Happy birthday to Jaan!

I'll just write about Jaan's birthday today. We can get to other things on another day.


Four years old!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Compare with these photos.

Jaan turned four yesterday! We had a wonderful time celebrating. He had really been looking forward to his special day, and I think it fulfilled all his expectations. In the morning he got to open his special package. The joy of that was drawn out as long as possible. Because of a rainy day, he and Raia spent the rest of the morning playing indoors with the presents and making the box into art projects, which they also called presents. Then, his long-awaited guests, the Korneichuk family, arrived. We enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, fresh garden vegetables, and lots of fellowship and wild play time with them.

Countdown calendar
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Opening package
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Thank you to the Hunsucker grandparents!

With guests
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

The night before, while Jaan and Will were at church, Raia and I made a special dessert for the big day. Since we can't bake a cake at the dacha, we tried a rhubarb jello. Raia was my big helper every step of the way.


"Big leaf, Mama!"
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Raia had to pose with the biggest piece of rhubarb, after we came in from harvesting it in the rain. Go to our garden photos for another one of Raia with her leaf.

Kitchen helper
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

She had her own knife (a butter knife!) to help with cutting up the rhubarb. I cut up all the other pieces, while she proudly hacked away at her one stalk.

(Our fast new internet connection is not feeling very fast. No complaints: at least it's a connection! But I'm having lots of trouble getting photos to post. I tried at various times during the night, and I'll keep trying today, so check back to see if I can get any more through.)

UPDATED: The connection is still dragging, but I got my photos up.