Adventures with the Crafts: Spring in Full Swing in Baku

Spring is in full swing here in Baku!
The kids are so happy to be outside getting fresh air again. Tyler usually has allergies so bad for at least 2 months at home in the U.S. that his eyes get swollen shut and we have to get steroid antibiotics.

We were very lucky that did not happen here. He had itchy eyes and sneezed a lot for about a week or two then the pollen was gone just like that. Same for me, I usually have at least 3 weeks of horrible itchy eyes, but here in Baku, I was fine after just a few days.

The big news of the house is that Barry came home with new pets the other day. A fellow Embassy family is headed home and couldn't take their beloved hamsters with them so we inherited them. Grace has been begging and begging for a pet for years now and after killing several fish by accident (hey no one told me you were supposed to add some special conditioner to beta fish water) she is over the moon with joy. She loves them so much. Grace's hamster is a bit pudgy and likes to eat and sometimes get a little taste of us as well so she named him Nibbles! Tyler's hamster is much smaller and often picks on Nibbles by biting and scratching him. Tyler named his hamster A.J. after the main character in the My Weird School chapter book series we are currently reading at bedtime.

Grace spends every afternoon making tunnels out of boxes and toilet paper rolls for the hamsters which actually seem to like going through them on their own and often sleeping in there as well. We got them hamster balls to run around the house in and I have to admit I like to watch them as well! They are kinda cute and furry.

Meanwhile, at school the kids completed their very first research project! They were studying life cycles and had to research an animal's life cycle. Grace picked an elephant and Ty picked a ladybug (they called them ladybirds here). They had an open house and shared their research report with us in their classrooms. Barry and I were both quite proud! The next day was a teacher workday and no school for them so we met daddy for lunch. It took me 8 months to the day but I was finally able to navigate my way to and from Port Baku for lunch on my own without having to look at a map. I was quite proud of myself.

And last but not least....Daddy has decided to grow mint, tomatoes, and peppers and Grace and Ty brought home bean plants! Daddy found a neat indoor garden called a Aero Garden on amazon where the water and sunlight is all done inside! It is soooo cool! I highly recommend getting one! Here it is:

Daddy's peppers tomatoes, and mint in the Aero Garden and Grace and Tyler's bean plants from school plus a sunflower plant Grace just brought home Wednesday that hasn't started growing yet but I know it will!

Grace and the hamster apartment she made! Pretty creative and cool I must say!

The hamsters have 2 different apartments. They fight quite a lot so we try to separate them as much as possible.

Grace and Ty Port Baku posing with a skateboarder statue.

My little pumpkin during story time before bed.

Grace giving us her life cycle of elephants report at school.

Grace making cool tunnels for the hamsters.

Grace and her new pets.

Grace's bean plant report on an ipad at school.

Grace's life cycle of elephants report.

Grace showing us her 6th lost tooth.

Grace posing with the skateboarder statue in Port Baku.

Grace playing with a sword in the backyard.

Grace begged for a pic next to this strange tree of pad locks. Seriously....zoom up on the tree....never seen anything like this before.

Grace and Ty playing tic tac toe with chalk on the patio in our backyard.

Tic Tac Toe with chalk.

Posing with the car at Port Baku. We usually eat across the street at Paul. It is a cute little French bakery with fresh bread, soups, and sandwiches and is peanut free for Ty! They also have a bookstore next to it with books in English which makes Mommy quite happy! And now a toy store in the mall next to it as well!

A cute little bridge in Port Baku near the playground.

Posing on an interesting bench.

Grace and Ty are pretending to go down the underground crosswalk. Instead of going on a crosswalk over the road like we do in the states, they have crosswalks that go under the road in Baku. Daddy and Grace always pretend to hold their breath like they are going underwater as we walk below.