Eldar Leo 18 months old / Eldar Leó at a glance...

So, wanted to write about Eldar for a while now...finally got the laziness away from my body and got down to it!

So, here he is, our cute Eldar Leo at a glance together with his Daddy:

So, the boy is 18 months old, well almost 19 months after 10 days :)

Tamara Lind at a glance

So...since I am not updating Tamara's journal on her growth, etc...then better to add something here so it would be fun to read after 5 years time :)

Here is the picture of Tamara that I took today, on November 6th before going to kindergarten:

Tamara was putting away this Lotta toy - some kindergarten game they have - each of the kid can get this Lotta (a rabbit toy) to take home for one night - and spend time playing, dressing, or whatever they want ..and there is also a notebook where a parent writes on what happened during the day and the child paints, puts stickers...or something else....Lotta has some clothes and also a sleeping bag. We have also given her a cute hat!

Time flies

Wow...time flies indeed...
Last time I have posted at entry on August 10th..and now October is almost over and Christmas is near!

So..what has been happening during these times?

I have pictures from our vacation on my desktop computer at work  - picture gadget - so it is nice to look at them occasionally during these rainy days of Autumn or even nice sunny days of Autumn...

Though we have not had snow yet in Reykjavik...so my search for perfect winter tires continues...

Summer is almost over

So..vacation is over...Two weeks in July in Spain went by too fast :)

It was quite a nice relaxing holiday. Hotel / apartamentos were nice. Food half board was excellent. Beach was just 300 meters away. There were ways sometimes a little bit too much but still sun was available most of the time to be enjoyed :)

Flight to Almeria from Iceland was about 4,5 hours. Kids behaved all right. No major crisis.
On the way back it was a little bit more difficult. Tamara was difficult, demanding this and that...Eldar was cranky and wanted to walk all the time..So...Conclusion - next time summer travel will be in two years...So I can rest as well...

Here are some pictures:

This is the view from the hotel room - nice swimming pool.

Here is Eldar Leó enjoying the water melon on our balcony. We ate quite a lot of them :)

Tamara Lind is trying to eat hew dinner. Usually it took us at least ah hour to eat dinner..First half an hour she was playing with whatever she found on the table, then she was eating very fast, and after she was finished with her food, she was allowed to eat ice-cream - it was a selection every evening..ice cream, sauces for it and little candies...Paradise for kids....

Our last evening - we went for a walk on the promenade and dropped in some hotel to take a picture...During the vacation time our schedule shifted a little bit :) Tamara went to be late, we were eating dinner late...And usually tried to go for an evening walk on the beach promenade...Was nice...

So...can't wait for a next holiday season / in two years...Hopefully Iceland will resume its routes to Greek islands...

Social networking

Ok..so..last time that I put an entry into the journal - was long long time ago...Not good...I admit Facebooking is taking my attention so...I will try from now on to update a journal at least once a week...

So...what is new?
Baby boy is not a baby boy anymore but becoming a toddler - already 13 months old.

Here is the picture from celebration of his BD on May 10th...

Tamara Lind is now 5 years old. I had a nice party organized for her birthday on June 18th.

 We have chosen the Princess theme this year, etc. (Last year it was all about Hello Kitty). Took some time to do some research on themes, decorations, games and other preparations...

Spent lots of money on decorations, ingredients for the cake, etc. Here are some photos...

This is the cake that we created with Raggi. He did the flags..I did the rest.

Here is another side...Cake was nice. tasted great, etc. However, one of the girls tried it and did not like it...Said it was bad...so all the rest of the girls did not want to eat any more of it...
Of course - i was disappointed...I tried not to take it close up personal...But still it left a sour feeling...

Here is the princess herself - new outfit - dress created by a talented grandma Tamara...wings and tiara - new, bought by dearest Mommy :)

The beautiful decorated table.

 Morning of Tamara Lind's BD....We filled the room with the balloons...

 Eldar Leó is participating too...

Mom the Queen, daughter the Princess....

So...on the overall picture, the BD celebration went well...But maybe considering all the emotional and financial costs involved, next year maybe we will just order time at "Adventure Club" for kids and have the celebration there...

What else - today we went to apply for the passport for Eldar Leó for our upcoming vacation trip to Spain in July for 2 weeks...Passport for kids and elderly is much cheaper than for adults. Wait is 2 weeks,hope to get it in the beginning of July :)

That's all for today...

Baby boy is 3 moths and 7 days old

So....yesterday, we went for a regular 3 months old check-up to the local health clinic. The baby boy is now 6.270 gr....and 62 cm...Growing well...right on his "curve". Going to be a real viking.

Also...he had his first two shots/vaccines....Poor boy...So after that, he had a fever later in the night...So, we had to give him some paracetamol...now feels better!

Sleeping habits: Usually during the day, the boy is awake for 1,5-2 hours and then needs his sleep - 1 to 2 hours....At night - it still varies...Can be sleeping from 10 pm til 5 am without waking up....or can wake up once... But sometimes he also wakes up at 2 am or 4 am....then sleeps til 6 am...

Tamara is going to kindergarten as usual...Looks like the kindergartens teachers are planning to strike on Monday, August 22nd...so she will probably stay home of course...that would be fun again....

Who we are....

I have found this through a friend on the Facebook, in Russian, and decided to translate it in English and add to my journal so the English speaking people would be also read this and enjoy/criticize or comment:). Also, I am adding some of my comments as well just to make it more fun…Comments by a Russian residing in Iceland…

(Taken from the Business Journal, here is a link)

A Canadian, a teacher of English language, residing in Moscow, made these interesting observations.

1. Russians do not trust cheap things. True

2. An English word “bargain” cannot be translated adequately into Russian language. True

3. Despite the fact that Russians do not trust cheap things, they still love “free lunch”. Very true to Americans and Icelanders as well!

4. A Russian person, who has acquired a certain level of power, feels that it is his/her responsibility to press those who are below him/her.

5. In Russia, it is common to call for a lazy waitress by referring to her with an aggressive scream “Devushka”!

6. It is necessary to have good skills of working with your elbows while using Moscow subway system.

7. In Russia, you can drink beer seating on a bench in a park without being arrested (probably not anymore due to some new laws on beer…)

8. Russians love to get together in the kitchen and talk late about “life”. Very true

9. Russians usually avoid talking about work.

10. During any meeting or some gathering in Russia, people usually split right away according to the gender.

11. There are lots of policemen in Russia, most of which don’t do anything.

12. Russians don’t throw away anything. Never.

13. However, if a Russian throws half of his things, nobody will notice.

14. A stranger usually refers to you by a “man” or a “woman”.

15. It is not customary to say “thank you” and “please” among Russians. True indeed

16. A Russian saying “Impudence – is a second happiness (in life)” cannot be translated into English adequately.

17. Russians drink lost of vodka. It is not a myth.

18. You don’t have to be afraid for your life while walking in Moscow at night time.

19. Russian men believe that feminism caused the collapse of the West and the historical mission of Russia is to resist.

20. Myth about myth: Russians believe that Americans think that bears walk on streets of Moscow. But that myth is just a pure Russian invention. In reality, Americans think that all bears in Russia are long dead. Very funny

21. Russians completely do not comprehend when a foreigner from the West comes to have a permanent residence in Russia. Very true..cannot understand…

22. Dentists in Russia are surprised when you come just for a routine check-up. The same goes for doctors.

23. Russians drink tea with a whole centimeter of sugar on the bottom of the cup. Very true, have nknown people like that…

24. All Russians, from youth to old, abuse the usage of smiley. J Very true, love using it!

25. Number of parenthesis in email message or in SMS relates to the importance of the message. E.g., “Birthday celebration is tonight)” means simple birthday, but “Birthday celebration is tonight ))))))” – means something fabulous and fantastic. Not sure..

26. Moscow has the best subway system in the world. Probably…

27. Despite the best subway system in the world, there are million of Muscovites that refuse to use it and spend half of their lives in traffic jams.

28. Russians will use any little excuse in order to offer chocolate – “your birthday is in 4 months? Wow….Chocolate for everybody!” Not sure about that..

29. People who speak other language than Russian automatically become suspicious.

30. Don’t be surprised if you are invited to a New Year’s celebration at 11.30 PM. They drink champagne, cognac; eat herring salad, salad “olivje” in the kitchen and then, the celebration lasts for another 3 days. Very true!

31. The only alcohol-free zone in Moscow – McDonald’s.
32. A smile without the reason makes Russians angry. Very true!

33. Borsch, golubtsu and pirogi are actually Ukrainian food.

34. Russians do not put their older parents into homes for elderly and do not send their kids away when they are 18, instead, they all live together in one-room apartment.

35. Despite the fact that the roads are narrow and horrible traffic jams, Russians still buy gigantic jeeps.

36. Sushi is more popular in Russia than in Japan.

37. In fact, Japan is more popular in Russia than in Japan itself.

38. Russians are very friendly, if you only know then for 10 minutes. If you know some Russian for at least a week, then you will get invited to his house and be introduced to his family. Very true

39. Russians are quite emotional and passionate people, even though they do not show emotions in public, they cry, laugh and scream and play more than Italians.

40. Russians are much more concerned about the philosophical side of life than the material side. They have songs for any life situation. True indeed.

41. Most of Russians are quite superstitious, and superstition is in fashion among the young. True indeed..I am one of them…

42. Russians are passionate lovers, in public places they argue like bitter enemies and kiss and hug as porno stars.

43. Russians love to criticize its own country, but are awfully offended when a foreigner does that.

44. If a cashier did not break anything during scanning of your groceries, then you got a good service.

45. Russians love McDonald’s, KFC, Subway and Burger King more than Americans.

46. Russians spoil their children and then hope that when the kids are 18 they magically start behaving accordingly.

47. Even if Russians eat more fast food than people in the West, Russians are still healthier.

48. Russians cannot maneuver while backing up. An average Russian driver may take up to 10 minutes in order to make a parallel parking. True, it took me time to learn how to do it well in the States…

49. Winter in Russian is indeed beautiful and Russians fantastically drive cars in the winter conditions. True indeed
50. In reality, Russians are freer than people in the West; there are less laws here and social limitations, and still, the crime level is lower than in the USA or the UK. Not sure now…