So Long for Now, Cousin Maya

We are all sad around here to say goodbye for another summer to cousin Maya. We would like to thank her for introducing a host of new vocabulary to our lives.

"Popiko!" (Popsicle)

"Picey." (Spicy)

Maya, what are you doing? "Hiding sings." (Stuffing toys into a box.)

"Maya have?" (Walking person to person, begging food off everyone's plate.)

"Two ones." (Two of them.) After Zayde promised her a big towel after her bath: "Big towel one."

After a compliment on her bracelets: "Not bracelets. Bangles."

"These guys coming?" (After spending the day at the zoo with Nana and Zayde, she would like to know if they're getting in the car for more fun.)

Closely related: "Bye, peeps!" (Saying goodbye to Nana and Zayde in the airport after hugs and kisses.)

There are lots more, so if you were around and have ones to add, please share them in the comments. We miss you already, cutie pie.

Who will Sasha admire without her around? Well, there is a visit to cousin Taylor later this week, so maybe he'll be awed once again.

Bath Times They Are A Changin'

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
- Bob Dylan

Back when Sasha started having sleep problems, Nerdy and I read up on many baby-sleep theorists and realized that starting a bedtime routine was universally recommended. So we introduced bath time as a way to calm the little guy before bed. We started with the kitchen sink but found it too nerve-wracking to try to protect his floppy head. So we moved to a little plastic tub inside our regular bathtub and it was perfect. He loved being in the big white space with so many shower curtain polka dots to look at. Then he grew to the point that he would displace all the water so there wasn't much to bathe in.

Nerdy went looking for another kid-size tub and found, again, the perfect solution: a big, pink, blow-up ducky tub. This was great because he could lean on and over every side and tumble around a little without risk of smashing his head. Pink Ducky was wonderful. Sasha even started trying to stand up by holding on to the ducky's head. Soon, though, he wanted to stand everywhere, putting his hand up the faucet, tossing out toys in order to fetch them by climbing over the side, and basically causing mayhem by thrashing around on the slippery surface. After a few episodes of Nerdy and I catching his head an inch before a bathtub concussion, we'd had enough.

I tried (once) to take him back to the kitchen sink now that he could sit up by himself. Disaster. He turned the hot water up higher and higher. He splashed over the entire kitchen. He pulled himself up with the faucet spigot to have a look around. He climbed out of the sink entirely to find out what the counter had to offer: vitamins, spatula, water pitcher, etc. The next night, he got a shower.

That's where we're at now. Mama gets in the shower first and washes her hair while he stands excitedly outside the tub yanking the shower curtains out of his way so he can get closer to the water (and Mama). When it's his turn, I pick him up to hand him to Nerdy and a huge smile appears on his face and he starts kicking like an excited frog. Even funnier is that after she washes off the food and playground, she sets him down on the floor of the shower and he happily sits there under the spray talking and playing with a rattle.

Me, too

Can I just say, Sasha's so cute! I love his age right now as he's learning social skills. He LOVES to wave hello to people on the subway and if they're close enough, to touch them out of curiosity. I generally discourage the touching part, but he gets so many people to smile and say hello it's really quite amazing. Yesterday he so charmed an elderly lady that she was moved to find a tangerine for him among her groceries. Which he loved, of course-- it's food after all. Maybe I should say the lady charmed Sasha?

A hilarious new behavior is Laugh With the Group. If he's in a room with people having conversation and laughter erupts, he looks up and starts a fake-sounding "aHa! aHa! aHa!" because he'd like everyone to know that he's in on the joke, too, and "Oh boy, isn't that funny?"

Bicycling!

Little Mister and I have been biking around the Slope lately. There's a "tot lot" in the park but it's far away, so we take the bike to visit the playground or to go to the Y for baby classes or Mom workouts. He doesn't love it exactly, but he never complains-- even when I have a hard time clipping the helmet under his chins. Occasionally he'll fall asleep back there and slump forward with his forehead on the crossbar and I wonder if this is bad mothering, as in, "we're going to the park whether you're tired or not!" But mostly he loves the playground and seeing the other kids so it's worth the bumpy nap. Here are some shots of the bike ride and the tot lot.

Three teeth

Here's a clear picture of Sasha's 3 teeth, all on the bottom. I noticed this morning that he has a fourth one about to bust out of the top gum, so I thought I'd post this picture before that happens because his smile is so cute with all those teeth on the bottom and just gummy on top.

The Secret's in the Sauce

Who knew a baby could demand his taste buds be fully addressed? Forget mushed peas or cooked carrots. Sasha would like sauce with that, please. He won't eat yogurt if there's garlicky hummus in sight. He won't eat strawberries if there's creamy potato salad on the table. He won't eat avocado if there's bean salad with balsamic vinaigrette available. Already gone are the days that new textures were enough to interest him. A nine-month-old gourmet? Oh, no.

He is still happy with anything that he can feed himself, of course. Lately, watermelon fits the bill. Here's a super-short video of him munching some melon in Delaware (that's cousin Maya bathing in the background).

Robin tweets and other noises

The Bub is really getting into things that make noise lately. Rattles, of course, but also squeaky chew toys, wooden blocks banged against whatever's handy, the sound of his own yelling, and also this robin bird from Aunt Wendy. If you squeeze it, it makes loud chirping sounds. He can't turn on the chirping himself, but he will grunt to indicate More, please! I'll press it, he'll stare and smile until the chirping is over, then a brief pause, and without moving a muscle, he'll make a single quiet grunting noise. I'll press it again and the process repeats at least 5 or 6 times before it's time to eat robin.

Early morning coffee

On the weekends, Nerdy and I take turns getting up with Sasha and letting the other sleep in. This morning, as I was sitting groggily in my beach chair (thanks, Mom!) in Sasha's room, I was considering making a pot of coffee but decided against it because then I would be energized but confined to quiet time in the bedroom. So I would be antsy to get things done I'd be limited to an activity such as putting toys in and out of a box, one of Sasha's favorite daily events. I was reminded of a sign in the pediatrician's office: "Coffee: Do Stupid Things Faster and With More Energy!" Even at an uncaffeinated 6:15am it made me chuckle. Again. And I was reminded of yet another coffee joke I enjoy. At the Black Cat Cafe in Irvington they have a sign at the register: "Unattended children will be given a double espresso and a new puppy."

If You're Happy and You Know It

One of Sasha's new skills:

Back from the Beach

Sasha and his attendants have returned from their summer vacation and-- who knew?-- he loves the ocean! He was easily distracted from shoveling fistfuls of sand into his mouth by his cousin, by the bucket and shovel, and by going into the water with whoever might carry him. Laughing, kicking, splashing-- he even took some dunks with Mama and Zayde, too! I'm not sure how he felt about going under, but he didn't complain so I guess that's a thumbs-up.

Again, the Bub couldn't get enough of his cousin, the walking and talking wonder. I think his smile actually gets bigger as he gets physically closer to her. Until she wants the toy he's playing with. But with a little encouragement, she shared nicely and is amazingly gentle with him even when he yanks on her hair.

Here are pictures of them playing on the deck in their "swimming pools."