Catch Up

For some reason I'm not sleepy even though I took a red-eye flight last night and only got 4 hours of not very good sleep on the plan, plus one at home. But I read a friend's blog and it made me realize how I've neglected this and her writing inspired me to just write something! Here are some latest events.

1. We went to Israel in February. We had good and bad moments and worst of all, lost our camera when we only had one day left there. We originally thought it'd be a place we'd return to, but now I'm not so sure. BUT I think the experience was so valuable and I look forward to having greater vision when I read the scriptures.

It wasn't as spiritual of an experience as I expected it to be, perhaps because of the running kids, pushing the stroller up many, many hills, all the tourists, I don't know. But the great experience was attending the LDS services at the BYU Jerusalem Center. After being around so much devoted, yet . . . strange religious things going on around us (the wailing wall, the muslims, the Christians with all their incense and kissing objects . . it felt so good to be "home" at church. I didn't even walk in expecting to feel the spirit, but just thought it would be a nice break to get to sit with Levin at church for a change (in our own ward he sits on the stand) and have him deal with Oliver. We sang pioneer type songs I haven't sung in a long time and I just felt the truthfulness of the church and wanted to visit Utah. :)

2. Right after our return I had emails from my doctor wanting to redo some tests on my thyroid - TSH levels. I was a little annoyed because this has been a problem with every pregnancy and it always works itself out. But in the end she convinced me to go to London rather than go back and forth between her office here at the Embassy and the European Medical Centers around Moscow and then maybe re-test and send stuff to America. My veins can't handle all that. :) Plus I was almost ready for a 20-week ultra-sound and I could get that done while in London.

It took some stress and time to get it worked out who would watch the kids and flight info, etc. but they took care of a lot of it for me, and Levin and his admin assistant at work. My hotel was amazing in its service and an amazing bed. I meant to peak under the sheets and get the brand, but I forgot. The concierge was my BFF and they had a fresh fruit basket in my room both days. I think that's what really sold me and I swear I'll be a Best Western supporter for life. Ha.

I was worried about getting around on public transportation, but I'm smarter than I think I am sometimes, and it was a breeze. Sometimes finding the street when I came out of the subway station was harder, thank goodness the Brits speak English or I'd still be looking around for the Charles Dickens museum. (FYI: It was boring.)

I saw the play Wicked - I loved it, but with the Jet Lag and all the walking I'd done, I was pretty tired during it. I started out with the worst seat you could imagine - except the one on my left - but we got "free upgrades" since they hadn't sold out and moved to a pretty good one and was glad I told Levin to get me the cheapest possible.

I went to Madam Tousseauds. I felt guilty spending the money because it was quite expensive, but I was earning a lot of per diem for food I wasn't spending AND Levin confirmed he'd never want to go there with me so therefore, it was probably now or never. It was a fun place!

And for the important part of the visit! First, I found out we are having a girl! The ultra-sound tech kept saying, are you sure you want to know??? I think once I informed her I already had one boy and one girl so this one wouldn't be devastating either way she relaxed. I'm already looking forward to buying the cute baby pink snowsuit things I've seen in stores here.

Second, I am still waiting on one set of thyroid test results to come in, but the ultra-sound (yes, of the thyroid) and other tests came back great. The doctor was so smart and explained everything so clearly that I didn't regret my trip and also found it all very interesting. So . . looks like it was as I thought, my body just goes weird for a while during pregnancy, but from the tests it looks like nothing that'd ever effect the baby.

And that's it. Maybe someday I'll go through and add some photos to this post - if we ever get some copies from my brother-in-law of Israel (we met him and his family there.)

Leah's Hair Cut

The other night we had a surprise dinner guest. I found out . . . 10 minutes before he showed up and 12 minutes before we ate. The kids amazed me at how well they behaved while Levin and I talked with our guest after dinner. Due to the surprise I tried to keep him in the dining room away from the toy infested living room. The kids migrated downstairs after a while and sounded like they were having fun. Suddenly I realized the happy sounds had turned to quiet sounds. Ever mom knows that's bad. I took off running down the stairs. On my way there I heard the toilet lid slam and Oliver cry. I ran in, Oliver's hands are trapped under the toilet lid and seat and he's crying. I free him and realize he's been playing with my brush in the toilet. I hope this is the first time that's happened. Then Leah is sitting up on my counter half dressed and near my make-up which she has gotten into lately. I go to make sure all is safe when I noticed the counter is littered with pieces of hair, quite a lot of hair. Panic! This was the result.

I told her let's go show Daddy and she says "first put my hair back on." Sorry, kidd-o it doesn't work like that. The next day we took her to the salon and this is what we got.
It could have been soooo much worse and in some ways this is a huge blessing. She needed a haircut and now her hair looks thicker and less crazy though is still in her eyes. Another mom told me, well just keep putting the barrette back in that she pulls out, or use the little rubberbands that will hurt when she tries to pull them out. She acted like it was soooo easy. Well, she obviously doesn't know Leah. Leah will pull and pull and pull until she gets out whatever it is I've put in that she doesn't want - it doesn't matter how much it hurts her. Strong-willed child is what we call that. Overall it is for the best, but all the scissors have been relocated much higher and she hasn't done any crafting with scissors either.

Kids Update

My sister-in-law did a post with just some tidbits about her kids and I thought it was a good idea. I am too long winded though so this is a little long. If you don't love my kids you may not want to read it. :)

One night I was on the computer and there was nothing on AFN TV. We watch a lot of TV from the computer so the kids and Levin all had to resort to sharing the iPod to watch a show.

Here is some info about Leah.

1. If she sees something on TV she HAS to try it at home. Yesterday Sesame Street had a little girl with her grandpa making chocolates and Leah was obsessed with it ALL DAY. I had a moment of weakness when I walked in -3 degree weather to get some fruit and I bought some strawberries that only cost oh, $8 for a quart. I must have had frost on the brain, but I have been craving them for weeks too. We cured Leah's chocolate fixation and dipped them in melted chocolate chips.
2. Every day we make something for grandma that she's going to mail to her, but nothing ever makes it. We have put a prune in an envelope, but Leah ate it. Lately it has been "balemtimes" aka valentines. Usually I try to help her make something pretty of which she gets mad at my help and I get frustrated. Then she asks for scissors and it is all over . . she hacks it to teeny pieces with the scissors and we start again. I'm not sure what her goal is, but she loves scissors oh, and tape.
3. She is great at sharing. She and Oliver fight, but Leah can quickly be talked into sharing with him and when we are around friends she has amazed many parents and nannies by how willing she is to share a toy someone else wants.
4. She is a good sister to Oliver. Above they are sharing a snack sitting on a bench. We have two of those benches and when we have Family Home Evening they each sit on one. Oliver for some reason constantly changes his mind about which one he wants to sit in. He stands up, goes to Leah pushes her out and sits down. Leah just keeps moving back and forth as if she doesn't notice. They have a little system when they build castles with blocks (we've done that a lot lately). Leah builds something and then says okay Oliver knock it down. He does and they both laugh.
5. She has developed a love of carrot sticks, likes most fruit, but is a picky eater when it comes to dinner and we have to threaten to put her in her old booster seat and "put the lid on." The lid is the tray - she came up with that phrase, not us.
6. She and Oliver love to take baths and still bathe together because I can hardly keep the other out when one is in. I have to drag them out too. They have made countless messes in the bathroom when they decide to start their own bath or when I leave for a second.
7. She loves to change her clothes and goes through multiple outfits a day. She likes to play Cinderella and put on a dress and brush her hair over and over. She may have it confused with Rapunzel. Then she dances to Rolling in the Deep or All the Single Ladies. It is also not uncommon to find her playing naked or partially naked because she gets distracted in the middle of a wardrobe change. We often have to demand she go back downstairs and get some clothes on.
8. She is getting better about not coming to sleep with us in the middle of the night, but still falls asleep 99% of the time in our bed even though, "I know monsters aren't real." The other night she came running out begging me to put her lady bug pillow in a pan and give it to the mail man (we did that with a monster a long time ago). Instead I put it in the only closet with a lock, the utility closet. I don't know what the lady bug did to offend her.
9. She likes ballet class although it is usually a battle to get her dressed, but once dressed she is good to go. She loves her music class too and amazes me at how well she remembers words to new songs when I completely forget the words.
10. She still loves TV so we now have a ticket system where she earns a show. It's working pretty well.
11. Her hair all grows forward and I have no idea how to keep it out of her face. Even when I pull it back, it invariably ends up falling out or she pulls it out and her hair is back in her face.

Oliver:

1. Oliver LOVES Leah. He is obsesses with doing anything she does. Whenever Leah climbs on her tricycle Oliver runs as fast as he can and climbs on his push truck (see pic above) and follows her around the house. The worst part is with his coat. If Leah takes hers off he MUST have his off instantly. If she has put her coat in the shopping cart he is not satisfied until his coat is in with her. If I take his off and Leah keeps hers on he freaks out for it to be back on. Sometimes when he won't fall asleep at night I just have to go in and hug him and tell him Leah is in bed and then he is fine.
2. He has an obsession with shoes and socks. He begs me to put his on all the time and will bring me Leah's to put on her too. It comes in handy because getting Leah to fetch her shoes is pretty difficult. He cries and shoves them at me or her until she has them on.
3. He is the hardest child to feed. Sometimes he loves a particular food, and the next time you'll find it chucked all over the floor in anger. He doesn't like any fruit and only cooked vegetables, but even then not peas or green beans or corn, just carrots and potatoes. He has to use a spoon (of course because Leah does) but gets so mad because he often drops most of the food off before it reaches his mouth and then he throws it all on the floor in frustration.
4. He talks ALL THE TIME, but I rarely can understand him. Today he jabbered on and on pointing at something and I said, "ball?" and he repeated "ball" and was so happy. That was obviously what he wanted, but I have no idea what he was saying about it before. Some of the words he says are, sorry, sure, ball, bath, shoe, stairs, socks, stuck, night night, bed, up, ba ba, wa wa, (milk and water) Daddy, Mama (but not nearly as often as Daddy), uh-huh, ready set go, book, and some more, but those are the first that come to my mind. When he does say a word he always says it in this sweetest soft voice so I love to hear him talk. The only exception is No. He often says it in such a way as if he is offended, shocked and disgusted at your behavior or request and must inform you the answer is no.
5. I am amazed at how well he understands what I'm saying. If you tell Leah directions on how to find something she will stare right at it and cannot find it. Oliver on the other hand finds things so easily.
6. He loves to sing I Am A Child of God and sings a long with me pretty well.
7. Every week we sing I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home (you can tell Levin is the one conducting Family Home Evening.) Oliver excitedly stands up and watches me and Leah so carefully and as soon as Leah climbs upon Daddy's knee, Oliver beelines it over to me and climbs up and does the actions to the song to me instead of Daddy. I confess I love it.
8. He still wakes up at night, but not every night, so that is a plus and it's been a while since he's had a horrible night of crying and we have no idea what he wants and he just keeps throwing himself around and waking up 10 minutes after falling back asleep. Maybe it's because he seems to have all his teeth now.
9. He has started to LOVE LOVE LOVE Levin. Before the last month or so their relationship was so-so, but he loves Levin so much now and runs to him all the time. The other day Levin left to work early and Oliver didn't see him when he woke up and he was pretty sad.
10. He loves when Leah "goes potty." If he realizes that's what she's doing he races to the stairs and slides down them as fast as he can. He's so fast that many times he has beat her to the toilet. She has been starting to demand her privacy and shuts the door on him and his heart breaks, but I can't fault Leah for wanting her privacy.
11. Oliver loves babies. When we go to the play room or someone's house Oliver doesn't take too long before he finds a baby doll. At home it's like he knew Leah's babies were hers so he didn't go for them until the other day he found this doll someone left at our house a long time ago. He LOVES it. Leah has never been into babies and prefers stuffed animals so I find it so cute much to Levin's dismay. Today I asked, who is this? Baby! Do you love your baby? Uh-Huh! Then he gave her a big hug. He carries her around a lot. I figure it's okay as long as he is playing ball simultaneously right? Plus, it will be nice when he gets a baby brother or sister if he actually loves babies. As long as he doesn't try to carry him/her around by their head like his doll. **Update: Now that Oliver loves his baby he keeps trying to get Leah to hold a baby and screams when she denies it. He wants them both to carry around their babies, but Leah is not very accommodating.

Sledding Videos

Only a truly humble person would post embarrassing videos of herself like this. :) Before this we were on a faster hill and I went with Tyler down on the long sled and we totally wiped out at the bottom. He told me to bale and I realized he was right, at the last minute. I think I screamed less on that one though, so maybe it would have been better to have a video of that one.

Then and Now pt 2

We had such a fun day sledding out at Rosinka and watching a movie and eating lunch with our friends. SO great! I wish on a normal day there wasn't so much traffic to get out there.

Leah and Nadya on the sled.
Levin tugging around Oliver in his La-Z-Boy - I mean sled.
Oliver and Nadya.
Leah and Oliver taking a little break. I confess the hill was a little too fast for them so it may not have been so fun and Leah had a huge wipeout her first time flying down so she was a little timid after that.
James, Leah, Oliver, and Nadya on the long sled. They had quite a few good rides this way.
Trudging up the hill with Leah. It was too steep for her to climb alone so we'd try to get her to the top in the sled, but it was a lot of work. But this was easier than not using the sled. Once I had to like throw her up to Levin because I kept sliding back down the hill trying to get her up.

Coffee

That last post about Leah wanting beer to drink thinking it was juice made me remember something Leah said a month or so ago. We went to playgroup where most of the moms drink coffee. I have had to explain to Leah that we don't drink coffee and why a couple of times. Well, we were at playgroup and we arrived and M got me my glass of water and then when another mom came in and M got her coffee Leah went running over to them to say, "we don't drink coffee because Jesus told us not to drink coffee." They didn't understand what she said, so I was caught in a somewhat weird situation about what to say when they asked what she'd said. I just told them the truth and quickly changed the subject.

I guess Leah does listen to me sometimes. Later she kept asking me why they were drinking coffee when we weren't supposed to and I kept having to whisper in her ear I'd explain at home. I'm not ashamed we don't drink coffee, but it is kind of hard to teach your daughter and not offend other people.

Then and Now

Over Christmas break we went and visited our friends from the housing compound we lived in when we first arrived in Moscow. It was so great and they had a fun sledding hill - too fast for our kids, but fun! Of course Levin and I forgot our camera in the house so we had no pictures of the sledding. Last night they brought us the sledding pictures and also these pictures from last summer. It made me miss living out there so much and especially their family. I of course miss summer so much too! I titled this post Then and Now, but I guess it will just be "Then" and I'll post Now in a few minutes.

Oliver at their house. He loves their toys.
Leah at the playground. She always loved the "blue house."
Oliver at the beach. Somehow this got out of order.
Oliver on the playground. It was nice because there was grass. When we moved to the embassy it has mulch on the ground and I had to put poor Oliver in pants so he could crawl around the playground.
At the beach there. They have this lovely part of the lake fenced in so kids can't go too deep. It was wonderful.
Leah and her good friend James. He is almost exactly 2 years older, but they are still good friends. He came over just last night and we babysat while they celebrated their anniversary and Leah was beyond excited when the doorbell finally rang and James came.
Oliver is not so sure what he thinks of the beach? Whose ugly white legs are those in the background?? Yikes. That lady needs some tan in a bottle.
Leah with her floaty and life jacket. She has been known to run around the neighborhood wearing her life jacket even when we were no where near the lake.

At a 4th of July BBQ. It was hot, is mostly what I remember. Our friends are contractors and some of their contractor friends were hosting it and invited us to come too. It was mostly older (60-ish) age people and so when we first arrived with our kids there was not a single thing to drink (not even water) that didn't have alcohol. I had to go home and get Leah a sippy cup of water because she kept pointing at the beer and asking for some juice.