Thanksgiving

This is very late, but I wanted to share some pictures from Thanksgiving. We took a road trip to Chicago to celebrate with Jake and Heather. The whole family was there for a couple of days and we had great food and great fellowship, and then we were alone with Jake and Heather for a couple of days and it was just like old times, when we all lived in Nyack together. We had a great time getting to know our new niece and cousin, Rachel. We also got to visit the Home Alone house and drove by Michael Jordan's former house. It was a really great holiday.

First Snow

We experienced our first snow of the season on the first weekend of December. It snowed all day on Saturday, and Matt was out of town for meetings, so after naps the girls and I bundled up and went out to play in the snow. Emma made a couple of mountains and Siri spent most of her time trying to get up and down the hill, until she discovered that she could eat snow. We made a small snowman and Emma, on her own, put little chunks of snow in the places of a mouth, nose and eyes. When toes were getting cold we headed in for hot chocolate (which proved to be a disaster with the white shirts they were wearing) and nutella crepes for dinner.
The next day we ventured out again, but were faced with the task of finding a place to play where there wasn't mud and water under the snow. When we found a good area Emma made lots of snow angels and tried to dig a fort in the 4 inches of snow...and Siri ate snow the whole time.

Emma's 4th Birthday!

December 11 was Emma's 4th birthday! She is so big and mature and she has started tucking her hair behind her ears like a big girl. It's crazy to have a 4 year old!
Emma wanted a snowflake party and a strawberry cake, so that's what we did. Her birthday fell on a Shabbat and the first day of Hanukkah, and we had 2 families over for dinner. We played bingo for prizes, Emma opened presents, and we had cake and ice cream. We love you, Emma!

Emma's Last Dance Class

The day that we left for Thanksgiving vacation we were able to attend Emma's last dance class. We were wondering if this would even happen, and it did. The reason for the pessimism was that a few weeks before Emma had fallen during class and refused to finish out the session. The week after she merely sat and watched for half the class, and the class before last she refused to even get out of the car. I'm almost certain that this was a combination of feeling embarrassed and alone, but she pulled through in the last one and did very well. The teacher was very kind and allowed Siri to participate when she wanted to. Emma was telling Siri all the instructions. It was very cute, and we are so proud of Emma!

Siri's Princess Party

Today Siri turned 2!!! There were times, today, that I thought, "You're only 2?!" Sometimes it feels like she's been around forever! We had a great day, and used this time to teach Emma what a birthday is, i.e. a birthday is not a party, its the whole day! We did have a party today, for a mere 2 hours, but it was great. We had 3 families over, which translated to 10 kids in total, and our apartment was full! The kids decorated crowns, colored princess pictures, jumped on bubble wrap, ate pb&j in the shape of crowns, and had cake and ice cream. It was a great party! ...and I napped afterwards!
For dinner the 4 of us had Siri's favorite food, chicken nuggets and french fries, and more cake and ice cream. Then Siri opened a few presents all of which she was very excited to receive, and now we're down for the night!

Halloween

For Halloween this year we brought the kids so they could trick-or-treat with their friends, Sophia and Zack. They did a great job, but Emma would stand in front of each home owner asking for more and more candy, and then when we got her away from the doorstep and explained that we were going to go to many more houses she got so excited! We repeated this at about every single house! I think by the end she got the hang of taking one candy and saying "Thank you." Matt spent the night trying to get the girls to get as many Reeses Pieces as he could. Siri spend most of the night holding her bag with one arm and holding a particular piece of candy in the other hand, then putting the candy back in the bag, and then realizing that she wanted it again, so she's stop, put her paper bag on the wet ground and dig around for her piece of candy. Yes, at the end of the night, on our walk home, the bag's bottom gave way. All the candy was put into Emma's bag, and the bottom broke out of that bag after we got home, about 10 feet from our front door. Needless to say, I've learned not to use paper bags for candy-collecting on a rainy Halloween!
But we all had fun, dressing up was great, though kind of a bummer that we didn't use those costumes that I slaved over longer!

Our Excellent Week

On Friday night we returned from a kid free, week's vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Matt and I shared a house with our friends, Erin and Eric McAdams and Tom and Laurie O'Connell, and their 3 month old, Elsie. It was so great! Matt and I had never stayed in a rented vacation house like that before, and we definitely recommend it! Each couple had their own bedroom and bathroom, and all the common spaces were huge. We were beach side, and had only one excellent beach day, but we were there to relax, and we accomplished that.
It's funny because when leaving my kids behind I'm initially overcome with "mom guilt," you know, "Why do I think I need a vacation? How can I leave them behind?" And those few moments should never keep someone from taking a much needed break! We need it more often than we think! For a whole week I was able to do only what I wanted to do, go to sleep when I wanted, go out when I wanted, get up when I wanted. And I got up around the regular time each morning, but by the end I was so rested! It has been so great to come home rejuvenated, refreshed, and ready to be a better mom. We need those alone times to keep our lives in the right perspective. It was excellent!

Fall Fun

Making friends is a daunting thing when adulthood strikes. For me it is, anyway. And I think I can say for Matt also, being in his position. That was one thing that I had prayed for as we moved down here to Maryland, and God's faithfulness never ceases! We have many more friends here than we have had ever. :) Well, college is an exception, and we walked out of there with probably the best friends we'll ever have, but we have made connections in our synagogue, as well as with other young people involved in other messianic synagogues in the area.
A couple that we hit it off with very recently are Troy and Jen. They live about 1/2 hr. away, are in leadership with their congregation, and we just love them! They love our kids, and Emma and Siri love them! We have actually spent time with them every weekend for the past few weeks, including this past Monday when we went to a farm open for the fall pumpkin season.
We got to see animals, including brand new piglets; Matt, Troy, and the girls went on a hay ride, where Emma and Siri got to pick their own pumpkins (both of which were green and have been heavily abused since that day); Jen and I tried to make it through the corn maze with our limited time, and had to cut out half way, but Jen got the experience. Then we all jumped on this gigantic "jumping pillow," which feels like a jumbo water bed or a huge bloated stomach. It was so much fun and a great work out!
So, as we are hitting some bumps in the road on this new adventure of ours, in Maryland, we have much to praise God for...REALLY GREAT FRIENDS!

Emma's Drawing

Recently Emma started drawing people. Before this her coloring/drawing evolved from scribbling to lots of circles to lots of lines, and she also recently started writing her name. It's in a 3 year old's way, of course, and its amazing to watch the learning process. When Emma writes her name she usually starts with the "m's" and then writes the "E," with many more than 3 horizontal lines, and her "a" looks like an "h," but she's doing it!
So, Emma was drawing people the other day and I asked her to draw a picture of her family because my mother-in-law, Helene, was telling a friend and I about a class she took a long time ago about childrens drawings and how their representation of family members shows how they feel about their family and their place in the family. I'm not sure if Emma's picture shows anything yet because all the people are the same size and she actually was changing the names of the different people, but its her first family drawing!

Sukkah Building

On Wednesday night we helped to build the congregational sukkah for Son of David (our congregation.) The build went very smooth, and the whole thing was finished, up, and decorated in 2 1/2 hours! The kids and I were there for part of the fun, which involved the ever-distracting sidewalk chalk for much of the time. When it was time to put branches on the top, as is required, Emma and Siri both were dragging them out of the bushes and handing them up to Dad. It was so cute how serious Siri was about helping. Next week we have a sukkah party, so we'll post more pictures then!

Growing Up

So, I've been wanting to write about this for awhile, but I guess I haven't really felt up to it, for no particular reason. :)
In my experience, with my kids, their development has generally been graphed as a sharp incline, doing lots of new things, followed by a plateau, during which I become accustomed to their behavior. Then, all of a sudden, there will be another drastic change, and they'll change again, from infant to toddler, toddler to preschooler, etc.
Emma has recently made one of those changes. Her verbal exchanges suddenly changed from being almost word for word from a video or repeating what Matt and I say to real thought out sentences, pieced together in her own brain. The other day she asked me how God made the world, and before I could answer she asked me how God made land. While at the shore a few weeks ago Emma was praying at bedtime and she thanked God "for bring us to the beach," all without prompting.
Now, Siri is not without change! She took quite a while to talk, and she is blurtin' out conversation now! My favorite age is still 1-2 years. :)
So, now we're just waitin' for the next change!

Sister Love

This is possibly the cutest thing that I have experienced: the last few times that Siri has gotten up from her nap she has been happy for a little while, and then she says that she wants to see "Nemma." When I tell her that Emma is still sleeping she either gets angry because I want her to stay away from her room, or she starts crying because she misses "Nemma." Then, when Emma wakes up she runs in and says, "Hi Nemma!"
Oh, my goodness. These are the moments that keep me going!


















This is from Rosh Hashannah!

New York City

Our friends from down here in Maryland were heading off to New York last weekend, and after some deliberation (with myself) we decided to tag along and show them our favorite city in the whole world! Of course, we haven't been to the whole world, but Matt and I just love New York City so much. There's no place like it. I love the hustle and bustle. I love all the weird people there...yes, myself included! Anyway, we took our friends, Dave, Jessica, Sophia, and Zack, into Manhattan on Sunday. We parked in our old neighborhood and took the subway. We started off in Times Square because there was a special Broadway production going on. The streets were blocked off, and our best view was from back stage, so we walked over and up to the Ed Sullivan Theatre via Radio City Music Hall, where Taylor Swift was filming a video for the VMA's, and then up to Central Park. We ate hot dogs from the street vendors, got ice cream, and the kids played in the humungus playground in Central Park. As we left the park we met up with our friends from NY, Brittney and Brianne. It was so great to see them! Emma was especially excited! We then headed downtown on the 1 train and got off to see the World Trade Center site. We walked from there to the Staten Island ferry, which is a great, free, ride past the Statue of Liberty. After the break on the ferry we were game to walked back up the the subway (a bunch of stops were closed) to go up to the Village where we filled up on pizza. Then we walked over to Magnolia's bakery where we got lots of cupcakes. The kids were full of sugar, so they got out their energy in the playground. By that time it was 7:15 and getting dark. However we had to walk to the subway, take a pit stop (thanks, Starbucks) and lug the 3 strollers down the subway stairs for the last time. Our stroller broke after the Staten Island ferry, so we left it in Queens after we got back to the car, and other than that we had such a great day. The kids did great, and it was so wonderful to be back in the city with some really great friends!!!

Labor Day at the Shore

For labor day weekend we headed up to the Jersey shore for 2 nights. We were invited by Matt's grandma to stay in the house that she rents every September. It was great as we were there with more of Matt's extended family, including 2 second cousins of Emma and Siri's. We were also able to spend time with Matt's brother Avi and his girlfriend, Crystal. Sunday, the only full day that we were there, was cloudy all day, and I was bummed because I had wanted to work on my tan, but kids know no different. As adults we can have expectations and when things don't work out as we planned it can ruin the experience. Emma and Siri could have cared less that it was cloudy! They just wanted to play in the sand! So, needless to say, we had a really fun weekend!

Refreshment

Emma and Siri just returned home from a week spent with their Nana and Zeyda, for those of you who don't know, Nana (pronounced with a Long Island accent) is Italian and Zeyda is Yiddish. :) Anyway, they had a great time, playing in the sprinkler, visiting with family, seeing "Nana's new synagogue," and generally just wearing out the grandparents!
During that week that we were kidless Matt and I spent EVERY night out! Some nights were later than others, and needless to say, we were exhausted! We got together with old friends, new friends, went to a Orioles game, and really had a great week. I also found some extra money and took a little time to make over the girls' room. I was really excited about buying them a chalk board and yesterday Siri colored all over the wall with the chalk. :)
So, now our family is back to normal and its like the girls were never gone. That week without kids was like a wrinkle in time, it was super great and fun and freeing, but it almost feels like it existed in an alternate universe. It was a really great time for me to get renewed and rejuvenated. Sometimes the mom-guilt threatens to eat me alive. There are times that I am proud for being patient with my kids, understanding that Emma needs to experience all the little things on her own, taking time to explain things to Siri. And then there are the times that I react, like when Emma took the scissors to her princess dress, even though I know that she didn't understand what I was doing as I was cutting Siri's dress. My emotions snowball from there on as I recall that a child's personality is shaped by the time they are 3 (or 5 or something) and I tell myself that my lack of exposure has ruined her! When I slap some sense into myself I know that these are extreme assumptions, and long story, short, this past week was really refreshing for me in the mom department!

Mucho Visitors!

This past week was filled with visitors. It started Thursday night when Jason Webster came very late on the bus from NYC. Jason was the oldest when we started the Shuvah Youth Group in the summer of 2003. He is now entering his last semester at Gordon college and its just so cool to see how he has matured and grown in the Lord these past 6! years.
Jason left on Saturday evening at the very same time that I picked up 3 girls that were formally in the Shuvah Youth Group. I say formally because Brianne Geller is heading to college in 1 1/2 weeks! She and her twin, Brittney, were the youngest (entering 7th grade) when in the summer of 2003, so they are the end of the "original crew." On the bus with Brianne were Rachel Webster (Jason's sister), and Leah Charles. Then, on Monday night, Natalia, her fiance, Josh, and Brittney Geller arrived! We had a pretty full house that one night, but we had so much fun! At synagogue on Saturday Emma kept announcing that her friends were coming! These kids really were her first friends in the whole world!
On Sunday we spent the day at the Gaithersburg Water Park. It's small, with 2 slides, a large pool and a great kiddy pool, but its only $5! And Monday we drove down to Tyson's Corner Mall (the 5th largest in the U.S.) and when everyone was here for the evening we went to the County Fair! I had been looking forward to this for sooooo long. I grew up going to the county fair, and this was much larger than mine in Minnesota. Emma got to ride a pony and go on the ferris wheel - both for the first time! It was so great! She was fearless on the ferris wheel, though I was a little nervous, and she held her pee in very well (she had been complaining while we were in line!)
Well, everyone left yesterday and while its nice to have an empty house again, it meant so much that all 7 of them came to visit! We love those kids sooo much, and they aren't kids anymore! They've grown into such great people, and I'm so blessed to call them my friends!!!