Stuff I like- Summer 2022

This blog is so I can look back someday and remember things I liked and didn't like growing up.

Um, I like musical children's shows and cartoons. My favorite right after I got home was The Mother Goose Club. Momma figures I liked it because it had real actors and actresses (kids and teens) singing the songs. I especially liked the Mary Quite Contrary character. She was CUTE and I was smitten. I especially like her rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". As that summer progressed I moved on to some of the cartoons like Dave and Ava, and the Cocomelon cartoons. I like Christian Children's music videos from LifeTree Kids and Hillsong.

I don't care much for regular television or movies, however, Daddy insists that Saturday mornings are for movies and we've watched Old Yeller several times. I like animals, especially elephants and sheep. I like dogs from a distance but not up close so much. I don't like commercials, but I like saying, "Reclama" (Ukrainian for "commercial").

I like eating in general, except for Kasha, the mush that's so popular here in Ukraine. Probably because that's what we ate ALL THE TIME in the orphanage. I think that's what Mom and Dad gave me my first night home and I laid the law down then that I would have none of it. I don't care much for chicken eggs but I like the little boiled quail eggs. I like every fruit that I've tasted and I partake regularly of apples and bananas. I have apples or bananas and sometimes both, almost every day. I like tomatoes, too. I can eat them right off the vine in our garden. I call tomatoes, "mayo". 

I have a hard time saying "Thank you" or "Dyakooyou". My Ukrainian Dyakooyoo comes out sounding like, "ka voo voo", which is fairly close to one of the Ukrainian words for coffee, "kavoo".

I like to sing and dance but usually only around Mom and Dad. Lets say I know what to do with a Mic in my hand! I like all musical instruments. I'll probably play the Violin, Piano, Drums, and Guitar later. 

I don't like strangers. I clam up and put on my "resting angry face" when there are strangers around. That goes for church or trips back to the orphanage or anytime some well-meaning old biddy wants to touch me or hold me. However, despite the fact that I don't like to interact closely with people, I can be friendly. I like to wave and I don't understand when people don't wave back at me. I'm adorable. I learned to say, "pa ka" (a really informal goodbye/see ya later). I say it all the time to people and sometimes inappropriately. For instance, Mom tells me it's rude to say, "goodbye" to someone as soon as they arrive.

I like the two elderly aunties that come help with Baba Lena, Aunt Luda, and Aunt Luda. Yeah, both of them have the same name. It's not uncommon in Ukraine for kids to call all adults "aunt" or "uncle", and that's fine with me. Who has time to learn names?

I like babies. Momma and Daddy tell others all the time how gentle I am with babies, and I never fail to point them out when we pass them on the sidewalks or in stores. Speaking of stores, there's something about them, maybe all the stuff, maybe the bright lights or all the people, that brings out the crazy in me. I am at my worst in those places and it has cost me several twisted ears and slaps on my behind. I once cracked a couple of quail eggs in the store, boy was Mom mad about that. Later, when we got home, Daddy gave me the rest of the egg I cracked. I didn't know you you weren't supposed to eat the shell. I found out the hard way.

I like older girls. There's one at church named Sofia. In Ukraine, Sonya is a nickname for Sofia but I usually call her Tony. I don't know why. I like Lera too but I don't even try to say that name. I like Adele, too. She's not much older than me but she pets my hair like I'm a baby...sometimes I pet hers, too. I don't have any guy friends but Mom and Dad keep trying to get me to be buddies with David. He's a little older and a little bigger and I have a lot of his old clothes and shoes and toys. Someday I need to tell him, "ka voo voo".

When I was in the orphanage, I didn't like any kind of mushy affection. I didn't want anyone to hold me or hug me. But now, I sort of like a good, firm kiss and I'm not afraid to let a select few people know it.

I like to dress up. Maybe because dressing was so monotonous in the orphanage, I don't know. But I do like to be a sharp dressed man. In fact, I like it when Momma and Daddy dress up too and I always let them now with a loud, "wow"!  

I sat in stunned silence riding home that first day from the orphanage. After that, I didn't care much for riding in the car and I'd scream if Momma left me alone in the car with Daddy. After a few weeks though I started to like "going" and now I like to go somewhere in the car all the time. I like going fast- on my bike, running outside, or when Daddy revs up the motor to pass someone. I learned from him to yell, "GO!" when we want someone to get out of the way. I do that at red lights all the time now. I don't want to sit too long, mind you, and I like to know where we're going. Usually, I can tell within a few minutes if we're going to church, to the park, to the swimming pool, or to play on our property and see the progress on our house. I like to see and hear airplanes and helicopters and I LOVE big trucks and tractors (which I call "wawa" for reason).

I guess I like to stop and smell the roses, or any flower, really. Mom and Dad get perturbed at me for stopping every few seconds to touch and smell the flowers.

I don't like going to bed at night. I wrote another blog about why- because I know Momma and Daddy have fun without me after they put me to sleep. One way I get around that is to make sure one of them goes to bed at the same time that I do. I suspect they don't stay in bed though and get up and go play once I fall asleep.

The first few nights I was home I was terrified to take a bath or get a shower. I guess it triggered bad memories from the orphanage. However, after about a week of bathing I realized I really like the water. That led Mom and Dad to take me to an aqua park and let me tell you, that was AWESOME! After that, they signed me up for some swimming lessons and it turns out I'm sort of a natural. We've gone  swimming almost every week this summer and other people stop what they're doing to watch me dive in and swim under water.