It's a girl!!

On Friday we had the long-awaited ultrasound, and we found out that Lydia gets her wish for a sister! Of course, Aaron was sort of hoping for a boy, but we are still very excited about another sweet little girl. And even more importantly, the doctor said the baby looks very healthy! No signs of any problems. We had been told that a blood test I had showed a high risk for down syndrome, so we're especially thankful!

I didn't know if I wanted to post this next picture, because my belly looks so big already, but here it is- the first "belly picture." I can't believe I still have 4 months of growth to go! (I'm holding a rose that my wonderful hubby gave me for Valentine's day!)



Today I went to try to register Lydia for a kindergarten next fall (it's called that, but it's really a preschool.) I had to go to the Education Department for our district, which was a little intimidating, trying to figure out which office and how to go about doing it. But when I found the right office, the ladies there were amazingly kind and patient with me and my terrible Russian language skills. I eventually figured out most of what they were trying to tell me. They said that the kindergartens near us all have full day programs, and Lydia would have to go every day, from 10am to 5pm. That's more than we wanted her there- we were hoping for 3 days a week. So, we need to decide what to do. We're going to see if we can still somehow work it out that she doesn't have to be there every day. I don't want my 3-year-old gone all day, every day.

Yesterday was a holiday here called Defenders of the Fatherland Day, also known as Men's day. It's a little like Father's day, but all men are recognized. We had a special lunch at our organization's office, prepared by us ladies. We also played some fun games afterward. The kids had a chance to write down and say what they like about their dads, and here's what Lydia said when she was asked:
My dad can jump up and touch the lights.
It's funny when my dad tickles me.
My dad loves me.

A nice two-year-old tribute to her Daddy! Here she is enjoying the time with one of her friends.


And lastly for today, here is Lydia this morning, helping me make some homemade granola. She loves to dump in the ingredients and stir them up. Here she's doing a pretty good job of not flipping it out onto the counter!

Baby news!

I just had a thought- I never even posted the exciting news that I'm pregnant!! What a bad blogger I am! Probably most people reading this blog already know, but I should have mentioned it. I am about at 22 weeks now, and we have an ultrasound coming up on Friday. We hope to find out if Lydia gets a little brother or sister! (Lydia, of course, is hoping for a sister!)

Here is a picture of the first ultrasound at about 14 weeks. I'll need to post a "belly picture" soon, so you can all see how big I am! You can see my belly a little bit on the last post, in the pictures of Isaiah's birthday party.

Catching up again!

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote here! I put pictures up on facebook, and then I neglect the blog. Here are a few new pictures. First, Lydia watched some bean seeds "pop open" and start growing:

They're starting to grow!

Planting the seedlings.

Here are some other recent events. First a basketball game that Aaron played in. It was the staff versus the student team from the school... although I think there were only two real staff members, and most of the rest were young college-age guys who were great players. The "staff" won!
Lydia tried to figure out how they make the ball bounce like that:
Here's Lydia with a friend who is staying with us for a couple of months while she gets some training here in St. Pete. Lydia also lined up a bunch of other "friends" on the sofa!
A cute picture of Lydia, snuggling with "Big Baby."
And finally, a birthday party for Lydia's friend, Isaiah!
Our dear friends with their son, Isaiah. Happy 3rd birthday!

The kids' table. In the back is another little friend, Slava, with his parents.