Boys’ report: 27/2
Alek returns home today from his hospital stay, and one hopes that Adam returns to a slightly-less-wound spazza state. Much as we enjoy each other’s company, it gets lonely without mothers, brothers, wives, and little babies around. One can watch only so much Thomas The Tank Engine to dull the ache of missing.
Even with a wasting lung disease, Ike managed to continue putting on weight while in the hospital. He’s pushing six kilos now and has jowls that put his papa’s to shame. It’s especially alarming as Adam started off underweight and then became a classic ectomorph, and remains the slimmest of sticks to this day. Alek at two months old threatens to end up in the Weekly World News as “Slovenia’s Titanic Toddler!” He’s really packing on the fat, and it looks like it will not be long to wait for him to kick his brother’s ass.
And speaking of kicking asses, Adam has worked out how to most annoy us vis-a-vis his brother, which is to profess deep and abiding love for him when Alek is trying to sleep. This brotherly love can only be expressed through smothering kisses, poking, shaking of the bibka, crib, etc. where Alek is lying and, eventually, howling thwarted shrieks as we peel him away from the eye-rolling baby. Adam knows perfectly well how much this pisses us off. The good news is that Alek is generally a pretty good sleeper in spite of this (unlike Adam, who at two months old had yet to actually experience sleep) and it takes quite a bit of turmoil to disturb him. The bad news is that Adam is constantly quite a bit of turmoil.
Adam’s love also takes the form of deep interest in looking at pictures of his brother, mainly in the form of slideshows on the desktop computer while snacking on X-acto
Adam has been quite scholarly in his pursuits. This morning he managed to sit still for nearly the entire four minutes it takes to read his current favorite book, and his counting improves and gains in usefulness, for example in negotiations. He’s also expressing great interest in the alphabet, and seems to find H especially amusing. Ike’s main accomplishments of the month have been beating bronchitis and gaining weight. The second one has had the knock-on effect of causing him to begin outgrowing clothes already, clothes which continued fitting his spindly brother through month four. Putting the cast-off clothes away for good and discussing who might get use out of them had the astonishing effect of causing Magda to utter the six-word phrase I never thought I’d hear from her: “Makes me want to have another…”
I cannot wait until Adam is old enough to read these.
And I’m glad Hedgehog is home. Are you still calling him Hedgehog? I cannot stop doing it, I’m afraid.
Comment by Jane — Wednesday 14 March 07 @ 13.50 MDT+2.00
Re.:”Makes me want to have anotherâ�¦”
Look. These two boys are, like, way high on the Adorablemeter. There’s got to be the mote of a Sgazzetti girl lurking in the compliant womb of your lovely spouse.
Now, that’s what we’re waiting for, a Sgazzettijnica to be arriving soon to be putting the two boys in their place. Well, at least Adam.
Trust me, with a daughter in the family the circle will be unbroken.
Remember Mr. Wainwright’s words?
“A brother needs a sister
To watch what he can do,
To protect and to torture,
To boss around-it’s true;
But a brother will defend her
For a sister’s love is pure,
Because she thinks he’s wonderful
When he is not so sure.”
(from The Picture)
Comment by DarkoV — Wednesday 14 March 07 @ 14.18 MDT+2.00
I think I’m going to go Jane one further and just start calling the little behemoth, “Sonic.”
Magda totally wants to have more. You can see it in her eyes.
Glad Sonic is home and well.
Comment by jdog — Thursday 15 March 07 @ 07.51 MDT+2.00
I was about to quote that Loudon lyric, damn you.
We’re currently having the same “discussion” about a potential third. Paola wants a boy. I want a rest.
An added risk factor (and my trump card) is that twins run in her family…
Comment by simon — Thursday 15 March 07 @ 09.35 MDT+2.00
Ooh, twins. What a shiver that does send up the spine. We wanted twins when Magda first found out she was pregnant (the first time, OBVIOUSLY), figured we get it all over with at once (dumb assumption, OBVIOUSLY).
Jane: we call the tyke Ike, Alek, Jeż, Jeżyk, Ježek (yes, the distinction is slight), and Fat Bastard. And occasionally Hedgehog. Oh, and now, Sonic.
As far as the daughter discussion goes, I’ve made my views known before here. But I think this little twinge of Magda’s is just that.
Comment by sgazzetti — Thursday 15 March 07 @ 09.59 MDT+2.00
I’ve been resisting the urge to refer to him as Sonic! Heh.
Comment by Jane — Thursday 15 March 07 @ 15.16 MDT+2.00
Awww I miss you (all)!!
p.s NICE shirt on Adam in pic #4
speaking of shirts I’m told the one I’m wearing right now is yours. Yeah, it’s mine now.
Comment by anna — Thursday 15 March 07 @ 21.26 MDT+2.00
It’s not too late to start dressing Ike/Alek/Jezek/Hedgehog/Sonic/Fat Bastard in pink Barbie dresses, you know. And I do hope that he/she is able to read and appreciate your oh-so-fine reports one day…even if it is from the couch at the shrink’s office. ;-) These are just priceless and the photos amazing. That last vignette is beautiful.
Comment by Gwynne — Saturday 17 March 07 @ 01.58 MDT+2.00
You can add to the list of names for the jez: Jeff calls him The X man. When I declared he is not the x man because of the spelling A-L-E-K-S, Jeff’s only reply was Yeah, E-K-S; X. Whad’ I say? The E-K-S-Man!
Comment by gaoo — Monday 19 March 07 @ 01.17 MDT+2.00