Andrew's Second Christmas

It has been a whirlwind of activity with Andrew these last 6 months. Most of the activity has centered on teething which seems to be an endless process. He started walking in April when my parents were here. I did not get to witness those first steps since I was on training in Italy. This was something I never imagined happening; missing a significant milestone because of my job. I am certain he did not notice.

He started running in May. And pulling the hair of all the other kids in the park. Masha learned a lot from the other mothers in the park during the spring and fall. Based on what they said and what we saw their children doing, we decided that he is a normal toddler and pulling hair is a normal toddler thing to do. Even if the other toddlers are not doing it. He was also the most friendly toddler in the park. He tried communicating with other boys and girls by walking up to them and smiling, or squealing or kissing. Again, normal toddler behaviour, even if the others were not doing it.

By the time we got to Canada in July there was no stopping him. He is full of endless boy energy. And we both love it. We all had a great time at the cottage by the lake for 5 glorious weeks. Andrew got acquainted with his cousins, uncles and aunts as well as grandma and grandpa. He spent a lot of time in the water, which he loved, climbed Rock Candy Mountain with dad and Matt, ate pancakes and maple syrup on St. Joe's Island, traveled the highways and byways of Northern Ontario and became a very good travelling companion.

He talks a lot of baby talk, as it is called, but I understand everything he says. His body and facial expressions inform us about his mood, needs, and wants. He began saying proper words in English like ‘apple’ and ‘potato’. These words are much more difficult in Russian; yabloka and kartoshka, so English is the easier way. In Russian he says, ‘da’, and ‘nye’ and ‘na’ which means take this from me, or give that to me. It feels like he will burst into full sentences and paragraphs any day now.

The fall has been busy for all of us since Masha started working. She works from home but goes out to meetings quite regularly. Her boss in Istanbul contacted her to head an advertising campaign here in Ukraine. She is happy to be working and even happier that she does not have to go to an office every day. Grandma Ira is here on those days to watch Andrew. Andrew spent a lot of September and October at the dacha where he helped dig out potatoes and kept a close eye on the neighbours by looking over the fence.

My travel schedule has been reduced this year which I am happy about. I was in Istanbul and Tbilisi, Georgia on school visits this fall. I believe this will be the extent of travelling for the year. My Master's program is 2/3 complete as of December 13. Three more courses this year and it will be finished. We will all be happy about that since I am away from home 15-17 hours a day during the two very intensive weeks.

The first stage of our house is complete. We have a box with a roof. We are letting it rest for winter and will start up again in spring. Not even going to try and predict when we will move in.

We are spending Christmas at home, in Kiev, with family and friends. We found a reasonable sized turkey this year, but we can still only fit the breast into the oven. Turkeys grow quite large here.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

M, M n' A