Spring Break

The temperature is rising in India, but it is still in the manageable nineties. That can only mean one thing. It is time for our last trip out of Delhi for the school year. Doug's mother is enroute to Delhi. She was due in last night, but as usual Newark was a cluster $%#@ and she had to reschedule for one day later. Thankfully United also let her change her return date by one day so she didn't cut any time off her trip.

Climbing is the newest event in our house. The higher the boys get the happier they are... chuckle chuckle. I am considering removing the couch from the nursery as I am afraid one of them will either jump or get pushed off which will lead to another trip to the hospital.

Dinner time continues to stress us out. It seems we can't make the boys happy. They refuse to eat things they loved five minutes before, they throw all the food off their trays in protest, and scream for more. We have tried so many things, but it seems nothing will suffice. This phase needs to pass.

Cedric is very clingy, and he wants to be held most of the time. I think this problem was created by having two ayahs at his beck and call. We are working on strategies to calm him down, but he gets so worked up we have to let him cry it out. This phase needs to pass.

Ezra is basically running around now. He is a busy boy and usually has on a big smile. Cedric has started taking a few steps here and there, but only when he wants to. He is a very effective crawler so he is content with his mobility. Plus every time he stands Ezra makes it his mission to push him over.

We are all looking forward to Goa. Our family does beach vacations well.

Chad

Sometimes Our House Sounds Like This

Ok... well, maybe not exactly like this. But close!!

-Douglas 

Heigh-Ho Heigh-Ho Back to FRRO We Go

It is that time of year again. Our visas are set to expire in a few weeks, and that means our annual trip to the office of frown and scowl with a side of bureaucratic disfunction is around the corner. Last night we took the boys to get their new visa photos and they did great. They both sat up straight and looked right in the camera. Lets just say this visa photo was a lot easier than their first.

The photo shop we use is right around the corner from where we lived before having children. We walked around our old neighborhood while the photos were being printed and remembered how nice it was to live away from work. We both miss the privacy of living outside the compound, but because of the clean water we have to stay where we are.

We have taken many visa photos since arriving five years ago, and we always get a kick out of the result. The photo man is a pro at photo editing, and he made me look eighteen in my Chinese visa last year. The boys are no exception to getting a little touch up. Even though they have perfect skin with no blemishes the photo man lightened up their faces and practically made them white babies. We both laughed when we saw them and so did our visa agent when I told them the photo man used skin whitening cream on the boys!

I was in Singapore last week for work related training. I love Singapore and would live there in a heartbeat. There are easy to walk streets, bars, restaurants, shopping, public transportation, clean air, and most of all organization!

Dreaming...
The grass is always greener...
Goa in two weeks...

Chad

What Time Is Grandma Coming?

One of the books I remember most from my childhood is "What Time is Grandma Coming?" by Peter Seymour and Kathy Allert. Who knows why this book sticks out in my mind? Maybe it's because I always really looked forward to when Grandma was coming!

Well, I wish I had a copy here in Delhi to read to the boys because their grandma is coming to Delhi! (Actually, this will be the second grandma visit of the year, as Chad's mom has already made an appearance. Our boys are so lucky to have two loving grandmas!)  I never thought this would happen, but the allure of grandchildren must have overcome any fears of long flights, overcrowded markets or traffic congestion that defies reason.

In any case, only a few short weeks until she arrives!

Love and Peace, 

Douglas 

Research: 12-18 Month Behavior

I often joke with others that we're running our own little twin experiment, and usually leave it to them to figure out which twin is serving as the control group. What would happen if we only let one listen music performed exclusively by Dolly Parton?

Ever feel like things are getting away from you?

In all seriousness, here are some things I've been reading about development and behavior from 12-18 months.

Here is a brief summary of what play looks like at various ages, including 12-18 months.

Here are some behavior management strategies for pre-toddlers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has a quick two-pager about eating habits, behavior management, growth development and vocabulary development for this age.

And, a bit about non-violent communication just for good measure.

The Problem Solver & The Freaker Outer

You can tell at a glance when Ezra is planning something. His wheels are always turning and he is looking for something to get into. When something stands in his way it only takes a few seconds for him to manipulate the situation and overcome.

Last night we were all playing in the nursery. The couch sits against the wall and part of the window is behind the couch. Until last night neither of them could get on the couch unassisted. Ezra decided that he wanted to look out the window and quickly realized that he needed a boost. So, he used our makeshift drum (a.k.a. an empty Trader Joe's coffee container) as a stepping stone. He was elated with accomplishment and smiled ear to ear from the top of the couch. King of the mountain!

Ezra has always been a bit more independent, whereas Cedric has always been more aware of the people around him. He's not scared by large crowds or loud noises and will sit through an hour-long concert. He loves being with people.

And Cedric is definitely our freaker outer.

When something stands in between him and what he wants, he spirals into a tantrum, going from zero to sixty in two point five seconds. He has never been very independent, and he will often cry when he is not getting enough attention.

We have observed Cedric playing both with Ezra and alone, and he takes things very personally. A few nights ago he was pushing a toy car around the nursery. Keeping in mind that a car only does a few things--i.e.,  forward, backward, turns on side, and turns upside down--Cedric was getting visibly frustrated at the toy car, but we don't know why. It would appear the car was doing something "wrong" since his reaction was to scream and bite the car in retaliation. We have witnessed said biting on several occasions and nothing is immune. He'll bite coffee table for bumping his head, the door stop for keeping the door pinned open, and the blanket for getting twisted around this legs... all things that need to be told to behave, I assume.

We do our best not to react to these outbursts as to not encourage the behavior, but we are not sure how the nannies are responding when this occurs. When we stopped reacting to Ezra's head banging it went away on its own, but my fear is this will take longer to disappear and will advance to biting people.

Chad

Love and Hate

Our contracts were due the day we returned from winter vacation. It was a little harder decision this year, but we signed up for year six in Delhi. The love/hate relationship continues.

Two of the coping mechanisms that we have developed are traveling and buying rugs. Last Friday we attended a rug party and came home with two new rugs.  These two pictures hardly do them justice.

50 years old from Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan)  

90 years old from Maharashtra 

Love (and hate),

Chad