Gymnastics is a Gift From the Gods

Today was the first day of Sasha's you're-spoiled-because-we-can't-afford-it-and-we're-doing-this-anyway gymnastics class.  What a perfect match.  He loved, loved, loved it and so did I.  Technically, it's my class, too, because we're officially a Dynamic Duo; I have to follow him around to provide assistance and prevent harm.

The activities include a trampoline, rings, a bar, a balance beam, bean bags in a bucket, a hopscotch form, and a bunch of foam thingies.  He liked most of them, and there's plenty of room for learning and development.  Like years' worth.

I failed at my duties today when he practically bent in half (the wrong way) and crunched his spine. I'm not sure how it happened, and he whimpered for a few seconds, but thankfully a hug was enough to fix it.  Needless to say, he didn't try out that piece of equipment again.

Here's a great video from the organization's (ok, it's one woman, Elizabeth, and she is awesome) website.

Dumbo Gymnastics from Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. on Vimeo.

Visiting Our Faves in Wisconsin

Last week we visited all of our favorite people in Wisconsin (our "faves," in Taylor-speak) and had a grand time.  

On our first full day, we went with Grandma, Aunt Carrie, Taylor, and Beckett to the brand-new Madison Children's Museum.  The new facility is amazing, though we had what I'd like to call a toddler scheduling event.  That is, when we got there, we first had to change a stinky diaper, then TG and the Bub played for a little while, then someone fell and got hurt, then the Bub got cranky and had to eat. So Taylor played arts and crafts while we sat in the cafeteria, and right when we were finishing up, Taylor needed to eat.  Then they played together in the cafeteria for a while until we decided to take them to the rooftop "farm," overriding Sasha's desire to visit the arts and crafts room.  While waiting for the molasses-speed elevator, TG had to use the bathroom 10 seconds before it arrived.  The Rosen/Jensen contingent also missed the elevator and took the stairs instead, which we thought was one floor up but in fact was 3 or 4.  Eventually, we had a good time meeting the chickens and the fish and stomping in gravel while Carrie was obligated to nurse B in a bathroom stall.  Shortly after that, both TG and the Bub developed the Long Stare, the universal indicator of the need for a nap.  In the end, I think the highlight for the kids may have been eating cheese and crackers and playing with the front door.  For which we all paid an admission fee.

The Bub also spent hours of fun helping Grandma in the yard.  In particular, he LOVED to fill the birdfeeders. Understandably, as it involved 1. helping 2. grandma 3. outside 4.birds 5. buckets 6. shovels and 7. putting stuff from one container into another.  He also picked and ate tomatoes from the garden; scrubbed the birdbaths; filled the dog bowls and handed out dog treats; and pressed the button.  The garage door button.  He couldn't go within 10 feet of the garage without begging, "Push da button! Push da button!" and he was frequently indulged by Grandma and Mamoo.  We also had many dance parties to the tune of the Big Wheel's batman theme song and Lady Gaga (courtesy of Aunt Wendy).

Cousin Taylor and Sasha got along semi-famously.  Of course, Sasha loved to run after TG and do whatever she was doing.  A few days found them both running around the house, emitting high pitched screams at the top of their lungs followed by giggles and big smiles.  They spent a day at Grandpa and Grandma J's where they hunted for tigers in the yard until Taylor announced that she was walking "downtown" and the rest of us could follow if we wanted.  Grandpa lives downtown, but I think she wanted us all to walk a few blocks to the Square.  At one point along the way, Sasha veered off and went up to a neighbor's front porch.  TG, exasperated, told him, "That's not downtown!" Also on the way, they found a low-lying apple tree and picked apples for everyone.

Taylor spent a night at Grandma Z's so we could maximize their togetherness and give Carrie a much-needed break.  We went to the nearby state park, Devil's Lake, and had a picnic with more of Sasha's relatives: Great Aunt Marsha and her two sweetheart kids Rachel and Andy.  We couldn't keep the Bub out of the water so let him and TG wade into the lake, checking out the minnows and fish and inspecting and throwing rocks.  That activity got a little dangerous, but thankfully it was time for BBQ before the injuries got too severe.

All in all, the love was flowing strong between the cousins except for a few expected toddler moments, followed by more hugs and kisses and chokeholds of love.

And little Beckett!  He is so stinking cute. Soft and cuddly and frequently cross-eyed, as though being awake is really just too much.  Nerdy and I got to hold him quite a bit and Sasha gave him a couple of gentle kisses-- and even one lick to the top of the head. And we found out that he actually purrs while nursing.  Unbelievably sweet.

 

  

Inspecting a hole.

  

Cleaning the bird bath

Bird feeding before dawn.

Impressing Grandma with his mad skillz.

Using his hand to put food on the fork.

Dance Party!

  

 

 

Which one has a future on Broadway?

  

 

Brooklyn Tornado

So as many of you know, we had a crazy storm here yesterday that may or may not have been a tornado. All I know is, the sky suddenly got very dark and greenish, the rain started to pour down in sheets, and the trees out our window were looking close to sideways. While my more well-informed neighbors were taking shelter in their basements or bathrooms, I picked Sasha up on to a table to look out the window to see the rain and lightning. He got so excited, he started jumping and shouting, "Go outside! Go outside!"

The whole storm lasted 10 minutes, but the damage around here is shocking. Trees down everywhere, blocking the streets, crushing cars, falling into houses. Here's a video of some of the Prospect Park damage. It's a little shaky because the guy filming is on a bike. (Thanks, Mom, for the link.)

Introducing...

Sasha introduces his friends/babies/animals/blankies for the camera. It's a little mumbly but I think you'll hear enough to enjoy the company.

Update: To avoid any confusion, I've decided to list the cast of characters in order of appearance.

Monkey, Penguin, Loon, Puppy, Piggy, Owl, Elmo, Baby, New Baby, Meerkat, Lion, Sloth-y, Froggy, Goose, Blankie, Panda, Froggy (#2), Robin, Monkey (#2 and #3)

Dinosaur Feeb

Oh, the never-ending game of dinosaur feeb.

Dinosaur feeb is an invention I regret and Sasha's favorite thing in the whole world. A couple of weeks ago, I bought some dinosaur figures from the $1 bin, thinking they had potential for imagination games. But I may have overestimated his ability to be create imagination games. The game, having been started by me, now doesn't really change unless I suggest something new.

This is the game: Sasha moves around a brontosaurus and Mama or I move around all of the remaining dinosaurs. (All remaining dinosaurs. If we have three dinosaurs plus a cup of coffee but only two hands, tough luck. We are not allowed to put one down.) Basically we just push around the plastic figures in or around the feeb, playing follow-the-leader. A feeb is a cave made of two pillows pushed together to form an upside-down V on the couch and seems to be the central joy of the game. (Why "feeb?" Because sometimes toddler pronunciation is inexplicable.) The game starts when Sasha shouts, "Dinosaur feeb!" and all the dinos go into the feeb, then out, then in, then do various other activities. Some other visitors from the stuffed animal collection visit the feeb and are greeted and kissed, then the dinos leave again, eat, go back into and on top of the feeb, jump up and down from the couch, etc., etc., etc. Game time is 5:00 am or thereabouts and the second round is after breakfast. Third and fourth rounds happen whenever the schedule allows, but there's usually another round before bedtime because now the dinosaurs go bathing, too.

A special benefit that the game provides is the many opportunities to use the word "too." The narration goes something like this:

"Dinosaur feeb! Baby, too. Monkey, too. Lion, too."

"T-Rex eating eggs. Triceratops, too. Brontosaurus, too."

"Visit penguin. T-Rex, too. Triceratops, too."

Yes it's cute, but after a few hundred games I think I'm going to lose my mind.

Is there an echo in here?

Me: Let's get your shoes on.

Bub: Shoes on.

Me: Do the straps feel ok?

Bub: Do the straps feel ok?

Me: Well, they look alright.

Bub: Well, they look alright.

Me: You're silly.

Bub: You're silly.

Another Summer With Cousin Maya

Once again, cousin Maya spent the summer stateside where she and Sasha were able to spend much of the month of August together.  Initially I think it was difficult for them to share the affections of Nana and Zayde when each of them is accustomed to their grandparents' undivided attention, but they quickly adapted and learned to share the spotlight.  Sometimes if the frustration was just too much, clever coping strategies were invented, like a kiss on the head to mask a sly twisting of the arm.  They played for hours outside with a couple of squirt bottles, shared meals and nightly baths, visited the zoo, explored the city's playgrounds, colored with crayons and put puzzles together.

Maya wins the prize for biggest sweetheart. Her polite requests to "read this book, please," her playful silliness, and her exceptional patience with her exuberant younger cousin were among the many little things that add up to one awesome young girl.

Upon their first meeting, Maya wanted to read a book to Sasha.

Helping Zayde make his "perfect" scrambled eggs.

More helping in the kitchen: testing the jelly roll crumble.

At the beach in Delaware.

Bringing a handful of sand to show Mahmoo.

Sharing beach toys.

Or not.

Coloring, probably on the table.

Ooh la la.  Maya's first french braid courtesy of Margot.

Their own kid-size chairs.

Maya's first game of charades. (She insisted Mama do it first.)  
Cookie Monster, in case you were wondering.

Trying to wrap themselves in a blanket.