After we got back from our week's vacation in Denver and Omaha, Zack went back to school and Nicky went into the hospital for surgery. The first several days were kind of wild. Zack needed to retest every rule he'd ever learned to see if anything had changed, and we had some of the finest tantrums ever as he discovered that everything was unchanged. After a couple of days, however, he settled down again.

Nicky is home this week, still recovering from his surgery. He lost over five pounds during and shortly after his hospitalization, erasing all the gains he'd made since arriving in America. I didn't think five pounds was all that much, until I realized it's over 10% of his entire body weight. Fortunately, his throat and appetite are recovering, and he's starting to look less skeletal. On the pediatrician's advice, however, I've ordered several cases of Pediasure. I'm going to try to have him drink two cans a day for a while.

He's bearing up pretty well while recovering. At first, he insisted he was okay, and ran around so much that he made himself sick. Then his stomach decided it didn't like his pain medication, and he got sick again. By now, he understands that he needs rest, and has cooperated by taking naps occasionally, but it still chafes him to be stuck in the house most of the time. Around ten o'clock in the morning, he starts asking when Zack will get home, and then asks again every ten minutes until Zack arrives at two in the afternoon.

We're going to the doctor today to check on his throat and get clearance for him to resume school next week. We're going to the doctor again next Monday to have his stitches removed. I estimate that today's doctor visit will go very smoothly, but next week's will take five orderlies to hold him down. Poor little guy!

The other day I was playing the plurals game with Nicky at dinner, saying things like "one hand" or "one foot," to which he replies "two hands" and "two feet." I stumped him when I said, "One man." While he was debating whether to say "two mans" or not, Zack blurted out, "Two MEN." Zack normally runs a couple weeks behind Nicky in noun acquisition, so it was really neat to see him get one up on Nicky.

Here's a typical conversation with Zack (me all in English, Zack mostly in Ukrainian):

"Oh-HO! Look at that car!"

"Which car, Zack?"

"Red car."

"I don't see a red car. Where?"

"Oh-HO! School bus!"

"Yes, that's a school bus. Two school busses. Say 'busses,' Zack."

"Two school busses."

"Good job, Zacky-boy."

"Not Zacky-boy."

"Okay, Zackarino."

"NOT ZACKARINO!"

"Okay, Zack-zack."

"NOT ZACK-ZACK!"

"Okay, Banana."

"No, YOU banana."

"If I'm a banana, you're a dumpling."

"Not dumpel-ging. Want banana."

"I knew I shouldn't have mentioned bananas. No, you've already had three today."

"I want!"

"No."

"Hmmmn."

You have to know Zack to hear the special emphasis he puts on the word "hmmmn." It's half a grunt, half a whine, and 100% effective at communicating his displeasure. He uses "hmmmn" for everything from, "I don't WANT to go to bed!" to "What do you mean, I can't tear the tail off that puppy?"

Nicky, on the other hand, is starting to use multi-word English phrases appropriately. The other day I started driving before he had finished securing his seat belt, and he said, "Go slowly, Papa!" When I'm applying ointment to his wounds, he says, "Papa, be careful!" And last night he shocked me by saying, "I want this one," while pointing at something in the fridge. He's also started calling me "Daddy" when he's feeling affectionate. It's still "Papa" when he's trying to get my attention, but at night, during snuggles, he uses "Daddy" and wants me to say "son" instead of using Russian.

Both boys are learning to express themselves better in other ways, too. Zack has started singing along with the radio in the car. It's frustrating for both of us, because he wants the volume as high as possible while singing, and I keep wanting to turn the radio down so I can hear him. He still won't sing any other time, though; when I ask him to, he just grins and shakes his head. Nicky had started drawing more complex pictures. On our website, you can see a photo of one drawing he did using dry erasables on the whiteboard. He drew our house (including Gozer and a light bulb), our car (including the steering wheel), and all the family members (including shorts and glasses).

We heard from the lawyers last week that they're all set to move ahead with the Recognition of Foreign Decree and changing Zack's birthdate. They're working on getting a court date now.

The Recognition is a formality that makes Texas officially aware that the boys were adopted in Ukraine, and allows Texas to issue birth certificates for them. We don't need Texas to approve the adoption--the boys have been legally mine since 08 July--but having Texas birth certificates will make all sorts of things easier. I won't have to drag around certified translations of their Ukrainian certificates or try to persuade those who don't know the law that their non-existent mother doesn't have to sign forms. One of the stranger things that single parents have to deal with is international travel. The anti-kidnapping laws require both parents to be travelling, or the absent parent to provide a notarized permission slip. The same sort of problem arises for school outing permission slips and any number of similar situations that couples never notice. The Texas birth certificates will list no other parent, which eliminates having to carry around a certified translation of the adoption decree. Having the Texas documents will also make Zack's new birthdate easier to manage, although of course, now I'll have to go back and update his passport and social security information. Since the Texas birth certificates will still show the place of birth as Poltava, Ukraine, I'll have to carry passports as proof of citizenship.

Speaking of birthdays, the month of December will be busy. On 01 December, Zack will turn five. On the 16th, Nicky will turn seven. On the 28th, I'll turn forty-six. Oh, my. Where HAS the time gone?

We're hoping to go to Sea World in San Antonio for Halloween. Sea World has a big end-of-season celebration with lots of fun non-scary stuff for kids. I'm planning (quite shamelessly) to dress the boys up for Halloween in seriously goofy costumes. I need the photos for blackmail when they're older. Good fathers plan ahead.