OK, I admit… I’ve been lagging on the pictures
I guess there’s a desire from family and friends to see more pictures of Mikey.
So, here you go…

They are more or less in order, from January (~9 months) until July (just over 16 months).

All seems to be going well.

Enjoy.

… Cuz you know when we sleep aloooone, [it means] Mikey is sleeping all by himself.’

It’s the first time. We moved Mikey into his own room.

13 months, 10 days, 10 hours, 2 minutes (or so).

The first real significant phase in our child’s life is complete.

He has grown, he has matured, and he has taken to his own room like a true champion, too. We moved the crib out of the Master Bedroom, we warmed up the kid’s (or kids’) room, we bathed and cleaned him, and then we dressed him for bed in his own little room. We fed him his pre-sleep milk, and helped him into the crib. Some 20 minutes of rocking and cooing later, the boy was asleep, the nightlight was on, the curtains were drawn, and we were free.

He was a champion. He slept all night long without a peep! He woke up and not a peep! Very Amazing. About 10 hours of near total separation (except for checking on him before going to bed ourselves), and the entire family woke up in the morning – happy as can be imagined.

The best part, we didn’t have to be quiet in our room any more, we could turn the lights on if we wanted to, we didn’t have to tip-toe around OUR own bedroom, etc, etc.

Thank you Mikey.

Thank you.

I’m back!

Wow… I think I aged 5 years in this one year. What a long, strange trip it has been.

Most importantly, my son is now [just over] 1 year old. What a transformation this has been. He is both happy and healthy – touch wood (no, not your wood).

Anyhow, I’m now a “Master” in Biotechnology Management from IE Business School. I suppose it’s another notch in the proverbial belt of education. Admittedly, though, I learned a hell of a lot this year! It was more challenging than I had anticipated, which I suppose is a good thing.

Finally, my job is both demanding and arduous – but I’m apparently doing a pretty good job at it. From this perspective as well, I have learned quite a lot about business and corporate project management, not to mention maintaining my connection with the scientific community and science world. All good and interesting stuff…

So — I’m going to just catch my breath for a few more days, but then I will be getting back to blogging a bit more routinely about [just] one American’s life (and times) in Ukraine.

Here’s a pic just before we cut his hair. Looking forward to the next year!

According to Soviet tradition (though perhaps originating elsewhere, historically – probably religiously oriented), children do not get their hair cut until 1 year of age. Similar to orthodox Jewish tradition where it is 3 years, I believe. Thus, and to the chagrin of my wife, I have been insisting that we do not cut his hair. No trimming, no nipping, no plucking, no clipping. Let it grow, let it grow, let it grow (like one of my favorite Eric Clapton songs).

Of course, I’m not Russian or Ukrainian or even close. If anything I think there’s some Polish and German in the heritage. But since we are in Ukraine, and since our baby was born here, I think it is appropriate to honor some of those traditions. My wife thinks I’m crazy. She wants sooooo badly to cut the bangs because they are hanging in his eyes. But my MIL says it is absolutely a tradition to not cut a child’s hair until their first birthday. I kinda like it.

So we’ve turned to hair gel. Just a couple of days ago I was wondering why my boy looked like a 50′s “greaser.” I was told by my wife that she couldn’t take it any longer, and his hair had to get out of his eyes. So… here is a picture I took today of the little dude. Oh, and still no teeth as you can tell. We are thinking about baby dentures unless they come in soon. Are there such things as “toothless babies?”  I don’t think so… but supposedly hyperthyroidism is a potential cause of very early or very late tooth appearance.  But no other signs of this, so… Enough of the medical talk… here’s a pic from today.

Oh, and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY – if you like in that kinda stuff…

Even though I have a bit of a head cold, I still woke up with this song in my head. Lionel Richie’s All Night Long. I love this song. It just makes me want to dance and sing along. OK, don’t think about me doing it… here are some original visuals (and sound) while you read along. (Click the video below to have it play along while you read).

So, why might I post a video from Lionel Richie, you ask? Because I felt like celebrating today. Even with a bit of trouble sleeping on my own because of a minor bug I picked up while traveling, it was one of the more comfortable nights in the last year.

One day before he turns 10 months old, Mikey was an Angel!

HE SLEPT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE NIGHT,

(FOR THE FIRST TIME)

* * *

Oh Lord, please allow this to last… please let this be the first of many, many more restful nights for the whole family.

* * *

Also, and I promise to not provide all the details, but he pooped in his potty like a professional this morning. Supposedly he had done this a couple of times before, but this was the first time I had seen it. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time (if ever) I was so happy to see a little pile of human shit – that I stared at and analyzed for at least 15 seconds – trying to figure out why the two lumps were so different. Obviously it’s due to what we feed him at different meals, butt…….   either way, I need to give huge thanks to my mother in law. She sat there with him, holding him up with his legs in the air, positioning his butt over the light blue plastic potty, while making “grunting, pushing, pooping sounds” for about 10 minutes… and lo and behold – he did it.

Anyhow, the sleeping through the night is (seems like) the real MIRACLE today!!!!!

He slept All Night Long… (all night)…

All Night Looooooong!

Now if we can just get him out of the bedroom….  we’re gonna have a party… All Night Looooooooong!  Feel good, feel good…..

Recently my son has been eating real food. We give him blended mixes of all kinds of stuff: meats/vegetables, fruits, etc… (consequently, things have really begun to smell – but that’s for another day).

Unfortunately he doesn’t always want to eat. Well… even when he does, there comes a point where he simply, without warning (generally), decides NO MORE. This is the first indication that The Hand is about to be unleashed.

Because we want him to grow up strong and healthy, we generally force-feed him the rest of his food whenever possible. It has nothing to do with my wife painstakingly slaving in the kitchen to produce this gustatory bambino delicacy. Really – we do NOT use the turkey baster on him more than once a week.

But seriously folks, we don’t like wasting food – and that really fresh stuff just doesn’t seem to last all that long. Moreover he definitely likes the fresh food more than anything that’s been stored – so we try to get him to eat it all when it’s fresh. When he does finish it, it’s a BIG молод`ец! (Well Done!).

Still… we’ve come to notice a consistent pattern. He stops being interested in the food unless you distract him with something else – at which point the innate feeding behavior returns for another bite or two. But then, it’s…

Resistance!

Inevitably he begins to resist. We counter-attack.

This leads to rubbing of the eyes (глаза), and concomitant blocking of the mouth (рот) (pronounced rrot).

At the first sign of weakness, we again try to slip the spoon in – perhaps after a 10 second lull in the fun and games, and while faux posturing as if we wouldn’t dare try to feed him even one more bite – we usually try one more time.

If we are very lucky, we get ONE MORE scoop in.

But then watch out…

The next attempt will be countered by a right cross, that not only takes out the spoon, but leaves the food that was on the spoon strewn about. Now this, in and of itself, wouldn’t be so impressive or hazardous, because the food stops moving – and in this case, the good eats are easy to clean up.

Unfortunately for us, our son (as I imagine most other babies) has become an expert at precisely hitting the spoon (almost while looking the other direction), splashing food all around the table, and still, miraculously, keeping at least 1/2 of the food somewhere on his hand. And Voila… we have…

Hand on the Loose!

This hand is now capable of contaminating: the chair, the face, his clothes, the table, his hair, the cat, your glasses, your clothes, your hair, the walls, the floor (not the ceiling yet, thankfully), your food, his eyes, your face, the couch, numerous toys within reach, seat cushions, windows, mirrors, and everything else you forget to keep at least one foot away. He flails – We counter. He whines – we grab a napkin. He screams – we go back and forth trying to catch… the Hand on the Loose.

I now think he simply likes the battle. He thinks it’s a game. Thinking to himself, “why should I eat that when I can play with it for at least 30 more seconds!”  To add insult to “injury,” more recently I’ve noticed that Mikey has become more calculated in his decision making – often waiting for that moment when Daddy tries to deliver a really big spoonful, so that the precious offspring can really get a full handful of ammunition…

Ahh… the joys of fatherhood. How can you resist that face

So it’s a beautiful day in Kyiv. Well, maybe I can say that because I like the snow. But the trees aren’t very happy. On my short walk into work, around and between the brick an mortar domiciles which represent older Kyiv (as opposed to the new fancy storefronts that line many of the streets downtown), there were 2 trees that fell. The Kyiv Post story is here.

Sure it was windy, and we got about 6-8 inches of heavy snow. But trees falling down? Yes, sure, I know it goes hand in hand with precarious weather… but I never thought the trees right out in front of our building would be falling down. Shows you what I know…

The snow was apparently really heavy (wet). As it piled higher and heavier onto the leafless branches, and in combination with the soggy ground surrounding the unseen part of the tree, gravity and wind took caused havoc. I’ll try to post some pictures later, if I can get them off of my phone.

Of course, this didn’t stop the now 2-day tradition taking place in the small “parklet” (a wanna be park in front of our building). There were 5-6 individuals today (only 3 yesterday) partaking in breakfast. It was difficult to tell if they were eating anything, but the [first] bottle of vodka was about 2/3 empty. Ahhhh…. the holidays.

* * *

That reminds me of another little story that took place a couple of weeks ago. We had a little get-together at our house for my wife’s birthday on a Saturday evening. A boyfriend (who is a driver) of one of my wife’s grade school friends tagged along. I will focus on him, as it was his behavior was most captivating. He strolled in, in his mild-mannered demeanor, and made himself at home – playing with Mikey at every opportunity. It was a welcome reprieve for my wife and I, and Mikey seemed to like him too. Within 5 minutes he (let’s call him Alex) asked “do you have any vodka?” I said “sure,” pulled an ever-so-slightly acquainted bottle out of the freezer, and offered a shot glass in tow. To make a long story short, over the next 3 hours Alex drank 2/3 of a bottle of vodka. NO problem. His girlfriend said “oh, he really likes vodka.”

What?

How can anyone “really like vodka?”

I’m guessing he likes getting pissed as a sailor on leave (every night he’s not driving, and some nights when he is) more than he likes “vodka.” Anyhow, the only scary part was the fact that he was playing with Mikey more and more as the vodka took effect. Granted, the effect was not as dramatic as it would have been for those of use not constantly maintaining upregulated alcohol dehydrogenase levels, but it was still apparent. He was getting drunk. And the more he did so, the more he wanted to play with Mikey, and the less he wanted to talk to adults.

It was one of those bizarre, somewhat socially uncomfortable situations where you want to interrupt and take your child back – but it would be incredibly insulting, potentially damaging to a very long-standing relationship, and potentially unnecessary (as long as Mikey is not being lofted around the room as if he were manning his own private aircraft – which he did, occasionally). Nevertheless, after several glances with the wife, I chose to hold Mikey for a while. Then she did – and then I did again.

The [not so] funny part is that this is normal behavior for lots of Russians. They drink a LOT… and it is totally normal to drink whole bottles. Crazy.

It seems as though I’m beginning to lose my baby-face,

and I’m starting to look more like a big person.

* * *

More like Mom? More like Dad? Hard to tell… but either way, you know I’m cuter than… !

also…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!!!

Yep, really! I’m 6 Months old today!

I’m sure you know that my Dad has been real busy with work, school, and me. But I convinced him that everyone deserves to see a few pictures of me spanning my first 6 months of life. Bear in mind, this is not all of my photos. If you are interested, you can see some more at: http://www.mikegeller.com

Nevertheless, I asked for a few photos to be posted here, just to tempt you to go to my site.

Enjoy!

No, not like the TV show.

We had a real house call. Strange, but true. Kinda like the “olden” days…

It was time for Mikey’s HepB innoculation, and so we called the clinic. What do you know, they provide “house calls!”

The doctor (pediatrician) showed up with his “black bag,” and a still-cold HepB vaccine, and proceeded to give our son an injection into the anterior aspect of his right thigh, probably between vastus lateralis and rectus femoris, perhaps just a hair proximal to mid-femoral shaft.

He whined for about a minute, but no problem.

The doctor (врач) spoke excellent English, filled out the paperwork, and packed up his bag. He was in and out within ~15 minutes.

A House Call – in Ukraine. How nice….

Hello World!

My name is Michael Anthony Geller. I was born on March 18, 2009, which means I’m a Pisces, like my Dad. Though my parents desperately wanted me to turn upside down, I was insisting to sitting like a little Buddha in the cozy little womb I called home… and consequently, my birthday was (sorta) picked for me.

Here I am showing them where to stick the bottle…

My name was chosen because my parents like the way it sounds. But the more I think about it, I think there is some correlation with some of my forefathers. Specifically, my Dad’s grandfather was named Milton – which I think led to the Michael; and My Mom’s father was named Anatoliy – which I’m pretty sure resulted in Anthony. According to Wikipedia, Geller comes from German, Yiddish, and/or Russian. It also means “one who yells,” so my parents are in for a special treat!

Speaking of my parents, here they are again:

Mom

and Dad

On that great day last Wednesday, March 18, we were at a nice private clinic called ISIDA in Kyiv, Ukraine. Yep, I’m a Ukrainian! But wouldn’t you know it, even though I’m proud as hell to be born in The Ukraine, Dad has already insisted that I become an American – and so I’m supposed to get my picture taken sometime in the next week or two, and then I get my first passport from the American Embassy. Nice people over at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, I’m told. I guess that means I’m not allowed to be President of the USA, huh? Oh well… those guys are tight-asses anyway.

The birth was fairly easy, and my Dad took a lot of pictures (and some movies). Yes, he was in the room at the time with the camera in hand. It’s sort of embarrassing, but I think he even got a picture of me peeing all over the nurses when I was about 2 minutes “old.” One of the nurses even screamed a bit in surprise. The others giggled. Pretty soon thereafter, the nurses poked and prodded a bit, and noticed I was gaining color quickly. My lungs obviously worked. I tested them out about 10 seconds after leaving the womb.

Here I am, about 2 minutes old. Kinda gross, but kinda beautiful too!!!

Look, my cord is still attached!

I think Dad was amazed to see a live baby come out!!!

They put me on the scale and I weighed in at 3.44kg. Not too shabby since the doctors were saying I was average/small during most of my development. It just goes to show you how accurate those stupid ultrasound thingys are. For you non-math majors out there, that’s about 7lb 9oz. The nurse wasted no time in measuring me too… I was 54cm long and my head was 38cm in diameter. Also, not so bad. Not quite a Kareem Abdul Jabbar or anything, but I think I should be able to hold my own when I’m all grown up. Of course these measurements were taken over a week ago now (by about 12 hours), and I’ve probably put on a good half cm and at least 100-200 g.

I was immediately given to Dad and was taken out of the delivery room, and Mom showed up in the recovery room about 20 minutes later. I was quite comfortable being wrapped up like a little worm. They also left that little bit of “white stuff” on my face for a little while – I guess it has some protective qualities.

Though I didn’t want to leave my folks, the nurses took me away to where the other babies were gathering that evening; something like a “meeting of the minds,” I believe. I overheard my parents conversing the next day about what had happened. Mom needed to sleep, and Dad went home because he wasn’t allowed to stay. That was my first day… and the rest is (proverbial) history!

We spent a few more days in the hospital, learned all about baby care, and enjoyed round-the-clock attention. I’m now at home, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Whitey the Cat. I understand why they named him that — but I’m sure glad they thought about it more when they named ME!!!!!

Maybe I’m being sensitive, but I think Whitey is a bit jealous already. I hope to be better friends in the future.

That’s all for now. I’ll keep you updated whenever I (or my parents) do something cool 

Cheers, and thanks for reading,

– Michael

It is pure joy to announce the birth of our son, Baby. We have not named him yet, as Russian tradition does not demand such. We have some solid choices, but we will wait to make sure the name fits

The funniest thing about this is that there are, more or less, like only 10 male Russian names to choose from !!!

Anyhow, I wanted to let everyone know that Mom, Dad, and Baby are doing well.

Everyone is happy to be alive and so far, quite healthy. We are ecstatic about being part of a growing new family.

We will be posting more soon, obviously. But TODAY is the first day of our son’s life, and I wanted to post a picture or two. Even as I write this, he’s still not even 12 hours old!!!!

With Much Love, from Kiev,

Scott, Helen, and ???

Baby!

Mom!

and, Dad!!!!

I’ve been around for a while now. I’ve had my share of changes: opportunities, adventures, lifestyle fluctuations, monetary challenges, academic pursuits, travels, residences (in different cities, states, countries), etc…

I’m changing again: and this time it’s the most radical transformation of my life so far — and I thought I’d share it. I feel as if I have begun reinventing myself once again.

1) I reached a milestone last week –> I turned 40. Though I’ve been expecting it for a while now, the transition into my 40′s has brought more age-related considerations than any my previous birthdays. Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, I feel as if I’ve truly become a man. It’s probably similar to what Neanderthals experienced at about 14, but that’s another story. I’m no longer willing, nor able, to be shaded by the umbrella of youth. I am 40 years old. Nobody else can or will ever claim me as a dependent. I am to be the dependable one. Although I still follow in the footsteps of leaders, I, too, am expected to lead. I am now 40. FORTY. And for all intents and purposes, I have lived the first half of my life (pretty well, I might add). No, no mid-life crisis just yet – just the realization that 40 years is a significant amount of time to be wandering around this small planet.

2) I have taken on a new job. I won’t bore you with the details (though it’s quite intriguing, to be honest), but suffice it to say that in many ways (though I’m still putting my skills and training to work) I’m changing my professional direction. I guess I could more accurately say that I’m learning more about what it will take for me to really do the things I want to do in life, scientifically. Yes, I will be utilizing my scientific expertise, but I’m hired into an executive management position – more of a desk job, really. Who would’ve thunk it? Certainly not me, not even 3 months ago. But, indeed, it has happened. I’m both excited and nervous, and I’m encouraged by the challenges that lie ahead. I have some good people around me, and a lot is being asked of me: two ingredients that should blend well together, and will hopefully react to provide me with the encouragement and skills necessary for me to develop my capacity to manage and produce results.

3) I have returned to academia. No, not in the research sense… and no, not to simply perpetuate the sometimes delicious lifestyle of the college student. I have entered a specialized master’s program in management, online (most of the time). An MBA if you will, specializing in biotechnology. It’s for sure one of the more academically demanding (and challenging) pursuits I’ve faced; a situation most definitely inflated by the fact that I have avoided business, and the study thereof, for my entire life. Nevertheless, here too, I am excited by new challenges. I have met a really wonderful (small) group of freinds/colleagues/students, and together we are all going to learn about business, and the business of biotechnology and biotechnology’s related fields (pharmaceuticals, health care, etc…).

4) Finally, I’m having a baby this week. Yep, my boy is due any day now.

Man – can I pile it on any thicker? Am I ever going to sleep? Am I going to be able to study? Will I contribute to my own growth, or will I get so worn down that I fail at one of the above (or all of the above)? Do I have it in me? Is this what normal people do? Will there be any time to stop and smell the roses (and lilacs, here in Kiev)?

I’ve got a hundred more questions swirling around in my head right now, but I don’t think I need to spell them out for you. Most of you probably have (had) some of the same thoughts, feelings, experiences at one point or another.

So, I just wanted to lay it out here on Snotty’s Blog, and say –>  PLEASE excuse me if I don’t find too much time to write. I will do my best, as I have really found this to be a fun exercise, and a good way to express myself – without asking for or requiring direct feedback. Just a way to share my thoughts and feelings. I know my wife will be equally busy with the little guy, but she has expressed an interest in contributing to the blog too. So — maybe you will see some posts from Helen in the not too distant future. Maybe even a picture of the baby, if you are lucky!!!

Regards from Kiev,

Snotty

I was laughing the other day when I was talking to my brother in the States. He asked how everything was going with the expecting to be, and I said “just fine.” He asked what we were up to, and I said that the wife is making some drapes.

He stopped. He laughed. He doubted that it was true. I said, “no really, she’s making drapes right now.”

He replied and said that every single one of (4 or 5) of the pregnant women he has come across in the last few months have made drapes. I’m wondering… how in the hell does that come up as a topic? I mean, it’s not an everyday question, is it?

Did he find that the first one was making drapes, thought it to be highly unusual, and then asked each and every subsequent expecting mother what she has done to prepare for the baby? At the time, I was also dumbfounded, and didn’t think to ask. These questions are somewhat rhetorical in nature, as I doubt I will get an answer unless my brother reads my blog and wants to chime in.

He, he… maybe I’ll subscribe him to my blog notification He’s my brother, I can do that.

So as you can see, the “making drapes” thing was for real. And after Bro mentioned it, I thought it would be good to document our drape production, if for nothing other than posterity. Plus, I can then show it to you!!! How, utterly, exciting!!!

That’s all for now. Exciting stuff going on here in Kiev!

Is it really the middle of February already? Yikes!

I don’t know what to say, but she just doesn’t stop…

She’s not gaining any weight (above and beyond what is natural for a pregnant woman), but it is starting to make me kind of sick watching my wife eat, and eat, and eat… and eat. Fine, fine… I’m exaggerating, but it’s my blog.

The main thing, now, is that I’ve noticed that she eats more than me. Yes, she has now surpassed my ability and/or desire to consume foodstuffs.

Her appetite has really flourished in the last week or so. She’s about 7 months pregnant. The baby is supposed to be putting on about ~25g a day, for the next six weeks or so. So eating seems like a natural and absolutely healthy aspect of the baby’s growth and a healthy woman’s pregnancy. So it’s needed, and I’m not complaining – but this is truly different from her usual appetite.

But damn…

Morning – black tea with tvarog with jam and walnuts
Post breakfast – a tangerine
Mid-morning snack – a few slices of cheese and a slice of black bread
Pre-lunch – a chocolate chip cookie, half an apple, and some yogurt
Lunch – some veal marinated with garlic and rosemary (1/4 lb)
Post-lunch – a small bowl of freshly prepared Plov (with veal)
Dinner (brother stopped by) – a second bowl of Plov
Dinner – a third bowl of Plov (oh, and just another scoop for good measure)
Post-dinner – half a tangerine and tea
Desert — one of the largest pomegranates I’ve ever seen

One thing’s for sure, the baby is eating well too
(fine, I embellished ever so slightly, but the truth is there in black and white – and I’m just surprised by how much she’s puttin’ down)

Actually, it’s kinda cute… I hope she doesn’t take offense, and I hope mom and baby are happy, healthy, and satisfied.