April 22nd

Once again it is cold and rainy here in Kazakhstan, thus yet another day inside our humble abode. We all woke up late this morning about 0830, one less hour for us to be climbing the walls. Sam loves anything ‘banan.” Banana yogurt, Banana oatmeal, or just plain Bananas make his day. It’s very difficult because Ian is losing weight and Sam is simply too chubby, yet we can’t give Ian more food and Sam less for fear of Sam thinking we’re punishing him. Plus, anytime anyone goes into the kitchen Sam is there in a nano-second thinking some sort of food is on the way. Once it’s just Sam and I, I’m hoping the weather will be more temperate so that we can take long walks and do more outside activities at the park to pass the time and decrease his belly. I’ll also be able to regulate his food a bit more. Thank goodness both of Ian’s Grammies are great cooks, so I know they can fatten him up a bit. The big news of the day is that BBC World, our only channel, actually has interesting programs on the weekend vs. their limited news program that repeats itself every ½ hour. The sad fact is that we watch it over and over again just to hear some English and watch some TV to help pass the time. It’s now 6 hrs later and we have yet to leave the house as it’s been a bit rainy and chilly. The boys amaze me, I’m internally going crazy and they seem to be having a ton of fun playing with soda bottle caps, clotheslines, clothespins and plastic “slinkies” that Olga purchased for them yesterday. Today, they have made many secret traps and are improving their cap flinging skills. Sam is making some emotional progress in that he gets a bit frustrated when he needs to wait for his turn or stay by his Daddy when his Daddy needs to speak to Ian alone. Not that we’re happy that he sometimes gets cranky, but we figure it’s better for him to show positive and negative emotion vs. no emotion whatsoever.