Sunday, August 29, 2010

Fool me once.....


Fool me once? Shame on you.
Fool me twice? Shame on me.
Fool me three times? You get put in zip up PJ's backwards. And I'm not afraid to use duct tape!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Sensitive Sony

Broken.
Again.

When Levi was 2 weeks old, I went to take a picture and dropped the camera on the tile floor in the kitchen. It broke. My $300 new camera, broken.
So I bought a new one. Same one. And this time, paid the $40 for the warranty.

So in all honesty, I feel like we paid $650 for our camera. And once again, (this time Felix) went to take a picture, dropped the camera, it landed on my ankle bone, and broke. The camera, not my ankle. Thank goodness for the warranty.....because if we had to shell out another $300, I think I may have just gone ahead and bought myself the $1000 professional DSLR that I REALLY wanted to support my newfound photography hobby! But with no potential income from this 'hobby', we decided not to go with such a pricey toy!

That said, the camera is now in the recovery room at Best Buy, or wherever they ship it off to, and we will not see him for 2-3 weeks, which makes for some pretty boring blogs. Perhaps I will start on some of my projects I've been putting on the back burner!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Not Nearly As Bad As It Smelled!

Emma was in her crib this afternoon, and should have been napping. I put her in there at 1:30, and as usual I can hear her through the video monitor. She was singing songs, playing with her stuffed animals, and chatting away. By 2:30pm, she was quiet, so I decided to check the monitor to make sure she was sleeping.
Not in the least.

And this, my friends, is why I highly recommend the VIDEO monitor!

So what was it I *thought* I was seeing?
I thought I saw her sitting in the corner of the crib.
I thought I saw her sitting there with no pants on, even though I put her in the crib with them on.
And then, I thought I saw her sticking her hand in her diaper and wiping it on her body.I *thought* there is no way this is really what I am seeing.

It takes A LOT to get me to go in to her room if she is awake before I feel nap time is over (usually, 4pm). So, knowing that if I left her in there for another hour and a half, I could potentially have beautiful pink walls covered in poop, I decided to cut my losses and risk ending nap time early.

I opened her door, gagged, and nearly passed out from the smell.

"Hi mommy! I waked up!"

I smiled at my sleeping beauty, walked out, grabbed the paper towels and disinfectant, and started to scrub down her poop covered crib rail before I decided I should take some pictures, so I can "enjoy the days of diapers" as advised on facebook after my recent post!



And this is how we ended naptime.

Enough said :)

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Ballet Class

Here are some pictures from our weekly ballet class. Today was the first day Emma wore her pretty pink ballet dress. And I even made a quick attempt at putting her hair up in some sort of a bun.



She especially loves marching around in circles with her tambourine. And as pathetic as it is....yes, the other 2 little girls in the picture make up the entire class! We are hoping the next session has a few more participants!



But our absolute FAVORITE part is the stamp that we get on our hands at the end of class for doing good listening! Hard to see in this picture, but we are very proud to walk around the rest of the day with them on.

What a big girl!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I don't remember growing older......

when did they.......

I can't believe it. She is actually walking up and down the steps herself.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it is huge for me. Huge.
When we bought this house, we knew these steps were extremely steep, and I remember thinking how dangerous they would be for our little girl who was, at the time, snuggled up inside my womb.
And now, she goes up and down like a 'big girl'.


Sunrise, Sunset. Sunrise, Sunset. Swiftly fly the years........


I walked down the aisle to this song from Fiddler on the Roof, fighting back tears as my parents were on either side of me, handing me over to my husband. And now, when I hear this song, I fight back tears while staring at my own children.

If I am already feeling this way now....I can only imagine what is to come by the time THEY are old enough to be married!

One season following another, laden with happiness and tears.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Keeping VERY Busy

Wow! Last week totally flew by- we have been so busy, it is hard to keep up, and I am realizing that sometimes it is nice to just have a quiet lazy morning!

We ended the weekend last week (Felix's LAST free weekend) by visiting with the Levine/Herman clan who were in town visiting family! It was so nice to visit and get to play with our babies. I have to say, it was weird to see Amy as a momma to baby Ella, who is absolutely adorable, and gives gigantic smiles when she sees her daddy, it was so cute!

Emma was exhausted since we met them during her naptime, but she was a trooper. She loved snuggling with Karen.


She also put Amy to the "mommy" test! She was sitting on her lap during dessert, and then about 10 minutes later when we were all taking a picture on the couch, Ari said "someone smells like pee pee"...... I said it was probably Emma since I noticed she had leaked through her diaper when I changed it a few minutes before. And that is when Amy put 2 & 2 together... "OHHHHH, so THAT is what was all over my skirt". The same skirt she had to wear on the plane ride home. It's always fun when we are with Amy and fam!


To start the week, I took Emma & Levi to an open play at gymboree on Monday. Tuesday we enjoyed the beautiful weather at a pool party at our friends house. Wednesday we met up with some friends at the Children's museum in Providence, Thursday we went to dance class and met up with friends at the park to feed the animals and have a picnic, and Friday we went to the bubble show....which again, was a total bust, and had a really nice dinner with friends that evening.

Playing with the giant lite-brite at the museum with her friend Caroline.

My friends at the museum. I thought this picture was a great 'behind-the-scenes' shot with both of them standing there with their cameras.....nice to know I'm not the only one!


My crying children at the bubble show. It seems Emma is just not a fan of the bubble show!

Emma crying while I tried to get her to take part in the limbo game with her friend Lexi


Felix had to leave town for the weekend, so our friend Sarah invited us over for dinner Friday night. She went out of her way to make an extra healthy homemade meal, and it was so delicious and thoughtful. We both have kids the same age, so it was nice that the girls could play together while we nursed and rocked the boys. And after dinner, Emma & Caroline played on the piano for a bit, before Caroline took off to give little Levi some love.


And then Sarah (who teaches piano) took over and played some fun songs for Emma & Caroline to dance....it was so cute to watch them giggling and dancing around with their teddy bears that Caroline got out for each of them to hold. We had a great time, got home late, and both kids went straight to bed! That night...Levi, who typically wakes up every 2 hours at night, slept for 6 hours straight for the first time! It was heaven! And...Emma was still sleeping at 8:30 the next morning....I had to wake her to go to the gym!


Seriously. Is he not the cutest little boy you have ever seen? I just love him to pieces!!!

And to finish off the weekend.....I jampacked our schedule with activities because I was so nervous to be without Felix for 3 days....but we made it!
Thank goodness for the gym, and Gladys in the gym daycare! On both Saturday & Sunday I was able to go to the gym and even shower while the kids were safe in the daycare. It was perfect- I don't know when I would have been able to get in a shower otherwise! And we were able to leave straight from the gym and enjoy the rest of the days activities.
We met up with some friends at the park on Saturday- this park has a playground, animals to visit, and it even has a carousel (of course, Emma was terrified to sit on one of the horses, so we rode the bench seat around). After her nap I told her we could go play in her sandbox- and I was shocked when she said she didn't want to because "it has bugs in it". So I gave her a bath instead. A loooooong bath since Levi was sleeping and I needed to waste time! And bedtime was a breeze....little Levi was in his bouncy seat swaddled in his blanket watching me & Emma read books in her rocking chair as he patiently waited for me to put her in the crib and bring him downstairs so he too could go to sleep!
Sunday after the gym I brought both kids to an appointment, then we went to the mall to play and have lunch, and then grocery shopping. While grocery shopping, I had Levi strapped to me in my amazing new baby carrier I love, and Emma was in the front of the cart completely focused on her kiddie size frosty from Wendy's. I underestimated how quickly Emma can finish a kiddie sized frosty, but the shopping trip still went pretty well! And after she woke from her nap, we baked apple muffins- which I have to say, was a lot of fun for both of us! After dinner was a bit tough, plus I was absolutely exhausted by this point. Levi was trying to fall asleep in my arms on the couch, but my high-pitched chatter box toddler wouldn't stop talking, which was getting him very upset. Finally, I decided to bring everyone upstairs and put her to bed so Levi could get his turn. And now...it is my turn! I am very much looking forward to doing nothing tomorrow :)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Shabbat

Last week, we were invited to a Shabbat party hosted by a summer camp that was started in the area. The camp was for kids 3 and up, so Emma didn't attend the camp, but enjoyed participating in the activities for the party.

We made our own challah cover....


and made our very own challah to celebrate Shabbat that evening....




And we made a very special door hanger. Look at how well Emma writes her hebrew letters :)


After arts & crafts, the campers put on a special show for us they had been preparing all week. I was blown away at how comfortable Emma was and how she sat in the middle of the circle (clearly, making herself comfortable), not worried about where Felix & I were! And it wasn't long before she was sitting in the camp leaders lap! I couldn't believe it!



Levi enjoyed the party as well, spending most of it in Felix's arms.

ELMO!!!!

Each week, a restaurant/store in Patriot Place hosts a free storytime for kids and they have a character visit. And yes, last week, they had Elmo! I immediately put it on our calendar!

So last week, straight from my morning workout at the gym, I rushed myself, Emma, & Levi to storytime. It was about a 20 minute drive, plus about 10 minutes getting everyone in and out of the car and all the way from the gigantic stadium parking lot and inside for storytime.

We finally made it inside, to find it extremely overcrowded, and the "story" was more like a "novel"....making it tough to keep my toddler entertained enough to sit quietly in her stroller and behave until Elmo could make his big debut.

Finally.....it was time.....we all lined up waiting to see him. Emma caught a glimpse of him and was very excited, a huge smile on her face....and after about 10 minutes of waiting on line, it was our turn to give the red furry guy a big hug!!!!

I unbuckled Emma from the stroller, picked her up, and immediately felt her legs clamped around my waste and her fingernails digging into my neck! There was no way she was letting me put her down! So, we walked over together, I gave Elmo a high five, and away we went.
And what did she say as we walked away from him? "I want to see Cookie Monster".

I will never bring her there again. It was absolutely way too much effort for too little time, and way too little fun :(



Fun with our kids!

I didn't realize Emma's shirt had snaps in the back....it was a bit tough to get off her head while they were still snapped shut, but that didn't stop her from coloring with her beloved permanent markers (yes...permanent...which is why I was trying to take off her white shirt)

pure sweetness....right in the palm of my hand!

I hold him close and still feel like I can't get him close enough....he is my little love, and I just want to eat him up!

I walked in the room to find Emma reading little Levi a magazine- and he looked like he was really interested in what she had to say!

Emma wanted to build a tent for Levi, and once it was put together, she told me to crawl underneath with her and said...

"look mommy, a tent for the girls"- she has been saying the sweetest, and most off-the-wall things lately, I really don't know where she is getting it from!

Levi seemed quite content under Emma's tent!

Mom's visit

I feel incredibly lucky to have such an amazing family that love us so very much and do everything possible to share the big moments in life.

And so, a few weeks ago, without me even having to ask, mom knew I needed her here with me, and out she came to visit and help with the kiddows while Felix had to be out of town. And it was perfect, it really was. We did absolutely nothing! Exactly what I needed!!!!!
Mom even stayed up until the wee hours of the morning snuggling baby Levi for me while I got some much needed sleep...bringing him in to nurse as needed! It was like having a live-in nanny...pretty nice!


I found Levi like this in the swing a week or two ago- he wiggled his way sideways. Good thing our swing can go either way!


I picked my very first home grown tomato from my garden during mom's visit. Look at the size of that little guy (haha)! Even though it was only one bite's worth, it was delicious!

And speaking of delicious....mom took me & Emma out to Chilis for dinner. Emma has come to know this restaurant very well (along with Qdoba). When we sit at the table, she asks for dip. And she knows which kind- not the "yucky" dip.....nope, the cheap salsa & chips just won't do...she demands queso, and I gladly oblige!
And just to spoil her a bit, we let her pick out her very own dessert from the menu. Have you ever seen such joy on her face?

Unfortunately, the next time Felix & I took her there, she immediately asked for cake. We didn't get it, and surprisingly, we didn't get any tantrums either!

Mom & I also took Emma to the town pool. It was our first time there this year and it was much better than I had remembered from last year. Emma is, of course, a year older which made such a difference. The kiddie pool there is just perfect- it has a beach entry and only gets 3ft deep. We had so much fun while little Levi enjoyed the breeze sitting in his stroller- only calling for me whenever he needed to eat.

Emma & Bubbe playing with the bubble jets....when Felix & I took her to the pool the following week, she brought me straight to the jets to play again.

After playtime in the pool, we had a picnic in the park that is just in front of the pool.
Emma found a bug. This is her look that says "yes mom, unfortunately, it is true....there IS a bug".
sweet love :)

distracted by the bag of chips that was blowing away while posing for the picture


Emma came over to the camera and posed, she told me to get a picture of her belly.

We had a fantastic time during moms visit. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures, but if you ask Emma, the best part of the entire trip was getting to play with Bubbe's new IPAD! Crazy Emma begged to play with it constantly- so much in fact that when we skype, she makes Bubbe hold it up to the camera so she can WATCH Bubbe play. It is ridiculous, so I finally looked online to see what kids toy could compare, and we bought her a mobigo, which is a touchscreen computer game for young kids.
Emma saw the mobigo on the counter today and asked to play- I didn't even tell her what it was, she just knew!
I am beginning to see how/why parents would do anything to make their kids happy....it is the best thing in the world to see them smile with such joy!