Elijah mostly loved the modes of transportation we had to take to get to Russia and then to get around in St. Pete: planes, air train in NY, trams, metro and buses in Russia. Ever since we came back one of his favorite games is to re-enact the entire trip to Russia: a short flight to NY, a long flight to Helsinki, another short flight to St. Petersburg, a car ride to aunt Ira's house, then a tram ride to the metro, a metro ride with a transfer, and finally a bus ride to grandma's and grandpa's house. Oh, and how could I leave out going through security before getting on each flight, complete with removing your shoes and having a bag to put on the belt. He always has to have one of us "come along". We move from one bedroom to another, from the living room to the kitchen, from the first floor to the second, each place signifying another stage of the journey. The stairs are the escalators. The bathrooms are trains. I am thankful that the long flight to Helsinki usually happens in the rocking chair. The whole adventure has been known to take over an hour and a half. Once we are finally "there", he wants to do the whole thing in reverse order, but by that time I am usually done role playing for the day (and for the week!)
Here are some of Elijah's favorite pictures. We had them printed and put in a little book. Those of you who live nearby have already seen them (sometimes multiple times).
Riding the metro train one of our first days in St. Petersburg.
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Alexander Nevsky Lavra close up. Elijah likes to call the monks on the left "dudes" and then laugh his head off. :)
At the Kazansky Cathedral with grandma.
At home with grandpa.
Watching a metro train leave.
Riding the escalator in the metro.
Grandma's friends. They say it takes a village to raise a child. This is part of the village that helped raise mommy.
A tram and a bus.
Eating breakfast with Misha.
