And he's very proud of it, showing off his gap-toothed smile.

The tooth has been loose since December, and we were starting to wonder just how long a tooth could be loose without coming out.  So we're breathing a sigh of relief.

(Anyone still out there, or has everyone absconded to Facebook?)

I'm far from being the perfect father, but on the whole, I think I must be doing this daddy thing pretty much right so far.  When I look in his eyes and see all that love and joy there, I know that though he surely can't put it into words at this point, he knows beyond doubt that his daddy loves him and always will ( Read more... )

Raspberries are ripening hereabouts - way earlier than previous years.  I was able to pick a couple of ripe berries and eat them last night.  June 14!  What is with that?  That's about a week ahead of last year's incredibly early raspberry season, which was nearly a week ahead of just about any other year I can remember.  Usually raspberry season ( Read more... )

This morning at breakfast, in between bites of a banana, Ilya was making up a song about how much he liked bananas, singing his words to the tune of "Wheels On the Bus."  He sang it several times, and what was really neat - besides the fact that he was doing it in the first place - was that with each iteration, he changed the words slightly to fit ( Read more... )

St. Patrick's Day gives the rest of you something to celebrate while my wife and I celebrate the anniversary of a more important (at least to us!) occasion ( Read more... )

Two years ago today, we met Ilya for the first time.

Two years ago today, right about this time of day, we were in JFK, boarding a plane to Moscow.

That is all.

Two years ago this past Thursday, we got the call from the adoption agency, telling us there was a little boy in an orphanage in Samara we might want to know about.

A week and a half later we were on a plane to Moscow.

Click to view

And now we've been parents for almost two years.


( Read more... )

...and our little rascal fell asleep more quickly than usual, so we've already come downstairs, finished our Santa duties, and are heading up to bed.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

So far, in addition to the canonical tune: "Gilligan's Island" theme, "House of the Rising Sun," "America the Beautiful," "Yellow Rose of Texas," "Amazing Grace," "Puff the Magic Dragon," "Auld Lang Syne," and "Stairway to Heaven."

Feel free to add more if you've got 'em.

There's something called "Ballad Meter" that a lot of songs share.  The words ( Read more... )