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