Maayan is a very good helper!

More cuddling with her teddy

Everyones favorite toy- the salad spinner

Maayan showing her Cubs spirit (even though its the off season)

As you can see its not easy to get 3 kids to look at the camera at the same time

SMILE

Meira was a great big cousin and kept Maayan entertained

Having fun with Meira

Teddy Bear

Pretty cute huh? The color is off since we didnt think it was worth waking her for a good picture but you get the idea.

Succos at the B's

Last Friday we packed up the car to go to Silver Spring to Lisa and Nafi’s for yountif. Maayan fell asleep after about 10 minutes and slept for about an hour. When she got up she ate lunch and about a half hour later she threw up all over herself and the car seat. It was really sad. Luckily we had a lot of clothes and supplies since we were packed for the weekend so we pulled over and changed her clothes and cleaned the car seat and got her back in. She wasn’t so happy about this but all the crying tired her out and she went back to sleep. I was afraid that she was getting sick but she was fine when we got to Lisa and Nafi’s (where Lisa was nice enough to do the laundry for us- thanks!) so we think she was just car sick- wonder where she got that from?!?

It took Maayan a few minutes to warm up to her cousins but she had a great time playing with them. Meira and Moshe loved playing with Maayan and bringing her toys to play with etc. It was really funny to see Maayan and Michal next to each other since they are about the same size. When we put Maayan and Michal together on the chair Maayan was trying really hard to push Michal off (see Lisa’s blog for the pics)- it was pretty funny
but Maayan is going to have to learn to share her space- maybe she doesn’t like the cute baby competition?!

Yountif was really nice. The Balsam’s did a great job decorating the succah and even had a surprise for us -they made an apple decoration with pictures of Maayan on it to match the ones they have of the Balsam kids. Moshe did try to give away the surprise a bunch of times- so if you were planning on telling him any secrets you might want to reconsider.

Maayan had so much fun playing with all the toys and her cousins that for the first time she didn’t take a nap all day on Shabbos! We were so surprised that she was still standing at the end of the day.

One of Maayan’s favorite things to play with was a teddy bear she found in the basement. It was so cute to see her hugging it especially since she hasn’t played with a teddy bear before. Lisa and Nafi said we could bring it home since they really aren’t lacking in the stuffed animal department (Moshe was a little worried about this but we reassured him that they could play with it when they come to visit us). Since we’ve been home Maayan has loved playing with it and I put it in her crib the other night to encourage her to go in but it was in the same place in the morning so I don’t think she played with it but last night she grabbed it when I put her in and started hugging it. After she was sleeping for a few hours Ari and I went in to see if she was holding it and she was using it like a pillow- it was SO cute! Ari went to get the camera and adjust the setting so there wouldn’t be a flash etc. but by the time we came back she had already moved but we got this picture and its still pretty cute.

That’s about it for now….I will try to post more pictures tonight or tomorrow but no promises since I need to shop and cook for yountif. Chag Sameach!

power walking the $0.05 tour

Maayan showing off her ever-improving walking skills. And in case you haven't seen our apartment here is a mini-tour of the hallway from our bedrooms, past the bathrooms, to the living room.

Maayan had cereal and (rice) milk for the first time

fun at the park...

Maayan doing her best hula impression

In honor of the playoffs, Maayan gets ready to catch

cute huh?

Shoes!

Sorry its been so long since the last post but we’ve been busy. Since our last update Maayan has gotten really good at walking- she is practically running these days.

On Sunday while Ari helped Ira build the succah Rona went with Maayan and me to buy Maayan’s first pair of shoes. It was actually a day of 2 firsts- we took the bus to the shoe store and it was Maayan’s first time on public transportation (and it had been a while for me- my metrocard was expired). She had fun on the bus and enjoyed waving to all the strangers. Ari always says it will be difficult when we have to tell Maayan not to talk to strangers.

The shoe store was really crazy- you have to put your name on a list in order to get helped! Maayan was really well behaved and enjoyed playing with the shoes on display. We didn’t have to wait too long to get helped and there weren’t very many choices for first shoes. There was really only one pair I thought was cute but the woman helping us thought they only had the display pair but after waiting for about 20 minutes she realized she was looking for the wrong size and Maayan wore her new shoes out of the store. It was really funny to watch her take the first few steps in the shoes- you could tell she wasn’t used to the extra weight. Unfortunately I didn’t have the camera with me since when we packed for Yom Kippur I didn’t really think about needed to bring a camera. I did take a few pictures on my phone which I still have to figure out how to upload- if I ever figure it out I will post them.

I know there is a lot more to write but I’m tired and still want to post some pictures. Good night!

Maayan is going to need to learn Hebrew if shes going to keep up with Danya and Jordy.

Enjoying music class