First update

Here we are... back from our long trip to pick up the boys. Thought we could create a blog to log our funny tales and dramas from the Kilchenstein household.
The pictures here are from the orphanage... we are anxious to see how much Maks and Fin will change in the next few months!

Things have been going really well. The boys are adjusting quite well. Can only imagine what goes through their mind on a daily basis... taken to an apratment in Moscow to live with almost strangers, going into a crowded airport and flying 12 and 1/2 hours with these wacko people, called Mama and Papa. They were really excited at the site of coming and going airplanes from the airport. They also get really excited at the site of cars... "machina!!" It's humbing hearing them talk and not know a word- not only Russian but in their own little voices and language too. We have a lot to learn from each other, but we are doing great- one week and one day since we've been home.

Already this week.. we've had some firsts...
- They love the bath tub and playing in it. "Vanna" as they know- they get excited with the sound of it.
riding in a car- "machina"... they couldn't be happier in the car, thankfully.
We've taking them for quite a few walks in the stroller and they seem to love it too. With a pit stop at the play ground.. Maks took to the slide. Fin loved the swing.
- They love bananas- they could sit with you for awhile sharing bites off a banana. It's adorable. They also LOVE water bottles. Never thought of them as so exciting, for some reason they can't get enough of them.
- Elmo- We (Mark and I) are HUGE fans of Elmo videos. Ok, so he has an annoying voice, but he saved us on that long flight, long waits in the car, and everything else that required patience on our trip. Wow- what would we do without Elmo!!!
- They both call us Mama and Papa. They know that, and Busta (their word for Buster), very well. Maks is at a point now where he'll repeat words after you.... please, fan, Fin, kiss, crab, Mimi, Papa Keens, Gwami (Gramie), PopPop, Momo (Elmo), etc. He has a hard time saying some of them... just like Mama has a REALLY hard time speaking Russian. I have actually learned a lot from Maks and Mark just this week. We have a good Russian vocabulary down now, where we can get by with the daily tasks. I also started a running list in the play room with common words, so I can refer to that on occassion. Thankfully the communication is coming, because Mark goes back to work on Monday.

I can't say that they LOVE everything.. there are definitely quite a few temper tantrums and cries too. They HATE to go to bed. Hate is a strong word, and it fits this example quite well. Reading in bed isn't an option for us either- first because of the language barrier and then because they won't even get in bed to try. We found that Elmo videos help to settle them down before bed time... sometimes it works great, others times it doesn't. Fin's favorite toy is Papa's new TV and Maks' favorite toy is Papa's remote control. That goes over really well! Mark and I have spent a small fortune trying to find foods they'll eat, but we decided to give up trying and stick with what's been working thus far.. apple sauce, dried fruit, bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, go-gerts (yogurts in a push up pop), apples, grilled cheese, sometimes soup, blueberries, and sometimes hot dogs. Of course, they'll eat crackers, fruit bars, and cookies most of the time too. All in all- we can't complain with that diet. Hopefully more will come with time.

Maks is working on his potty training. "Kaka" is his way of saying he has to go #2. We go back and forth to the "toilette" quite a bit until it actually comes. He's done a great job with it most of the time, but it does test your patience after the 10th time to the potty and no result. Fin, on the other hand, doesn't even try. He rather just go in his tent, hide, grunt, and let it come right out to the pull ups. He has no problem sitting on the potty though, but no results yet.

We have been Skyping with family quite a bit! What a great and easy tool to stay in touch. We have managed to do high fives and tap knuckles through the screen with everyone too. Maks and Fin caught onto that right away. It's adorable!

Well, that's it for now. Happy new year to all!!!!
p.s. Sorry for any typos... I'm just happy to have time to sit and blog about this stuff! ;-)