Gobble Gobble...

I can scratch it off the list. I hosted Thanksgiving for 14 this year (not counting my children). We had over the Ben-Zvi side of the family from the area and my parents too. It was so nice to be together. I brined the turkey the day before and cooked from 7am on Thursday. People said the food was good - I'm choosing to believe them. Even the Tofurkey was complimented :) But all together - Thanksgiving is a nice warm holiday to be with family with no other worries but to eat and chat. And that's what we did - in our new home. Now we have lots of Turkey and potatoes left-over and Lavi and I are Thanksgivinged out. We keep feeding it to Ari - he hasn't complained yet :)

The rest of the weekend has been quite relaxing which is unusual in our house. But we squatted at home all day Friday recovering. I slept until 11. Lavi cat napped on the couch. Both are very rare occurrences. We actually went into the city yesterday to meet up with a friend and just walk around. We ate brunch at L'Express and then walked around the Union Square craft fair which is always nice. Being in the city is always fun and different and Ari had a great time chatting to all the people on the street. We can't say our boy is shy - for sure! The snow this morning was a pretty sight to wake up to. And last night coming home we started to notice a few Christmas lights popping up in the neighborhood. December is so quickly upon us - but this fall has been amazing for the Ben-Zvi's in our new house. Can't wait for you all to visit!

Baby Book Updates

I don't keep a baby book. My blog is really it. And I haven't really been writing too much about Noam these days - so i wanted to give an update. We just had doc appointments - so it's a good time to reflect.

Noam is such a strong little chap. He is 6 months old as of 11/7 and he is sitting like a little champion. He can even catch himself if he starts to topple over. He can't quite get himself into a sitting position on his own just yet - but he is trying hard and you can always see him straining to do it when he is lying down. He also is just on the verge of crawling. He can get on all fours - and rock back and forth on his knees. Last week - I would say that was able to push himself backwards (although I know he was trying to move forwards). The progression has been quick and this week he is launching himself forward on his knees. So - I think the crawling is going to be coming pretty quickly. He wants to get around and reaches for everything. Paper is Noam's favorite toy. He loves to squish it and ball it up and eat it. I know I shouldn't let him have it - as it quickly disintegrates into a wet glob of goo - but I can't resist letting him have a quick chew.

Noam baths with Ari now and that is fun for them both. They spend quite a while each day in the bath tub. It seems to be happy hour in there. Noam is also eating solid food now. He has tried a few of the first foods, plus rice and seems to just love it. His big eyes seem to be turning more of a grey/green color. And his hair is very cute - growing nicely on top and staying short at the back. it looks quite stylish these days.

Noam is growing out of all Ari's clothing, which lasted Ari through the winter. I may have to buy a few more items of clothing than I first thought. Noam is solid and around 50% on all his charts. His older brother is catching up too and moved from the 5-10% to around 25% for both height and weight. We were a bit surprised - and I'll be curious to see how he fares when he turns three.

Ari is forever making us smile and laugh. I really enjoy his conversation lately. He loves school, loves his babysitter, loves to read and play with cars and trucks, and paint, and do play-dough and all the things that a little boy his age should be loving. He is a big dancer and a drummer - but not such a big singer. But he has rhythm - and is always rousing everyone else to join him: 'Cmon guys - get up and dance', or 'Let's Go - It's a Beautiful day'-- Just a few of his short phrases lately...

November 2008

60 Years in the Making

HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today is my dad's 60th birthday. We planned a small party for him at the Melting Pot restaurant. It was really nice - we had a private room and some close friends & family attended. I think Dad liked his party - we showed a video of Dad through the years. Called it '60 Years in the Making'. It was special to celebrate with everyone and I hope that Dad had a really good birthday!

Take a peak at the video in the next posting. Enjoy!

Tricky Treaty

Ari was a fireman this year. Noam was a pumpkin. The weather was so nice - it was crisp but not too chilly at all - and we had a great time roaming Shara's neighborhood with the kids. I wasn't quite sure how he knew - but Ari totally knew what was going on. He happily grabbed his pumpkin and went searching for candies and treats. I think he must watch a lot of TV. He's never been trick or treating before so I was a little surprised at his know-how. It was nice - we roamed a quiet neighborhood with just a little group of 2-year olds - so nothing jumped out and scared the kids or anything. Shara had a great little party - already on to our 3rd year of halloweening together. Let's hope it keeps on going! Notice - my firefighter heroes together!

BZbees Halloween 2008