It was fun to watch Skip and the older boys running, and Harry trying REALLY REALLY hard to keep up. At one point some boys around Skip's age came in and of course Skip doesn't give them a second before he announces "Minya Za-Voot Skip" meaning "My name is Skip". Well the kid figures he is Russian (why wouldn't he - they're in Russia and Skip IS speaking Russian) and responds not only with his name, but a three minute non-stop story... If you could have seen Skip's face after about the first 4 words following "Mee-nya za-voot Koyla" When the boy was finally done speaking Skip, looking dazed and confused, turned to me and said "WHAT did he just say? I only told him my name!" So I told Skip to say he was from AMERICA (if you say US or USA, they don't understand) and he did, and the boy smiled and said, "Yes? No?" Again Skip was confused so I told him how to say "I don't understand" in Russian, which he repeated, and the boy said something else, shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "oh well" and then told Skip to follow him (in Russian). We now know enough Russian that he understood and followed. They played almost the remainder of the time there with Koyla, despite the fact they spoke different languages. In fact, when we were leaving, Skip saw Koyla eating with his family and went over to say good-bye to him. Koyla waved back with a huge grin on his face.
As for Harry, he surprised me today! He, Skip and 3 other boys were playing a simple board game that involved a spinner, a big board and cars that they moved around the "track". Well the first three boys spun, then counted out the number of spaces. Harry was next and got a 6, and to my surprise, he started t move saying "one, two, three, four, five, six!" I just expected him to count in Russian especially since the other boys did, but apparently he's got it in his brain somewhat, to do it in English. I THINK I got it on video, but I haven't gone back to check it yet! I thought that was a biggie for Harry!
When we were done and the boys were totally sweaty and red-faced, we again had a bite to eat, and again for less than $10 USD Harry had Cheese sticks & smiley fries (though he was too full for the fries) Skip had an ear of corn and smiley fries, I had two small slices of pizza & a coke and Irina had a small salad.
More than ever I am convinced I NEED one of these playthings in my house! That's it', the living room goes, and we'll replace with one giant whatever-you-call-'em. Do ya suppose my family would notice the couches & tv have been replaced? Yeah, I suppose they would! But,the truth is, the kids have a blast, I don’t' have to tell them "no", AND they leave there tired and ready to take a rest time! It's a win-win situation. Skip even ASKED to pull out the sofa when we got home so he could lie down & watch a DVD and rest. I mean, those are the requests a parent fantasizes about! The rest of the afternoon I cleaned and pre-packed. Meaning, I sorted lots of stuff we dont' need/use/want to bring back with us, and put aside a bunch of toys from last trip that the boys aren't playing with, so I can donate them to the orphanage. It's not like we even know when we're leaving yet, but it just felt like the apartment walls were closing in on me - lots of clutter everywhere I looked so and clutter drives me crazy, so. I NEEDED to simplify! I got ALOT done, so I'm happy about that. And then, my favorite part of the day. As I have mentioned, Harry is still not real thrilled about kissing and hugging – and I understand. At night I generally kiss and hug Skip and then tuck Harry in, and if sense he might be receptive, ask for a hug. Sometimes he lets me hug him, sometimes he doesn’t want to. If he lets me I’ll kiss his forehead quickly, knowing that’s as good as it will get. Well tonite I kissed and hugged Skip, and as usual, got lots of hugs and kisses back from him. I got up to walk over to Harry's side of the couch bed to tuck him in, but then hesitated for a second because I thought the cell phone was ringing. I took a step towards the entryway where the cell was and Harry called "Momma" and then said something I didn't understand, and ran over to me - arms out ASKING FOR A HUG as he leapt in my arms! A FIRST!
Dang, the moments that make up our lives....
Little monkey...
lining up the rings...
Harry & Skip are on top - Harry trying to keep up...
Harry and Danil playing "darts" (magnetic kind)
One, two, three...
Irina at the counter picking up our order
Another shot of the large dining area in the cafe.
What a day..... (I have plenty more to say, but since I got out of bed way too late, I have to get ready for work) I will have much more later
ReplyDeleteThat's WONDERFUL!!! Is it okay that I'm starting off my day crying?? YEA! for firsts!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice day for everyone!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds just like Skip walking up to a young kid and introducing himself, looks like he met his match this time :) I can vividly picture his expression of confusion and just how he turned to you and said "What did he say?" But even more cute is how the kid told him come on and he ran to play with him.... poor Harry must have been exhausted trying to keep up How amazing and cute that he began to count in english, he's got a great teacher. That IS huge, hope you caught on video. I was cautios about trying the pizza from there when you asked me too, but I do admit it was very good. Skip must have had fun and run around a lot if he ASKED to lie down.... that happens once in a blue moon. I know how you felt before you went on the cleaning mission there, I did the same thing the last couple of days, was sitting and said I have to clean it's bothering me, then felt better after. That is really really nice than Harry asked for a hug.... give it a little time, and like Skip, he won't want to go to bed without several big hugs from you first... i can tell, he already reports to you everything I say to him on the phone, he loves his mommy very much
ReplyDeleteI guess the secret is to go to that place during the day, the 2 times i was there when we went to eat '06 and '08..... both times it was packed and we had to wait a few minutes and push tables together
ReplyDeleteReminds me....
ReplyDeleteVictor and I purchased a large inflatable indoor jumping thingy way back in 1999 for our kids. I don't know what the weight restrictions are but I'm sure they still sell something like it. Somwhere in the vastness of the glorious internet, there should be some info on something like it. When the children were older, we purchased a trampoline that had the netted walls around it. My children and the neighborhood children played on that thing until it completely fell apart. They played year round on that trampoline and even camped outdoors on it! WE have missed that trampoline in so many ways.
Congratulation on a much deserved hug from Harry. Everything is going sooooo well! Thank God you have Skip with you to play with Harry. Can you imagine the energy it would have taken from you otherwise? Yes, I find our Russky boys can get very hyper at different times of the day. I'll have to remember to be ready to jog around the block with mine when I go there "to bring him home".
Okay, so how long have you been there, now? How much longer to you expect to stay in Irkutsk? How's Mike?
Wid
GRAMMY "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" about the hug and then of course started to cry.... she was very impressed about the counting in english, and laughed about the kid talking in Russian and the confusion that ensued
ReplyDelete