July rolls on

Today Ben woke up at 5, clearly uncomfortable.  He half-cried in his sleep, yet did not wake up fully.  At around 6 am Zev finally gave up trying to sleep, and so did we.  I grabbed ever-happy Zev and headed downstairs, while Alla got Ben in her lap to get him to sleep a little more.  And possibly to sleep herself a bit. Some time later, while changing Ben, it became obvious what was bothering him.  Ben had a serious-looking rash on both of his legs.  Red, hot to the touch, with a few bumps.  We immediately called the answering service at out pediatrician's and the nice lady assured me that while she cannot schedule appointments, the staff will have my info the moment they get in at 8.

At 7:15 reinforcement arrived.  Alla had a important meeting and, with the rash actually subsiding with a change of clothing and some Tylenol, she headed to work.  I remained home to see how soon I can present Ben to the docs.  At 8:35 I decided that a half hour is more than generous to allow the staff to get in, get their coffee, and check their morning e-mail.  I called, left a message, and was called back in 10 minutes.  So much for the 24 hr answering service.  Our doctor was not available until 12.  Scheduling double-fail.  By 8:45 both of the boys were tired and more than ready for their milk and nap.

While changing Benjamin aunt Olga noticed that no rash remained whatsoever. Under aunt Olga's the expert guidance boys were put in their cribs and given bottles, which they held themselves.  They drank, and fell asleep without a peep.  Realizing I literally had nothing to show our pediatrician, I canceled the appointment. The going theory is an allergic reaction to a detergent brand (or the amount used this weekend by yours truly).  Armed with new detergent, a bit of wine, and a large supply of cool (ahem), we head into another night.

In other news...  Both boys are getting more chatty, even if we do not speak the language.  Sometimes they bring over a book they want us to read, and push away the ones they are bored with.  Unfortunately, they apply the same philosophy to food, which leads to a Sisyphean cleanup after each meal.
Zev is definitely getting ready to walk.  Even though Benjamin stands more confidently, Zev walks well holding on to a single finger. Ben is becoming rather adept at throwing the ball to a person, while Zev prefers to roll the ball, chase it down, repeat.  Just a bit more effort and they will roll the ball to each other and officially play together, right?  Yea, right.

7/23/12 Ben, finally behind the real wheel

July pics 1

7/1/12 Ben with Grandpa Michael at Sunriver, OR 

7/2/12 Zev and dad reading

7/3/12 Back in Portland, Zev enjoys a swim at the local fountain with mom

Ben's turn at the water

Zev being his chill self

7/6/12 Zev figuring out trains at the Children's Museum with Grandpa Michael

Got it now.

more June pics

6/9/12 Birthday bash.  Ben with mom and some goofball in the background

6/11/12 Zev looking rather serious

6/15/12 At Play Boutique, Ben on the car

Same day, Zev rides the orange one

6/18/12 At Gymboree

6/19/12 Awesome, yet slightly freaky picture of Benya

Zev enjoys sliding

6/24/12 Zev with Grandpa Tolya

same day, Ben with dad

Pictures from the actual birthday -- 100th post!

Ben reading 6/6/12

Zev looking good in stripes

Intense Ben

Zev' grinning

Boys with their two wonderful aunts, Olga and Shawna

Some of the birthday did not go exactly as planned...

At Gymboree things started looking up.

Some doubts lingered...

... but the wheels are a sure bet.

And we are off exploring

At the wheel together

Ben with his buddy Gymbo

Past one year

Been a long time since an update.  One year mark came and went.  The party was a smashing success.  Thank you all who helped plan and prepare, who came over to celebrate with us and brought so many wonderful gifts!

The boys continue to grow and develop, thank G-D.  Most recent nights (but not last night) they slept through.  Much more talkative now.  They have also learned to point at things they want.  For example, a few times Zev pointed to his bed during the nightly singing.  Either he was real tired or just wanted to get away from our singing - showing good musical taste already.  They point to body parts a little too.  In no small part due to Grandma Rita's efforts, Zev and Ben now sometimes point out ears and forehead.  In general, the boys are better at showing what they want and don't want, especially with books.
They also understand when we don't want them to do something.  The difference is: Zev actually listens sometimes and Ben just wants to do what he wants to do.  And if he does not get to impose his will - he gets noisily unhappy.  I foresee a lot of interesting interactions with parents in his future...
Other then that - still no walking, but standing, moving along furniture and rapid crawling.  Both of the boys can be a pain to get changed and dressed when they feel like resisting - which is quite often.

July also saw a first attempt at travel.  Along with the rest of the clan, including my parents, we migrated to Sunriver OR - a lovely resort city in the middle of a pine forest.  Bike paths, pines, tame deer, many playgrounds, huge water park - great place.  Let me tell you: the best part was driving in and driving out.  We drove after 7pm, while the kids slept.  Three to four hours each way, peace, quiet - now, that was awesome.  At Sunriver itself, actually, things were somewhat less peaceful.  Simply put, Alla and I did not plan well.  The kids had portable beds, much smaller then their cribs.  We had a great room in the house with the rest of the family (18 Jews under one roof, people).  Between the excitement, the attention, the noise, and the new place the boys had trouble falling asleep, woke up frequently and met each morning in the middle of our bed.  Between 5 and 7 I would hand them off, one at a time, to my parents who took care of them while Alla and I got actual sleep.  At 11 and change we would emerge and attempt to be decent.  Around 1pm we would take the boys so my parents would get a break.  After 3:30 it was time to eat, play a little, and start getting ready for putting the boys to sleep again.  Here comes another night.
After three nights, I simply threw our things in the van, shoved humans in after the things, and drove back.  I can't speak for others, but I won't be ready to try travel with the boys again for at least another year.

Back in Portland things were better. For instance, Zev and Ben went back to sleeping normally, in their beds, and not on top of mom (Ben) and under dad's armpit (Zev).  As a reward, they had their first trip to the zoo and children's museum.  Both were a bit too early, but did serve as proof of concept.  Large animals such as elephants, giraffes, and a nine foot polar bear left much less of an impression than I expected.  A penguin that swam inches in front of Zev's face, however, was noticed for sure.  The Children's Museum went over better, with lots of toys for boys to play with.


With that, back to the scheduled programming.