10 1/2 months

Aunty Barbara, this one's for you! Thank you for all the fabulous outfits, here are some of our favorites:



Bracha, STOP in the name of love!!!



Love me that Aquaphor (thanks for that one, too, Aunty Barbara! We love the stuff now)



Abba and his girls



Eli and abba (isn't this to die for!? This is the kind of picture that makes women so gaga over men with babies. Back off, ladies, he's MINE!)

10 1/2 months

Yesterday the girls were getting antsy so we took them to the nearby mall that has a fun, safe play area for babies and little kids full of large, padded shapes to climb on, under, and through (sorry, that's the only way I can think of to describe it).

We started off with a delicious breakfast of eggs Benedict (well, Florentine for me) at Cafe Hillel, during which we ran into our fabulous birthing coach, Amanda. It was a pleasure seeing her again, especially since it's been a year now since the classes. She's been following their health issues and is really supportive and understanding. She was amazed to think they're nearly a year but they will soon be eleven months old!

After breakfast we went to the play area where the girls had a blast! Bracha climbed through tubes and arches and I was amazed! After I left Eliana apparently stole some kid's plug and later his danish. We gotta have a talk with that girl.

I saw another twin mommy at the mall, with two young infants in their car seats in a double click-n-go stroller. That thing looked huge!! I'm glad we never messed with that sort of thing and just used our stroller since they were little. I guess it'd be different if we drove much, but we don't at all.

We're going to saba and savta's for shabbat. They bought IKEA high chairs like we've got so for the first time the girls can join us at the table, in their own seats, and eat shabbat meals with the rest of us at their grandparents' house.

More pictures soon to come!

10 1/2 months

After many, many failed attempts to get this video loaded, I think it'll finally work. This was from our zoo trip with Doda (Auntie) Esther a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!



That kid is a riot.

10 and a half months

Hi everyone, sorry for the long absence and happy New Year!! We have had much excitement at home. My parents returned after four months abroad and my sister-in-law came to visit. That and many computer problems, resulting in us giving up on our home computer and Shawn and me each acquiring our own laptops, has caused a delay in updates to this blog. Unfortunately I still don't have Photoshop so I can only post super huge files which limits how many I can upload at a time, but I did think I ought to share some with you.

But first, a quick update: Both girls are crawling, babbling, listing themselves to crawling and walking along while holding on to the couch or chairs. They eat most anything, though Eliana is a far better eater than Bracha, but love Cheerios most of all (though Eli also adores persimmon). They laugh like there's no tomorrow, wave (Bracha is better than Eliana), kiss (in their own way), and are very attached to their parents. Eliana is cutting her two top teethe so the house has been full of snotty, sleeping teethers, but having been through this already, we know it'll pass for a few weeks before the next round. Last week Esther (the SIL) and I took the girls to the zoo and they had a blast! So here are some pics, and an awesome zoo video will be coming shortly. Enjoy!!


Bracha standing on her own at the bear enclosure at the zoo


Eli enjoying a persimmon

9 months

At a doctor's visit yesterday she commented on how calm and relaxed the girls were, and how laid back I was about the mess they were making of themselves, and the doctor's desk, from the bread sticks they were happily gnawing away at. She was impressed at my parenting and figured Shawn and I must be doing something right if our daughters were so happy and pleasant and I was so easy going with them.

I wish I could say it's always like that, but it's not. But it feels good that there are moments like that and that they get noticed by others. But I also figure that our girls are really so wonderful, they spend far more time per day smiling that they do crying. They're healthy, growing, and happy. We're new at this, but we must be doing something right.

Oh, and Eliana kisses, sorta! She holds her open mouth against your lips/nose/forehead. It's cute, though I'm looking forward to the day that she really puckers up on demand.

9 months

A great pic from my camera phone (and for those who thought it was unfair for me to have Bracha as my facebook profile picture, this one is my phone's wallpaper, so it's even):

9 months

We got a baby gate for the living room! It's a pressure-mounted metal gate with a swing door by Dreambaby. It wasn't the cheapest option, due to the door, but since it's for our living room and not some relatively isolated play room, and we walk in and out of it five times an hour, the door was worth it to us.

So far it's a great gate. Easy to use and it does its job, so what more could I ask for? Thanks Joey for shlepping it up the stairs and installing it!