Grandparent visit

The last couple of days we made trips to Grandma C and Grandpa's house to visit with the Great-Grandmas. Dimitri just loves people and did not mind at all when Grandma Louise picked him up (she's 93).  The two of them played with her cane, and I think Dimitri left a few teeth marks. 

Today, his Bobka (Grandma Sophie) and Grandpa Bill got to experience his transformation into boyhood as they wrestled with the wiggle-worm that he is.  I am really enjoying watching him become more playful as well.  He's starting to wrestle with me, which give Kibo some relief.  I really love sharing his moments, especially with other family members. 

An update on the hunt---they got skunked.  Alan will be coming home, but don't worry, Dimitri has something for him when he get here :)

A Walk in the Park

Dimitri's name means "of the earth".  I think it was appropriate we named him this because of Alan's work in the dirt and my love of the dirt.  I find it fascinating that people really can define their names as such.  Dimitri sits at the window or door every day asking to go outside (much like Kibo).  I usually cater to his wishes unless the weather is awful.  I have been attempting to get him to the park or take him for a stroll every day.  Day 3 of Alan's hunt has us in Lucas Park.  It is behind the Moose Lodge and we frequent the park often because of it's maze of slides, stairs, and games.  Dimitri loves it as well.

Initial Reactions

When getting this blog ready, one of the questions you have to answer in your profile is the country of residence.  I found it funny that 2 options exist for living in the US: United States and Outlying islands of the United States.  I wish I could put Alaska (and probably Hawaii) in that category sometimes.  For instance, shipping anything here costs an arm and a leg.  Sometimes I don't even get the opportunity to send it USPS and must have a package sent 2 Day Air and pay the added cost.  Another argument for consideration into the "Outlying" parts of the US club would be the fact that some people don't even know where Alaska really is.  If it hadn't have been for Sarah Palin, I don't know that a lot of people would have even known Alaska was actually part of the country.  True Story:
Alan and I were in the middle of our annual Hawaiian vacation when we came across an American citizen who did not know that Alaska was part of the union.  A Canadian couple, who happened to be listening in on the conversation, chimed in that Alaska was "on loan" to the US and that the 2 countries should be renegotiating the lease soon.  Are you kidding?!
So, I hope anyone who reads this will be able to appreciate the stories, get a few laughs, and maybe learn a trick or 2 through our travels and explorations.

State Fair-Alaska Style

The Alaska State Fair is unlike any other fair I have ever been to.  Although the rodeo is anticlimactic and the shows are not always the biggest names in the business (who would want to travel all this way to play in an outdoor theater at this latitude?), the rest of the fair lives up to Alaska's reputation-being the biggest and the best.  Dimitri and I were able to walk to the fair from our house and explore the wonders of the fair, mainly the animals and the ginormous vegetables.  Quiz time: How do plants make food?....Through photosynthesis (the sun's rays), plants are able to produce their own food.  In Alaska, the sun shines 20 hours/day in the summer, making lots of food and growing the vegetables extremely large---world record large.  As Dimitri and I were approaching the largest pumpkin in the world, or at least would have been except for the miniscule hole in the bottom of it, we ran into a news crew that thought Dimitri was so cute, they needed to interview this mother and son in front of the pumpkin.  Needless to say, he put on a show.

The top picture is next to the almost world record holder at 1,705 lbs.  The next picture is of some runners up, only about 1,000 and 850 lbs respectively.  The last picture is next to the new Alaska world record holder at 1,200 lbs.  At any rate, he was on the news that night and everyone thought he was adorable.  I think the size of the pumpkins is much more impressive, and I'm the mom :)

Dimitri was also intrigued by the animals at the fair.  On another outing, this time the entire family was able to participate, we let him pet the animals.  He was the happiest boy ever. 

Dimitri is interested in everything, from animals to the ability of a dowel to be used as a lever to tip over his walker.  He is cautious, but loves life.  Again, he is the happiest baby I have every seen :)

Like Father, Like Son ?

Alan is off on a hunting trip this week.  Every time we get ready for one of these trips, I always wonder who Dimitri will most resemble when he's older.  Alan is always very last minute (he even missed his flight because he waited so long to pack).  I, however, like to be packed ahead of schedule and do not like to be rushed, because then I am likely to forget something.  Dimitri seems to be very structured (like his mom) and, thus, I will hope he packs more like his mom (for my sake).  However, his looks and personality are more like his father's; easy going, is everybody's friend, and always has a smile on his face.  Then I become aware that Dimitri is his own person, and hopefully it won't be long before everyone starts saying he is "Dimitri", and not "Alan" or "Alena" in terms of who he most resembles.  Over the next week, I will be posting a diary of Dimitri's and my photos so that Alan can find out what went on while he was in the wilderness of the Seward Peninsula.  I will let the audience determine in the future who he resembles and it will be interesting to see how this perception changes through the years.