice I was leaving just as she was starting to lift the sleeping baby out of his stroller. I've had to do that oh so many times, and my baby NEVER made it through the entire drop-off or pick-up process without waking up. (Kids change into inside clothes and shoes upon arrival at sadik, so it's a rather long and loud endeavor.) I stood outside and rocked both strollers while she got her boys dropped off.

I also got the satisfaction of sending both the Harvest Heartbeat and the Eurasia Prayer Guide to their respective printers. I still have the e-mail versions to complete, but the lion's share of the work is behind me.

And I made fingerpaint, which resulted in this creepy scene:



While Eric found his mobility limited by that persnickety ol' elevator, Dietrich discovered the freedom that is bike riding.

This probably should have been mentioned in the last post, because we actually gave him the bike on a Saturday, but it this week that he really learned to ride it.


Pleased? I think?


Yep, definitely pleased.

He practiced with Daddy on Saturday and Sunday, then took a break until the next Saturday. A few minutes after they left, Eric called.

"If you were here right now, you'd be crying," he said.

"Uh-oh," said I. "Why?"

"Our son can ride a bike."


Away he goes!

Alas, we only have video of some early attempts.

Untitled from josie oldenburg on Vimeo.

I am so thankful that this skill came pretty quickly to Dietrich. He really needed the boost. He came home SO proud of himself, and since then has said many times, "I wanted to give up, but I didn't and now I can do it!" Yes! THAT, my friend, is a valuable life lesson. Don't forget it!

I also can tell that Dietrich feels he's been initiated into some kind of Big Boy Club. He points out every bike rider he sees (and most of them are adults, or at least teens) with a kind of fraternal connection that he's never before exhibited. Good stuff.

Meanwhile, Lev started sleeping in my favorite baby-bottoms-up position.



And he found a new play place.



And he discovered ice. Slippery fun!











And he wore this for the last time.



Oh, and this was entertaining.

Untitled from josie oldenburg on Vimeo.

And one more, for Baby Betty!

Untitled from josie oldenburg on Vimeo.

Seven Days in Kyiv: Weeks 26-28

A lot happened in these three weeks, but of course I waited to long to write it all down, so who knows what precious memories are lost forever?

Anyhow ... I do recall that the Talbot session continued -- it was the last session for the five students who will be graduating in May. At the end of the session, they gave Eric, Edik and Vova sauna hats with funny sayings written on them, and made a presentation to their co-students. They showed them a beautiful rose, then chopped off the flower part and encouraged them to persevere through the program so that they, too, can bloom.

We took advantage of Eric's one week off between Talbot and his theology class to have friends over a couple of times. Of course, one of the nights that we invited friends over, a last-minute sadik meeting was called, so we had to scramble to change plans. Sadik strikes again!

Lev took his first half step on March 29! His feet were unevenly placed, and he picked one up and brought it in line with the other. Actual forward movement has yet to be achieved. But look, I finally got a picture of him standing!



I met with an accredited lactation consultant to explore the idea of being trained to serve as a peer counselor. (Bet you didn't know this was a secret dream of mine.) I'd be able to help with some breastfeeding issues, and would be trained on when to refer a struggling mom and baby to someone more educated. I think I'm going to do it! But not until the fall.

We sprang forward (two weeks later than in America), and Lev tried to use the opportunity to drop down to one nap. I fought back (and I think I won).

We discovered the secret to entertaining Lev for 30 minutes: A small trickle of water in an otherwise empty bath. Here he is making my favorite Lev face.



Dietrich recognized a word in a book, and started involving books in his play time. I'm excited about this mostly because I've already started a reading program with him, but, in all honesty, he wasn't exhibiting all the signs of being ready to read. Specifically, he didn't WANT to learn, as he told me over and over. "You can just read to me, mom," he reasoned. The program starts with writing letters and practicing their sounds, so he doesn't yet know that he's learning to read, and now I feel encouraged that, by the time he figures it out, he'll be on board. Here's his name, or, if you prefer: "Die hcirt." (Not really sure what hcirt did to deserve death. It must have been pretty bad.)



Dietrich has also refined his Uno-playing technique. He beats us with embarrassing frequency. Here are some Uno action shots.




I started Harvest Heartbeat; Eric started teaching theology.

Lev's stepped into that phase where toys are boring, but everyday household items are fascinating ...





... and he's still super cute.





Eric spent a lot of time in meetings pertaining to the selection of a new area director for our team. And the process continues.

We made a chain to count down the days before we leave for America. Good idea, except for how we always forget to take a link down at dinner.



Dietrich finally fulfilled his dream of climbing into the playpen WITH Lev.





Actually, the boys are playing together more and more. And by "playing," I mean wrestling.






And, most significantly, Baby Betty was born. We're over the moon about her, but her arrival sent me into a period of unexpected sadness. It was so difficult for me to miss visiting her in the hospital or holding her when she was just an hour old. There's just something about being involved in someone's life from the very beginning that is precious.


Uncle Sam and Aunt Jit, aka Betty's mom and dad, meeting Dietrich.

One thing I loved about Betty's arrival was the slow rollout of information about her. First we got this e-mail: "Baby is here name TK no drugs five pounds fourteen Jit is healthy and so is TK woohoo." (TK means "to come" in newspaper speak.)

The next day: A name.

A few days after that: A middle name.

And then, Betty's mom started blogging about Betty like, a lot. Hooray!

It's been so fun to have more and more of TK to look forward to.

Thankfully, we will get to see Baby Betty soon. Dietrich is convinced that she is ours, so we'll see how he reacts when we leave America without Betty in tow.

Seven Days in Kyiv: Week 25

In honor of International Women's Day, Dietrich had Monday and Tuesday off of school. (Tuesday was the official holiday, and school-aged children had to make up for Monday's day off by going to school on Saturday. But that's still a few years in the future for us.) D was thrilled to have extra time to stay home and work on his "projects" (i.e. setting up cars and action figures in very particular ways, and noticing if anymore dares to move them even a tiny bit).

As an aside, I love watching Dietrich's creativity blossom. My favorite aspect at the moment is the way he can look at any collection of creatures, and see them as the characters he wants them to be. So, for instance:


This is, in order, Daddy, Dietrich, Mommy, Lev.


This is, top row: Larry Boy, Alfred, Junior Asparagus. Bottom: The Fib from Outer Space.

He only has two lions, so one is Mufasa and one is Simba. But, of course, he needs the villan — Scar. So, a crocodile plays the part of Scar.

Once he gets an "actual" creature, he stops imagining it. He has an actual Spiderman, for instance, so only that action figure can play the part of Spiderman, unless Spiderman gets taken away, in which case he can revert to imagination. Fascinating (at least to me).

Have I mentioned that we've started an English-language curriculum with Dietrich? It's called "Sing, Spell, Read and Write." So far, we're just writing (and coloring and cutting and pasting, all of which seemed rather unrelated to me and I almost skipped them, but then figured there must be some developmental benefit to learning to cut in a straight line). Monday was big C.



Also, Lev continued to be sick.



(Is it mean to post this picture? Doesn't he look like he wants to beat me up? And probably could?)

The Talbot session started this week, plus having Dietrich home those two days totally threw me off, so my brain stopped fully functioning. How else can you explain that I forgot:

1) To pick up a computer that one of the guys from our small group was loaning to Vova, who works with the Talbot program here. So, after I got home from small group, poor Eric had to go out late at night and get the computer.

2) My wallet, when grocery shopping.

3) The fact that I would be away at leadership retreat all day Friday and Saturday. (Which made it pointless for Lev's nanya to come on Friday, as scheduled. So I only got one morning of work in, and I had to devote it to a project that I wanted to have done in February, for Pete's sake. Still working on adjusting my expectations now that our family has grown.)

SEND Ukraine's area director is moving back to the States to take a different position with SEND. So, our team soon will be voting for a new director. Since Eric is on our area leadership committee, he and four other men are in charge of narrowing down the candidates. SEND also has asked a wider team of leaders to work together to define what "success" would look like for SEND Ukraine. How can we tell we're doing our jobs, and doing them well?

The leadership retreat was designed to give us the chance to spend some time mostly doing fun stuff together before the hard work began. The complex we stayed at has bowling, a water park and go-carts. And coffee! Though I try to shy away from gender norms, I did notice that the women spent a lot of their time chatting over cups of coffee while the men were shooting each other in laser tag. During the final couple of hours of the retreat, meetings began. And, when we got home from the retreat, they continued, into the evening.

While Eric, Lev and I were away, Dietrich stayed with Miss Lois. When I called to check on him Friday night, I mentioned that we'd be back the next day. "But mama," he said. "Tomorrow is still a weekend, and you said I could have a special Miss Lois WEEKEND." Clearly, he was having a good time.

Sunday, we were all healthy (or relatively so) for once, so we all went to church, and then Eric left to take the visiting Talbot professor on a tour of downtown Kyiv. Eric's got that tour pretty much down to a science, by now -- come visit, and we'll take you on it, too!

While Eric was gone, I got to see Lev's new trick: Independent standing! Eric saw him do it one time on Friday, but he didn't show off for me until Sunday. Man was he ever CUTE. He was holding on to the radiator (they don't get too hot), then he'd let go for a second, then grab on, then repeat. When I noticed and rushed over full of excitement, he was just beside himself with joy. One of those moments that I wish I had on video, but instead I'll try to keep in lodged in that forgetful mind of mine.

Seven Days in Kyiv: Weeks 23-24

I have 21 minutes until my momma's helper leaves. Plus a pot of milk on the stove (first step in making yoghurt). So, let's do this quickly, shall we? And let's not forget about the milk!

Three big events encapsulate this two-week period.

First, Luba started coming to watch Lev. Ah, Lev. Still sweet as can be. But, more and more determined. More and more destructive. And less and less sleepy. So, Luba to the rescue. She will come two mornings a week, and on those days, I will go to the seminary and work ON THE COMPUTER for two-and-a-half uninterrupted hours. Two mornings a week, I will cook and clean. And one morning a week, I hope to spend with someone else -- another mom, a friend, an older-and-wiser woman, a younger-and-wiser woman.

Of course, that's dreamland. Here in realityland, the boys and I got so sick that on her second week of work, she took care of one sick boy while I took care of the other. Which was extremely helpful. And then she stepped in to save my bacon by watching Lev when Dietrich's teacher suggested I not bring him to the upcoming school show (more on that later).

Second, we celebrated Defender of the Fatherland Day. There was a meeting on Monday night to determine what the boys would get on Wednesday morning for this holiday. It was scheduled exactly at Lev's mealtime, so Eric went in my stead. (Bummer, 'cuz I love the parents' meetings!) The decision was this:



As the mother of a mobile 9-month-old, I look at this and see a compilation of small, cheaply made plastic parts. Dietrich? Loves it. He loves it so much that he never lets it leave this windowsill, in order to protect it from the mobile 9-month-old. Actually, Dietrich has very naturally moved all his playthings up and out of Lev's reach, without us ever needing to tell him. I'm not sure about defending the Fatherland, but Dietrich certainly knows how to defend his toys.

Third, we had another show at sadik, this time to celebrate International Women's Day. March 8 is actually a public holiday (no school), so D's school celebrated on March 4. The girls all got shiny pink packages of glittery makeup or something (it's a good thing I have boys), the moms all got cards, the teachers all got flowers, and Dietrich said a poem in Ukrainian for the first time. Best gift ever.



The literal translation of this poem had us in stitches all week. It goes:

Darling mother,
I kiss you,
And say quietly:
"You are my relative."

In Ukrainian, the "you are my relative" bit connotes far deeper feelings!

All the other kids were clambering to get their picture taken. Dietrich, not so much. The little girl in the purple, the one in every photo, lives a few floors above us. Her grandma is not shy and often helps me figure out how to successfully live here.




And, for the grandparents, here's one with the tie AND a smile.


Hooray! I remembered the milk, so it's off to make yogurt to feed this little face.