Watching...

Sam and David were absolutely fascinated by the man who installed our patio door on Sunday morning. They just wanted to sit and watch everything that he did. My six-year-old had a lot of questions.

Yael, however, couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. She kept trying to engage them in something else, but they wanted to stay by the door.

Either way, the new door was the highlight of our weekend. It was properly restful, a nice Shabbat followed by the Rabbi's secret summer treat: no Sunday School.

Ahhh....summer.

See what other exciting things caught people's eyes this weekend.

Camera-Lust, My Deer...

So my dad got a new camera.

I actually have a little taste now of how it must feel to use some of the really cool cameras that so many of you have. It's not an SLR but it is really really cool.

I got to play with it this weekend while we were there. Here are some of my favorite pics that I took using his really great new camera:




We spent a lot of nice time outside on Sunday, in my parents' backyard. Even though they live near a busy street and in a relatively noisy suburban area, there is a large deer population. Someone noticed a really cute little fawn curled up and resting in the "forest" area of the yard, which has been cut back recently. We all walked over to see him (her?) and quietly observe our own little Bambi.

When I brought Sam (age 2) over to see it, the conversation went like this:
Me: Sam, look at the deer.
Sam: Is not a deer, mom. Is a cow.
Me: No, honey, it's a deer.
Sam: No. Cow.
Me: Say "deer"
Sam: "Deer." But is a cow.
...walking away...
Me: I have to go get the camera, this is a blog!
Sam: No, Mommy, is a cow!

(My "Best Shot" for the week...)

See more Best Shots here.

How to be a 2-year-old (BSM)

To be a proper 2-year-old, you must have an opinion about everything.

Most especially, about the clothing you wear and the accessories that you add into your outfit.


(oh, and everything is "mine"...)

The joys of parenting:-)

See more great shots here!

P.S. Haveil Havalim #165 is up here (this is the Jewish and Israeli blog carnival) and, as usual, it's great! Next week, I'm the host so stay tuned!

Spring Came and Went?

What happened? We were so excited to end Passover on a spring-like note. Friday was a gloriously warm day, so wonderful that we spent a bit of time at the Botanic Gardens.

Good thing we did because then it all seemed to go downhill!

Saturday and Sunday were cold and blustery...we still managed to get outside a bit, but nothing like the glory of Friday.

Here are some of my favorites, I couldn't pick!

Yael with Auntie Liz
The Girl, discovering the bushes at the Gardens...this was before she tried to eat them, of course.

Sam loves water, and here he is heading off to his favorite fountains. Even after a winter away, he still remembers what he likes!
For a kid who loves water, the Chicago Botanic Gardens are a great place to be!
Look, Mom, more water!

It's very hard to keep him out of the water and still take pictures. After this shot, he basically tried to dive right in! But I love the splash effect here.

I tried to take some pictures of him visiting with the ducks, but I was so afraid that he would go for a swim in the lake that I had to keep one hand holding tightly to the back of his shirt as he reached for a gorgeous pair of mallard ducks that were swimming right by us. He did enjoy meeting those ducks! I think sometimes he wishes he were a duck...he does like water.

What did you do to celebrate the end of Passover over this weekend?
See more great pictures here...

Purim Fun...

Ah...the holiday of Purim. Beloved of children, for its silliness and costuming. Beloved of adults for the right to be completely silly on this one day. One year, for Purim, I was "thing 1" to the other rabbi's "thing 2" and I did somersaults down the center aisle of our sanctuary. This year, not quite as exciting...we were construction workers in honor of the construction work being done on our building.

David strongly wanted to be Harry Potter. I'll post more about his costume on Wednesday, but suffice to say that I'm willing to go all-out for this awesome holiday...and so Harry Potter it was!

(Traditionally, Purim costumes are characters from the story - Queen Esther, Mordechai, King Achashverosh...even the evil Haman. I don't place restrictions on the costume choices, because he does love the dress-up...)

My Sammy was a little busy bee. There's a great midrash about King Solomon and the Bee so I figured it was a good Jewish costume. Plus, the only kosher food to come from a non-kosher animal is honey...which comes from a bee, and that strange contradiction is perfect (in my opinion) for the topsy-turvy nature of Purim!

(This one is my "Best Shot" -- isn't he a cutie!?)

They had such a good time celebrating this holiday (which actually doesn't happen until the end of the week...but it's all-Purim, all the time here this week!) is just the most wonderful thing for me. I want my kids to have warm and powerful Jewish memories and associations...and it's my job to create them!

See what other people took pictures of this week...
and see what FrumeSarah has to say -- join our Purim Party!

Helping & Looking...Best Shot Monday

I love a little sibling-love. This past week's Torah portion was about Joseph and his brothers...not so much sibling-love there!

Here are my two youngest (we often refer to them as "The Littles" although I'm sure that will have to stop at some point!)...sharing some Cheerio-love.



See more best shot Monday here at Picture This...

Best Shot Monday

We've been celebrating birthdays around here...see Sunday's post for a rundown on the Ima Creativity Challenge, i.e. birthday cake creations!

We had a Ninja Party for the big one and a Blue's Clues Party for the little guy...here are the best shots from each party (taking birthday party pictures is hard! I'm pretty sure that these were both taken by my dad. Also, there were lots of pics of other kids with my own...can't post those!)





Celebrating birthdays always gives me pause to consider...do my kids really need gifts? Do they really need big fancy shmancy parties? I am so proud of our parties...I hope that we focus on the celebrating of our kids' growth and not on the acquisition of presents. I can't even imagine opening a mountain of 20 or so gifts. David got 5 or 6 today and that seemed like a lot! But I love that he embraced each one of them. We definitely do a "homegrown" party -- my husband and I planned and executed it, this year with a little help from one of our Confirmation students (10th grader) who is a black belt in Karate. It helps that she has babysat for David since we moved here and he loves her! Each kid got a ninja headband, ninja bracelets, and ninja "exercises" got them going. We did silly obstacle courses and sent a bouncy ball through paper-towel tubes. Emily (the black belt) taught them all to count in Japanese. We ate cake. Then they all played outside 'til the mommies came. A good time was had by all, as the grandparents sat on the couch and watched the whole thing!

How do you keep from "too much birthday" in your house? How do you focus on the miracle of growth, the acknowledgement of our yearly progression?

See more Best Shot Monday at Picture This.

Thinking About Time...

November is the month in which I begin to think about the passage of time. (We have a lot of birthdays this month!)



My middle child, Sam, is turning two this week. He is truly a wonderful little guy, although he's going through a bit of a rough patch with teething and transitions...

I already posted some pictures this week of our adventures in the leaves....but here is Sam, almost 2, with his cute tushie sticking out...(my best shot Monday)

and just for old times' sake, here he is at one month old:

Swing by Picture This for more Best Shot Monday.

Little Readers...my Best Shot Monday

I am working so hard to create readers in my family. So far, we're doing great. All three of my kids think books are the coolest things. Hooray!

Sam's favorite thing to do is to take a whole bucket of books, dump them all out on the floor, and then settle in to read them all. Yael gets quite a kick out of the dumping and then she chooses one to gnaw on while he reads.

He is definitely "reading" this book to her...doesn't get much cuter than this...
That one he's reading is one of his current favorites, the pages slide open and he loves it. What are your kiddos' favorite books?

See more Best Shot Monday at Picture This...

Late Sleep is Elusive...What Works for You?

In a reversal of things, Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a "backwards" Works for me Wednesday. As in, I ask the question...and you, the Internet, answers. Woo hoo! I'm so excited!

Okay so here goes:

My (almost) 2-year-old gets up SUPER early. Sometimes as early as 4:30am. No matter what time we put him to bed. (Well, we've never kept him up til 10pm but within reason, no matter what time we put him to bed)

This shouldn't be a problem -- he is in a regular bed, in the same room with his older brother. I frankly wouldn't care if he got up that early if he'd just play or look at books. But he screams and cries as though we're terrible people who've completely abandoned him to be alone. You co-sleepers out there might say that we have! But still, even at 4:30am when I go into his room and lay down in his bed with him, he cries and wants to leave the room. I usually can hold him off a bit by saying "lay down" and then closing my eyes....which is what I want to be doing at 4:30am anyway!

Okay...so have at it.

What to do?

(and see more Works for Me Wednesday here...)

Angel Touch - my Best Shot Monday

I was having so much fun outside snapping shots as the sun was peeking through the trees. I love the way the rays of light shine down on my little boy, bathing him with angel blessings. And he is blissfully unaware, yet his world is so good and safe (except when Daddy leaves the room...but that's another post!)...

There are some who think that Jews don't believe in angels. We do! The Hebrew word for angel is mal'ach, meaning "messenger." Angels serve as the messengers for God. Angels give God both distance and closeness...for example, God could not really go and wrestle with Jacob so an angel takes God's place. But this angel, God's messenger, brings the Godly spirit closer to Jacob. Both close and far at the same time. Read here for more on Jewish angelology.

See more Best Shot Monday here at Picture This

(and scroll down or click here to see my post about putting up our Sukkah...lots of pictures there too but the light was not good enough for any to be my "best shot" this week...)

Some Days are Like That...BSM

CIMG4604
Originally uploaded by imabima.

Some days you just need two pacis to get through...

See more Best Shot Monday here at Picture This...

Follow-up to Wordless Wednesday

Just in case you think I'm a heartless mom who lets her kiddo cry while she takes his picture...

He was so unhappy and NOTHING would make him stop crying....I'm pretty sure it's teething and it was also a post-nap crabby time, and he wouldn't even let me hold him...so I thought I'd try to jog him out of it with the camera, which he usually loves to pose for and to hold and see the pictures....when even that didn't work I took the picture of the crying!

He finally settled down...as you can see, on the couch with a little help from the paci and Winnie the Pooh...

Wordless Wednesday - 8/15/07

Before.... After....

This too shall pass...I hope!

I love Tuesdays. It's my day off, and it's a nice day to have off. Today was a not very nice Tuesday. Sam is cranky, I think it's teething, and he has never pitched quite a fit as he did today....poor baby but also poor mommy! I think that he is really becoming a two-year-old - ack!

I once read an interesting article about the Jewish custom of not cutting your child's hair until they are 3 years old. It suggested that our children are mostly "wild" until that age, and the long hair reflects the wildness. After their hair is cut, then they are a little more calm. Sam has a lot of hair, maybe I should cut it! But seriously, I think this is just a part of life that has to pass....

Ah yes, one of my favorite phrases: This too shall pass.

Sleep is elusive...this is post #60 for me!

I am so sad that my Sammy is not feeling good. He is running a fever and just cranky. Which means, of course, that he is not sleeping well. Poor baby. And poor mommy and daddy! Not to mention that when he cries at night, it often wakes up Yael...oy! So we have two awake and that means each parent with one. Last night he spent most of the night in our bed, which is fine for me, I can sleep through anything, but harder on Michael, who can't.

Everyone keeps telling me that this stage is so short...and to enjoy them...and I try to....but not on a day like today!

P.S. Did you know yesterday was National Smores Day? I had no idea...yet yesterday, out of nowhere, David and I made smores. Who knew!? He was not happy with the smore I made, by the way, since we cooked our marshmallows over the gas burner on the stove and they got a little blackened. I'm sure that was not the safest way to make smores. I will return to the microwave in the future.

Mom is crazy!

Let it all hang out...
Originally uploaded by imabima.

Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

We were hanging out outside today, running a little bit through the sprinkler, when Sam demanded his clothes (including diaper) off! I guess I'm that mom -- the one who lets her kids run around the front yard naked.

And I think I'm in trouble. Sam does seem to prefer being clothing-free. This might have dangerous implications for the future as he learns to take off the clothes himself!

Fun at home...

Big Brother, Little Sister

CIMG3365
Originally uploaded by imabima.

Sometimes taking family pictures can be like pulling teeth. In this case, Sam was begging to be in the pictures with his little sister! So of course, I obliged. Aren't they cute together? This is the best one even though Michael's hand is still in it. Both of them are looking at the camera (wow) and have relatively nice expressions on their faces. I can live with the hand until I figure out how to photoshop it out or something. (I do like the guy whose hand it is, so I think that should count for something!)
Happy Spring!

p.s. Sam is 18 months old and Yael 3 months as of this picture. Hard to believe that in just a few months she'll be that big and he'll be even bigger. Amazing.

Sam's Words

This week, Sam turned 18 months old! (Yael turns 3 months old next week, and David is 5 1/2!)

Here is a list of all the words Sam can say or sign, as of today (it seems like new ones come every day!)

Eat

Banana

Milk

Cheese

Cracker

Cookie

Fish

Bird

Doggy

Cat (sign)

Tiger (grrr)

Cow (well, he moos)

Out

Outside

Shoes

Car (vroom)

Book

Ball

Hat

Head

Nose

Daddy (but not Mommy, a whole other issue)

D - for David

Shh - for Yael

Baby

Help

Guitar

Bubbles

Not bad. I think there might be some more that I'm missing...