StormWatch 2010

We have been having some fabulous stormy weather lately - loud claps of thunder and flashes of lightning that take my students' minds far away from subordinate clauses and the origins of Hinduism, both totally fascinating topics for 12 year olds, in normal circumstances. With the first storm of the new year, I excitedly ordered Aiden his first raincoat and a shiny new pair of yellow galoshes. And pretty much the day they arrived on our doorstep, he came down with a feverish case of croup. The last time I had heard about croup was in the book "Anne of Green Gables," so I assumed it was like polio or consumption - an illness of days gone by. Ah, if only. Aiden was a trooper, though the sleepless coughing nights were tiring for all of us, and probably contributed to me catching a lingering bout of sinusitis, which I am still fighting.

So several weeks have gone by and the yellow rain slicker and boots have waited patiently, unloved and unappreciated, for their time to come. And this morning, we were both feeling well enough to don the gear and do some puddle splashing. I of course would play photographer on this expedition.


Aiden was especially excited to be able to bust out his fabulous blue Flintstones knock-off "ella."

Happy 19th Month Aiden! And 32nd Year Mommy!

It took us 19 months, but we finally broke down today. We took Aiden in for his first haircut. Most people are a little surprised that we held out this long, and truth be told, it was probably long overdue. After all, when his little curls were stretched out straight, they were over 6 inches long. I tried to get a good picture in the bath last week; it was so long in the back that it literally fell past his shoulder blades!

However, since his curls are so fiercely coiled, you really couldn't tell how long his hair really was. Unless he roughed it up or I didn't have time/energy to put in product and style it. Both of which are happening more often these days. Lately, Aiden's been looking more and more like a wild jungle cat. Itay and I finally both agreed - it was time.

So we arrived bright and early at Snip-Its kid salon (because, living in Palo Alto, we have our choice of several such salons... hilarious).
Aiden loved playing with the train table in the waiting room and even enthusiastically followed his stylist, Noelle, to her chair. Here, though, the enthusiasm quickly waned. Aiden was a trooper, resignedly sitting still and patiently waiting for the haircut to be over, but he looked sooooo sad.It made me want to cry. So I did. Partly I was feeling awful that my baby was sitting there with this "Why are you doing this to me?" look on his face. But also, I realized that in some way, the scissors were snipping away an outer shell of babyness, revealing a more mature little boy beneath. And while I'm so proud of all Aiden's recent developments and accomplishments, I can't help but miss the sweet little baby who a year ago at this time was only learning to crawl.

Fortunately, the "new" little boy we came out of Snip-Its with was pretty darn adorable in his own right.

Also, today was my 32nd birthday. I was thinking of listing some of my own developmental milestones as I reach this ripe old age. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything that wasn't a little bit depressing (more aches and pains, wrinkles, cavities, etc.). Suffice it to say it's been a wonderful, eventful year, and I could think of no better way to celebrate than with a well-deserved NAP! There will be many years for raucous celebration, but this year is not one of those.

Let me help you, Henry!

On a recent visit with Henry, Aiden got to indulge both his love of pushing rolling toys and his love for music - he would push Henry down the sidewalk in this musical car until the music stopped... then he'd toddle around to the front of the car, hit the music button, and start trekking again.


Such good buddies they are!

Holiday Hecticity

I know that hecticity's not a word, but it should be. Not that we didn't enjoy our chaotic Christmas - it was an absolute blast. Just also a total whirlwind. But here are the highlights.

Aiden was a trooper on his first toddler plane trip, making friends with all the right people (the little girl across the aisle from us who shared some toys), and happily coloring for a good chunk of our short flight to San Diego.

I myself was quite proud of being able to wrangle a carryon, rolling bag, carseat, and stroller with child from airport to rental car all by myself.

After settling in at Shawnie and Andrew's house, we enjoyed a quick visit to LegoLand, which I am sure we will partake in on future visits to the Watts.

Aiden loved the playground; I was absolutely enchanted by the lego versions of famous cities. Lego San Francisco was darling. I can't wait until Aiden is into building actual structures with Legos - I will totally be his buddy for that! As it was, at this age, the cityscapes were just torturous temptation for my little buddy - he kept trying to break into the cities to play with the creations!


We got to visit briefly with Dana and Reed, but of course I lost my camera for that part. Dana will post some pics, I am sure;). And then we headed to Dave and Gina's house for cookie decorating with Kyla, Cassidy and Alina. There was a bit more tasting than decorating on Aiden's part, but a good time was had by all.


We jumped in the car nice and early Christmas Eve to start our trek to Thousand Oaks. We stopped by Mission Viejo for some Christmas popsicles and a break for the parents. It is absolutely awesome visiting Ross and Helen and the kids - the cousins take great care of Aiden and Alina, allowing us grownups plenty of time to enjoy the massage chair in the family room;).


Before long, we jumped into LA holiday traffic en route to the Hessler Holiday Hullabaloo. It is always so fun to be together, even if it feels like I don't have a chance to really catch up with anyone with so much going on.


Still, lots of laughter and delicious food was shared as always. And Aiden enjoyed snuggling, jumping, and swinging with Aunties, Uncles, and cousins galore.


We headed back to SD that night so Santa could come for Ali and Aiden - and he didn't disappoint.


Aiden was totally uninterested in presents this year, so I got to open a bunch of fun toys for him! And after I put everyone through a stressful few hours looking for my lost rental car keys (sorry, everyone!), I picked up Itay at the airport to join our fun. We decided to bring the babes back to their babysitters, I mean, cousins, in Mission Viejo, and we had a great time playing games and eating a delicious Christmas dinner with the Zajac-Hesslers.


After meeting up with Darcie and Jerry for brunch in San Diego on Saturday morning, we grabbed hot drinks and headed to the chilly beach park in Shawnie and Andrew's neighborhood. Aiden can't wait to return when the weather warms up for some beach fun! As it was, he teased the waves until the knocked him over, soaking his winter wear and causing us to rush our child home to warm up before he caught pneumonia:).

A fun visit with Molly capped off our wild ride of visits, and we crashed for a great final night's sleep in Encinitas. Phew! I am exhausted even just writing about the whirlwind! We had an amazing trip - thank you thank you Shawnie and Andrew for letting us take over your adorable beach house for almost a week - we'll be back soon!

At Eighteen Months...

Aiden turned a year and a half yesterday. Which means that he is (gulp) officially closer to 2 years old than 1. Big sigh, little tear. The baby is all growed up!

At his 18 month checkup, he was in the 30th percentile for weight and 90th for height, just like the last several checkups. Which has eased two of my fears. First, even though he clearly is not a fan of his mama's cooking (yes, the definition of my "cooking" runs the gamut from slaving over a risotto to cutting up reheated frozen chicken nuggets, but Aiden isn't having any of it), he clearly is eating as well at daycare as Kathy reports. Having been on the receiving end of one of her fabulous Persian feasts, I can't really fault Aiden for his preferences - the kid has good taste! And my second fear, that Aiden's incessant jumping might somehow compact his bone growth thus impacting his height, has also proven to be unfounded. He is outgrowing all his 18 months onesies, since they are just too short! On to 2T!?!?! Another big sigh.

This week has been a challenge - after running a random low-grade fever on Monday and Tuesday, Aiden's sleep schedule has seen better days. Partly because we're not sure if he's waking up because he doesn't feel good, and partly because we are just too exhausted to do anything else, Aiden's come into bed with us every night this week. Sleeping with a toddler is, in my humble opinion, TORTURE! I don't know how anyone sustains that habit for long - unless they enjoy compounded exhaustion. Which I don't. My patience has been wearing thin, which has been unfortunate because on top of a little illness, Aiden has also decided to start practicing for his "terrible twos". He bit me so hard today when I wouldn't let him run through our dark parking lot (what a mean mother) that he broke the skin - through a tee-shirt and a cashmere sweater, mind you! I have many other choice examples of the abuse I am somehow putting up with at the hands, feet and teeth of my darling, but I'd rather not relive them.

However, this recent mood change has me thinking a little about Mother Nature. As several of my friends who had babies around the time Aiden was born announce their second pregnancies, I realize that yes, if we wanted to have kids 2 years apart, we would have made the decision to have another a few months ago. For my part, I always knew I needed a little time to have my body back to myself, and since Aiden stopped nursing officially around Thanksgiving, baby #2 wasn't in the plans earlier in the year. However, back in September when we had this adorable little toddling chatting baby/toddler, I must admit I didn't rule the possibility of another child out.

I explain all this because I think I now know why so many people have kids 2 years apart - it is really hard to decide to have another child when the one you've got is throwing tantrums like this! You have to get on board with baby #2 BEFORE this phase hits, otherwise your motivation is decidedly diminished!

OK, so I am being a little dramatic. Our little Aiden, in spite of his momentary lapses into tantrum-throwing-terror, is still quite the angel baby-turned-toddler. Even when he was home sick (a good excuse for me to take a day off and for Daddy and Aiden to spend a day together!), he didn't lose his sweet temperament. He even helped Itay get some work done, taking notes on a conference call;)


A few favorite 18-month memories:

Coordination update: Aiden is still jumping, running, climbing, kicking, throwing, and this month added dribbling a ball to his repertoire of physical feats. "Dribbling" is a super loose term, since I think his record is 2 bounces in a row. Still;).

First sentence: "Monkey, are you?" Translation, "Binky, where are you?" My heart about stopped when he said this. Sentences? Really? But I guess this was only to be expected with a word list like this kid (I've been keeping track on our kitchen chalkboard, but after his 18 month bday, I have stopped, since it seems like it's a new word a day!)

Aiden got to play with his little buddy Henry, who is growing like a weed and crawling all over the place! Hard to believe his first birthday is on the horizon, especially since he's one of Aiden's "little" friends! Not so little anymore!


We had a fun Hausner baby playdate, with Dylan and Tyler and the newest member of the "club" - 8-week old Robbie:). It is so cute to see the boys develop their "friendship." When the kids had to finally go home, Aiden had a FIT, crying like his heart was completely broken. It was so sweet. We eventually had to just leave the house ourselves so he wouldn't feel the impact of the empty house!


So into the holidays and 2010 we journey with our precious 1.5 year old! I am semi-terrified of 5 sleepless nights away from home, but am sure some pitying family member or friend will take Aiden for a few hours so I can nap if things get too hairy;).

Happy Hanukkah?

The first night of Hanukkah has come and gone, and I am starting to see a pattern to my holiday participation this year... or non-participation, because just like Thanksgiving, Aiden and I were making an ungraceful exit far before any real festivities began. I overheard several people at the Hanukkah party say, "I've never heard Aiden cry before," and I was thinking, well, you'd cry too if you never got to stick around for dinner because it was always served past your bedtime! Poor little guy, he was so sleepy by the time we lit candles that this was his version of Hanukkah joy...


If only we could try to eat dinner sometime BEFORE 8:30 on occasion. Sometimes the Israeli sense of time drives me crazy.

Up until our meltdown moments, Aiden did have some fun, though. Ilanit and family were babysitting a cute little dog, Cooper, who Aiden took about 3.5 seconds to warm up to. Unfortunately, the dog was no match for my shrieking jumping little boy, and Cooper very quickly had to take cover from his new biggest fan.





Finally, our little parrot will pretty much repeat anything we say lately, so we had fun with some Hanukkah song lyrics and had Aiden singing "sov sov sov" for much of the evening. This lyric translated means "spin spin spin" and has to do with a dreidel. That is about all I can tell you about the song, other than the fact that my super genius child nails it in this clip;).


A true Hanukkah sameach to all!

Bring on the Holidays

We entered the holiday season with bells on this year. Here is our family portrait at Thanksgiving dinner.


You may notice that Aiden is the only person in the picture. He decided about 15 minutes before the official start of dinner that he was ready to eat. He announced this quite clearly with whines and fake cries, and by signing "hungry" in sign language. After a glorious 7 minutes sampling the menu, he decided he was over the holiday, which left Itay and I playing musical chairs during the "actual" dinner. I think I had more face time this year, since last year I spent the large majority of the dinner in the back room nursing. Progress is slow coming, but it's a coming!

If it seems I am complaining about my toddler's blossoming independent streak, you may have a point. However, my darling son will still humor me occasionally with silly photo shoots in piles of leaves.


And that blossoming independence has him coming up with constant causes for me to sing about his clear genius status. Even though Itay pretty consistently reminds me to not be one of "those parents" who think that their child walks on water, we both can't help but marvel at the miracle that is our budding conversationalist. I have been keeping a list of Aiden's words on the chalkboard door we have in the kitchen... it is now several dozen strong, and growing daily. Every new word truly does floor me. His latest out of the blue word: Dora. As in the explorer. Which I was pretty sure he hadn't watched much, but clearly I was misinformed. Because he LOVES her. We have one episode on-demand on cable, and I have to say, Dora pretty much is the reason my child is eating any sort of vegetables at dinner. I am not proud of this. Amused, yes, but not proud.

Other favorite words:
Cookie. As in "cookiecookiecookiecookie.." (repeated until he gets said cookie which he somehow spotted on the kitchen counter behind the baby gate - do kids have cookie radar?).
Mama. As in Mama?Mama?Mama?Mama? (repeated until Mama stops checking Facebook and actually gives some attention to the poor, neglected child for crying out loud!)
Morning. We have a game we play called "Mama nigh-nigh" which involves me laying on the floor, Aiden covering me with a blanket, then whipping it off and shouting "Morning!" I think it is a sign of how enchanted I am with my son that this never gets old. Also, the game involves me laying down, so I am a huge fan:).

We're excited to celebrate Hanukkah with family this weekend, and will be making a trip to Southern California to visit our Christmas relatives too:). I have a feeling Aiden will really enjoy all the lights and decorations this year, after all, he was absolutely enthralled by the Los Altos Holiday Light Parade. Or maybe it was just his lovely entourage that he enjoyed...;)