"Sleeping with My Guys"

Sleepover

Sasha had his very first sleepover this weekend.  His friend Finn came over for an overnight play date while Finn's mom and I went to a friend's birthday party.  Yes, that means Nerdy was in charge of two 3-year-old boys for the evening, including bedtime.  Some parents at school expressed surprise that we would host a sleepover for kids "at such a young age." (Less politely, "you're insane.")

Fortunately, they adore each other so we didn't think there would be a problem with them not getting along.  And Finn came dressed Clark Kent-style with his pajamas on under his street clothes, so he was ready.  And unlike the Bub, he actually likes to sleep when he's tired.  He even asks to go to bed on occasion.

Anyway, Finn's mom and I had a great time, only checking in with each other about 3 times on whether or not we should call and see how things were going.  Ultimately, we decided that if the situation was terrible, we would hear about it with no effort from our end.  So we had a good time and Nerdy texted me late to let me know everything was fine.  They each made a number of unnecessary trips to the bathroom, Sasha announcing, "I have to pee" and Finn following, repeating, "Sasha has to pee."  Otherwise, their behavior was impeccable through dinner, washing up, playing and cleaning up.  Nerdy let them sleep in the same bed because it was a special occasion and the bed was big enough to accommodate two active sleepers.  After  30 minutes of whispering and giggling, however, she reconsidered and separated them.  Ten minutes later, snoring.

Until 2:30 when Sasha woke up to pee.  And yelled to us across the apartment so that we knew.  Nerdy jumped out of bed to remind him to be quiet.  Too late.  Finn woke up and had to use the bathroom, too.  They returned to bed until Sasha next yelled to us across the apartment that he would like some warm milk, please.  Nerdy jumped out of bed to remind him again to be quiet.  When I brought him the milk, he yelled in surprise, "Mamu!!!  You're here!!  Hey, Finn, look!!  Mamu's here!!!"

Needless to say, we were all awake by 3:00 and Finn wanted his Mama.  Feeling bad but having no other choice, we called her.  She spoke with him over the phone and he told her he wanted her to come over and sleep in the bed with him.  She declined, telling him that she would come over-- but only to pick him up, not for a slumber party.  He agreed.

Twenty minutes later, a taxi was waiting downstairs for its passenger to return, this time with her wailing child in tow.  Having spent those 20 minutes playing and laughing at top volume, going home with mom suddenly seemed like a bad idea.

I haven't spoken with them since then, so I'm not sure how the rest of their night and day went, but the only sleep this household had after that was from 4 to 5:30am.  Sasha's aversion to sleep would at least be tolerable if only he could respect other people's need for rest.  And my secret hope that the Bub would pick up the I-like-to-sleep habit from his friend?  Dashed. 

Serious Tower, Serious Face

Having Conversations

The brain ticking inside the Bub has surprised me lately.  The other day, we were sitting at a cafe having coffee and a cookie, and I told him that we had to leave soon so that I could show someone our car.  As expected, he didn't respond or seem to care one way or another, as long as he had time to eat his sparkly star shortbread.  We chatted about other things, the bright sun and the cute dog, then examined the rusty bicycle, wondered who ripped the subway sign and who was going to fix it, etc.  Then a block into our walk home, he turned to me and asked, "Who's looking at our car?"  I answered and smiled because it was the first time I noticed  him carry a thought through various distractions and still pick up the thread of an earlier conversation.  It felt like a big development, the budding ability to carry a thought beyond the immediate present.

A few days after this, he was talking on the phone to Mama while she was on the train to DC.  They said hi, he asked where she was, then "How long is the train ride?"  Again I was struck by the maturity of the question.  Like most 3-year-olds, he soaks up everything he sees and hears, but until now the way he experienced the world was related only to his immediate present sensory experience. (Why bribery is so effective, I think.)  Now I've seen him concern himself with experiences that aren't directly tied to his own.  I'm not sure if this is as big a developmental milestone as it feels, or if it just reflects the fact that I spend far less time with him than I used to, and so his growth is happening outside my observation.  Anyway, it's fun to see and hear him get older, especially when we still have conversations like this that keep him young:

"I can watch 8 movies."

"Oh really?"

"I'm serious. 
[Glowering] I have a serious face.
I know everything."

Hannukah II

Yes, it's a few weeks too late, but I got him singing on video:

Just One

We received our American Museum of Natural History membership cards yesterday (Thanks, Duggans!) and the Bub is excited to go again to see the dinosaur bones.  He desperately wanted to go this afternoon, but we couldn't.  He threw a complete fit, throwing himself at me in tears, begging, "Please! Just one bone! I just want to see one bone!!!"

Family Holiday Visit to Wisconsin

That's Mr. Sasha to you, Santa.

Kids in their Christmas finest.

Beckett's new light-up ringing cell phone.

Trampolines never get old.

Going for a ride on Grandpa's "tractor."

All bundled up and awaiting another turn on the tractor.

Playing with the rocketship.
Too bad I didn't get a photo of the passengers in the back,
Mama and Grandma forced to sit on cold steel in 30 degrees.

Charting a course on the rocketship's computer.

Enjoying his new book on Grandma's lap.

Giving moral support during Taylor's recovery.
Poor girl, tonsil-less, adenoid-less, was forced to subsist on popsicles.
She was screaming and running around an hour after this photo.

Yay for snow on the last day of our visit!
Sasha fell in love with the snowmen.

Grandma taking lessons on how to play superheroes.

The Bub with Grandma and Grandpa.

The Duggans' Grandma Deb.

Yes, you're cute, but you still can't eat the microphone.

Text "VOTE 53555" to cast your vote for the next American Idol!

Aunt Carrie finally meets the real Superman.
(I've only seen her in glasses twice and both times involved sleepless nights with Taylor:
when she was born and when  had her tonsils out.)

Hanukkah 2011

We had a small Hannukah celebration last week with special guests Aunt Margot and cousin David.  And usual guests Nana and Zayde, bearers of gifts extraordinaire.  Sasha is now an expert in the religious ceremony of the Festival of Lights-- lighting the candles, eating Hanukkah gelt, and opening presents.  What else is there to know? Oh yeah, the thrill of high-stakes driedel-spinning.

Lighting the candles with Aunt Margot.

Even more presents!

Hanging out with cousin David.