I Have Fingers!

We joke that he's telling us how he is four months old going on five months. Malcolm is always making new discoveries and recently he's been learning about his hands. Malcolm will stare at them for several minutes (hours in baby time). He checks them out from every angle. These pictures capture his excitement has he shows us his accomplishments.

Memorials Continued

Caress and I were both surprised that this, however, had not changed. This image sits boldly atop the State Duma building, which is the seat of the Russian Parliament. Just like each U.S. president tries to distance themselves from previous leaders of the opposing party, we thought the front of this building could have been revamped to clarify the direction of the country.

The Memorials are Different

Ho Chi Minh Square, pictured here, is two blocks from our apartment. Since we are accustomed to seeing people like James Garfield or William Henry Harrison memorialized, statues of communist leaders throughout the city was unexpected. We all remember images of statues being torn down during the transition to capitalism, but many of the statues, along with the hammer and sickle, are still common sights throughout the city. Initially, it seems the people wanted to rid the country of all things communist, but eventually they have come to accept this era rather than re-write the history books.

Yum! (baby-sized)

M is certainly not hurting for growth (he just grew into his 6 month clothes! I don't know what we're going to do if he gets bigger b/c we didn't bring any larger sizes!), so we're waiting as long as possible to start solid foods. According to the things I've been reading, it's fine to wait until 6-8 months or even longer to start solids. Of course, we'll be flexible and do what we think is best as time progresses. He does, however, seem very interested in participating in meal time. So today we gave him a spoon to play with, which he promptly gagged on (close monitoring from here on out is clearly warrented). He seemed to enjoy chewing on it. I also read that giving babies semi-frozen water or breast milk with a spoon is another way for them to experience texture and the process of eating without supplementing their nutrition (I'd like him to be exclusively breastfed as long as possible). If we end up starting him on solids before we come home we'll probably just go with bananas or the oatmeal we eat and puree them for him. The biggest problem with food here is that I'm not sure where it comes from and they don't really control for organics, so I feel a little sketchy about giving him the fruits and veggies here. I also read something about how Nestle (who is the biggest supplier of baby cereals in these parts) snuck some genetically modified products into their baby food lines and didn't disclose it. Not good. So as long as he's happy with his spoon and slushy milk and keeps on growing like a weed, I think we're good to wait.

UPDATE: Tonight at dinner M had his first milk slushy. He seemed a little confused at first by the whole experience (which consisted of only about 3 "bites") but we'll probably try again in a few days.

Ahead of us or behind us?

Mullets are very popular in Moscow. Are they fashionably behind us or is this a glimpse of our future? I wouldn't be surprised to see mullets in the U.S. soon along with tightly rolled jeans around the ankles (aka, the "french roll").

Hooray for Increased Strength and Development!

Malcolm's cheaks are not the only thing growing. His muscles are getting strong. Since birth, he has been relegated to lying horizontal while playing with his toys. No longer. Though he still requires assistance, he can sit up like a big boy and join the adults. Here is a picture to illustrate his new maturity and development.

A cheeky photo was also included because it's cool. We had quite a few people taking photos of him. Caress's friend Rachel, whom we were eating lunch with, asked "do people always take photos of him like this?"

Entrepreneurs

The babushkas in Russia have embraced the capitalist spirit. One can see them all over the city selling random "stuff." It's comical because they often have just a single item. A gal might be selling a single shirt or a pair of shoes. I'm not sure if their supplier is not servicing them well or if they're merely pulling rubbish out of their closet. Here is a photo that captures their capitalist spirit. I snapped this photo as we were exiting the subway. It shows four ladies displaying their merchandise with one potential costomer.