11/10/04-I've fallen and I can't get up...

I can now understand why Kazakhstan does well in wresting, boxing and weight lifting in the Olympics for such a small country. Those are sports where balance is critical. These people are the most sure footed people I have ever seen. I went on my usual daily walk this morning and the sidewalks have basically turned to a sheet of ice. Four different times I almost took a major spill, which might have finally brought smile to the faces of some of the people on the street, but I chose to right myself rather than provide them a Chevy Chase moment. Anyway, while I am shuffling along the walk, everyone is walking around as if it is the middle of June. And it’s not like they are wearing special shoes. Most of them are wearing dress shoes and the women are all in high-heels. I think my most embarrassing moment was when the little babushka sprinted by me. Luckily, she avoided the temptation of nudging me into the gutter. Now that would have been funny.

The kids were only children again in the morning as they took staggered naps. In the afternoon, they went down together, much to Gma’s relief so she could get a short nap. After the nap, we had some fun playing. You will see in the pictures that for a while they just stood at the couch by Dad playing.

It’s interesting to see how each of them develops different abilities. You may have seen in Jack’s video how he has picked up clapping, blowing a kiss, and waving. (Mary Jo said it sounded like he was a trained dog, with us shouting out commands. At least I wasn’t shoving treats in his mouth after each “trick.”) Grace has started to clap and wave, but not as quickly as he has. But, when it comes to pulling themselves up on the couch and getting back down, Grace is a little more advanced. Jack pulls himself up with total upper body. When he is tired, he gets really frustrated because he can’t pull himself up. Grace picks up her foot, places it flat on the ground and pushes up with her legs. When they want to get down, Jack is still scared and bends at the hip very slowly and puts both hands on the floor. Grace moves her foot, bends her knee and gets down easily.

Many people have sent notes on how they have seen how much they’ve blossomed. I’ve definitely seen it. I was looking at some videos from the early days we were here and I see a big difference in them both physically and emotionally. As someone said, they are such sponges. It is fun to watch.

Here are some pictures from today.