... and another early morning post

You have to excuse my lack of creativity with post names, my gentle reader.  That's it, no clever explanation, just deal with it.

You may have also noticed that the previous post ends somewhat abruptly.  Very observant of you.  Indeed, that was dictated by the boys who informed me loudly that they want their morning cartoons.  In fact, even as I type Zev demands my attention.  Let's see if he can help me type.  Being the more patient of the two, there is hope.

Back to recent events.  A couple of nights ago Zev woke up and cried.  I was dispatched to pick him up.  Which I did, to Zev's continued crying.  And cry he did, inconsolably, for another two or three minutes.  Alla finally walked in.  Zev extended his arms towards mom and was picked up.  At roughly 0.7 seconds of physical contact with mom, not quite in Alla's arms, Zev was quiet.  The little brat.  I went to sleep.

In another event, one I have not witnessed, Ben took hold of a toy they both wanted (lately it has been a toy cell phone that talks and plays music).  Zev went after the toy, of course.  Ben held onto the toy, then went (OK, crawled) to the box, got another toy and gave it to Zev.  No idea if it worked, but the thought was nice.

A habit recently acquired by Zev is pulling hair of whoever happens to be in vicinity.  As you can imagine, Alla and aunt Olga are the primary sufferers.  At yesterday's Costco trip the target was Ben, while the boys shared a ride in a cart.  As you can imagine, the indignant crying that resulted (from both, you betcha), was epic.  This prompts a question of a) means of immediately altering behavior that do not involve physical punishment and b) means of long-term behavior correction, such as teaching not to pull hair via a stern "нельзя!" (not allowed!) and instantaneous punishment by withholding attention for a minute per year of age.  To be pondered later.

This morning Zevi woke up at 5:30 on the nose.  While Alla and I were debating the merits of getting him vs. letting him ride it out in order to teach him that 5:30 is still 'night', the crying continued.  In a true example of family consensus, Alla finally said "I am getting him" and went to grab Zev.  By that point, of course, Ben was awake and cried at the unfairness of being left in the room as Zev was picked up.  It was a great time for all of us to be awake anyway, right?  I, certainly, was too angry (at no one in particular) to sleep at that point.

On this cheerful note, I will wish everyone a more restful and less exhaustingly anger-filled Sunday morning than I have had so far.