Operation Update (Myles)

Myles language is exploding right now, especially after spending almost 5 months with his cousins in the States. Lightening McQueen from the movie Cars has captured his heart, and almost on a daily basis he is asking, “can we watch it again?” It was a must to bring back as much “cars stuff” as possible, which means he is wearing PJ’s with McQueen, sleeping with a McQueen blanket, drinking from McQueen cups, and of course wearing McQueen underwear! Which brings us to more great news that he is potty trained (and all the parents said AMEN). He is doing great being back so far and is excited to share with everyone that he is Myles Ready and also Suhrob (his Tajik name). Daddy is especially thankful that Myles’ favorite song is from the Rudy soundtrack, and they are often seen together dancing to their hearts delight. Drawing fish, dragons, and (of course) McQueen keep him entertained as well, along with the important job of being a big brother to baby Keaton.

Keats Kingdom

Baby Keaton is not such a “baby.” He is approaching 5 months, but is already mostly wearing 9 or 12 month clothes. Suffice it to say that he’s a big one. In fact, baths take extra long as we are required to peel back roll after roll of skin. He is still giving mom a run for her money at night, but she is determined to win the battle. So far he is showing signs of being quite extroverted as he always wants to be with people. He has a great smile and obviously is always curious about what big bro is up to. We keep telling Myles that he better be nice to Keaton because it won’t be long before Keats is twice his size.

Pics of the boys

These pics give you a snapshot of recent life happenings.

More summer/fall fun pics!!

Here are some more random pictures from the summer and being home with family and friends. Make sure to look at the post below this with pictures of Myles 2nd birthday and baby Keaton. Enjoy!

Since our last post from summertime we are now well into October and are in the good 'ol U.S. of A. Baby brother Keaton Prosch (Keats) decided to make his grand entrance into this world 3 days after Myles' 2nd Birthday... so we've got a 10-09-08 boy and a 10-12-10 boy. October is the month to beat for us! Talk about easy birthdays to remember. God knew I needed a little help! It has been a steep learning curve doing life with two now but definitely full of joy, laughter, teamwork and a few hormonal tears every now and then. Those little hormones are powerful things! Myles is doing really well adapting to another one getting mommy and daddy's attention. He's more of a smotherer than a hitter. Baby Keaton's head has been graced with many of Myles' kisses and though Myles doesn't do so great at supporting his head while holding him, he is already a pro and letting me know when Keaton is covered in his own throw-up. He is such a good big brother.

We have been savoring our time with family and friends. We stayed with my mom for the first couple months and are now at the Ready family's abode for the last couple months. Myles and Troy are frequenting a nearby indoor pool alot while mommy and Keats try to catch up on some zzzz's and Myles' car collection is exponentially growing as his new found love is the movie Cars and anything with wheels. He is too cute and Troy and I are overwhelmed with our love for TWO boys. I've gotta start practicing and working on my wrestling moves so I don't get dominated by the 3 men in my life.

Here are some pictures of Myles' 2 year birthday party and Keaton's arrival. Hope you enjoy them and I'll do my darndest to post more frequently as the pictures are plentiful right now with Myles' antics flourishing and Keaton being so darn cute. Enjoy the beautiful fall colors and thanks for keeping up on the happenings of the Ready family as it grows!

Hey followers!! We haven't been very diligent in posting new pictures and I figured today is the day I will force myself to sit down and DO IT!!!! We will be returning stateside for 4 months the beginning of August and will see many of you... which we are extremely excited about. Despite coming home, I still want to put up some new pictures so you can see how big Myles is getting and some more photos of life here. Roh-ee saw-fed... which means "white road" in Tajik. Hope you are all doing outstanding and enjoying the summer. We are staying close to either the AC unit or an ice cold river. When either of those aren't available.... we're soaked in sweat in this 120 degree weather. Good times!!!! Not to mention, GOOD TIMES when I'm 7 months pregnant. See some of you soon!!

The Ready's

FINALLY!!! Sorry for the delay. Here are some pictures from Myles' close friend and teammate, Hannah, who had a 3rd birthday. They thoroughly enjoyed the kiddo rides at a local park here. We were surprised to see the rusty toys worked. Hannah and Myles could have thought they were at Disney Land for all they knew. They were having a blast! The temperature is starting to heat up here so we're breaking out the sunscreen, sandals and hats. We're still grateful for the cool nights but the fan and air conditioner are ready and on call. Enjoy the new photos. We love, miss and are thankful for you all....

Merry Christmas and a Glorious New Year!

Thanks to many of you, we were able to give gifts to our neighbors. Here's a quick snapshot of the festivities.

Some further pics with our friends here along with Myles showing off that he is now able to feed himself! In fact, he won't let us give him anything from our hand (unless it's a cookie, of course).

Myles REALLY gets into his toys...I mean LITERALLY as he is often found w/in the box itself.

Tis the Season

I'll try to let the pictures speak for themselves...and when I get really motivated (or have time is more like it), I'll write. Until then...for your viewing pleasure.

Costume Party Anyone?

Here are some snapshots of our Fall Exravaganza! We had loads of food, candy, costumes, games and prizes. We did this for the kids but the adults had just as much fun, if not more! Myles was the champion at Limbo, he got the lowest, Troy lost miserably in a game where he ate chocolate pudding from a diaper while blindfolded and I won at the relay game. We went as fuzeball players (as you can see). We had one family as Lord of the Rings cast, another as Romans, hippies, babies, trees, Tinkerbell....and on! It was a great to have Frodo and Gandolf the Grey at our party! The kids from the English Class Troy is teaching learned all about the holiday and dressed up as well. They carved squash, ate candy and bobbed for apples. Next up is Thanksgiving so be looking for more pictures!

A retreat up into the mountains of T-stan!!

Here are some pictures from our retreat up in the mountains. The air was fresh, the mountains were enormous and beautiful and the place we stayed had a natural hot springs! We soaked in the lovely sulfur water and felt 10 years younger. It was great to connect with our teammates as well as welcome Rees, Sara and their 2 kiddos. As you

can see, Myles got a little soak in his own "hot springs" too. We will definitely retreat here again. Where else can you soak in hot springs, ride a donkey down a hillside, play pool and fuzeball and have your meals cooked for you? LOVED IT! (except I got sick from the food...... dang giardia!!!! Can't seem to get away from it!!)

We're not quite sure if he's speaking Tajik or English or.......Tanglish. Only he knows what he's saying and I must say, he's quite convincing. I can't wait for the day when his little mouth starts motoring out all his thoughts.

This is a snapshot into our daily conversations with eachother. He is quite the gabber and is learning the rhythms of conversations quite well, wouldn't you say? His only words right now are Mama, Dada, Hi, yeah and Nana (banana). He certainly is throwing out some very Tajik sounding syllables as well. They sound better than ours.... Lucky duck! He's gonna just soak it up naturally....I'm a little jealous! (a lot jealous!!).

Nothing like scarfin down some cake while everyone clanks and bangs on some pots and pans to celebrate 365 days of my baby boy's life. We sang "Happy Birthday" first (per usual) and then a hoppin song on their iPod started playing and we proceeded to all start rockin out. Good times....

Videos from Myles' first Birthday

Troy's interpretation is so accurate and life-like. I hope not only does it provide insight into that special day one year ago, but that it would also be educational for you. Enjoy!

Myles 1 Year Birthday!!!

Hey faithful viewers! We were eager to post some pictures of Myles' first birthday party. We got to celebrate two days in a row. The first night was with a tajik family that is quick becoming close friends and the second night was with our teammates. We cooked hotdogs over a campfire, listened to a little Garth Brooks and blue grass and had an awesome time. We made sure to have a yummy cake both nights so that Myles wouldn't feel neglected. A sugar high two nights in a row.....he was having so much fun and was free entertainment! He officially got his first cell phone only at one year old.....we thought it wise to get him his own since his favorite toy is our cell phone and I don't know how he does it but, he's managed to push enough buttons to mess up some settings and give us a headache! It's wild to think he's one year already (as all parents say about their growing children!). I was curious how the sentimental event would fair for us being in a new country. I wanted the classic picture with frosting smeared all over his face and to have a candle, etc. I can now say, after the fact, that Myles' special birthday far exceeded my expectations!! We made it simple but had such a rich time with our tajik friends and with our teammates. I couldn't have asked for a better night! Myles is one special little kid.

He's managing to take those first little, clumsy steps these days. It first begins with getting his balance and just standing upright...then, he starts to hum, laugh, shriek (all at the same time), then, he throws his hands up in the air and he's off to the races. The mere four or five steps somehow are accomplished and then he fumbles into our arms. He's doing some fumbling and some tumbling, a little grumbling, but mostly mumbling and toddling! Can't get enough of it....

In no time he'll be out with mommy and daddy shooting the soccerball around and putting daddy in his place. He'll have to work extra hard to beat me, of course!! Hee Hee! (I am the one who taught daddy everything he knows).

Myles favorite foods these days include.....cheese, fresh tomatoes, oatmeal,pancakes, yogurt, bananas and yes.... icecream. The icecream here is not as creamy and yummy as the stuff back home but it will suffice. Maybe a ColdStone Creamery might make it's way here eventually. He's still slow in embracing the tajik food but he loves their fresh baked bread everyday. I have to make everything from scratch so cooking a big batch of chili or making pancakes or french toast is no easy feat...but it is worth it. I made homemade syrup the other day for pancakes and just when we were ready to pour it over our hotcakes....Troy luckily smelled it first and realized it was fermented and bad. Oh well, the hotcakes were tasty enough solo. No one can come close to touching Mrs. B!! She's the queen of syrups.

The other family that lives here had a pack and play that we were using for Myles to sleep in but they needed it back for their two year old. So, we were off to the bazaar with the mission to find a suitable, sturdy, safe crib. Amidst the selection of cheap, frail, wobbley cribs we found, we managed to spot a decent one and snatched it up quickly. It was about $90 and though it's not as nice as the ones back home, we tightened up all the screws, put up the mosquito net that came with it and Myles slept like a baby. Halelujah! We figured it was a good investment and know it'll get good use....for however long the thing will last.

We are extremely looking forward to having some close friends of ours come out and join us here. They arrive in less than two weeks and we're ready to help transition them into this new culture and share of what we've already learned... the good, the bad, the scary. I know life will be so rich sharing it with them and it makes it a little bit easier being away from home, friends and family. We love you all dearly and miss you immensely. Blessings to all of you and make sure to write back to us and keep us updated about YOU!!

Love,

The Ready's