23 weeks (August 27-September 2)

Ilyusha is much better in sitting on his own! He is 23 weeks and can pretty much sit without props, but he does throw himself backwards so we usually either put something behind him or are there to catch. 🙂

Monday (August 27)

Great thing happened at night. Ilyusha woke up around 2 a.m. and the next time when he raised his voice it was 5:09 a.m. Hmmm… It was about 2.5 hours to his morning feed and I decided to try it – gave his a pacifier and put him back to bed WITHOUT FEEDING! Yep, we skipped the last night feeding! Feels a bit liberating! So, today is the first day without the night feeding and we did pretty good 🙂

But I was still very tired, so put Ilyusha in my chair with toys while trying to wake up myself. Still have to keep one eye open but it gives me a few minutes прийти в себя.

On the way from the movies with mommy and daddy. I usually sit next to him so when he is a bit bored

like here… I can make him laugh!!!

Since daddy was with us at the movies, he asked for some time to work from home, and Ilyusha & I went for a walk.

Ilyusha is getting sleepy…..

very sleepy…. almost asleep

After the walk it was play time! As we were playing, I tried to play ladyshki with Ilyusha and he has been getting much better at it as he started opening his palms!

Then some playing on his own (I am just lying on the bed in the play room), but Ilyusha is always checking where I am

“Blue bird!” “Mommy, where are you?” “Oh, spinning sun! ”

It was getting closer to Ilyusha’s bed time, so some quiet activities.

This is the best picture that I could take of Ilyusha bending over and sucking his big toe! He does this from a seating position, so it is extremely hard to photograph.

Tuesday (August 28)

“Good morning, mommy! What? I didn’t do anything!” Well, we ended up buying a few sleepers with zippers as naked legs in the morning and during the naps started to become an issue.

When I need to do something quick downstairs. This corner of the couch works perfectly as a babysitter 🙂

Daddy is home!!! Time for fun and lots of climbing!!

AND lots of kisses and hugs!!!

“Daddy, that’s enough!!!” “OK, one more!!!”

Daddy got a bit tired, so while he rests, Ilyusha is strengthening his legs, practicing standing.

Apparently the wall is not as entertaining as it seemed. “Mommy, Daddy, Where are you?”

“Ok, take me out of here! I am ready for more kisses and hugs!”

Wednesday (August 29)

The most entertaining part of the morning … watching mommy making the bed.

“What are you doing over there?”

After the afternoon nap (and before 3:30p.m. feed), it’s exercise time!

My little monkey! Ilyusha is using both hands AND legs to grab a toy. And it goes straight into this mouth!

His expression of satisfaction is Priceless!!!

Ilyusha is not such a happy camper when he is on his tummy and needs to work to get to his toy.

Having a nap during our afternoon walk. Once asleep, Ilyusha doesn’t need his paci, but hangs on to it, just in case (From this position he can still suck it in if needed 🙂 )

Thursday (August 30)

We are busy today!

Mommy needs to prepare the house for a play date, so Ilyusha is left to play on his own in his high chair.

So far so good, Sophie, the giraffe, has been keeping him occupied for a bit.

The tree toy is not making him happy, until it is laid on the table so he can grab it and put it in his mouth!

Here is mommy with Ilyusha before the guests arrived.

I realized that I have no pictures of Toma & Mila from this time, but when daddy came home, we took a few pics with Sasha & Luchik.

Here the two BFF are finally together, after each had a nap and a feed.

Here is mommy with Ilyusha and Sasha with Ilyusha

Then I wanted to take a photo of the kids together, so Ilyusha and Luchik where placed on the blanket on the floor.

At the beginning, not that interested in each other

But then…. found each others hands, Ilyusha is calling Luchik and now they are communicating

Luchik was not paying attention, so Ilyusha rolled to his tummy to be closer! Made him look!

Ilyusha was also sucking Luchik’s hand (the one he was lying on top of) 🙂 It was adorable!

Yurka wanted to compare the boys, and was playing with Luchik a bit.

and Ilyusha was with Sasha

That’s how our daddy would look like if we had twins 🙂

Then Julka came over with her kids and all of them were on the blanket together!

Ilyusha was more interested in Liadi who was the closest to him 🙂

Friday (August 31)

In the morning, trying to keep Ilyusha busy so I can finish some errands.

He is not that interested in the bottom of the tree, but likes to nibble the top of the toy.

I found the right size box, and Ilyusha was kept busy…. albeit only for a few minutes

Sophie, the giraffe to the rescue! Ilyusha is getting good at nibbling on all 4 legs at once, and if it is not a toy, there are always seat belts!

Just waiting for mommy to finish some stuff downstairs before putting Ilyusha down for his afternoon nap. A corner of the sofa, 2 pillows and a chair make for a good safe playing space for Ilyusha.

Look who just woke up from his nap! Ilyusha is watching the humidifier and no, he didn’t get up himself, I helped him to do this.

This swing is the best when I need to keep Ilyusha occupied for a bit on the second floor. Now, he doesn’t care much about the lights and music (well he does a bit), but plays a lot with the hanging toys.

“Hey, who are you?” “Hmm, Haven’t noticed you in a while!” “Let me take a closer look at you”

My uncle Vadim and aunt Regina came over. D. Vadim didn’t see Ilyusha for a few months, but as you can see they quickly established a connection.

As became our tradition, daddy is reading the Shabbat prayers.

and another cute picture of my uncle Vadim and Ilyusha listening to the Shabbat prayers.

Saturday (September 1)

Saturday, we decided to visit a zoo at the High Park. We’ve been meaning to take Ilyusha there for some time, and thought that he would find it interesting.

Well…. not so much. He completely ignored the lama that was right next to him and instead was concentrating on other things (like his mommy that tired to take a picture from the other side of the fence).

Here, daddy is trying to show Ilyusha some chickens and rabbits, again, daddy is the only one who is interested 🙂

After the Zoo we decided to take a stroll around the park. Here is me with Ilyusha near a lake. Luckily Ilyusha fell asleep for his afternoon nap and we had a relaxing walk.

On the way home. Ilyusha is still not awake from his nap, so holding onto his pacifier.

The pacifier is out and our little one needs some entertainment.

First, he is happy just playing with his toy.

Then the toy is abandoned, and Ilyusha is laughing in full force! Why?….

Because mommy is playing with him with a hand puppet!!! Meet Mrs. Giraffe, Sophie’s mom!

Sunday (September 2)

We decided to go to the beach at lake Simcoe not far from Wasaga beach.

By the time we got ready, it was time for Ilyusha’s nap so it worked out perfectly (the ride was close to 2 hours).

Here is Ilyusha on the way to the beach.

First Ilyusha was playing in the shade with mommy.

After feeding, Ilyusha was playing by himself in the shade.

He got his hand stuck in the ball, but otherwise had a great time playing with his toys

and mommy’s toys 🙂

“Mommy, what are you holding in your hands?” “Give it to meeeee!”

It got a bit chilly as the day was nearing its end, so Ilyusha was dressed a bit and moved from the ground to the chair. It doesn’t look like he minded though.