Finally a few pics

Here's a shout out to Nan for finding a great new camera for us and getting it to our friends from here who were visiting in Portland. They brought it back to Tajikistan to us and I'm so happy to finally be able to take some pictures again. Just a short update on the kids - Hannah is funnier than ever. How that happens, I don't know. She's doing great and picking up enough Tajik to be able to assert herself outside with the other kids. They think she's so cute and funny and subsequently want to pick her up and play with her all the time but she's almost three and in the "I can do it myself" mode and doesn't take kindly to this. The kids are (mostly) sweet and all the little girls are like mini-mommies already so they don't understand why she wouldn't want to be held and coddled. Needless to say, she picked up the Tajik equivalents of "NO!" "Don't!" and "that's not ok!" following closely behind these phrases are the words for "give it (to me)" "take it" "come here" and "candy." We haven't gotten any further with potty training and to be honest, I don't want to make it an issue so we're just waiting for her to show more interest. They really don't use diapers here so it's definitely an oddity for our almost three year old to still use them but that's one of the many reasons why I'm glad we came at this point in life because I care a lot less about what other people think about that and I'm not going to make her suffer for my embarrassment. Anyway, it seems that all the kids outside know Hannah and she's making friends. She had her first sleep over last month with the daughter of some friends of ours from Portland who live in another city here. Her name is also Hannah and they are 10 months apart and got along fantastic. They played and played. At one point we heard them laughing really hard in Hannah's room and our friend, Troy, said, "just watch, they're drawing all over the walls or something." We laughed then but that's exactly what they were doing. When confronted by the daddies, Hannah Renee (our Hannah is Hannah Joy) soberly told them that Hannah Joy had the red crayon and she had the purple one. Then her conscience got to her and she quickly confided, "but then we traded!" These friends just moved to a different city east of our city, up in the mountains, and we plan on visiting them there once they are settled and it gets hot here in our city. Emmett has been close to crawling for a month now (he's 9 months now). He goes backwards and sideways but not forward yet. Whether he's sitting or on all fours, he loves to rock and makes himself laugh doing that. He's eating solid food now, but is fairly particular in what he wants and makes it very clear when he doesn't like something - sealing his mouth shut and crossing his arms in front of his face while shaking his head "no." Applesauce tops his list and the neighbor girl, Farzona, who plays with Hannah during our Tajik lessons, comes every Saturday and helps me peel and chop fruits and veggies to make food for Emmett. Even though I made baby food in the states, I had a lot of freezer space (don't here) and could always use jarred food as a back-up. The jarred food was also nice when other fruits/veggies aren't in season. Anyway, enough about baby food - suffice it to say, it's a lot more work to feed a baby here but it's also super fresh too so it's probably good for him in the long run. He's making lots of sounds and continues to be a sweet, sweet baby and delights everyone he meets with his eager smile and how easy it is to make him laugh. As for Rees and I, we continue to plug away at the language but are encouraged by how much we are able to communicate and understand after being here for only four months. That say, we have a long way to go. Our Tajik family is doing well too. The new bride, Mauzuna, is pregnant and everyone is thrilled with this news. Dilafruz seems happier with her new baby now and even her husband, Hurshed, doesn't seem as disappointed to have a fifth daughter. She's beautiful, tiny and thriving. We've had various meals with different neighbors and I must say that if you have to be a stranger in a foreign land, this is a good one to be in. Our neighbors are super hospitable and most people are very patient with our Tajik. We may not have predictable electricity or water, but for now I think I'd rather be without some of these things (some times, at least :) and not be lonely than be in a home with reliable electricity and water, living far away from our loved ones, and not have any friends.