Boobies and boo boos for Fin

Fin had quite a busy day on Thursday. He was at school at day, enjoying himself. When I went to pick him up, the teacher told me that he was kissing Brook all day... a cute little blond with pig tails in his class. Apparently, Brook was pulling her shirt down, showing off and saying "boobies."  Hysterical. Brook's Mom came to get her before we got Fin, so the teachers told her the story too... a little boy was kissing her daughter all day. She had asked which one was the boy was, and replied with "he's cute." Way to go Fin... approval. You're in. Brook's Mom said she's not allowed to wear that shirt to school anymore and show off her boobies.

We came home to the weekly neighborhood gathering at the playground and pool. Within 10 minutes, Fin fell off the playscape and busted his chin open, Our first "emergency" situation, which we ended up at Urgent Care to get it glued back together... he did such a great job and didn't cry at all while they worked on him. Maybe he was thinking about what a great day he had at school?

A fun day, filled with Boobies and boo boos!!!

Some videos...

We are testing this out for the first time... uploading video onto the blog.

Here is one of Fin, Christiane and Jim's birthday celebration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF4iB0xeuLM

Then a special good night from Fin... lots of kisses!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOI3MybJVG8

Funny moments

We had a few funny moments this week with these guys.
- Fin and Maks were in the playroom sharing a bean bag... Fin leaned over to Maks and kissed him on the cheek. He said "I luv bue." It was priceless.
- After leaving swim lessons the other day, we were still in the car and heading out for some errands. Maks had to tinkle really bad and was holding himself. I told him to hold tight while I find a potty where we could stop. Maks' answer was" look- grass- over there." It made me chuckle, but sure enough, I pulled over and let him tinkle.

They are really starting to speak a lot. In fact, that's the most common question we get from everyone... "how is their English coming along?" It's great... we don't use any Russian in the house anymore, and not because we don't want to. We just don't need to. Occassionally they'll say one or two words- kravat (bed), ni (no/ not), and of course kaka (poop)- if you can call that Russian.

Mark's birthday was this week, so the boys and I went out during the day to grab a few presents and an ice cream cake. We enjoyed ourselves. That morning, we were talking about plans for the day and getting a present for Papa. Maks responded with "2 presents"... just to be sure he had one too. We laughed and he said "presents are fun!"

Some recent visitors... Mimi came for a long weekend. We had a great visit, although Maks was recovering from being really sick. Aunt Char, or as the boys call her, Char Char, came the following weekend. I included some pictures for you. We went to the zoo, as you can see in the pictures. That big rooster snuck up on Fin- it was hysterical! 

Maks has started soccer and the boys have been in swim lessons for a few weeks. They absolutely love all of their activities. In the morning on some days, they'll continue to ask to get into the car, so they know they are on their way to their fun for the day. Maks will start t-ball soon too- that's going to be great!

4 months home

April 25th marked the 4 month mark. That's right...Christmas day was 4 months ago. We've only been together for 4 months. It just seems so much longer than that and the boys have been adjusting so well! I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I were in Russia for 4 months... would I have as many words and understanding as these little guys do here? Probably not.. I just think their minds pick things up quicker than what adults would in these circumstances. We'll talk about something or learn about something once and they will bring it back up the next day.... it's amazing what they retain. We've been working on sentences with Maks now- "Can I have juice please" instead of just "juice please." Fin is working on 2-3 word statements and trying to get his "f's" down. That's a hard one and it just so happens that his name begins with "f"... it sounds like he calls himself "sin." Pretty cute though. The boys have officially become Team In Training fans and it didn't take very long, of course. We helped the cycling team with the support and gear a few weekends ago. Mark and the team were riding along on their bikes, enjoying the support of "Go Team" from the car. Now the boys say "Go Team" anytime we see someone on their bike.. including the Austin bums. Hysterical! Maks and Fin are also well aware of "hook 'em" when someones holds up their longhorn fingers... only UT Longhorn fans can appreciate this. It's great!!! Are we brainwashing these kids? ;-)

Mark and I got a chuckle out of this the other night... they absolutely love taking baths. In fact, we probably give thme more baths than necessary (imagine that for little boys), but it is something they truly enjoy. We were in their room getting ready and taking off clothes. They seem to get stuck on getting their pants off and generally ask for help at that point... instead of asking for help from us, Maks just jumped in and helped pull Fin's pants off. When they were done, Fin turned around and helped Maks take his off. Mark and I just stood back and smiled. It was great.

Some things that we hope they never take for granted... They are biological brothers. Everything they have experienced together in their early years is what they alone can really understand. We strongly believe that they have adjusted so well to their change because of each other. They have the other one look over to and know that it's going to be alright. We love to hear them chat back and forth with each. Sometimes we can't understand very much of their exchange, yet they answer each other just fine. These little guys have a bond for life that hopefully they will truly appreciate and cherish for life!

We are in disbelief with the latest happenings in news for Russian adoptions. Our adoption is still very fresh for us and this is happening so close to our homecoming with the boys. What if we were going through the process at this time, what if we had made 2 trips to Russia and still had 2 left to finalize everything, etc. Gosh- a lot of "what ifs." We are blessed and praying a lot. This crazy woman can not ruin it for so many good families and waiting children. It's just not right. Everyone is anxious for government officials to meet from both countries to make a decision. I don't think that Russian adoptions to the US will be stopped completely, but that's just my opinion. We are praying for all of the families, the children waiting in orphanages, and the government officials that are working on this VERY important decision. Our hearts and thoughts are with all of them!