Cabin Fever

I think we are experiencing a bit of cabin fever here. I wonder if the boys think that this will be their forever home at the hotel Ibis! Thankfully, we are leaving for Moscow tomorrow and will be in an apartment for the rest of our stay in Russia. I am eager to cook again and some more space would be nice, too.

The boys are doing well together. They seem happy and are forging a brotherly bond. Last night was Silas' first shower. You could say that he hated it. Screaming, crying, thumb sucking. Poor baby! Sveta said that his only form of bathing was banya, which is basically a sauna. I showered with him this morning and he still hated it, but I think he tolerated it better because he knew what to expect.

We are told that Silas wears underwear, but I don't know that he has the whole concept of potty training down. I guess the caretakers put him on the potty before and after every meal. So he doesn't ask to go, they just put him there frequently. When we picked Silas up from the orphanage, he had a diaper on plus a pair of underwear over it, and they said they put him in a diaper when he travels so if he gets excited he won't soil his pants. Today we had him in a diaper and we have been discussing how to proceed. He ended up pooping in the diaper, which was fine, but since then I have put him in underwear and on the potty several times and nothing. In fact, he starts sucking his thumb and has this worried look when I take him in to the bathroom. It makes me wonder if he is at all toilet trained or if he doesn't like that the toilets are different here in the hotel. Time will tell, I guess. -since I began this post, Silas woke up from his nap and we put him on the toilet where he peed two drops. We praised him over and over and then two minutes later he emptied his bladder on the floor. Nice. Back to the potty we went. I hope he catches on soon.

Calvin had soft bowels yesterday several times. We were concerned that he was becoming dehydrated, but he drank plenty of water and ate well. Sveta and her husband, Nicolas (an MD), came over to check on him last night. They gave him some Imodium and said he should be fine. After they left, Tyler gave Calvin a priesthood blessing that said he would recover soon. Calvin has done better today, with more solid bowels today.

Food has been more on the snack agenda. For lunch we had yogurt and cheese and crackers. Earlier we introduced the boys to Pringles and they were instantly hooked. I can't emphasize enough how much I am looking forward to cooking and baking again. But the SPAR pizza is pretty good. :)

Silas in underwear - let the potty training continue...begin?


Calvin holding a coveted Pringles chip (we're currently out of them).


Silas eating Pringles chips, broken into smaller pieces.








Our suitcase, er, toy box.


Big brown eyes!








Calvin likes to put all the toys in this bag and drag the bag around the room. This is a daily occurrence.











Love this picture!


Calvin kissing Silas. So cute.





When Silas was waking up from his nap. So sweet.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad