The Poozils Just Like These Pictures...

A Milestone I'd Rather Do Without

On Friday night Zusha was eating salmon when he ran to the garbage to spit it out and began to cry, "Very sharp! Very sharp!" I thought he meant the spices on the fish, so I gave him a tomato to cool his mouth. When he spit that out, too, I got concerned.

I didn't realize what really happened until I was pinching off a piece of the fish for Gedalya and found a bone in it. I have never seen bones in salmon fillet, but there it was. Apparently, Zusha had a bone stuck in his throat!

Hillel tried to look in Zusha's mouth if he could see the bone while I went to nurse Gedalya to sleep. He was already upset over all the commotion, overtired and crying.

Hillel was able to see the bone, and we decided to call Hatzola. We thought that they might be able to help us at home, and not wanting to call them on Shabbos, we decided to first ask our downstairs neighbor if she knows any Hatzola members nearby. She did, and Hillel went to get him.

Meanwhile Zusha had fallen asleep in his little chair. He was so exhausted from crying, and it was past his bedtime already. The Hatzola member came to us by car, even though it was around the corner. He took a look at Zusha, asked a few questions and called for an ambulance.

We grabbed our coats (with a reminder from the Hatzola man) and headed to the ambulance. Zusha woke up and was crying. I didn't think to tell him that he was riding in a real Hatzola, to distract him.

In the hospital the doctor checked him, but didn't see any bone. We went on to wait for about 45 minutes, during which time Zusha realized that he doesn't have shoes. Eventually the doctor came again, and this time he saw the bone. Hillel held a light for the doctor, and after four tries, he was able to get it out with tweezers. A nurse checked Zusha for any bleeding, and we were released.

We put on our coats and got ready to go. But we didn't bring a stroller, and Zusha didn't have shoes! Besides, he was extremely exhausted after the whole ordeal, and it was 9:15 PM then: two hours after his bedtime.

So our only option was for Hillel to carry him. All 40 pounds of him, for a mile and a half! And it was drizzling, too.

B"H it all worked out in the end. On the way home, when I was able to think clearly, I told Zusha that it was a Hatzola that he rode in, and that we went to the hospital. (I tell him about when he and Gedalya were born, so he knows what a hospital is in theory.) He would've been thrilled if I had the presence of mind to tell him that when we were still there, but he was excited anyway.

Gedalya slept through everything. I was concerned that he'd wake up, but I'm glad at least something went right.

The past two nights Zusha has been snoring while sleeping and breathing loudly while relaxing. I told the doctor this and she said to bring him in- there might be swelling in his throat. He's not complaining, so I don't know what it might be.

Just for Fun!

Titu Igi, I Finally Figured it Out!!

Once, several weeks ago, Gedalya was sitting and playing with his musical book about Jewish Holidays. I smelled something and hauled him off to change his diaper.
As I was changing him, I was playfully scolding him, saying, "Ay, ay, ay, what did you do Gedalya? What did you do?"
So he answered, "Titu igi."
Huh?
After I changed him, I asked him to show me what is titu igi. He took me to his musical book.
We were all trying to figure out what "titu igi" is. Our guesses included the musical book, music in general, books in general, one word meaning music and another meaning book...

Recently I heard Gedalya singing, "Titu, titu, titu, ....igi" to a familiar tune.
I asked Zusha what Gedalya is singing.
He said, "I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay."

!!!!!!!!

The Rest of His Words, Age 19 Months

I will spare the details of how I had to figure the rest of Gedalya's words. Here are the new ones he acquired over the last month:

Mna = zaft/juice

Gyeh-gyeh = glezele/sippy cup

Kika-kika = shpitziga/seltzer (context: Na kika-kika gyeh-gyeh means "Noch shpitziga glezele" or "More seltzer sippy cup.")

Mee mee mee = excuse me. Not to be confused with "mee mee mee" that means heart. "Mee mee mee" is heart, and "mee mee mee" is excuse me. Did anyone catch that?

Kapkapka = helicopter, usually used as adjective, as in "kapkapka nuna," helicopter airplane.

Tep-tu = step stool

Bibi bai = city bus

Acacava = avocado

Ocacanga = octagon. No, he doesn't know what an octagon is. Zusha calls the orange creatures from Sesame Street "Octagon Elmo" because there is a computer game in which an orange character hosts a shapes game. So Gedalya calls them all, "Mm-ah Ocacanga."
weoow- veint/crying

kuwa- two

adiyadiya- adiyaltza/blanket

mnga-mnga-papapapaya- coin

puwa- fan

ayain- arain

kook- look

Keem and Ba-mom

I don't know why parents think that once their kid starts talking, life will magically become easier. I guess they imagine that instead of pointing and grunting and screeching, their child will nicely and calmly say, "Mama, can I please have the brown yogurt instead of the pink one?"
Er....
Not quite.
Consider today's scenario. We were grocery shopping and Gedalya wasn't all too happy to be trapped in his stroller. But I know better. Because the cashiers in the store know me better. The last time I had mercy on him and trusted this little toddler to behave properly in a store, he grabbed a bag at the end of the roll and ran down the aisle. I caught him and tried to roll the bags back up while holding him, when... CRASH! A tray of muffins came cascading down on us, courtesy of Little Toddler himself.

So, no, I and the workers in the grocery were not too eager to see a replay of our last visit. Into the stroller went a shrieking Gedalya.

As soon as we got out, I offered them an instant whine-stopper: the yogurts I just bought, to drink with a straw.

"Keem!" Said Gedalya.
Trying to think fast... What is "keem?"
"Why don't you have a yogurt instead," I offered, holding out a vanilla yogurt to Gedalya and a strawberry one to Zusha. Zusha took his. Gedalya shouted, "KEEEEM!"
"Oooohhhh, you want a PINK yogurt?"

Yes, yes, I finally got it. He didn't want a crayon or cream. Those are both keeb. He wanted keem goo. I mean, pink yogurt.

I don't know about you, but I'd find it much easier to understand if he'd just point to his brother's pink yogurt and grunt or scream.

Still not convinced that learning to talk is not all it's made out to be? Read on.

Halfway through his pink yogurt he tells me, "Ba-mom!!!"
I was still riding on a high from figuring out keem, and "ba-mom" kind of deflated me pretty quickly.
Eventually I figured out that BA-MOM is brown.
As soon as I gave him his brown yogurt, he began in his high-pitched squeal, "Bwka bwka!! Bwka bwka!!" I was so proud of myself for knowing that one. It means straw, (trubachka.)

The Day That Will Go Down in History

At least in Gedalya's history.
This morning he rejected the brown plaid shirt I chose for him. Instead he pointed at his yellow sweater hanging and shouted, "Lellow! Lellow! Lellow!"
So he chose his clothes for the first time at age 19 months.