It's Just Another Rainy Monday

I finally was able to post the pictures for Sunday and Monday. . . please see below.

Did you sing today's title to, "It's just another manic Monday"???? Just a little memory for all you 80's fans!

I got grief today from 2 different people (Tess and Toni) that I am behind a day, so here you go: Here's what we did on this rainy Monday.

We were supposed to go to Indianapolis this afternoon with the whole group for a performance of a Russian ballet. However, our hosting coordinator called last night and said we should skip it since Vanya's car sickness was so bad yesterday. Tim was totally okay with this; he will admit he's not very cultured! :-)

So, what does one do when you have a whole day free? Well, you drive down to Bluffton (40 min. away for all you out of town folks) to visit with Tim's sister and niece. Yes, I know, why would we drive to Bluffton when we were advised not to drive anywhere? Two reasons: I had a new solution for the car that I wanted to see if it would work, and Tim's sister couldn't make the trip up here. We grabbed one of Vanya's cushiest (is that a word??) new stuffed bears, (Thanks, Shanks!) and I put it in between the neck strap and Vanya. Now he had something to hold onto, and wasn't bothered by the neck strap cutting into him. (I also gave him his medicine an hour ahead of time.) The verdict isn't totally in yet, but I have to say that he did NOT get sick either there or back. Double woo hoo!!!

The car trip was a new adventure in a different way: we experienced a pretty bad storm on the way down complete with thunder and lightning. Vanya's eyes got SO huge! Within our "cheat sheets" of Russian/Ukrainian phrases, I finally found the right phrase to ask him: "Are you afraid?" DA! So, I put my arms around him and we cuddled the rest of the way there. The rain virtually stopped by the time we got to town, and then it came down with a vengeance the minute we got out of the car. Vanya thought it was funny; bad hair day for me!















Let's just say he LOVES his new cousin, Tessa!!!! He pretty much thinks she's the coolest because she had some great vehicles for him to play with. He really liked the fun sirens on the trucks. Later we got out the camera to take pictures, and he wanted to take pictures of his aunt, cousin, and grandma. For the first time, he said good bye and actually waved when we left. Usually he's not too interested in this part. He had a big smile on his face, so I am guessing he'd be happy seeing them again. Some of my family will be coming down from Michigan this weekend. He'll have 2 more aunts, uncles, and 3 cousins to play with. They'll have to be ready to up the ante after all the fun he had with Tess!













Since we were doing so well with the car, we thought we'd try every kid's favorite fast food: McDonalds!! Tim claims that Taco Bell is the "food of the gods", but I say it's McDonalds. I really could eat there every day! Besides the fact that we think (belatedly) he doesn't care for onions, he thought it was pretty good. And, alas, I've already resorted to bribery. When it looked like he wasn't going to try the cheeseburger, I showed him the toy from his Happy Meal. It doesn't take knowing any certain language to understand that no cheeseburger consumption equals no toy! While we didn't care if he ate the whole thing, we just wanted him to try it. I think next time we'll ask for no onions, and he'll be okay with it. He loved the french fries and the chocolate milk. (and still didn't get sick on the way home!)

When we got home, the boys hung out on the couch and watched a little TV. Yeah, more laundry time for me! Then it was time for more scooter practicing (he got both feet on the platform now!), football, "keep away" with the football, trac ball, frisbee with the dog, and puzzle making. After dinner, we all played Memory (He is getting pretty good at remembering the English words for the pictures), built houses with wooden blocks, and wrestled.













Can I just tell you what a crack up this kid is???? We laughed so hard when we were playing "keep away" with the football. Tim and I put him in the middle and would tempt him with the ball. Then when I was in the middle, he'd say, "oh, Mama for you???" then throw it over my head to Tim. He'd make the funniest little faces trying to tempt me with the football. He did the same to Tim when he was in the middle. He's been a ham today hiding from us, tickling Tim or I to get the ball, sticking out his tongue when taking pictures (thanks, Tess!), and cheating during the Memory game. There's been a ton of laughter in this house!