Happy Birthday

Happy Leap Day Birthday to Grammy Dot!

(I couldn't find a properly sentimental photo so I picked a funny one)

Hope you are celebrating with gusto!

Merry-Go-Round

Wow, I'm am way off track for meeting my posting goal for 2012. Time to step it up!

So here is a series of photos from last December that I thought I'd put up just because they are so stinkin' cute. Dot took these and I lightly edited them (cropped and brightened a little).

Terry left yesterday, just over 24 hours ago, on another work trip - this time he'll be gone 12 days (if you count departure and arrival days as whole days). So this morning I was moving around the kitchen in what sometimes feels like an endless feedback loop of picking up toys, washing dishes, and pouring the kids' beverage service when I heard an eruption of belly-laughing from the two of them. I turned around and saw that they were flipping themselves head-first over the back of the short couch onto the long couch and back again - I'd pushed the furniture together at Valerie's request yesterday; it makes a well-cushioned little indoor gym for them to climb and jump on. Around and around they went, just giggling and laughing their heads off every time they went over the top.

Times like that - and the moments pictured above - make every hour of lost sleep worth it.

quickly

I just wanted to mark the date: exactly 1 year since we moved into this apartment, and 17 months to the day since we moved to Albania. Today was an exceptionally good day; I was with the kids all day and everything went smoothly and calmly and it just felt like yes, we're getting the hang of it. Yes I was tired, but not exhausted; and we just enjoyed our day together. Nothing remarkable - washing dishes, jumping on the furniture, folding laundry, playing "tent" with the curtains, making cornmeal muffins and noodle soup. Watching my kids learning and growing. A good day.

my valentine

Cool dude

My cool little dude is almost 20 months old! I missed his 18-month and 19-month posts so here is an attempt to catch up a bit.

Height: we measured him a couple weeks ago, and he is now 31 inches - he grew well over an inch in the past two months. Incredible.

Development: He's started talking more, in addition to Mama, Dada, and a few other sort-of-words, he now says very clearly: Sun, Hajde ("come here" in Albanian), Agua, and Nëna (Grandma in Albanian). He says something sort of like "Lar-Lar" for Val-Val, and "Boo" for Pooh. And thanks to his sister's alphabetic orientation, he can identify a couple letters consistently and accurately, especially M and S.

He does adorably cute role plays either remembering things that happened, or telling us what he wants to do. He's currently fascinated by candles (we had a couple power outages recently) and one morning woke up saying "Wow! Wow!" and pointed up at the top of the book-cases, where Terry had put the candles the night before. This morning he burped, then put his hands over his mouth and mimed vomiting - ok not so cute, but here's the cute part: then he said "Nëna," and mimed cleaning the floor, because my mom had cleaned the rug after he threw up last week. He role plays putting toy animals and cars to bed, including trying to diaper a plastic horse, and giving a stuffed piglet a toy and blanket to sleep with.

He loves to dance and jump. One morning I just sat and watched him dance in circles around the kitchen, arms raised and jumping up onto his tiptoes, just brimming over with Life. He's such a delicious little squishy bundle of dimpled fun - I have to remind myself to soak it all in while I can.

Sleep: Sometime in December he dropped his morning nap. This was as the footsteps of doom for Pooh, since we used to use this quiet hour in the morning for some mother-daughter breakfast and craft time. But he just doesn't need it, and won't take it anymore. Then about a month ago he decided that a 7:00-7:30 bedtime is for babies, and oh no he's not a baby anymore! He's a big boy who sleeps in a bed, not in a crib, and not until he's good and readzzzzzz. So we've been trying to find a new equilibrium, one that will work even while Terry's away on work trips. Pray for us!!!!!

Catching up, and other sundries

So my mom left Thursday before dawn, and I’m feeling her absence. Last night after I went to bed I found myself thinking about little things to tell her in the morning and then I remembered she’s not here. You know, those random little stories that form the fabric of daily life but aren’t realy worth the trouble of writing a whole e-mail about them.

That’s why we have blogs, right?

Case in point: This morning Gabriel saw a helicopter flying by in the near distance – it was bright red, so it stood out well against the pale blue morning sky – he was so fascinated by it. Every now and then he would point out the window and go “Bzhzhzhzzz! Copt! Copt!” with a look of wide-eyed seriousness on his face. As soon as Terry got up, Gabe had to tell Dada all about it too. Adorable.

So much happened in the last two weeks, I don’t even know where to start in trying to record at least the highlights. I can easily tell you the lowlights! (That’s why my nickname is Eeyore! You can also call me Puddleglum!)

1. Gabriel suddenly discovered that he can choose to stay awake and play instead of going right to sleep when put down for the night. This has turned bedtime into a prolonged ordeal, from my perspective, and cut a deep hole into my night sleeping hours. Thus, time I used to spend blogging I’ve now consigned to trying to nap.
2. Valerie had a 24-hour stomach bug (or perhaps food poisoning, although we can’t figure out from what) wherein she threw up five times between naptime and bedtime, and then three more times during the night. The cutest moment during all of that was when she was holding a little blue pitcher on her lap, looking into it, and said “all that yuck will come out your mouth and jump into the pitcher. Jump jump jump! And then we will throw it in the potty.” Poor little Pooh was so, so sick. It was nice, though, that she’s reached the point where she can anticipate the need to throw up and ask for a bucket.
3. Gabriel was sick, too, with a brief fever in the night followed by diarrhea and vomiting in the morning. I don’t know if it was the same thing Valerie had or somethig different. He only threw up once, and she didn’t have a fever, so I’m suspecting different. I’m very glad they both recovered quickly.
4. I’ve been dealing with plugged ducts for the first time with nursing Gabriel. I used to get this a lot more with Valerie for some reason (possibly less experience nursing?) It’s very painful but I think getting better.
5. The weather was pretty icky the whole time my mom was here, save a few partly-sunny days that weren’t too cold to go out. So we spent a lot of time indoors, which was not bad in and of itself, but I was disappointed we didn’t get to show her more of Albania or even the environs outside Tirana.

I think for me some of the highlights of her visit were going out to lunch together just the two of us after my Albanian lesson, and steam-baking coffee cakes one afternoon. Valerie loved the cake and has been asking continually for more! Mom's last day here was kind of a nice day out, so we took the bus to Tirana International Hotel and then walked back around Skenderbeg Square (more like an oval) to the Millenium Café on the pedestrian mall that we in our family refer to as the “rainbow walk.” The café was empty but for a gardener and a cat, and the kids had a blast playing in the empty playground. We got popcorn and juice at the cinema that is part of the complex, then walked down to the taxi stand and bought some roasted chestnuts there before heading home.

(if you look closely, you can see my mom in a red jacket taking a photo of the square,

while Valerie runs up the steps towards her)

As when my sister visited, I was struck by how much the kids absorb our attention and energy and how hard it is to actually sit down and have a conversation since we’re constantly being interrupted. We have a fairly child-centered approach to parenting although we do try to set some boundaries around parental needs too.

On the other hand, Valerie is really and truly learning to read right now! It’s totally amazing to me. She’s not even four! She can recognize, sound out, and spell around 30 words right now. She loves using her letter blocks or alphabet puzzle to make words (stuff like cat, hat, big, pig, fox, box, but also frog and goat!). I want to get her some Dick and Jane books, I think she’d master those pretty quickly.

Gabriel is talking more and more, adding new words – or at least approximations of them – all the time (cf. “copt” for helicopter).

So that’s my update; I just remembered there was also the birthday party we all went to, and that I forgot to take my camera to, that was a lot of fun and a further little glimpse into life in Tirana. So stay tuned!

quick Photos

Mom!

My aunt just reminded me that my mom has been here five days already, and I haven't written a word about it yet! [Hi Cathie!] ;) It's nice to know I have dedicated readers who will give me a poke when needed :-)

So yes, Mom is here - she had no trouble on the [albeit long] journey and came laden with goodies and treats from Peru. It was a late-night arrival and I made the trek out to the airport by myself - a rare thing, for me to be out at all after 8 p.m. But it was worth it to see her come through the gates and give her a big, long hug. No matter how old you are, there's nothing like a hug from your mother.

I think Valerie and Gabriel recognized her voice more than they did her face. There is no substitute for warm, in-person vocals. Valerie has already christened her "Rabbit." A wooden puzzle in the shape of a rooster she brought was the unexpected big-hit gift, and Valerie has been taking it to bed with her every night (except last night when it was replaced by a lift-a-flap Winnie the Pooh book that came in the mail from friends in the US). I've kept more or less a normal work schedule this week, although Terry and I had a date night Weds. evening, which was a fun mid-week event. So Mom's had lots of time to make towers out of blocks and Shpresa has also been taking her (and the kids) out for walks to see different points of interest in the city center.

I'm glad it has not been as cold this week since all our wall-unit heaters have conked out and we only have 2 portable space heaters that we take from room to room. Shpresa improvised a hot-water bottle from an empty plastic detergent bottle that has been helpful for Mom since the room she is in is the coldest in the apartment.

I'll have her write a guest post soon once she's had a chance to form more of an impression of the city.

Happy Birthday Rosanne!

Super-Tia! Miss you!

Bundled

It has been COLD here. Power has been unreliable, and since we use electric heat, it's been a little worrisome. So far we haven't lost power for more than 10 minutes or so in the evenings during heaviest use time, but friends a few blocks away were out for like 10 HOURS, and they have a little baby. Even though it's been sunny, I haven't been taking the kids out much. I bought them some play-dough and that's been a huge hit. We make little snowmen and Gabriel grabs the balls and throws them across the room shouting "Gooool!"

Ouch

The bad news is that G has been sick with stomatitis - Valerie had it at about the same age, which helped me recognize what it was even after the doctor told us it was probably a respiratory infection (at that point he had a fever but the cold sores hadn't really fully developed on his tongue yet). It's kind of interesting to compare, actually - I don't recall that she ever had much of a fever, although her outbreaks looked much, much worse (bleeding gums, ugh), and she also didn't seem to be in as much pain - she ate a lot better than he has been.

Monday morning Terry woke me up saying G felt kind of hot and might have a fever. He was burning up. By the late afternoon the fever went up to 102, and Tuesday evening went up to 103. It would go down in the day but then up in the early evening. And he was miiiiiiiiserable. All day Tuesday, all he wanted to do was lie in my arms and nurse. He didn't want to eat anything, and on Wednesday I realized that he was having difficulty swallowing. The front of his clothes were drenched in drool (so at first we thought it was teething pain). He wanted food, he would point to it and go "eh eh" in this pitiful voice but one bite, and then he'd spit it out crying in pain.

Sooooo heartbreaking.

Thursday I took him to the clinic and they said the back of his throat looked red. I'd noticed his gums were getting red, too, but the doctor didn't think much of that. She said it wasn't strep, but to watch for blisters on his hands and feet. Otherwise she was pretty sure it would turn out to be a respiratory tract thing.

But Shpresa and I both noticed little sores on his tongue later that day, and when I got a good look at them I recognized stomatitis.

Since he couldn't eat food, we've been giving him herbal tea with honey in it, and what clear broths he could manage. Plus breastfeeding of course, his preferred food. He could sometimes take a few spoonfuls of very milky oatmeal. But he hasn't pooped since Friday.

The good news is that he seems to be on the upswing now. He ate a good deal of actual noodle soup yesterday, and this morning woke up a little more bright eyed and bushy tailed (in the immortal words of my father) :-) with actual smiles, and the fun-loving look in his eyes was back. He hasn't had a fever since what, Friday? I think? He's drooling less and I can hear him swallowing his saliva from time to time.

The other good news is that since it's a virus that Valerie has already had, I don't have to worry about him giving it to her. In fact she very well might have given it to him!

I'm worn out, though. His sleep at night has been terrible due to the pain in his mouth. Think about how much a cold sore hurts and then imagine having them all over your gums and three on your tongue. Terry's been away on a work trip for two nights. I think we coped really well the past two days all things considered, but I'm ready for a nap!!!

sorry out of office, g sick - updates soon.

I'm back!

Happy New Year, everybody! Here is a lazy picture post to get you started. One of my goals for 2012 is 150 blog posts. I posted 171 times in 2011, so my secret personal goal is actually 175 posts (lucky you!) but my realistic goal is 15o. So you can look forward to lots more pictures of these two little ones in 2012.

Little hug

Stop the presses!!!!

V. wearing a dress!!!!!!

Those red shoes used to be hers, but they work on him too.

By the artificial lake

My little hobbit

2011: Year in Review

I tried to find photos that I haven't posted here before - click on the name of the month to read through my blog archives!

January:February:

March:April:
May:
June:
July:
August:September:
October:
November:
December:

My Kids Are So Cute

I'm enjoying a day at home alone today - an introvert's bliss! Here are some cute pictures for your enjoyment. Now I'm off to watch a DVD and knit. Thanks to Owl, Rabbit, and the other Owl for taking Pooh and Piglet out on a grand little excursion sans Eeyore!

Is this not the cutest little boy you have ever laid eyes on? You know he is.

Christmas 2011

Gabriel says "no" - and other things!

Gabriel has been adding some new words to his repertoire - "Nana" (banana), "Nena" (Grandma), "Up," "Gja" (Giraffe), and, most charmingly, "Noooooo." Don't believe me? Behold:

There are more - all the time. I'm still trying to catch him running around trying to jump, with his hands over his head, kicking a ball and shouting "Gooo! Gooo!" [Gol] My little dude is getting SO BIG!!!

"Wooshawoo!"

Interim

I've been trying to upload some videos of the kids and it takes so long it never finished uploading.

Meanwhile, life continues apace; Terry was home for 24 hours and then went to Cyprus; it's been raining and cold; the kids have been exceptionally cranky and clingy although today was a better day (especially for V).

Terry gets back in just a few hours and we're so excited!

I'll try to get the videos up soon.

Snapshots of a Phantzi life

1. This is the view from our balcony looking south. I think we are in for an obnoxiously noisy couple months ahead of us...

Seriously. Noise reverberates like crazy through this building. Apparently the recent change in government means a lot of people are suddenly flush with cash and are looking for ways to invest it.

Sigh.

2. Multi-generational households contribute positively to the socialization of young children: all eating breakfast together at the table! Unheard of in the Phantzi household.

3. Cardboard tube from a package of saran wrap plus rope and two kitchen chairs = a fun swing for a little plastic toy (see yellow spot near V's elbow):

4. Gabe is experimenting early with body art:

5. They've finished renovating Skenderbeg Square, finally - just in time for Christmas! Also: the rains have come at last!