Jack + tools = furniture

Yep - Jack has been at it again. Making furniture that is. His latest project was to make a bookshelf and three drawers in the loungeroom. I think they turned out really well and it's amazing how nice it is to be able to put books on shelves the right way, as opposed to stacking them in piles next to each other, which is what we've been doing for the past couple of years.

Work in progress:

Finished product:

First haircut

I suppose it is normal for everything in a young boy's life to be 'first'.... first tooth, first step, first poo, first tantrum. Either way, Timmy got his very first haircut last night. His fringe has gotten to the point, where not only did it get into his eyes but was almost starting to invade his nose. After a few futile past attempts I took full advantage of him being fascinated with a milk bottle and did the chop. I admit - it's not the best look right now, but it keeps the hair off his face and once he grows up a bit more and is a little less squirmy (read: doesn't try to eat the scissors) we'll attempt a proper hairdo.

Half a dozen teeth

Tim lived without teeth almost one whole year. Now at the verge of his first birthday, probably due to extreme peer pressure, he decided to grow some. Not one, not two, but six teeth are coming out at once! I mean you might as well get it over and done with in one hit - I think that's really the way to go about it. Teething doesn't seem to bother him though, which is great considering that it's all happening so rapidly.

Today for the first time he didn't cry when I dropped him off at the Kita - yey! And he seemed very happy when I came back to pick him up. The teachers said that after he woke up from his nap he was the loudest baby talking - that apparently they've never seen anything like it :)

In other Kita-related news... Tim and I have been bluntly confronted by the fact that his kindergarten is right in the middle of Hookerville. Yes - the street and nearby church square are home to at least half a dozen prostitutes who seem to be very hard working. I see them at 9am when I drop him off and they're still there when I pick him up around 2pm. Not only do they stand pretty much on the kindergarten's doorstep, but they are all along the street stretching for at least 300 meters. Thus Timmy is learning an important lesson in life that (to quote Homer Simpsons's brain) "money can be exchanged for goods and services... ".

Random Easter Monday fact

There are precisely two male midwives in the whole of Germany.

Parenting tip Nr. 1: how can I tell if my child is actually sleepy?

Mish mash update

This week from Monday to Wednesday Tim was in the Kita five hours each day. On Monday we even rode the bike, and it takes 20 minutes even going very slowly. Usually I drop him off around 9am and he is there 'till around 2pm. From 12 until 2pm it's their nap time, and Tim actually managed to sleep there on the very first day... I was really surprised because he normally doesn't sleep well in a new environment. But on Monday he managed an hour and 20 mins, and then on Wednesday already he slept the whole two hours and even a bit longer. He cries when I drop him off but the teachers said that he calms down very quickly afterwards and seems to enjoy his time there. So we're hoping it's not going to be too bad of an overall experience for him. Not that we really have a great choice of options...



Unfortunately he has bronchitis again, so on Thursday we kept him at home.



My uni started. It's been really strange being back. I am surrounded by teenagers who seem to know more than me. I really need to catch up on the material from my last semester.

In other Tim related news - he can now sit up from being on his tummy. He's been sitting really well for ages, so he'd sit, if you sit him somewhere but he couldn't sit himself up...and now he's mastered it. He also tries to pull himself up on his arms, although with questionable success :)



Oh, and about a week ago Timmy got his very first shoes. No, he can't walk yet, but they play a lot in the sandbox at the Kita, so he needed something a bit more waterproof than socks. Just wondering - has anyone bronzed their baby's first shoes, or is that completely a thing of the past? Not that I think that this pair is particularly bronze-able, but I am just curious...

Invite

Made an invite for Timmy's first birthday. Can't believe he'll be turning one in three weeks! So happy Tim and Michelle should be here to celebrate with us :)

Our first spring visitor

Julia flew in from London this Tuesday for two nights. Seeing Valedii Meladze was apparently her reason for a visit, but we know that really it was just an excuse to see us! :) As usual it was wonderful to see her and I am very happy that she kept me company while Tim was in the Kita on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. It made leaving him there by himself for the first two times a lot more bearable. Needless to say it was great to catch up.

On Wednesday we also managed a nice trip to the zoo. It was actually great to go during the day on a weekday, as it was almost empty. The zoo is looking very nice especially because there are so many trees blooming.

That night we went to the above mentioned Meladze concert. It was my first introduction to the said man, but I was happy to keep Julia company. Even though it's definitely not my usual cup of tea, one or two of the songs I thought were very enjoyable. What amazed me most is that after each song there would be women and children (!) getting up on stage and giving him flowers and alcohol! Towards the end of the show there was a whole table full of bouquets and he cracked open a bottle of wine and sculled a glass-full to the health of the audience. Ahhh those Ruskies!!!

Kita - an update

Tim has been going to the kindergarten for two and a half weeks now. In that time we all managed to get sick (again!) and spent last weekend winging snotty in bed. I blame all the other snotty coughy kiddies there! Either way things seem to be actually improving.

Just before the end of March Jack and I had a chat to the "Kita boss" Irina and told her of what's been happening - mainly with the girl doing work experience there. She was very understanding and said that it was very good that we brought it to her attention and from then on this girl is not going to be in Timmy's group. Obviously that's not brilliant for the older kids, but as far as we're concerned it's the best solution for us. She also promised to have a chat to Tim's teachers and make sure that they understand that Tim is very small and is not yet ready to start walking/talking/doing anything that he's "supposed" to do according to some perverted former Soviet law.

All in all it seems to have helped. I have noticed that the teachers (esp. Luyda) have laid off a bit and I have been happier with the goings-on there. This week has been tough on Timmy, because I've been leaving him there alone for longer and longer periods of time. He cries when I leave and has cried when I've been picking him up, which is not great, but the teacher who is in charge of his "integration" said that he's been calming down almost immediately after I left and also has been happy to start exploring his surroundings.

This coming Tuesday I go back to uni and I'm really happy that I managed to get the timetable I wanted - I'm only there Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I'm planning to study on Mondays and Thursdays while Tim is in the Kita and then Friday he doesn't have to go and can stay at home.

Frist tooth and first bike ride

Yesterday we discovered Tim's first tooth. It's at the bottom to the left. Needless to say that we were very excited, given the amount of questions I've been receiving for the last six months whether his first tooth finally appeared. Poor thing seems to be actually in a bit of pain, 'cos he seems to be a lot more grumpy than usual and complains at mealtimes - an extremely rare occurrence for him.

Given that the weather was nice and sunny we decided to try out Timmy's new bike seat (thank you Grandma Emmi!!!). First bike ride was a success - even though towards the end Tim did get a bit grumpy, but I blame teething, as opposed to bike riding. He could parade his very own cool helmet and mostly seemed happy. Because my bike is already pretty damn heavy (something like 25kgs), I was worried that it will make it very hard to ride with Tim on the back, but I'm pleased to report that it was quite doable.