It's Still Winter Here

After enjoying our week of "summer" in Almaty (where the temperatures lingered in the mid-30's), we are back in Novosibirsk embracing winter once again. It was actually rather mild for the first week we were back (temperatures above zero and even into the teens at times), but unfortunately I was still really dragging from having been sick and I also had a lingering cough, so I didn't get outside at all during the nice weather. And now we are back to frigid, with highs in the -25's and lows nearing -40 so again, we are stuck indoors for at least the next week. We do venture out to meeting, the store, or the indoor play area across the street, but certainly no leisure time outside in these temps. It was -37 this morning with a wind chill of -58 when Matt went to English Club. I am amazed that regardless of the conditions outside, I can always see at least a dozen people out the window, going wherever it is they need to go.

Mom and dad took some serious pity on us while they were here and not only did they bring an apple peeler-corer-slicer, but they also bought us a microwave and popcorn popper! So we stay busy making apple pies and apple sauce, eating popcorn nearly every single night, and washing fewer pots and pans! I also made and consumed nachos for the first time in 5 months -- the jury is still out whether or not it was worth the effort, but they sure were delicious! When we first arrived here we were able to find tortilla chips

in the fancy grocery store across the street (albeit at the ridiculous price of $3.50 for a tiny bag), but they have stopped stocking them. So, I got ambitious and made tortillas chips by dipping pieces of tortilla shell (known as lavash over here) in butter, salting them on both sides and then baking them in the oven for 10 minutes. Then I grated the cheese and popped them back in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes and Viola! Matt and I each had 8 nachos to eat. Hah! I think next time I'll just make quesadillas.

Finn and I have been playing tons of UNO, so much so that UNO is like the 12th word Lev knows. Finn has also watched us play a fair number of games of Settlers of Catan now and always wants to play with the pieces, so I decided to have a go at playing it with him! I had found a modified version called KinderCatan online so we started with that; but it turned out to be ridiculously oversimplified and not fun at all. So the next time we just played the real deal, which mostly resulted in me playing both of our hands. Until Finn won the first game. And then he wanted to play again. And again. And again. And every time we play he catches on and chooses what he wants to do a little more. He mostly just really likes getting the longest road and the largest army, and building "boots on the beach" (cities on the ports), but hey, we are both having fun!

Finn is also growing up a little more, despite being rather opposed to the idea at times (he usually wants to talk and act like Lev these days). He

is a perfectionist and gets frustrated easily, so he often won't even try learning new things for fear of failure. But today he accidentally figured out how to take his shirt off (seriously, he was just being goofy trying to play peek-a-boo with Lev by pulling his shirt over his head) and then he even had the confidence to try putting it back on. It's about time! And then he accidentally bit into the skin of a orange and soon discovered he could actually peel it all by himself! So it seems he will grow up someday after all.

Lev is officially 18 months old now and starting to really copy sounds and words we say. He is also expressing his opinion more and more, and has decided bedtime is worthy of screaming and yelling at me for up to 45 minutes before he finally gives in. So that's charming. But all in all, he is still our happy, easygoing little dude, always wanting to make Finn happy. It is frustrating at times; I will have just spent the last two minutes telling Finn that if he touches Lev or what Lev has, he will get a time out, only for Lev to kindly hand over whatever it was Finn was throwing a fit about! Every. Single. Time.

Once in a while the boys will actually play together, usually just chasing each other around the apartment squealing, or sometimes playing "meeting," where they set their pink kid chairs next to each other, hold their little books and "sing" (yell) at the top of their lungs, legs swinging madly under their chairs. They also like to "make soup" by throwing a bunch of toys in a pot and stirring them with wooden spoons or the wire whip. Today they rolled their "car rugs" into tunnels and were crawling through them with a flashlight. They are also both very fond of the photo books my mom made for them, and Lev is just starting to show interest in books in general. Finn loves his "How Things Work" and "How to Measure" books, even though they are way over his head. "Curious George" and "The Adventures of Frog and Toad" will always be favorites as well.