- Stairs: Vanya is obsessed with crawling up and down the stairs. He goes down backwards, and will even plop himself down on his tummy long before (about 5 feet) the stairs actually start. I still don't quite trust him going down on his own because every once in a while, he'll look over his shoulder to see whether he can do the rest of it forwards. And I'm terrified of the summer, when his knees won't be covered with cloth. Splinter city.
- Communicating: He waves and says "Ba ba" for bye-bye. He'll do this when he sees one of us getting ready to go out, or when I ask him if he wants to sleep for the night. He also says "da" while playing peek-a-boo (Nikita used to say "bee"). He doesn't say mama or baba as much, though.
- Games: Vanya is really self-sufficient, and is happy playing by himself (especially when Nikita is not around to take stuff toys out of his hands). He'll nest plastic containers (and take them apart again) and flip through magazines carefully (though he still refuses to sit still for reading). He particularly loves balls. The other day, he actually started a game with me while I was reading to Nikita. I would throw a ball, and he would retrieve it and bring it back to me.
- Potty training: Vanya can actually hold his pee for a while, and sometimes, he can go for hours with a clean diaper, as long as I pee him. For some reason, however, he always waits until I'm gone to poop.
It's been quite a while since I posted, but I have a bunch of excuses. Two weekends ago was Orthodox Easter, so Saturday was super busy, with Igor making Easter bread all day. Thank goodness it came out well - and so did the sweet cheese spread I made for the bread. Then I had tons of student conferences: 15 minutes, 29 students each. Not to mention the 20 minute appointments for my other class (9 students). I felt like a medical doctor.
I've also been working on an abstract for a conference - my first one! I'm going to be part of a panel with two of my colleagues. Our abstract, of course, is due this Friday. But it would be great if the abstract gets accepted: San Francisco next March! Finally, towards the end of the week, I attended a dinner honoring the Biology seniors. The dinner was fun. Got to catch up with some of my old students, some of whom won awards. Plus I heard some nice words about one of the classes I teach.
Last weekend was more relaxing, with trips to the Harvard Natural History Museum and the library. It was my first time at the Natural History Museum, after all these years in Boston. The glass flowers were, of course, amazing. Nikita was a bit overwhelmed, but the trip brought back good memories for Igor, who used to go to the natural history museum when he was a kid. He also says that he should have been an entymologist, and would like to start a beetle collection.
In other aspects of life, I’ve been enjoying Gould’s Book of Fish – it’s got some great quotes. And I found a truly portable version of Shakespeare’s complete works: about 8x5 inches, and full names of each character. Of course, the text is super small, but readable. I’ve been reading that or Lambs’ Tales from Shakespeare to Vanya at night. In addition, I’ve been itching to knit, especially after looking at Best of Interweave Knits. And one of my friends (another knitter) is expecting twin boys in August! Plenty of time to knit, right? Finally, I’ve been baking quite a bit. Ever since Vanya’s birthday, I’ve baked something nearly once a week, including an Amish Friendship Bread. Galina and Igor love the results.
The weather was terrible (rain, 50 F) during Easter week, leaving Nikita with a cold. But we finally saw the sun again on Monday. And I would have written yesterday, but I discovered the great time-sink called Facebook.
