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.
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