update

jaeger does indeed need glasses. ethan needs new glasses and a trip to the surgeon to discuss his eye problem and whether or not it needs fixing. We picked up a new stroller from a fellow freecycler as the one we had drove me nuts! I left the old one at moms to give to goodwill. the new one is very lightweight and perfectly rolls. no problems. and its cute. I like my double when I have Ben too but when I just have sophie I need a single.

I am sneezing like crazy. my nose still runs. my head still hurts. at least the razor blades in my throat have let up. Cody was home sick yesterday too.

I was looking at some photos from our time in Kiev and the kids have changed so much! in just one month! the girls no longer wear their hair in a pony 24 hours a day. they wear it down or in some other style of their own doing. Maia loves when Natasha does HER hair for her. Andre is no longer the wild child he oncce was. Although he is still very demanding but he only cries now when scolded doesnt fly off the handle and go ballistic. Jaeger seems to think when parents give an order that he doesnt care for he can just smile and say no and like magic he wont have to do it. he is learning though. mostly he is a good kid. he has a little trouble with retaliation too but he is very helpful and always ready for a kiss and hug. and they all go off to school with a smile. they still dont like my oatmeal but are getting better about eating what we offer. Last night we had chicken and potatoes and wow they LOOOOVE that. I think thats their favorite meal. kulicka and kartoshka. We had some pot stickers awhile back but they werent as good as I hoped. the kids gobbled them up thinking they were like pelmenis. Dima they didnt hold a candle to your pelmenis!

overall we are all adjusting fairly well. Even Ethan is adjusting. Jaeger is a rough and tumble kind of boy and Ethan now has a way to get out his own rough and tumble tendencies. He never could play that way with Ben because of his AMC. But Jaeg and Ethan are always laughing and rough housing with each other. the girls mostly get along and Maia sometimes feels left out or grieves the loss of her being the only little girl. mostly they are 3 muskateers though. where one is the other two will be found. Ben and Andre are good friends. so it seems everyone has a playmate except Sophie. Thankfully she is good about playing alone. Ben plays inside with her sometimes. she and he are still best best friends. I have no doubt that when they grow up THOSE TWO will be very close. I always wished I had that kind of relationship with a sibling.

this week will include another two trips to st cloud for dentist and orthodontist. but today thankfully I have nowhere to go. too bad I have to clean out the girls room. it looks like a dump truck came in and just dumped clothes everywhere.