(Not What) We're Expecting

Our WInter Vacation

2010-01-04T21:18:00.001-08:00

I stole this idea from a great writer who always has something fun and funny to say. This year my winter vacation of 2 weeks included a husband on furlough for 2 weeks and a pre-schooler home for over 1/2 of that. VERY different type of vacation! Here are the highlights and what I learned:

1. Playdates at other people's houses are the best! My daughter cried when we had to leave to go home to go to bed.

2. The toys at other people's houses are way better than yours, even when they are the same.

3. Stairs are a great source of enjoyment for a one year old.

4. Watching the same 25 minutes of Mary Poppins 3 days in a row (jumping through the chalk drawings) means that your daughter wakes up singing "It's a jolly holiday with Mary" and never stops.

5. Cleaning out the garage feels great despite finding the signs of a guest living there.

6. I LOVE celebrating New Year's Eve on New York time. Homemade mac and cheese, roasted veggies, more kids than adults, and noisemakers at 9 PM make for a great evening. Asleep by 10 and not feeling like I missed out on anything.

7. Walking around in pajamas to see the Christmas lights by Grandma and Grandpa's house was more fun than riding in the car to see them.

8. Driving a hour to have smoked brisket was well worth it.

9. The carousel ride at the mall never gets boring, especially when your one year old loves it too.

10. Hanging around the house in pajamas until noon is even more fun when you have kids.

11. Being home with kids and hubby all the time means I don't get to read much anymore and that is heartbreaking.

12. My nanny is amazing. She is extraordinary at helping me keep my sanity because of all she does.

13. The park is a great place to play in December in 80 degree weather. Just remember your sunscreen!

14. Coffee tastes better when your husband makes it for you.

15. There is always time for a hug and a kiss and I never get tired of them from either child or husband. Especially the open mouth 1 year old kisses who leans forward with his whole body. DELICIOUS!

Happy Birthday, my precious child!

2009-12-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

Until a year ago, I was a regular blogger keeping track of my daughter's hilarious comments, precocious moments, and highlights of her growth and maturity. THEN child #2 came along and my time was not what it used to be. I just couldn't manage to document every new thing my precious child has done in the last year and while I enjoy Facebooking, it seems to have become like an instantaneous blogging site and real blogging is going by the wayside. BUT on this momentous occasion in my son's life, I fall back on the familiar: the place with the space to blab on and on and document my feelings.

One year ago at this moment in time, I was experiencing labor and getting ready to welcome a baby into this world with my husband by my side, my parents and sister in the delivery room, and my best friend (who is a doctor) capturing it on film. I vividly remember the entire day leading up to being admitted into the hospital and the labor and the pushing and the shock when my husband announced, "It's a Boy!"

That statement was uttered many times over and over in the first few months of Yonatan's life as we adjusted to different body parts, lots of blue, and another baby with an easygoing personality.

We were concerned that we wouldn't be as amazed at the things our 2nd baby did because we'd already experienced them with our first. We were worried that we wouldn't be able to figure it out with two and manage to actually get out of the house before noon. We weren't sure we'd love our 2nd child as intensely or as deeply as our 1st one.

Our baby boy turns one and our life with him is one of constant amazement and awe at the things he does and accomplishes. It's a life of energy, smiles, and constant motion. We do get out of the house before noon and our intense love of this adorable boy is as deep as our love of our daughter.

Yonatan is well over 20 pounds ( we guess closer to 25) and about 29 inches long. He easily reaches the top of the kitchen table, the drawer with all the pens and markers in it, and the 2nd shelf of the bookcase where he dumps all the books on the floor until he finds the one he wants to read.

Just like his sister, he LOVES books and sits with them by himself for almost 10 minutes "reading." He loves to play in the kitchen and the sink is the first thing to go so he can hide things in the well underneath. THEN they get stuck and he screams for help. He also loves the telephone and will happily play with any phone at any time.

He is quick on the crawl and very quick on the walking around furniture. He pulls himself up and lets go and is very solid on his feet. If you hold a finger, he'll walk with you. He wants to walk so badly, but just doesn't quite have the confidence to go for it yet!

He has 6 teeth and a lot of hair on his head. He does not like baby food anymore and refuses to eat some of his favorites that he liked just last week! He is a smiling baby with big beautiful eyes. He wakes up happy and snuggly and loves to cuddle. The light of his life is his big sister. Her room and in her wake is his favorite place to be.

He has a strong personality; knows what he wants, and lets you know. He has a huge vocabulary and we are constantly amazed by his language development. Elmo is one of his favorite words. But he says Savta, Grandma, Grandpa, Hadarya, Ima, Aba, banana, sock, and repeats everything.

I am sad to leave his babyhood behind him and yet very excited to see the toddler he'll become. We are so blessed to call him our son and are concerns were for naught...as we are constantly amazed every time he does something new, gets a new tooth, or says a word. Just as excited as we were with our daughter, we revel in our son's accomplishments.

Happy 1st Birthday, Little Man!

9 months and change

2009-09-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

9 months ago and a couple of weeks, our son joined our family at 1 AM. It's so hard to believe he's been with us outside my body as long as he was inside! Milestones are piling up and I am not doing him his right stuff by keeping track...so here goes a little late!

The week before he turned 9 months old he crawled across the room on all fours. Now, he'd been scooting, rolling, and getting where he wanted to go, but this was the real thing. 3 weeks earlier than his sister but just as fast!

The week of his 9 month old birthday he figured out how to pull himself up on EVERYTHING. His favorite toy is the kitchen, leap frog table, and his sister's Princess dress up trunk. Ideal height for standing and banging like a drum.

He also has discovered that if you let go of something you stand...for over 5 seconds at a time! He has also "cruised" a bit on the kitchen to get something he pushed away. Not major steps yet, but it's coming fast.

He weighed in at 20.5 pounds and 28 inches at his doctor's appointment and she confirmed swollen upper gums which indicates more teeth are a coming. The snotty, nasal congestion was a sure sign too.

He continues to be the happiest baby on the block. Giggling, smiling, flirting. A pure delight who sleeps for over 10 hours at night. Life is grand in our house with our son. We are mostly excited because we are just as amazed as he does his "firsts" as we were with Hadarya.

Sweet baby boy. Scrumptious!

Day 5 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

The last day of paternity leave fell on Monday, July 6th and we decided to end our staycation with a bang! After swim class (doing better each day!) we loaded the kids in the car for the 1 1/2 hour drive to DISNEYLAND. We were off to the happiest place on Earth and spending the rest of the day with our friend Tamar and her son Aidin. We did not tell the kids where we were going until we pulled into the parking lot and made them guess. We took Hadarya 7 months ago (right before her brother was born!) and she did not really remember.

What an amazing day! She has not stopped talking about Disneyland and "we go to Disneyland tomorrow?" is a regular question in our house. We had a picnic lunch before we entered the park and then began our adventure. We splurged on a Princess balloon...$7.00, which continues to make our Princess smile. The first ride was the Rockets in Fantasy land where she LOVED flying high with her Aba. We went to It's A Small World and watched with delight as she took in all the music and dancing and characters. She asked for it again and so we did not get off the boat! We rode the Carousel too and watched the dance parade celebration. Again, the music hooked her and she loved seeing the characters moving about.

The biggest hit was the 45 minute wait to see the Princesses. While she is not giggly and smiley when meeting them, she did go right up to them with her autograph book and hug them and talk to them! She just loved seeing them in person and noticing their dresses. She is now really into dress up, the hats, scarves, and other around the house items are not quite cutting it anymore! So the other question of the week was "Did you get my Cinderella dress yet? We go to the store and get it?"

Yonatan took it all in from his stroller. He loved the music too and the lights. He was very happy all day, napped like a pro and ate well. He loved riding on the horse on the carousel and the boat ride was fun too despite the nap he was taking in the carrier~ The discovery of batteries for my pump made the day extremely easy and pleasant since I am no longer tied to finding an outlet.
Hanging out in the Happiest Place on Earth was delightful for the second time with our children. We cannot wait to go back again! If Hadarya has her way, it will be tomorrow.

Day 4 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

There are no photos of our day today but lots of fun times and memories! We hopped into bathing suits as soon as our sleeping beauty woke up at 8 AM. We love that she is a sleeper and life would be grand if her brother had gotten the message. He is partial to the 5 AM hour though. We are hoping an earlier bedtime will get him to sleep longer...weird I know, but I've heard it works.

So we packed up our pool stuff and headed the YMCA in Santee for fun in the sun. We had a great time even though Hadarya shivered and chattered for the first hour! She was so cold but wanted to stay and play. Her very good friend from school, Tay, came to play with her and they had fun chasing each other and being in the water. Hadarya practiced her scoops and kicks. We did twirls and motorboats. She hopped like a kangaroo and walked like an alligator.

Yonatan loved the water and splashed around on my lap and sitting between my legs in the beach entrance area for about a 1/2 hour. Then he'd had it. I stripped him of his wet things and warmed him up and dried him off. He was asleep in the stroller in about 30 seconds and didn't move for the next 1 1/2 hours.

After the session ended and we'd showered and shampooed, we headed home, sure we'd have a napper on our hands. BUT no such luck for our 4th day of staycation. She wanted to play when we got home and spent much of the time doing so by herself yet having tired, cranky spats if something didn't go her way right away.

We ended up making a Costco run for toilet paper and ended up getting some yummy berries to eat all week. Sometimes we just need to get her out of the house and she is ok! We went to my parents for a yummy BBQ steak dinner and everyone was happy and smiley. The baby sat at the table and gobbled up green beans and rice and pears and mangoes. Hadarya devoured her dinner too and left the plate almost empty.

Grandma had a surprise for the big girl and she readily put on her jammies and sat in front of the tele to see. Grandma had tivo'd the 4th of July special at the White House that featured the Sesame Street gang singing with live music. She was in HEAVEN! She watched it twice and the baby got in his jams at 6:40 PM, drained a bottle and fell fast asleep. We put the kids in the car and drove home where both were fast asleep and in bed by 7:25 PM. I wouldn't mind that early time every night!

Tomorrow is our last staycation day. We start with swim lessons and end up at the Happiest Place on Earth. It's going to be great!

Day 3 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Tired but what a fun day we had! It's certainly a good thing that any type of break in routine is just a break! I am going to be exhausted after day 5!!

Today we started out our Independence Day Celebration with a trolley ride to Seaport Village. Hadarya's BF at school, Gabriella, rides the trolley to SDSU every day with her daddy. Hadarya has been talking non-stop about trolleys and gets very very excited when we see them. She has begun asking to ride one "one day." So, today was the one day.

We drove to a safe part of the outskirts of downtown to catch the trolley and took it about 5 stops to our destination. Just enough to be exciting but not get bored! She was very concerned because "the birdie needs to move out of the way, Ima" before the trolley got onto that part of the pavement. They did indeed fly away at the last second and she thought that was hysterical to see them flapping about out of the way.

At Seaport Village we were on a mission to find a balloon person and get her a balloon. We found someone (not the usual good one...but one nonetheless) who made a good enough Zoe (pink not orange) with a tutu to satsify our daughter. She had talked non-stop about a balloon since seeing someone with one the day before. We rode the carousel... all of us. Yonatan did his part and spit up at the end. We picnicked on the grass amongst the hundreds already camped out for the fireworks and then took a return trip on the trolley to our car. Yonatan sacked out in the carrier on the way to the car and Hadarya sacked out as we drove home.

After a 2 hour nap for her, lunch for him, and getting bags ready for us, we were off to Elijah's hosue to swim and eat and hang out. Despite the freezing cold water, we played and splashed and enjoyed ourselves. Yonatan loved hanging out on the grass chillin under the rainforest mat of his friend. After some fresh berries, chips, and brownies, we were off to Hank's house for the remainder of the afternoon/evening.

Hank's house has a very warm pool and we all got in; along with the other 7 kids there! It was crowded but fun for everyone. His playroom is always a big hit and Yonatan LOVED a new toy of David's that his does not have. He sat for over 30 minutes playing in the room by himself while I dried off and packed up some stuff! The kids had a blast and we ate too much food and laughed a lot and realized it was a fabulous way to end our day. The company was what made it so much fun and all the way home Hadarya asked when was Hank going to get to come to her house and play. She actually said, "I have a question" and then asked about him coming over. It was very cute!

The highlight of our entire day was Hadarya reading us her favorite book Little Quack before it got too dark in the car. She was so cute reading all the words and using tones and getting through the whole thing so nicely. We were very proud and wished we'd had a video camera!

Day 2 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

After a lovely breakfast of homemade chocolate chip pancakes eaten picnic style in the family room, we loaded up in the car and headed to the beach. The car had been packed the night before and so the load up was much easier! We detoured at Walgreens for new sand toys and lucked out with a 4.99 bucket set with 8 pieces inside. That made all the difference in our day, seriously.

We got a great parking space at La Jolla Shores and unloaded 2 bags, 1 cooler, 3 chairs, 2 umbrellas, 2 kids, and started walking towards a spot. There were already many people at the beach despite the coldness and overcast sky. Yet, we found a prime area not to far from the car nor the water. While it was quite cold for most of our stay, Yonatan fell fast asleep at his nap time and cozied up on a lounge chair. BUT not until he'd played on the blanket with some toys and managed to get sand in his hair, diaper, and every possible orifice his body owns in under 15 minutes!

Hadarya had a blast making sand castles with our new toys and going to the ocean to get wet and bring back water for her moat. We had a little girl just under 2 named Charlotte who wandered over and sat down to play. Her dad is a teacher at a high school not far from our house and he got his stuff and joined us. Then Tanner from Arizona wandered over and played with the truck and shovel (he's 14 months old) and we totally had the party pad going on with our kids and the twins and these new friends. It was so much fun!

We ate and snuggled and dried off and got sandy and warmed up as the sun tried to break through the clouds. As soon as she said she had to go potty, we were ready to pack it up. Off we went to the lovely beach potties and she peed while I held her up! Changed quickly into undies and her new pink beach dress and then we were off to the car for her to fall asleep on the way home. Do note the cute hairdo she wore. It's one of my best and favorites so far!

After a nice nap and showers for all... well the baby got a bath in his new bath seat which he LOVED, we had a lovely visit with Grandma and Auntie Kimber. Then packed up again and headed to Balboa Park for a shabbat dinner picnic with Savta.

Savta loves to cook and she outdid herself tonight! It was quite a spread but Yonatan had the best time sucking on the cucumber sticks and nectarine pieces. We clearly are into food and are not holding him back too much. The jars of food I bought are just props that I'll use here and there...this boy is serious about getting to the good stuff!

It was a fabulous day that ended with fro yo in Hillcrest, a bottle for Yonatan, and a potty run to Starbucks for Hadarya. All asleep by 8:45 PM and our 2nd day is a hit!

Just in...

2009-07-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

We interrupt the staycation updates for this important photo sharing opportunity! On an impulse we took the kids over to our neighbors who are photographers and asked them to take some shots (they love the practice and our kids). I had just bought them matching Elmo paraphernalia and their hair was fabulous (well Yonatan's always is!)
Here are our favorite 3 out of the 47 amazing photos. ENJOY.

Day 1 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

We canceled a short trip to Palm Springs in favor of creating a staycation for the next five days. We kinda thought 105 degree weather with an infant and toddler was not going to be the vacation we wanted. We're making our own fun at home.

Today Hadarya had her 4th day of swim lessons and the best so far! She stayed in the water the whole time, did all the activities, and did not cry. It was so much better than yesterday. There was also a sub teacher who was female and I think that made a bit of a difference. I am so proud of her for trying and keeping up with kids almost a year and a year and half older than her! She then went to "school" and was happy with her friends (all boys today in her group; who could complain?).

Yiftach was off today on his 2nd to last day of paternity leave and the baby was playing with my parents while Hadarya swam. We convinced them to keep him all day and we had a DATE. Yep... a date with no kids, in the middle of the day on a Thursday. We went to a movie, held hands, and at popcorn. Lovely to not have little hands pawing at our faces and bodies! UP was so wonderfully done and such a feel good movie with great themes for these tough times. We lunched at Rubio's (mmm... fish tacos) and then headed home to pack up the beach stuff for tomorrow.

The baby got picked up first and then the big girl and we were off to a park to meet a friend who was in town visiting for the weekend. It was so fun to see Jean again and catch up! We then rushed off to dinner with the grandparents and everyone had fun eating together and behaving and playing. It was a delightful dinner and fabulous ending to our first day of staycation.

Total staycation cost for the day: lunch $12.53, popcorn $7.00, candy $3.10. Staying home is cheaper than going out when you use your movie passes and grandparent daycare, and restaurant gift cards! I like this so far!

Six months old

2009-06-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful baby boy is 6 months old already! How did that happen? He weighs 17 lbs 14 oz and is 26 3/4 inches long. He is round and chubby and has lots and lots of tire rolls. He is too cute for words!

He loves to blow raspberries and drools all the time. One of his favorite things to do is grab your face and hold it in his hands. He is very alert, very curious, and always looking around at things.
He has been sitting up solidly for over a month and his doctor says he sits like a 9 month old. He has begun pulling himself up to standing when we hold his hands and delights in music and his big sister.

Summer is finally here and I am looking forward to quality mommy time and lots of blogging time of my children doing remarkable things.

No More Diapers

2009-06-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

May 14th, 2009 our daughter decided she no longer wanted to wear diapers and insisted on underwear to school. She had just peed on the potty and we decided to let her go but were definitely wary as to how the day would go. Her regular and favorite teacher was not going to be at school that day, Thursday or Friday or Monday or Tuesday. But off she went.
AND she held it all day and went in her diaper at naptime and then used the potty at home. We were on our way!!!

Within a week she was a champ and we traveled to New Jersey for a bat mitzvah. We made her wear diapers on the airplane but they were wasted. I had bought her a special new folding potty seat that goes on top of the big adult seat with Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie, and Abby. She used that at the airport bathroom in between flights. She used it on the airplane... ON THE AIRPLANE! She used it in the hotel. She used it everywhere and never had an accident. By the time we were home, she didn't really need the little potty seat anymore and did not need a diaper at nap. 2 weeks and no accidents and no diaper. Way to go baby girl!

Now, 6 weeks later, she is a champ and tells us when she has to go. She holds it all night too and we are only steps away from no diaper at all. She is still comfy in her crib so, I don't want her to have the inability to go in the middle of the night if she really has to. But so far this potty training has been amazing and easy and fun. Everyone says that boys are different and we won't get it so easy again. But then again we were told that we'd never get such a great baby twice and we did...so we think we'll get the potty training so easy twice too.

No self esteem issues in our household

2009-06-02T06:10:00.001-07:00

Ok... it's been 2 months since I wrote about my beautiful family and life with 2 children. Hence... the reason I haven't been able to blog is because I have 2 children. I don't know what's going to happen when more join us (no, there's nothing brewing right now, people.. relax)!

ANYWAY back to the topic at hand. We are now able to actually have back and forth conversations with our funny 2 1/2 year old who has a creative, humorous side and lots to say.

Yesterday at Target in the scrapbooking aisle:

Hadarya(pointing to purple sparkly scrapbook paper): Sparkly!
Yiftach: That is sparkly. I didn't even know you knew the word sparkly. It's beautiful.
H: That's beautiful.
Y: Do you know what's more beautiful?
H: Yeah.
Y: What?
H: HADARYA!!

She's so right and so not full of her beautiful self.

You Had to Be There...

2009-03-21T21:36:00.001-07:00

but I'll try to make you feel like you didn't miss an incredibly proud moment (I am sure there will be many more) in our daughter's life.

Brief background: From the day we brought our daughter home (at 10 days old) we put her to bed singing the Sh'ma. It's the prayer that translates into "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" and then the V'ahavta that talks about loving God and performing mitzvot. These are the core prayers of Jewish Tradition.

We send her to a "public" daycare where her 3 best buddies are all of different races and backgrounds giving her a daily look at the world in mini size. We attend Shabbat services almost every Saturday morning and celebrate Shabbat at home (albeit irregularly over the last 2 years until our son arrived in December!)

Hadarya LOVES going to services and being at the synagogue. This past Friday morning we asked her "What is tonight?" and her answer was "it's Shabbat!" When we picked her up at daycare her first words were "Go to synagogue tonight, Ima? Wanna where dress, tights, and underwear, k?" How can you say no to that?

This morning we also went to services as usual and arrived a little later than normal. I was asked to lead the torah service and took H with me to the bimah. She wanted down out of my arms fairly quickly to only reach up to try to see at the douchan. The Rabbi quickly knew that she wanted to stand next to me on her own and brought her a chair. She wanted her own book to lead the service with me and insisted on the big chumash that contains the torah and haftorah portions.

After the ark was opened, the torahs were taken out, and I told her that it was almost time to say the Sh'ma. She started to sing it right away and I told her to wait. The torah scroll holders turned around and the ark was closed. The leader then recites the Sh'ma and the congregation repeats it. I said to H that it was time for the Sh'ma and with all the poise and charm and sweetness she possess, she chanted the Sh'ma (Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad) into the microphone for the entire congregation to hear!!! It was amazing! Then the congregation repeated it. I was so amazed and in awe of my little love and her abilities.

This evening she sang it again and again, but this time she added the 2nd line for the torah service: Echad Elohenu Gadol Adoinanu, Kadosh Shmo. Obviously being in the environment on a consistent basis makes a huge difference. We are doing something right!

Maybe the Rabbi will give her a spot next week too!

Historic Day

2009-01-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today was a historic day for our country and my household! I watched, like so many others, with tears in my eyes as Barack Obama became the 44th president of our country. I listened to his speech with renewed hope and light that there might actually be something good to come in the next few years. It was a wonderful morning.

Today was the first day I picked up Hadarya with the baby. He was so good! He slept for a bit and then woke up as Hadarya's friends came to see the baby. They all wanted to admire him and look at him and touch him and did a great job listening to touching only his feet. Then I realized that I had volunteered to bring bananas for her class and needed to go to the grocery store. WITH TWO KIDS??? one being a toddler who loves to run away? Yikes... but I did it and they did great. Hadarya was a big helper and stayed nicely in the cart the whole time. It was actually a pleasant trip.

Today was the first day that Hadarya pooped in the potty. I think we are turning the corner on the potty training thing. No more crib is around the corner for my baby girl!

Today was the first day that I had both my kids by myself for about 45 minutes and it was great! My dad was coming over at 6:30 when Yiftach left to lead a shiva minyan. He didn't get here until 7:10 and no one threw a tantrum, cried, or hit. It was awesome! Yonatan sat in my lap and listened to a story I read to Hadarya. Then he laid on the playmat and fell asleep while Hadarya finished dinner. Then he stayed asleep in the swing while she put on pajamas, played with Grandpa, and then went to bed without a fuss.

It was a wonderful day. A historic day. One that I look forward to repeating again and again.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-01-18T21:01:00.000-08:00

Six years ago today I married my soulmate, my other half, my life partner and best friend. We were married by 2 Rabbi's and A Cantor in front of about 150 people. It was an amazing day preparing and an incredible evening (in 85 degree weather) of love, friends, and fun. Every year we watch parts of our DVD from that day and remember the special moments from our wedding.

This year we haven't made it to watching the DVD. A 27 month old and 5 1/2 week old keep us from doing much of what we used to do. So today, on our wedding anniversary, we planned a family day because we knew with a toddler, it was not about us anymore. The day could not have been better!

We spent our 6th wedding anniversary reveling in the musical talent of our daughter as we attended music class at 9:30 AM. Hadarya LOVES Miss Laura and going to the music classroom. She bounces to the beat, cleans up nicely, sings the songs out loud, and genuinely and thoroughly enjoys herself. It is worth every penny we have spent to see her get so much out of 45 minutes and then transfer all of that to singing to us later on.

We were then off to Sea World to break in out new fun card passes. With 80 degree weather today, we should have been in shorts as we played in the Bay of Play and watched our daughter ride Abby's tea cups and Elmo's fish ride. She LOVES rides. We are in trouble with amusement parks as she gets older. She also has little fear and after running, jumping, laughing, and playing in the Tide Pool child's play area, she climbed out and walked away.

Of course, one of us had an eye on her and jumped to follow her. She was just going to check out other things to do. BUT she was barefoot on rocky ground and WITHOUT A PARENT. She didn't care! She just went and knew we'd find her! YIKES... we better start working on that one.

We ended the day with a surprise visit from my parents bringing us KOSHER CHINESE FOOD for our dinner from LA. We are so excited to enjoy the treat. It will be awesome! And we also visited with some friends who moved several months ago to Orange County and came to meet our son and have our daughters play together. They had so much fun!

It was a great day and our daughter is fast asleep, as well as our son. It's time for us to join them.

One Month Old

2009-01-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Time seems to move so quickly yet so slow! Our son is 1 month old. Adorable. Alert. (when he's not sleeping!) Good natured. Bright eyed. He's filling out and gaining weight (probably about 10 lbs.) and sleeping good stretches.

Yet...he decided to stay awake after his 4:30ish AM feeding. Yiftach went back to bed so I had to get up. I've been up ever since. I've packed a lunch, done a load of laundry, showered and dressed, dressed a toddler, and addressed envelopes. It's not even 8:30 AM and I need a HUGE nap that I won't get because it's almost time for the baby to eat again.

I don't remember being this tired and my body being so worn out. I don't remember the active movement this little man does nor the following/tracking with his eyes. I do remember the baby smell and the sweetness. I remember the snuggles and the smiles.

At one month, he's a cute as can be and we starting to have some fun with him as I feel better and we begin doing things together as a family!

Yonatan Tzvi

2008-12-18T15:15:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful child. Our miracle. Our son. Yonatan means Gift of G-d. His name was chosen for both its meaning and its initial letter. The Hebrew letter Yud, pronounced like Y in English, is translated in English as the letter J.

Yonatan is named for several family members whose names begin with either a J or a Y.

Yonatan was conceived just two days before my beloved Aunt Judy passed away. Aunt Judy was my second mom – the funny mom, the spoil-me mom, the listen-to-me-and-not-judge mom. She was the one who shared the personal heartache with me over our inability to get pregnant quickly and easily like so many of our peers. Although I was unable to tell her that we were pregnant, I know that she knew and that she passed away knowing that we had finally achieved our miracle. She was able to peacefully leave our world to watch over us from another place. It is in her memory that Yonatan receives part of his name and meaning. The Y comes from her name Judy and her Hebrew name Yehudit. Yehudit means “praised” and Aunt Judy was a woman who lived that meaning by always being interested in others despite her own pain and illnesses. She was the first one to offer words of comfort, wisdom, and love. Her praise of our individuality was a source of support that is greatly missed. Our hope is that Yonatan will carry on her love through caring for others more than himself like she did.

Our miracle would never have been possible without the love and support of our friends and family. Sharing our struggles and heartache and our joy with those closest to us helped us cope. We will never be able to adequately thank our cousins Janis and Jim for their generosity, love, and support. In honoring them, we wish for Yonatan to embrace their giving spirit and fill his life with acts of lovingkindness.

Jenn's maternal grandfather – Yonatan’s great grandfather – Irving (Yitzchak in Hebrew) was 12 years old when he arrived in this country. As an immigrant he worked very hard to build a successful butcher business and provide for his 3 children. Grandpa Irving was a kind and loving man who I was fortunate to have known. In his memory, we wish for Yonatan to inherit his sense of hard work and determination no matter what obstacles he might face.

My (Yiftach's) paternal grandfather – another of Yonatan’s great grandfathers – was Yaacov Levy, a prolific writer and influential educator who left his boyhood home in rural Ukraine and ended up contributing a great deal to Jewish and secular thought in Western Europe and Israel. While I never got the chance to know him, my dad’s figurative and literal journeys through his father’s life and work over the last several years have made me ever more confident of his place of honor in Yonatan’s heritage.

Several generations back on my (Yiftach's) maternal family tree is Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, a renowned 19th century rabbi from Lithuania whose influence on Jewish life is still felt today in Israel and around the world. Over the last decade or so, as I’ve become more knowledgeable – and, of course, more curious – about Jewish traditions, texts, customs, and history, I’ve felt an increasing spiritual kinship with Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan that has enhanced my bloodline relationship with him, and I enthusiastically pass these gifts on to Yonatan.

Your Ima and Aba’s names begin with J and Y, thus completing the circle of life from your great-grandfathers, your great aunt and your cousins with J and Y names throughout our family. You are the next link in our lives binding our families together and strengthening the millennia-long chain of Jewish generations.

Your middle name – Tzvi – is another link in connecting your life with your big sister Hadarya’s. In anticipation of having a family, we decided to give all of our children middle names that began with a T to honor Jennifer’s maiden name TABAK. It was also a way to link all of our children together no matter how they came to be part of our family. Tzvi means a deer or gazelle. These animals are very graceful and gentle. We hope that your will embody that characteristic and be a gentle person.

Welcome to our family!

12/10/08 - Blog Address Becomes True

2008-12-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

2 1/2 years ago we (mostly I) began this blog to create a space to share my joys of being a mom and the life with the children my husband and I planned to have.

On 09/06/06 I wrote the following: "Welcome to our blog for our journey to becoming parents. ouryeladim.net was created to share our expereinces, our highs and lows, and finally the celebration of our yeladim (children) coming home."

Little did I know that 3 weeks later our beautiful daughter would come into our lives and begin the process of making the title true... OUR CHILDREN. But alas, she was just one and so the address did not match our intentions at the time with just one child.

Now it is true, thanks to the support of amazing family and medical intervention. We welcomed our son into our family on 12.10.08 at 1:05 AM. NOW our blog address is true because there are CHILDREN in our house and G-d willing there will be more to come.

What a fabulous feeling and amazing life I have with my husband, daughter, and son. Life with our yeladim is grand; even just 3 days after his birth and very little sleep. Yep, life is grand as of now and no one could tell me anything differently.

38 weeks!

2008-12-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday, I am officially 38 weeks pregnant and staying that way for a while longer. WOO HOO! The high blood pressure scare and swollen legs certainly scared my doctor and the rest of us, but not working does wonders! This baby is not ready to meet the world yet and while bed rest seems to be getting a little tiresome (mostly from getting sore from sitting!), whatever I have to do do make sure this little one is totally ready, I'll do.

We have finally found a routine and seem to be on a good pattern of adjustment to this lack of cooking, cleaning, laundry on my part! Hadarya seems to be doing much better than the first week or so and it's great to have so much help from family and friends.

We are looking forward to meeting to our miracle and beginning life as a family of four. BUT not for a couple more weeks...

3 AM -- No party in her crib

2008-11-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 20th was the night before the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. For 5 years we've both participated: me through walking 60 miles or crewing on a pit stop and my husband through crewing gear and tent. Even when our daughter arrived 2 years ago, I still walked and he cheered us on from the sidelines. So this year, it was obvious that I would not be able to crew being 9 months pregnant and we would cheer him on from the sidelines. Hadarya had other things in mind.

While I was a bit nervous about the weekend by "myself" with her (and grandma and savta) I figured we'd make it happen somehow. But Tuesday's doctor's appointment, putting me on bedrest, changed everything. I was now out of commission and we needed to make changes.

Savta agreed to spend the night on Thursday night and help get Hadarya to daycare in the AM. She sleeps until about 7 AM and that would work out perfectly. Yiftach was set to leave at
4 AM to get to the fairgrounds for day zero to join his crew members lugging gear and tents.

Hadarya had been sleeping through the night for a couple of nights in a row and even if she woke up for milk or from a dream, it was usually around midnight, 2 AM, or 5:30 AM. So at 2:55 AM when she called out for Aba, we were a little unnerved.

For almost an hour she cried, whined, fussed, drank milk, fell asleep on Aba's shoulder, refused to come to Ima or Savta and generally acted uncharacteristically of our amazing child. It was bizarre. If you were not in our house you would never believe that our 2 year old knew Aba was leaving the house and she wanted to be part of it. It was just so uncanny.

He finally got her back in her crib at 3:50 and left with Grandpa to pick up Auntie Kimber. As soon as I shut the door and locked it, she woke up calling out for Aba. She let me pick her up (I haven't done that in a very long time due to growing belly and her lack of comfort!) and we laid on the couch together. I thought she was falling asleep but Savta said she was wide-eyed. She allowed Savta to carry her to our bed and she laid down between us and closed her eyes.

I called Yiftach to tell him (4:20 AM) that she was good...did not use his name but just said she's on her way to sleep in our bed; and she popped up and called for him. He did not make it to Del Mar and the beginning of the 3 day.

Our daughter has a sixth sense about things and she knows when things are not exactly as they should be. She totally knew that our lives had turned upside down on Tuesday at the doctor's and she was trying to figure it out. This was not a party that we were glad to be invited to!

0 to 60 in 1 Doctor's Appointment

2008-11-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 18th started off like any other day but ended with a new plan for our lives for the next month. We carpooled to work and I had my typical 1/2 day with students. I knew that I only had 4 more teaching days left until I was on maternity leave and so we made the most of our day and ended with sharing. I had a one hour inservice (sitting and listening and participating) and then left to pick up Yiftach for our 4 PM regularly scheduled Doctor's visit.

Long story short, my blood pressure was way too high for my doctor's liking and my feet and calves were very swollen. Not surprising at the end of the day, sitting half naked on a small doctor's examining table with my feet dangling and waiting over 30 minutes to be seen...but the blood pressure wouldn't come down as she continued on with her exam and measurements.

My parents had picked up Hadarya for the doctor's visit and we called to ask them to keep her longer as we were headed to the hospital for further testing for preeclampsia. The doctor gave us 30% chance of being admitted and induced that night and that was a little much for us! We're not ready for this baby yet and it's not ready for us!

Blood was drawn and sent to the lab. We waited for a room in an office as there were too many people who came to triage right before us. I was hooked up to fetal monitoring machine, blood pressure machine, and contraction machine. Told to rest, lie still, and hang out. It took awhile but I finally got comfortable after Yifach piled a few more blankets on me to make me warmer and propped up my arm on a few folded sheets to keep it steady.

My blood pressure came down significantly and the baby's heartbeat was fine. The blood work came back clear and I had no extra proteins floating through my liver and kidneys! YEAH... we were sent home. No more work, no cooking (standing on my feet) and no significant anything but laying around on the couch on bedrest.

Life has changed. Dramatically. I sit on the couch all day. My mom comes over. My mother-in-law comes over. My daughter cuddles near me. I do not do a whole lot but flip through the channels and check my email! Our hope is to continue this lifestyle, as hard as it has been on my husband, and figure out how to keep my BP down and let the baby wait until it's really the right time....4 more weeks to go. We'll see what the doc says on Monday AM.

Do You Want...

2008-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

So our daughter has a very smelly poopy diaper and refuses to change it. She thinks it's a game. She really wanted her bitzy (pacifier) and I told her only if she got the wipes and pad. Usually she complies and is very helpful. Today, not so much. Probably because she refused a nap and is being 2.

Here is the conversation we had with our 2 year old:

Me: Do you want to change your diaper?

H: Nope

Me: Do you want to go to Target?

H: No

Me: Do you want to go to bed?

H: Nope

Aba: She's going to say no to everything you say.

Me: Do you want to go in the car?

H: No

Aba: Do you want to go to skydiving?

H: YES!

Grandma's Blankie

2008-10-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday night at 1:30 AM we ventured into the car with a wide-awake but very sleepy child after soaking the bed and her pj's. She couldn't get settled and wanted the car to fall asleep in. We've done this before so it wasn't that big of a deal and since I didn't have to work the next day and was worried about the whole bed wetting issue anyway, I was wired to go.

There were a few rules though from the toddler: she insisted, of course, on her bitzy (pacifier), and a blankie. She rarely sleeps with a blankie but boy did want one and it had to be a specific one. We got it right on the 4th try. Then she wanted her minnie mouse pillow too. We got her in the car and she started on about Grandma's Blankie. It took several attempts to understand her (we are working on taking out the bitzy when she talks but at 2 in the AM it wasn't worth the fight) and after repeating what she said again and again, we caught on to Grandma's Blankie.

The problem??? What was Grandma's Blankie?? Then I got it. The Luvee that Grandma made her. She got one when she was born and Grandma made her several more to have in the car and day care and to be the hot baby item for all her friends to give as gifts. It's a rectangle shaped flannel material on one side and minky dots on the other with different textured but coordinated ribbons all around. Hadarya doesn't sleep with them at home anymore, but she does at daycare. At home they are her babies blankies. YET... she knew, somehow that it was made by Grandma, and she had to have it in the car that night.

She got it. Slept fairly quickly. and tonight asked for Grandma's Luvee at bedtime.

Birthday Girl

2008-10-15T12:11:00.001-07:00

Here are photos of our love on her 2nd Birthday. We can't believe she's already 2!! Where did the time go??

Sukkot and Soaking Wet

2008-10-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Although we've talked about and talked about building our own Sukkah every year for 5 years of our marriage, it just hasn't happened. We have had a backyard, albeit just dirt, but a place to build one. We just haven't gotten it together. This year was no exception but next year will be different. Nana and Saba came through with a fabulous birthday present for us both: a Sukkah Kit! We are beyond excited to have the directions, the lumber, and all the mechanics to make an 8 x 12 structure. Next year it's going to be fabulous. This year, we continue to "crash" at our friends Sukkahs to experience the holiday.

The word Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut. During this 7 day holiday, Jews are instructed to build a temporary structure in which to eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and is intended to reflect G-d's benevolence in providing for all the Jews' needs in the desert. The sukkah is a temporary structure used for meals throughout the holiday.

We spent Monday night with our 2nd family...the Meltzers in their Sukkah. Hadarya had a blast playing with the kids, eating at the picnic table outside, and just soaking up the atmosphere. She is such a social kid! We had delicious food, great company, and headed home for bed around 7:45. Munchkin put on her pj's with all the other kids and wore her new birthday hippos from Baba Karen.

Around 1:30 AM she awoke crying, which is unusual. Yiftach went in and tried to give her something to drink and pat her back. Didn't work. She kept asking for Ima. So he finally took her out of her bed to discover she was completely soaking wet!! Her legs were soaked as was her freshly made bed through 2 sheets and a mattress pad.

Ima got out of bed and went to get her not yet realizing how wet she was. I took her to my room and laid her down to change her pj's. She cried the whole time from being cold and uncomfortable and wanting to sleep so badly! It turns out that somehow her diaper was not longer attached. One side was totally undone and the other barely hanging on. The diaper was dry but her legs and pj's were soaked!

She refused new pajamas and cuddled under a warm blankie on our bed. We stripped her bed and put on a new sheet but she wouldn't get in. She was pretty awake and just kind of freaked out. This is only the 2nd time she's wet through a diaper/pj's in her life! So we ended up having a snack and taking a ride in the car. She crashed quickly to the lull of the car and we transferred her to her bed.

We unfortunately were awake for a little longer since this was way more than just waking up! We are working on securing diapers better and trying to make sure she is able to sleep without being wet again.

Morning Rituals

2008-10-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Somewhere between 6:45 AM and 7:15 AM a sweet little voice can be heard calling, "IMA" down the hallway. That's my cue that my angel is awake. I respond with, "HA-DAR-YA!". She responds back in a different tone, "EEE-MA!" Then it's my turn, "Hadar-YA!" Until I make it into her room and she giggles at me and smiles. Rarely does she call for Aba. She's learned that Aba graciously gets up in the middle of the night, unless there is an emergency such as the night before last and then all she wants is Ima. (See next post for that incident).

Hadarya then asks for her song. "Good morning to you, Good morning to you, Good morning sweet Hadarya, Good Morning to you!" She then says, "again" and I proceed to sing to her again this time with saying good morning to her body parts. She giggles and giggles until she is ready for up and out.

Because I am on a fall break from work, we've been getting back into my bed and cuddling for a while. She just thinks that is the best of the best to snuggle into our bed and against my growing belly. We tickle each other, sing songs, and smile into each others faces.

It's sweet and delicious and I am going to miss it when I go back to work next week!

And I thought I would be alone...

2008-10-14T08:48:00.001-07:00

It's been almost 6 years since I was married and it's often hard to imagine another life without my husband, my daughter, being an adult and the never ending bills, laundry, and cleaning that comes with it. That was not a complaint...just the life of grown-ups! We got married later than most of our friends (at 32 years old) and waited a year to even begin thinking about starting a family. We wanted to enjoy being married first.

Most of my friends already had kids by the time I got married. The oldest turns 18 tomorrow. Most of them are dealing with school age children and are at different stages in their lives with sports, dance, homework, and a variety of other activities that consume your children. Most of them have at least 2 and many of them more. Since we got married much later than them and therefore were going to have children later, I figured that I'd be alone in my pregnancy and child-rearing stages. It would not have been exactly how I would have planned it, but we plan and G-d laughs.

When we struggled to even get to the first stage of the game by getting pregnant, I knew for sure that I'd have my children but all my other friends would have theirs first and we'd be at different places raising our kids. Hard to take. Hard to explain. Tough to manage emotionally even though there was not a lot I could do about it. I even had a friend tell me that it didn't matter so much because I would make new friends who had kids the same age.

BUT I DIDN'T WANT NEW FRIENDS!!! I liked my old friends and the history and time we'd invested. I wanted to be a mom with these friends and not have to start all over.

Rewind to 2 years ago when our daughter arrived on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. In our group of friends, she was 7 months younger than 2 of our closest friends girls, 4 months older than another friends' daughter, just over a year older than my best friends twins, and 2 years younger than the group of our friends who had boys all at the same time. She fit right in age wise with everyone else and we couldn't have been more delighted! It was great.

Now she is 2 (as are most of the other girls or about to be!) and we are delighted to find ourselves pregnant with a healthy baby due in just over 2 months. When we first found out, we were thrilled to be adding to our family and being able to experience the joy and miracle of pregnancy. It doubled when we found out our dearest friends (who have a daughter 7 months older and a son 2 years older than H) were also expecting and due 9 days before us!!!

I WAS NOT ALONE! I was going to have a baby at the same time as our close friends.
WOO HOO!!

It gets better. . . we have since found out that another set of our friends (whom we do not see enough of) are having a baby boy 6 weeks before us and another good friend (whom we do not see enough of) are having a baby boy 4 weeks after us!! There is another friend of a friend due a few weeks before me and another due 4 months after me. Then we just got the best news that our other friends are having their first baby about 3 months after us and we couldn't be more thrilled for them. Our friends who have a daughter 4 months younger than ours are also having another baby due 4 months after this one of ours! SO our two kids will be about the same age difference!!

That's a total of 8 babies born within 6 months of each other. I am so excited and so thrilled to not have to make new friends. To have families with other kids having kids about the same age. This is my babies hebrew school class. It's the b'nai mitzvah track. Even though I had a plan, G-d's plan was better. Have faith and look what happens.

Hens

2008-10-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

This morning H was very willing to put on her shirt for school and have her hair done while she was busy eating her french toast sticks. She was all done and ready to go see what Aba was doing in the bedroom and let Ima blow dry her hair.

I asked her to take off her very dry diaper and pajamas so we could put on her shorts. She somewhat allowed me to do that but kept trying to run off. Now I LOVE the sight of her naked tush fleeing from my hands ready to swaddle on a diaper, but we had to get going or we were going to be very late! She kept saying hens, hens, hens. I just repeated and then she repeated and I said ok honey. Not really knowing what hens were and what they had to do with diapers. Finally I let her go and reveled in the sight of cuteness of her backside.

I started calling her to come back and she returned promptly with the changing pad we lay on the ground that has HANDS all over it. HANDS not hens. She was telling me that she was going to get the diaper pad and she did and she laid down and she let me put on her diaper.

Smarty pants. I should have just listened to her the first time and let it go!

Tomorrow she turns 2

2008-10-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

Where did the year go? Just a year ago my baby girl could not walk on her own. Now she running running running. Just a year ago she ate with assistance and her hands. Now she uses....insists on , a fork and spoon doing it herself. Just a year ago she drank a bottle. Now she drinks out of an open cup and rarely spills. Just a year ago we giggled at her babbles and spurts. Now we marvel at the words she uses and the context in which they are used.

My baby girl turns 2 tomorrow and she is a child now. Not a baby and not really a toddler so much. She is an amazing person who is kind, considerate, adorable, funny funny funny, and easy going. We love her to pieces and fall in love with her more and more each day.

Words do not do her justice. Photos do not do her justice. Being in her space and soaking up her personality and love are the best things you can do for yourself.

I can think of no greater place to be in life than Hadarya's Ima. Thank you baby girl for sharing your life with me!

The End and The Beginning

2008-09-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

It's the end of September.
It's the end of 5768 on the Jewish Calendar.
It's the end of babyhood for our daughter.
It's the beginning of October.
It's the beginning of a New Year.
It's the beginning of our daughter becoming 2.

Where did the time go? How did we come to Fall and the end of another year? Time seems to be moving at warp speed and I am trying very hard to take each moment and enjoy my time with my daughter. It goes way too fast and I don't want to miss a thing!

I am in my sixth week of teaching 1st grade and getting ready for a 2-week October break. I cannot believe it's time to break already! My class this year is really wonderful, academically high and well-behaved. It's really nice after my long long year last year at 1st grade.

As Rosh Hashana begins a new year for us and a new cycle of the holidays, we wish a wonderful, sweet year for our family and friends. This past year we've reveled in our amazing daughter and cherished the life beginning within my body. We look forward to this year filled with wonder as our daughter continues to astound us with her wit, humor, and personality and when she becomes a big sister in December. It's going to be a marvelous year in our household!

Shana Tova.

Moments of Clarity and Contrast

2008-09-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

This last week has been wild. US politics took center stage for a lot of people, with the DNC on the one hand and McCain's VP pick on the other. We've been ramping up at work getting ready for the Fall semester (classes started today). And here at home, Hadarya has been continuing her amazing growth and development and strengthening her grip on our hearts.

At Hadarya's terrific daycare center, they sit in a circle each morning and sing a song to welcome everyone to school. It goes, "Hi, hello, it's good to see _______" (with each child's and teacher's name filled in), and is accompanied by simple hand motions (clapping and patting the lap). Hadarya has taken to singing the song to us, Aba and Ima, which is cool because it shows her ability to insert novel thoughts into familiar situations, which is a neat developmental step I like noticing as a proud papa.

Over the weekend, though, after giving her a small baked good for breakfast, we heard, "Hi, hello, it's good to see... MUFFIN!"

Clarity in the midst of chaos.

We attend Shabbat morning services with Hadarya almost every week (and Friday night services somewhat less often), and she "knows" parts of the service and anticipates them with glee. Primary among these is the Torah service, when the aron kodesh (ark) is opened and the Torah scrolls are removed and marched around the sanctuary. Hadarya gets a huge grin on her face when the ark is opened and cheerfully kisses the Torah as it comes around.

The other day, she pulled out her stuffed Torah, a toy we haven't seen a lot of even though she got it when she was very young. She proceeded to march around the living room and sing, "Torah, Torah, Torah..." Aaahhh, the kvelling!

Clarity, again.

2008-08-26T13:40:00.001-07:00

I'm amazed at the power of the Internet to affect my feelings. I guess it just confirms what I've been telling people for years: computers (and, by extension, the Internet) are just tools for enhancing human interaction. Still, it's nice to be caught off guard by my own belief.

2008-08-21T08:40:00.001-07:00

I'm a proud pee-pa this morning.

Israel Photos

2008-08-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

We love our camera. It's one of the best purchases we've ever made and worth every penny we spent even though it took 4 years to buy it! We took over 1,000 photos during our adventure. We've edited them down to 746. Take your time. Enjoy the view. See Israel through our eyes. Gush over the cuteness that is our gorgeous almost 2 year old.

http://picasaweb.google.com/summerinisrael

ENJOY!!!

Terrible Transition

2008-08-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Last week was the week my love bug disappeared and was replaced by a whining, crying, tantrum throwing monster who suddenly hated daycare and eating. I am not totally sure what was the main trigger, but there were many contributing factors to the terrible week we had in our household last week. I hope other transitions are not this bad!

Hadarya's entire Chick classroom became Koala's last Monday. She is officially in the toddler cottage and not longer in the infant class. The best part is that her teachers all moved with her and so the transition was supposed to be easy. It was far from it!

If you read my previous post, you saw the lack of sleep and eating that began on Sunday. Throw in a brand new classroom, her 2 best friends absent for the entire week, and jet lag still lingering with the new teeth popping in and you have the recipe for a terrible week.

She cried buckets every morning whereas before she didn't even look back! She didn't eat or drink much of anything. She was very willing to take a nap but woke up crying and upset every day; even the day I was there waiting for her!

Then Wednesday night she stayed in her crib the entire night and only woke up 3-4 times for something to drink. (She's been very thirsty at night). Thursday she slept all night long and never woke up! Friday the same thing! All of a sudden my love bug returned.

Friday night we went to Zamru at the Bay and she gobbled up veggie lasagna off a spatula fed to her by the Rabbi. That jump started her appetite and she ate non-stop all weekend. Today was the first day back at school again and although she cried bucket when dropped off, she had a fabulous day!

Her friends were back. She ate well ALL day long. She napped well. She took a delicious bath tonight and didn't fuss over washing out the sand. She went to bed easily and early. We are back in the swing of things and it is very clear that my daughter craves structure and routine but is somewhat flexible if it's not too off. The change into a new place is rougher than I expected. It's been duly noted so I remember if and when we change to a new place!

The best part of the return of my sweetness is that she willingly gives HUGE hugs now and holds on so tight. It's the best! She is funny and happy and laughing all the time! mmmm.. she is so delicious!!!

What Happened to My Sweetness?

2008-08-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

My beautiful, angelic, fabulous traveler is just about 22 months and someone has body snatched this lovely child and replaced her with a terrible-2-year old tantrum throwing, full body on the ground, throwing food, thing in our house.

We thought jet lag was bad. No one warned us about 2 year old molars. Thanks so much my friend!!!

We had a few nights of relatively nice sleep filled nights and then came Sunday. By mid-morning she was cranky, refused homemade chocolate chip pancakes (that should have been our first warning that life was about to change!), and took a 45 minute nap from which she awoke screaming and unable to calm down.

Life has not been the same since.

She has not eaten much in two days. She has not pooped in two days. She drank so much overnight Saturday to Sunday that her pj's and diaper soaked through enough for her to sit down and say "hot, hot" from knowing she peed! She takes bites of food, then spits it out, throws it across the room, and sweeps things out of our hands (yogurt all over the table is not so lovely). She throws herself on the ground and cries and screams. We try to ignore it, but after 25 minutes.... Tonight by 8:40 PM she was cooked.

She wanted to eat so badly but didn't want our help in getting anything. I finally scooped her up and told her we were going to bed. She calmed down immediately when I started to read to her but after three books, she was done. She refused to go to bed and cried. We put her in the car and took a drive. She was out within seconds and I hope the tylenol and motrin will be more effective tonight and allow her (and us) some much needed rest. Last night she thrashed about and cried every hour or so in our bed. Thank goodness I am not back at work yet because this would be a zillion times worse!

Our only clue to this being her molars is the constant drool that runs down her chin. She won't eat. She only chews (if she tries to eat) on the right side. I wonder how long this will last? When will I have my angel back? Will the other ones come in at the same time and let this all be over and done with?? I want my sweetness back and I want it back NOW!

The Flight Home

2008-07-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

I was ready to come home. Our trip was fabulous and we had a ton of fun, but it’s very different traveling with a toddler than it is as adults. We didn’t anticipate certain things and we over thought other things. It’s not really a vacation that we had; more like an adventure in living in a foreign country with a toddler and no set structure to our days.

Flights out of Israel leave in the middle of the night. You are traveling backwards across time zones, depending on where you are going, so it makes some sense. Our flight left at 12:40 AM and arrived at 6 AM in JFK. We choose to fly internationally from JFK and do a domestic flight within the states. This meant going through customs and immigration in New York and then basically starting over with our domestic flight.

Four years ago when we traveled, El Al, changed the time of our out going flight and we missed our domestic flight home from JFK. This time we decided with a toddler to giver her the ability to run around, get food, and nap would be a better choice than rushing to get on another flight home in the AM and risk missing that flight. We also thought a direct flight would be better so we didn’t have to schlep off and on a plane again.

We were through customs and had checked our bags in at customs by 8 AM or earlier. The problem we encountered was that you cannot get to anything in a terminal at Delta in JFK without a boarding pass. Of which w we could not check into our flight until 10:10:45 AM. That gave us almost 3 hours to sit in the reservations area! My cranky husband was having none of this. I had to ask him to let me handle it so that we could possible get through with some help instead of waiting three hours.

I explained the issue we had with a agent and she took our passports and gave us special security only clearance to get through. Secrurity ended up being a hassle and my hungry sleep deprived husband almost got us in trouble. He kept beeping the making and he said he’d taken of everything and he was pissed. I had the baby, tons of carry-on, and they wanted to figure out why he was still beeping. Well, it turned out that he had forgotten to take out the cell phone battery and that was causing the beep!!

Our daughter is born to travel and is a fantastic traveler. She fell asleep in the car to the airport in Israel at 8:30 and slept pretty much through until just before take-off. We had a fabulous experience in the airport. Sailed through security and checking in our luggage. When we got to the gate, Yiftach asked the agent about checking in our stroller at the gate, since we had a sleeping child. It turns out that we’ve learned on international flights, you are not allowed to take any water on even if it’s been purchased in the airport. I had mine dumped on the way out. Well, it seems that on international flights they no longer do gate check for strollers on either end. Getting out in Israel H had to walk all the way to baggage… on the way back they take the stroller at the boarding pass gate.

This agent escorted us, in zone 1, all the way to the gate, waited and helped while we transferred H to my arms, and then he hand carried the stroller bag back to the front to check it in for us. We were amazed! We were also given bulkhead seats which were amazing. Not only could we actually see the screen, but H had a place to stand, play, and sleep! She wanted to go nigh –nigh and she she actually lay down on t a blanket, with a pillow and we covered her and she slept for 6 hours!! It was great for us too.

Then in NY she ran and played and we found some other kids to ;ay with and that was a bll! She fell asleep on Israel time at 1 PM in NY and will not wake up until we get home at 8 PM CA time. This is her nighttime!! We ended up with a seat in between us and she slept for most of the sgliht home. It’s our first night home that we are going to be in trouble because she is going to want to stay up all night because she’ll think it’s day and we are going to want to sleep.

Nachalot Benyamin and the Shuk

2008-07-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

In the heat of Tel Aviv and the swarms of people, we tackled Nachalot Benyamin, a great artists street fair that is available twice a week for shopping. Unfortunately, we were not as successful at finding any gifts there this year. Probably because we didn’t really need anything, band partly because it was sooo hot and sticky. We had lunch at a great restaurant with Ruth, Noam, and Tamar and Zohar. I had a fabulous salad with lots of veggies, I think one of only a few salads I had the whole trip like that!We then ventured to the shuk on a Friday afternoon. CRAZY!!!

We wanted flowers and nuts and other things. We bought he best pastries ever and brought them on the plane with us for a snack. The shuk is crazy anyway and on a Friday with a stroller is even more crazy. It was fun, but hard with a sweaty toddler who didn’t want to shop so much. She was overdue for a nap and just never got around to it. She ended up blowing off steam in the park before Shabbat dinner.

Although it was a long day and Shabbat dinner, while super delicious at Doda Nomi and Dod Gil's, it was quick and off to the airport we had to go. It was great to be with family and have a lovely meal together. But there is always the nerves of needing to get to the airport and how long things will take. It was a nice way to end our vacation and trip.

Shabbat in Jerusalem

2008-07-18T12:31:00.001-07:00

While my memory tries hard to remind me that Shabbat in Jerusalem (as I remember from being here many years ago) meant the entire city shuts down, it is not totally so in 2008. There were several cars driving around, which means you can't completely walk through the streets without being sensitive to a car possibly coming around the corner.

Regardless... Shabbat started in the usual hectic rush way that makes taking 25 hours a lovely thing. With only 1 bathroom and 7 people to bathe, children to feed, people not feeling up to par 100%, and then needing to get out the door for services certainly makes the 5-5:45 time slot RUSHED!

Somehow we managed and the 3 of us left to walk to services at Kol Nishama, a "reform" congregation where men and women sit together. It was really nice even though we got there 10 minutes late. Hadarya revels in services and danced her way through Kabbalat Shabbat after she got comfortable. We were sitting near the front in the top of a U shape. She loved walking away from us and sitting on the step that led to the bimah. She sat there and smiled at us. She sat there and stared at the Rabbi. She sat there and read a prayer book. She sat there and looked cute as only she can do and everyone smiled at her. She danced at the right places, clapped for the songs, and said amen at the end of prayers. The melodies were uplifting and a packed room made all the voices blend together in such a lovely way that I wish we had more of that in our synagogues in the states.

Savta Ruthie met us at services and walked home with us for dinner. The rest of the house was already asleep as everyone was feeling tired and exhausted. We had a lovely dinner that Scott had made before he went to bed. It was a lovely evening and we took Hadarya out for her nightly ritual of strolling to sleep.

We woke up Shabbat morning sort of late and immediately got on Skype with Grandma and Grandpa. Boy did that wake up Hadarya! She jumped over Aba to get to the computer and smiled, giggled, and laughed with them. It was a great beginning to the Shabbat morning. We ended up all going to services at Shira Chadasha and making it there a little earlier than last week. It's a modern orthodox with a michitza but women are called to the torah, lead services, and read from the torah. It's a lovely combination that I truly enjoy. I like being able to daven with myself in a community and not worry about the people around me.

We came home to a delicious shabbat lunch in which Scott's cousin, Reuven and Yiftach's friend, Einat, joined us. We ate over a a couple of hours, the kids played, the young ones napped for a bit, and we just schmoozed and hung out. We left for a trip to the park and picnic dinner around 5 PM and returned by 7 PM for bathtime and bedtime. Our baby girl does well with a bath now and loves getting in , especially if Maital joins her. We let her watch Elmo, skyped with Auntie Kimber, which Hadarya now says very clearly, and then took a stroll for her to go to bed. In between those two, we did Havdallah and Hadarya enjoyed smelling the spices.

A really super Shabbat experience in Jerusalem.

Biblical Zoo - mini Tiyul within Jerusalem

2008-07-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

Erev Shabbat morning was spent at the beautiful Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. We traveled just past the mall we’ve become fond of (indoor air conditioning!) and ended up at this amazing zoo. It’s long and skinny versus the San Diego Zoo that is more round and expanded. There is a lot of water built into this zoo that it makes it look so refreshing for the animals.
The first stop was across a wooden bridge over the water where Hadarya could see “duckies,” which were really big birds that dove under the water for food. She thought that was so funny! We actually did see pink beaked ducks too. At the same time the screaming monkeys were making their presence known from the top of their house in the middle of the water on an island.

We then took the rakevet (train) to the top of the hill by the bears. What fun the bears were! There were 4 bears swimming, playing, jumping in the water, and walking around. We stayed for quite a while as they were so active. It was almost lunch time for them so they were pacing around trying to to be patient and wait. One of the bears actually dove off the rock in the middle of the water into the larger pool area. It was so funny to see him jump in! The other larger bear just eased his way into the water.

We then walked our way to Noah's Ark, which is the end of the zoo and the train pick up towards the front. It was very hot but the misters were very nice! We saw elephants and more monkeys. Then we got to the walkway that goes through the biblical animals. Hadarya had a blast running up the wooden walkway towards the lookout points. We were amazed that there were zebras, rhinos, and giraffes all together! They hung out, walked around past each other, moved in separate areas but everything was all connected. It was really cool.

By the time we got the Noah's ark information center we were hot and tired and it was time to leave. We got Hadarya her first popsicle while we waited for the train. It took her awhile to get the hang of it and it was sooo cold on her tongue! It was a really fun outing and a great way to get ready for Shabbat.

The grounds were filled with people sitting on blankets in the shade when we left and it was clear that this was a favorite place people liked to go to.

Everyday Living plus a Carnival

2008-07-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

Part of the idea of renting an apartment was to be able to "live" in Jerusalem and experience everyday things. Today, Thursday, was kind of an every day thing. Scott had a tiyul that left at 7 AM and Jennifer asked us if we'd be awake to watch Nadiv and Maital so that she didn't have to drag them to walk Shayna to camp and then back to their daycare program. We offered to walk them to their program and then she wouldn't have to go out of her way. It was a good way to get us up and out of the house early and it was a really nice walk and it made us really feel like we were just ordinary people living here!

From the Hartman institute we got directions to a park with more "modern" equipment and spongy asphalt. Although it was hot, Hadarya had a lot of fun on the see-saw. She really wanted to swing but the wooden swings were too hot. We stayed for about an hour and she had a lot of fun running around. We met a woman on our way out and she asked how long we were staying. She is from Canada and has been here for 10 years. She came after law school, single, and stayed. She had a son who was about 6 years old. We took a long walk around by the History Museum and then back to the apartment.

We ended up going to the mall to cool off and get lunch and hang out and our little Miss took her nap while we shopped around. We had really yummy chinese food, just because we could eat at the mall in a restaurant like that.

The highlight of the day was going to a Carnival at 4:30 PM with everyone. It was not your typical carnival like we think of in the states. It started at 4 but they were still setting up when we got there! There were arts and crafts and tons of bouncy houses. We started out making necklaces out of bisseli (Israeli chips) and pretzels. Hadarya wasn't so interested. But we made one for her anyway. She really loved the bouncy houses and could not get enough of them. She also like the bouncy slide, which had a rope ladder to get up. Try carrying a toddler who weighs 28 pounds up a swinging rope ladder to get to the top and bounce down the slide.

There were big lovely mats (machselet) in many different places around the park area and different things on each one. One had lovely cushy bean bags type of mooshy chairs with books spread around so you could hang out and read to your children. Another one had someone there doing things like balloon animals, bubbles, and other fun interactive stuff. Then there was a huge fairy that was standing on something tall with air blowing her huge skirt around and the kids were shaking it and playing with it like parachutes. Hadarya totally knew what to do and shook with all her might and laughed a lot. The last place we stopped was an arts and crafts station set up with little tables and chairs. The big kids were tracing pictures and then coloring them in, but our little ones had more fun coloring their own pictures which Savta Ruthie wanted to keep for her fridge.

We ate dinner at a fabulous burger place that made my burger with eggplant and grilled onions and lettuce and tomatoes. It was quite delicious and we walked it off coming home. For as much as we've eaten, we've walked enough to not add the calories to our bodies! It was a delightful day doing what everyone who lives here does.

Tiyul #4 - The North Part 2

2008-07-15T23:12:00.001-07:00

Sunday Night - Hadarya pulled an all-nighter, sleeping that is, after going to bed late around 10 PM. She woke at 5:15 for milk and fell back to sleep until 9:00 or so. Maybe later! We had a lovely breakfast on the balcony with a gorgeous sight to see. Then hustled into the car with all the gear and kids, up 100 steps in the hot hot hot heat, to go to the Tel Dan and Safed.

I LOVED the Tel Dan when we were here 4 years ago, so we wanted to go and explore this natural reserve some more. The trees, the pathways, and the water were enticing. We drove over an hour to get there, with two napping girls, only to find out it was CLOSED, due to a fire two days ago. What a bummer! BUT we were lucky to be with experienced travelers, especially in the North, and Noam found us a delicious spot all our own. The girls played naked in the water laughing, giggling, and splashing. We put on suits and joined them, had lunch, and watched the kayakers. Over 2 hours of relief from the heat in an area we’d never have found ourselves.

Then we ventured on to Safed, a place I’d never been and wanted to go. I was slightly disappointed as it wasn’t what I really expected. There were tons of tall and large apartment building on the sides of the hills as we entered. This was the new part, but seemed so out of place for a religious artist’s colony! I am going to have to do some research on the area and learn more for sure. We walked through the main street and down to the artists colony, which is really a long strip of shops. We saw some beautiful things, but not completely unusual and unique. Nothing I felt I really had to have. We did venture to the very end and go to the Safed Candle Factory, which are handmade candles of all kinds. It was amazing. A full size chess set mad out of candles. Shabbat and havdalah candles, as well as speciality items. We had fun here and bought some lovely things to bring home.

We then stopped for delicious ice cream and pizza for Hadarya (who ate almost the whole piece, minus what her cousin ate!) before heading back to our cabin. We ended the night with a campfire. Again, nothing we would have done on our own, but with Tamar and Noam… beyond perfect. They made salad, roasted potatoes and tons of meat, and Arab baklava for dessert. We ate over a couple of hours while we played with the girls and then they fell asleep. It was Hadarya’s first campfire and she was captivated by the fire. She went to sleep and slept on the blanket with blankets over her cozy by the fire. It was so beautiful to see. Now… at 11:45 PM, we are heading to bed too.

We had another great sleeping night although Hadarya woke from the crib we put her in . This is just a trip that she needs to sleep in our bed with us and be with us. Cribs are not working here for her at all. She drank some milk and went to bed with us. We woke late again, packed up, and then ate a long lovely breakfast on the balcony again. Eggs and fresh bread and salad. It was superb!

We then journeyed back to Ra'Naana via Nehariya for ice cream. Tamar and Zohar go to a mommy and me music class at 5:15 in the evening and we made it back in time for them to go. We were invited to join them and Hadarya had a blast! She LOVES music and it made no difference to her that it was in Hebrew. It was just so fun.

We then caught a late bus and headed back to Jerusalem. It was good to be back in our spot with our stuff and we are looking forward to some time in Jerusalem!

Tiyul #4 - Ra'Naana/North part 1

2008-07-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Noam (Yiftach’s cousin’s husband) who so amazingly picked us up at the airport and took us to Jerusalem, offered to come pick us up again in Jerusalem (1 hour each way) and bring us to Ra’naana before we left for a few days together. It was wonderful and saved us the journey on the busses.

We left Saturday night around 5:30 PM and went to Kfar Saba to his cousin’s birthday party! Hadarya didn’t do so well as she slept the whole way to in the car and then was surrounded by so many people she didn’t know. She kept fussing and crying and it was getting late, so we left and Tamar (his cousin) took us to her parents house (Dod Gil and Doda Nomi) to spend the night. Savta Ruth had just arrived a few days before.

Hadarya walked into their house as if she’d been there a million times and had a ball! She took to Nomi and Gil as if she’d spent days and days with them. She played with the toys they had for Zohar (Hadarya’s cousin who is 5 weeks younger) and laughed and giggled and enjoyed their company for over an hour. Then we changed her into her pajamas and she watched Elmo laying down in our bed for the night. Yiftach then took her out for a nightly stroll to put her to bed. Going to bed has been an issue as she will only go down in the stroller. He was incredibly successful and was able to transfer her into our bed.

We were blessed with an entire night’s sleep until 8:30 AM!!! She woke up 3 times and asked for milk and told us to STOP when we tried to pat her on the back. She drank and went right back to sleep. It was great. We hope tonight in the North will be a repeat. : )

Ra’Naana – Sunday Day

We spent a wonderful morning walking around the main street of Ra’Naana. Yifach found a pair of sandals that he loved and we hung out on the street with Sunny and her boys. Sunny and her boys live in San Diego and are visiting her mother who lives in Ra’naana. It was so much fun to see them! Lunch at the best falafel in Israel was a must and Ruth had joined us by this time. It was sooo delicious! My favorite part is actually the fresh lemonade with fresh mint. Refreshing. We then went back to his aunt and uncles and played with Zohar for a couple of hours before heading out of town. We were waiting for the car to get fixed. The girls laughed and played and had a blast together. We even took them to the park. I didn’t think it through that sand will stick to sweaty bodies very easily and within a short time they were covered. We carried them home and did a quick bath before getting in the car for a 3-hour drive.

The girls were great on the drive, especially for leaving around 5 PM, and sitting in the car for so long. They slept for quite a bit and had a blast running around the supermarket when we stopped for supplies. They each had a chocolate milk and just couldn’t get enough of running around after each other. We arrived in the middle of the mountains near the border of Lebanon to the most exquisite cabins.

Sunday Night - Hadarya pulled an all-nighter, sleeping that is, after going to bed late around 10 PM. She woke at 5:15 for milk and fell back to sleep until 9:00 or so. Maybe later! We had a lovely breakfast on the balcony with gorgeous sight to see.

Tiyul #3 - Machane Yehuda

2008-07-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

Getting ready for Shabbat is always a wonderful experience in Israel. Especially in Jerusalem where you need to plan ahead because shops close and things go quiet for over 24 hours. Despite the lack of sleep, we ventured to Machane Yehuda, the outdoor Shuk (marketplace) with all the kids to get fresh things for dinner.

Machane Yehuda is a myriad of stalls that sell fresh meat, bakery items, candy, a few knick knacks, and fresh fruit and veggies. It’s a haven for feeling like you are farm picking your items and getting them from the supplier instead of the grocery store.

How can you beat fresh chocolate rugalach oozing with warm filling? Hot in the bag made them stick together but did not ruin the taste. Fresh tapuzim (juice) is the most amazing thing there. While we can make it at home, we so never do and there is nothing like watching the oranges get squeezed and drinking it down.

It is here that we began this conversation about the differences in our cultures diet and health factors. It’s so easy to be already prepared foods and run out for a bite to eat, but we really don’t realize what we are missing in terms of taste and what we are doing to our bodies. Here we go to the market every few days in order to keep up with the milk, water, and other small items. We buy just what we need in terms of fresh fruit and veggies and we go back for more when we need it. We walk everywhere and that alone helps our bodies.

We have also found that we eat lots of different salads and pita bread but we are eating way less in terms of starches. No rice. Few potatoes (except for the chips with falafel!) and hardly any meat, since the double whopper at Burger King does not happen every day. It’s a diet rich in fruits and veggies and definitely healthier than what we do at home!

Hadarya spent most of our time in the market asleep, as become her nap time from 11 – 1 and so we enjoyed the hubbub without her! We then walked to Ben Yehuda street for lunch at Burger King where she woke up and laughed and played. She loved the soldiers on the street singing songs and she loved running around. We walked to the Kipppah Man and bought new Kippot for Yiftach and then to the bookstore to collect some book in Hebrew.

We’re getting out slowly…for short time spans and hoping that the sleeping increases at night.

Tiyul #2 - Tel Aviv

2008-07-11T11:13:00.001-07:00

We decided that despite our lack of sleep, we'd venture out and do something since we do not want to waste our time that we are here sleeping all day! There is a great "outlet" for Naot sandals in Yaffo (right by Tel Aviv) that we visited 4 years ago by accident and I got two pairs of sandals for slightly more than 1 pair in the regular store.

We were slow (as usual) in getting up but managed to get to a monit (cab) by 10:30 AM and to the central bus station by 11. Unfortunately, we had a sleeping child on our hands when we arrived and there is unorganized chaos going through security. The end result was I was not careful and we lost the treasured green motzetz (pacifier). We are actually running out and this will be the test of what happens if we lose them all!

The 45 minute bus ride was easy and quick. We ended up hanging out at the Mall where it was air conditioned and we could get a good burger! Yiftach's dear friend Einate happened to be at the same place getting her haircut so we met her and hung out with her for a bit. We then moved on to the sandals. We were quite disappointed as the prices were the same as the regular store and there was only 1 pair in my size. We decided to keep looking!

Our next plan was to have dinner with Yiftach's Dod and Doda and cousins, but Hadarya had enough of waiting (after 40 minutes) for a bus that wasn't coming and would take another hour to get to them. We decided to err on the side of the child and we went back to the central bus station and headed back to Jerusalem.

We are planning another trip to Tel Aviv to visit the shuk, the beach, and nachalot benyamin.

Tiyul #1 - The Kotel

2008-07-11T11:07:00.001-07:00

Wednesday afternoon we had to get out of the house after sleeping late and trying to figure out this time zone thing with our daughter. We'd actually managed to get up around 10:30/11 but Yiftach woke with a huge headache and was feeling terrible. Unbelievably I had no tylenol with me so we headed to the pharmacy. In Israel, there are no medicines sold in the supermarket. There are two distinct stores. So off we went and home again to get it working. By 2:30 we needed out.

So we decided to visit the Kotel (the Wall) and deliver our messages. Hadarya fell asleep as soon as we got in the cab and she slept through the transfer to the stroller through the shuk and to the kotel. It was incredibly hot there and she was not a happy camper on the kids side. We did not think it through completely and taking Hadarya and the stroller and the diaper bag and the camera to the women's side was not smart. Hadarya thought it was hot and whined a bit but she touched it and that is all that mattered to me.

We then went up to the shady area up at the top of the open courtyard to wait for Aba. We had snacks, drinks, and then Hadarya toddled off with her Aba to see the Kotel from his side. He had so much fun with him and he loved the experience of being there with him.

We grabbed a lemonade (Hadarya LOVES it so much!) and then a cab back to the house. We took few pictures but have the memories in our foggy brains that still need some sleep. For dinner we carried in kosher chinese food after the kids went to bed. Our kid went to bed, which was more of a nap, and then woke up for her usual 10:30 - 2:30 AM play time. Ah, the life with a toddler.

Jet lag with a Toddler

2008-07-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

Fly 10 1/2 hours. Add 7 time zones. Mix in a 3 hour car ride from the airport. Toss in heat, humidity, and no nap. No surprise that your 21 month old wants to play at 11:30 PM after being asleep for only 3 hours. She had a nap and didn't get the memo on her parents desperately needing their sleep. She stayed up until 2:30 AM. (DAY 1 - Monday) Watched 2 or 3 waves of ELMO on dvd and then asked for her stroller. So we strolled the neighborhood for 30 minutes while she fell asleep and then we all crashed in the bed until about 8:30 AM.

(DAY 2 - Tuesday) She fell asleep at 10:45 AM and we joined her around 11:30 or so for a delicious nap until 2 PM.
Hadarya had a blast playing the Meltzer kids all afternoon, watching a new movie, and running wild. She ate some dinner at dinner time, took a bath, and went to bed at 7:30 PM very quickly. She slept for 3 hours (great nap!), woke up at 10:30 as we went to bed, played in our bed half sleeping until 11:30 and then stayed up until 2:30 AM. 1 long walk around the neighborhood until 12:30 AM. 2 ELMO DVD watchings, and 1 bump by Aba and she was ready for bed. We strolled again at 2:30 AM and were done by 2:50. She crashed. We decided to sleep as late as possible and that meant 11:00 AM!!

DAY 3- Wednesday. After a slow start, major headache for Yiftach and hanging around the house until 2:30. We decided to go to the Kotel and walk around the Old City. It was great. We did not spend enough time in the shuk and will need to go back and do some shopping, but the kotel was hot and the image I have of my daughter walking hand and hand with her Aba to touch the wall is pierced in my brain. Just delicious! Hadarya stayed up until 9:20 PM and is now fast asleep. We are heading that way too and hoping for a full nights sleep. That will set us off to Tel Aviv tomorrow and a day of fun!

Flying With A Toddler

2008-07-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

3 flights and 10 time zones in 3 1/2 days and we marvel at our daughter’s ability to adapt and go with the flow. Hadarya did great on the way to Salt Lake City; playing nicely with the 2 other kids, sitting on the floor in the middle of the aisle, and sharing all her new toys. We were pretty proud of her. She perked up in Salt Lake City and ran and ran and laughed and played…even took to standing in the stroller where Yiftach caught her just before she pitched over backwards; all within my view! My heart stopped beating for 30 seconds as I watched in slow motion. We quickly remembered that the stroller we bought had a flip handle so you could view your child while strolling instead of not seeing them until it’s too late. 4 laps around the quiet end of the terminal put our baby girl to sleep before our 12:01 flight to JFK. She slept through the beginning of the flight but woke up after the announcements crying in her sleep trying to get comfortable. She asked for “nigh-night” several times and pointed out of the plane. Try explaining that to a less than 2 year old!

Our longest flight was the one to Tel Aviv which was 10 hours, 20 minutes flying time. We were the last passengers to board the plane, not realizing that 1. they close the doors 30 minutes before take-off for security reasons and 2. we had to go through another security checkpoint before getting on the plane. That included dumping out all the water I had just filled in my container and Hadarya's too! We were very lucky that we had 3 seats with no one in the middle and Hadarya got her own seat. She slept for almost 1/2 the flight and then awoke ready to play. Her favorite toy by far was the seat belt! She did really well with all the new toys we gave her, eating snacks, and being entertained, despite the fact that we did not have our Elmo DVD on hand. She ended up a happy kid with 2 tired parents but we made it to Israel in one piece.

The hardest part was the passport control. We had no stroller as they decided our gate checked stroller was really luggage and it got checked through. Our superb daughter handled it better than her aba and had a ball running through the terminals to get to baggage claim...a lot of them mind you! Then we got to the passport control: long lines, sweating, with people cutting, holding a toddler who is over tired with a diaper bag on my back for about 45 minutes. Yiftach goes through on his Israeli passport and has a fast pass that put him through in 20 seconds. He was beginning to get nervous as we took so long. What a relief when we finally got through! I totally wanted to cry from the sheer emotional toll of being overtired and having to wait sooo long. BUT again we made it through and that feeling as we came through customs with throngs of people waiting and staring at those who come through the doors was overwhelming. WE WERE IN ISRAEL!

Then Noam, our cousin, was at our side and his amazing graciousness of picking us up and taking us to Jerusalem began.

New York Weekend

2008-07-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

Off we flew at 6:40 PM to Salt Lake City en route to JFK on July 3rd for a long weekend before we leave for Israel. We arrived in New York at 6:01 AM on July 4th after a relatively easy red-eye with a tired toddler. She actually fell asleep in Utah and then we carried her onto the plane asleep. We were lucky enough to have an empty seat between us for her to sleep in! Which she did while we sat on the ground and through take-off. THEN she got miserable. She cried and fell asleep, asked for "nigh-nigh" and pointed out of the plane for her crib, then fell asleep. It was a cyclical thing for about 1 1/2 hours and then OUT for the last 2 hours to NY. She actually slept through getting off the plane, getting our bags, getting onto a shuttle and then all the way into the city until the shuttle stopped at the first drop off!

Our first stop was at Cate and Ivan's. They live on E43rd between 10th and 11th and are letting us stay in their apartment for the weekend while they are in North Hamptons at their house. It was so awesome of them to let us stay here and has made the difference for a stay in the city with a toddler. She napped on NY time and went to bed a little late on NY time. We all got a delicious 2 hour nap in during the middle of the day and slept until 9:30 AM on Saturday!

We spent the afternoon with Cousins Art and Sheila from Albany and Allison from Mobile, Alabama. It was terrific to see them! Art asked Hadarya if she wanted to go outside and she said yes, took his hand and off they went! It was sooo adorable. They walked quite a ways down the street and then we found the most delicious pie place! They made mini pies served warm a la mode. MMMMMM..

July 4th evening we spent having dinner at a kosher deli (Ben's) with our conductor friend Jeff. It turns out we are staying a block away from him! Quite fun actually. Hadarya slept through the whole dinner for second nap, so we got her pasta and meatballs to go. She woke up in the cab ride to B'nai Jeshurun for services. Yiftach had been before and it was supposed to be the happening place. It was nice...combined young hip services with the regular service for the summer. They are very strict on things like no strollers and being on time so everyone has a seat. Tons of people, lots of singing, ruach, and dancing. Short and to the point sermons from the Rabbi and the Cantor. We ended up back at the apartment instead of on the roof top for fireworks because it was raining and Hadarya was ready for bed. It was a great evening and we all slept sooo well!

Shabbat morning July 5th, we had bagels from H & H by the water and enjoyed Jeff's company again. We left as it began to rain and then a complete downpour occurred for the next several hours, drenching us, making us laugh, and Hadarya figured out how to hold a garbage over her legs and the "shade" covering her to stay out of the rain! We were quite a sight to see walking the streets with the others in the rain. After two blocks, we were lucky enough to get a cab so we didn't have to deal with the subway to the Children's Museum 45 blocks away.

The Children's Museum of Manhattan was magnet for visitors today and those looking to get out of the rain. We were amongst the many many many people exploring the four floors of the museum. She loved the stuffed animals and especially the monkey we wrapped around her body. She left that exhibit with the monkey and took it on a tour of other places in the museum! She especially loved the science areas of the building blocks, screws, and air pressure. The sandbox was also a huge hit! We left the museum for a food break and ended up eating at Cafe Lalo's --- the You've Got Mail place! It was great food and a good chance to rest. Hadarya wanted to go back for more and we played for another hour +. When we left she was fast asleep before her head hit the end of the stroller!

We ventured on the subway, in which Hadarya missed her first subway ride by sleeping through 4 passing trains and the entire ride down. Times Square was a hustle and bustle and we decided to go to the Toys R Us to see what it was like... A MADHOUSE I tell you. Oh my gosh. I'd been to FAO Schwartz the last time I was in New York but this tops it all. There is a line to get in and pushing and shoving too. You walk in the door and there are people there to take your picture... in a toy store people. Like at Disneyland and the Zoo. But it's a TOY STORE. We walked in about 20 feet (we did not get our photo taken) and stopped at the railing to get a better view. It took a few minutes but there in front of us, was a regular size ferris wheel in the middle of the toy store...filled with people and a line a mile long! That was the attraction to have swarms of people coming into a toy store. A unique ride. We did not walk around . We did not see the life size Barbie doll house that Jeff told us they have. We turned and practically ran our thank goodness sleeping child out the door before we gave in to the consumerism! But we can say we've been there and done that. The end.

Our last day in New York was spent with Aran and Dalia. Yiftach’s cousin from Israel and his fiancé who took a 4 hour bus ride from Boston to see us, meet me and Hadarya, and just spend time together. We had a blast doing a whole lot of everything and nothing! We walked around 1 teeny tiny slice of Central Park…so I could say I’d been there, done that too and took Hadarya on the carousel ride. She hated it! She loves it at home, but something about the enclosed area, the tiredness of her body, or whatnot, she did not like it so much! She fell sound asleep within minutes of the ride and we walked by the ball fields, the playgrounds, and tons of greenery within the city. We ate a scrumptious lunch at a kosher deli and then took the subway back to pack our bags and get ourselves on a plane to Israel. We can’t wait to see them again and spend more time together.

PHOTOS will be coming soon!

Bubbles

2008-07-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

Bubbles are a huge hit in this family. We sit in the driveway and do bubbles. We blow them in the bathtub. We create them with soap to get H in the tub. She makes bubbles with her wash to get her body clean. Bubbles are big.

They were especially big when Auntie Kimber and Grandpa got in on the act. Auntie Kimber had unsupervised playtime on our neighbors walkway with a brand new bottle of bubbles. Fun ensued for our little miss as she dumped the bottle out and splashed in the puddle and made different kinds of bubbles. Soapy bubbles up her arms, in her hair, on her face. The last picture shows her at the end of the bubble fun!

Fun with Cousins

2008-07-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Cassidy and Callie spent all of last week visiting us from Chico, CA. Hadarya is in love with Callie. She spent hours following her around. Calling her name... Cah-yee, Cah-yee. She played and shared her toys beyond anything one would expect of a 20-month old and never did they have issues over sharing. Callie is 4. She was amazing!! She understood if Hadarya grabbed something or wanted something she had. She was so beyond her years of maturity in sharing her brand new stuffed polar bear and being patient while Hadarya played with the doll at Grandma's. In turn, Hadarya didn't seem to mind that Callie sat in her special rocker chair, played with her piggy bank, or used the baby stroller.

The first day we went to the YMCA pool/water play area. It was a blast! Hadarya then went back to her regular routine of daycare until the weekend (so she could nap and Ima could enjoy the cousins!) and then we ventured to the Children's Museum. FUN FUN FUN was had by all on their last day in town. It was a super week and the photos speak volumes.

Family Photos

2008-06-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here are our Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Family photos. Taken in May, June, and July.

What Happened to June???

2008-06-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today is June 30th. The month is over. I did not blog ONCE in the entire month. Does that mean it didn't happen? Did June just disappear from my life? It was such an incredibly busy month that it happened in a blur. I actually did capture some amazing moments and times in our lives and our daughter's. I just didn't tell anyone until now. Enjoy catching up on June...July is going to be even better! I promise.

Dress-Up
Our smart cookie has figured out there are things you do everyday to get yourself ready to leave the house. This includes shoes. Hadarya has become fascinated with my shoes. She loves to get my shoes for me out of the closet or off the back of my door. She picks out many at once, but always matching AND she can put them back in the right place if I let her know I already have what I need. Lately, it's been all about putting ON my shoes and walking around. She went into my room and got this pair out, put them on, and came out to see me in the family room! She also loves to take my clothes and put them on over her clothes. It doesn't matter what they are or how big they are, as long as she can put them on. We think she is so cute when she plays dress up. Who needs the fancy princess dresses and shoes??

Babies

Hadarya is obsessed with her dolls and stuffed animals. It is almost all she plays with. Never mind the adorable kitchen with real sounds we bought her in April. So passe'. Forget about the 300 pieces of food Grandma bought that she loved to dump out. The band in a bucket? Naw. Nothing compares to 3 baby dolls, 1 monkey, 4 bears, and tons of blankets. Everything gets pulled out of the toy chest on a regular basis and spread around the room in their spot with their blankie and patted on the back to go "nigh, nigh." She sings her song to them and sometimes she has actually said the "good night" part instead of the "nigh, nigh, baby." She does the same thing at daycare and does not really like to share with the other kids. The other day she monopolized the entire area for her babies. Her newest thing with them is changing their diaper. She gets the pad, the diaper, the wipes, and the powder. She then runs through the whole routine (with a little adult help) to secure the diaper. She is getting to be a big girl and almost ready for the potty!

Got A Minute...

2008-05-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

I finally feel like I have a minute and the last couple of weeks have flown by and gone unnoticed by this busy Ima...not so. Just too tired, too busy, too caught up in life to get my act together to do anything.

My almost 20-month old daughter gets cuter and cuter by the day. Her hair is long and beautiful and always needs to be pulled up in a style out of her face. She is tall and wears her clothes adorably. She knows how cute she is and loves to smile and play games.

Our newest game started because I was trying to get her excited about seeing Aba at home. On the last stretch I began: "Guess who you are going to see at home?" She smiles. "Are you going to see Grandma?" She shakes her head yes. I say, "Noooooooo" "Are you going to see Auntie Kimber? She shakes her head yes. I say, "Noooooooo" "Are you going to see Savta? She shakes her head yes. I say, "Noooooooo" "Are you going to see Grandpa? and on it goes until we are just about home and I shout "It's ABA!"

So now, any time I ask her a question starting with "Are you....ready for bed, ready for a bath, going to see Miss Alyssa? She starts to shake her head yes, smiles, and says "Noooooo!"

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Food continues to be an interesting endeavor. She knows what she likes and what she doesn't like. Sometimes she's adventurous and will try new things. Other times she says no right away. She eats a variety of things but sometimes not a whole lot in a day! Today was mostly a fruit and milk day. Her latest craze was pizza...from Costco, which she devoured 1/2 of a piece in a sitting. That was her weekend lunch and dinner. Nothing else would do. French fries are becoming interesting to her now that her Aba has taught her how to dip them in ketchup! We don't have them often, but as soon as she gets one, she looks for the dip so she can suck it off and dip again. It's very cute. She learned it from one time in a restaurant over a month ago.

Lesson learned: be careful what you teach her because she learns quickly and doesn't forget!

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Baby Dolls and imaginary play has exploded in the last 6-8 weeks. She is constantly with a baby doll or stuffed animal. It must have a blankie, usually her loveys, and she covers it and pats its back and says "night night." At daycare she spends hours with the babies and blankies and carrying them around. She has begun singing to them the same song she is sung to for nap time. She also sings to us and pats us on the tummy or back to put us to sleep. It's adorable. We love seeing her smarts and transfer of information!! We also bought her a kitchen and loves making things and sharing her bucket of food from Grandma! She thinks it's hysterical that we "eat" the food and she brings it to us with a plate or fork. I can't wait to see how much more sophisticated it's going to become in the coming months!

Conversation

2008-05-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

I was doing my hair in the bathroom when Yiftach came in with my waffle covered in PB on a plate and was carrying his plate of challah with cream cheese and chocolate spread. He handed her lego waffle piece, plain.

She looked at mine and let me know she wanted it.

"Honey, I am sorry but you can't have that; it has peanut butter on it."

She pointed at Yiftach's and willingly took his piece with cream cheese.

We tried her plain waffle when she was done.

No go. She let us know she wanted more of his.

"Oh, do you want a dip on your waffle?" I asked.

I dipped her piece in the chocolate spread and gave it to her.

"Thank you!" she said and devoured the entire thing in one bite!

Polite Police

2008-05-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

The Polite Police are in full force in my household in the form of a 32 inch long haired beauty who doesn't really speak too many words. I should be grateful to her fabulous daycare for instilling in her manners that we reinforce at home. I should try hard not to laugh at her cute face when she drops her pacifier out of her mouth to remind us to cover ours...but it's so funny!

Our little miss is very big on covering your mouth when you sneeze, cough, yawn, or anything that resembles some sort of action like that. She is most on top of this in the morning when hanging out with us in bed. If we cough, she stops whatever she is doing and puts her hand over her mouth until we cover ours. She sometimes covers our mouth with her hand if we don't respond.
Then she goes about her business when we're done. It's very adorable and I really really really hope that it will last forever...

Passover with Cousins

2008-04-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

The first seder fell on a Saturday night, so we decided to spend it in Chico with my cousins whom we rarely see because they live so far away. Wendy and Eddie are my first cousins, children of my Aunt Judy z"l (who just passed away 3 weeks ago) and Uncle Ron. We were raised 8 houses apart and spent 13 years closely united.

Not able to take any time off from work, the 3 of us flew to Sacramento at 8:30 PM on Friday. We spent the night with Eddie, his wife of almost 5 years!!! Jeannie, and Jacob (almost 4). Hadarya is an amazing traveler who slept the entire plane ride, transferred to the car, and then to a new bed on the floor at their house. We had a delightful morning playing in their beautiful house and getting to know Jacob. Hadarya and Jacob played so well together!

We borrowed their car and drove just under 2 hours to Chico to be with Wendy, Cassidy (9) and Callie (4). It was a fun, busy, 24 hours in Chico! Hadarya could not enough of playing with the big girls. She really loved Callie's kitchen and slide.

Callie was amazing at sharing her toys and really had a ball with Hadarya. She enjoyed the goats, the hammock (but not walking across the grass to get to it!), and drawing on the sidewalk with chalk.

The seder itself was ok. It was the typical seder my dad likes to run but not so conducive to young children and not so inspiring to read words from a book. We forgot our bag of plagues and so things were rushed and hurried and the best part was dinner. Being with our family was what was important this holiday. It was great fun to watch Hadarya search for the afikomen with her cousins. She figured out how to look by watching them and grabbing something.

We drove back to Sacramento to spend the afternoon and evening before our flight with Eddie, Jeannie, and Jacob. Hadarya loved playing outside in the sandbox and exploring the stairs and new toys! Jacob was so sweet about sharing his toys and did a great job at pulling off his Spiderman mask when Hadarya needed to make sure he was still there! We flew home at 8:30 PM and Hadarya stretched across our laps and slept the whole way...into the car...and into her own bed! It was great.

Both sets of cousins are going to visit us in San Diego this summer (June and August) and we can't wait to show off the fun in our town with them. It's going to be so much fun!

G.G.'s Gift of Love

2008-04-26T20:34:00.001-07:00

G.G. is Great Grandma Jeanne (Nana's Mom) who lives in Canada. She has never met Hadarya but showers her with cards, gifts, and handmade items anyway.

Upon her arrival into our lives, she knit a gorgeous pink and white blanket that is so big, we are saving it for her when she is in a big girl bed and needs an extra blanket. It is beautiful.

One of her favorite books is the one G.G. sent that makes animal sounds. The Pig and Rooster are going to get broken from over use!!

The latest gift... just because; is a poncho, hat, and purse that all match. The best part is that Hadarya can take them off herself! She thinks she's the big girl pulling things over her head to get changed. While trying it on today, she said "hot, hot" many times. I don't blame her...it was over 80 degrees in our house!

Thank you G.G. for your labor of love and caring about Hadarya so much!

Where did my BABY go?

2008-04-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon Hadarya and I were hanging out in her bedroom...well I was putting things away and cleaning up as fast as she was throwing (her new skill) toys around. I discovered a bag of uber cute summer clothes that I bought a few weeks ago but it got too cold to wear so they were stuffed in the bag in the back of the closet. It includes 2 new bathing suits for the summer.

Have you every tried to get an 18 month old to try on clothes? She doesn't like to get out of her pajamas in the morning, so why I thought she'd think this was fun is beyond me.

I managed, without difficulty, to get her in her new suit because it had fishies on it. Then she had fun saying fishy, fishy, fishy. She did not want to take it off. She put on her bright green headband and headed out of her room to the bathroom. My baby girl pulled up the step stool to the sink and pushed it against the cabinet. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and proceeded to brush her teeth.

I just stared at her. I couldn't believe that she was this 32 inch tall child standing on her own doing personal hygiene. She still likes to be cuddled...sometimes. She still likes her pacifier...all the time lately. She still babbles incoherently...most of the time. But she is no longer a BABY. She is a little girl with clear ideas, thoughts, and actions. She works hard to communicate with us, adding to her vocabulary daily, and developing a keen sense of imaginary play.

I miss the baby but I LOVE the little girl so much!

Rest Your Body - special guest post by Yiftach

2008-04-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

The teachers at Hadarya's daycare center, the SDSU Children's Center, are responsible for putting dozens of kids down for their naps every day, so they have to have a system. The nap room is darkened, there's calming music, and it's often necessary to help the kids relax by repeating a mantra, bringing them down from their high-energy activity level to where they can fall asleep. The teachers often simply repeat "rest your body" over and over again as they pat the kids' backs or just sit next to their cots. I'm not the kind of person who can repeat a phrase like that without getting creative, so the other night, when I was putting Hadarya to bed, I came up with the following:

The Rest Your Body Song
(to the tune of Oh My Darling, Clementine)

Rest your body, rest your body, rest your body and your head,
Rest your body, rest your body, rest your body in your bed.
Rest your arms and rest your legs and rest your feet and rest your toes,
Rest your hands and rest your fingers, rest your knees and your elbows.

Rest your body, rest your body, rest your body all the way,
Rest your body, rest your body, and tomorrow we will play.

(repeat as necessary)

18 months old today

2008-04-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

A full fledged toddler is who resides in our household now. A walking, breathing, talking, whining, smiling, toddler who knows what she wants, has a ton to say, and loves to play with us.

We are constantly amazed at her language development and skills that seem to emerge daily.

Here is a long list of the word she currently says...most of which are extremely clear. NOT in any particular order!
1. aba (daddy in hebrew)
2. more (and she signs this)
3. mama
4. stop
5. snack
6. ow
7. belly
8. pupik (belly button in yiddish)
9. eye
10. nose
11. hand
12. bye
13. duck
14. book
15. please
16. ama (for ima, hebrew for mom)
17. hi
18. up
19. nana
20. baba (saba, hebrew for grandpa)
21. hat
22. apple
23. jacket
24. doggy
25. g'pa (grandpa)
26. ball
27. baby
28. hot
29. flower
30. pee pee
31. car
32. no
33. tata (safta, grandma in hebrew)
34. ssh...with the finger to her lips
35. Hada (for Hadarya)
36. Tay (school friend)
37. Nino (school friend)
38. Babee (Gabby...school friend)
39. imba (auntie Kimber)
40. cracker
41. stuck
42. uh-oh
43. Elmo
44. cookie
45. onah (Jonah, her cousin)
46. neck

Hadarya signs please, milk, more, thank you, wash hand, blows kisses, and waves good bye in the utmost of princess fashion.

She LOVES music and insists on the radio the minute we get into the car by pointing and whining...I sure hope she learns to say radio soon! She dances and shakes to the beat. She moves her head and slaps her hands on her knees.

She does the motions to songs like Wheels on the Bus, Slippery Fish, Bim Bam, and knows the names of every one of her classmates (she can point to anyone if you ask where is______?)

She knows her body parts...eyes, nose, mouth, hands, feet, ears, neck, and we are working on tongue! She can follow one-step directions and loves helping put things away. She has become very good at tossing her diapers and turning the diaper champ. She also loves sitting on her potty and has gone several hours with dry diapers. Potty training is definitely close at hand!!

We delight in our miracle every day and every night (even when it's a sleepless one and she wakes up every few hours!). Her sunny, funny personality is a joy to be around and her social love of people makes it fun to take her out.

It's just so hard to believe that we are closer to 2 years old then we are to the infant we waited so long for. big sigh...

Just Like I Wanted

2008-03-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

Our very dear friends have 3 children ages 2, 4, and 6. They have lived in San Diego for 5 1/2 years and we've been close since their son was born 4 years ago. Every time we would go to their house, their Grandma's house, or they came to our house, it was the same thing over and over and over again. Will you read me a book, please? EVERY TIME. Again and again and again. To this day they still gobble books and want the same story read over and over, while the adults talk, during dinner, as soon as you walk in the door.

I remember thinking it was so awesome as I read Jack and the Beanstalk for the 7th time while trying to hold a conversation with an adult or how cool it was that each kid got their own adult to read to them while parents were cooking dinner. We even have a fantastic photo of Shayna sitting on my shoulders looking at the book I am reading to them while Nadiv sits on my lap. It's extremely precious.

I remember wanting my children to want to read so much that TV wasn't the focus and we had to read at dinner and whenever they would need it. My friends weren't specific on what exactly they did to make their kids devout readers. But they have a household full of books and read all the time.

Well, I got exactly what I wanted without knowing exactly how I got here. Hadarya LOVES to read. We were panicked when she was younger because we thought we didn't read enough to her. The other night at dinner she was not having anything to do with her food and kept signing please please please. I picked up the book at the table and she devoured it as she devoured her dinner. It was the tribute book for Rabbi Rosenthal's 20th anniversary! Then yesterday she woke up at 7:00 AM and as soon as she was lifted out of the crib, she got off my lap and picked up a book and insisted I read.

I got what I wanted... a daughter who loves books, turns pages, laughs at funny parts, and soaks it all up. I can't wait for more!

Fairy Dust for Purim

2008-03-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Purim. It is the fun holiday where everyone dresses up in costume, boos at the bad guy in the story, and eats triangular shaped cookies filled with jelly that are supposed to represent the hat the bad guy wore. It is the telling of the story of Esther...the queen who along with her cousin Mordechai saved the Jews from persecution.

Last year Hadarya was 7 months old and as cute as a bug (literally a ladybug for this holiday) and we had a lot of fun with Nana and Savta at Ohr Shalom.

This year we "accidentally" purchased a costume when we were in Arizona two months ago. We were hanging out at the mall with Cousin Janis and went into Ima's favorite store: the Disney Store. Of course one cannot shop without seeking out the sale rack and there was this adorable Tinker Bell costume at 50% off. Who could resist adorable green with purple and gold flecked trip, see through cap sleeves, a skirt of layers with tulle, and wings attached? It was too good to pass up for 12.99. She will have it to play with later on. So I was convinced that Hadarya would be Tinker Bell for 12.99 and we'd have fun at Purim. It was even sweeter when I went to the register and the total was $4.29 including tax!!! Woo Hoo did we ever score.

Fast forward to the big night: TONIGHT. We decided to go to Tifereth Israel this year as they do a huge Purim Spiel and this year it was the Megillah according to the Beatles. We figured it was close to home, earlier, good music that H would like, and we could always cut out and be home quickly if she needed to go to bed.

We dressed up our angel as a fairy and she sprinkled fairy dust on everyone she met. Complete with a gold want (thanks Meltzers) and new sparkly green/purple/gold hair ties. She charmed the pants off everyone who dared cross her path. Then she sat in the front row in our laps for 1 hour enjoying the show. 45 minutes past her bedtime and way over stimulated with cheering, music, dancing, and shaking her grogger, she hit her wall and we left as the closing act finished.

It took awhile to get her to bed. Lots of water, a cup of milk, yogurt (midnight snack on her body time!) and our bed. But look at these photos and dare say it was not worth keeping her up past her bedtime. Go ahead I dare you!

BFS and AFS

2008-03-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

After our whirlwind weekend of simchas, Hadarya woke up at 3:00 AM on Tuesday with a 102.9 fever. We gave her burning, screaming body some tylenol, held her close in our bed, and scrambled our brains with figuring out what to do for Tuesday about work and daycare. She woke up at her usual time 7 AM and was in a great mood with no fever. So, we did the irresponsible thing and sent her to daycare as we couldn't figure out who should stay home and what to do since she seemed fine.

Well, as I posted...it was the irresponsible thing to do as she promptly took a nap after breakfast and woke up at 11 with a 100.7 fever. Yiftach picked her up, brought her home and then brought her to me at 1:30 when my students went home. She was drinking a lot and not so interested in eating, but her fever was somewhat low and so we gave her tylenol and put her to bed at her normal time.

I do not like the nighttime when my daughter is sick. They stink. Hadarya burned up all night long and cried and whined and could not sleep. She wanted out of her crib. Not to be held. Not in our bed. At one point we put our screaming child on the floor in the family room because we were so exhausted from being up every hour and she refused to be held or anything! She cried and screamed for about a minute and then settled into my lap on our couch and fell asleep. I sat on the couch with her for 2 hours and then was able to move into our bed for another 1 1/2. She woke up feverish and sick and we knew we were in for the long haul.

On Wednesday morning Yiftach took her to the doctor because we knew our nephew had been diagnosed with strep throat on Monday (his birthday party was in LA on Sunday) so off they went. Her throat was pink but the doctor said she was too young to get strep. He still did a throat culture that would not be back for 48 - 72 hours.

She had a fever every night for 5 nights of no less than 102.4 and as high as 103.1. There were no other symptoms and no other things that would explain this issue. She drank and drank and drank tons of water and sometimes milk. She began to eat less but still liked applesauce and yogurt.

We were at our wits end by the high fever on Friday night. 5 nights after a days that were ok was just not right. We had our answer on Saturday morning when we called in to get the lab report and it said that the test was positive for strep. After we got over being angry that it took a week of our daughter suffering to get a diagnosis, we had to wait about another 3 hours for the prescription.

The good news is that after 2 doses, our BABY is back!!! She woke up once last night at 3 AM to a very cold house and therefore did end up in our bed. She slept until 7:30...delicious for us! She is funny again. She is eating again. She is sleeping again.

So we divide our week into Before Sick and After Sick.

What a week for us... the best news is that I am on Spring Break and Hadarya is going to daycare to play with her friends. Ahhhh.

Is it only the middle of March?

2008-03-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

What a week we've had. A screaming child at 3:30 AM on Tuesday broke any semblance of normalcy in our household. Burning up at 102.9, we realized we had a sick child. Tylenol and our bed seemed to do the trick because she woke up happy as usual at 7 AM.

SO, being slightly irresponsible parents, we sent her to daycare and we went to school. We haven't been faced with making last minute arrangements for a sick child and this is my last week before a two-week break and open house was also this week.

Needless to say, Miss Alyssa called at 11 AM to say that Hadarya had eaten breakfast, taken a nap for two hours, and had a 100.7 fever. So began our three day saga into the world of a sick toddler.

Tuesday night was the worst after Auntie Kimber put her to bed and she slept well for her. Then we got home from our teaching and board meeting and she woke every hour, became inconsolable at around 3 AM. She cried at her bed, cried at our bed, cried being held, cried being rocked, we finally laid her on the family room floor and let her scream a little. It was terrible and heart wrenching and helpless. She wanted only Ima and only wanted to sit in my lap on the couch. Within 20 minutes she had nodded off that way and slept with blankets around us for 2 hours before moving into our bed.

Wednesday found us at the doctor's office where she was pronounced ok...slightly pink throat and ears but clear lungs and probably something viral. We took a 3 hour nap from 2-5 PM and boy did that feel good.

Today Savta and Grandma took shifts taking care of her so we could go to work. Boy is it good to have family in town! She slept on Yiftach from 8:30 - 9:30 and then 11 - 12:45 in her crib. She laughed all afternoon and played independently and did not ask for her video. She went to bed at 7:30 and is sleeping soundly...Oh, did i just right that???? I should have learned that could mean I jinxed myself. I hope not. She is going to school tomorrow.

: ) Whew, I am so glad spring break begins at 2:30 PM.

March Madness Has Begun

2008-03-10T20:30:00.001-07:00

We kicked off March with a crazy filled weekend in two cities and several parties.

We began with a fun filled dinner at Corvette's Diner to celebrate Maital's 2nd birthday. Then we hustled to services for the Simcha Shabbat at Tifereth where Hadarya had a ball playing with all the kids, singing, and dancing, and running around.

Shabbat we spend at Ella's bat mitzvah at Ohr Shalom. She was wonderful, the shul was packed, and Hadarya took an early AM nap in her fancy party dress. When she woke up she enjoyed Shuli Shabbat (a special tot shabbat program) and made a beautiful torah breastplate. After a buffet lunch with festive colors and balloons, we were off to Los Angeles so Hadarya could nap in the car (she did for over 2 hours!) and we spent a delightful evening with our cousins Marsha and Wayne. They spoiled Hadarya something fierce and delighted in her giggles and joy. She fell asleep in my arms at 7:30 and went right down in her pack and play for the night. : ) Happy Kid and Happy Parents.

Sunday morning found us at our nephew's 4th birthday party at an indoor play area. Hadarya has never been before and was she in heaven. She didn't know what to do first! Many of the toys were too big for her, but she loved running around and trying things.

The party ended at noon and we were back in the car for her nap and trip to San Diego to make it to Maital's birthday party. That was a fun music themed party and Hadarya painted, did spin art (became a grogger for Purim) and danced with the tamborine. It was a wonderful weekend and we were glad to be home in the extra daylight hours.

Shabbat Breakfast

2008-02-23T22:15:00.001-08:00

There is nothing as good as homemade chocolate chip pancakes. They are our favorite and usually a Sunday morning treat with Grandma and Grandpa, fresh fruit, and tea. But we made an exception today. I don't think she cared a wink!

We've Got A Hairstyle!

2008-02-23T22:11:00.000-08:00

Hadarya's hair has grown and grown and grown. While it would be totally adorable with bangs and cute bob look, we have decided to grow her hair and just see what happens. Once we do the bangs, we're done for sooo...we have tried the clips (which she usually pulls out) and headbands (pulled out totally!) and now we have this. We love it and it's totally cute! AND she leaves it in!

103 degrees HOT

2008-02-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

My baby's got a fever. A HIGH one that came out of nowhere. She had a great day at daycare. Ate a lot...even more than usual and her teacher commented on the fact that she must be growing. Well, that may be true but a 103 fever after a great day is kind of scary! We tylenoled and put her to bed.

We ended up spending Shabbat hanging out at home, which was nice. We don't like to do household things on Shabbat and try to make the day different from the rest of the week. BUT we decided to make good use of our down time with a sick sleeping baby.

She hung onto a 100 fever until mid-afternoon. And then it just went away and she was her usual self. I think she was sending us a signal to slow down and be at home together. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon and she shows no signs of being worse for the wear with the high fever...and definitely no teeth to show for it! Man, I wish those fangs would get here already!

Cute as a Bug

2008-02-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

Hadarya is soooo cute I sometimes can't stand it. We traveled to LA on Monday for the bris of our new nephew on Tuesday. We were staying in a hotel and spend a lot of time in and out of the car. Baby doll was amazing and adorable and cuter than cute throughout it all.

She took an incredible nap all the way up to our lunch at the Hillel house at UCLA. It was wonderful to see Rabbi Chaim (who participated in our wedding 5 years ago) and we ran into a friend of Yiftach's from his days at UCLA. It turns out that I also knew this friend from a totally different link to UCLA before I ever met Yiftach. It was wild!! AND good to run into him. We look forward to getting reaquainted with him.

After checking into our hotel in the Marina we headed to meet our new nephew. The highlight of the evening was the pure joy Hadarya got from playing with her almost 4 year old cousin Jonah and eating up a storm at the table filled with 11 people. She delighted in the crowd, the food, and being with the family.

It was a rough sleeping night even though she fell asleep quickly. She woke up very upset at her cousins house and only calmed down back in the car on the ride to the hotel. But the metal crib, double beds, and floor maksehift bed only lasted so long. We were all tired at 7 AM.

After a scrumptious breakfast at Maxwell's which offers veggie sausage we headed to pick up the 6 lb challah and to the bris. While Hadarya missed her AM nap, she delighted in being dressed up and I am positive the photographer got some delicious photos of her twirling about and being cute.

We headed to the park in the late afternoon to catch up with some friends and then back to say good-bye to the family before heading home at her bedtime. She only had a slightly less than 2 hour nap after all the excitement and was beyond ready for bed at 7 PM. She slept soundly all the way home and until the next morning in her own crib.

She was fascinated with her new cousin and loved saying hi to him while he sat in his bouncer sit. Ziv Benjamin is a cutie too and I am sure Hadarya is going to love watching him get bigger!

She's Got Language

2008-02-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

Without any doubts Hadarya understands a multitude of things and can say, sign, and babble a ton of words. She follow simple directions: Please take this to______.(Fill in any important person in her life's name).

She understands things in Hebrew and English as well as signs.

A month later update: March 10th

Here are the words she can say:

up
bye
hi
book
quack-quack
duck
Aba
Mama
ball
more
please
g'ma
Nana
Baba (Saba and banana)
cracker
bubbles (not totally, but it means this for sure)
nose
eyes

She signs: wash hands, more, please, thank you, book, milk.

VERY exciting business in our household!

She Shimmies

2008-02-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

My daughter shimmies. Mind you, not just dancing. She actually shimmies her body to any tune she hears. It is the most adorable thing you have ever seen. The other day Auntie Kimber was over and they were sitting on the ground playing, when Hadarya actually shimmied her upper body to some tune Auntie sang. It was utterly adorable.

She has a leap frog fridge farm that she LOVES to hear Farmer John's tune while shaking her booty. She jiggles more than shimmies to that one. She also has a sports center that the basketball makes real music like the beginning of a game...dunh dunh dunh, etc. That illicits major wiggles as Ima and Aba shake their booty too, so she does a sports dance. She also got a fridge phonics that we just pulled out and she dances in circles to the ABC's. My daughter has a music bug and it shows!

BUT the best is the shimmying. She has the way that moves her upper body ever so slightly in the cutest fashion. Sing to her and she shimmies. Play recorded music (especially her Pooh radio) and she shimmies. Push the button on the farm or ABC to distract her and she shimmies.

It's the movement of the week. I wonder what she'll do when she hears the Barchu in shul tomorrow?!

Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

2008-01-31T21:12:00.001-08:00

Grandma likes to have her song with Hadarya and teach her things. While we are trying to get her to understand that we like to sing the same songs and she does not "own" the exclusivity on them, she can by all means teach her fun things and sing them a lot with her.

The first one was the Eency Weency Spider, to which Hadarya has been doing all the hand motions for about 3 months. It's very cute and she always claps at the end.

Her newest song is Monkeys Jumping on the Bed that my mom actually reads to her from a book. We've been told that there are some gifts coming that go with the song, so it's important that Hadarya learns it.

Hadarya loves this book. Each time the monkey does something different (jump, dance, sing, etc.) but the monkey always bumps his head. My mom sings, "10 little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off..." and as she says "bumps his head," Hadarya bumps her head with her hand. It's very cute. AND she does it again and again.

Well tonight she'd sung the song and done her part enough times. She was sitting on my mom's lap on the chair with Auntie Kimber on the floor across from her. Yiftach was next to Auntie Kimber and I was next to him by my mom.

Hadarya squirmed out of Grandma's arms as she was reading the "fell off AND..." we all said "bumped her head" as Hadarya went running arms outstretched to Auntie Kimber. We THOUGHT she was running for a hug, but instead she bumped Auntie Kimber on the head!! It was so hysterical. My kid so gets more language and meaning than any of us realize. She is too darn adorable!!

7:00 - 7::00

2008-01-31T13:33:00.000-08:00

Those were the hours my sweet baby girl slept without waking up last night. FINALLY. Well, she actually slept until I coaxed her awake at 7:25 or so. But you get the picture.

It has been a long 10 days that started with teething (no teeth to show for it yet) and turned into a major cold/hacking cough, sleepless nights and my usually sweet baby girl gone missing.

We did tylenol/motrin for a couple of nights and that increased the sleeping stretches to almost 4 hours. Lack of appetite (at least my cooking at dinner time!) was present as well as only taking a bottle and not wanting her cups. The pacifier became a constant companion.

We can always tell when something is not right because she sleeps amazingly well, eats amazingly well, and is a happy child all the time. She whined and cried a lot. She wanted to be held, then put down, then held. She couldn't sleep comfortably, even in our bed sometimes. None of us was happy!

Tonight she laughed, played, joked and had a grand time with us and Grandma and Auntie Kimber. My sweetie pie is back!

We also discovered that the space heater keeps her room toasty and is a lot better than the central heat. That seems to have helped also. We are looking forward to another night of sleep for our household.

Uh-Oh

2008-01-25T09:55:00.000-08:00

That's the new word of the week and it's soooo frickin cute! This is totally a learned word at SDSU Children's Center but boy did she use it correctly. This morning Yiftach dropped her bottle down from the chair to her and she let go (quite possibly on purpose) and then said uh-oh. We totally repeated it for her and she imitated us again and again. She then couldn't stop when she came out to the dining room and kept dropping her things. Combined with her eye crunching wide tooth smile, it lights up the entire room. SOOO great.

I wrote that post and never finished it...two weeks later, I am not so sure it's still cute! She totally does it on purpose with anything and everything!!! It makes driving a huge challenge with her. Yesterday she was a bit cranky when I picked her up because she refused to take an afternoon nap. She whined and fussed and wanted to sleep but so couldn't in the car. She took her pacifier, then PURPOSELY threw it. Well, driving does not allow me to find it. She didn't like that. She drank her bottle then cried out and PURPOSELY threw it. Every time she'd say uh-oh. And wait for my reaction. She did not like that I told her I was not able to get it for her!!

Those Fingers are SOO Tiny!

2008-01-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

We are not morning people. Not any of us and not at all. Hadarya usually sleeps until at least 6:45 and has been known to sleep as late as 7:15 on a school morning. We barely get ourselves out of our cozy warm bed with flannel sheets and a silk comforter from China by 6:30 AM. We have found that our mornings are much smoother if we are dressed and ready before the babe wakes so we can give her our undivided attention and get her ready for school.

So we were delighted with her choice to sleep late this morning and allow us running around time to get going. I was ready for her when she peeped at 6:45. She is very into her pacifiers and thinks it's hilarious to hold a few at a time. She likes to put them in our mouths, her bears mouth, and dolls. This morning was no exception. She laughs when she intently tries to get them into our mouths, which we usually oblige by pretending to gobble it up and grab it without teeth. I know... not a very sanitary nor good habit to teach her, but it sure is fun when she laughs her belly laugh at our silliness.
She poked her finger into the hole (soothie) and I gently gobbled it from her. As she lay on her changing table, she gave it to Mr. Bear (original name don't you think?) and then offered it to me. As she shoved her hand/pacifier into my mouth, I bit down and immediately realized it was not the rubbery pacifier but and her finger. Oh my gosh! I felt so bad and realized immediately what was happening and stopped but it was too late. The damage was done. Did she wail for quite a long time!! Daddy to the rescue but the wailing continued. No broken skin. No bruise. Just a startled a lot. But she let us know she was very unhappy.

Maybe she won't stick her fingers in my mouth again??

THEN, as if that wasn't enough she proceeded to shut the bathroom drawer that she always plays in with my hairbrushes, with her other hand in it. She has never done that before and always is good about opening and shutting them. Today was not her day. It was not a good start to her morning and lots and lots of tears.

Mommy feels so bad that both her hands had trauma to them today. I hope she makes it though without incident.

Now I have to really go buy the locks for the drawers!

Shabbat

2008-01-13T22:57:00.000-08:00

One of our promises to ourselves for 2008 was to make sure that we were ready for Shabbat every Friday. We often host Shabbat dinners and/or go to services and really try to make those 24 hours something different than the rest of the week.

In order to do that, we put in a standing order for challah every week. We committed to making dinner for 6 every week. (That way we have enough for guests without planning week ahead and if no guests join us, we have enough left for the weekend!). We planned on doing a quick cleanup and setting the table on Thursday night.

As we approach our third Shabbat of the year, which happens to also be our 5th wedding anniversary and we are going out of town, we have been thrilled with the last two weeks.

We hosted wonderful friends we had not seen in a long time and enjoyed a leisurely dinner with great wine and conversation. This past week we were invited to my mother-in-law's who always cooks up a wonderful meal. This was no exception...complete with soup and baked apples for dessert.

Hadarya had a ball running around her house, checking out the kitchen, eating at the table, and when it was time for bed?? My angel child got into her pajamas, cuddled long enough to drink something, and then laid down on the ground on her warm blanket made by Kara, and fell fast asleep. It was so unlike other bedtimes and so delightful. She slept while we had dessert and chatted and had a great time. Then we got her home and she slept until 7 AM.

A wonderful beginning to what promises to be a great year and many lovely Shabbats.

Hanging with the Girl

2008-01-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

Phones, cookies and milk, and brushing hair. A lovely afternoon hour with my daughter who is so not a baby anymore! We had a a delightful mommy and daughter hour that started with cookies and milk.

She realized how yummy they were, left the living room and walked to the kitchen where she proceeded to grunt and raise her hands at the counter spot where she remembered the tin was sitting.

I diverted her attention with dancing which gained me the deep belly laughs that I love. I am good though, so she thought I was being funny not a bad a dancer! We danced together and she was very good at kicking one leg in the air to the side. We then did upside down hugs with a flip and that created another huge smile.

Off to the bedroom where I needed to brush out the weather kinks in my hair. I forget, momentarily, how much she loved my brushes. So she got them both to play with (hey, she gets out a lot of the hair!) and we sat on my bed with her brushing my hair and the calling Grandma on the phone. It was such a girlie afternoon!

It's hard to believe that she was this tiny bundle not that long ago. She is so interactive. She knows what she wants. She knows what she likes to eat. She is funny funny funny. She loves to read books and sit in your lap and be read to...especially Knuffle Bunny (thanks Savta!). I so look forward to many more afternoons where we can just hang out together. It was beautiful.

Double Blessing

2008-01-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

In the midst of our vacation, New Year's, and just catching up with our life, I totally forgot about the miracle I witnessed right before we left!

My dear friend is pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, and due in early February. She has been on bed rest since Thanksgiving and the hope was to make it to at least the first week in January and mid-January if possible. I put together a small group of friends to keep her company and talk baby talk on December 22nd. We had a fantastic time hanging out with the girls.

It was the night before our trip and we stayed up late packing. We were looking forward to a week away and seeing our friends from San Fransisco.

At 11:45 PM our phone rang and my dear friend's water had broken and they were on the way to the hospital to have their babies!! Having photographed their son's birth 3 1/2 years earlier, they were hoping I'd be willing to do it again.

So, off I went at midnight to the hospital with my camera, hoping to be included in this miracle. It turns out that the anesthesiologist, (who works only 1 night a month), was an old classmate of hers! What a small world. She asked for permission to have me in the OR since the twins were being delivered by cesarean. He got it and I was able to be in the OR with her (squeezing the blood out of my hand!) and take amazing photos.

I saw both her babies being delivered from her womb and have photos that are beautiful of their first moments. There were 13 people in the delivery room to take care of her and the babies. They were so great about moving out of the way to let me get photos of the babies and the cords being cut.

Tomorrow is the bris and simcha bat. We are so very excited to be included and celebrate these miracles of life with them. I am thrilled to have witnessed all the births of her children and be a part of their lives from the beginning.

Hadarya met them today and giggled at them, touched their tiny feet, and then walked off to play games.

Welcome to the world Micah and Eliora!

Tough Night

2007-12-31T07:20:00.000-08:00

One would think being back in our own house, with our own things, in her own crib would have delighted our child. Not so...she shrieked and cried when it was time for her afternoon nap. Because it was late anyway, we sort of skipped it. She's done that before. Bedtime went off smoothly, early at 6:30ish, and she fell sound asleep.

UNTIL...11:30. Then she drank a bottle and fell asleep on Yiftach and then she screamed and screamed and screamed and cried tears. It was heartbreaking. He was shaken. Nothing calmed her down. He left her room with her and she still cried hard in my arms. We changed her very wet diaper and she cried. We gave her tylenol and she cried. Finally, after about 10 minutes she fell asleep on me sitting up in my bed. Off to her crib, easy transfer and she was out.

UNTIL...3:30 AM. Same thing but with me starting the cuddle, bottle, rocking. She refused the pacifier. Wanted out of the crib and cuddled on me but cried out in spurts. So we left the room and settled on the couch with the lights dimmed low. She drank a bottle quickly and when Yiftach refilled it for her she pushed it away and cried some more. So into our bed she went and slept just fine until 6:48 AM.

I hope this is a phase. I hope those two top teeth break through very quickly. I hope that we are right in our guessing that it's the teeth that make her scream. This parenting thing is challenging enough without having to guess what ails our daughter in the middle of the night. The one who is full of pure joy during the day and who sleeps very well most days and night. We'd like a full nights sleep for everyone's happiness.

Oh yeah... when these teeth pop through the swollen gums, we're pretty sure the total will be 12. It's a little hard to count because the sharpness hurts when she bites down on your finger!

Vaction in Indio

2007-12-30T21:56:00.000-08:00

Yep... you read that right. 7 nights and days in the desert with the two people I love so dearly. Add in great friends with an adorable 6 month old boy, E, super food, warm sunshine, conversation and movies, and you have a relaxing end to a crazy month and busy year.

There is not much more to say about Indio. We did all of the above and that is part of the reason why I have been off the blog. We took no computers, limited cell phone usage, and concentrated on our family. Heaven.

We spent three occasions in the pool. Watched 3 movies (STARDUST was exceptional). Read a long book. Played endlessly with my daughter. Reveled in her amazing ability to play WITH a 6 month old... never hitting, no temper tantrums, no biting, just sharing her toys, helping him crawl, and enjoying his company. They totally had a ball together!

We cooked super gourmet meals for breakfast and took turns cooking dinner. We had dessert every night and slept as late as possible. The week ended with our friends treating us to massages and our daughter sleeping from her late afternoon nap at 3:15 PM until 7:40 AM the next morning.

YEP... that's right, with the a 20 minute crying interlude from 3:50 - 4:15 and again from 4:45 - 4:55 (bottle helped the hunger), she was unwakeable. She slept in the lit family room in the pack n play with the TV on until we went to bed. She was exhausted from her playing, the wind in her face the day before, and the swimming. It was a wonderful night even though we were a little worried about the huge sleeping. She knew we needed some time as adults together!

This is a place to get away and relax and be together. We had a grand time.

Pure Joy

2007-12-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

My daughter.

She finds pure joy in simple things.

Like the wind blowing in her face while being pushed through an outlet mall in cold weather. She laughed and cooed and threw her hands out to catch it and then threw her body back against the seat in contentment... over and over and over and over again.

Like hanging out on the inner tube in the lazy river at the timeshare and splashing about in the kids pool. She could not get enough of the inner tube on Ima's tummy while they were whisked through the water in the river. She splashed and laughed as it hit her face and then flung herself back over the edge for more. In the kid's pool she could not be content to sit still and be warm, she had to stand and jump and try to swim. Yep... she threw herself into the water, as we taught her this summer, and put her face under. All the while laughing, spurting water, and crumpling her face in joy.

Like the pleasure she derives from singing songs with us that have hand motions or movement to them. She can do all the motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider and clap YEAH when it's over; Bim Bam and through her hands in the air for Shabbat Shalom HEY; and mmmm when the little green frog makes her tongue eject in just the cutest way that you know she gets the song... every time you sing that part! She also does OH NO with her hands on her cheeks to another song from school, but I don't know that one yet.

You can see it. You can feel it. You can wallow in it. It lifts your day. It brightens your mood. It distracts you from doing anything else. The pure joy of Hadarya is the greatest thing I have ever experienced.

Making Dreams Come True

2007-12-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

The last five days have been spent in humid, muggy Orlando, Florida. It was our first trip with a toddler who can walk, tell us what she wants, and is very curious. It was a blast and she was so amazing! We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

The conference itself was ok, not great, not bad, just in between. It's the relationships that we built, nurtured, and made during that trip that made it so fantastic.

I was attending the United Jewish Synagogue's Biennial Convention with the Education Director of Ohr Shalom, LeAnne, LeAnne Adams. Yiftach and Hadarya were our bonus feature for the long time away. We were able to secure our timeshare (2BR 2BA) and that made such a great difference for eating and sleeping and Yiftach having good space for Hadarya to play with her toys. It is here that she learned to open all the cabinets in the kitchen... cause it wasn't our house so why not let her have fun? We didn't think of the transfer of activities that would take place upon our return. Hence the childproof locks that Yiftach installed and that made Hadarya mad because she couldn't get into them!

We were lucky that Yiftach's bone marrow recipient and her husband, Grammy Phyllis and Papa Joel, were able to make the drive from Ft. Myers to spend time with us. They had the pleasure of lots of wonderful time with Hadarya and Yiftach. They took us to a scrumptious dinner on the pier and generally caught up on our lives since seeing them in May. It was so great to spend time together!

Yiftach has cousins, Lynn and Marc, who live in Orlando with their two boys, Matthew and Jonathan, whom Yiftach had not met since he'd not seen Marc and Lynn for almost 10 years. It did not matter! They had a lovely time Friday night together and loved being with the baby. We all hung out Sunday night at Downtown Disney, watched the fireworks from the beach across the way from the castle, and ate dinner at a gourment McDonald's. They all doted on Hadarya and her favorite stuffed animal to date is her Florida Gator...Albert Allie Gator!

Another bonus of this conservative movement convention was spending time with our dear friends Alisa and Stephen. They introduced Yiftach and I 7 years ago, and Alisa married us almost 5 years ago. They now live in New Jersey, so this time was especially precious. It's just like we saw them yesterday. Their friendship makes me smile and warms my heart when I see them. They loved having time with Hadarya and being able to relish in our child.

ON to her... she flew to Orlando like a pro and back to CA without any issues. She stayed on California time and napped well. She slept half the night in a crib (provided by the timeshare) and the rest in our bed taking up most of the space in the middle. She ate well. She laughed a lot. She ran around the gigantic hallways at the hotel amusing herself. She played hide-and-seek around the corners, explored the registration office, wedged her way under the end tables, and slithered off to poop in private. Can you tell how much I am in love with my daughter? She made everyone laugh and smile at her genuine happiness. Life is good, no scratch that, fabulouso, with her in it.

Day 30 - The end?

2007-11-30T13:39:00.001-08:00

Today is Day 30 of National Posting Blogging Month. I cannot believe I met the challenge to blog every single day. It actually was not as difficult as I thought it would be! There were a couple of times that I barely squeaked by and once that I did it so early in the morning, my sister thought it shouldn't count because she had nothing to read over breakfast. She had to wait almost two days of time for the next post being up.

I appreciate all my faithful readers and the few who have begun posting comments. I love getting feedback!

Hadarya is having a ball! She is such a trooper. She loved walking around and around and around the hotel area by the conference site. The huge open space was extremely attractive to her walking feet. She got very adventurous and walked pretty far away from us.

It's now time to get dressed for Shabbat. The real treat of the weekend is davening with Hazzan Alisa Pomerantz-Boro. She is here for the Biennial and is our dear friend who introduced Yiftach and I to each other. It's going to be great to catch up with her.

There is a sense of relief to be ending this 30 days and a sense of sadness.
I am not longer obligated to blog every day but it's been kind of fun. I kind of like the idea of picking a theme of some sort (other than my daughter) and blogging about that too. So this will temporarily be the end of every day blogging. We are in Orlando for a conference and have a busy weekend of things to do. I will update about our fun, but it might not be until we get home.

Day 29 - A Day of Pleasant Surpises

2007-11-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

1. We made it through security at the San Diego Airport in the amount of time it took US to unload onto the conveyor belt and then reload on the other end. All this with a sleeping baby who NEVER WOKE UP!

2. A baby who slept through the first part of the flight to Atlanta, transferred into the stroller and slept for the entire layover, and then got on the plane, played for take off while watching all the people and then fell fast asleep.

3. Car seat rental with car was a brilliant idea.

4. Time share has cribs and high chairs available at no cost to us. No need to drive to rent them for $80!

5. Internet hook up for our laptop in our room is $15

6. If we have to change units tomorrow, the housekeepers move everything for us.

We are very tired at 11:30 PM on the East Coast. Baby girl did not go to sleep until 10:30 with very little napping all day. Husband is exhausted and cranky but a very good man for chauffering us back and forth to the resort, hanging out, and wanting so badly to participate but knowing it's not his time to.

What a nice day despite the lack of proper sleep last night. We have found Floridians to be very friendly, helpful, and pleasant. : )

Day 28 - Traveling Lightly

2007-11-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

We began our packing endeavor last night too late to really think things through. Normally I pack far in advance, but there has been too much going on to think that way. This is our first big trip since Hadarya has been mobile. We have done a lot of traveling, but no air flights since March. All car rides, usually when she is sleeping.

We realized we were in a predicament when her clothes and such took up one small suitcase, mine another, and then Yiftach's. Add to that a Pack and Play and a car seat and we are over in our allowed amount to check. Never mind the carry on's and stroller! The one smart thing we did was pack the car seat in a traveling bag and pack it with blankets, diapers, and toys. We used our space wisely.

Then I got an idea!

Somehow we must be able to rent the items we need so we don't have to schlep them. We ARE going to Orlando mind you and that tourist area has to be filled with these things. Google came through and gave us 8 options. Some more expensive than others. We settled on a a place called K.I.S.S. which will give us a full size crib with bumper, mattress, and linens, a high chair (she's gotta sit somewhere!), and a box of toys for about $80 for a week. (weeks start at 4 days). We decided it was well worth the money and not the schelp! Then I was told today at daycare by another mom that car rental places have to offer car seats...who knew?? I've never rented a car with a baby! So we called up and sure enough for $7.50 a day or $39 for the week we can get a car seat.

SOOOO we said goodbye to our packed up carseat, no pack and play, and are going to Orlando for 5 days and 4 nights with 2 large suitcases, 1 small suitcase full of consumable items, (diapers and food), a diaper bag, a backpack (magazines, laptop, and toys), a stroller, and a laptop case. We are golden. This is going to be great and we feel so good about choosing to travel without all the added accessories. We haven't gone yet, but I highly recommend renting if possible. I know the lack of hassle will be worth the money!

Day 27 - No Applause When Entering A Room?

2007-11-27T22:38:00.000-08:00

At the end of the 3 Day walk, at closing ceremonies, the crowds of thousands cheer and applaud the walkers and crew as they come into closing ceremonies. The closing speaker always jokes about how there will probably not be anyone clapping for you when you walk into the office on Monday. It gets tons of laughs because we realize how great it has been to cheer each other on all weekend and that no one every applauds our simple efforts.

Well tonight that was not the case. With 9 women in Book Club watching my proud baby girl show off, there was spontaneous applause. She was in the dining room and finishing dinner when most of them arrived. They have not see her stable walking yet and boy she couldn't wait. Well, she did wait patiently by her chair until everyone was looking at her. Then she smiled her huge smile, clasped her hands in front of her chest and slowly and dramatically began her walk to Ima. When she got to the carpet, she fell forward in a bow and everyone clapped. Yep, she got the applause when entering the room walking.

We think she's as cute as a button but this took the cake. She was a giggly mess of fun the whole evening and totally delights in the attention she gets as the youngest member of book club. Although... I am considering that the need for a sitter is going to arise shortly as she's just not going to let me relax and enjoy book club much longer.

Off to grab my sleep. She is let us sleep until 5:15 AM and then went back to bed after a bottle. BLISS.

Day 26 - On the Run

2007-11-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

Literally I am moving in motion to get 3 days of sub plans finished, a note to a parent with directions for her day of volunteering in my classroom, hosting book club tomorrow night, and be a good sister. Oh yeah... and the baby is on the run too. She is so proud of herself for walking and she can get herself up without any assistance or props. It's adorable and scary and fun.

SO much to do and my bed calls loudly.

Day 25 - I don't want to brag BUT...

2007-11-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

my daughter is exceptionally smart. She just is and she shows it every day. We do our best to guide her, giver her structure, and share with her experiences that we believe will enrich her, help her grow into a well-rounded human being, and learn a lot. Every day she continues to astound us and teach us things that she can already do that we don't remember teaching her.

Today was no exception.

She is not so keen on picking up her food anymore. She'll pick up finger food like bread, cornbread, pancakes, veggie burgers, and soy chicken nuggets. She will not pick up cucumber, broccoli, peaches, kiwi, or other slightly gooey foods. We thought she didn't like them. We thought she didn't appreciate us trying to feed her. We were so wrong. In the last two weeks she has been adamant about having her own spoon when we feed her something like applesauce and yogurt. She dips it into the jar or bowl and then brings it into her mouth in the right way and says "mmmmm." Ok, it's a spoon and she's got pretty good aim. Well today she insisted on holding a plastic fork and would not eat the kiwi that she loved yesterday when I put it in her mouth. So we speared the fork because she was putting it in her mouth. She GOBBLED up the half that I had cut for her that she did not pick up with her hands. At dinner, she ate speared cucumbers and all of a fruit cup on the fork that she would not touch before today. I cannot believe that she can use a fork! She is only 13 1/2 months old. She cannot spear it herself, but she can get it all in her mouth without any problem.

She also understands how to follow a direction. She has actually been doing this for about a month but we thought it was just because of the situation. My awesome cousin Janis bought her a rocker/toddler chair when she was born. She now climbs in and out of it. Hadarya thinks it's funny to stand on it and hold the back and play peek-a-boo with the window. We have been telling her to sit down in both Hebrew and English since she started the standing up business. Within a few days we could say, "Hadarya, sit down on your tushie please;" and she would. She'd give us a smug look but she would do it. We thought it was our tone more than anything. Well, today we (Auntie Kimber, me and Aba) were sitting on the couch facing the wall with the toy chest (about 10 feet away). I asked Hadarya to go get the monkey (Kof) and give it to Auntie Kimber. I repeated it a few times using the Hebrew name for the monkey that we call it. She turned around and walked to the toy chest. She stopped and looked back at us and Aba told her the same thing entirely in Hebrew. She grabbed the monkey off the toy chest (there were 2 teddy bears and a doll on it too) and walked back to the couch and handed it to Auntie Kimber. We were shocked! She knew exactly what we asked and followed through. It was quite a sight to see.

So my life is going to be filled with finding ways to challenge my smart daughter while keeping her rooted in stability of herself. She has got the walking down pat and proudly pulls herself up on whatever is nearby and then toddles on. She actively leaves the family room and moves down the cold tile floors towards her room or ours or the kitchen. She rarely stops in between unless she needs to steady herself. She does not go running into things as she has figured out how to make her legs slow down. She is very proud of herself and we are too. I am sure that pride will turn into exhaustion as she begins running away from us to explore!

She is only 13 1/2 months old. Wow. I am so proud of her amazing accomplishments.

Day 24 - Sleepless in San Diego

2007-11-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Every since Hadarya got sick at 11 1/2 months (she is now 13 1/2 months) we've not had a consistent good night's sleep. Her sleep pattern was constantly disrupted with not feeling well, fevers, breathing issues related to teething, etc. It's not been a good month in our house for feeling well rested!

She is healthy now and has gained her appetite back. We are using soy milk as she had a difficult time with the whole milk right after being sick. The sicknesses interrupted a good path we were on to get off formula, bottles, and baby food. All of that slid downhill with the various illnesses as she only wanted comfort food that was mushy and easy to swallow. The new fangs coming in didn't help the drinking issue. And now we are having a sleep issue.

She wakes an average of two times a night and cries her eyes out. She never ever has done this before. Tonight was no exception. She was totally soaked and cried through the whole diaper change. She was only ok once she had a bottle in her mouth in which she drowned the entire thing. Her 1:30 AM spout was her second waking up since going to bed at 7 PM. She will not go down to sleep unless she is really almost out either.

We tried to let her cry a little when she "woke" up from the bottle and being put down by Yiftach. Did not work. Her screaming petered out within 5 minutes and it was minimal. I went in and gave her a pacifier and laid her down and patted her back several time and told her I loved her and to rest her body. She was standing up screaming before I left the room! The only thing that worked this time was the rocking chair and bottle again. We also tried tylenol as her teeth are looking swollen as they drop through on both sides.

She is an amazing kid who is happy, happy, happy all the time. She goes down for naps very easily at daycare. She is one of the few who still needs her back patted for a while but she does not need to be rocked like at home. She will not do that for us here.

I know she is not really hungry and that she is getting enough food. I know that sleep patterns get interrupted. I know that she is way happier with more sleep and so am I. I don't know how to get back to the longer sleep hours for her and how to help her stop the crying. Nothing I read on the internet helps. I am hoping that it's just a phase as she is growing and getting over being sick.

We are off to Florida next weekend and this is going to be way hard if she cannot sleep through the night!

Day 23 - Black Friday is GOOD

2007-11-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

Yep, I went out very early this morning to shop. Actually I had somewhere to be at 6:30 anyway, so I decided I might as well hit a few stores along the way. I am actually very proud of myself. We did very smart ad shopping and I knew exactly what I was looking for. I found it all and did not spend more than 10 minutes waiting in line. I was a super savvy shopper. It was so awesome. I got home at 7:20 AM as my lovely husband and gorgeous daughter were getting up. I cannot share the amazing items here...as some of my readers are recipients of the gifts I purchased. But suffice it to say this will be a lovely holiday for all.

Shabbat was spent with Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Kimber where we celebrated Thanksgiving again. Turkey, cranberries, potatoes, peas and mushrooms, and great company. Hadarya even got to celebrate Hanukkah early by opening several presents. Her favorite, by far, was a fun rocking chair that Grandma got from a friend. It wasn't even an official holiday present!

Then we arrived home at 7:00 and Princess fell fast asleep... we are close behind.

Day 22 - Turkey Day

2007-11-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

Bright and early we were up and out to participate in the 6th annual Jewish Family Service 5K walk/run for the hungry. It was awesome! Baby girl slept until I picked her up out of her crib at 6:50 AM (this would be the morning she wanted to sleep in!) and we left her in her pj's and a fresh diaper. The race itself didn't get going until about 8:20 after the 10K runners left. We walked with Scott and Jennifer and had a blast! Auntie Kimber and Grandpa got ahead of us, so we caught up with them at the end. In time to eat pizza (Hadarya's first and definitely not the last!) and carmel corn.

Then we came home to a deliciously long nap. Hadarya slept for just over 2 hours she fell asleep in the car) and we put back on our PJ's and got into bed. Then we hung out when she woke up, had lunch, and went for a walk to the corner 7-11 to get a paper.

Of course, we'd pushed our time and so we rushed around to get dressed, give H a bath, and gather the tons of food we made to head to Scott and Jennifer. There were about 30 people having dinner tonight and it was a little loud, a little madhousy, and a lot of fun. The kids had fun playing and eating and laughing.

Hadarya is fast asleep having had no afternoon nap and staying up until about 8:00. We are hoping for an all-nighter tonight and so we are off to join her in dreamland. It was a wonderful day filled with lots of fun, good food, and fantastic family and friends. The best part...I don't feel like I over ate and stuffed myself. Yeah!

Day 21 - Quiet Time

2007-11-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

My house is quiet. The air is quiet. There is no noise right now except me typing. I cannot remember another moment like this in a long, long time. There are no little fingers grabbing the power plug or pounding on the keyboard. No voice asking me about dinner or what we are doing later. Just the quiet of my own thoughts...hmmm, that is kind of scary!

I am off today and my husband is at work and my daughter at daycare. I slept in (7:10) and got them off. I am doing some laundry, did a masque on my face, and took a long hot shower. The sky is bleak and gray and the kind you want to snuggle in with a movie and hot chocolate. Now, that is a great idea!

My day will be filled with friends and family coming over to cook for Thanksgiving and do laundry. Until then I am going to enjoy the time to myself. : )

Day 20 - The Break Begins

2007-11-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

I have been officially on break since noon today. It's a great thing to have conferences with no kids right before a holiday and then still have time off. I feel like I have accomplished so much. I talked to 17 parents about their students successes and challenges. I cleaned up my classroom. I rearranged the seats, made a new rewards system, and planned lessons for 2 weeks. I baked a batch of brownies and 2 batches of cookies. I made a nice dinner and hubby cleaned up the kitchen. Toys are put away and the babester went to bed without a fuss at 7:30.

I love knowing that I do not have to get up and out of pajamas all day tomorrow if I don't wanna. Break is good. I am so looking forward to 5 days of family, me time, and just hanging out in our house. Oh yeah... and blogging of course.

I am now going to enjoy my quiet house and my husband.

Day 19 - Did You Know?

2007-11-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

I spent the day in a class size reduction staff development today. All teachers who have 20 students are required to have a one of the three conference days taken back by the district for a mandated staff development.

Today, 300 K-3 teachers gathered to hear a speaker discuss and lead us in discussion about a Pyramid of Interventions meant to help students before things reach a crisis situation. It is meant to help our Professional Learning Communities continue on their paths to collaboration and achievement in learning for all students.

Part of the presentation was a short video called Did You Know? It was developed a year ago for a staff to start the conversation about whether or not they were preparing their students for the 21st century. It has now created 5 million conversations. This is one of them. Click on various versions on the home page to download the video.

It is powerful and thoughtful and insightful. It has made me think about what kind of world (one I cannot imagine!) will be there for my daughter in 20 years. It has made me realize that she is going to have a whole new world for herself that I will learn through her. It is my responsibility to provide her with the opportunities and experiences to be able to actively participate in this world that will be open to her.

Day 18 - LIFE

2007-11-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

Today is the 18th day of blogging for me and I contemplated my day and what would be so interesting to write about. So I am focusing on the 18. 18 is the numbers represented by the Hebrew letters that make the word for life...chai. It is an important number in Judaism and one that is used for many things. My daughter was born on 10-08 (18) and came home from the hospital on the 18th of that month. It is an auspicious number and one that I constantly think of when thinking about new life yet to be.

Tonight we had dinner with our great friends that we never seem to see anymore. Why??? LIFE... it just gets in our way now. Tamar and I knew each other when we were single and out looking for our b'sheret almost 9 years ago. Wow how time flies. We were in each other's weddings, 6 months apart and will both celebrate 5 years of marriage in 2008. Our lives are full and busy and happy.

She is mom to a lively 3 year old boy and that certainly changed how her life worked and how our friendship worked. Then came our baby and another layer changes things as life begins to be more complicated when doing simple things like dinner. We used to just go go go and stay out late. Now our lives have two little bodies in it who need to eat at an early time and go to bed at an early time then we used to. It makes it challenging to find time to get together because we each want to be at our own house to let the kids go to bed.

So tonight, on a whim, we went to the park and played at 5 PM. We had so much fun. Then we went to dinner for pizza and salad and the kids had a ball. Hadarya got very tired right before our dinner came (no surprise since she had no nap!) and cuddled on me while I ate over her head. We joked about how conversations get interrupted now. How we order food with a toddler in mind who will eat some of it. How when it's time to go, it's time to go and there is no lollygagging around the bill.

Life is wonderful and full and happy. It's different than it was before the kids. It will be different after her twins arrive in February. Now we'll need a table for 8 with 4 high chairs! Life is good and today was a great day to remember all that we have and all that makes us smile.

Day 17 - Baby Love is the Best

2007-11-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

My days are now divided into parts: work, baby time, and then catch up time on the house, life, mail, etc. That is about an hour and half of time before I crash into bed.

So today when I had to work on a Saturday and lose my baby time, it was not the best of the best! But I work in a public school and we offer Saturday conferences and get next Wednesday off before Thanksgiving. I met with 8 out of 10 parents who showed up and all of them went very well, except for the one I suspected wouldn't. It was really nice to sit with all my parents and chat about the strengths and weaknesses of their kids.

Then I got home at 2:30 to the best of the best that melted my heart! Hadarya was playing with her leap frog table and saw me around the corner. She grinned from ear to ear, stood tall, and raised her hands to me. Oh my, it was so great. She snuggled and cuddled and played and laughed. She couldn't get enough of me and I couldn't get enough of her. It was the best ending to my morning.

Day 16 - Shabbat

2007-11-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

Once a month our synagogue has an early service and a fantastic dinner afterwards. The dinner is cooked by two members of the synagogue who give their time to shop and cook for 180 people. Last night they out did themselves.

The service was , as always, great. Hadarya LOVED the music by Zeji on the guitar. She danced and stared in awe as he played. She was not so interested when the music stopped so we took a few walks around.

The dinner was an early Thanksgiving feast that was beyond superb. Turkey, stuffing (made with day old challah), kugel, green beans, cranberries, gravy, potatoes (all homemade!). I ate way too much!

Little Miss fell sound asleep after a few bits of challah in my arms and let us eat our dinner. It was a great way to start our weekend, despite the fact that I had to work on Saturday doing parent conferences. Ahhh.. all weekends should start so beautifully!

Day 15 - Honoring My Husband

2007-11-15T21:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the Bone Marrow Donor Reception. It is the 3rd year we've attended and every year it gets better and better. My amazing husband donated bone marrow in June 2005 to an anonymous recipient who has survived. Tonight was about honoring him and all the other donors who have given of themselves so selflessly. Tonight my husband was the honored guest and his story was told.

I was in tears watching the video of him and Phyllis that was shot during her visit to San Diego in May. I've seen it before. I've heard the story before. It didn't matter. It was still amazing and still heartwarming.

Then my lovely, adorable husband got up to speak in person and share his story. He had not had much notice (he thought he was back up person a couple of weeks ago and then found out he was it when we arrived tonight!), so he took up some notes with him. They were not needed. He spoke from his heart and was genuine and real. It helps that he is a great public speaker, but the audience felt his message and emotions.

Tonight was about him and his act of bravery. Tonight was about us and the decisions we made together to go through with this act. Tonight was about Phyllis and Joel and her survival of 2 1/2 years. Tonight was about God's shining light on us and our daughter arriving in our lives just after the 1 year survival mark. Tonight was about remembering the choices you can make and the difference you can make in someone's life.

The Talmud says that to save someone's life is like saving the world. My husband has saved the world.

Day 14 - Report Cards Suck

2007-11-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

I hate doing Report Cards. They take hours and hours to do. They are electronic and have to be downloaded. Then you have to fill in all the names and information. Then you have to click on every box to fill in the letter grade. There is also a comment section to which I feel compelled to write several sentences.

I shouldn't complain. I only have 20 to do this year. But I also have a life outside school. I have a baby who I want to spend time with and a husband who needs my attention. That does not even touch on the housework, the late hour I get to bed, and the online course I am taking.

It's very late. I am very tired. AND I only have 7 report cards done. Conferences are Saturday. We really should have a 1/2 day sub to finish these on school time. NOT on our weekends and nights.

Let's hope the Princess makes it through the whole night tonight. : )