Yesterday, July 11, 2011, I had a very special experience with Alexei and a revelation too.
Nikita was already in bed, Troy was working downstairs, and Alexei and I were reading our last book before his bedtime. The book was Love You Forever. Every time I read it it brings tears to my eyes. This time was a little different…

Halfway through the book Alexei noticed that the picture of the mother changed. On the first pages of the book she looked young and beautiful. On the following pages she wore glasses and looked older and at the end she had gray hair, looked really old and was sick. He asked me why she changed. I explained to him that people get old. Alexei didn’t like that and really wanted the picture of the mother to be the same on all the pages.

Then he asked a question that concerned him most. “Will Mama get old too?” I said yes, and I was glad that he got the concept! He pointed at me and asked “This Mama?” “Yes.” He kept asking me the same questions several times and then added the word “soon” to them. I said yes. He asked if I would be older when Santa Claus comes. I said yes. But then I saw tears in his eyes. Half crying he said “Will there be a new Mama then? Alexei wants new Mama!” and he cried even more.

I finally realized that I made a big mistake. I tried to correct myself real quick. I told him that actually I wouldn’t get old soon, that I would need to have a lot of birthdays before I get old. He asked “What about Christmas?” I said that we would celebrate lots of Christmases too before Mama would get old.

I held him on my lap as comfortably as my belly could allow and suddenly it dawned on me that my son LOVES ME VERY MUCH! We both cried. I tried not to show Alexei that I was crying too. We sat quiet for a while. It was past Alexei’s bedtime. I needed him to go to sleep. So, after telling each other that we love each other, I asked him to go to the bathroom one more time. When he went downstairs he remembered to bring a glass of water for me and put it on my bedside table.

Alexei is a very special and sweet little boy. Thank you God for giving him to me.

Today we had a perfect family Sabbath. We all got up at 8 am, had breakfast and dressed up for church. Troy wore the sweater and one of the ties that Carol and I gave him a couple of birthdays ago; Alexei had his white shirt, red vest and tie on; and I wore my new green, white and black dress with black boots. I also curled my hair using Keri’s hot rollers. Then, at five minutes to ten we walked to church and we got there just in time for Alexei’s Sabbath School. He was an extremely good boy during the program. He sat obediently on his chair, returned things when needed and sat on my lap eating the gold fish they passed around during the adult lesson. During church he was good too. He was happy to sit on Deric’s and Keri’s laps, play, clap and talk during prayers. Only at the end of the service did Troy have to take him out to help regain the good behavior.

When church was over, we walked back home. We had some lunch, except for Alexei. He was tired and after a couple of bites I put him in bed for a two hour nap. Troy napped too, and I designed three cards (two birthdays and one wedding) to give out during the month of March using my PrintPerfect program . As soon as the nap was over, we dressed warmly and with a couple of grapes for Alexei’s snack, we all went to Lake Artemesia to catch the last hour of Sabbath light. It was rather cold and the place was deserted. Alexei enjoyed watching the ducks and geese in the water; other birds, airplanes, and helicopters in the air; and the Metro train zooming nearby. Plus, we couldn’t get away without our favorite past-time of throwing sticks in the water. As the darkness approached and it became colder, we walked quickly to the car and drove to eat at the Olive Garden restaurant.

We had so much fun watching Alexei eat. He sat in his highchair throughout our entire meal. I ordered Eggplant Parmesan for myself, Fettucini Alfredo with the sauce on the side from the kids’ menu for Alexei, and some bread/cheese/tomato appetizer. In addition to all this, we got two bowls of salad and breadsticks (it came with the meal). So, Alexei had fun with his food. He loved the olives from the salad, which he ate after putting on his fingers, croutons from the salad, and his pasta in the sauce. He drank water (using a straw), but only when I drank from my glass. He drew a little bit on the paper with the crayons the restaurant provided. This time he got an orange and blue colored crayons. He also flirted with the people at the table behind us. We all loved the food, got our leftovers wrapped up in two boxes to go, paid for everything with the two gift cards that Aunt Vera and Cheerie Lou gave us for Christmas and went to the mall across the street.

At PG Plaza, Alexei had a ton of fun and I am sure that the people who watched him did too. He went running and laughing and talking in the main hallway. He did not like us going into different stores, but at the end we went into JC Penny and Daddy bought Mommy a sleeveless blouse for $32 and change. Leaving the store made both Alexei and Mommy very happy. I am not so sure about how Daddy felt. Oh well, Mommy has a beautiful outfit finally complete. She has a woolen cream color skirt with a tanktop and sweater that match and look just gorgeous (on her too)! Thank you Daddy!

When we got home, I gave Alexei a quick bath, he ate some more, we brushed our teeth, read a couple of books and I put him to bed. Troy took the dirty diapers out, cleaned the kitchen a little and now, after I finish this blog entry we are going to watch an episode of “Mad Men!” What a wonderful day we had!