Taking Out the At-Ta

Here's Mama's little helper going to take out the garbage. I set it by the door so we could take it out when we left. Sasha discovered it there and helpfully dragged it around the house.

The tragedy that morning could have been averted had anyone but Nerdy taken out the trash. Because after these photos were taken, she took the Bub and the trash to the basement to throw it out while I grabbed a few last-minute things for the stroller. When they were down there, the floor and her Dansko clogs conspired to trip her and break two bones in her foot! Now poor Nerdy's hobbling around in a cast and crutches for the next four weeks (at a minimum: the Jones Fracture is apparently difficult to heal).

For a couple of days, the Bub thought Mama was being funny and walked right behind her lifting his right leg up and out in imitation-- looking, as Lynn suggested, like a little Charlie Chaplin.

Who?

Finally! I have a name, my very own name. For months, Sasha has referred to me and Nerdy (and occasionally other random adult women) as "Mama." But now he's started to verbally distinguish us. That's right, call me Mahmoo. I love it! Nothing makes me smile faster than hearing him yell from the other room, "MAAHMOOOOH!! MAAAAAHMOOOOOO!!!!

I Love My Friendly Son

Lately Sasha can't get enough of greeting everyone he sees with a nice wave and "Hi!" and "Bye!" It's cute and funny to interact with people on the street where we would otherwise pass each other unnoticed. But today... Today takes the cake.

We went to a Vietnamese coffee/sandwich place and they have a maneki neko on the front counter. What the heck is that? I never knew the name of it until now, but it's one of those Japanese cats with the upraised arm (the translation is "beckoning cat"). They're for good luck, more money, more customers, etc.

The shop we visited had a triple cat statue with whiskers and a gold one with a moving arm. I guess they need a lot of luck. Anyway, Sasha starts meowing at the cat while we're waiting for our order. I let him touch the whiskers and check it out for a few seconds, but the coffee came really fast. So we took a seat and the Bub is facing the cats though we're a fair distance away. But now he notices the one with the constantly waving arm. Then: Waving. Hi! Waving. Hi! Meow! Waving. Hi! Hi! Meow! Waving. Meow! Hi! Hi!

I usually try not to laugh when he's being serious, but I couldn't help the guffaws. Even more ridiculous, he wouldn't stop until I blocked his view by sitting in between the cats and my sweet goofball.

Teetza

The Bub and I met Mama at the Dashing Diva nail salon after work. There's a playground across the street, of course, and we spent so much time there we decided to have pizza slices for dinner. Why was the playground so much fun? Because there's a gate.

Sasha made a frienemy in another boy almost exactly his age who also wanted to open and close the entrance gate 300 times in a row. The parents hovered, encouraging them both to "Share the gate! It's good to share!" They came close to a shoving match a couple of times but generally impressed me by not freaking out on each other and successfully taking turns, one opening the gate, the other closing it.

Then we went for pizza. We took off his shirt to protect his clothing if you're wondering why he looks naked in the picture. Bibs cramp his style. Nerdy taught him the word for it, "Pizza," and every time he took a bite he announced, "Teetza." Chomp.

P.S. from Nerdy: for those native NYers reading this blog, I apologize for the flat piece of pizza being offered to the Bub but it was much easier for him to bite into than the traditional (and far superior) folded slice.

Nerdy Chic

This picture (captured by Nerdy's phone) is from February, but I thought it was funny enough to post. We were at Costco trying to entertain the Bub until we were done shopping-- which is really hard now that he can run faster than most adults. So, let's try on kid glasses! Sasha thought it was a blast and wouldn't take them off til he was good and ready.

Learning Harmonica

The Bub learns to play on his great, great, grandma Hartl's harmonica.

Sandbox Days

Got Dote?

The Bub really, really wants to talk. He's been talking up a storm lately and is actually beginning to have detectable vocabulary. We can say anything to him and he'll repeat it back to us. Well, at least the first syllable. Or the first part of the first syllable. Whatever! I'm a new parent and I'll take pride in every accomplishment.

He and Nerdy came home the other night and when I answered the door he handed me a little rock he had picked up along the way home. When he gave it to me, he announced, "Rah!" Very good with the "r" sound, too. He also can say "Bar rah." Which is barrel, of course. It seems a strange early word, but Grandma knows why. Other B words include "Bah" for ball, "Bah-oh" for bottle, and "Bomba" for blueberry.

Sometimes the talking is not done with actual words, but by simulated conversation. We were on Skype with Nana and Zayde the other day, and he started talking loudly whenever we were speaking. Just like "Blah, blah, blabbedy blah!" as though he was contributing to the discussion. Then yesterday on speakerphone with Aunt Margot, he starts, "Blabbedy blah. Blah blah! blah blah blabbedy." He'll join conversations between Nerdy and I too, but this usually devolves into us shouting to be heard over his loudly-voiced opinions on the matter.

This is not to be confused with his reading aloud. At the sight of letters, numbers, or maps, he reads, "BLAGEM. BLAGEM. BLAGEM. BLAGEM." For some reason, it's always BLAGEM and never any other sound.

There's also the new word/obsession with "Dote." There's dote everywhere if you're looking for it and especially if your eyes are only one and a half feet from the ground. That's right: dirt. Dote in the apartment, dote in the lobby, dote on the sidewalk, dote in the grass, dote instead of grass, dote on my jacket, dote on the stroller, dote on the car, etc. etc. Sasha's world is a very dotey place.

The Gong Show

Most nights when it's Sasha's bedtime, Nerdy gives him a bath while I cook dinner. It's usually a quiet time, and often she sings him songs while he's bathing because he loves it. Tonight, though, he had a very strong opinion about her song choice. I was in the kitchen laughing at this conversation.

"Let's sing the ladybug song! One two three, four five six, seven eight-- "

"NAAAAAAH."

"How about Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and-- "

"NAAAAAAH."

"Should I do The itsy bitsy spider went up the-- "

"NAAAAAAH."

"OK. Um... Sing. Sing a song, sing it loud-- "

"NAAAAAAH."

"Oh, you love this one. One bottle pop, two bottle pop, three-- "

"NAAAAAAH."

Finally she hit the jackpot with the Elmo song. She was allowed to sing the whole song without interruption. And again and again and again. Every other suggestion received "NAAAAH" pronounced with a big smile.

He's a maniac, maniac, on the floor!

Friday morning. What 12 hours of sleep will do for a person! Sasha was running around like someone fed him coca leaves for breakfast. Running, running, running. Then he caught a glimpse of himself in the full-length mirror. And did the "Maniac" scene from Flashdance: running in place, then forward, then backward, then forward, grinning from ear to ear 'cause look at how high his knees are going and how fast his feet are moving and wow he's just SO COOL.

For those of you who don't know the scene I'm referring to because you're too young or too old or because you were living under a rock in the '80's, here's a clip.

(you really only have to watch from around :30 to :45, but I don't know how to edit video that isn't my own)