4 Eyes

Lisa realized that with our health insurance children are entitled to a pair of glasses each calendar year. Since the year was almost over I took Danya and Meira glasses shopping. They were very entertaining and both wanted this pair of glasses.

Playmobil Corner

Happy birthday Nadav!

4 years old.

Danya's Bat Mitzvah

October 3rd was a big day! Danya's 12th birthday has finally arrived as has her Bat Mitzvah day!!! YAY!!! All the hard work, planning and excitement has finally arrived. I asked Danya to guest blog about the day that she has so anxiously been waiting for. Without further ado I give you Danya's Bat Mitzvah:

Ok,so whoever is reading this is probably excited that the blog is FINALLY updated because the last update was a year ago! AND you should also be exited because somebody VERY VERY VERY special is updating today. Who? well, here is only one very special person that doesn't update the blog a lot and that person is the one the only (da da da da...)DANYA SALTZMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!! and she's going to write about a very special event her bat mitzvah!! i would write about the rest of the year but the thing is that i probably won't remember anything so hopefully my mom will do it (hopefully) so what are we waiting for?! lets read the rest of the post!! I woke up at 7:15 dancing around my room like a little girl saying "I'm 12 I'm 12 I'm having my bat mitzvah!!!"after that little celebration (or should i say morning celebration) I got showered and dressed in record time and then went downstairs to eat breakfast.When i got downstairs my mom was standing there and she started telling me my plan for the day "nails at 10 hair at 12 makeup at 2:30 pictures at 4 dinner after pictures and them bat mitzvah" i noticed that her lip was a little puffed up .Apparently she got an allergic reaction to something and needed to do to terem to get a shot. So bubs took me to get my nails done at 10.

When we got back i got a call from Lisa wishing me a happy birthday.But we couldn't talk long because i was going with my mom where she was getting her nails done and from there i was going to wait until 12 to walk to where my hair was getting done.When i got to the hair lady we started talking about what i wanted. we decided on a all up curly and she made me a headband out of my hair!!

When she was done doing my hair i went home and relaxed for about 45 minutes eating lunch and talking on the phone with my cousins who sadly couldn't make it to my bat mitzvah (i miss you Atara, Moshe, Talya and Yoni!!) It was great talking to them and hopefully we will see you guys soon!!!! At 2:30 the makeup lady came and did my makeup! It was beautiful!!!!!! by the time she finished my makeup it was 3 so i got my dress and jewelry on. When i came downstairs my mom and i noticed that there was a hole in the shirt i was wearing under the dress. Luckily, the lady that did my makeup knew how to sew so she patched the hole up in about 15 minutes!! when she was done we thanked her and we all headed into the car to the place that we where taking pictures and it took FOREVER and my face killed from smiling so much!and nadav didn't want to smile! But besides that it was ok and it was nice to finally see everyone and they all looked so nice!

After pictures we went back to my house to change out of our nice clothing and eat dinner (we changed so we wouldn't spill on our nicer clothes) We had falafel for dinner in the sukka and we where all excited and counting down minutes until the party started! FINALLY it was time!! we where so excited! we all got our nice clothing back on and ran to the shul. It looked amazing (thank you Laura!!) all the guests started to arrive and my friends were jumping all over me and we here having a blast! at around 8:30 we started to dance and speeches where around 9:30 after speeches my dad made a very funny baseball video of me and them i played violin for everyone.

(if your interested, here is my speech you don't have to read it if you don't want to and i really wont care if you don't. after that my cousins sang a wonderful song for me and so did my friends.

I couldn't help but get teary eyed thank guys for putting all the work in making the songs they where beautiful When they where done singing we watched the slide show that my dad made it was so cool (thank you daddy i loved it!) when the slide show was over, we brought out the ice cream bar!! it was soooo yummy!! after we danced and talked and dances and ate and got shtick and just acted silly until about midnight. that's when everyone started to leave.I had a great time at my bat mitzvah and was exhausted afterword. But i still had energy to open all my presents! when i was done doing that it was 1:43 and that's when i crawled into bed and fell right to sleep. wasn't that a nice post? maybe my mom will find time to do the rest of the year?

Between Yinon's Birth and Danya's Bat Mitzvah

The last time I updated the blog was a while back and a lot has happened since then. Things such as the kids starting a new school year, a lot of family arriving from out of town, some home improvements, the chaggim and the final preprations for Danya's Bat Mitzvah. Danya is in 6th grade which means she is the oldest in her school. This comes with responsibility of doing crossing guard duty. She was really excited about it the first week. She was waking up extra early to be on time but found herself a bit tired towards the end of the week. Luckily she only has it a week each month(I think). Danya is also taking a few chuggim this year-softball, running and violin lessons.

Jordy started 4th grade and is up to his usual hanging out with his friends, playing computer and cards. He is very into card tricks so if you come over have him show you one. Jordy is taking chug torani and baseball. Additionally his grade started a program in school where each kids is required to take an instrument. Jordy was assigned the clarinet(video to come).

Nadav is in gan and up to his usual stunts-not wanting to go to gan, attempting leaving gan one he arrives and complaining that gan is boring. He has recently begun playing with Playmobile which occupies a lot of his time. Thank G-d for Playmobile.

Yinon is hanging out at home eating as often as possible as he isn't getting as big at the doctors and nurses would like. This just means that we have to take him to get weighed an awful lot and then force feed him around the clock. Otherwise he is a happy baby.

Rosh Hashanah was quiet here however after Rosh Hashana Bubs and Pops arrived, followed by Savta and the Kellman family and then eventually Saba. Here are some random pictures from the past several weeks: This first one is Nadav watching TV in the attic and blocking the other chair so Merav can't sit down. It was really mean but he was cute so I took the picture.

This next group is of Josh laying new fake grass with the help of Jordy and Nadav:

Just Call Me Shoshi

Recently I have noticed that when we are driving home Nadav knows when we are nearby. He has recently pointed out the landmark that tells him so.A short while before we get home there is a flower shop called Shoshi and they have a massive billobard with their logo. The logo looks like this:

Presumably a picture of Shoshi, who has blue hair and is winking. Nadav told me the other day that when he sees the picture of me he knews we are almost home. Yup, that's me-blue hair and winking. Whenever we drive past it he yells "Ema, it's you we are almost home!"

Big and Little

Yinon hanging with his cousin Meytal.

Overheard

Conversation between Jordy and his friend:
Jordy: What was that kind of phone that isn't an iPhone?
Friend: Smartphone? Android?
Jordy: Android. That is the name of the bad guys in Star Wars.
Friend: No, the troopers were the bad guys.
Jordy: No, the Androids were the bad guys.

A Rare Moment

Usually Yinon is either crying, eating or sleeping. It isn't so often that he is awake and content so I needed to document the moment.

Back to Life

I was doing so well catching up the blog and then came the broken computer and the broken phone. Oh well. Since I last the big kids started school. I was going to take a picture of everyone ready for their first day but Danya and Jordy were up and out the door at 6:50am! Yes, their school starts at 8am. Danya is now in 6th grade-the oldest in the school-and she has to do crossing guard duty on occasion and she had it the first week of school so she needed to be there at 7:30am the whole first week. She was excited to do it and she was up and out on time the whole week. Jordy didn't want to go to school by himself so he was out with her. On day 1 Yinon and I took Nadav to gan. Nadav was not excited to go. He was sad to be there and sad for us to leave him but I had to go as Yinon had an appointment at Tipat Chalav to be weighed. Yinon gained weight and everyone was happy. Otherwise that is how life has been going. School, homework, play dates, sleeping, eating, wash, rinse, repeat. We are trying to pull ourselves out of denial and gear up for the upcoming holidays and festivities. The freezer is slowly filling up(OK, actually quickly as I only have the freezer on my fridge). Here is Nadav helping Yinon with his pacifier as Nadav is an expert:

And here is Jordy who is holding his brother who is "so cute":

Sorry no pictures of Danya. Truthfully she spends a lot of time holding him and helping take care of him. It's just that since she is so helpful I usually use that time to get something done in the house and not to take pictures. I will try and get one with her soon. I now have a new working phone so I am going to try to post some pictures regularly even if I am not writing.

Payback

Danya spends a lot of time at the Balsam house. This isn't surprising since they have a lot of girls there and we have a lot of boys here. Lisa often reports back on how helpful Danya is in taking care of her younger kids-playing with them, entertaining them and helping Lisa out. I always comment that Danya doesn't enjoy doing the same here so Meira owes us big time. Well Meira was over on Friday and she help Yinon while he was crying. It's payback time.

Snug as a Bug

A big question I have been getting since Yinon is born is "how is he sleeping??". If you have ever read this blog you know that Nadav was not and still is not a good sleeper so it is a valid question. I am afraid to answer it but here is a picture of the little guy nice and cozy.

Nadav on the other hand is still waking us in the night. Not cool Nadav. In his defense he hasn't been feeling well. On Monday morning Josh dropped me and Yinon off at tipat chalav(well baby check up) while Josh took Nadav to the peditrician. The nurse was impressed that although Yinon lost a lot of weight at the hospital after he was born he has since surpassed his birth weight and is gaining nicely. We need to return next week for another visit as until a baby weighs 3 kilo (6.6 lbs) they need to be weighed weekly. Yinon was 2.74 so we are close. Josh picked us up reporting that Nadav just has an annoying cough but since it was lingering they gave him antibiotic to see if that helps. On Tuesday I took Yinon to the pediatrician to get his check up. All went well there as well. On Wednsday Josh took Danya, Jordy and Nadav to Soos Agalah, a wooden toy factory in(or possibly near) Netanya. They had a good time and were gone for quite a while.

Thursday morning Danya and Jordy went on a trip with the kids minyan to the Ornat Chocolate Factory. They had a good time and enjoyed the chocolate. Josh, Nadav, Yinon and I took a trip to the mall to buy some stuff, return some stuff and of course get a treat. Jordy slept over at a friends house. Around 10 or 11pm Nadav woke up coughing and he coughed so hard it caused him to throw up. He didn't know the word for throw up though so he reported to me that he was coughing and then "cough juice came out". Poor kid. He has been feeling better so hopefully this is the end.

Big Brother

Look who finally was ready to hold the new baby! Nadav has been slowly warming up to Yinon. Occasionally he would look at him or touch his feet. He is careful not to cough on Yinon(which says a lot because on occasion he walks right up to Jordy and coughs on him). Once he came to get me to tell me Yinon was crying. This morning Nadav asked if he can "hold him to by myself". So here he is. If only he can grow up enough to get rid of the pacifier. One day at a time.

Chicken Little

This picture is from when Danya came to meet Yinon at the hospital last week. I emailed it to her and told her it was her and chicken legs. She thought that was funny and then decided to call Yinon, who had no name at the time, Chicken Little.

Jake V'HaPiratim

Sunday was Pops last day here. He and Josh took the kids on an exciting outing to Rami Levy and then to the botanical gardens in Jerusalem where there was a "Neverland" exhibit. Nadav has become obsessed with the show Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney or Jake V'HaPiratim. He now loves everything pirates so this sounded like a good idea for him. According to Danya and Jordy it was OK however a little babyish. Nadav liked it but he wasn't feeling so well so that put a damper on things. Everyone returned for dinner and bed. We said goodbye to Pops and would like to thank him again for everything! Looking forward to seeing you again soon!

First Shabbat Home

After Yinon's brit we were all exhausted. Josh and Pops took the older kids out to the pool while Yinon and I rested. Somehow Josh and Pops got Shabbat together and got the house cleaned up. Nocky and Ruanne came to spend Shabbat with us as well and I am so grateful for all their help. Ruanne was so patient playing endless card games with both Jordy and Nadav. She even saved the day when Danya couldn't find her glasses. Not to mention magically making room in my fridge for all the food people brought. I was feeling much better by the end of Shabbat but I am sure they were not! After Shabbat the Klieman's, Danya, Jordy, Pops and Josh went out to ice cream in Modiin for a treat before bed.

And His Name Is

ינון ארז. Yinon Erez in English. He was a trooper on Friday at his Brit. Thanks to everyone who came and helped, took part and joined us on this special day. Here is a video if you want to see http://youtu.be/N2ykWacSjpc. I forgot to have someone to video Josh's speech but take my word for it, it was really nice. We also didn't take any pictures. Sorry!

L'chaim!

Pops has arrived.

Welcome Back Pops

The past few days have been a blur of eating, napping, diapers, watching TV and playing Wii with Nadav and trying to keep the older kids from being to bored. Last night both Danya and Jordy were at sleepovers so in the morning Josh gave Nadav a much needed haircut.

The rest of the day was spent with Danya asking every 5 minutes when Pops was arriving. Pops finally arrived in the mid-afternoon. Josh took Danya and Nadav to pick him up at the airport and then they picked Jordy up from his friends on the way home. Amazingly Pops was staying 3 nights and had 2 full suitcases-both of which were emptied within minutes of his arrival. Within minutes of that Pops was all set up at the dining room table like he never left.

Homecoming

Shabbat was mostly quiet-aside from the crying baby-at the hospital.  Reports have it that the Shalom Zocher was really nice and everyone had a good time.

Sunday morning baby and I were supposed to be discharged from the hospital at 11am however due to some snafu nobody took my blood work until Sunday morning so we had to wait for results before they would release me.  Once I got word I called Josh to come and get us.  Baby had one last nap and bottle before settling, unhappily, into his car seat and heading home.

Danya and Jordy were happy to see us and anxiously sat next to the car seat waiting for baby to wake up. Nadav could have cared less about the baby but he was happy to have Ima back.

Meet The Family

On Friday Josh brought Danya, Jordy and Nadav to the hospital to meet their baby brother. Nadav could have cared less but Danya and Jordy fell in love at first sight. Nadav only wanted to either stay with me at the hospital or have me come home with him and leave the baby at the hospital.  They didn't stay at the hospital long as they had to get home to get ready for Shabbat and the Shalom Zocher.