8 Months

Emily turned 8 months one week ago. She's replaced screeching with panting when she wants something. Which is way better then the former! Still prefers holding our hands and walking around over trying to crawl. No teeth, but tons of drool.

Post Script

So while my last post said there are no rules in Russia, there actually are. It's just that when you break them you can pay off the police and move on with your life. Case in point. On our way back to Chekhov from Moscow last weekend our driver was pulled over by the police. Now "pulled over" may not be the correct term. Because the police officer was standing in a booth and we're not sure if he just waived our driver over or what. All we knew was that our driver pulled over, grabbed what I assume was his license and then stepped outside to go talk to the officer. He came back a few minutes later and said to Brian "money," or however you say it in Russian. Brian handed over 3000 rubles, the equivalent to about $100 US. He then walked back to the officer, must of talked a little, came back, and then we were on our way. I mean, we had heard people just pay off the police but it was another thing to see it happen. Kind of awesome. Felt like a real Russian citizen at that moment. Russia is like Chicago in the 1920's  I guess. 

There Are No Rules In Russia...

...and other curiosities.

Want to ride your horse down the sidewalk? No problem. Go for it!

That is not a street to the left of that parked car. That is a sidewalk. No need to look for parking. Just park your car anywhere you please!

Now, its hard to see from this photo, but that lady in our "water closet,"is checking our water heater. Now you'll need to use your imagination a bit, but just picture that old lady from the Hansel and Gretel story. Babushka and everything. Even the crooked teeth. Then you'll have a good idea of what this lady looked like. She's very pushy and demanding and you'll tell her 18 times in Russian that you don't speak Russian but she'll continue to talk to you like you do. The only one in our family who wasn't a little freaked out by her was Emily. I think she was entranced by her sparkly gold replacement teeth. 

Here are some observations I've made on my daily walks around town:

• Even though it's 20 degrees out, no adult wears gloves. My hands are freezing in my double layered mittens, how do they do this? Is this so you can easily chain-smoke?
• It's totally cool to leave your 7 year old in the drivers seat with the car on while you run into the store. 
• All the babies here sleep so well in their strollers. How do they do this? Emily has a freak out after 10 minutes unless it's her nap time. 
• Rules of the road are totally optional.
• If you walk up to an elevator (or escalator, entrance, etc.), don't be surprised if someone from behind just nudges their way in front of you to get on as soon as the doors open. Doesn't matter if you have a baby attached to you. You are not special enough to get on first! 
• Stray dogs are very good at crossing the street and avoid getting hit by buses and cars.
• There are two car speeds in Russia. Fast and Stopped. I've never witnessed a car slooooow doooown. It's go as fast as you can and then SLAM on your breaks at the stop light/pedestrian crossing. 
• The babushkas here have got grillz y'all. Lost your teeth to decay? No worries! There's plenty of gold teeth to go around to replace them!

Fun with Dad

Hey guys! It's me Emily. Thought I'd share some fun photos of me with my dad from these past couple of weeks.

Here's dad cleaning me up after eating and making a mess of things.

"Good morning!"

"Yeah, we go to the same barber. It's a great cut, you got a problem with that?"

This is me being coy. 

"Mom's chest isn't this hairy."

"Yee-haw, giddee-up!"

3 for 3

Brian has scored a goal at all three of the games Emily and I have gone to since we got here. We are definitely his good luck charms. The first two games he scored during the first period when Emily and I were in attendance. (We have to leave after the first period to meet Emily's bedtime needs). Tonight he scored the game winner! First win for the team in a loooooong time. Way to go Brian! Wish I'd been there to see it but was still psyched to see it on the game report online.

Here's are some self-portraits of me and Emily at the game. It is butt cold in Chekhov so no matter how much I bundle Emily up for our walk to the rink her cheeks are so pink from the chilly air. Plus, her cheeks can not be contained in any kind of hat/head cover. Ha!

 "Hey guys, I'm at a hockey game."

Thanksgiving in Russia

It was weird to celebrate Thanksgiving in another country. Back home everyone had the day off and was visiting with family and friends and it just felt like another day here, except I was going to attempt to make some kind of dinner related to Thanksgiving dinner. There are no turkeys here in Russia, so I knew I'd be making a roast chicken. And as much as I wanted to make the bird with all the trimmings they just don't have those ingredients here and if they did I wouldn't know because it is very hard to decode the Cyrillic alphabet!

Here is how I made the roast chicken. I preheated the oven to a 7. Yes, 7. I have no idea what that temperature correlates to in Celsius or Fahrenheit. I'm just guessing somewhere around 400 degrees because the the numbers only go up to a 9 and I'm guessing 9 is around 500 Fahrenheit??? So we'll go with about an hour and 30 minutes in the oven. For the potatoes and carrots I had no roasting pan, so I had to boil those vegetables first and then saute them with butter, salt, and pepper. We did find some frozen crescent rolls but nothing even close to a pumpkin or pecan pie. Instead some kind of cake roll from the bakery had to do. Overall, even though I couldn't make all my favorite side dishes or a turkey, the dinner turned out better then I had expected. I was just happy the chicken was cooked through and the vegetables hadn't turned to mush! Oh, and there was gravy. Not the best I ever put on the table but it was still pretty good. Have to have gravy!

While the meal wasn't my finest, it was wonderful to be here with Brian and Emily. I'm so glad that the three of us were able to spend the day together and it will be a memorable Thanksgiving, one we'll laugh about in the years to come. Brian helped make the day special for me and I think I helped make it special for him. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The table.

Emily's scoping out the goods.

Now it's my turn for a photo.

"No thanks dad, I'll just keep sucking on this teething ring."

Baby Jail

Emily started screeching a few weeks ago when she is frustrated or upset and it is horrible. It's the equivalent of someone raking their fingernails down a chalkboard. It drives me nuts. I've tried to shush her, ignore her, whatever, but nothing works other then figuring out what the cause is in the first place.

We've started putting her in "baby jail," as punishment.