Vampire teeth

We have a bunch of cute photos from the past week. I just haven't has time to share them. Here's one:

Cute, eh?
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Can you see them? This was taken a few days ago, so they're actually more prominent now.

Cranes, cars, and teeth

(Which one of the three doesn't belong?)

Cranes: Jaan's obsession with cranes continues. While most little boys turn everything into guns, for Jaan there's nothing that can't be a crane. Last night on our way to the orphanage we passed a place where there's a new see-saw. We were early, so we stopped. Jaan had no idea what the see-saw was. Will told him to sit on it, and then pushed down on the other end. Jaan's eyes got really big, and he said, "Ooo, the crane is lifting Jaanchik!"

Cars: Jaan's favorite indoor pastime is driving his "car" around. Here it is:

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Teeth: Raia won't be a vampire baby for long, because one of her middle teeth just broke through.

Oh! And. . .
Pumpkins: Jaan now has two little pea-sized pumpkins starting on his plants.

Easter photos

Whew! I tried off and on all day to get this posted. Then it went through twelve times just now. I think I've gotten got it all straightened out. . . .


Christ is risen indeed! We had a wonderful day yesterday. This was the first cloudy Easter that I've seen in Russia. It even snowed a little. Our celebration inside was just as bright as if the sun had been shining, though. There were several visitors, along with everyone who is usually at church. Afterwards we all had tea and more fellowship time together.


Our cuties
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

The Three Musketeers
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

This photo is becoming a tradition. Unfortunately, Mark was home with chicken pox, but Andrusha was there to stand in for him. I realize it looks a little like a triple mug shot, but do you know how hard it is to get three two-year-olds to stand together and still? Much less smile all at one time! If you want to see how the boys have grown, go back to last year’s photo and then be sure to click on the year before, too.

(Hmm, maybe an Easter haircut is a tradition, too? I didn't even think about it until I looked at the old pictures, but Will gave Jaan a haircut before church yesterday, just like last year.)

Христос воскрес!

He is risen indeed! We have a full and joyful day of celebrating Christ's resurrection ahead of us now.

Spring cleaning

Cleaning up to get ready for Easter is very important here. Jaan and I have been slowly working through spring cleaning indoors. As we washed windows this morning, I noticed that many of our neighbors were working right along with us on their own windows.

The window washer
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Today is a "субботник" (work day) for our building. Most people will be cleaning up outside later on, but we have a church service to go to, so we did our part already. Well, I say we did our part, but really Will was the only one working. The other three-quarters of our family just enjoyed being outside on this beautiful spring day.

Two bits of news

Last night we all went to the Bible lesson at the orphanage, and we had a wonderful time with the children there. Jaan did the craft right along with them. Now he keeps asking to go back to "school."

Raia's next tooth came through today. It's the opposite outer tooth on the top, so she now has fangs.

Ten months old

A few days ago Raia turned ten months old. Does that sound as old to you as it does to me? To celebrate she cut her third tooth and got her own bedroom.

Once again, she's following Aunt Leetra's example. Instead of getting teeth that match up, she has the two middle ones on the bottom, and the one that's coming in on the top is a side tooth. She'll be all crooked and still unable to chew properly. That won't slow down her eating, though!

And about her own room, here it is:

Her new room
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

She's always been very independent about sleeping and insisted on being in a room by herself to fall asleep. We just moved Jaan out to the living room with her, so we have to cover her up like this so that she still thinks she's alone in her own little mini-bedroom.

This doesn't have to do with our ten-month-old, but I'm still excited about it: the snow is almost all melted in our flower beds outside! Will has cleaned up the big trash, and Jaan and I did a little work, too. We found some of the perennials from last year, just starting up under the last bit of snow. We cleared around them, and as soon as the ground is a little less soupy, we'll rake up the last of the trash, and start planting! Hurrah!

Where are we?

We're still here, and all is well. Will has just been needing the
computer almost all day every day for Gospelink, youth club, and
sermon preparations.

Spring in the forest

Walking in the woods
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Birch juice!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Poor, cold inchworm
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Flowers!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

As you can see from the photos, we had a wonderful walk yesterday! I was starting to think that it was too early for the sap to be flowing, but we finally did find one tree that was just starting to drip. We set up a bottle to catch some juice, but it was very slow, so we left it. When Jaan and I went back today, someone had taken our bottle. Oh, well! This is just the very beginning of spring, so we'll try again.

While we were out, we saw the first few butterflies of spring, the first flowers, and one little inchworm. The best find of all was a fat, hairy caterpillar. It was floating on a piece of ice in a puddle. We brought it home, but we're a little puzzled about what to feed it. There's not much green yet. I guess it overwintered?

The beloved tricycle

If Jaan's little legs aren't slightly sore today, I would be very surprised. He's been practicing riding his tricycle back and forth on the balcony for over a week now. Yesterday he and I took it out for his first real ride. He rode until he was crying because his legs hurt, but he wouldn't stop until we told him that the tricycle was tired and needed to rest. He had so much fun! And he rides like a pro now.

Today we're headed out to the woods to see if the birch sap is flowing yet. . . .


Snack time during a practice session
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Dyslexic speech?

Jaan has kept everyone laughing lately with his talent for mixing up syllables in words. He's finally getting to where he can saw луна (moon) instead of на-лу. He has quite a list of other words that he says all mixed up, though:
Лопата (shovel) is по-та-та.
Велосипед (bicycle) is со-по-лед.
Работа (work) is ба-то-та.
Капуста (cabbage) is па-ту-та.

This next one isn't backwards, but it is cute. We've really been working on having him play gently with Raia. Will always tells Jaan to "be sweet." Last night I bumped Jaan's arm really hard while I was scooting him up to the table. Before I could even apologize, he firmly said, "Mama, no-no! Be fweet."

Sunshine and Spring!

The whole time we were sick, the weather was grey and drippy. Yesterday the sun came out. We are feeling better, so we headed outside: Jaan and I in rubber boots, Raia in the stroller. Spring is coming, so the slush is knee deep in places. But the weather was beautiful, and we had so much fun! Jaan couldn't quite believe that he really was allowed to walk through the puddles in his little red boots. At almost every step he would ask me, "Можно?" ("May I?"). I would answer, "Да, можно." ("Yes, you may.") And he would say, "О, спасибо Мама!" (Oh, thank you, Mama!") with as much enthusiasm as if I had just given him the whole world. Then again, "Можно?"

Another Jaan funny: I noticed that when he gets farther away from me in the bigger puddles, he gets a little nervous. And he starts repeating to himself that something won't bite. He couldn't explain what he was afraid of. Sharks in the puddles? Or has he gotten words mixed up again? He's pretty good at that.

The sun is shining again today. Jaan and I spent a good part of the morning planting seeds. Today we moved our workplace from the bathroom, to the balcony, so we enjoyed the sunshine while we planted. We probably won't get too much more outside time, because after nap time--when we would usually go out--the youth groups from Kinishma and Viazniki are coming to visit. Fun!

We're still not quite back online. As I write this, it's Wednesday afternoon. The internet hasn't been working since yesterday morning. It goes off for whole days, and then just comes back for a few minutes. We continue to write, so don't be confused if this goes out later, or if you get a bunch of emails from us all at once on another day; everything is just sitting in our Outbox for now. And please don't worry if we're silent.

Masha just sent us a bunch of photos from when she and a group visited the orphanage here in January. If you want to see them,
click on one of the recent photos here, and then go back from there. (Маша, спасибо! Теперь Ян каждый день с большим удовольствием смотрит на "Тётю Машу" и говорит о тебе. Он очень любит фото где ты с ним. Конечно, мне тоже понравилось. )

More on flowers

We're back online! I think.

First of all, there definitely aren't any flowers outside yet. So far, I haven't seen any green at all, much less pink. All is still white, grey and brown. But soon. . . !

The flowers Jaan was holding yesterday are a special treat Will bought when we were in Moscow. They're something from the southern mountains. Before we had children, I actually researched and figured out what they are. Of course, I can't remember any of that now. Babushki sell them in the Metro in the springtime. Actually, they sell dried twigs. When you put them in water, they start to come to life, and then they bloom! I love these flowers; they remind me of Aaron's rod that bloomed.

Yesterday Jaan was helping me take pictures of them, and then I had to step back and get the picture that I shared with you.

Now, more flowers:

Pumpkin flowers and breakfast
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Remember Jaan's pumpkin seeds? Look at them now!

Also at breakfast
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Jaan looked over at Raia stuffing her pancake into her mouth, and his comment was, "Now that's a piglet!"

Flowers!

Can you see Jaan?
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

We're having internet trouble, but at least I got this photo up. I'll try to come back and write later, but no promises.

Grand opening

Several months ago the big, old store out in front of where we live closed for renovations. Rumor was that it would reopen as a self-serve supermarket. Today is the grand opening, and flyers in our mailboxes have confirmed that it really will be a Western-style grocery store. I'm excited!

When we first moved to Russia, I didn't like the old-style stores, just because of my lack of language skills. Everything is behind the counters and in different sections. I would make it up to the front of the line, say what I wanted, and the lady wouldn't understand. Instantly, everyone would be yelling at me to get out of the way. (This was in Moscow, and most Muscovites have no patience.)

I finally got past that, but now I have children. We go and wait in the dairy line. I ask for milk, then take off after Jaan; I come back, order yogurt, and try to get Raia to stop crying; then cheese. . . and that's just the first section! If I still have any sanity left, we go on to dry goods, then produce, and so on. Do you see why Will usually does the shopping?

It will be so fun and easy to be able to walk around the store and choose what we want off the shelves! Of course, it will be a new training experience for our children. And we will miss all the ladies we knew who worked in the different sections. But I'm looking forward to it.

Baba Julie, you'll have to make a special trip just to see this store. It's too bad that you didn't see what was there before, so that you would be able to compare it. (So everyone else will understand what I'm talking about: when we lived in Moscow and Will's parents visited, his mother went to the supermarkets every day. She was disappointed that we didn't have them here.)

UPDATE: Will and Jaan just went out to the grand opening. They're only letting people into the store in small groups, and Will didn't want to wait in line. I guess we'll find out what it's like later.

Our weekend

Some people have to spend lots money for adventure travel. All we have to do is take a regular trip with our two little ones, and we have just as much fun and end up just as tired and happy. Leaving on a train at 1:00 wasn't easy, but the rest of the trip went well. We arrived in Moscow with very little sleep, but Jaan was able to be obedient and have a wonderful day with the Sullivans, while we enjoyed the seminar.


With Denise Glenn
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

At lunch, I went up to Denise and told her the story of our Motherwise group and Lena's salvation. She said, "Praise the Lord! Why don't you share that with the whole group?" So, after lunch, that's exactly what she had me do.

When the day was over, we took our very tired selves back up to the Sullivans. Jaan was just going to bed, and was very glad to see us. The Sullivans spoiled us completely with a nice dinner, fellowship, and then a big quiet room to sleep in. Sunday morning we got to go to our old church. It was wonderful to be there again. Will has been back and forth a lot, but I hadn't been there since Jaan was just barely a year old. Everyone was thrilled to meet Raia and see the rest of us. Then we stayed at church and visited with Tima and various other people until it was time for us to go to the train station. Tima helped us get there and saw us off:


Jaan and Uncle Tima
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Now we're back home and very glad to be here.

Sweet baby!

The nameless baby
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Last night we took a meal over to Pavel and Ulyana, and visited with them, Mark, and their new baby.

Taking care of the baby
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Jaan was so sweet with the baby! Baby was lying in his crib, fussing a little. Jaan said, "Baby's crying" and went over to very gently pat him. The baby was quiet as long as Jaan was there, so Jaan stood with his hand on the baby and played with Mark.

I almost forgot to say that we have another busy weekend ahead of us. We're leaving late tonight for a Motherwise/Fatherwise seminar in Moscow. Please pray for us to have a good trip and for Jaan to have a good day with the Sullivans. We should be back late Sunday night. (But don't expect me to write then! )

Prayer request

Please remember to pray for Ivan today!

Pulling up

Yesterday Raia started pulling herself up to a standing position. I tried to get a photo then, because it was so cute. Jaan was sitting on the couch, and she pulled up on his legs. She fell over and hit her head before I could get the picture, though. The poor baby had a lot of falls yesterday. She even gave herself her first bloody nose. Anyway, here she is standing in the crib today:

"Look at me!"
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

We didn't end up with many photos from the weekend, but here's Jaan with one of the missionary kids from Kokhma:

Jaan at the youth festival
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Will's in Moscow until tomorrow, so please pray for him and us.

Ivanovo and today

We had a wonderful weekend, but we feel almost like we ran a two-day marathon. The car ride to Ivanovo fulfilled all of Jaan's expectations. Uncle Vanya even had him sit up in the front seat! I think I enjoyed it as much as Jaan. There was a rare mixture of thick fog and bright sunshine when we set out, and the trees and bushes sparkled in a way that I've never seen before. It was like they had all been sprinkled with glitter. When the fog lifted, everything was a beautiful, blinding blue and white.

The youth festival was very good. I didn't get to hear the speakers, because I was in and out with Raia so much, but I did hear the Moscow choir. That would have been enough to make the trip worthwhile in my opinion, even without all the great fellowship and fun of the rest of the day. Along with our usual usual group of youth, Misha and Seryozha went, and they both seemed pleased with their first experience of a regional youth day.

Today we're recovering from our weekend. We'll probably just stay home and rest. I had thought spring was coming. Last week Jaan and I watched three trucks get stuck in one afternoon; that's a sure sign of spring! However, right now it's snowing so hard that I can barely see the building across from us. It looks like a good day to hibernate a little bit more.

Jaan's going

We're actually ready early, and I have time to write!

Last night Jaan saw me laying out clothes and getting ready for today. I explained what our plans were and how Uncle Vanya (Ivan from Viazniki) was going to come pick us up and all. I thought I emphasized the tomorrow part of the story, but apparently not.

Jaan usually directs me through our bedtime routine:
"Mama, Jesus." (Read a Bible story.)
"Mama, pray."
"Mama, light."
"Jaan sleep."
We got through the first two steps, and then I started to turn off the light. I was met by confused wails of "No, Mama! Uncle
Vanya. . . car. . . going. . . Jaan." So, I explained again, and Jaan went to bed happy. Later when he heard us come in for bed, he turned over and said in his sleep, "Let's go," using the verb that means in a car. And when he woke up this morning, he jumped out of bed and said, "Пока, Мишка! Ян поехал." (Bye, Mishka! Jaan's going.) And he started to run for the door.

Don't worry

We're just enjoying the sunshine. And we'll be in Ivanovo all day
tomorrow. That's why I haven't been writing.

Bath time for Raia

Bath time
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

After supper last night I didn't want to heat up a whole bunch of water, so I just put Raia in this little bath tub. Jaan asked me to take the picture, because they had matching noses. I don't know if you can see it, but I had just put lotion on them to help wash off the gook.

See the teeth?
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

She was actually screeching at me in anger, because I wouldn't let her touch the camera, but if you look closely, her teeth are visible.

My plant lover

Will bought lettuce that came in a little pot, with the roots and all. When I started breaking it up for salad last night, Jaan got very upset: "Mama, plant, plant. Hurts! No, Mama!" And he went through his whole recitation of how plants grow and how much he loves them. I've heard of children becoming vegetarians because they can't stand the thought of cruelty to animals. What about the other way around?

He and I are loving all the seeds sprouting in our windowsills!

Babies are gross

. . . but they sure are cute!


Raia loves her kasha!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Raia needs a bath and change of clothes after every meal. She and Jaan have mild colds, so they're snotty messes right now, too. At least you can't see that part in the photo.

And you know what else she's been doing? (Warning: If you're not a mother, you might not want to read any further.) She's been pooping in her diapers. Yuck! I'm not used to dealing with that. She's still happily doing her pee and breastmilk poo in her potty, but twice this week she's made those stinky messes that come from solid food in her diaper. And she thinks it's so funny.

I'll keep her anyway.

Gardening photos

Watering his pumpkins
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Planting more seeds
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

I should have gotten a photo when Raia tried to help us by eating our dirt, but I didn't. Here she is enjoying some of the blini (crepes) that our neighbors brought us for Maslenitsa.

Eating blini
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Spring is in the air!

Well, not really, but we're starting to think about it. Jaan and I have been starting seeds. Over the past few days we've planted petunias and some other flowers, cauliflower and tomatoes. We just do a little bit each day. His pumpkin plants are getting nice and big. A few days ago he dropped one. We prayed over it and taped it up with a Veggie Tales bandaid. (I thought that was appropriate.) It seems to be growing back together!

The snow is still deeper than I remember from previous winters, and the weather is cold, so spring still won't be here for a while, though.

Yesterday was a wonderful day. We spent the morning being lazy. . . and washing dishes. After Sundays when everyone comes over, we always have a huge pile of dishes. It especially takes a while to get through them when the hot water is off and we have to heat our wash water. Jaan helped me, though.

Washing dishes
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

After nap time, we went for a walk in the woods. The weather was perfect! The highlight of our walk was that we found tracks where a rabbit had crossed the road. Animals are rare here in central Russia, so that was almost as exciting as seeing the rabbit itself. I've only actually seen wild rabbits here two or three times. They're massive!

Walk in the woods
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

We came back and made our Monday night pizza, which is fast becoming a tradition. Then, after supper, I lit candles, melted chocolate chips on some little cookies, and put out mini marshmallows to make indoor s'mores. They don't usually sell marshmallows here, but Will got some yesterday, and that gave me the idea. (I've heard that according to David Beaird's geography, America is "the country that has marshmallows.")

S'mores!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Raia's Tooth #3 and Tooth #4 seem to be holding off a little. She's an amazing baby. Even with all this, she's sleeping just fine. It seems like she's a little clingier and fussier than usual, but that's all.

The main excitement today has been that we watched and identified a new kind of bird: Long-Tailed Tits.

Second tooth!

Poor baby! The other bottom tooth came through today. I guess this
is just the way our children teethe. Jaan cut his first four teeth
in one week when he was about this age. It looks like we'll be
seeing Raia's top teeth in the next few days, too.

First tooth!

After tormenting her for a long time, Raia's first tooth has finally broken through! It's on the bottom left.

Friday

Friday was our last day of vacation. We had a fun and busy morning with the Beairds.


Playing outside
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Dressing up
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Fixing trucks
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Note that hammer in action. Caleb is studying to be a Russian mechanic.

Making muffins
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Then we had to leave for Moscow. We took the commuter train, then two more trains to get home. It sure was a wonderful week! And like I said before, it is so nice to be home.

Thursday

When Jaan woke up Thursday morning, I told him that he was going to see Caleb. I don't think he knew what I meant, but we talked about the little boy named Caleb and the other times they had been together, and soon Jaan was very excited. Every time the train would slow down, he would say, "Now. Caylu." I'd tell him not yet, later. When we arrived in Moscow, Jaan started searching everywhere for "Caylu." Still, not yet. We had to go on the Metro, then a bus. . . .

And then Mi-ka had a very bad adventure. The bus ride was long and slow. Jaan and Raia both slept. When we finally pulled into Naro-Fominsk, where the Beairds live, we just hopped off with our sleepy children and piled into a taxi. I didn't even really get their coats back on right. When the taxi driver heard where we wanted to go, he refused to take us to that street. All the other taxi drivers had some excuse or another; Will called the taxi company, and they said they didn't have anyone available because of the holiday. It was cold and wet out, and Raia was screaming. Usually small children are a magic ticket to get anything done here, so we were really surprised, and I was not happy.

We finally found someone willing to take us and started off. Right as we reached the Beairds' house, we realized that we had left Jaan's backpack on the bus. And Mi-ka, the beloved bear, was in it. James and Will went back to look at the place were the buses park. Susan called the children together and we prayed. After all that time, the bus with Mi-ka really should have been on its way back to Moscow. But it wasn't! Praise the Lord, before too long James and Will came back with Mi-ka! Now we could settled in and enjoy our visit with our wonderful friends.


All the kids
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

I had two photos and couldn't decide which was cuter. Maybe Susan will post the other one.

I can't say enough about how wonderful it was just to talk, watch our kids play, talk, meet cute chubby-cheeked Johanna, talk, see the Beairds' new home, and just have time together!

Both of our children have buddies who were born the same year:

Jaan and "Caylu"
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Raia and JoJo
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

James and Susan let us have their room and the whole downstairs for the night. Their children went up to bed. When the rest of us were ready to sleep, we told Jaan that it was time for bed. He kissed me and started up the stairs to join his friends! I think he was a little surprised to find out that he had to sleep with us.

Wednesday

Wednesday we did a lot more walking around and looking at old city, after Will and Jaan picked up Raia's visa. Then, just before we got on the train we stopped at a sandwich shop, which turned out to be owned and operated by Americans! Jaan found his name in his French fries, and loved pointing out the other letters he knows as he was eating them. Then it was back to the train, for a very easy trip back. At least, our children were easy. They slept the whole time and didn't even wake up at the border.


Alphabet fries!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

(Yes, they were the English alphabet, but Jaan was very quick to flip the R over, and he calls H by its Russian name and sound.)

Tuesday (here and in Riga)

All is well here. Raia really has started on solid foods. I find it hard to believe. She doesn't even have teeth yet! For the part few days, she's still had milk for breakfast and midmorning snacks, but then she ate crackers and applesauce or egg yolk for lunch and little tastes of whatever we were having for supper. (Of course, there are plenty of milk meals in between still.) If she sees anyone eating and not sharing with her, she goes crazy.

Last week we spent Tuesday sightseeing.

Jaan Street
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

They spell it a little differently, but here is Jaan on Jaan Street, at the corner of St. Jaan's church. We also have photos of him by a statue of St. Jaan in a town near Prague a while back, and we first decided on his name in Estonia.

St. Peter's and the House of the Blackheads
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

We really enjoyed going up in the steeple of St. Peter's Church to look out on the city. Jaan and I watched the cranes and trains; Will took lots of beautiful photos. Only Raia didn't like it. She was asleep in the stroller when we went up, and the cold wind at the top woke her up.

Contrast
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

From St. Peter's we went on to look at the House of the Blackheads, which is an guild house that was originally built in 1334. In the background of the picture you can see the Museum of the Occupation. (And, yes, that's me looking up in the picture.) We heard that there is discussion of tearing it down and putting a new building that would fit in with the surroundings better in its place. I thought that was a good idea at first, but after visiting the museum, I think that the ugliness is very fitting to the subject matter. The museum was very interesting and very sobering. Our children didn't last long before we had to go back to the hostel for naps, and we definitely wished we could have seen more.

That night we went out to an Italian restaurant. I already wrote about that. This just shows a little bit of how much Raia enjoyed it:

"Yummy!"
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Bogdan, Asya, Raia, and Jaan Богдан, Ася, Рая, и Ян