Another great day!

Thanks to all who left wonderful and supportive messages. It was amazing to start the day with such kind thoughts. Please keep them coming they are great. Well, after returning from our visit yesterday with Ryan, we thought we'd kick back and watch a movie on the DVD player. Unfortunately, we knocked out the power with our excellent American made electronic devices. Lucklily it was reserved to our room alone, not the entire hotel. Unable to speak Russian with the front desk staff it made it difficult to fix the problem. Sveta our intrepid interpretor came to the rescue and called the hotel to flip the circuit breaker. Crisis averted. The other minor issues we have faced other than communication, are food and water. You can't drink the local water, so it means we carry bottled where ever we go. The food has been another challenge. It is very different from home. They eat horse, we say nnaayy! Mayonaise is also a staple. It seems it is in every dish they prepare, on top, on the side or hidden underneath. Chicken, beef (tongue especially - Ugh!), mutton and pork are all available but not so you would recognize it. Chicken steak with pineapple is very good, french toast (which is not french toast but dark bread with apple slices stuck to it with mayo?) is not good. We have stocked up on some essentials from home, peanut butter, tea, mac 'n cheese, chicken noodle soup and Famous Amos cookies. Theses items have carried us through so far. Robert is happy to see that local beer is plentiful, but must be bought by the bottle, not the case or even six pack. Its very tasty and comes in a bottle the size of a quart of milk. He still buys them six at a time.
We have been to the local market wich is very interesting. There are about 6 clerks behind counters that line the perimeter of the store. Each responsible for certain types of products. At the bakery counter you buy your bread and cheese, pay for it and move to the next area. No bags are given you just carry your items to the car. They have some things that we have at home like Pringels, Pampers, Coke, Pepsi, Colgate toothpaste all written in Russian so it looks very funny.
It is an hours drive to see Ryan through a bleak landscape. The countryside is very flat and VERY cold. Our car windows frost up on the inside which makes it difficult to see anything. We did get stopped by the local Police. These poor guys stand outside all day and waive a stick at passing cars to do registration and license checks. We were stopped today but it was very quick and a little imtimidating. Our driver Sergei checked out fine and we were sent on our way.
Ryan did great today. He had his first teething biscuit and one Cherio. The biscuit he loved - not so much with the Cherio. What a face. He is a very strong guy. He can't crawl but does this
beached whale movement which I guess means he is getting close to scooting. He can turn over and loves being on his back and babbles as he lies there. Having him fall asleep in our arms was incredible! He awoke for lunch which seems to be a priority for him. The clothes we brought with us are too small. Nine to twelve month sizes will not cut it. This guy is so cute, we can't help but fall in love. Talk to you all tomorrow.