Day 47 - Amazing Boys

We've been writing so much about Sasha for, oh, about the last 47 days that we've neglected telling our cute Ben and Sam stories! I'm sure you'll forgive us since it's a lot easier to collect sweet little stories when you're in the same hemisphere.

I am astounded by how gigantic our boys have gotten! Ben can wash his hands at the kitchen sink in our apartment without needing a boost up! And today I was looking at Sam's feet (five people in a studio apartment gives us all lots of up close and personal time) and they are huge! Seriously, when did my sweet little baby boys become mini-men?

I had forgotten what crack-ups both boys are. But it comes out in such wonderfully different ways. Ben goes for the obvious laughs - the jokes, crazy dances, silly songs. Sam likes to tell jokes as well, but his funniest moments are when he's trying to be all grown up (which is basically all the time).

For instance, when we first got into the apartment, we cautioned the boys not to touch the radiator because it's hot. Sam turned to Ben and said, "Don't worry, Ben, it's not dangerous - it's not that kind of radiation." And then he looked at me and by way of explanation added, "I've been teaching Ben all about radiation."

And then yesterday we were talking about Ben's chapped lips and Sam looked down at his arm (you'll notice that both boys go around the apartment shirtless - they have not yet adjusted to 80-degree rooms like their mommy and sister) and remarked, "Oh, I thought I had a little chapped spot on my arm, but it was just an epiphany."

After seeing my puzzled and amused face, he amended his comment and explained, "Sorry, I meant optical illusion." Ah, yes, of course. I was hoping for some kind of stigmata, but I'll have to settle for optical illusions.

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We're in the middle of a Great Thaw here, which actually makes the sidewalks even easier to slip on than the sheer ice. It also makes Ben's pant legs extraordinarily disgusto because he simply must trudge through any puddle he sees. Thank goodness for our washing machine! It may take 2 hours to do a load of laundry (just washing time, remember that folks here don't have driers) but it does come out clean!

We took a lovely walk to the mall today and each enjoyed a scoop of ice cream at the Baskin Robbins. Mmmmm. Sash is still loving her carrier, thank goodness, although we did find out that it is a bit too tight for Daddy to wear while he is wearing his coat and Sasha is in her marshmallow suit. No worries, it just gives me another chance to be close to my San'ka.

We'll leave you with a couple more cute photos of our girl because I just can't resist!