One way that young children acquaint themselves with the world around them is through their sense of taste. Discovering something new, their automatic impulse is to pop it in their mouths to see if it makes for a decent snack. This can provide plenty of mini-adventures for parents who have to dig out all sorts of goodies from their little ones’ traps.

Yonah, I’m afraid, is no exception, and lately he’s gone into oral overdrive. In the past two weeks alone, I’ve had to fish out sand, dirt, bubbles, the wire from my laptop and –no kidding — dog food from his mouth. On top of that, he’s also taken to swiping his little brother’s pacifier, something which never interested him until now. How convenient. I should be grateful that my child is functioning normally and is extra inquisitive, but saving him from choking on bottle caps is getting old, fast.

Mr. Yonah has also decided to enter his terrible twos early, engaging in a brain-draining “Kvetch Marathon” that give my patience muscles a good workout. He also has discovered fun new games like, “How many times can I hit Mommy before she loses it?” and “Throw the football at Akiva’s Head!”. A friend of mine once said that raising toddlers is basically figuring out how to get them to do what you want without hitting them. Man, I so get it now. I never thought I’d have to sit on my hands to keep from shaking my own kid, and he’s not even two yet. By the time he’s a teenager I may need a straightjacket.

In the meantime, Kivi — I still can’t decide if we should spell it “Kivi” or “Kivie”…thoughts? — is eight weeks old today and is doing great. We’re falling into a rudimentary schedule where I torture him by keeping him awake until 10 so he’ll give me a decent night’s sleep. He’s already smiling and picking up his head and he purrs like an olive-skinned siamese kitty. It’s amazing how dark he is compared to his “California Dude” Big Brother. Auntie Jane calls him “Guido”, since, she says, he looks like an Italian plumber.

Shuie gave me my anniversary present the other day, hands down the best gift I’ve ever gotten in my life. Weeks ago he got in touch with one of my favorite authors, Anita Diamant (”The Red Tent”) and asked her to read the manuscript of the memoir I’m working on. She politely declined but offered to look at this blog and sent me an autographed copy of her new book and a handwritten card praising my talent and encouraging me to keep writing. I was awestruck. What can I say? My husband is incredible.

Off to play milkmaid…