Who ate the Sandbox?

We saw my friends Jacob and Orly at the park today. I'd never played in the sandbox but Orly isn't much older than me and she was playing there so Mommy decided I could too. She wasn't sure I was ready - she thought I might eat the sand, but I didn't (for the most part). I liked the way it felt when it poured throuh my fingers. I also liked finding sticks and leaves and rocks and trying to put them in my mouth. Orly climbed on Mommy and I played with Orly's daddy. Orly figured out how to climb the ladder to the slide - don't worry, I took notes.

When I lay my head down in the sand, Mommy decided it was time to go home and take a nap.

Daddy took me to an event today and introduced me to a politician. I didn't know what a politician was so Daddy told me that it's someone who says one thing and means another. I guess when I say "Ba Ba Ba" but I mean "Daddy, I don't want any more cottage cheese, give me some of those yummy peaches," I must be a politician too.

Ehud Barak shook my hand and told me to vote for him in 2025. Yeah, right. Zayde asked if I puked on him or bit him. Silly Zayde - I don't have any teeth!

Yesterday and today I took 2-hour naps. Mommy is hoping that good sleep begets good sleep, so maybe I will go back to sleeping at night. I woke up only a few hours after I went to bed last night and she came in many times to comfort me but did not nurse me. It took me over 2 hours to get back to sleep. But today B"H I am napping, so we all hope that this is the start of something good. Daddy took me to the park and I slept for an hour in the Bjorn. Ironically, I sleep best in my crib now! Remember the days when I would ONLY sleep on Mommy or in her bed??

When Daddy was feeding me breakfast I was talking very loudly and he said "English. Me speak ENGLISH. Me no understand." It was funny but frustrating at the same time. Why can't he understand me? Maybe I'll have to start paying attention in Babysign class.

I went to shiur with Daddy this morning and said "Dadada" for the first time. He tried to get me to do it again but I wouldn't.

BA! (Happy Birthday, Doda Karen. I'll miss you!)

Today is Doda Karen's birthday - and she and Uncle Mendy are going home to America after a long, fun stay here. I'll miss them!

I like to say "BA" as loud as I can. It's a very useful word. I can sing "Bye bye, Miss American Pie," "Bye Bye Bye" (the Backstreet Boys,) "Baa Baa Blacksheep," "Barbara Anne," and many other songs. I can also tell Mommy when I want to go for a bye-bye, say goodbye to people, and say "ball" and "bubbles."

Day with Daddy

I have reverted to my old sleep habits (waking every 2 hours at night and refusing to go back to sleep unless Mommy nurses me, getting up extra-early in the morning, and napping poorly during the day if at all). This, along with Mommy's cooking and entertaining on Shavuot when she was sick, means she is very exhausted.

So today Daddy and I spent the day together, letting Mommy sleep till late in the afternoon. We got up early to play and eat breakfast, went swimming, went to Miriam Katz's Simchat Bat, went shopping, walked Coby, and took a bath. I picked out flowers for Mommy (purple again)! Mommy only watched me for about an hour, fed me dinner and put me to bed.

Daddy says I'm just like Michale Jordan because I stick my tongue out all the time. Saba Itzik says when he was a kid he used to stick out his tongue when he was concentrating.

Playing and making nice to Coby

I can stand up at the coffee table, throw something on the floor, crouch down while still holding on, grab whatever it was with my other hand, stand up again, and put it back on the table! No more screaming for Mommy's help!

(If Mommy posted this already, please tell her. Her memory is going...going...going...)

Shavuot

This morning I went to shul with Daddy so Mommy could rest. She really out-did herself, cooking an entire meal for company while she had an ear infection. Everything was so yummy - at least, that's what I hear. I went to bed before dinner (but not without dinner)!

I brought some toys to shul but it was more fun to crawl around and explore. I untied a man's shoes while he was davening and he started cracking up.

We had lunch at the Bodenheimers' (Mazal Tov to Hadas, Moishe and Yinon on the birth of a baby boy yesterday). My hands were full of toys so I put my face down on the high chair tray to grab a piece of challah with my mouth!

I played nicely with Oded and Anat Berry. I shook a rattle while Anat clapped two blocks together, and then I clapped my rattle against one of her blocks.

Several people commented that one of Anat's poulkes could encompass both of mine. Everyone thought I was so tall, but when we were playing next to each other they realized that we are the same height - I just look tall because I'm so skinny.

Here are some pictures of me in the pretty outfit that Grandma bought me for Shavuot. Mommy had to take the picture the next morning because I went to bed hours before Yom Tov ended.

People enjoyed playing with me at Ezra and Rachel's barbeque later in the afternoon. As usual, Ariel Ser took a lesson from me. His parents decided to let him try a hamburger since I've been eating them for months. (A couple of weeks ago Mommy convinced them it was ok for him to eat Cheerios.)

Rachel and Ezra have a puzzle mat with the ABCs. My friend Akiva played with an "H" (for hot dog) and I played with a "G" for ground beef. Then I dropped it and learned that G is also for gravity.

Today I was a good helper. I helped Daddy choose pretty purple flowers for Mommy (I grabbed the bunch I wanted). I also reminded him to bring up some things from the car by pointing at them. Mommy gave me a bag of cookies to crush for the cheesecake crust, but I lost interest and played with my toys instead. I have many years of helpfulness ahead. In the meantime I'll just be a baby!

I have learned to put things IN and not just take them OUT. Last week I was already putting my alphabet blocks in Daddy's shoes. Then I would stick my head inside to look for the block but it was too dark to see anything. Usually Mommy would dump it out for me to see, but one time Daddy tried to put his foot in his shoe and found a surprise! At first Mommy wasn't sure if I was putting the blocks inside on purpose. Then she saw me putting them in her backpack too. Again, I tried to stick my head in the pocket to see where the block went and it was too dark. So I stuck my hand inside and came out with lots of surprises!

I also like to take things off the coffee table and put them in my toy box. (Mommy, that means you'd better not leave anything important on the coffee table anymore. Or else if it's missing, just check the toy box.)

Feel better, Mommy

Our neighbors Rachel and Dina came over today to help because Mommy is sick and can't chase me around the house. Baruch Hashem for good neighbors!

I went to the Shavuot fair with Daddy, Doda Karen and Uncle Mendy so Mommy could rest. Here are some pictures.











Mommy says no sweets until I'm one, but Mommy wasn't there today, was she? I kept trying to grab Daddy's ice cream cone, so when he finished the ice cream he gave it to me. I was VERY upset when I dropped it.

Happy Birthday, Auntie Maya

Auntie Maya watched me eat my dinner over the webcam today. I ate yummy meatballs. Mommy put pieces of them on my tray and I grabbed them and squished them till the meat came out the top of my fists. Then I ate what squirted out the top. I might not have a pincer grasp yet, but I can figure out how to feed myself.

Playtime

Playing with my favorite toy - the alphabet blocks that Graunt Sue got me

I don't feel well today. I haven't since yesterday, really. I slept most of the morning and had a fever of 103.3 when I woke up this afternoon. I just wanted Mommy to hold me all day. Mommy took me to the doctor and the doctor said "no more monkeys jumping on the bed." Just kidding. The doctor said she couldn't find anything wrong with my lungs, ears, or throat (B"H), but my gums were swollen so it's probably just teething. (Humph - I'd like to see her call it "just teething" if it was happening to her!)

In the evening my fever was lower (100.5) and I ate some yogurt and some fruit.

I went to bed but then woke up after half an hour and wanted to play. I've been playing for a long time with no signs of getting tired, and it's almost 10:00!

At Zayde's suggestion, Mommy is teaching me to make nice to Coby instead of annoying him. But someone has to teach him to stop annoying me back!! All he does is lick my face and mess up my hair.
Speaking of Coby, someone should tell Mommy that when Coby sniffs my tush, instead of telling him to cut it out, she really should check my diaper!

I just put a toy IN my toy bucket! That is a brand new trick for me - usually I just take things out. I have also been practicing standing up at the coffee table, bending down to pick up a toy, and standing up again to put the toy on the coffee table. It's a big job but I am getting good at it.

Today a man came to fix the drier. I wanted to play with his tools but Mommy didn't let. She told him that normally she wouldn't need the drier in the summer, but she doesn't want me to have to wear scratchy clothes. He said "That's a good mommy!" (I already knew that.)

Soon Mommy will post some pictures of me playing from tonight.

YAY!

I am the only girl in most of my playgroups, but that doesn't stop me from getting what I want. Today I grabbed pacis and cookies away from babies, I bopped one on the head, and I tried to pull off the foot of another one. Mommy says I'm not a bully, I'm just curious!

I had pasta for the first time tonight. Mommy put sauce on it and it was so yummy.

This evening I started clapping my hands. Mommy wondered how I learned that - she didn't know that Daddy gives me clapping lessons in the morning while she's sleeping. When I was a newborn he used to give me smiling lessons. Now he gives me talking and clapping lessons.

YAY for me!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day. I think every day should be mother's day because mothers are the greatest. Especially mine. Sometimes she feels sad because she can't make me stop crying, but I know she loves me and she's doing the best she can.

Daddy and I went out and bought her breakfast and then we played quietly so she could sleep. I also gave her a card, which Daddy had to call every store in Jerusalem to find. Later Mommy took me out and bought me a new hairbrush and teething ring. She wanted to buy me all the toys in the store - a "Bimba" to ride on and help me learn to walk, and activity table so I don't have to throw things off the coffee table, and and toy telephone so I will give hers back to her. But I told her that it's her day and I don't really need those things. I'm perfectly happy with the coffee table and her cell phone.

The Birthright girls all fought over who got to hold me. They called me "Happy Baby." Mommy said that's because they weren't in the room with us at naptime. I took two 10-minute naps today. It's hard to sleep in a new place, in a new bed - especially when your gums hurt.

"Ask the Rabbi" was outside on the grass. A big white dog came up to us and I followed him around while Mommy tried to listen to the questions and answers. The doggy did not like it when I climbed on him and pulled his fur. I like Coby better.

I had a fever this morning so I had to stay home from swimming. It's probably just teething, since my only other symptom is excessive drool.

We went to the mall today to start the research for Mommy and Daddy's pizza review article and I had my first pizza crust - Sbarro's. Daddy said it tasted like a sufganiya with cheese on top. What's a sufganiya?

We drove to the Golan for the weekend. Daddy is speaking to a Birthright group in Hispin. I had my first shower wirth Mommy and Daddy. What can I say about my first shower? Well...it was wet!

I stayed up way past my bedtime because dinner didn't end till after 10.

Do Coby's ears come off?

I tried to pull Coby's ears off. It doesn't seem to work, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying.

I went to shiur twice today - once with Daddy and once with Mommy. At Mommy's shiur I screeched the whole time, tried to grab pacifiers out of the younger babies, and generally terrorized them. Haha!

Maybe I was having a growth spurt or something because for the last week I ate SO much and today I wasn't really interested in my meals.

I wave at myself day and night. Even as I'm drifting off to sleep.

Mommy made me French toast for dinner. It was so yummy! I ate almost half a piece! It was Grandma's idea, so we called her and she watched me eat it on the web cam.

When Daddy got home with the groceries, I helped unpack. I dumped all the nectarines out of the bag. Note to self: real fruit is just as fun to play with as plastic fruit, but tastes much better.

Mommy was feeding me dinner and I tried to tell her it was good food. It came out "guhfoo" but I think she understood what I meant.

I like to hold one food in each hand and take turns taking bites from each. Today I ate a big "10:00 meal" (as they call morning snack in Israel): a cracker in one hand, halved cherry tomatoes in a mesh feeder in my other hand, and Mommy fed me yumlette and avocado between bites. I know which end of the feeder has food in it, and if I put the handle in my mouth I know to turn it so the mesh part goes in my mouth!

It's still too hot to play outside so Mommy took me to the pool to swim with my friends Sam and Talya and their mommies. It was my first time in an outdoor pool, and the water was colder than I am used to but it was nice. Mommy had to put sunscreen on my head and it looked like I'd gotten a bad mousse job!
Everyone was impressed at my swimming skills! My favorite part of the day was grabbing the other babies' hair. I want some of my own but Mommy says that's not the way to get it.
After we dried off, I played in the grass with Talya. I also tasted a bean from Sam's soup. I liked it! (Is there anything I don't like?)

When we got home I was so tired that I went to bed over an hour early.

Mommy made me a yumlette (as Daddy calls them) for lunch and I "yiked it" (as Mommy would have said when she was learning to talk). Yesterday Daddy made me one for breakfast but he made it dry, the way he likes them, and it was too dry for me.

Mommy took me to the park. I went on the slide, played with a baby in the grass, and swung on the new baby swing - all by myself! We didn't bring the camera but we will next time!

So far Mommy has been pretty good about remembering to sign during meals and diaper changes. I laugh and wave at her when she signs. I'm so smart - I'll be signing back before you know it!

I think animal sounds are hilarious.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Izzy!

Today's post is dedicated to Uncle Izzy because it's his birthday (whatever that is). Mommy says he is her little brother. I don't know what a "brother" is but I know what "little" means and I sure don't think he's little!

Here I am with some toys he gave me. They are perfect for the high chair because I can get yogurt (or whatever) all over them and then Mommy can just throw them in the sink. But sometimes my mouth is so full of toys that there's no room for food!

Today I started waving my hand (rather than my whole arm). I wave at myself, just like Mommy did when she was a baby. It's so cute.

Mommy & Daddy think I am taking Hebrew lessons when they're not looking. I say "abba" all day long - and no one even uses that word in our house!

Here I am playing in another big white box that I recently discovered.

This afternoon Mommy & Daddy took me to my first "Sing & Sign" class. My friends Eliya and Noah were there, and I made lots of new friends. We learned a song for changing diapers (though Daddy already sings me one he made up), we played the drums and maracas, and we learned lots of signs. Now if only Mommy and Daddy will remember to use them! I was the only baby that could beat on the drum without their mommy's help. And I am so lucky to be one of the only kids who can come with both parents. Maybe next week I'll post pictures from Sing & Sign.

I like to play the Cheerio Game. Mommy puts a Cheerio in my mouth (My aim isn't quite right yet). Then I stick out my tongue and the Cheerio falls out. Mommy has to put it back in again!

Since Daddy is up North with the car, Mommy took me in my first taxi cab ride this morning. She figured out how to keep the driver from driving off before my car seat was buckled: she just didn't close the door. She was struggling with the seatbelt and the driver said she didn't have to bother but Mommy said 'yes I do!' Since the door was open, he just had to wait until I was buckled. Mommy wants to make sure I am always safe!

I was a pro at swimming today. I was the only baby who was happy and not kvetchy. I was also the only one to do the crawling exercise - everyone was too cranky, except for Yaeli, who learned to walk since I last saw her. I have a lot to learn. Maybe they were all so cranky because I was not in the mood to share today. When we all sat on the float in a circle, I grabbed every toy out of every other baby's hands! Mommy says that's not nice but what does she know?
I splashed so much today! When my teacher Yael picked me up I laughed and smiled at her, but by the time she counted to three I closed my eyes and held my breath and was ready to swim!

Here I am feeding myself lunch. I'm such a big girl. I can munch on a cracker and eat cottage cheese through a mesh feeder.








I didn't nap well today so I was very kvetchy in the afternoon. But then Daddy got home from his trip and I was SO excited to see him! I laughed and screeched and reached for him.






When I got cranky again Mommy put me in the tub and that solved all my problems. Bath-time is a miracle cure.

A New Toy

Daddy went up North for a day and a half and it's too hot to play outside, so I decided to explore. I found a big white box that gives rides!

I also made up a new game. I stand at the coffee table and throw things off one at a time. Then I cry until Mommy puts everything back on so I can throw it off again.

(Told you it got hot!)

I also discovered the window. I like to sit and look at the view and watch the people go by.

Mommy decided that from now on I get to eat three meals a day. She trid to trick me into eating baby oatmeal for breakfast by mixing it with fruit, but I wasn't fooled!

Coby n' Me

Here are some random videos of me playing with Coby.

(5/3/07)





(5/4/07)



(5/7/07)