Runners with a cause - and cool T-shirts! Go Team Shalva!
Abba - making it look easy!
YAY! Abba crossed the finish line as did Zia Em, Renee, Jes, Alisha and Mati and thousands of other runners. But mommy and Rob were the winners of the whole 2014 Jerusalem Marathon day: They managed to keep Lucas, Raia and myself alive and from completely melting down for about an hour while waiting for abba's Jerusalem 10k debut at the finish line.
Now this was more than a week ago and yet it hasn't made the blog yet. That is because, as you know, we babies have a way of driving a wedge between our parents and their computers and that was the case for over a week as I prevented mommy from posting my blogs.
So it is catch-up time now. I will allow space for abba to describe his experience and express his appreciation for those who supported his run for Shalva, my school:
Hi there,
I wanted to thank you again for your support in my 10k run for Shalva. I had a great time running this race and will plan on running the Half marathon next year.
I was very blessed to be running for team Shalva but your support was not only a blessing to me but more for the children of Shalva.
Shalva is a growing organization and are in need of your financial support to continue the great work they are doing.
On March 21, abba and our other friends tackled the hills, the heat and the hoards of runners during the race. But the true marathon was the one headed up by mommy with Rob coming to her rescue: somehow getting three kids - babies in strollers basically - to the finish line. Babies who, if they walk, demand to go their own way or flop to the ground in protest. Babies who are on the edge of a meltdown if their needs or desires aren't instantly met. And babies who apply the Law of Babies to all situations in which they find themselves.
Jes and abba - dubious about the run or
about babies arriving at the finish line?
And herein lies the true story. It all began when we were ushered into a hotel room the night before the race. What new discoveries awaited us! An entirely new room for our search and destroy missions! Bureaus upon which to climb. A TV and all sorts of outlets at our perfect height. And better yet, Lucas and I were to share a sofa bed which meant we could come and go without encountering those pesky child barriers that interfere with - but certainly do not prevent - our escapes from our normal beds.
Do not be deceived: This serene scene was short lived
That night, the eve before his big race, abba slept one solid hour. The rest of the night hours were interrupted by cries, whimpers, massive and invasive dumps and the inevitable rising of babies before the sun. And this all occurred in one small room where there was escape from neither sound nor smell. And then, when he arose, just as refreshed and full of energy as we were I'm sure, abba and mommy whisked us off to breakfast where they watched us annihilate the buffet all the while trying to prevent plates and glasses from flying or silverware, such as knives, to be mishandled. Never mind the humus embedded in our clothing and Lucas' swiping of abba's pineapples and almonds when he wasn't looking.
Then our parents escorted us the 20 minutes all the way to the starting line where we watched the endless stream of runners take off and Lucas nearly snuck into the start area with the Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.
Zia Em, abba and Renee look chipper - before the race
We high-fived Alisha as she embarked upon her 10-ishK
And Rob swooped in to the rescue
Lucas waited for a golden moment to break through the bars
and start running. He actually had his chance when Mayor
Barkat cut through these very gates to start his run.
Starting line shenanigans including high giving Alisha as she embarked upon her journey:
After this nerve-wracking couple of hours abba was supposed to run the race of his life and mommy was supposed to, essentially, herd cats/babies along with Rob who helped the herding process. It took about 30 minutes to get to the finish line which should only be 10 minutes away. We made it with time to spare to see abba gracefully swoop into the finish line.
In the end, everyone was a winner, just some people were more weary than others, basically anyone older than 4 years.
Lucas stopped running his own marathon around
Sacher Park in order to get into the action as well
And then those weary adults shuttled us to the Shalva victory lunch where we ran about 42.2 kilometers around the tables in the auditorium as we wavered between hunger and indefatigable exhaustion. We ultimately found ourselves in a wreath of balloons that we dragged across the hotel and ended up somehow in the bathroom.
And in video where you can really appreciate the depths of us having lost control:
Where was Raia in all of this? Quiet and well behaved in her stroller making Lucas and I look very naughty and needy. Hmph!
So quiet was Raia that no photos of her were taken
until she got home
Not that she minded!
After all that non-running running around, Mommy has a new idea for next year: not just Run for Team Shalva, but BABYSIT for Team Shalva! She contends that running a marathon would be easier than herding the three of us to another finish line.
Proof captured on video that we do dismantle our room every single day. In case you didn't believe us.
In this instance we removed crucial screws from my bed, screws which were apparently loosened from repeatedly moving the bed across the room or simply picking up and then dropping it to the floor.
But at least we "fix" it too.
Raia does not yet destroy her room in the morning.
Just when an adult thinks he or she has the upper hand, a baby will point out how dangerously false that sentiment is.
For example, you've read about how we dismantled our room each morning when we arose well before the sun. Before 5 a.m. Lucas and I skillfully and craftily emptied bins of toys, shoes, books, stuffed animals onto the carpet. Then we would set about looking for drawers we could empty - out came socks, diapers, creams and other tempting items. Then, bored, we set about prying open closet doors after unknotting the towels locking them shut so we could empty the treasure troves of clothing, blankets, medicine and even a full-sized ironing board! In our wake were nail clippers, a syringe, nose aspirators and a broken glass thermometer. We are unsure where the mercury went. All of these items had been "safely" stowed supposedly out of reach of grubby toddler hands. The garbage pail, coat rack and laundry basket had long been banished from our room.
That action was interspersed with our clicking of the balcony light on and off: Tick, tock. Tick, tock. A nice compact sound and the only light shining in the dormant neighborhood at 4:45 am.
Raia: These boots were made for the innocent
Just look at his eyes - the essence of innocence. Right.
And even more innocence. And no mess.
On Saturday, the Sabbath, the Day of UN-rest as I like to call it, we set about to repeat our morning routine during our "nap." That didn't go over well as mommy and abba were looking forward to a small reprieve. Mommy stormed into our room as we were well into our rampage. And to our disbelief, she proceeded to remove every single toy and every piece of furniture from the room except for the dresser and our beds. Abba emptied the only dresser drawers that are not child proofed and double knotted the towels locking the closet doors shut. Now mommy cannot even find our diapers and socks and the room is so empty it now echoes.
Mommy and abba calculated that, if the stimulation of toy bins and extra furniture was tempting us to rise early and deconstruct our room, then removing said stimulation would bore us back to sleep until a civilized hour.
And it worked. The next morning, the only thing I had to do was climb into Lucas' bed and sit beside his sleeping frame giving a loud, rallying speech until he also woke up. But by 6:30 we were both asleep on the floor in the pile of blankets and pillows we had launched from our beds. With nothing left to conquer, boredom lulled us to sleep.
But not for long.
Lucas and I slept on it, as good babies do, and, refreshed, we came up with new and innovative ideas for the following morning: We moved my bed across the room and climbed onto the dresser from there! And perched like two little birds we opened and slammed the window shut - from 5 to 6:30 a.m. For all the neighborhood to hear.
Mommy and abba are most certainly experiencing frustration. But in the midst of that, I am positive there swells a great deal of amazement and respect as well in their hearts at our ingenuity.
Little geniuses. Always one step ahead of their parents, aren't we?
Mommy was never as big a fan of breast milk as she was the last few weeks. Somehow, in the deluge of sickness that swept through our entire family, only one remained healthy through it all, unscathed by viruses and nasty pools of mucous: Raia.
Practicing her modeling skills
Yes, the littlest one among us was the strongest of all. And that, possibly, can be attributed to her prowess as a super baby. Or it could also be attributed to the antibodies in her lattes. Or both.
Nevertheless, Raia remained the one bright, cheery member of the family while the rest of us suffered alternately for two weeks. We boys pass the baton - one week Lucas (and abba) and then me (and mommy) with runny noses, fevers and a near brush with pneumonia and/or ear infection.
The sickness brought out the best in us in terms of our interior design skills home-wrecking abilities. Being home, we were able to really concentrate on the morning routine: how to redesign dismantle our room before mommy and abba wake up.
I am proud to report we have honed our skills to epic proportions. Just when abba thinks he is a few steps ahead of us by moving this or that piece of furniture to block another, or removing furniture altogether or removing dangerous items from drawers and stacking them - supposedly out of reach - atop the dresser, we confound him by managing even more destruction than the day before.
Cool cats
This is how we roll...
... and you cannot argue with that.
Parents: Beware!
It all started when we pulled the changing pad off the dresser - with ALL of the taboo items on it - directly onto the floor and into our wake. When mommy and abba came to check on us that morning, like at 6 a.m., Lucas had a pair of scissors in his mouth and we both had remnants of a glass thermometer in our hands. Shards actually. Where the mercury went nobody knows. We are still finding glass shards to this day.
Lucas and I had already eaten all of the q-tips so there are no more of those to worry about. And diapers, both clean and used, have been strewn about the room, so now they are stacked in a safe house, somewhere.
And what's more, every morning we have a few items from the top shelf (about 6-feet high) in our possession. Mommy and abba have no idea how this happens. And we refuse to confess our deepest secrets.
But despite all of this enormous, as our parents call it, "waste of time and energy" in cleaning up, sometimes an entry into our room in the morning is rewarding: endearing and worth every mess. Now that we can exit and enter both beds, sometimes our parents find both of us in one or another bed. And that makes us cute, doesn't it?
Strange bed fellows?
Us invading mommy's bed
Jealous that Raia was already there,
but excited to see her nonetheless!
When you miss a day in the life of a baby it is a significantly higher percentage of life that has gone by. After all, we grow the most physically and mentally in our first year of life than in any other in the rest of our lives.
Besides a trip to the zoo (replete with endless photos), I will list a series of other significant events you have missed in our lives.
Mimi and GongGong escorted us to the zoo!
We tried to get through the cages everywhere we could
Here I am sizing up our break in
Lucas acting coy with the flamingos
Me acting cool with the elephants. I mean, so what they are so big. I didn't really care (yea right)
Lucas and I got close to some desert rodents (Meerkats I think)
Again, strategizing an elephant cage break in
Me running free!
Raia was at the zoo too. But she slept the whole time!
Lucas and his "Buffs" (giraffes)
In the bird sanctuary at the zoo with GongGong
I made a friend out of a total stranger in pink. Shocking, I know.
So here is a summary of what you, my faithful readers, have missed in the lives of three babies in the past few weeks:
Lucas learned to climb/fall out of his crib.
The crib was immediately converted to a bed, which is still high
Lucas ceased climbing out of the bed once it was lowered and less dangerous
After 2 weeks of that, Lucas began jumping out once again so I have a partner in my morning bedroom rampage before mommy and abba wake up
On the day he wore a cream colored pull over, Lucas used black markers in arts and crafts. Of course he did.
Raia outgrew her "newborn" clothes and is dominating the 0-3 month wardrobe now
Raia is no longer a "one hand baby" as mommy referred to her describing how she could once scoop her up or bathe her in the sink. Now mommy must stand up and brace herself in order to hoist Raia out of her bassinet. And Raia has also outgrown the sink for baths.
Lucas learned to pump or express breast milk. See photos below.
People have stopped commenting about how Raia looks like she is just a few days old because she actually looks slightly older than a few days old (like 2 or 3 weeks now)
I made it through the zoo without having a meltdown!
I led a worship set at Succat Hallel. See photo below.
Move over, Zia Em!
Yes Lucas, milk for Raia
Lucas is way too observant of his surroundings
First video is Lucas climbing out of his crib. The second one is him climbing back into it after it was lowered into bed form.
