Summertime…..

In the good old summertime……I thought life was supposed to be slower, less hectic now that school is out. Wrong! we are so busy I can barely keep track of our social schedule let alone get anything else done. Birthday parties, ballet recital, wedding showers etc. are keeping us VERY busy.
This week Sammy and Norah were both promoted to new Shabbat school classes to coincide with the grade levels in the fall. As always things like this are bittersweet. I am proud of their growth and accomplishments but wistful for the times now past.
I’ve been a bit lax the last few weeks too with so much to do. Tomorrow we are getting back on track, back on schedule and back to some semblance of normality I hope! Back to Sammy reading every day. Back to a reasonable bedtime. Sleepy children are cranky children and mine have been both. We really do so much better with an 8 o’clock bedtime. Its amazing!
We are getting settled into our new place nicely too. It will be so much nicer to be closer to their school in the fall. Already its been wonderful to be closer to school friends. We like our pool. Much closer than before and we have a couple of great parks a very short walking distance away.

Maybe we will still find a couple of lazy days this summer yet.

Catching Up

Ok I know I haven’t been blogging lately. We have been so busy since the beginning of the year! January was of course filled with not only our day-to-day busy-ness, but the kids birthdays. I was also gearing up for the MJAA’s Southwest Regional Conference for which I am the coordinator. The conference was hectic for me, but by all accounts a good time for all. A big thank you to my mom for flying out and helping me with Sammy and Norah. I couldn’t have done it without you and I know the kids had a great time with you. While driving by the Hyatt this past week, Sammy asked if he could stay at the hotel with Grandma again. The very next weekend I helped throw a baby shower for a good friend, the jumped into planning our congregation’s Purim celebration and negotiating our hotel contract for our Passover Seder. I also had to turn in our application to Spirit Academy for kindergarten for Sammy to start in the fall. We just had our interview this past Friday and I think it went very well. Both kids have been doing well with their swim lessons and Sammy is excelling at Kung Fu. He really enjoys it. Throw in some social obligations and we have been going non stop lately. Hopefully I will be able to update this more often, but if I don’t……well what free time we do have we like to spend playing with the kiddos. Can you blame us?

How I spent my football pool winnings…….

What better way to spend what I won than on the kids? Sammy has been so excited the last few weeks as he has been watching them put up the pumpkin patch. Every time we would drive by, Sammy would be sure to point it out and Norah would wave and say “Hi pumpkin patch.” We decided to take them after dinner tonight. We made sure to dress appropriately: boots, jackets and cowboy hats. Both kids were so excited on the drive over. Neither could wait to get there. Norah loved the bubbles they have constantly blowing all over the patch. We fed a goat. Sammy said it tickled and Norah got very excited that she touched its nose. They enjoyed the rides and play equipment, but I think the big winner of the night was the pony rides. Sammy and Norah both rode the ponies. I wasn’t sure Norah would even get on, but she not only did, but lasted the entire ride. They both loved it! After the pony ride, they went for a wagon ride, compliments of Daddy, and then for a turn in the bounce house. Finally we picked out a couple of pumpkins and then headed home.

L’Shana Tovah

Well the new year has passed this week with little to report. Sammy has had a cold so the kids didn’t go to services this week. We’ve been keeping busy playing at home. Norah tried to go out the front door herself and end up getting smacked by it which resulted in a nasty goose egg right in the middle if her forehead. Sammy did get a new bed this week. He had seen a Toy Story bed in a catalog a few weeks ago and told me he was too big for his Thomas bed and wanted a new one. So we listed it on craigslist and sold it that fast. He really likes it but I miss the old one. He really is growing out of Thomas though. Why do they have to grow up so fast? I can’t believe he will be starting school this time next year. It’s so bittersweet.

The latest…..

I just can’t seem to keep up on this lately! The kids have been having a good summer. Their grandparents were just here visiting from Israel and they really enjoyed having them here. We also just had a trip to Disneyland with Auntie Mimi and they can’t stop talking about it. Norah keeps asking to go on the pirate ride again. The kids are growing so fast I can’t keep up! Norah’s vocabulary is amazing to me and so is her sense of humor. She tries so hard to keep up with her big brother. She is really into the Wiggles now and is just in awe of Sammy as he knows all the words and dance moves to the songs. It’s so cute! Sammy is a certifiable Legoholic – we may need to get him into a program. He would spend all day playing with them if he could. Its the only toy that can compete with his love of Wii. Of course all his favorite Wii games are Lego games…….

A Little About the Kids

I can’t believe she is already 16 months. She is so cute and sweet. She adores her big brother and fortunately he loves her back. Not long ago we were driving in the car and Sammy said something I couldn’t quite hear. I asked him to repeat it and he said “I wasn’t talking to you mommy, I was talking to my sister.” Later I looked back in my rear view mirror and saw them holding hands. Too cute! Norah is growing more and more everyday. This month she has weaned herself – she just stopped asking to nurse. I am relieved and saddened at the same time. We got rid of her crib and got her a toddler bed. She was so excited. She jumped onto it and began putting her stuffed animals on it the same way Sammy does. We also tried some new hair styles.

A ponytail

The biggest thing in her life right now is her stuffed cat Meow-meow.

Meet Meow-meow

Can’t do without her and I wouldn’t want to try! Norah really loves her stuffed animals and I love watching her play with them. She puts them together and makes them kiss each other. It is adorable! Sammy’s new thing is Legos. He still loves Thomas, though I think he is more interested in Toy Story toys these days. But he talks about Legos constantly and wants new sets. We just got him a Toy Story army men Lego set and he is in heaven. I really want to take him to Lego Land this summer. He doesn’t even know it exists and it may just blow his mind. Add to that it has an aquarium and is opening a water park this May….we may have to make it a two-day trip.

Second Night 2009

For our second night of Hanukkah this year we celebrated with friends. Olivier, Ellen, Eric, and the Scott family came over to help us with our briskette and latkes.

In the spirit of things

We had a fun time, good food and lots of laughs! Norah had her first latkes and loved them. She kept asking for more.

Yummy latkes!

Norah got in a little practice walking…..check out the video! We had a terrific night. Thank you to our good friends for sharing it with us!

Norah’s First Night of Hanukkah

We had a very sweet first night of Hanukkah with Norah and Sammy. After dinner we put the kids in their jammies and then gathered around the menorah. We lit the candles and read a quick Hanukkah story. Then we let the kids open their gifts from Grandma Savta and Great-grandma Fyrn. Sammy loved everything and started playing right away! Norah I think enjoyed ripping the paper. She was already very tired and went to bed right after. We let Sammy stay up a little while to play.

Updates

We have been so busy since getting back from London…..the kids are growing by leaps and bounds.  Norah crawls so fast she’s hard to catch!  She is cruising around – walking by holding onto things and is constantly getting tangled up in our legs.  She will be walking very soon!  Sammy is doing wonderfully.  His swimming is improving every week.  He is almost 100% potty trained (whew!)!  We are now gearing up for the holidays and our trip to Florida.  Sammy can’t wait to fly on a plane again.  He is such a good traveler!  That’s it for now I guess.  We’ll keep you posted!

Disneyland

We had a fabulous day!!!! Sammy’s first trip to Disneyland went like a dream. We met our friend Tiffany early in the morning at Starbucks. We got Sammy a juice

Sammy at Starbucks

and while there he saw someone get one of those frappachino things with lots of whipped cream and chocolate sauce. He turned to me and said “Mommy I like coffee!” I told him that was not coffee and said he would get plenty of treats later. We got to the park pretty early and went straight to Fantasyland and into line for Peter Pan.

In line for very first ride

I had forgotten how dark it is in parts and Sammy was a little nervous but never scared. He said he liked it afterward. Next we went on King Arthur’s Carousel and the circus train. He liked those too, but not nearly as much as our next ride, the Finding Nemo Submarines.

With Tiffany on Nemo

I had to take him on it again later that day. He loved it and mentions it daily! From the line there he spotted Autotopia. He really wanted to drive the cars. I was nervous that he wasn’t going to be tall enough, but he just made it. He laughed and smiled the whole time on the cars even though he could barely see over the steering wheel.

Where's the driver?

He loved driving! That also merited a repeat visit later in the day. We went on the new Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Honestly I think I had more fun on that one than Sammy did. He was getting a bit hungry so we stopped for popcorn and then headed over Adventureland. We did the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise. Then we headed to the Pirates of the Caribbean. He had been so excited about pirates until we got in line. He got a little nervous but Tiffany and I told him how brave he was and besides after we went on it we were going to get ice cream. That perked him up and he went on without a fuss; he even liked it. We headed down Main Street to catch our friend Jimmy Ford playing.

Jimmy on drums

We timed it perfectly and got to hear him play while our “ears” we’re gettting our names stitched on. I got Sammy a pair of Lightning McQueen-style ears.

Nice ears

They are so him! We did the Winnie the Pooh ride, which he loved.We were about to go to the Haunted Mansion when we realized how late in the afternoon it was. Tiffany had to leave to go to a wedding reception. That’s when I took Sammy back to Nemo again. Autotopia was down, so I took him on It’s a Small World and the Disneyland Railroad. He really liked the railroad. Afterward Autotopia was running again much to his joy! We caught a parade and just walked around for a bit. He asked to go on Winnie the Pooh again so we did. By now, it was nearly 8 and I was hungry and he agreed to stop for dinner. I was pretty tired by then so we started to head down Main Street to leave when we heard the announcement that the fireworks would start in 10 minutes. We couldn’t leave without seeing those. So we found a spot to watch them. Sammy loved seeing Tinkerbell fly by the castle and then the show. His eyes were just shining. After I told him it was time to go, he looked at me and said “No Mommy, we go Nemo.” He loves that ride! I said sorry, Nemo had already gone to bed and it was past his bedtime too. He tolde me “I doan like a bedtime.” He would have closed down the park if I would have let him. When we got to the car, I changed him into his pajamas fully expecting him to fall asleep on the way home. Nope! He sang the whole ride home and then wouldn’t go to sleep until some time after eleven. I know he had a great day and I was so happy to have been able to give him some special Mommy-Sammy time. As much as he loves his sister, I know it has been a big adjustment for him the last six months and I think he deserved a special day. He was so good. He didn’t complain about the lines, he didn’t pitch any fits about getting or not getting stuff, he just had an amazing day. Thanks to Tiffany for sharing it with us and taking so many great pictures. Hopefully she’ll want to go with us again.