Where Has the Time Gone?!

With the crisp feeling of fall in the air, we are feeling a sense of urgency to spend as much time outside as possible. Nights are in the low 40s and highs are in the low 60s, so more and more crunchy leaves are falling in the square every day. I have really enjoyed the boys being able to cruise around on their bikes! Nobody fights over who gets what wheels, and I get some really brisk walks (and sometime jogs, even) trying to keep up with them. The bikes have also enabled us to expand our roaming area; we find more new play yards every week!

Some funny things I want to remember about the boys: Finn calls the elevator the alligator. He also still says who-one (everyone, someone, no one, I guess it makes sense). When he gets distracted on his bike and Lev passes him, he yells “Ot hadee! Ya bwistreah!” (move out of the way, I’m faster!). And, of course, because Finn says that, Lev often yells the same thing to Finn when he is in the lead, which is most of the time. They draw quite a bit of attention to themselves when riding their bikes, not only because of the yelling, but also because they are both really small and somewhat fast and reckless. Most small children just ride scooters, so these tiny little humans on bikes are a sight to be seen. Lev is mostly conversational now,

but he has stopped using “me” and “I” and instead says “mine” when referring to himself. “Mine tired.” Or, “mine so fast!” He recently learned how to make the “k” sound and over-annunciates it. He calls a motorcycle, “motorwhykakle” and its adorable. The boys are finally starting to play together nicely; as long as Lev plays according to Finn’s direction (so far he mostly does), everyone is happy and has fun. Finn is very slowly learning that if Lev has something he wants, rather than rip it out of his hands, he can ask Lev nicely if he can have a turn and it usually only takes Lev about 30

seconds to kindly hand it over with a big smile, obviously proud of himself for keeping his brother happy. As bossy as Finn tends to be, he is really good about taking care of his brother when they are outside among other kids. We were at a really busy play yard with a two-story high enclosed, squiggly slide and Lev, of course, wanted to go down it. Finn held his hand up the steps and helped him hold his place in the line so he could have his turn. Most of the kids were 8-10 years old, but Finn had no problem holding his own and helping his brother. He quite enjoys being able to tell people what to do. Finally, hide-and-seek with a two and four-year-old is hilarious, and happens to be one of their favorite games.

Yesterday the boys were playing with a few other kids on the merry-go-round and they were all yelling “Lyets Goh!” And that is when I realized my children might have Russian accents when they speak English.

Lev accidently rode his bike down our concrete steps a few weeks ago and gave us a good scare. He bashed his face on a nasty steel rail, but luckily only scored a nasty goose egg and double bloody nose. Finn was pretty sure he was dying, so I had to try to figure out how to get two screaming kids (one that was bloody, the other that was freaking out) and two bicycles back into the building and up to our apartment. Steps gained a new level of respect for both boys; lesson learned.

Last week, before it turned cool, we went to the beach twice and also took an electrichka (commuter train) trip to a village in the country. It was an hour and ten-minute ride to what was once a communal farm that has since been privatized. There was a surprising number of people walking or biking around the handful of dirt roads that comprised the village, on that Monday morning. We had two hours from the time we arrived until the next train heading into the city came, so we meandered through most of the village trying not to attract too much attention to ourselves. There was a school with a cow grazing next to it and a huge garden on the other side, an administrative building in amazing disrepair, two pubs and a little grocery market. We had packed a few snacks, but we also enjoyed fresh plums and a loaf of bread from the grocery store. All of the buildings and homes were 50 to 100 years old, some maintained better than others. Many flocks of geese roamed the yards, as did chickens and barking dogs.

We’re glad to have the brothers back in town now, so Matt will be starting up his English Club soon. Finn has been asking about going to school again, so hopefully he is still excited about the idea when his school resumes classes next week. Matt and I lapped the sun again this week and today is officially one year since we arrived here! It’s amazing how quickly the time has gone!