Resisting Arrest

There's a new game in town and I'm losing. As anyone who has tried to put the Bub in a stroller knows, he is fiercely strong and it takes a lot of effort to wrestle him in and buckle him down. But he always loses eventually because he's still the little guy. So he has a new strategy: go totally limp and How You Like Me Now, Sucka? Try putting on clothes or shoes or picking him up or putting him in the bath-- forget it. Totally impossible to maneuver a 23-pound slippery sack of potatoes.

What's all this white stuff?

A few pictures of Sasha having his first real encounter with snow.

Mittens. I hate mittens.

Hey check it out, stuff is falling from the sky!

Wow.

Wait, I seriously can't move in all these clothes.

OK, that's enough! Which way to the hot chocolate?

Happy Chanukah!

Last year we let the holiday pass without anything for the little one but this year we began the tradition of Chanukah with Nana and Zayde.

We all got together and lit the menorah (thanks for the polishing Wisco) and ate fabulous latkes (thank you Zayde) with homemade applesauce (thank you Nana). Because we wanted Nana and Zayde to see our reactions to the presents, we let the Bub open all of his gifts on one night. I think we enjoyed the opening more than he did! Then, to top it all off, Aunt Margot skyped in to watch Sasha open her gift and then Aunt Alice & Maya skyped in to join the party.

Sasha had a great time playing with his new train set and running around the living room waving his new pajamas in the air. However, I think the most exciting item of the evening was the dreidel. The Bub was captivated by the spinning top and attempted to turn it numerous times.

After the excitement of candles, latkes, and presents was over the Bub fell into a great sleep which allowed the adults to laugh and chat over coffee and hot chocolate. What a difference a year makes!

Nana!

Some of you readers may know that every Monday Nana drives to Brooklyn from the Bronx to babysit Sasha and to give me some Sasha-free time. I love it-- a few hours every week all to myself. It's also really good for Sasha. He loves hanging out with Nana and because he sees her every week, he's always comfortable with her. Lately, he doesn't even notice me leave. Or rather, he notices, he just doesn't care because hey, Nana's here so don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Yesterday, however, was a milestone. As I do every Monday, I tell him a little before she gets here that "Nana's coming!" so he's prepared and knows that I'll be leaving soon. Usually that gets no identifiable response. But yesterday when I told him, he whipped his head around and said, "NANA!" Then he said again, "Nana," and ran for the door. I'm still amazed. He really is developing at such a fast pace.

So now he has a two-word vocabulary: Mama and Nana. And Moo if you count animal sounds. I suppose he'll learn my name when he's old enough to say "chopped liver." Seriously, though, when he says "Mama" it's unclear if he's referring to me or Nerdy or both of us interchangeably; it's the subject of some debate.

One thing's for sure: Nana = fun. Here are some pictures to show the love.

Dearly Beloved

A very sad day at the Greenwood Playground. The Red Car, beloved by Sasha and many others, lost a wheel. Now the hordes of Brooklyn children who vie for a few minutes with the playground's most precious resource will have to make do with other toys. I'm not sure there's anything else there of interest to Sasha. We tried to keep it out of his line of sight, but eventually his eagle eyes saw it and he cried when we wouldn't take it out of the trash to let him push it around again. (Nerdy admonished me for taking pictures of his pain.)

Goodbye, Red Car. We will remember your bright shiny colors on dreary days, and we honor your service to the public. Countless children are steadier on their feet because of you.

Autumn

Sasha Turns One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Sasha Sky!

The Bub started his birthday celebration last night with his grandparents from da Bronx. Nana and Zayde brought a present for the little guy and food and champagne for the rest of us. He seemed bewildered by the birthday song and cupcake, but I'm sure he felt the love. This morning, he got birthday wishes via a Skype call with Aunt Margot and a Youtube video from Aunt Carrie and Taylor. A card in the mail from Aunt Maureen. Then Aunt Mollie called to sing him the birthday song. Later, packages full of toys were delivered from Aunt Wendy, Grandma and Grandpa Z, and Grandma and Grandpa J. And then, before bed was another Skype call with a birthday song from Aunt Alice and Maya.

Nerdy and I have been reminiscing about where we were and what we were doing one year ago today. Hard to believe how much has changed in that short time. We've also been reflecting on how important family is and how much we rely on the people around us who love us. That has never been more true than in this past year. It's been quite a roller coaster and we wouldn't have gotten here without the love and support of all of you. So thank you.

Adoption Home Visit

This weekend we had a social worker come to visit us in our home to evaluate our fitness as parents. She stayed for about 2 hours, asking us VERY detailed questions about us, our lives, our families, our relationships, our finances. I think it went well and Sasha did his best to charm her, smiling and talking and playing coy when he "accidentally" went near her. He was trying to steal her pen and paper by the end of the visit, so I guess he thought she was all right. We'll get her full report in early December which will be the last paperwork needed by the adoption court. Then we will be scheduled for a final hearing where I get to dress him up in his sartorial finest. Oh, and officially become his Mom.

Visit from Aunt Carrie

The Amazing Aunt Carrie visited this weekend, bringing with her a bag of tricks for Sasha. She arrived in the evening, so he didn't meet her until the following morning. We were expecting him to be surprised to see her and a little wary, but nope, he saw her and gave her a big grin as if to say, "Hey I know you and I remember that you're pretty fun, too." So he climbed right up on her lap and she started playing hide-and-seek with a little cow she brought for him-- a game that never got old even after they played it all weekend.

We visited the Coney Island Aquarium, saw some fish and sharks and jellyfish, and ate an ungodly amount of grapes on the way home. Even Taylor got to enjoy a piece of the aquarium in the form of a stuffed penguin and some temporary tattoos with a sea life theme. She has a new obsession with penguins thanks in part to repeat viewings of "Happy Feet." When it's over she asks for "Mo...? Dancing...? Penguins....?"

Carrie also showered Sasha with gifts for his birthday: a warm hat (pictured below), a bouncy ball, and an excellent set of blocks. And a mostly empty bottle of water which he is playing with as I write this. The downstairs neighbor surely hates the blocks already-- Sasha loves to unstack the pile by slamming each block into the floor and halfway across the living room.

But the biggest news of all is that Carrie is so exciting she apparently warrants HIS FIRST STEPS. That's right, while we all were watching him play, he walked right to her! Yay!!!!! See the video clip below for more (filmed by Carrie).

Then he was too excited and couldn't do it again:

Sasha at the Playground

Well I'm pretty sure walking is just around the corner. Check out this video of the busy guy at the playground, pushing his favorite toy and being distracted from it by an empty box of raisins.

First Halloween

Papers Filed!

I have finally filed the paperwork for me to officially become one of Sasha's parents. The set of papers the court needs (or at least asks for) is outdated and occasionally bizarre. Because the law hasn't caught up with family realities, Nerdy is considered both the birth parent and the adoptive parent for the proceeding. The problem is that she has to submit papers as though she was giving up her child to some unknown person and as though she was about to become a mother for the first time through adoption, having not known Sasha before. This makes the requirements twice as offensive and often contradictory.

For example, as the birth mother, she had to sign an Adoption Information form giving (or refusing) Sasha permission to find out her identity once he turns 18. She also had to list Sasha as a child born out-of-wedlock with the Putative Father Registry; this means if some guy thinks he may have knocked up Nerdy, he can check the registry to find out if she had a kid and is secretly putting it up for adoption. Seriously. The clerk told me that we can also submit a letter from the cryogenic lab (aka sperm bank) stating we were clients. But that paper has no legal significance and we would still have to list Sasha as an out-of-wedlock birth for the public files.

So on the other hand, because she is also the adoptive parent, she, along with me, had to get fingerprinted at our local precinct and cleared with the state's Child Abuse Registration. We both need to submit medical certificates stating we're in good enough health to adopt a child. We also have to hire a social worker to visit our home and write a report approving our household for the court. And the social worker needs her own list of papers from us, not least of which are written recommendations from our friends!

As I write this, I'm getting ticked off all over again at how stupid and insulting this process is and again asking, why are we even doing this? But then I think about how I took Sasha to the doctor this week and, sitting in the waiting room, I'm hoping nothing too bad is wrong because I have no authority to make medical decisions on his behalf. Then I'm glad we're doing it because too much depends on a piece of paper to disregard it.

In, Out

There's a new game around here that's all the rage. The meditative value of placing things in and out of a container cannot be underestimated; it's toddler nirvana. As you may know from previous posts (or personal experience), Mister has for a while now enjoyed taking objects out of their place and scattering them around the apartment. But now he is graduating to the sequel, "in." He's elaborated on the standard Take All My Clothes Out of My Dresser Drawer game by adding Take All My Diapers Out of the Cabinet and Put Them Into the Now-Empty Dresser Drawer. The new and improved game, while interesting, didn't make things more fun for me.

In and out has spread to other activities, however, that have made things easier on his attendants. For example, Sasha pilfered the 2 of diamonds from a card deck and carried it to the hall closet. He proceeded to put the card in and out of the milk crate on the floor of the closet for 20 minutes. First the left side, then the right side, down deep and then just inside the rim, facing in or out, crumpled or straightened, etc. All this required extraordinary attention and focus, providing Mommy with some time to write an email or two. Even putting a wooden peg in and out of his toy bucket is good for at least 30 rounds of in and out. I was able to enjoy an entire cup of hot coffee at the Tea Lounge while Sasha put a quarter in and out of the cap to his bottle. Delightful for both of us.

One downside to the game is the collateral damage. I searched the house for the bottle of teething pills that I knew were around here somewhere. I finally gave up and used Tylenol. Weeks later, Nerdy tried to put a tape in the VCR and it wasn't going in. She fiddled with it a few minutes and lo and behold, a bottle of teething pills were hanging out inside. Or the time I was going insane trying to find a matching sock for Sasha. Days later, I saw a glimpse of it inside the plastic box where I keep sewing accessories-- in my closet, under a 20-pound heap of clothing. I still don't know how he managed to pry the lid open with one hand. Over the weekend, I found a small stash of Cheerios inside a bookshelf. I imagine this game will last for a while (this summer, Maya was still enjoying "hiding sings") and we will lose many things over the course of the coming months.

Brooklyn's Newest Tech Geek

To try and distract the Bub from banging on the keyboard while Wisco or I are doing important work on the internet, we got him a fabulous new toy. I asked the IT guy at work if he had any old parts that he could spare and he was happy to help by bringing in a very old and very dirty keyboard. Now Sasha can smash keys to his heart's content and we can still read the paper (or Facebook).

Poor Baby

Hello faithful readers. I am finally updating the blog now that the Bub is feeling better. He’s had a lingering cold for a couple of weeks, featuring lots of mucus, a cough, poor sleep, no appetite (!) and a fever which finally prompted us to take him to the doctor. She said he had inflamed eardrums, probably as a result of the chronic runny nose. She gave him 2 days to let the not-quite-infection resolve itself or turn into a full-blown infection. That was Tuesday. Fortunately, he woke up this morning full of energy and babbling happily. There’s nothing like a sick baby to keep one from engaging in normal life activities.

Stay tuned for more posting—there’s a backlog.

Adventures in Apple Picking

We decided to enjoy the fall foliage and invited Nana and Zayde to join us. Up we went to Fishkill Farms (not located in Fishkill but in Hopewell Junction) and a wonderful time was had by all. Here are some highlights.

It started out with fun in the car with Mama and Zayde (that was after Mommy had to go in the front seat to avoid getting sick which put Nana in the driver's seat).


One view of the orchard and the surrounding mountains



Sasha eats his first apple of the day - a Macoun!


Sharing with Nana (this is an activity that is fraught with fun such as pulling back right before you get to take a bite and then laughing in the other persons face)


Sasha meets his first milkweed pod and is understandably entranced
Riding around the orchard without being strapped in!


Crawling around the orchard - the more preferred mode of transport


Playing in the hay after a long day of picking (or crawling, eating, and being carried)


The finished product

What's up, Doc?

Even though Mister is a long way from talking, he still manages some deliberate noises. You could have knocked me over with a feather the first time he leaned over and sniffed the flowers while we were reading Pat the Bunny. I learned later that this was a trick learned from Nana. She taught him to stick his nose in the book and noisily inhale! I guess it takes a 3-time mother to have faith he could learn to sniff on cue.

The latest is "rabbit." We often read Neighborhood Animals, a picture book of common creatures. Because the words are beyond him, I just say the name of the animal and make its noise. Woof, meow, etc. For rabbit, however, I make the Bugs Bunny sound-- the sort of lip smacking sound that precedes What's up, doc? One day I turn the page to Rabbit and he starts making a smacking sound while sticking out his tongue, a little like he's eating an delicious, invisible ice cream cone. And now the noise has transformed into a silent licking motion, which is weird but hilarious.

I was telling Nana about this at the playground while we were pushing him on the swing. I wouldn't have thought he was even paying attention, much less participating in the conversation, but at the word "rabbit," he starts flapping his tongue like he knows what's up. Awesome.