Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Getting ready for Yom Tov

We went to the Shteiblach to pick out our Lulavim and Etrogim this morning.

We saw one etrog that was bigger than my head! I liked watching the grownups playing with their fruit just like I do.


Daddy even bought me my own Etrog. I keep trying to eat it.

While Daddy and Zayde were choosing their Arbaah Minim, Mommy and I sat inside the shul and davened. It was fun to be surrounded by so many sifrei kodesh.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Too excited to sleep

When I woke up tihs morning my Grandma and Zayde were here. I prepared for their arrival last night by learning to say Zayde's name. Daddy has been giving me "Zayde lessons" in the mornings, showing me Zayde's picture and telling me his name. (He figured that if I can't say Mama, I'm not about to say Grandma.) Last night when I saw Zayde's picture in my photo album I said "Zayde!"

We went for breakfast at Tal Bagels and I sat nicely in the high chair for 45 minutes and ate.

We walked to hotels to make reservations for Shabbat and Yom Tov meals. There was a fruit tray in a hotel lobby and I tried to pull off the tablecloth so I could serve myself. I was so busy having fun that I didn't take ANY naps today! That was definitely a first. I got hungry for lunch on our way home so we stopped and ordered a kid's meal at Cuppa Joe.

I came home so tired that I couldn't even stay up for Gymboree.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Brought to you by the letter "C"

Yesterday was Yom Kippur, so I decided it was time to learn names of foods. Mommy was too slow at getting my breakfast so I pointed to the cereal box and said "Chrrrrros." (I said it with an Israeli accent. What's up with that?)

Daddy didn't believe her. He didn't know he's supposed to name the food items when he gives them to me. But now he knows. So this morning he asked me if I wanted some cheese. I said "cheese." Three times.

Mommy is not ashamed to admit when she's made a mistake. She's trying to help us all sleep better by teaching me to stop waking up every hour to nurse from 4:30 to 6:30 before I'm ready to wake up in the morning. But it's not working. I wake up at 4:30 and cry until she comes and gets me and then I'm up for the day.
So of course we're all exhausted. I went down for a nap at 4:00 this afternoon and did not wake up. Mommy was so tired she wanted to go to bed too, but Grandma and Zayde said she'd better wake me up.

So she woke me up and we went shopping. It was my first time outside in the dark since I was a little baby and it was so cool. There were lights and lots of people and things to see and music blasting and car horns beeping. When we went to the car I continuing on my C-word theme, I said "car."

After a few errands we came home and I had dinner and a bath and went to bed at 8:00. We'll see what time I wake up tomorrow.

P.S. I am now officially attached to my stuffed Torah. When I wake up in the morning or from a nap, I reach for my blankie (which is inevitably on the floor) and after Mommy gets it for me I reach for my Torah. Only then do I want to be picked up out of my crib.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Thursday, September 20, 2007

The "B" word... and the "P" word

Yesterday I rediscovered bubbles. Every time I saw a bottle of them (and for some reason there is one in every room of the house), I insisted Mommy blow bubbles for me. Then I insisted on dipping my hand into the bubble solution, trying to drink it out of the bottle, and trying to put the bubble wand in my mouth. Needless to say, Mommy had her hands full. I refused to eat until Mommy xconsented to give me dinner and a (bubble) show. Even then, I only ate my peas. (Have I mentioned I love peas?)

When I was ready for my nap I pointed to my crib, which made Mommy happy. But today I went one step further and learned a very useful new sign: "bed." Now I can tell Mommy when I'm tired instead of trying to lift up her shirt to nurse. I'm sure she will especially appreciate that when we are out in public.

I also figured out how to climb out of my high chair this week. I've managed to stand up twice when I was kept waiting too long, so it's no longer a safe place for Mommy and Daddy to leave me for a minute when they have to go fill the bathtub or make me dinner. One night Grandma "Babysat" me via the webcam to make sure I didn't climb out of the high chair while Mommy got my bath ready.

I some times let Mommy go to the bathroom by herself instead of following her in. She closes the door and I knock on it and she knocks back. I don't like it as much as being with her, but sometimes I play along.

I say "tum" ("some?") when I am pointing at something I want.

I understand the word "kiss" and when Mommy says it, I give her a big open-mouthed kiss on the lips.

Daddy brought me home a surprise today: it's green and it looks like a hippopotomus, and at first I thought it was a hat, but it's called a potty. When I was getting ready for bed Mommy sat me on it and I pished inside. Then she made a big fuss and called me the biggest girl she knows. I don't know what the big deal is, I pish all the time.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Shlugging Kaparos

Yesterday Mommy and I went to the park. It was almost supper time and it was really chilly outside! I'm glad my Mommy dressed me in long sleeves and pants. Some of the kids were still wearing summer clothes. (It is still hot out in the afternoon.) I'm going to have to start wearing socks and shoes soon, too.

Mommy says I am very sensitive because when another child is crying because he's hurt or scared, I get very worried and won't take my eyes off him.

This morning I threw both of my blankies out of my crib at naptime, and then I screamed and screamed. I finally fell asleep with Daddy's date planner in one hand and my stuffed Torah in the other. When I woke up from my nap I held on to the Torah for a long time.

Later we went to the brit milah of my new friend, Golan Moshe Sass. We ate yummy food there and then I took a nap in the car (lucky for me that Mommy brought my blankie). Mommy made Daddy leave the car running and the air on for an hour and a half so I could sleep. She said not to wake me up to do errands.


When I woke up we did a very special mitzva called shlugging kapparos. Mommy swung a chicken over my head and made a bracha transferring all my sins (haha) to the chicken. Then the shochet slaughtered the chicken and gave it to a poor family to eat. We "shlugged" three chickens, one for each of us. I found the whole thing very interesting and meaningful., I really wanted to pet the chicken but Mommy was nervous that it would bite me.






Then we went to Daddy's office, where I played on the floor with the editor-in-chief and his inflatable globe and I opened a gift basket he received and played with the fruit and the wrapping.


When we got home we ate dinner and then we brought a bottle of wine to the neighbors as a peace offering. I think they liked me, even though sometimes my crying keeps them up at night. They didn't know I was so cute during the daytime. The holiday season sure is full of mitzvot.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Shana Tova!

I love Yom Tov! I got to go to shul three days in a row, eat yummy food, spend time with family and friends, and do my favorite thing of all --- daven! I love to daven to Hashem!



In shul I heard the shofar. I wasn't too impressed. It was funnier when Daddy pretended to blow the shofar on a toy banana. When I started to get bored, we moved to a different spot, and when I looked up I saw Mommy sitting in the balcony! I waved at her and all the ladies next to her thought I was waving at them and waved back. I held out my arms for Mommy to pick me up but she couldn't reach, so Daddy brought me upstairs to her. I had had enough of the toys Daddy brought for me, so Mommy offered me a teether. I promtly threw it down onto the men below me. (They gave it back later.) The best toy to play with was Mommy's machzor. Everyone smiled when they saw me davening. I did not want to give the machzor back to Mommy - when I wasn't davening from it I hugged it to my chest or carried it around with me.



I also enjoyed climbing up and down the steps of the women's section, going through women's bags and playing with their glasses cases, keys, etc, and of course banging on the window and screaming "DOG, DOG!" to try to get Coby's attention.

On the second day of Yom Tov we went to the Bodenheimers' for lunch. Bodi said some babies aren't with it, but he can tell I don't miss a thing. At this time last year he said I was the wiggliest baby he ever met (and he knows a lot of babies)! I ate nicely until dessert time. When Rachel gave Mommy a quadruple-chocolate ice cream cone, Daddy moved to the other end of the table because he knew what was coming. I took a few licks from Mommy's cone and then insisted on holding it myself. I screamed and cried and turned red in the face - my first real tantrum - until she put me in the highchair and gave me the ice cream cone. (It was naptime, though - give me the benefit of the doubt.) Rachel made a new ice cream cone for Mommy but I had another mini-tantrum until she let me hold that one in my other hand. (Doesn't she know I'm a double-fisted eater?) Rachel offered to make Mommy ANOTHER ice cream cone but she said she was sure I wouldn't finish them both and she'd just wait till I was done. Rachel said she knows kids and even if they won't finish anything else, they finish their ice cream. Rachel might know kids but Mommy knows me. I did not finish my ice cream. She did. (I didn't leave her very much, though.) Daddy says ice cream brings out the worst in me. :(

On Shabbat we had a picnic in the park with my friends. I showed them how I ride on Coby's back and on Daddy's shoulders. I like picnics because everyone sits on the ground, so I can crawl onto their laps and eat their food and smear it on their clothes. I'm not sure how the grown-ups feel about that. I really liked the chicken salad (Zayde's recipe) and corn.

I decided that since it's a new year it's time for a new bedtime. I started going to bed at 8:00 (instead of 5:30 or 6:00). Then on Saturday night we changed the clocks so now I go to bed around 7:00, which Mommy says is a happy medium. Since I was still up after Shabbat ended (for once), I decided to "help" Mommy organize the fleishig pots. (In other words, she forgot to lock the cabinet.)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Yesterday Mommy and I went to the park and for once I played with the sand instead of trying to eat it! There were some girls nearby who were saying it was too bad they hadn't brought any sand toys, so I crawled over and offered them some. The funny thing was, they weren't even mine. I just found them and decided to play with them and share them with everyone. Then I saw a girl eating potato chips and decided to share with her too.

I've got this trike riding thing down. I don't even hold on anymore. I like to drink from my sippy cup while I'm riding, or hold onto a ball or a toy. Then I throw the ball (or toy...or cup) and watch Mommy go fetch it. I turn around on the trike and won't sit nicely till she gives it back to me. Then we go a few more steps and I throw it again. Whee!

At gymboree today, Daddy wanted to climb with me so he took me out of the ball pit and brought me to the other side of the room where the climbing equipment was. I crawled all the way back to the ball pit. After doing this a few times, Daddy finally gave in. Later I climbed around with Mommy, made some friends, and made some other mommies hold me. Then I went back to the ball pit, where I made Mommy throw me in, scoop me out, and throw me in again about 20 times. Eventually she got tired so she just stood me up on the edge of the pit and gave me a little shove. That was fun too.

After my bath when she is trying to dress me and put different creams and medicines on me, I get mad if she doesn't let me hold all the tubes and phials. I insist on taking them to bed with me. But when I wake up in the morning they are inevitably gone.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

An artist (or gymnast) in the making?

On Monday night in the tub I may have said "duck" when playing with my rubber duckies. It's hard to tell because all those "d" words (door, dog, duck, dada) sound pretty much the same, espcially since I leave off the last consonant sound. Maybe I was calling them dogs. That's pretty close though, since they are animals.

Yesterday morning I redesigned Daddy's glasses. The people at the store who fixed it were impressed with my style sense and my creativity. A new career possibility, perhaps? Maybe I am taking after Mommy's artistic flair.




At lunch time I threw the chicken Mommy tried to feed me on the floor and pointed to the challah on the counter. She gave me a few bites of challah and then tricked me into eating the chicken by putting it chicken in the challah bag and then pulling out peices of chicken instead of challah. I can't believe I fell for that - twice! At dinner she did it again with tuna croquettes!

We went to a new gymboree and I had my first epxerience in a ball pit.






I also climbed



crawled



and rolled.



Today Daddy and I went out for lunch at a Shawarma place called "Mana Va'hetzi" ("a portion and a half"). Daddy told the man behind the counter that he would like a portion and a half because we're a person and a half. (Am I the person or the half?) I ate more than half of each shawarma - the turkey one and the lamb one. Daddy said he wanted to immunize me against a disease called vegetarianism. I don't think he has anything to worry about.