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| Zev devouring a book. 1/28/2011 |
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| Ben in light and shadow. |
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| Looking at the window |
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| Looking at his foot, I guess |
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| Zev reading with aunt Anna |
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| Ben gets his turn with the pretty aunt |
Thursday, February 16, 2012
January pics part 3
We want our sons to like books. Perhaps, not that literally.
Mom is getting fancy with the new camera.
Then Zev had an artistic photo shoot.
just one more...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
January pics part 2
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| Playing together. 1/21/2012 |
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| Yup, Ben still got the anime eyes. Learning about the slinky. |
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| Zev does not trust that weird springy thing... |
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| With Great-grandma Lena, 1/23/2012 |
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| And again |
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| Gimme that thing! |
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| Ben is sleepy |
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| ... really sleepy |
Saturday, February 11, 2012
few older pictures
The night went relatively well - the boys woke up around 5:45 and talked to each other for some time. At a quarter past 6 Alla and I gave up and joined them. Over all - not a bad day. Pictures to follow.
Also, Alla pointed out that I have missed some nice pictures of the boys taken back on December 17th. I have remedied the situation. However, to preserve the time sequence of the shots I added them to an older post, from December the 21st. Yes, that means clicking on "older posts" at the bottom of the page and scrawling down. Sorry for the extra work. My obsessive nature compels me...
Also, Alla pointed out that I have missed some nice pictures of the boys taken back on December 17th. I have remedied the situation. However, to preserve the time sequence of the shots I added them to an older post, from December the 21st. Yes, that means clicking on "older posts" at the bottom of the page and scrawling down. Sorry for the extra work. My obsessive nature compels me...
Thursday, February 9, 2012
from the first half of January 2012
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| Surprised Zev and serious Ben. 1/13/2012 |
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| Ben was sad about something that day. |
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| Playing together. More precisely, Ben playing, Zev watching |
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| Ben learning about a new toy, blue elephants, and Hanukkah. Say no to drugs, people. |
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| Back from a walk. Zev is not done sleeping, evidently. 1/14/2012 |
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| Ben, on the other hand, is ever-ready to be amazed. Same day. |
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| Ben, ready for a party. 1/15/2012 |
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| Zev in the light |
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| Zev, just a touch out of focus. Still 1/15/2012 |
the last of 2011 pictures
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| Zev reading with Grandpa Misha 12/24/2011 |
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| Two chubby dudes 12/25/2011 |
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| Another night of Hanukkah, all the Kaplans in the house. 12/26/2011 |
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| With Boston Grandparents, 12/27/2011 |
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| And what are you doin' here? 12/27/2011 |
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| Ben with Grandpa Misha and a balloon. Guess the date. |
Houston, we have crawling. Sort of.
Yep, that is the news of the day: allegedly, Ben crawled. Backwards. The exact technique, as yet to be verified by your truly, consists of lifting the butt, sliding the legs, then pushing off with the arms to lift the butt again. Repeat.
In other news: the boys are doing well. They are healthy and have been sleeping somewhat better. Which usually means one or two times of getting Ben a pacifier and hoping they don't call it quits on sleeping until 6:30. Which happens sometimes. It should be said in fairness that over all quality of life around here has improved somewhat with the boys sleeping better. It is still no picnic, occasionally punctuated by moments of pure misery. But that, as we are learning, is par for the course with twins. So, I am happy to report things are as they should be this fine late Thursday night.
In other news: the boys are doing well. They are healthy and have been sleeping somewhat better. Which usually means one or two times of getting Ben a pacifier and hoping they don't call it quits on sleeping until 6:30. Which happens sometimes. It should be said in fairness that over all quality of life around here has improved somewhat with the boys sleeping better. It is still no picnic, occasionally punctuated by moments of pure misery. But that, as we are learning, is par for the course with twins. So, I am happy to report things are as they should be this fine late Thursday night.
Friday, January 27, 2012
First post of 2012
The New Year started mixed, with some successes and some rather miserable days/nights.
Of successes first. Zev now sleeps through the night. Consistently. How did we get there, you ask? Well, I can tell you for certain that my pleading with Alla had no effect, nor did our friends' recommendation. Alla insisted on feeding Zev at night, and boy did he take advantage of that. Some nights he moved in direction of three feedings rather than two. And then Alla got tired. One night she simply had no more energy to wake up and feed Zev. So, we did what some said we should have done two months ago - came over to Zev, checked on him, told him he was OK, and bid him good night. Zev yelled indignantly for good 15 minutes, and then fell asleep. The he repeated the performance at the time of the second night feeding. This time I came over and checked on him. He was still pissed. Again, 15 minutes later all was quiet. Amazingly, Ben slept through it all.
Having made it though the first night of sleep training, All agreed not to give back the ground. Several noisy nights followed. Then Zev slept from 7 pm to 4:30 am. Then 7 to 5:30. And then through the night. Surely, there were setbacks. Like waking up at ten and demanding boob. Or hearing/smelling mom come in to check on Ben and demanding boob. See the trend? The one (fro Alla mainly) was that in the morning Zev was still happy to see us and smiled at whoever picked him up. The bottom line is: Zev now sleeps though the night. Thank G-D.
This bliss lasted for two nights. We both started thinking of going back to the gym at night. And then Ben got sick. Likely he got a virus from me. For the previous several nights roles reversed. Zev sleeps with hardly a sound, while Ben wakes up in various stages of misery. His fever reached 39.7 C in it's peak, but came down after tylenol was given. For those concerned: yesterday the boys were seen by their pediatrician for Zev's vaccinations. Ben has a rather red throat, but ears, heart, and lungs are fine. Fever broke. Which does not mean we had a fun night - Ben woke at 9, 10, 4, and 5. Alla got the worst of it, doing a better job comforting him. Especially at 4, after she changed him and I extracted some buggers from Ben's nose. I am sure he appreciated being able to breath on some level, but he was rather pissed at the moment.
Then the boys woke up at 6:20 and that was the beginning of our day. This being Friday, what can we look forward to over the next couple of days? More "interesting" nights with Ben while he recovers accompanied by crabbier than usual Zev while the vaccinations take effect. Can hardly wait.
Of successes first. Zev now sleeps through the night. Consistently. How did we get there, you ask? Well, I can tell you for certain that my pleading with Alla had no effect, nor did our friends' recommendation. Alla insisted on feeding Zev at night, and boy did he take advantage of that. Some nights he moved in direction of three feedings rather than two. And then Alla got tired. One night she simply had no more energy to wake up and feed Zev. So, we did what some said we should have done two months ago - came over to Zev, checked on him, told him he was OK, and bid him good night. Zev yelled indignantly for good 15 minutes, and then fell asleep. The he repeated the performance at the time of the second night feeding. This time I came over and checked on him. He was still pissed. Again, 15 minutes later all was quiet. Amazingly, Ben slept through it all.
Having made it though the first night of sleep training, All agreed not to give back the ground. Several noisy nights followed. Then Zev slept from 7 pm to 4:30 am. Then 7 to 5:30. And then through the night. Surely, there were setbacks. Like waking up at ten and demanding boob. Or hearing/smelling mom come in to check on Ben and demanding boob. See the trend? The one (fro Alla mainly) was that in the morning Zev was still happy to see us and smiled at whoever picked him up. The bottom line is: Zev now sleeps though the night. Thank G-D.
This bliss lasted for two nights. We both started thinking of going back to the gym at night. And then Ben got sick. Likely he got a virus from me. For the previous several nights roles reversed. Zev sleeps with hardly a sound, while Ben wakes up in various stages of misery. His fever reached 39.7 C in it's peak, but came down after tylenol was given. For those concerned: yesterday the boys were seen by their pediatrician for Zev's vaccinations. Ben has a rather red throat, but ears, heart, and lungs are fine. Fever broke. Which does not mean we had a fun night - Ben woke at 9, 10, 4, and 5. Alla got the worst of it, doing a better job comforting him. Especially at 4, after she changed him and I extracted some buggers from Ben's nose. I am sure he appreciated being able to breath on some level, but he was rather pissed at the moment.
Then the boys woke up at 6:20 and that was the beginning of our day. This being Friday, what can we look forward to over the next couple of days? More "interesting" nights with Ben while he recovers accompanied by crabbier than usual Zev while the vaccinations take effect. Can hardly wait.
Monday, December 26, 2011
A brief update
I think it has been around two days since the last post. Two nights at least. The day (or day) have been more or less OK, with more fussing from Zev than usual, but definitely manageable with the four of us here. The boys continue to sleep well during walks. The two nights, however, have been significantly worse than normal. Zev woke up several times, screaming his head off, and would not be placated by being fed or carried around.
The first of the two nights, after some long pacing around in the room (during which he yelled periodically), we gave up and moved Zev downstairs. This was done to allow Ben some sleep. The kid has been showing some angelic patience, sleeping though several hours of whining not four feet from him. When I made yet another attempt to put Zev down in his bed - which produced full on screaming - Ben woke up and yelled himself. Zev finished the night downstairs, with Alla and my parents taking shifts sleeping on the couch next to him.
The second night we were resolved to make Zev sleep in his bed. At first, after the 7 pm feeding things seemed to going well. By "well" I mean that Zev had two bouts of yelling and I was able to keep anyone from going in, and Zev piped down on his own. Third time (all within an hour and a half) Alla went in, and I was lectured extensively on the how rules of sleep training do not apply to a sick child. A lovely family discussion followed and the night went downhill from there. Zev woke up screaming at few times. Either the first or second of those found me walking with him, and walking quickly out of the room to give the ever-patient Ben a chance to sleep. After the screaming stopped being continuous - that is to say there we occasional ten second pauses in it - I gave Zev back to mom. Good timing, too, as I was reaching boiling point. It was all very impressive, really, as it was only a quarter past eleven. I remember waking up a handful more times. One to keep my parents out of the room - on Alla's orders - to let Zev cry it out, as he was merely whining, not yelling full throttle. A couple of pacifier insertions for Ben. A couple of times I saw Alla dart out of the room. I also recall hearing Alla say "I don't know what to do" several times.
All in all, the last two days we have been living inside a contraceptive commercial.
The posting of cute happy pictures will resume soon.
The first of the two nights, after some long pacing around in the room (during which he yelled periodically), we gave up and moved Zev downstairs. This was done to allow Ben some sleep. The kid has been showing some angelic patience, sleeping though several hours of whining not four feet from him. When I made yet another attempt to put Zev down in his bed - which produced full on screaming - Ben woke up and yelled himself. Zev finished the night downstairs, with Alla and my parents taking shifts sleeping on the couch next to him.
The second night we were resolved to make Zev sleep in his bed. At first, after the 7 pm feeding things seemed to going well. By "well" I mean that Zev had two bouts of yelling and I was able to keep anyone from going in, and Zev piped down on his own. Third time (all within an hour and a half) Alla went in, and I was lectured extensively on the how rules of sleep training do not apply to a sick child. A lovely family discussion followed and the night went downhill from there. Zev woke up screaming at few times. Either the first or second of those found me walking with him, and walking quickly out of the room to give the ever-patient Ben a chance to sleep. After the screaming stopped being continuous - that is to say there we occasional ten second pauses in it - I gave Zev back to mom. Good timing, too, as I was reaching boiling point. It was all very impressive, really, as it was only a quarter past eleven. I remember waking up a handful more times. One to keep my parents out of the room - on Alla's orders - to let Zev cry it out, as he was merely whining, not yelling full throttle. A couple of pacifier insertions for Ben. A couple of times I saw Alla dart out of the room. I also recall hearing Alla say "I don't know what to do" several times.
All in all, the last two days we have been living inside a contraceptive commercial.
The posting of cute happy pictures will resume soon.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Boston grandparents arrive; a questionable first
On Friday I had a day off. I was rather looking forward to spending some time with the boys in the day time - as well as to some time away from the boys in the day time, if you know what I mean. The boys, however, had other plans entirely. They woke up crankier than usual, at different times, ate poorly, refused to sleep, and generally gave aunt Olga hell. Zev, the elder brother, took the lead role in this. By shortly after 11 am it was clear my great plans were doomed. The boys required both of us to keep them from crying and Zev raised concerns with aunt Olga who though he was coming down with something. With schedules miraculously again in sync by 1 pm, I seized the opportunity to take them for a walk. The next two and half hours were downright pleasant. The moment we left the garage the boys fell asleep and remained so. I found a bench, parked the stroller, and read my kindle. The boys even let me drive them right into a coffee shop to get me a latte. After 4 pm the sun set, the temperature dropped, my bladder complained, and we headed back in.
At home Zev was all smiles for about ten minutes, and then went straight back to the cranky, hold-me-or-I-will-scream self of earlier that day. Aunt Olga and I held the fort as best we could until mom arrived. With Zev fed, it was also clear his eyes were read and puffy. A temperature reading revealed a 38°C fever. It was official - Zev was the first of the brothers to get sick. What a way to greet the grandparents.
With Zev drugged up on baby Tylenol, the house was (sort of) in order and I was off to the airport. There I met my parents and, as casually as possible, informed them of the fever, one (so far) conversation with an on-call physician and what was likely ahead. My parents kept their cool. I was immediately treated to a partial (due to finite length of the ride) recounting of my own ills during the first six months of my life. All was in order.
The night went reasonably crappily, with Zev never quite yelling at full throttle, but being on the verge of it for a while. By 1:30 I had three almost-trips in the babies' room. After that Alla told me to rest and I passed out. I do believe she made some unspecified number (greater than 5) of trips to feed and comfort.
The day brought more fever, more Tylenol, yet two more walks during which both boys slept like little angels. In Zev's case, very feverish, cranky angels upon waking. By 6 pm it was clear that the fever was not responding well to the meds and hovering in the vicinity of 39°C. The on-call doc (call number three) confirmed that we should probably get Zevy seen by someone. Likely, in order not to have us call him twice-daily for the rest of the weekend. Grandpa Misha and Ben remained home, while the rest of us piled in a van and set out for the ER.
At the ER things went very smoothly indeed. With no wait at all Zev was admitted and the fever was confirmed. An LP and urinary sample via catheter were done. While those were no picnic, and Zev let us know that, I can only say those have nothing on the whole circumcision experience. One and a half somewhat nervous, slightly noisy hours later we were told that all tests were clean and we were sent home. The diagnosis is a viral infection with expectation that fever should break in a day or so. Until then, we offer food, drugs, comfort, and just ride it out.
At this point Zev is finally asleep. Alla, as she put it, is not sure whether she more tired or more hungry. We will plan the shifts of monitor duty, though there not much hope of rest for the provider of the one food Zev loves best. Once again, we will take things one hour and one feeding at a time.
Happy Holidays!
At home Zev was all smiles for about ten minutes, and then went straight back to the cranky, hold-me-or-I-will-scream self of earlier that day. Aunt Olga and I held the fort as best we could until mom arrived. With Zev fed, it was also clear his eyes were read and puffy. A temperature reading revealed a 38°C fever. It was official - Zev was the first of the brothers to get sick. What a way to greet the grandparents.
With Zev drugged up on baby Tylenol, the house was (sort of) in order and I was off to the airport. There I met my parents and, as casually as possible, informed them of the fever, one (so far) conversation with an on-call physician and what was likely ahead. My parents kept their cool. I was immediately treated to a partial (due to finite length of the ride) recounting of my own ills during the first six months of my life. All was in order.
The night went reasonably crappily, with Zev never quite yelling at full throttle, but being on the verge of it for a while. By 1:30 I had three almost-trips in the babies' room. After that Alla told me to rest and I passed out. I do believe she made some unspecified number (greater than 5) of trips to feed and comfort.
The day brought more fever, more Tylenol, yet two more walks during which both boys slept like little angels. In Zev's case, very feverish, cranky angels upon waking. By 6 pm it was clear that the fever was not responding well to the meds and hovering in the vicinity of 39°C. The on-call doc (call number three) confirmed that we should probably get Zevy seen by someone. Likely, in order not to have us call him twice-daily for the rest of the weekend. Grandpa Misha and Ben remained home, while the rest of us piled in a van and set out for the ER.
At the ER things went very smoothly indeed. With no wait at all Zev was admitted and the fever was confirmed. An LP and urinary sample via catheter were done. While those were no picnic, and Zev let us know that, I can only say those have nothing on the whole circumcision experience. One and a half somewhat nervous, slightly noisy hours later we were told that all tests were clean and we were sent home. The diagnosis is a viral infection with expectation that fever should break in a day or so. Until then, we offer food, drugs, comfort, and just ride it out.
At this point Zev is finally asleep. Alla, as she put it, is not sure whether she more tired or more hungry. We will plan the shifts of monitor duty, though there not much hope of rest for the provider of the one food Zev loves best. Once again, we will take things one hour and one feeding at a time.
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Second night of first Hanukkah (for the boys)
Last couple of days were a mix - some things going smoother, some less so. The amount of eating going on at night is still unclear. I am inclined to let Zev cry it out two nights and be done with it - he did go four days straight with no eating at night was none worse for the wear. Alla is more inclined to indulge him, since she knows lots of cases when kids eat at night much later than six months. How "normal" that I do not know. Only what leads to more sleep.
While I usually post pictures in time sequence, these two should be posted tonight.
While I usually post pictures in time sequence, these two should be posted tonight.
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| 12/21/11 after lighting the candles |
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| with mom now |
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| ...and one more |
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