MOMMY!

Yesterday, as I was getting dressed to go to a concert with a friend, I heard Zachary yell in a sing-song voice MOMMYYYYYYYY!

To some of you, that may not seem like such a big deal, but for me- this was HUGE! You see, ever since day one, he has called Jason and me Dada and Mama. This is not uncommon for in Russia a good many of the caregivers are called mama too. Its easy for kids to say and one of the first words they learn- regardless of language differences. For a while, all Zachary's grandmas were also called Mama.

For all the times I have pointed to myself or Jason and tried to teach him that I wanted to be his mommy and not just mama, it has taken 11 months to finally get to be Zachary's Mommy.

I must say the moment took me by surprise, but lit up the biggest smile on my face. And the best part is, he has been calling me MOMMY all day today as well so I think it has finally stuck!

In other news, we have had the pleasure of caring for my nephew Isaac who is 13 months older than Zachary this past week while my sister is on an Alaskan cruise. The first week was a lot of refereeing between the kids for who did what and who wants what toy, snack, etc. We've been to see so many different tractors, loaders and construction equipment, I can't even tell you. They've been to the farm and saw the sheep, played in the sandbox, gone to the park, baked a rhubarb dessert, splashed in the bathtub, and played king of the mountain multiple times. I'm hoping this week they will bond more together. I will say, this has been an interesting experiment for us seeing what it is like to have 2 children in our home. It is definitely a lot of work! Fun, hard work.

Here are a few photos of Zach and Isaac playing.
Yes- look at that splash! The walls were literally dripping when they got out of the tub! It was a good way to get out that last bit of energy at the end of the day.