Proud to be 7

Every birthday seems to be a major step into growing up, but for some reason seven sounds like such a big jump! Even Misha felt it. In the months and weeks leading up to his birthday, he would say things like, "Six is still little, but when I'm seven, I won't be little anymore. Seven is really big." Then he'd laugh and say, "And Grandma Kate is gonna tell me to stop growing up so fast!"

April 6 sneaked up quickly, and Misha celebrated his 7th birthday in the very country he was born. As usual, he had two mini-parties: one at school and one at home. For the school party, we made a brownie-cake and sent Ben 10 pencils and Smurf erasers for all the children. For our own party, we grabbed Alihan's family and went out to a nice pizza restaurant with an outdoor playground. The kids played on the swings and slides while we waited for the pizzas. Then we all chowed down and moved right onto cake and presents!

For the record, I didn't misspell Misha's name. In the Russian alphabet, his name looks like Миша. :)

Misha had to blow the candles out quickly before Sebby could beat him to it.

I still can't believe I am the mother of a seven-year-old! Amazing.

Pizza Party

On to the presents!

Legos - thanks, Alihan!

New books. :)

And a brand-new SDSU Jackrabbit sweatshirt sent all the way to Bishkek from Grandpa and Grandma. He looks great in it!

And Sebby loves his vest-style Jackrabbit jacket too (his early birthday gift from the grandparents). Now it's difficult to get Sebby to wear anything that doesn't have a jackrabbit on it!

At home, we had one more present waiting for Misha - his own guitar. He's been asking for one. It's a bit big for him, but he's getting used to it. Josh has been teaching him a fun CCR song (Creedence Clearwater Revival). We're working on a few easy chords too, like Em and A.

The Legos provided hours of entertainment for Mommy and Daddy as well!

Josh and I realize more and more what great boys we have. Misha is such a good kid with a huge sweet streak and the curiosity and motivation of a whole roomful of children. He is also - more often than we give him credit for - a patient and kind big brother. We sometimes watch the two of them without their being aware of it, and we see how Misha truly enjoys making his brother happy. If something makes Sebby burst out laughing, Misha will keep repeating the action over and over simply for Sebby's amusement. When they dash madly around the house, Misha tries to be careful with Sebby. And when Sebby gets hurt, as he inevitably does, Misha shows compassion and tries to help. He even comes to us and tells us (with guilty eyes) that Sebby got hurt on accident. At night, once in a while, Misha will read The Cat in the Hat or another story to Sebby while Josh and I treasure a few quiet moments together.

Though definitely his own stubborn little person, Sebby has Misha's sweetness and interest in new things. For an under-three-year-old, Sebby has a pretty impressive attention span. He loves to paint (he chooses one color at a time, and methodically fills the entire paper up until it is a solid color with no white showing through - and sometimes he turns it over and paints the back as well!). He also draws, colors, and decorates pages with stickers. He desperately wants to participate in whatever activity Misha is doing, whether it's building with Legos, stirring cookies, or planting flowers. Even if Misha is vacuuming, Sebby will demand, "I want to vacuum too!" He is very affectionate, always sneaking back into our room at night for an extra kiss and hug from each of us. "I need another kiss!" he'll say, and what parent could turn that down? 

They are both doing so well in their school. Sebby had a stomach bug this week and had to miss a day, but when he saw Misha leaving for school, he ran to the front door, put his shoes on, and begged, "I want to go too! I want to go too!" As we were walking home Friday after school, Misha said, "I want to go to school tomorrow." Thinking he had forgotten what day it was, I said, "But tomorrow is Saturday." "I know," Misha responded, "but I want to see my friends." Now that the weather is so pleasant, Misha's class has been playing zamorojka (freeze tag) at every recess, and Misha loves it. It's wonderful that the boys both feel comfortable with the other students and their teachers. Naturally, a good deal of their confidence comes from their continuing familiarity with Russian. More on that soon!

Happy Birthday, Misha!