New developments

Here are the new developments of the last few days:

I can say "MA" - it's my second favorite word, after "BA."

I have been trying to stand up by myself without holding onto anything. I'll get it one of these days!

I try to feed clothes pins to Coby. He doesn't like them. I don't know why; they're quite tasty, I think.

I try to feed everything (food and non-food) to everyone.

My hunger strike is definitely over, and I'm making up for lost time. I can't stop eating! Mommy and Daddy say I'm eating them out of house and home. They think I must be growing.

I've always enjoyed putting things on my head (toys, pot lids, my blankie), ever since I was coordinated enough to do so. Yesterday I discovered that I can put food on my head too. Peaches make my hair sticky. If I then put Cheerios on my head, they stick in place!

I like to stick my hands in my cup of water. It's fascinating.

I discovered my ear today. It's fun to bend and pull.

I love Mindy!

My cousin Mindy is here to play with me. Sometimes I prefer her to Mommy and Daddy. When she comes in the room I squeal and scramble over to her as fast as I can and put my hands in the air so she'll pick me up.



Mindy likes to carry me around in random receptacles. When I was 2 months old she carried me around in a tote bag.



I still like to sleep on my tummy but sometimes Mommy catches me passed out like this:

Girls' Day Out

I went swimming with my friend Maayan today.

Then Maayan and I had lunch at Tal Bagels. We shared a bagel with cheese and cucumbers. I liked the cucumber slice, but I'm a Kappel-girl at heart: the bagel kept my attention for much longer than the vegetables!

Mommy had a meeting at camp today and her boss's babysitter cancelled, so Daddy got to watch both me and Ariel. Ariel's mommy was worried that he'd pick on me, but I stuck up for myself. I pulled his hair and he cried. But then I made him feel better by kissing his toes. I was so nice to him, I even let him take a nap in my bed.

Daddy didn't want to change him because he was afraid of "boy poop." Mommy said the poop is not what he should be scared of. Anyway, Daddy did a good job and Mommy and I are proud of him.

Family Weekend

Mommy found the sippy cup I hid in the laundry. She is getting good at this game. But I was sneaky: she still hasn't figured out whether I hid it in the washing machine or in the hamper. She didn't discover it till after the load was done.

We are at Saba and Yaya's for Shabbat. My cousins are here and I love playing with them!

I think I'll end my hunger strike, or at least put it on hold while I'm here. Yaya made mock chopped liver, spaghetti and meatballs, meatballs, guacamole, all kinds of yummy foods!

The prettiest girl I ever saw...

When Zayde saw my pizza pictures, he asked me when I'm going to start to drink soda, because when Mommy was little he used to sing to her "the cutest girl I ever saw was sippin' soda through a straw." (Nevermind that in a previous blog comment he said Mommy shouldn't give me sugary drinks!)


Grandma bought me a CD a few months ago that has another version of that song - "The prettiest girl I ever saw was sippin' cider through a straw." I love listening to that CD. (It also has "How much is that doggy in the window," which Great-Grandma Renee used to sing.)


Today Grandma told me that she remembered a radio commecrial for soda that she used to hear when she was growing up: "The prettiest girl I ever saw was sippin' Hoffman's through a straw!" Can you believe that? Haha!

(Notice the large OU on the can)

One sweet day

Mommy finally found something that I'll eat - Zayde's macaroni & cheese! I LOVE it and would eat it for every meal if she'd let me. Mommy has tried to make it before but it never came out quite right. Today she discovered the secret ingredient - you have to be making it for your child. It came out perfect!

I am definitely cousin Denny's baby. (Denny is Mommy's "baby" because Graunt Sue couldn't make it to Mommy's Bat Mitzva because she was too sick from her pregnancy with Denny, so she told Mommy she could have the baby as her Bat Mitzva present. Denny decided that since Mommy is her mom's baby, that must make me hers.)
When I was at Bubbie's house in March, Denny noticed that when I'm tired and/or nursing, I like to rub Mommy's shirt or a blankie or my BunBun or pretty much any fabric between my fingers. Denny said, "Hey, that's MY thing!" Denny has always done that, since she was a baby.
Well, now Denny and I have something else in common: I don't want to eat unless it's food from someone else's plate. If Mommy or Daddy (or pretty much anyone) is eating, suddenly I MUST have some. Denny has always done that too.

Today Mommy and I went to Cafe Hillel with Mommy's friend Robin. Robin said I look just like Daddy, but where did the hyperactivity/wiggliness come from? (Daddy.) I crawled all around the cafe and made friends with the waiters and the other customers. Then I sat on the table and tried to get a sip of Mommy's iced coffee or Robin's Coke. They gave me a cup of water but I was not fooled, so I dumped it all over them in protest. Then I grabbed a fistful of sugar packets. Mommy tried to distract me with toys and sneak the sugar packets away, but I grabbed one back when she wasn't looking and opened it up and got a mouthful of sugar before she got it away from me! Yummy! When we got home Daddy said that must be why I was in such a good mood.

Then Daddy took me to the park. He wouldn't let me eat the leaves so I fed them to him. He also bought himself an ice cream. Of course, I could not let him get away with eating it all by himself! I snuck a few licks. He tried to hide it from Mommy (he told her the brown stuff on my shirt was dirt from the park) but she took one whiff and said "I smell chocolate!" So, Daddy got her back for letting me get away with eating sugar, I got two yummy snacks, and we all win.

I'm going on a diet

Being a girl is hard. It means I have to watch my weight.

Yesterday I had a checkup and the nurse said I was way too skinny (about 7 kilo or 15.5 pounds - officially off the charts for my age and height.) She said I have to go on a diet of very fatty foods to fatten me up. The doctor said I should eat more yogurt and avocado but Daddy said he would take me to Burger King instead.
What was weird was that Coby also went to the doctor this week and his doctor said he needed to LOSE weight! Hmmm...I wonder if the two things are related?

Just to spite the doctor (or, as Daddy would say, to be "davka"), I'm going on a hunger strike. I won't eat anything but fruit and Mommy's milk. I was eating nicely before, but if the doctor says I wasn't, I'll show her! Sometimes I eat breakfast with Daddy, but Mommy's getting fed up because I won't touch anything she gives me (except to throw it on the floor).

Today Daddy saw a guy he knows named Bibi in the elevator and showed him a picture of me. Bibi said I look beautiful. Daddy said Bibi thinks he's never been wrong about anything, so I must be doing something right.

On Sunday, I think I fell in love. I went with Mommy and Daddy to a place called the dentist's office and they had a big glass wall. There was a beautiful baby in the wall and whatever I did the baby did too. I gave the baby five kisses on the mouth while Daddy for some reason laughed hysterically.

The dentist looked in my mouth and said I'm not getting any teeth for at least a few more months. I guess I'm going to have to come up with a new excuse for everything now that they know I'm not teething. (Although they say that technically a baby is teething from birth until all her teeth come in). At my well-baby visit a dental student said that I'll probably get teeth sometime between when Mommy got her first teeth and when Daddy got his. Mommy got her bottom two at 7.5 months and her top two at 14 months but Yaya doesn't know when Daddy got his.

Sunday was also my first Father's Day. It was Daddy's first, too. I wrote him a poem on a card and gave it to him. But I don't think he liked it, because it made him cry.

Here's the poem:

Thanks for taking me (and Coby) for walks
and all the father-daughter talks.
For swimming with me in the pool
and dressing me so I look cool
Thanks for feeding me my first chicken soup,
thanks for cleaning up my stinky poop.
Thanks for all the special things you do.
Thank you, Daddy, for being you!

I tried lots of new things today at Hillel's birthday party:

Pizza (YUM! I tried to grab everybody's pizza from their plates when they weren't looking, until Mommy figured out that she had to give me a second slice for my other hand.) It doubles as a great game. Simply turn it cheese-side down and smear on Mommy's clothes!




Bamba (I'm a real Israeli now.)




Riding a tricycle (OK, Mommy helped a little.)





Sharing (Whaddaya know, it's not that bad!)

The Crybaby Shuffle

Here are the new things I accomplished today:

I started "cruising." That's what they call it when you hold on to furniture and walk around. Mommy says what I did today was more like "inching," and I didn't get very far, but I still think it's a milestone.

I used my baby couch to climb up onto the grownup couch.

When I finished my "nap" (it was only 5 or 10 minutes long), I played nicely in my crib and talked to myself instead of screaming hysterically like I usually do when I wake up. I was probably just all screamed out, after speanding an hour arguing with Mommy about whether or not she should put me down for a nap in the first place.

I think this is a good time to re-post the info that Mommy's friend Shannan gave her back in March when I was sleep-training Zayde. Grownups, pay attention:

A Baby's Perspective on Sleep Training...

OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great -- I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened.

Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night).

At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months.

Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep -- they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.

It goes like this:

Night 1 -- cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.

Night 2 -- cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3 -- every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights.
Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!!

If you let her STTN (sleep through the night) just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change.

If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it. Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it.

BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with:

My sleep sack tickled my foot.
I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
I burped, and it tasted like pears (I hadn't eaten pears since lunch - what's up with that?)
The dog said "woof" (I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.)
Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
Too hot, too cold, just right -- doesn't matter! Keep crying!!
It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4:00 am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30 am.
You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.

P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, NO milk will come out! Trust me.


Now my only question is, what baby gave away this insider information? Oh well, it doesn't matter. I have very alert Mommy, but I think she's starting to crack!

Mommy discovered that if she sits on the floor I don't cry as much because I can just climb on her lap whenever I want to.

I am starting to get the hang of standing up without holding onto anything. (If I start to topple, I just grab Mommy's shirt.)

I like to lay on Coby. He makes a good pillow.



I cry and wave my arms whenever Mommy or Daddy is eating something, to tell that that they have to share. (Practice what you preach, guys!) And if they're eating something different than I'm eating - I know it! Why can't I have sunflower seeds??

I got five mosquito bites last night. Mommy got NONE. She felt so bad that she rushed to put up a mosquito net over my crib today.

Mommy found the block I hid in Coby's dog food. Yay, Mommy! I will hide the next one in a harder place.

Double Standard

Mommy gets so excited when I throw a ball, but she gets annoyed when I throw my food. And she is always telling me to share with other kids, but when I try to share my food with Coby she doesn't like it. What gives?





I have been SO cranky lately. (You would be too if your gums hurt this much.) Going to Sing & Sign distracted me, but most of the day all I did was cry and make Mommy hold me. I ate a LOT though - a whole (baked) carrot with my chicken and potato for lunch, and for dinner Mommy started running out of ideas of things to feed me - I ate everything in sight! Green beans, a whole (egg yolk) omelette, tomato, cheese, challah - even peas!



Daddy figured out one way to get me to stop crying:

MA! (finally!)

I had my first taste of apple juice today, and boy did I love it! I've had grape juice at kiddush, of course, and once Mommy let me drink some grape juice when I had a fever and she was worried I wasn't getting enough fluids. Today we had Shabat lunch at some friends' and they didn't have any water on the table so she gave me a sip of apple juice from her glass. Big mistake! I couldn't get enough!

Twice when Mommy took the glass away so I could catch my breath, I shouted "MA!" Daddy has been trying to teach me to say "Mama" for ages, but apple juice was the real motivation for me to learn to say the consonant "M" for "more."

I spent most of the meal crawling around on the floor looking for challah. I had one piece in each hand and one in my mouth for most of the afternoon. Daddy says I'm definitely a Kappel girl because I love my challah!

I love learning Torah

Today we hosted the Mommy and Baby Shiur at our house. There were so many mommies and babies that there was barely enough room for everyone! There were 11 mommies and 12 babies in our tiny living room! Plus one big dog. All the kids liked Coby.

We learned about the parsha (Shlach). The spies said negative things about the Land of Israel, and the media perpetuates this today. According to some commentaries, the Jews were exiled from our land because of the sin of the spies. To correct this, we need to spread positive, true information about Israel, and respond to inaccurate reports. Good thing my Daddy does this for a living!

Keren & Yitzchak, me, Yemima, Hillel, Shilo

Bella, Sophie, the mom & baby whose names Mommy always forgets, Yochai, Dassie, Shilo, Nachman Noam, Elana, Yehuda, Sharona, Yitzchak, Yemima, Sarah, me

Same as above plus Hillel

Dassie, Nachman Noam, Elana, Sharona, Shilo, Bella, Yemima, me

Happy Birthday, Aunt Tahli!

Yesterday I tried Daddy's chili (Zayde's recipe) - yum!

This afternoon Mommy and I went swimming with Doda Rella. The water was a little too cold for me but I was a good sport.

Then we went to Sing & Sign. Here I am with my friends. This is Liann, Hallie, Robby, Eliah, Jacob, me, Nachman Noam and Elana. The parents are signing "please." I am about to suck on Nachman Noam's toe.

Here I am climbing on Nachman Noam's mommy.

Now I'm banging on the drum.

And here I am in action - picking on other kids (and a parent).

[insert video]

Mazal Tov, Mazal Tov!

Today I had my first bagel & cream cheese at the Simchat Bat of Ariella Bracha Spielman. Mommy says now I'm a real Jew. I say where's the lox?

I smeared the cream cheese all over my car seat. Haha!

Today was also the brit of my baby cousin, Eitan Zacharia Haas in Tampa. I can't wait to meet him and show him the ropes!

Happy Birthday, Eden!

Tonight I went to my friend Eden's birthday party. It's the first birthday party I ever went to. Eden seemed to like me (we've only met once before, on Sukkot, when I was a newborn) - she kept pointing at me and trying to touch me.

When Mommy put a piece of kugel on her plate, I promptly grabbed it. But when she put a drumstick on her plate, I promptly dropped the kugel and grabbed the drumstick. I gnawed on that for awhile (Grandma would be proud) and then Daddy put another drumstick on Mommy's plate, thinking I would let her eat it because my hands were full. Wrong! I grabbed that one too! Eventually I dropped them both on the ground but I didn't mind - I just fed myself Mommy's rice with my hands.

I picked on Eden's cousin who is at least a year older than me. I kept grabbing his shirt to stand myself up, and then taking his paci. He cried, grabbed his paci, and ran away.

There was a magician at the party. He held my attention for a few minutes, until I decided I wanted to play on the floor. The grown-ups asked if I was real or a doll. They also said I looked like a princess (I thought that was Mommy's name - that's what Daddy calls her). Then I decided to climb up the stairs - told you I was paying attention at the park yesterday! I climbed up two or three stairs and Mommy got it on video! Then she accidentally deleted it. Silly Mommy!

One of Eden's cousins was playing on a ride-on car. I grabbed the steering wheel, stood up, and started to push it along! I was really walking! Mommy tried to get it on video but the little boy zoomed away.

I also enjoyed playing under the glass coffee table and trying to open Eden's presents. Mommy FINALLY got a picture of me trying to stand on my head (or maybe I'm trying to do a somersault) - she's been trying for at least a week, maybe two.

So I got into some mischief and learned a few new tricks tonight, and stayed up past my bedtime. (But I deserve a treat after sleeping 10 hours last night and only waking up to weam for a couple of minutes at 1:30. Grandma even said she'd buy me something!)