Deb's Pics

I don't know why only 5 pictures are displaying, nor do they seem to be in pairs, but that's what there is.

We're growing UP!

After tonight's haircut:

Shai's party at maon:

And for good measure, Deb's birthday:

My New Toy

I'm One!

In the morning:

Eating cake!:

Shai has officially outgrown the size "infant" (4-10kg) cloth diapers. No, he hasn't hit 10kg yet, but he has woken up sopping wet for the better part of the last week. That was always the sign with Emmanuel that it was time to move to the next size diaper, and so we did. It's a bit odd, since the 5-9kg disposables are still HUGE on him, but we all know that different brands fit differently.

It's also strange to think that at one point he was too small to even get into them. I actually found 2 newborn size diapers (2-5kg) in a bag I was cleaning out this week. They are tiny! And even those looked huge when we first put him into them.

Sigh. They grow up too fast.

Riding, riding, riding...

It's Been Awhile

So here are some pics:

And a video:

Quick update

Sunday morning we dropped Kopul off at work, then we went to register Emmanuel for some activities. There are only 2 that the community centre offers that are age-appropriate, so on Monday afternoons (after daycare) Emmanuel will be taking Music (Kindermusic), and on Wednesdays he'll have "Sport" (Kindergym). I think all 4 of us will go (it's not so accessible by bus) but Kopul will accompany him on Monday while I sit with Shai and we'll switch for Wednesday (or I'll get a sitter for Shai on Wednesdays so I can go with ET).

Yesterday we went to see Nili et al. Somehow we inherited the pair of lovebirds they had. Emmanuel is entranced; I look forward to the time when he can help me clean out the cage and not just scoop out the food.

We saw the Morrisons this morning in the Old City, and will see the Gotliebs this afternoon in Ofra. Hopefully we'll get back from the bat mitzvah in time for me to go to the parents' orientation at the daycare (which was supposed to be Tuesday but was moved at 3:30 Tuesday afternoon). Although how exactly I'm supposed to do that with no sitter is not quite figured out.

Up Next...

Daycare lets out on August 8th...on August 9th I'm relieving Emmanuel of his diaper routine. I picked up one of these today:

http://www.litaf.com/web/inner.asp?cat=gallery&catId=2&info=48

And, of course, the mandatory copy of Once Upon a Potty, by Alona Frankel. In Hebrew it's "Sir haSirim"...a bit sacreligious perhaps, but quite cute.

Emmanuel update

So yesterday morning I hear "crash"! Run downstairs, Emmanuel has a cut next to his right eye. And it will not stop bleeding. So I get dressed, pack a diaper bag and water for everyone, get the boys into the double stroller, and walk the 1/2 hour to Terem. Apparently no one ever needs medical attention before noon on Shabbat, because that's when they open. Sigh. So I bang on the door of MDA (next door), and I guess I woke up the paramedic on duty because boy was she *itchy. But there was a father with his 6 month old also trying to get some help, so I felt justified. She took a (brief) look, declared that it would be fine, and we walked the 1/2 hour back to meet Kopul in shul.

I took ET back after Shabbat (he got to stay up late), and the doctor on duty looked at it, cleaned it up a bit better than we had, and glued it. Then he told our 2 year old that he shouldn't get it wet for 3 days. (Good luck with that!)

We also did an experiment yesterday, which was a failure as far as ET will be concerned. We gave him NO dairy. And he had normal diapers all day. Then we gave him his usual yogurt for breakfast this morning...and within 20 minutes he had one of the goopiest yuckiest leakist diapers I've ever seen. Sigh. I've asked the daycare to give him as little dairy as possible until we can get this checked out.

We also saw the pediatrician Thursday afternoon. He gave us a referral for a speech therapist (I think), and for the centre for child development. So hopefully it won't take the 3 months he's predicting to get Emmanuel talking.

I promise, I will get the crawling and laughing and teasing pics and videos up at some point. In my spare time.

Shai's "school" Picture

The Dedication

Here's a video link from the presentation/dedication on June 12th:

http://www.mediafire.com/?my0ms1xoydh

I think you might have to download it to view.

Shavuot...from Eema's perspective

A real breakthrough. The pacifier tore over Shabbat, and we didn't have a spare one, so guess who no longer takes a pacifier???? (Although I think they're still giving him one at daycare, despite the fact that I asked them not to.)



I bought size 2 underwear today. Unfortunately, not for me. We have a toilet seat "shrinker" insert thingy, and the next project is toilet training. He's not *quite* ready yet, as he doesn't tell me what's doing, but he has certain mannerisms that give it away, so I think we're going to try doing that when he's home for 3 weeks in August. Should be interesting.

Shavuot

We left (later than planned), on Friday afternoon. Arrived at Kibbutz Lavi around 6:30, and checked in. Raced the clock, but were ready in time to light candles at 7:15. Shabbat was very nice; we ate too much Friday night and Shabbat lunch (meat), had a tour of the kibbutz at 5:30 Shabbat afternoon, and were back in time for mincha and seudah shlishit (dairy) at 7:15. Motzaei Shabbat they had a kumzitz scheduled, but both Eema and Abba fell asleep before they managed to get out the door!

Sunday morning we went to JohnDeereland (http://www.jdland.co.il), and the Museum of Marzipan (http://www.marzipan-tavor.co.il). Emmanuel and I did not partake, of course, but Kopul enjoyed the giveaway immensely. We went back to the hotel, had pizza for lunch, short naps (everyone!), and got ready for yom tov. The meal arrangement was the same as for Shabbat (dinner & lunch were meat, and "seudah shlishit" was dairy). They also had a "Taste of Milk & Honey extravaganza" before yom tov with cheeses and assorted other "light" snacks on Sunday afternoon to tide everyone over until dinner. The kibbutz does have a working dairy, and most of the cheeses they serve are house cheeses.

Emmanuel Tzvi made a friend very quickly; our room neighbours were a lovely couple from New York. She's Dutch, he's South American, and their "older" son is a few months younger than Emmanuel. They have a younger one as well, fairly recently I'd say. Anyway, Emmanuel and Chaim were like a house on fire. It would be fair to say that between Chaim and the children's play area the trip was a great success as far as Emmanuel was concerned. He also made friends with a pair of sisters; 6 & 8 years old, who, it turned out, were the daughters of Kopul's boss at the bookstore! A small, small world, as the OU also had a group there. I think Kopul enjoyed the company however, and the ladies at the OU certainly enjoyed the kids.

Eema forgot to change the batteries in the camera, so there are not many pictures, but hopefully I'll have a chance to upload a few later.

Hi!!!

In the aftermath of Hurricane Emmanuel:





Just hanging out...







Thank you for our afikoman:

Row, Row, Row, your boat

A la Eema

I'm on a roll today

A video you HAVE to see:

http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m238/mmille2006/?action=view&current=100_0572.flv

And a link to the ve-hi-cle:

http://worldwide.hyundai-motor.com/common/html/showroom/passenger/getz/focus.html

More Purim Pics

The pictures from Shai's daycare have been updated. You can visit your favourite zebra at:

http://www.flickr.com
username: naamat_hotzvim
password: weloveourkids

He's on page 8.

When it rains...

...it pours.

So, Kopul started this job at the bookstore a few weeks ago. He's been on "sick leave" from the Israel Center since the beginning of April. Just before Purim he applied for a job at the library at Ma'ale Adumim, but never heard from them...until today. They've assigned (yes, assigned) him an interview spot at 10:20 Sunday morning.

Good thing he's on leave and not working then!

Pesach

Emmanuel's "seder plate" for daycare:

Trying solids (I think it was applesauce at this meal):

And just because I liked the sign:

Wedding Garb

Here we are, all ready to P-A-R-T-Y (well, except for Emmanuel's shoes). And PARTY they did, well past everyone's bedtimes! Shai fell asleep in the stroller around 9:00, and Emmanuel, although pyjamaed by 10, refused to sleep until he was home and in bed. Sigh. Ever tried waking up an overtired two year old to get to daycare so an overtired Eema can go to work?

Tipat Chalav

Shai grew another 4cm in the last 2 months, but only gained about 1/2 lb. Emmanuel did the same thing around that age.

On Shabbat we discovered that Shai can roll from his tummy to his back. No one actually saw him do it, but he was suddenly on his back, and we hadn't put him down that way (because he HATES his back). He did the rolling thing on demand yesterday at his appointment.

Happy Purim

From the zebra & elephant.

v'yikarei shmo b'Yisrael

Avraham Yom-Tov ben Yisrael v'Elisheva Esther Ruchama

Oh Dear!

Life's rough I guess...
Shai's maon has a Flickr account where the director posts the pictures she takes of day-to-day life and special events. I guess Shai was having a rough day last Monday...

Furniture's here!

Introducing...Emmanuel's new room! (Sorry, there's no angle from which I can get it all in one shot.)

SMS message

Well, the message arrived at 03:28 this morning, although we don't know what time the package did. Shai is no longer the youngest cousin. Shevy & Yisrael had a little boy sometime overnight, so I guess the bris will be Monday morning.

That house will be hopping!

A little song

In honour of Purim:

לג'ינג'י שלי אח גדול
אח גדול לג'ינג'י שלי
אם לא היה לו אח גדול
לא היה זה הג'ינג'י שלי

(sung to the tune of "My hat, it has 3 corners...)

First round draft pick...

So, I figured if the hockey-jersey-over-button-down-shirt look is good enough for Wayne Gretzky, then certainly my own son can get away with it! (We didn't have a onesie to wear as the 2nd layer today.)

After the success of the skating sessions in Toronto, I decided it was time to break out the hockey jersey. This one should be less controversial in the Miller family than Emmanuel's onesie was.

(Mom, please make sure Rhonda gets a copy of this picture; I don't have an e-mail address for her!)

A dirty four-letter word...

...and no, it's not one that Emmanuel Tzvi has suddenly learned! It's the one that my husband REFUSES to learn...PLAN. Yes, sometimes in life it's necessary to look beyond the next 2 hours, or even the next 2 days.



For example:

My brother-in-law is engaged, and will be married (G-d willing) 2 weeks before Pesach. We are all thrilled, and over the moon for him. However the aufruf will be the Shabbat before and the Sheva Brachot the Shabbat over, and that, combined with the fact that the wedding is NOT in Jerusalem, means a lot of bus travel. Too much bus travel, with 2 small children. The solution, of course, is to rent a car.

Snag #1: it's 2 weeks before Pesach, therefore all the rental companies have a 2 night minimum rental period. By the time we rent 2 nights for the wedding and 2 nights for Shabbat Sheva Brachot, it's cheaper to rent for a week. OK, done. It requires some budgeting and (planning), but it's doable.

Snag #2: what about the aufruf? Well, my solution for that was a bit less creative...I'm sending my husband on his own and I'll invite a friend to stay with me that Shabbat so I'm not on my own with the 2 kids.

So, with almost 2 months still to go, we've got all those snags worked out, and I just have to decide what company I want to have that Shabbat.



So what, you ask, is the problem? Nothing, except that I figured all this out myself because my husband doesn't (plan), and when presented to him, he felt it was a fait accompli and left out of the decision-making process.



But he still won't discuss (plans) for next Shabbat, because it's too far away to think about it.

Family Day?

Well, Shai and I had some sort of special event at the daycare this morning. It was "breakfast" at 8:45 (for the parents, not the babies), and then the music teacher was to come at 9:30 for a session. Well, had I known that I would have come only for 9:30; I thought it was going to be all going on at the same time. Not to mention that I actually left at 9:35...since Shai was more than ready for his nap by then!

I'm not sure, either, what exactly "Family Day" is. Nor what the date of this is supposed to be. The celebration with Shai was today, but Emmanuel Tzvi's daycare isn't doing anything until the 25th. And all anyone could tell me when I asked is that it's "after Tu B'Shvat", and instead of Mother's Day. (Mind you I never knew when Mother's Day was here either.)

Attempt #2

Well, that's life! And that's the title of the new blog. Obviously Emmanuel Tzvi's never took off; I just didn't have time to maintain it. And since time is even more precious these days (although ET is learning to sit at the computer on my lap without hitting "delete"), there is just no way that both Emmanuel Tzvi and Shai will be able to keep up their correspondence. So, here's hoping we can keep one blog up instead of a blog, 2 e-mail lists, and our intermittent photo shoots.