The Disappearance of "Da"

When we first returned home from Russia, we had a very quiet child that knew zero English and only spoke a handful of Russian words/phrases. We often wondered how long it would take for Nicky to drop the Russian altogether. "Sabaka" (dog) was the first to go. This, to me, was quite ironic because shortly after we brought him back, Nicky & I had an "argument" over what Blitzer & Bailey were. He said "sabaka" and I agreed & then supplied the English word "dog". Well, he would have none of that and back and forth we went (sabaka. dog. sabaka. dog.) - possibly 20 or so times before I thought to myself "What are you doing? You're arguing with a poor little guy who has no clue what's going on around him!" The next to leave was "nyet" (no). This was disconcerting to Kris and I because it was then that we realized he was beginning to understand things a bit better and was asserting himself as any other toddler would. "No" continues to be a very prevalent answer in our household! The final Russian word to depart, which just happened over the past week or so, much to our dismay, was "da" (yes). We kinda held onto that last little bit of Russian he spoke; it was really cute to hear him say, and it was who he was. We hoped he might keep that one. He is now an all-American boy (at least in his speech) and we have our answer - it took about 7 months for all the Russian to disappear!

(Proof that Nicky is a Russian at heart, as evidenced by his very stoic face. Not to say they're not happy people, it just takes them a bit to warm up!)

A few pictures of Nicky & Sabaka Blitzer...

Blitzer wondering..."can I be done yet?!"