Where did my BABY go?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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?

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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. : )

Day 13 - What a LONG night!

It's only 6:25 AM but I wish is were later so I'd be closer to going to bed! Hadarya had a really tough night last night. Like none other even when she was sick. We had friends over for our weekly dinner and the girls had so much fun playing together. Hadarya had not had anything to drink all day and was making me very worried. She was so not interested in much of anything except some baby food. Nothing she had to chew.

She would not settle down to go to bed, so we took a drive and she finally fell asleep around 8:10 PM. She went to her bed and woke up screaming her lungs out at 9:30. She could not be calmed down through cuddling, pacifier, or other means. Our friends suggested tylenol and that her screaming was definitely something other than not feeling well.

Shauna to the rescue! Sometimes you have to be able to step back to see a solution. She asked how big H was (22 pounds) and if we still had our swing. She said swings were up to 25 pounds. SO out came the swing from the garage and in went the 13 month old, 22 pound, 30.5 inch baby girl. She was out within 5 minutes.

Repeat all of the above at 2:20 AM and you have our night... including the car ride! She slept until 5:30 and Yiftach brought her to bed where she remained asleep until waking up very happy at 6:30 AM.

Tonight she seems to be much better and drank quite a bit all day including some juice in a bottle this morning. Shauna astuely guessed that that maybe she was teething and indeed it looks like there are at least 2 on top (the fangs) breaking through as well as a back molar. Aahhh... the joys of teething and parenting.

Day 12 - Laundry

All about laundry today. I thought we'd just done our clothes but I guess we wore a ton and it seemed to be overflowing. Since Hadarya's been sick for the last 10 days we've also not taken care of our towels and sheets and whatnot. So... the day started with a whole house vacuum and laundry. 6 loads done and one more of the baby's things still to go. Whew!

Then our friends called. We have dinner once a week at our houses and it was their turn to host. They'd hosted for the last few times as we've had to cancel our weeks due to a sick baby or other conflicts. Shauna called at 1 and asked if they could come to our house instead. I had offered since we'd been there so many times! Of course, we said. AND can we bring our laundry? she asked. Their machine was broken and had not been fixed. In between dinner, dessert, baths, and talking, they managed to do 5 loads themselves.

We love our washer/dryer that my parents bought us when we moved into the house. It was amazing today completing 10 loads of clean clothes. Our dinner party became a folding laundry party and we all are ready for the week!

Day 11 - Just as Powerful Year #5

4,500 walkers. 600 crew. Hundreds of volunteers. San Jose Police on bikes. Safety crew on motorcycles. Strangers 3 days ago - united by a common cause.

Today was my 5th closing ceremony for the Breast Cancer 3 Day. We left the baby at home (hard decision but the right one!) and although I debated about whether or not I should actually attend right up until the last moment, I am so glad I went.

Cheering on the walkers as they entered Petco Park was a never ending line of beautiful women and men who had spent 3 days walking 60 miles, raised $2200 each, and traveled away from families to sleep in a tent for 3 days.

The walk to the closing ceremonies was lined with thousands of people cheering on the crew and the walkers. We lined the area and cheered the walkers into the outer ring. Then the crew moved into our circle and we all raised our shoes to the inner circle of survivors.

I have heard the same or similar words for 5 years. I never get tired of the same silly jokes about porta-potties. I never get tired of hearing about the kindness that we deal with for 3 days. I never get tired of being reminded that no one is going to cheer for me when I get to work. The tears still well up and I remember how lucky I am to be here; to be alive; to be able to participate.

Our mission is not complete. Breast cancer is not eradicated. We have to keep walking until a cure is found. Getting ready for year #6...2008.

Day 10 - Making Choices

Everyday we make choices about what we do, what we say, and how we react. I find it more challenging to make decisions that affect my daughter because I don't want it to be the wrong thing to do. I want to keep doing the things I do but then there is the amazing little person who has needs and wants too.

Our little Miss has experienced one sickness after another since turning one. She was sick free for 11 months and 3 weeks. Then, an ear infection that needed to be treated twice and had a lovely high fever accompanying it the second time. Roseola that landed us in the ER with a 104.6 fever. And then throwing up at school with a stomach bug. All of these lovely childhood diseases seemed to occur smack in the middle of other planned activities and therefore required changing our plans.

I know this is what being a parent is all about. Being flexible and putting her first before any other plans is a priority. I find it hard to make that choice for several reasons. Her being sick usually doesn't involve lethargy, clinging, and being held. She has been a happy child even through her illnesses and so when I can't send her to daycare I feel weird calling in sick because she's not the usual kind of kid sick.

This weekend we had many choices to make regarding our participation in the 3 day walk, taking care of a baby who'd thrown up at school but only once at home, and a friend's 40th birthday. Too many choices...do we take her to lunch and hang out with the walkers? Do I go to my pitstop on day 3? Do we hire a babysitter?

Too many choices too make and too many people I don't want to disappoint and we still want to do it all. Ahhh.. the joys of being a parent.

Day 9 - Tired and Achy

What a day today has been and it's not even 8 PM! My day started at 3:00 AM when I rose to greet the day as Pit Stop 1 Crew Member for the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. Our babysitter arrived at 3:45 AM so we could participate. I was nervous for my daughter. In her 13 months of life she has not woken up to anyone but her Ima and Aba. Would she cry? Would she be mad? Would she recognize her favorite teacher from school, Miss Alyssa and smile? I was worried, but knew my mom could come down if needed or I could come home.

My worry was unwarranted for that issue. She did great. She woke up at 6 AM. Cuddled for awhile and played peek-a-boo with Alyssa without any tears. She then played happily in her crib with books while she showered and then she got a new diaper, got dressed, and ate some yogurt. Then off to school with her teacher. A great start. We were already in the thick of walkers as they drove to school.

4500 walkers descended on Pit 1 starting at 7:30 AM. I was dressed in my Tink BELIEVE pajamas and I handed out the beloved stickers. Yep, adults go CRAZY for stickers on this walk. I was totally bombarded for the entire time moving my fingers as fast as I could to get the little stars off and onto their credentials. They swarmed around me and shoved their hands, fingers, and credentials in my space to plop a sticker. It was great. Then the rush subsided and I realized it was almost 9 AM and our pit stop was going to be closing. It was over for the morning, except for clean up. I LOVED it. When I crewed Pit Stop 5 we were up at 5 AM, but didn't start setting up until almost 10 AM and we were the last ones to close around 4:30 PM. We never made it back to came before 7 PM. It was great to be done and get to hang out at lunch and help and talk to people.

Unfortunately we got a call at 1 PM that our babydoll had woken up from her nap and thrown up all over herself. YUCKY! She threw up 3 more times at school (once on me when we were leaving) and then was great all afternoon. I gave her applesauce and that also came back up. So she is tired and achy and can't tell me. I am tired and achy from using my muscles I haven't used in a while and I can say something. But it doesn't matter for me...it's all about my lovey and her being sick again.

Day 8 - We're Walking!

Tomorrow is the 3 Day 60 mile walk for Breast Cancer. This is our 5th year participating in the event. I have walked 3 times and crewed twice. We love getting up in the middle of the night and being with thousands of people who are happy to be together. I really mean it. It's amazing. But I am not the walker this year. My daughter is!

Hadarya's been toying with walking for quite some time and seriously since she turned 1. She is 13 months old today and she walked across the family room! It was so amazing. She just hasn't had the confidence in herself to let go and then she's been very sick twice in the last month, which has hindered her time to practice.

Today was the day. We got home from daycare and she was hanging out in our room and just walked away from her Aba. She doesn't know when to stop so the side of the dresser helped her figure it out, as did the clothes in the closet that she fell into. We were so in awe of her ability that we weren't paying so much attention other than to cheer her on.

We were in the kitchen a little later and she was sitting on the floor. Within seconds she had gotten up on her own and was walking across the floor to me. I think I startled her when I got so excited! We know we're in for some chasing (good for the thighs) and we know we are in for some bumps (not so good for Ima's heart) but we are really thrilled to watch her grow and learn and master these amazing things.

Day 7 - Hump Day

Oh boy is it ever hump day! I hope that this body makes it up and over the hump and is still standing on the other side tomorrow. My voice is going and my chest feels heavy. I am tired and my body is letting me know that I am most definitely 38 and cannot exist on 3-4 hours of sleep interrupted by the cutest baby ever for 4 nights in a row. Hadarya has actually slept most of the last two nights, but in trying to catch up on what I didn't do when she was at the beginning of the illness, means that I do not go to bed when she does. Hence the loss of voice and tired eyes.

So I am trying to make it through and get my body to bed very quickly. Lovebug went to sleep at 6:45 PM and is soundly out and looks like in for a great night of rest. She went to daycare today and did well. She is definitely almost over the hump and back to herself.

We know on the other side of the hump is the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk that we are participating in and how much has to be packed into Thursday to be ready for it on Friday at 4 AM.

I can rest on Monday. Veteran's Day. No school for me. No work for my husband. No daycare for my daughter. Ok, maybe I won't rest so much, but just a little?

Day 6 - Blowing in the Wind

There is nothing like seeing an old friend. I have a very dear friend who lives in Houston, Texas. We don't see each other a lot. We don't keep in touch a lot. But time and distance doesn't seem to matter when we finally get to see each other. Usually it's when he's blowing in the wind through town in 24 hours for a conference. Like tonight.

David and I have been friends since high school. We've known each other for almost 25 years. That is so crazy to put that number on it. How can it possibly be that long?

So today the wind shifted and blew through our town with our friend. It's been two years but it could have been yesterday. What a great two hours of chatting and laughing and catching up on our lives. Our daughter woke up long enough to flash him a brilliant smile.

The best part of our story is that while we have been friends for so long, he and my husband met just about 8 years ago and they formed their own friendship before we started dating. And now, he is our friend and that is just great.

We love when the wind blows in our friend to see us.

Day 5 - A Trip to the ER

Our first trip to the ER occurred at 9:30 PM last night. Hopefully it will be a long time before we have to do that again... and not because of our daughter; it was the others being treated that made us heartbroken and sad!

Our lovebug ran a low grade fever all day long, ate some more than the day before, and took no naps! She had a bath and actually sat through it playing this time and let me do her hair without all the usual, recent drama tears. I took her temperature under her arm after she'd been asleep for some time. It was 102.8. We were done fooling around.

The admitting nurse asked when she'd had her last does of Tylenol and did not look to happy when we said 12:30 PM. She hadn't really been running a fever, we didn't want to do too much to alter the natural body fighting mechanisms, and we WERE ON OUR WAY TO THE ER!! She said that we should ALWAYS give the Tylenol immediately with that high a fever, in case it spikes higher and she has febral seizures. Great...we're feeling like failures as parents. To top it off our babylou had a 104.6 rectal temp. The nurse added that we needed to add a degree to our underarm temp and that wasn't really the most effective way. Great... add salt to the wound.

We were sent back out to the waiting room with a babe in diapers (to get that fever out) and she was up and happy and waving to everyone. Then we got a bed. I wish we'd stayed in the waiting room until the doc was ready to see us. H did well for a while and hung out on my lap and read a book (note to self: do not take out toys and books from diaper bag; will be needed to entertain during wait).

The screams of the child three beds down started the first round of tears from H (really, they were shrieks of terror) and the next set from the girl across the way didn't help either. Both were children who needed stitches or something done around their eyes and were literally wrapped up in a swaddle pad to avoid them moving and getting more hurt. I think that must have scared the begeezers out of them more than anything! It sure made us sad for them and our little one who decided she'd had enough and wanted to go.

The Dr. arrived shortly after all the screams subsided and listened to her chest, looked in her ears, down her throat, and touched her skin. Nothing wrong. Everything looked great. Except she had a high, high fever and a non-itchy rash that blanched when touched. Roseola was the dx. Give her tylenol and motrin. Leave off the pj's (not going to work since she won't sleep naked -- boy does she have a lot to learn!). It runs it's course in 4-5 days, is a viral infection, and contagious.

Y got the sick day today. Grandma and Auntie Kimber are taking Tuesday. I'll take Wednesday if needed. It's going to be a long week. Poor baby girl.

Day 4 - Falling Back An Hour

With the worry over H last night we totally forgot we got an extra hour this morning. I don't think I've every forgotten to change my clocks! EVER! Until today... this is what being a mommy is all about. Constant motion, holes in my brain, and forgetting things. Most of this can be attributed to lack of deep sleep. Which was last night being up every 3-4 hours to soothe, feed, and hold a baby whose body was on fire.

I had plans to leave the house this morning at 8:45 AM and decided to keep those despite my lack of enough sleep. H got up at about 7 AM this morning and was seemingly happy, uninterested in eating, but giggly and smiley. So I showered, got dressed, and was literally on my way out the door calling my mom to let her know I was leaving. She was somewhat confused and asked me where I was going at 7:45 AM. Oh my gosh!!! I totally had forgotten the clocks and we were all up and ready to go. : )

We decided to head to a new place I discovered for yummy breakfast. H sat in her high chair and studied the menu that she had picked up from the table. When the waitress came over, she looked up at her, gave her her order, pointed to the menu, and looked up again for confirmation. She was SO CUTE! We do not eat out that much but she totally knew what to do.

I lost the extra hour of sleep this morning, but my sweet baby girl was ready for bed at 6 PM tonight, especially because she did not nap at all. Even with car rides around town didn't help her settle down. So we watched a video, had a bath, and played, so at 7 PM (the new hour) she was out within minutes and will hopefully last 12 hours. Now, I get my hour back to work on my online class and lesson plans. Maybe I'll get to sleep soon too.

Day 3 - Birthday Party Fun

We attended our friends son's 2nd birthday party today, which is really the first one Hadarya has gone too since being old enough to somewhat get it and enjoy it. She LOVED the jumpy tower with a slide. She loved looking at the other kids and having me stand with her inside and jump together. She slid down by herself and giggled at the end. We spent close to 45 minutes in the jumpy house.

She snacked a little and sat watching the pinata until it got to be too much for her and she just had to participate. So we let her...she really just wanted to touch it and pull of the tissue paper to eat. She was happy to pick up two lollipops when the pinata broke and munch on the sticks. So far she doesn't understand the sweet sticky flavors of candy yet. We hope to hold on to that for a long time!

She snuggled into my arms at the party and fell asleep for a late afternoon nap...it was only about 30 minutes but I should have known that something was wrong. She usually fights me to do that, especially at a party and she was getting a little whiny. She also did not eat a lot nor drink from a bottle or sippy cup, her usual amount.

She fell asleep in my arms at 6:30 while we were getting milk for her. We got home and her body was so hot. She went to bed with close to 103 fever. I am so sad when she is so sick. There are no other signs of illness, at least yet. I hope we are not in for a winter of sickness. She had an incredibly healthy 1st year! Hopefully tomorrow will bring a better, healthier day for my lovebug.

Day 2 - Celebrating My Birthday

I love to celebrate my birthday. It's such a great excuse to get my friends together and hang out. In our busy lives we seem to mostly make time for each other when there is a crisis or a celebration. It seems much more difficult to do the in between.

Since becoming a mom (a year ago) I have now had 2 birthdays and they don't seem so important anymore. There is so much going on that my birthday seems to sneak up on me and I just don't have the time or energy to do anything about planning something.

This year was no different. So last night at 6:30 we decided to have just family over for a really nice, leisurely Shabbat dinner. I went to work as usual and my day proceeded rather calmly until my sister and mother showed up with lunch and riled up my 1st graders by announcing that it was my birthday. The kids got soooo excited. We then celebrated by having cupcakes at the end of the day.

The evening dinner was delicious and I got to sit most of the time and not clear or serve or clean up. We laughed, told stories, and had a grand time together. It was a wonderful evening. What I did get to do was enjoy some luvin time with my baby girl. My baby girl who gave me the ultimate in birthday presents.

She WALKED unassisted for several steps, thus qualifying her as a walker. It was awesome. She is very proud of herself and falls over when she is done onto her head like she is doing a head stand. She waits until I help her feet over her head into a sommersault and that makes her smiles broadly. Tomorrow is going to be amazing watching her confidence boom as she attempts more and more walking. Now, if she'd only sleep until 9 AM!

Day 1 - Because I Didn't Have Enough To Do

It's hard not to take a challenge on and while I could probably have found plenty of them in my daily life to tackle, I decided to add something to my pretty full plate. Really, the truth is, that aaryn inspires me to be more than I can be and do more than I can do. It's really my fault because I read her blog instead of writing lesson plans or grading papers or going to sleep at a reasonable hour and that has led me to join her in this quest of blogging.

The month of November is National Blog Posting Month. The challenge is to write everyday and post it on your blog. So here I am at 10:24 PM on November 1st starting this journey. For my faithful readers, you might get more than you bargained for when you are looking for updates on my cutie pie as I am going to try to expand this a little bit to include other interesting topics.

But the first day has to include the cuteness that is my daughter as she has suddenly, in the last week, put it together to blow kisses. Before the couple of days she would put her hand on her mouth for quite a while and then throw the kiss long after the recipient looked away. Then she added the sound effect of, "mmmmmmmMA" and in the last day or so it all goes together and she lovingly throws that heartfelt kiss to anyone one who dares smile at her and chat her up. She is great at doing it "on command" and will throw a kiss if asked in English or Hebrew. Yep, she's a cutie pie that continues to amaze and astound me every day.