Hello all- I have been meaning to write for a while now because the terrible two’s phase was mostly just temporary. Seriously, it was. After a couple of weeks, our sweet little guy has turned back into his sweet little self. And in retrospect I realized that this phase coincided with a huge increase in appetite and a growth spurt of about an inch. So maybe he was just surly because he was hungry and growing. I don’t know. Aside from him suddenly growing out of all of his pants, he is getting bigger in other ways. He is a jokester for one, always telling me things just to get a laugh out of me. One of his recent best happened when we took the rail off of his crib (OooAaah, a big boy bed!). He has done amazingly well with it- he only needed to be put back into bed 3 times the first night and has been doing great ever since- but the first day that I put him down for nap I knew he was going to be trouble. He was all riled up from being cooped up in the house due to never-ending rain but I did my best to put him down like usual anyway. We read two stories, did his ‘rock the baby game’, 2 binkies, and tucked him in and I reminded him that if he came out of his room I would just go put him right back in bed. And then I went down to wash the dishes. I could hear him kind of giggling at the rush of freedom he now had and I would hear these little footsteps run back and forth from his room to ours and back again. I just ignored it, thinking that if I paid attention to him it would just turn it into a fun game for him and I would spend hours running back up the stairs to put him back in his bed. Eventually he started yelling for me but again I decided to just ignore it and hope that he would get bored and stop. He was at the top of the stairs yelling “Mama! Mama!” as loud as he could. After a while it turned into “Maamaaa! Where aaaaare yooooou?” pause, then finally “Mamaaaaaamaaaaaaaaaa!” as loud as he his little voice would let him. So finally, I gave in and was thinking this was going to be a really really long naptime today so I walked to the bottom of the stairs resigned that I was going to get nothing done during my supposed time off- “Yes, Rinat what is it?” and he informed me “NatNat COCO LOCO FRUITCAKE!” And he ran off to his room giggling all the way. All I could do was walk around the corner so he couldn’t hear me and laugh my head off. He’s so friggin cute! And he is just so amazingly vocal. I can have a conversation with him on the phone and understand exactly what he is saying without any help or translation from Peter at all. I can’t believe he’s already old enough to do that. He is really into emotions lately and will tell me “NatNat frustrated/mad/sad/goodboy/having trouble/soexcited” and, my favorite one, “Natnat lucky boy Mama!” when I bought him a soccer ball at the zoo. And he wants to figure out how everyone else feels too. He will ask about people on TV and want to know how they are feeling but I really cracks me up because I tell him all the time that if he does something that I don’t want him to that Mommy is ‘not happy’. The little manipulator that he is, he will go and pretend to make me cupcakes or play the drums and sing for me and then ask “Mommy happy now? YOU (with an emphatic finger point), YOU happy now?” How could I not smile at that? He has so much darn personality and I see a lot of my facial expressions come out in him. The other day he was telling me that milk came from cows and I explained to him that while that was true, there actually are different kinds of milk and that in his country some people even drink milk from horses. From the look on his face you would have thought that I had said the sky was green or something. It was absolutely hilarious. He squinted his little eyes up and furrowed his brow and gave me a look so like my own that I felt like I could have been looking into a mirror. So this week we have been trying cheeses made from different kinds of milk and he really likes them- especially the goat cheese from Whole Foods. I sure hope he keeps that adventurous spirit as he grows up. Especially when we go to Kaz and eat all kind of things with gristle and bones and unidentifiable bits. It was not my favorite country I’ve been to food-wise but it was certainly the most worthwhile place I’ve ever been. We celebrated Easter here at the house and Rin was just so excited about the whole thing that it was unbelievable. It’s the first holiday we have celebrated at home so for a week or so before, Rinat kept asking “Easter Bunny coming to Reenat’s house?” (he’s starting to drop the NatNat and call himself Rinat now) over and over again like he just couldn’t believe how lucky he was that the EB would grace us with his presence. And on the morning of, he came creeping into our room at 6:05 (way before our usual 7:00 wakeup) but I made him wait until ‘the Easter Bunny was all finished’ and then we followed the trail to his basket and he went completely bonkers. He got new golf clubs and candy and puzzles and books. He wasn’t actually all that interested in the backyard egg hunt though. He found about 5 of them and declared he was ‘all done’ as he stuffed about 30 jelly beans in his mouth so I had to go and hunt down the other 23 before the ants got to them. But we did have a ton of fun dyeing some real ones the day before. And he watched the old timey Easter Bunny movie with Fred Astaire over and over and over again. A good time was had by all. Other than that, we’ve just been living life and looking forward to going to Kazapalooza to see all of our Kaz friends in June- can’t wait! Love to all. -m Oh and I will leave you to ponder something. Rin is doing a great job talking but sometimes the things he says sound like something else entirely. The other day he said a word and I actually stopped in my tracks and had to think “Did he really say what it sounded like he said?” But no, he was trying to tell me about the new ‘asphalt’ being laid down on the street by some workers. So go ahead and try to figure out what it sounded like :-)
There’s no other way to say it- our little boy is turning into a handful. He is a foot stomping, ‘no!’ yelling, tantrum throwing 2 year old. Don’t get me wrong, he’s also adorable, smart, and responsible, but he is truly testing every limit that there is these days. But that’s what he’s supposed to be doing at this age, right? And boy is he demanding. He loves to yell “GET OFF THE PHONE MAMA!” over and over again anytime I am on it more than 2 minutes and “RIGHT NOW!” in regards to anything he wants. It is sometimes annoying and sometimes actually really funny. And he is getting so independent that it is sometimes shocking. He just watches and mimics anything that I do from checking his email like Mommy on his Thomas the Train computer to attempting to pee like dada (and of course peeing everywhere) to pretending to wrap up his toy trains and proclaiming “Happy Birthday Mama!” as he brings me yet another gift. But the one that I really couldn’t believe was when I was downstairs folding laundry and he was upstairs washing his hands when I heard “UhOh Mama, wawa” then a pause and “NatNat cleaning.” Of course I had to go check out the mess and found that he was indeed on the floor wiping up spilled water. I asked how it happened and he told me he was ‘fixing NatNat’s dinner’. I looked at the counter and he had actually gotten out a plate and washed some blueberries and put them on it, gotten a cup, filled it with water and placed it on the tray, and was in the process of trying to reach the cookies when he knocked over the water that caused the river of water currently flowing from the counter onto the floor. I couldn’t believe he was really making his own dinner. My little boy almost doesn’t even need me anymore! This was also proven when I left him with Peter for the fist time for 4 whole days when I went to visit Carson for the long weekend and he was (of course) totally happy without me. It was wonderful to have a break but I was definitely ready to see his smiling little face again by the time I got home. As a matter of fact, I was so happy that I agreed to take a shower with him (which he loves) and when we were in there he proclaimed “NatNat little bottom, Mama BIG bottom!” Thanks, hon. Way to boost my ego. I hope all you other big-bottomed gals out there are having a good March! -m
Hi All- So, I know that everyone thinks that their child is the most amazing, smart, and adorable kid in the world and it should definitely be that way. But I think we truly hit the jackpot with our little guy. We started potty training last Friday (yup, the day of his preschool interview) and today he was totally and completely accident free (yesterday there was only 1 slipup and it was right before he hit the bath so does it really count?). I mean, really, does it usually happen this quickly? What was I so worried about? To celebrate his first poo in the potty, we baked an apple pie. And I told him that he got his new big boy toothbrushes (Pooh) because he was wearing big boy undies and telling me that he needs to go peepee without me having to ask. It’s so cute because he’ll stop what he’s doing and freeze for a second, and then say “Potty Mama!” and start running towards the bathroom while yelling “Run! Run! Potty, Mama! Run Potty!” and looking behind him to make sure I’m following. I think he’s pretty excited to be a big boy now although it makes me sad. I actually teared up the first time he went all on his own. But back to the brilliance that is our little man. We also got a call from the preschool today and they offered Rinat a place in next year’s class. And, without prompting from me (I swear!), the director went on to explain that he was ‘an extraordinary child’ and went into detail about some of the things that he had done when he was there for his visit that showed his amazing intelligence. I, of course, agreed but allowed that I was just a little biased but he said “You’re not biased, he’s actually very smart. You better watch out because you have a little scholar on your hands.” So now the pressure is on to make sure we can keep him challenged. And now that he is into a good preschool, I can start obsessing about elementary school. Argh. Will it ever stop? My guess is no. But really, he is the most amazing, smart, and adorable kid in the world. Now I can say it for sure since it has been corroborated by an unbiased source :-) Love to all -m
Happy Valentines Day everyone! A few months ago, I gave Rin his first fortune cookie and it foretold “You will be lucky in love.” Gosh, I hope that’s true. I know that it is trial and error when we try and find the person who is right for us and I hope that Peter and I can help him through those times when he gets his sweet little heart crushed by someone he loves. I am definitely not looking forward to his teenage years but I guess a few heartbreaks along the way are par for the course. Since I last wrote, we have been pretty busy. But then again, when aren’t we? First was his 2nd Birthday party. We had it at Gymboree with all of his little friends and I let Rinat pick out his cake which was Thomas the Train. The kids were so cute and they all ran around like little maniacs and then went home exhausted and ready for a big long nap. The following day, we hopped on our first plane flight with Rinat since we brought him home from Kaz and we spent almost two weeks on the West Coast visiting family. He really was a pretty good traveler despite the fact that it took 15 hours door to door to get to Ted and Liz’s place in San Francisco. Rin really loved the fact that there was water everywhere there and he kept drawing sea lions over and over on his Magnadoodle- a huge blob with an eye. And, of course, he loved that Ted was game to get tackled repeatedly by him. Then we headed to Salt Lake to visit my mom and he was enchanted by the mountains and snow. But he didn’t want to walk in it or sled on it. No, no- he only wanted to eat it. Seriously, all he wanted was to sit there and eat handful after handful of it for an hour straight. To each his own I guess. Since we have been home, we have just been kind of getting back into the swing of things. And, can you believe it, potty training! I got him some itty bitty undies (size 18 months) and we just started on Friday. But listen to what our brilliant son decided to do. We had a ‘playdate’ (aka interview) on Friday at the preschool that I am hoping he gets into. We waited downstairs in the lounge while the directors worked with him upstairs and when they brought him back when they were done, they informed us that he had gone pee in the potty. They asked if he needed to go, he said yes, he went, he sat, he peed. He’s a genius. And I’m guessing that he’s totally in. Of all of the times to suddenly potty train himself, that was the perfect one. Oh, but even more amazing is this. When we were checking him in, we said his name and the director said “Oh really? I have a nephew named Rinat.” Well, I was sort of blown away because of course I don’t know anyone else with his name so I wanted to know more. The man said “Well, my wife’s family is from Russia and they are Tatar.” I was practically jumping up and down since our little guy is too and I have yet to meet a single Tatar aside from him. After the interview, the director’s wife actually came to the school and we got to meet her and talk a little bit about it. Amazing, right? I am really happy that we have someone to ask about it since I know that at some point Rinat will want to know more about his heritage. It’s kind of hard because he is from Kazakhstan but not Kazakh so the cultural stuff doesn’t apply as much. And I have found it really hard to find out about the Tatars and anything specific to that culture. But now I have someone to ask! I am going to have to try really hard not to drive her crazy with questions if I can help it. In any case, we find out this week if he got in so I will know if I can start stalking her And the other big new of the week is that we finally got all of our paperwork done and have a very general ETA for baby #2. But I don’t want to put it on the internet so you have to email if you want to know. It will be a long long wait, but in the end we will have another little bumpkin to chase after so I know it will all be worth it. -m
Wow! It’s 2009 already. How did that happen? As predicted, we barely made it awake to see the ball drop and see the end of 2008. But we sure do have a lot of great memories from the year. In the recent past, we did our whirlwind tour of the midAtlantic for Christmas. We started out at my brother’s family’s house where the 2 year old in Rinat fully surfaced in the form of pushing his sweet cousin when she got too close to ‘his’ toys. That did not go over well with us. But we had a ton of fun while we were there- trips on the train to see the singing bears, the gigantic indoor 4 story high jungle gym (why do we not have one of those here?- and btw, it scared the bejeezus out of me), exploring the supercool children’s library, and just hanging out wrestling with his cousin. It was great. Next stop- LBurg. We got there a day before Christmas Eve to find out that the Santa gift had not arrived so of course Peter had to go shopping at the last minute and went totally overboard as usual. But I have to say that he did enjoy putting the train together during cocktail hour after Rin went to sleep and that’s half the fun anyway, right? And it was well received by our little conductor wannabe. He completely understood the Santa thing and knew exactly what to do when he got up. For my own sanity, and because I wanted to make sure everyone else was up before he came down, I told him Santa wasn’t finished delivering gifts until the sun came up so we hung out in bed for a while and waited for the sun. He kept asking “Santa come?” and so after hearing everyone already downstairs, we went creeping slowly down. He saw the huge display that the jolly guy had left and tiny cautious little smile took over his adorable face. It looked something like “Oh my gosh, look at that train- is it really all for me?” and looked at us for reassurance that it was true. It was kind of reminiscent of when we first saw him in the arms of his careworker at the baby house- Is it real? Can I believe it?- and I looked at Gulsanna to see if it was really true the way he looked to us for the same thing. There were, of course, a multitude of gifts and we could hardly fit them all in our car when we drove back to DC. For his 2nd birthday (Dec 26 for those who don’t know) we just made some cupcakes and he spent most of the day at our friend Tray’s house visiting with the menagerie that they have. It was a good day. But I can’t believe how quickly he is growing up. I know I say it every single time, but it is just flying by and it makes me a little sad. His speech in particular is sounding more and more grown up every day. Now, instead of calling the cat “BowBow” (MeowMeow), he has started calling him Massie and saying ‘meow’ like a big boy. And ‘water’ instead of ‘wawa’. What’s next? Oh yeah, we were at a party over Christmas and he heard everyone calling his Dada “Peter” and started calling him that recently. Boy is that kid observant. I sure hope he gets into a good preschool because I don’t know what else to teach him these days! Coming up in the near future is a cross country flight to visit Grandma Shay and Uncle Ted/ Aunt Liz so if anyone had foolproof tricks for dealing with a toddler who hates to be confined and has a penchant for shrieking at the top of his lungs when told No, please send them my way. Happy 2009 everyone! -m
