Bogdan's birthday

Cookies at breakfast!

On Wednesday our sweet little boy turned three. He insists that he's not big. According to him, Jaan is big, Bogdan is little. But we had a really big celebration for our little guy!

We didn't tell any of our children where we were going. However, for several days I had been whispering in Bogdan's ear that we would see monkeys and wolves and bears and....

We got up in the morning and ate breakfast. Bogdan (Mr. Sweet Tooth) got a whole tin of cookies to share around. And then we left for the bus station, took the bus to Nikolaev, and walked to the ZOO!

Getting tired

Recharging those batteries

After a lunch break, we went right back to business. No nap for the birthday boy! His absolute favorite part of the zoo was the building with the fish tanks and reptiles and amphibians. We spent quite a while there, then the rest of family went on to look at more, while Bogdan and I stayed on. I finally dragged him out, after I don't know how long. We both loved it, but I just got too hot after an hour or so.

We stayed at the zoo so long, that we actually got locked in at the end of the day. The security guards told us that it was time to leave, and by the time we got to the gates, they were closed and no one was in sight. Will went and found someone to let us out, even though we were thinking it might be fun to spend the night.

Bogdan's older siblings were concerned, because he didn't get any birthday cake. Last night we took cupcakes and candles to our friends' home, though, and sang a double happy birthday to Bogdan and their littlest, who turned two today. Then all were satisfied that it had been a real birthday.

Please keep praying for Ukraine, especially for peace in the results of the referendum today.