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...

Adam's Birthday

Today is the first day of the long Labor Day weekend. It means, Zachary has a day off, and he is staying home all the way until Monday.

On the 30th, Adam, Michelle's son, turned 10. They came over yesterday, all of them, except for Alon, for pizza and cake (how healthy, haha). All three boys are so grown up! David and Jacob are turning 13 in March. They are great with Zachary. They play with him very gently, and they give him a lot of attention. It is, however, getting harder for them to actually "play" with Zac, as he now expresses a lot of desire to do everything by himself. For instance, when Zachary sat down inside his yellow Tonka truck and David tried pushing him around the room, Zac confidently declined David's hand and attempted to push himself. He used his feet to make the first push, but, of course, he rolled down the truck and fell on the floor. He immediately got up, and did it all over again. Once again, he say down inside the trick, pushed David's hand away, started moving on his own and fell on the floor. David did not make any more attempts to push Zac around, but Zac didn't even seem to notice it. He was sure they are all playing together.

I must note that Zac loves guests. Well, actually, he loves to be WITH guests. He laughed a lot, and generally behaved very well. He ran back and forth, didn't demand attention and his face was lit up with pleasure and joy. 

However, today in the morning, once again he was in a whining mood. In fact, by the time it was time for him to have breakfast, his behavior got so bad that he was crying out loud and even spit up his yogurt, a few times! This really pushed me out of my balance, and it was time for a time out. I carried him to his room and closed the door, explaining him what he did wrong and why he was punished. Of course, he was crying and screaming and calling me until I let him out. After I let him out and calmed him down, once again, I explained him what was wrong in his behavior and brought him back downstairs. I put him in his chair, and he started whining again. I asked him whether he wanted to go back to him room, and he shook his head no. He then ate all his breakfast properly. I praised him, and we moved on with our day.

Gabriel did not sleep last night... again. Something was bothering him, but not his belly. He was screaming like never before, woke up every few minutes and couldn't fall back asleep. He was awake all evening, and all night. He was obviously very tired, but couldn't fall deeply asleep. Today, he is still a bit uncomfortable. He sleeps very well in the stroller, and can stay asleep for up to 2.5 hours. In his sleep, he can produce different sounds and make funny faces, but overall, he stays asleep. He sleeps in the same manner in his crib -- with sounds and funny faces; however, outside, movement of the stroller and fresh air put him back to sleep. At home, he doesn't have either, so he wakes up tp the point where he cannot fall back asleep right away.

Gabriel Is One Month Old!

I cannot believe, today, Gabriel is one month old! Traditionally, I posted an update on social media, and here it is:

Gabriel is one month old today! He weighs 7.1lb, and he is 19.5in long. He spends his days eating, sleeping and riding in a stroller. He spends his nights eating and looking around, with an occasional short nap. Oh well, a new Zachary is here. Today, he officially graduated from clothing size NB, and in this photo, he is rocking a 0-3mo outfit! Zachary spent the past month getting used to his baby bro, and Ralph is enjoying his new puppy. Happy one month, Gabriel! We are so proud of you and your achievements!

In the mornings, my mom put him down on his play mat. She says, his spends him time there quite productively -- kicking and looking around. He is not rolling yet (duh, he is one month old, haha!), but he is trying very hard  to turn his head. My mom says, she thinks he tried to look at one of the hanging toys today, but he is not sure, as he is still too young to see things clearly.

Zachary behaved very well today. He was very careful and tender with his baby bro. Three times, he came to Gabi and kissed his leg (so cute!).

Gabriel has learned to sleep on his belly. He can sleep like that for over an hour. We do not leave him alone when he sleeps on his belly, as I am terrified of suffocation. But as time goes by and he gets stronger, I will feel more comfortable with him sleeping on his own, in any position.  

New Year in September. Shanah Tovah!

Rosh Hashanah... Last year, during the Rosh Hashanah service, it was the first time when I truly felt a “religious” feeling.

It came to me so suddenly, too. I was standing there wondering if this is what God really wanted – all these people in one room, half praying, half sleeping, with little to no religious enthusiasm. (I often wonder about it at a synagogue. To bring myself back to the actual service, I then look at the rabbi, praying so sincerely, and realize that this is really “it,” the true faith is here, but not all of us are at this time allowed to feel it.) Last year, at the Rosh Hashanah service, I was standing with the opened prayer book in my hands, not reading really, but thinking about my year. So many happy things happened, and I was so grateful for them; but I still wasn’t pregnant. That thought made me so sad that I desperately started reading the prayer, more to distract myself from the sadness rather than to pray.

And then I saw it. The prayer right in front of my eyes: “On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed <…> Who will rest and who will wander? / Who will be safe and who will be torn? / Who will be calm and who will be tormented?.. But teshuvah and tefillah and tzedakah (return and prayer and righteous acts) deflect the evil of the decree.” I started thinking that if it was written that I would not have a child next year, I had ten days to try to change it. In ten short days I had to rethink my life and reevaluate my mindset to get at least one step closer to getting pregnant. This decision felt so good and so right. I found hope again.

Between last year’s Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur I went to talk to the rabbi. I honestly told him about what was happening in my life and about my feelings. I told him that calling myself Jewish wasn’t enough anymore. I needed to be one. And with his help, after Yom Kippur, with the new understanding I once again learned about how to be a Jewish woman, about the purity of the family and about mitzvahs given only to Jewish women. This past year was not easy. We faced failure after failure; went through more treatments and procedures; struggled through a miscarriage… But my faith was strong like never before.

This year at the synagogue, I was standing on the same spot I stood last year, 21 weeks pregnant, and I felt so grateful. I truly hope that my son will come to the faith, too. That Judaism for him will be more than just general knowledge.

Dear son, I am wishing you a happy and healthy new year. Your father and I cannot wait to share our lives with you! L’Shanah Tovah!