So the big news, if you missed it, is that our next home with be Pretoria, South Africa!! We are very excited about it and will move sometime in September. While I have an enormous amount to figure out (like how to get a giant dog there), right now we are just having fun imagining the fun parts- ideal climate, safaris, the chance to finally live in a house with a garden!! Yeah!!! Much more later, but for now back to our lives here in Kyiv....
First, a video of my bubble blowing kiddos....
Maria sat herself down at this booth in the park last weekend. I did not notice until the art had already begun. I can see this happening a lot in our future....
Maria prefers to do the stairs in our apartment building herself.
all 58 of them......
We are late for everything.
For those of you who know me well, you know I would never voluntarily eat a banana.
Just my luck that my daughter loves them....
....um, NO THANK YOU!!!
Our little superstar.
No Maria in this photo because she was terrified! People in costume? Stay away from Maria right now!
An alfresco breakfast at Milk Bar...
....including a babyccino (foamed milk).
grumpy moment
Always exploring....
New sparkly Hello Kitty Crocs. She will NOT take these off!
The fancy grocery store in town (Le Cilpo) is always good for some fun.
Last weekend we went with Gio to a classmate's birthday party at Blockbuster Mall. Inside they have an entire city set up for kids where they can try out all sorts of jobs. Maria spent most of the time pretending to be a pilot
Here is Gio doing some sort of entertainment job. This being Ukraine, I think it was less a theater and more of a night club gig!
Worn out from the whirlwind of birthday and good-bye parties we finally collapsed in the park.
Gio found this face painter this time!
Maria found her new rain boots this week. She is obsessed.
At the tile playground.
Gio lost his first tooth (without the assistance of a dentist) at school this week!
Sibling love!
Sandbox time
Crashing Gio's class (she is not one to miss a snack opportunity).
Maria has begun to insist on walking Enzo herself.
He is incredibly patient about the whole thing....
We are off to Washington, DC, this weekend. We will be visiting for 2 weeks. I hope to do a few more posts before I need to change to a new blog. BellisinPretoria? Not sure what to call it......
Nope. Broken record here. Still no news on our next post. We do think we MIGHT hear news next week, so stay tuned!! Meanwhile, here are some shots from early May....
This is a neglected fountain right outside of Paolo's office. A terrific place for toddlers to throw rocks without hitting any of the oligarch Range Rovers that infest this city
Who me? Throw a rock at a car?? NEVER.
Gathering chestnut tree flowers. This activity can fill an entire hour.
Love her wrist rolls.
TRUTH.
This video was done to send to Gio's godmother but I thought some of you might enjoy it as it captures our lives these days quite well!
New shades.
A story before the office. Maria ADORES books. She kept getting up to bring him news ones. Needless to say Paolo was a tad bit late to his conference on this morning!
The giant swing at the park is a new favorite.
Here she is swinging with her buddy/boyfriend David (who conveniently lives across the street and is always up for a trip to the park!!)
Needless to say it is VERY hard to convince her to get off of this swing! Bribery is usually involved.
Papa's glasses.
Last night Gio and Paolo went to the Napoli-Dnipro football match. The game BEGAN at 10pm....on a school night. Excellent parenting. In my defense he did take a 3 hour nap beforehand! Sadly, Italy lost....
Tune in next week for news of our next home.....maybe!!
First of all, no we STILL do not know where we will be living next year. It is frustrating and the list of things we know we need to do is piling up, but for now we are trying to enjoy our time here and not to think too much about the chaos that will come once we know our next destination. Here are some glimpses of our lives over the last month...
I often bring Maria to Gio's school during his recess.
Maria loves all of the other children who are so sweet to her!
A favorite game the two play before bed most nights called "Mr Stinky"....
And then he tries to calm her down.
So great that he has a very forgiving audience as he tries out his new reading skills!
Maria loves her yogurt!
In early April we flew to Italy along with Pepperoni.
Here are my two boys fast asleep in the car after the long morning of flying.
Pepperoni was a champ!
Easter Lunch bunny.
Easter egg hunt.
Favorite thing in her basket? These egg glasses!
At "the rock" near our home.
Our local pizza joint is our favorite spot for dinner.
Gio and Pepperoni enjoying a late afternoon snuggle.
Gio and his best Italian buddy Andrea (whose family owns that pizza joint we love so much!)
spent most days out in our yard getting dirty and doing STUFF.
For a boy trapped in an apartment much of the year, this outdoor freedom is quite a gift!
Last night in Italy enjoying our favorite dinner spot.
At the airport in Kyiv awaiting our taxi.
Gio returned from Italy sporting a new ciuffo ("tuft of hair").
Back at Gio's school for some recess fun.
Not to get stuck on only one hair style, Gio went for a "Maria"!
It may have been April 20th but wow was it chilly! On this day it even snowed!
Tongues!!
Soon after we returned from Italy Paolo headed to the USA.
To console ourselves we went out to dinner a lot. A new favorite is one called Dogs & Tails.
On the way there one evening we met this pig. And, yes, we were in the center of the city.
Gio has begun to write little stories whenever he has a free moment.
This one says "I was playing with my friend whose name is Maria."
This boy makes my heart melt.
A walk in the woods.
Finally getting some warm weather
(i.e. no babuskas yelled at me on this morning even though Maria was hatless!!)
This was Maria's first time on one of the "big kid" toys at the park.
She was thrilled!
Our park finally came into blossom!
Maria LOVES selfies. (I do not, but am willing to play along once in a while.)
Making choices...
Enzo was professionally groomed this week. He was not thrilled with his new flowery scent.
Maria's newest demand is a pedicure after most afternoon naps. Ah, toddlers.
Day 1 of holiday weekend- dealing with a flat tire.
Pigtails!!
Day #2 of holiday weekend- switching winter tires for summer ones.
A new restaurant opened near our apartment.
This burger is called "The Obama." Only in Ukraine...
Day #3 of our holiday weekend and it is COLD again (May 3).
Maria spent an hour at the park today "rescuing" worms.
Here was my one attempt to capture Enzo AND Maria in a shot at the park.
Happy May to all. We head to Washington for a visit in early June (also to do some medical tests for Maria). Hopefully by then we will know our future.....hopefully!!
