First Day of Preschool

Sasha's first day of school was Wednesday!  It was only for 90 minutes and both Moms were there, so not a big deal, but he got to meet the teachers and the other kids.  He was surprisingly shy around the teachers and didn't pay much attention to the kids.  But Thursday, Day 2 (another 90 minutes with parents), he got friendly with the kids and paid no mind to Mama.

Today is his first big day going alone.  We're very excited to see how it goes, and so far we haven't got a phone call.  Today is only a half-day and I'm sure he'll be happy as a clam.  I am worried about next week, though, when he faces the shock of full days away from home, that this isn't a one-time special event. I know I'll be feeling the pain. I just hope is very social nature will carry the day and he'll decide that being around other kids all day is way better than hanging out with Mamu.  Maybe some kid will be just as eager as Sasha to play superheroes all day long.

First day of school pic!

 

Sesame Place Weekend

We've known since April that Sasha would be starting school this week.  And because we figured it will be a difficult adjustment, we decided to do something special for him on Labor Day weekend. We were the best parents ever: we took him to a theme park.  Sesame Place, to be specific, located just outside of Trenton, New Jersey.

Sasha had an absolute blast.  The place is basically a water park with lots of water slides, pools, and things that squirt water. They must hold the world record for The Most Inventive Ways to Get People Wet.  Sprinkling flowers, water wheels, gurgling fountains, buckets that dump water on you, intentionally leaky hoses, even a giant squirting rubber ducky.  Here's the Bub waiting for his turn down the slide with Mama. (I didn't think a life vest could be so cute.)  He didn't seem to mind at all the hour-long wait for the 9-second ride.  In fact, he wanted to immediately wait in another incredibly long line to go on a different slide, but we persuaded him to try something without a line.

 

He was also excited to see Elmo and Murray in person.  And he desperately wanted to go in the fake Sesame Street buildings facade, though ultimately he settled for getting Big Bird's mail.

 

We spent much of the second day in the toddler pools.  Amazing how much fun one foot of water can be.  Sasha loved to show off his "swimming," pulling himself around by his arms while his legs floated.  Around and around a sprinkling archway, he pretended to be Iron Man, then a mermaid, then we were all a mermaid family.  The two bigger mermaids preferred to sit on the edge of the pool, but that was fine with Sasha as long as we continued to be impressed by his amazing swimming abilities.

Of course, we made a couple of rookie mistakes. Like FORGETTING TO TAKE THE STROLLER. Major oversight.  Also, we foolishly thought Sasha would sleep well after his days playing in the water and sun.  Wrong.  He partied like a rock star at the hotel, staying up late and getting up early.

The trip was pretty much exactly what we hoped for.  A theme park bonanza followed by an extra day spent in the hotel pool, where Sasha spent many hours being held above water by one of us or by a little white buoy. He shed tears in the car when he realized that we were going home to Brooklyn and not back to Sesame Place-- or the hotel.  Sad, yes, but evidence that he had tons of fun.

Fashions by Maureen

I've been wanting to blog this for a long time now, and finally here it is.  I must brag about the talent to which I'm so closely related.  Sasha's Great Aunt Maureen is one of the world's unsung artists.  She is a woman of many talents, one of which is fashion design.  Witness: the extended wardrobe dreamed up and created by her for Sasha.  (For Taylor, too, though I don't have photographic evidence.)

We've received at least 2 boxes in the mail of beautiful, handmade clothing, of superb quality and custom fit for the Bub.  I have waited this long to post so that he could model them all.  He's had to grow a few inches and waited for seasons to change, but now he has officially fit into everything.  Here are some samples.

Note to Maureen: Thank you for the gifts of time and talent.  As you can see, they've been wonderful gifts for the parents and the boy.  Now... when are you opening your own shop?

Faux sheepskin jacket and elf hat (with matching mittens).

Shorts, and oh yes, the hat.  Outrageously adorable.  There's a coat to match, but alas I couldn't find a decent pic.

Yellow button-up: a lively pattern for a lively boy.  The monogrammed hat again.

Stuffing interesting things in the pockets of his froggy vest.

Sporting shorts in Hong Kong.

Shorts for spring

and summer.

Silk shirt, unparalleled fashion.

Karate pajamas!

Not really!
(Taylor has a matching set.)

Superman replaces his red tights with Fashions by Maureen.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

The Big Boy and His Bed

It's finally happened: the Bub has graduated from his crib!  We had doubts that it would ever happen because gee, Mom, why would a person sleep if getting out of bed was an option?

We initially attempted to let him sleep outside the cage crib while staying over at Nana and Zayde's house because they have a inflatable toddler bed.  "Maya's cozy bed," as Sasha calls it, because she was the first to use it back in the day when the Bub still fit inside a pack-and-play.  We spent many painful nights trying to make it work.  We'd put him to bed upstairs, close the door, and have a seat on the couch, pretending that this was going to work and the evening would belong to adults.  But then within a minute or two, we would hear the door open, and be greeted at the bottom of the stairs, "Hi guys. What are you doing?"  Like we were old friends and he was just a little late to the party.  We'd repeat this activity countless times until one parent finally gave in and went to sleep in the room with him.  We tried putting a child-proof lock on the door, but he would bang the door so forcefully that we feared the damage more than the roaming child.  Finally we just got another crib for their house.  And Grandma and Grandpa also had to buy a crib for him, too, when we came to visit.

In the early years of trying to get him to sleep, the experts recommended that kids stay in a crib as long as possible.  Until they outgrew it or began to climb out, risking their safety.  So we did.  Which is why all his peers sleep in regular beds while he still loves the crib.  (And though Sasha never showed any interest in climbing out, he wasn't any safer as a result: the crib was recalled 2 years ago, and the drop-side had two broken latches, so whenever some innocent person tried to lower the side, the whole thing would fall off.)

But this last weekend, something happened.  The Bub refused to sleep in the crib and wanted to sleep in the twin bed that Mama was using.  So we let him, and he slept great and only left the room once or twice. I think he fell in love with the freedom of waking up from a nap and being able to join the party on his own.  So we took advantage of the opportunity and put him in a toddler bed (formerly the crib at Nana and Zayde's).  I tried investing him in the process by letting him help me put it together with a wrench and a ladder.  He only got smashed in the head once.  (My fault. I may come from people who can build things, but you can't trust me to build something without a few mishaps along the way.)  The he helped take apart his crib and carry it to the trash pile.

The no-turning-back experiment had begun.  And guess what?  It's been a wild success.  He loves his bed and loves showing it off to any visitors.  We had one night of no sleep, but that was much better than expected and we're all delighted.  If there's one thing I continually learn as a parent, it's that kids are capable of much more than we give them credit for.  Still, though, I'm certain that waiting until he was almost 3 years old to make this transition was an excellent idea.

Imagination Library

Is it possible to not love Dolly Parton?

No.  The more you know about her, the more amazing she is. Yesterday, Sasha got his first piece of mail from her: The Little Engine That Could. That's right, she sent him a book. And she will send him more-- lots more.

But why, you might ask.  Let me help spread the word about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  She started a program in Tennessee that has spread to hundreds of communities in three countries to encourage children to read.  It works like this: the Library will send every kid, free of charge, one book a month for the first five years of their life. They cover the cost of the books and ask that participating communities cover the cost of distribution.  New York City is sponsoring it here, so I signed Sasha up last month. And he got his first book yesterday.

I remember reading this book as a child and the pictures look familiar even though I haven't seen it in decades.  And Nana said that she remembers reading the book as a child, too.  Three generations and going strong.  Cool!

Sun Lotion

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen, innocently making a smoothie, when Sasha came in saying, "Look! I put my sun lotion on!"  Just in time for sunset, he had found a jar of vaseline and put big gobs of it in his hair and on his face.  We tried washing it a couple of times with adult-strength shampoo, but he's still pretty greasy.  His hairdo this morning was quite the showpiece.  In fact, our waitress was very impressed with his styling.

Woody's Roundup

To understand this clip, you first have to remember that the life of a toddler is the life of many mini-obsessions. This one started with Pez dispensers, solidified by watching a movie and then furthered along by the purchase of multiple action figures. That's right, I'm referring to the Bub's love of all things Toy Story.

These days he has graduated to watching TS2 on a fairly regular basis. This after having viewing the original Toy Story and TS3 more times than Wisco and I should mention. And mostly we're not upset with this obsession, as it doesn't involve killing or guns and is deeply rooted in the notion that friendship is a highly valued relationship. That said, I think we'd both be happy to take a break from playing Buzz and Woody.

So here is the Bub is singing his rendition of "Woody's Roundup," the theme song of the tv show-within-the-movie that starred his beloved Woody.

Welcome, Maya!

Cousin Maya and her minders have arrived from Hong Kong for the summer.  She and Sasha got together and we've barely seen them since.  They are together from dawn til bedtime and I don't think I've seen them fight once.  Frankly, I'm amazed at how well they're getting along.  So well that everyone feels comfortable leaving them to play alone upstairs without supervision for at least 5 minutes at a stretch.  I suspect that Sasha is following more rules than usual due to Maya's modeling of good behavior.

They've been playing pretend with dolls and little people, building things with Legos and tiles, and running around screeching because an imaginary badger is chasing them. The Bub is even learning how to play games: Zoo Bingo (what a great game for older toddlers!), Red Light/Green Light and What's the Time Mr. Wolf?  He's getting the concept of taking turns and winning and losing.  And Maya shows incredible patience both with his learning curve and our fudging the rules for him.  I see a rousing game of Candy Land in the near future.

The photos below are courtesy of Alice, Nadya, me, and mostly Margot.

Playing "Red Light, Green Light."

Sasha didn't totally get the concept of red light.

Mr. Wolf chasing his prey.

Meet Solene.

Buddies at the beach.

Rainbow ices!

Losing consciousness after a hot day at the beach.

My pedicure courtesy of Maya (right foot) and Sasha (left foot).

After dumping the basket of Legos down the stairs, the rascals announced, "That's a big party down there!"

Watching Mandarin-English TV.

Bling.

And bling.

Behaving nicely at New Leaf Restaurant.  (Excellent food if you're in NYC.)

Maya fixing Sasha's pin while he's in the stroller because "I'm in twubboh" for running away.

Superhero Conversations

_____________________________

Superman: Do you like my red ass?

Mamu: What?

Superman: My red ass.

Mamu: What are you talking about?

Superman: My red "S," here on my chest.

Mamu: Oh yes, that's a very nice S.

_____________________________

At bedtime, in the crib:

If I throw Batman onto the floor, you will pick it up for me. 
--That's right.
If I throw it on the floor again, you will not pick it up for me. 
--That's right, too.
Batman will stay on the floor forever.
--Well, maybe not forever.  Just until tomorrow morning.
No. He will stay on the floor forever.

_____________________________

Hurry, Woody!  It's eleventy twentiddy clock!

_____________________________

Superman to the Green Lantern: I'm going home to be Clark Kent now.  Do you want to give me a hug?