Nicky, ABC's, and Luf Luf

We had the pleasure of having a friend of ours, Nicky, stay with us recently and a good time was had by all. The boys love playing with Nicky (13 year old from Ukraine) and he is just sooo good with them and is a joy to have. We actually got to go out on a Saturday night with friends of ours while Nicky watched the boys and put them to bed. Great kid!
The boys are learning so many new things all the time and the most recent accomplishment is singing the ABC song. Vanya has it almost perfect followed by Yuri who gets most of the letters but runs a bunch of them together and then Victor, who just loves to be part of the singing and gets the letters in there between smiles and giggles. The leaf frog refrigerator gizmo works great and the kids ALL love it. It sings the ABC's and you can put different letters in it and it tells what sound the letter makes. Vanya will sing AND dance in front of it when no one else is home of course. I'll have to get a video of it at some point. It's pretty funny.
The neatest thing was that I had been playing a CD in the car most of the time we are in it and hadn't changed it for quite some time. I didn't think they were really listening but one by one they started to request songs and they actually sang the words to them also. Jesus lifted high is a favorite and we sing it almost every day and every car ride. Then it was hilarious when Vanya wanted to request another song and I had to play each one to figure out what he was saying. He was requesting Luf Luf. I was familiar with all the songs on the CD and none of them sounded like that to me. Finally mama got it (track 12) and it was "Jesus, lover of my soul". Not only does he know the words but he like to sing it loudly in every store we go in with the emphasis on the first JESUS. We do get some strange looks but I would rather him be singing that than anything I have heard on the radio lately.
All the neighborhood kids just dote on the boys and they continue to be the center of attention. They just love it. Veecha has regular visits from some of the older boys who come to play tag and such, Yuri has made a new friend down the street, and Vanya is the attraction for all the girls and most of the younger kids alike. They all still love to ride their bikes and Vanya loves his time at home with mama. He turns into a gremlin when the other boys get home but then chills out by the time Papa gets home. He will start preschool in a few weeks so I think he will be tired enough by the time he gets home to already be chilled out and possibly even happy to see his brothers. (I can hope, can't I?)
Babuska is coming to visit next week and the boys all love to talk to her on the phone. It will be nice to have her come and get to spend some time with the boys. Yes, I will post pics.
Feeling very blessed and amazed at my little miracles,
mama mama mama

First real soccer games

sorry I haven't figured out how to turn the pictures around so you will have to tilt your head to see the one of Victor

Yuri and Victor had their first soccer games today. What a hoot! Both teams "won" and the boys had a great time running around in the dust cloud with the rest of them. They both seem to be athletically inclined but they did play the Ukrainian version a few times . Elbows and pushing is definitely not allowed here. We did get a few stares from parents and one guy even made a comment when Yuri stopped to smile for a picture when it was his turn to do the throw in. Mama was too slow with the camera but the smile was worth a million bucks. I'm surprised at the competitive nature of these parents! Wow! Yuri only plays on a 1-2nd grade team of beginners and Victor is on a kindergarten team. Yuri's team is black and is called the spiders and Victor is a proud member of the yellow lightening. Vanya was content to make multiple trip to the trash can as he finished a snack or juice or found a miscellaneous piece of trash. He did get a kick out of being part of the tunnel that the parents make after each game that the teams run though. That's a new one on me. We always shook hands with the other team. Now they all just run through a tunnel and the parents all cheer for them. Interesting concept. They don't have oranges at half time and snacks at the end of the game consist of some form of cracker of and a juice or soda of some sort. By the time Vanya gets to play we'll be having lunch for all the kids. Ha Ha
The boys continue to do well with the new activities in their life. School seems to still be on the cool list so I'm hoping that continues. No notes from the teacher so I'm feeling pretty fortunate. All in all the adjustment is going well. Still some small struggles over control but I think that comes with the territory. We're still worn out but are getting used to being unshowered and sleepy at times. Good thing we have good neighbors who don't care if you haven't showered or brushed your teeth when you show up at the bus stop. I'm getting better but but at least the boys are dressed, fed, and have a lunch so I'm doing pretty good.

mama mama mama

Parents Weekend at Liberty

We went to visit Mayra and Travis for Liberty's Parents weekend last weekend and had a great time. The boys loved college and the attention they got from the Travis and the girls. Even though we didn't get to do as much as have in the past I think Mayra and Travis still enjoyed having us there. The van was not particularly comfortable for them and we couldn't take extra people (roommates and such) with us this time so they have felt a little neglected but overall everyone had a good time.
The boys asked several times for clarification that the hotel room was NOT our new home. We did have one with a small kitchen area so it did have all the essentials but we would be insane by now with all of them in that small space. Note to self: Pay the extra for the video game controller next time! Three little boys in a hotel room for any length of time is a little difficult.
Everyone enjoyed the football game and Liberty won by leaps and bounds. Go Flames! The neat part was watching the boys as they sat in the bleachers in awe of all the football players and the stadium etc. The oohs and ahhs flowed the whole time. At Liberty there is a big 20ft flame that shoots up in the air when they score so that was an eye opener for them as well. They did have a jumping inflatable for kids there and KLOVE was giving away balloons so the boys thought they were the hit of the day. Picture taking and the church service were a little for them but they did OK.
While Papa was taking a nap with the boys Mayra and I got to spend some girl time together and Travis had just gotten a new computer so he was content to play with it for a while as well. We know the kids were disappointed that we couldn't take them to lunch on Sunday after church, as had been the custom, but Rob wasn't feeling well and the boys were at about their limit of acceptable behavior so we headed home.
All in all a nice trip.

mama mama mama