Logan's Bar Mitzvah

Ночью Гаврик спал плохо, утром во время прогулки тоже так себе. Потом покакал - и наконец заснул крепким сном. Таким крепким, что до сих пор спит, хотя покакал примерно в час (сейчас почти половина четвертого).

По какой-то причине его аппетит несколько снизился, что хорошо. Не потому что Кате не хватает молока (слава Богу, его достаточно). Но оттого, что все же съедать по 1, 2 литра в день для месячного малыша явно много.

Ночью опять просыпался Захар. Непонятно, почему. То ли зубки прорезаются, то ли замерз, то ли еще что.

Захар, кстати, продолжает удивлять родителей. Сегодня Катя, майк и Захар ходили в синагогу на бармицву Логана, сына Шон. Так вот в зале Захар отличился, по Катиным словам, примерным поведением. Тихо и спокойно сидел на стуле, куда его посадили. А потом так же спокойно и с достоинством общался со взрослыми и детьми.

Вчера вечером мы опять ходили ужинать в Эпплбирс. И опять Гаврик мирно спал, Захарка на своем высоком стуле обозревал окрестности и пробовал еду, которую я, Майк и Катя понемножку перекладывали в его тарелку из своих (больше всего ему понравилась картошка фри; кто бы сомневался в победе фастфуда над рыбой и капустой брокколи). А мы пили пиво и ели разные вкусности.

Ради интереса Катя поставила рядом на своем телефоне фотографии Захарки в возрасте двух с половиной месяцев и полуторамесячного Гаврика рядом. Ракурс один и тот же: два малыша лежат в ванне. На снимках видно, что мальчики почти одного роста (?!), но у Гаврика крупнее голова и короче ноги. По толщине братики одинаковые. Забавно...

Happy Day!

У Захарки после садика было отличное настроение. А это, как я уже отмечала, волшебно преображает и самого малыша, и мир вокруг него (буквально весь мир, включая нас, взрослых).

Когда у Захара хорошее настроение, он ни за что не ударит Гаврюшу. Напротив, подходит к нему и нежно, аккуратно целует в ногу (или что там ему попадается поближе). В хорошем настроении он охотно во все играет и весело смеется. Например, достал мне книжку про лошадку и с удовольствием ее вместе со мной “прочитал”. В хорошем настроении он с удовольствием ест яблоко, которым поделилась с ним мама, и с не меньшим удовольствием делится своим куском яблока с Ральфиком. В общем, когда у Захара хорошее настроение, жизнь прекрасна!

...А зубки у него действительно болят. Он уже второе утро постоянно лезет в рот пальчиками и что-то там трогает. Скорее бы все, что должно прорезаться, прорезалось.

Оба мальчика растут так стремительно, что выражение “на глазах” приходится интерпретировать буквально. Захаркин рост виден, в первую очередь, по его одежкам. Брючки, которые он носил в прошлом сезоне, теперь, по Катиным словам, выглядят как панталоны. А курточка, которую Катя ему купила и которая ему как раз, имеет маркировку не “1 - 2”, а “2 - 3”.

Гаврюшин же рост не только виден, но и слышен. Когда он кряхтит и корячится, это гораздо больше похоже не на то, что он хочет покакать, а на то, что он хочет себя растянуть, потому что кости и мышцы еще немного выросли. Хотя ему нет и двух месяцев, он уже полностью врос в кофточки и штанишки “от нуля до 3 месяцев”, а шапочки этого размера ему почти все малы.

Такой вот небольшой (пока) симпатичный Пантагрюэльчик. Карапуз - круглые щечки. Глазастый галчонок.

Irma the Hurricane Is Coming

Тужиться и карячиться он продолжил и сегодня. Дома утром никак не мог уснуть. Пока не пошел обещанный дождь, поехали с ним на прогулку в коляске. Катались, катались, но глубоко заснуть карапуз так и не смог. Кряхтел, покрикивал и карячился.

Дома покакал много-много, и наконец, кажется, заснул на диване. Не знаю, насколько основательно. Увидим.

Майк сказал, что небывало сильный в американской истории ураган идет прямо в район, где живут Мартон с Вайолет. Улететь они не могут. Билетов нет ни в одном направлении. Уехать тоже. По словам Майка, дороги все густо наполнены. Что будет? Как будет? Может, ураган все же повернет?

Zachary Is Back to School

Our mini-vacation is over, and Zachary is back to school today! This academic year, he was transferred from his original group to the next "grade." He used to be in Ms. Claudia's 1-2 y.o. class, and now he is in Ms. Vicki's 2-3 y.o. group. During the whole month of August, he was transitioning: Every day, he spent more and more time in Ms. Vicki's classroom, participating in all activities. Today, Mike and I both dropped him off at the new classroom. He was a bit confused, but did not show any sign of fear or sadness. He went to explore the classroom and play with other kids. Zachary (19 m.o.) is the youngest kid in his group, but he behaves well and is as clever and bright as his classmates. In this group, they do not give pacifiers to the kids (that is, Zac napped without soska today and fell asleep just fine); they do not use bibs (why??); they change their diapers while kids are standing up on the floor; every day, they go the gym and on walks; they no longer play nursery rhymes music; and best of all, they potty train them. I was lucky enough to demonstrate Ms. Vicki how Zac poops on the potty, and I hope he will no longer have accidents at school. They train them to pee on the potty as well, and I really need to work in parallel with them and do the same at home. 

Gabriel is still acting uncomfortable. Last night, he woke up at about 2:30 and was barely sleeping since. I really hope this stage will pass soon, and he will be getting a better night sleep. And we will, too.

Alley Pond Park: Part Two

Today was the last day off for Zac. Happy Labor Day! Because the actual holiday is today, and not on Saturday or Sunday, and because the weather is so, so nice (bright sun, not too hot and pleasantly breezy), the park was unrecognizable. It was no longer that romantic and mysterious, as it was filled with people. Outdoor grilles were smoking, the paths were packed with children running and scooter/bike riding, and the lawns were filled with people sunbathing, picnicking and playing sports.

We still had a great walk, though. Gabriel pooped and fell asleep. Zachary was let out of his stroller and after a few minutes at a jungle gym, he switched to his favorite thing: Pushing the stroller. His behavior was great! He wasn't whining or misbehaving. he walked together with us probably a mile or two. In fact, he didn't just walk. he also ran: Sometimes, he was stuck behind and then ran to catch up to us. And sometimes, he ran ahead of us, and them towards us again.


Just like everyone else in a good mood, Zachary is great when happy! His laugh is joyful and contagious, he is very friendly, talkative, and he genuinely enjoys the surroundings. Today, he was in this exact mood, therefore, our trip to the park was a big success. 

what can Zachary do, as of today? He can sing the ABC song; he can dance and sing along many nursery rhymes; he can count to ten; and he can repeat many words, including long and complicated ones. In our opinion, he understands everything we say. 

And one more thing: Last night, before it was time to go to bed, he cleaned up his toys, all by himself! Nobody asked him to do it, he just looked around and parked his walker; parked all his trucks in their specific locations; and put together his pyramid with rings. I was so proud of him, my heart almost jumped out of my chest!

Alley Pond Park: Part One

Zachary woke up very early today, at 6:30AM. I have a feeling he got cold. He sleeps in summer pajamas, and he unwraps from his blanket at night.

I decided to change his morning routine, hoping that it will help his morning whining. before, if he woke up as early as today, and we did not need to rush, we would take him to our bed and let him watch videos while we caught another 20 minutes of "sleep." Usually, after that, Zac was very whiny, as if all his morning energy disappeared and he was tired and bored. Starting today, right after he woke up, I include him in a busy morning routine: Potty, get dressed, brush hair, and have milk while sitting in a chair. As soon as he is done with his morning chores, he is allowed to whine or watch cartoons. At that point, it would matter less. So far, the plan is working, and we have smoothly completed day one.

After lunch, once again, we went to a park. And once again, we picked a new location. Alley Pond park is situated is a strange location: right in between a few highways; sort of right in the middle of highways, and almost under them. it is amazing how such a big park could hide like that! Besides thick walls of trees, bushes and wild flowers, there was a deep ravine. Generally, the park felt very romantic! We didn't find the pond itself, however, windy alleys hidden behind giant trees looked very mysterious. 

While my mom and I were exploring the park, Zachary and I played at the playground with Zac's sitter Shawn and her son Logan.

Sunday fun day!

First Family Dinner & Crocheron Park

Yesterday, we all went to Applebee's (me and Mike, my mom, Zac and Gabi). Gabriel slept through the whole dinner in his stroller. Zachary was participating in dinner. He sat in a high chair and played with all offered entertainment, which included dishes and two crayons. He tried drawing with the crayons and tried eating them. They tasted petty bad, unlike French fries and fried fish that he ate with pleasure.

Life is fascinating! How many times did Mike and I come to Applebee's and talked (read, dreamed) about bringing our children here for a fun and easy family dinner? And finally, yesterday, this dream came true. And it was as amazing as I was dreaming about it. Beer helped, LOL.

Today, we went Crocheron Park. it is a regular park, without a historic mansion and Manhattan skyline views. But it did feature shady paths and old giant trees. There were very little people there, maybe because the day was very gray and gloomy. The park is located on a hill. We could hear a highway, but we couldn't see it behind thick trees. There was a side of the park where a lake was seen. Probably, back in day, when the landscape was a bit neater, this side of the park was the most picturesque. However, now, the trees and bushes are so thick and wild, they create a wall that blocks beautiful views from our eyes.

The Crocheron family house burned down in 1907, and the estate remained unused and undeveloped for almost 20 years. In 1924, the City of New York bought the land where the house once stood. The following year, at the request of the Bayside Civic Association, the City purchased another 45 acres and drew up plans to build a park on the consolidated property. By 1936, the City had turned the area into a park with picnic grounds, winding walks, an enlarged lake for wintertime skating, and thousands of trees. 

We walked along the park's paths, pushing two strollers, and after that, Zachary and I went to a playground, and my mom and Gabriel continued exploring the park. During the walk, Gabi experienced his first adventure! It looked like for the first time in his life, he was bit by a bug. While my mom was looking at Zachary, something landed on Gabi's cheek and bit him. My mom saw a tiny drop of blood on Gabi's cheek and assumed he had a mosquito bite. Gabriel didn't seem to notice, and did not show any discomfort. Perhaps, then, it wasn't a mosquito? On Sunday, while in a tub, I scrubbed his cheeks and the spot disappeared. It looks like the adventure finished without any loses.