Fostering a Kitty....

On Friday we took in a very young kitten who had been found abandoned in a local park.  Another family brought him home after they observed a group of boys torturing it.  They wanted to adopt him but discovered the family had allergies.  We have wanted a cat for a while so we were willing to take him in.  We are awaiting approval from our landlord and another family eager to take him if we cannot keep him, so his future is secure.  Meanwhile, as we wait, we are falling in love.  He is very affectionate, litter trained and growing more and more tolerant of the giant bear-dog we have living here with us.  Enzo, ever the gentleman, has been a model big brother.  Enzo's breeder had a cat living with the litter so they would learn to live with a cat.  So far, the early training seems to be working.  I am working hard with Gio on the meaning of "gentle".  This word (along with "shy,") is a word that make little sense to our son.  So far, though, he is really doing well.  Here are some shots from our first weekend with "Cat" (no name yet!)....

Yes, Gio has a cat face painted on!

A Speckled Frog Serenade for our New Kitty....

More of Gio's singing styles.  Note the remarkable math skills. Might have to send this video in as a part of his school applications.  Clearly my years of being a math teacher are paying off.

Gio at School

Gio has been in school now for two weeks.  He literally runs from the car straight into his classroom each morning.  His best friend Grace greats him at the door and off they go.  A conversation last night:

Me: Tomorrow you have school.
Gio: YEAH!
Me: The next day there is no school
Gio: Awwwwwww.

Here are a few pictures Gio's teacher Mr. Mark (and also Grace's dad!) sent us today...

Gio and Grace.  Best buddies for 2 years now.   

Fun with sand on the playground.  Miss Suzie in the background.

Bubbles with new friend Frederick. 

And we made another visit to the traveling Smithsonian exhibit this week.  Here is Gio having fun with his homemade parachute and a wind tunnel.  This went on for a solid hour....nonstop....

Camping, Ukrainian-Style

This weekend we went with four other families on a camping adventure just outside of Kyiv.

Our cabins (yes, I agreed to go when I discovered we would be in fully equipped cabins with running water!) were overlooking a shallow river.  The children (and one father) immediately began a bridge-building project.  

Gio missed out as he was napping.

All of these "big boyz" go to PSI with Gio.  Actually, there were 8 boys and 2 girls in the group.  

There was a huge pile of beautiful sand between our cabins and the river. 

The adults started early on the fire. 

Enzo was thrilled to discover a young female pug had made the trip.
Her feelings about him were slightly less enthusiastic.  

The true romance on the trip was with the 3-year-olds.  Here Gio had asked Aiya to "come to the playground with me". Off she went, backhoe in hand.  Clearly a girl of Gio's dreams.  

As the children went out on playground dates and rummaged in the river, the adults focused on food and drink. Lots of drink....

The date in progress. 

The primary activity was jumping off this table into the sand. 

Once Gio noticed I was lurking about he said, quite politely, "Go away, Mama." They spent two hours here cooking up their own adventures. 

As a reminder that we are still in Ukraine, these two walked past our cabins, the man on the left in only his underwear. Sigh. 

Gearing up the fire for the meat and homemade fire-grilled bread. Yum!

Enzo, as you can imagine, was in heaven.  

After a night of revelry, including a fire on the beach with s'mores, the children hit the river the next morning. For some inconceivable reason, Gio chose to do his river exploration wearing his helmet.  

These two boys, Alexi and Gio's hero Quincy, took Gio across the river to explore the island on the other side.  

Enzo came along as life guard and stick retriever. 

Time to go home.  Enzo brought nearly half the beach along in his fur.
Our Volvo now has its own sand bar in the back seat.  

This was a fantastic way to say goodbye to summer.  For more on our weekend, see Merilee's blog: http://mcdougalfamilyoverseas.blogspot.com/

The group is already planning a return trip to this campground for a snow adventure this winter.  The river will be frozen so I am hoping to break out my ice hockey skates and see if I can teach Gio a few tricks.....

The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Gio-Style

Gio occasionally breaks into song- mostly the theme song to "The Backyardigans" and tidbits from circle time at school.  The "Itsy Bitsy Spider" has been a long-standing staple, though Gio has certainly warped it into his own version of events....

First Day of School!

Yesterday was Gio's first day of school this year.  He is in the EC3 program, translation:  Early Childhood, age 3.  He is repeating the program he began last year since he is still 3, which is fine for us as we love the school and his teachers.  This year he has the added bonus of having Mr. Mark, best  Grace's dad, as his main teacher with Miss Suzie, Mr. Slava and other wonderful teachers from last year as well.
The school year began a week late due to construction delays.  The secondary school (grades 6-12) had a third floor added while the primary school has been revamped with a totally new look inside and out.  Gio's building remains unchanged, and he was delighted to find the playground just as big and full of exciting diversions as always.  Here are a few images from day #1....

Best part of arrival was discovering that his good pal Joshua would be his hook buddy. We still have to wait a bit for Joshua to arrive as he is on holiday in Thailand so Gio is counting the days...

The new primary school! 

The new 3rd floor on the Secondary building

School entrance.

Pretty fancy!

School entrance with new security building.  What is missing in this shot are the assortment of black Mercedes, and SUVs that are usually crowded around this gate.  This is a chaotic scene at drop-off.  Luckily I pick up Gio at noon so we do not have too much of a crowd then.

So the 2012-2013 school year has gotten off to a great start.  I will try to capture some photos from Gio's classroom when the dust settles a bit.  Happy Autumn to all!  

The Smithsonian Comes to Kyiv

Friday afternoon Gio and I took the subway over to Paolo's office so we could walk together to the
"Sparks Lab," a travelling exhibit done by the Smithsonian.  What fun to get a bit of DC here in Kyiv.

Here is the sign at the entrance.  For those of you with really great eyesight you might be able to see the Smithsonian label down in the bottom corner.  

The exhibits are designed for children 6 and up, but Gio found ways to enjoy it all.  

An opportunity to whack objects with sticks?  Right up Gio's alley.  

Marble runs.  These were my favorite toys as a child.  We have a set at home but somehow Gio found them much more fun here.  I spent a lot of time convincing him to keep the marbles out of his pockets.  

And then Gio discovered the balloon chimney-thingy.  He LOVED this. The helpers had him decorate a balloon (green, of course) and then he put it into this devise that had a fan at the bottom....

...the balloons soared up and then hovered above the chimney.  

Gio was fascinated.  

This was flight #30.  We stayed at this one spot for over an hour. 

No one could distract him.  This fellow in purple came over to try to lure Gio to another activity. No dice.  

After 2 hours of intense activity and investigation, both Gio and his balloon were exhausted.  

The walk back to the Metro.

In the background are the golden domes of the Lavra.

Gio loved this "upside down tree"! Paolo's office is in the background. 

Gio discovers a rainbow.  

The end of another busy day in Kyiv.  School on Monday!  YIPPEE!!