Aha! A dollhouse!

When Liliana woke from her nap yesterday, a dollhouse had appeared in the living room. She was super duper excited. (Almost as much as I was!) The two of us have had a nasty stomach virus for the last week - hibernation. I've been plotting the dollhouse appearance for some time and found it just when we would appreciate it the most. A nice reward for making it through such a crummy week.


There was alot of sun coming into our apartment yesterday. Although it was only 5 C or so outside, we needed to put on our summer clothes. Liliana wanted to wear shorts like mama, but the only thing hiding in my stash for summer was shorts *underneath* a skirt. She settled.

When I went to wake her for school this morning I found her sleeping in bed with only her pajama top on. No pants, no underwear. The new beloved skirt/shorts was on the floor next to her bed. I guess I know what she was doing last night before she went to sleep?

Flirting with the military

There's a story in this one..., originally uploaded by Seraphina.

From our old apartment in Chisty Prudy I always drove the same way to school past the Kremlin at approximately the same time. Numerous trucks of soldiers took a portion of my path at the same time. I've sat behind these trucks on a handful of occaisons and every time has been a bit of fun. The first time, I was rockin' out - singing and dancing in my seat to a favorite song before I realized that they had drawn the flap of the truck cover aside and were watching me and dancing along. Since they got such a kick out of it (and admittedly it made me feel about 18 - in a good way) I just kept singing the next day I got stuck behind them. On the day I took this photo, the guys were really having a good time showing me their guns and gas masks (in a ridiculous, we're trying to flirt and be macho all the same time kind of way). I'll miss these little encounters. They were surreal. It really made me see the youth and humanity in a group of people that once made me quite fearful during my first months here.

Girls Night Out & First Snow

We got our first snow last night! I happened to have a dinner date with a girlfriend and got to walk to dinner while snowed. It was very peaceful. Here is Liliana all geared up to go check it out this morning.

Last week Liliana and I had a really fun dinner together that I think I'll remember forever. I had gotten home late, had been stuck in traffic, and so hadn't made it to get groceries as I had planned. With nothing in the house and Liliana and I both ready to eat, we geared up for dinner out. We walked to a local cafe, Volkhonskii, and got the perfect table, in the corner by the window. Liliana sat looking into the cafe in a regular chair and happily sat, waited for dinner, and ate. We had pasta, and although I cut up half of hers into little bites she could pick up with her spoon, she preferred to pick up the long strings from the other half of the plate. It was an Alfredo mess, but darling nonetheless. After dinner, when the cookies came, she wanted to sit in my lap. So, we cuddled and ate our cookies before heading back home. It was a very sweet time for me, just being out with my daughter doing a grown up activity together that was so enjoyable.

Correa's = Happiness

We love Correa's. The food reminds me of being in San Francisco. (beet salad w/ pesto & goat cheese! shrimp, avocado, & orange salad! carrot cake! mojitos! American omelets!) Just reading the menu makes me swoon and once the food comes I'm waxing poetic.

I also love their massive toy bin. Well, Liliana loves it and that makes me love it.

Liliana loves to play and we love to eat. It's a winning combination that I could (and often do) repeat every week.


We went there for brunch with our friends Ophelia, Marat, & Emil a couple weeks back (when it was summer and not winter). The kids were really funny together.



We are living parallel lives with these guys. Marat went to the US on the same program as Andre. He worked in the US for years after school, just like Andre. He met an American, fell in love, and got married in April 2003, JLA. They moved back to Russia and have a child. Ophelia and I share a love for green food and (not necessarily green) clothes. I must have done something really good in a past life to deserve this kind of togetherness.

Pelmeni

Pelmeni, originally uploaded by Seraphina.

I've been meaning to photograph this place for awhile now and finally had my camera with me when I was stopped in traffic in front of it. It says "Pelmeni" which is a very common Russian food. They are the Russian version of ravioli, pasta filled with meat, most often. We generally have a box in our freezer for those emergency "the fridge is empty and everyone is starving" moments. I love this place because it gives me an idea of what storefronts used to look like ages ago. This one is in the center of town in a very expensive area and I wonder how long it will last.

Dancing Ritual + Underwear

Liliana loves to dance to music right now. She also loves to make her babies dance. Nearly every morning after waking she'll get up, grab a baby or two or three, start the music, and everyone dances.

You'll notice she's wearing underwear on both her bum as well as her head. She loves hats as much as she loves her underwear and she thought this was the perfect combination.

Liliana is in underwear now all the time except while sleeping. She refuses diapers unless it's time to sleep. I'm amazed with her. She tells me when she needs to go and holds it long enough to get there. I also take or ask her at usual times (upon waking, after eating, before leaving the house, and before sleeping). People say that it's much easier to wait to potty train until they are older, but personally I'd much rather spend time reading to her while she is on the potty numerous times a day vs. change one more dirty diaper. Today she didn't even linger on the potty, so I'm imagining life will be even brighter when that is consistent. Yay L!

Our first visitor in Moscow

It's been a long time. Apparently, people actually read my blog occasionally and I'm hearing about my lack of posting. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the quantity of topics at my disposal...but here it goes.

We've finally had a visitor! Steffen, a friend from Munich, came last week just after our one year anniversary of living in Moscow. We were so excited to have him stay with us and it was only dampened by the fact that his girlfriend wasn't able to come along due to a case of pneumonia (ick!).

Our new nanny, Nina, came over a good number of days which allowed Steffen and I to break out as tourists in a way I've not been able to do much before. We went to Red Square, St Basils, the GUM shopping center, walked around Prechistenka/Ostozhenka, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, old & new Arbat, the Gorky House Museum, Victory Park, Novedevichy Convent, dinner at Barashka, walked around Tverskaya, tour of the Metro, a photo exhibition, the Kremlin Armory, Izmayalovsky market, city view from above Sparrow Hills, and Tsaritsino! Whew! That's alot of sightseeing for one week. I don't think I've done so much in one week since Liliana was born. You can cram alot more in when you don't have a toddler (and their naps, eating needs) to contend with.

I managed to get a shot of Steffen just before he left in front of Moscow State University.


He took this lovely one of Liliana and Andre in front of the convent.


I took these pics with Steffen's camera just after we went to the photography exhibit. L was having a splashing time in her rain boots.