This was the day we found out B had dropped way off his curve for weight. We made him chocolate pudding after dinner. He was pretty happy.

Once upon a time, I used to make this all the time. I'd even make a double batch. One small cupful and Greg and I both felt sick.

 Greg and I's first NIGHT TIME date since we had B! I was pretty excited! Now that he's weaned, I can leave him at night and come back when I feel like it. AWESOME!!!! I am SO pumping and using a bottle next time. I don't care how sore I am. I am NOT going to be bound like this again! Cross my fingers.

 We had a great time! We went to dinner and then went downtown and there were all these fountains spraying, and loud music and lights everywhere. There were tandem bikes, roller skates, horse carriages- all kind of things to rent by the hour. Greg and I rented a tandem bike and rode around for 30 minutes. I have never ridden one and haven't ridden a bike in probably 5 years. We were so wobbly and had to keep stopping before we fell over. I couldn't stop laughing! It was so hilarious! By the end, we got the hang of it, but it took awhile!

We went out the next weekend too. It is so NICE having time alone with my husband!

Greg had a long weekend, with the holidays, and we took advantage! We went to Ala Archa again and it had snowed! It was so beautiful and different.

 This will be the last time I put B in the Moby. Oh man, he just sagged way down. I'm so glad we have a second pack. Hopefully I like wearing it. I don't really have a choice!

 Man, I am so out of shape. I was draggin' the whole time. I was so good about working out when we got our treadmill and once I hit 135 (my goal), my motivation just sailed out the window. There's just always something else to do. I kept myself going and after 10 minutes of running, I would feel bored and just stop and do something else. I need to do it anyway. Lately I've just been feeling like I have less time. If Greg and I could get to bed early, then maybe I could wake up early.

 B hates wearing hats and Greg bought the kids balaclavas for the winter and it worked great! And it looks pretty cute!

 We never seem to get past this point on the path. The kids always want to turn back. It's so pretty and I always want to keep going. This is where we saw the horses last time. 

 The drive up- I've never seen so many animals in my life. I probably saw 100 horses just in random places, among many herds of sheep. We always see donkeys on the side of the road, but there were just so many horses!

 If only B was in this picture! Isn't it so nice?

 I gotta say- I really love this picture.

 On our hike, the Pullelas called and invited us over for a last minute dinner. It was great! Dinner wasn't grilling on time and we all ended up having hotdogs in bread- but it was honestly tasty! Hadn't had a hotdog since July 4th! And it was great not having to make dinner. The kids ran around outside and the whole night was just really nice. Andrea was wearing sweatpants and none of us had showered and we were all dusty from the hike and it was nice to be at that point where you can look like crap in front of your new friends and not feel self conscious.

Sunday we went to church and there were so many people. I think there were 10 of us. I could actually HEAR people singing the hymns. I loved it! I'm so grateful we have a little group here. Every morning, I feel tired and think I want to skip out on church. But of course I don't, and when once I get dressed and we're on our way, I feel the Spirit and I'm so glad we're going.

Monday Greg and Scarlet went on their first Daddy Daughter date and it was so cute. They played at a park and got ice cream. It was really weird having just one kid at home. It's happened once before and it was weird then. And then when Brighton went down for a nap it got really weird. It's so sad I don't know what to do with myself when I really have time to. I almost feel guilty not getting stuff done around the house. The house was so extra quiet.

Then we went to Greg's boss' house for a welcome to Bishkek Party for a couple of new arrivals. It was also nice. For months it was so hard to remember everyone's names and I felt so new. Now we're not new and we know everyone. It's nice.

Tuesday we went rock climbing! Greg's been wanting to go ever since we arrived. It was at a place we've never been before and it was so nice to go somewhere new. It had a beautiful small river running behind us. And there was some nice hiking, for later. Greg got to lead climb for the first time. He was so excited.

 Scarlet got along so well with Sophia. She came to rock climb with her mom. They ran all over the rocks, holding hands and feeding each other fish crackers. They were the sweetest. I felt really bad, they were both begging for a playdate, but she's in school and so the answer is pretty much no!

 This is our doctor at the embassy. I loved how OREGON she looked. It reminded me of home. (she IS from OR)

 Susie's on the left (we share Pavel with her), then our other doctor, and on the right is the Ambassador! She decided to come last minute. It was her second time climbing and she did really well! I got to talk to her quite a bit. She's very nice. On our way there, I kept asking Greg, "Do I call her Ambassador?  Madame Ambassador? Pamela? What do I call her? I don't know what to say!"

 B has been VERY clingly lately, in group settings. And the ground was at an incline so he couldn't even stand very well. He would just wobble and grab my legs. So I held him pretty much the entire day. But he had a GREAT TIME. Our kids seriously love the outdoors! I thought he would get so antsy and bored being constantly held, but I think he just loved looking at everything.

Notice Scarlet laying on her back being fed crackers? It cracks me up! Like she's a queen being fed by her servants.

 B throwing rocks with Natalia.

 Greg got to "clean the rope" and repel down. He loves repelling and I've never seen him do it. I was happy he got to.

Everyone kept asking me if I was going to climb and I kept saying no. Then I felt like everyone thought I was afraid and so right at the end, I said I would try one climb. B was SCREAMING. It was really sad. And before I even touched the rock, I remembered how much I hate it. I just really don't like rock climbing. Something about it really rubs me the wrong way. I just really hate it. I made it like 10 feet or less, I mean NOTHING and I was in a prickly bush, Brighton was crying and I just thought, I don't want to do this. So I came down a little embarrassed, wishing I didn't try at all.

Scarlet watched a cartoon about forgiveness and now whenever she does something wrong she says to us, "I forgive you." This has been happening for atleast a month. We kept trying to explain it was the other way around, but it wasn't really clicking. Today she asked for the first time if I forgive her, and I said, "Not yet" because I was very mad and she looked very upset and panicked about it and kept asking me over and over, "Do you forgive me?" Don't worry, I forgave her :)

She is most definitely potty trained. She only had accidents the first week and all were very minor. She's gone a week at night in her panties and only had an accident the first night! I think there's something to waiting 'till your kid is ready and really wants to. I'd say it was worth the wait. Though the waiting part is not that fun. She's pretty cute about not wanting people to see her when we're out and about, since we always have to just find a tree to hide behind. I like that she's modest about it.

I started using cloth diapers, again, around 2 weeks ago. I was starting to wonder if I would ever go back. It always just seemed like too much to add on. But it's worked out great! It's weird with B only using them. There's so many extra diapers now! I never have to worry about running out. I started using flushable liners and I love it. Greg hates them for some reason. I love them. I always said that once I'm using cloth diapers again, then I know I've arrived.

There's nothing more to "add on" to get us back to normal life. I make dinner and I make sides. I use cloth diapers. I'd say the one and only difference, well- TWO differences are these- we don't eat fresh produce that much. We were for a bit, but so much of it was going bad so fast because I'd never get to washing it, so I just keep buying less and less. But now I'm cooking more and more, so I feel it's still ok. That is a biggie, and I wish it were different, but it's not going to be. It's just the reality of things. We still eat produce, just not the same quantity. But if I'm going to be honest, we were eating a ridiculous amount before we moved. Like half our diet was probably raw fruits and veggies. We lived on them. 

The other thing that's different and I don't think we'll go back, is the just extreme diet we had. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED what we were doing and it WASN'T hard and I didn't feel a loss. I loved it. But it's never going to happen here. It's just too hard. And even if we went back to the states, I don't think I would. It's FUN to make cookies sometimes and eat candy here and there. It's easier and more emotionally fulfilling to not be so extreme. I like making bread with my kids and eating going cookies with them. Those are memories! I like the smells that fill the house. I think if we're in the states again for awhile, we'll go somewhere half way- like eating a ton of raw produce. That was great. But I think I'll keep everything else as is, for now.

Greg and I have been getting into a nasty little habit of watching tv, eating BUTTERY popcorn and drinking rootbeer every night. THAT and not working our are starting to show up on my tummy! But I gotta say- it's been really fun!

Just when B is sleeping a solid 11 hours, every night- now SCARLET is having sleeping problems. I just think it will never end, and we'll never have sleep again. Ever since she started going diaperless at night, she's been waking at night and not wanting to sleep alone. It's been a nightly problem. I think it will pass, but who knows? It's new to us, we'll see how it goes.

B is on such a sweet schedule. He has always been all over the place ever since he was born. It didn't matter what I did, I could NEVER get this guy on a consistent schedule. And just the last 2 weeks, it seems he's like clock work. It's great! I am loving it.

Scarlet stopped taking naps somewhere around a year ago and I've just started getting her to take some again. So sometimes I have 1 hour a day to myself! CRAZY!!!! I think when she was ill, she never moved, so she didn't need a nap. But now she's always moving and running around playing, so I think she needs more rest. 

Things are finally settled. I feel like I've said that before, but they really are now. I walk into our little grocery store and I just think, "This is my neighborhood." And it really does feel like home now! I'm glad! We've definitely got friends now- the kids and us- and we finally have a rhythm going. I don't know if that makes sense. But I feel like things are good now.

Brighton's been cuttin' some MOLARS. I only even know, because he's just been a little grumpy and I thought, "You never know, maybe he's teething" and what do you know, he was cutting molars on both sides, top and bottom. My kids seriously tolerate pain well.

He's been babbling so much lately. It's been so much fun! He's never been very vocal and just this week he's been saying "ca ca" for cracker and we'll point to things and say what it is and he'll repeat it. It's so cute and so much fun! He's practically running. He'll probably be able to do a full on sprint in a couple weeks, but who knows, maybe it will take a month. He goes FAST.

We've been constantly reading books with the kids lately. First thing in the morning, before we get breakfast on the table- Scarlet is asking me to read her a book. B is constantly bringing books to my lap. I love it. We sort of took a hiatus on books, after we moved here, and suddenly we've just dived back in. I'm glad too, because I went a little nuts and bought sooooo many books on betterworld and amazon. Most of them have turned out to be great buys and I'm really happy about it. I've been needing more WORDY books. With more story to them and longer length. We mostly had "baby books" and Scarlet can totally handle older books now. So I took a lot of time online, looking at book reviews, trying to decide what to add to our collection.

We've had 3 little craft playdates, now, and today I added a book reading and a couple songs. I was a little nervous to read and sing, but I think it went well. I hope this group sticks, because I think it's a nice little group of kids and activities.

Greg and I have started a budget, for the first time ever.

I need a haircut, but I don't want to go to someone new and I don't want to deal with not being able to speak Russian. But really, it's not like I can just avoid it 'till next summer, when we're back in the states.

Time for bed!