Leavetaking

The kids enjoyed a week-long visit by Grandpa D. and Grandma L. They had a wonderful time and were very sad to see the grandparents go.

Caped Crusaders

We recently had the privilege of celebrating the birthdays of our friends B. and his dad, E. (who share a birthday) at their family farm. B.'s mom, A.--oops! that's DR. A. to you and me, now!-- made awesome capes for the (little) superboys, who have hardly been seen without them since. I had difficulty getting them to take a break from saving the world long enough to get many pictures; Dr. A. seemed to have better luck. Check out www.triskelesfarm.com to see her pictures and the neat things they're doing out on the farm!


Very secure in their superhero masculinity, the boys do take a break to bake pies for everyone.

What's In The Box?

Although there was no note, we're pretty sure this package was sent by Uncle J. I'm pretty late in getting these pictures up, but its arrival created quite a sensation. Supergirl probably thought it was just gonna be another ho-hum day, but then this nice man in a BIG truck brought this HUGE package to the door. "What? For ME? I must whap this package to show my happiness and gratitude!"

Hmmm...what's in there? What could it be?

Hmmm...never saw anything like this before.

Whaddya think's in there, huh? Whaddya make of this, Superbrother?

A choo-choo train! Wahoo! Shortly after this shot was taken, she kicked the elephant out of his little car, and, holding on to the coffee table for balance, carefully placed her little feet squarely inside, then gingerly sat down facing the rear of the train, held on to the little green bar, and waited for the choo-choo to take her for a ride.

Birthday "Cake" and Ice "Cream"

Have to admit I found myself in something of a quandary as far as birthday cake for the Girl was concerned. She has not yet had wheat, dairy, eggs or soy, and ALL of the cake recipes I know of involve one or the other of these. So I tracked down a store-bought wheat, dairy, egg and soy-free banana cookie bar (as it turns out, I wouldn't recommend these, by the way--blechhh!), and we celebrated with these and vanilla "Rice Dream". As Supergirl preferred pulverizing the cookie bar to consuming it, its less-than-appealing taste and texture turned out to be absolutely no problem for her. And Rice Dream is not all that bad, really.

Bimba

As far as I know, the English language does not have a word specifically for those little baby push-carts that help new walkers hone their ambulatory skills. I have learned from O., a friend of mine from high school, that in Israel they are called "bimba", so that is what I now call them as well. Check out O.'s lovely family and the bimba fleet on this post of his blog (which, incidentally, was the inspiration for this blog) at http://mikedonch.blogspot.com/2008/03/park-hayarkon.html
We got a bimba for Supergirl, and it was an immediate hit--great for cruising around the the middle of the room ON FOOT!!! and even greater for plowing into any mountains of unfamiliar objects one might happen to encounter.

Mountain O' Gifts

Oh my goodness, our baby girl is one year old already! We kicked off our celebration last Sunday in honor of the first anniversary of her birth with a shower of gifts sent from loved ones in all corners of the country. After being dressed in the morning, Supergirl cruised out of the bedroom to discover a mountain of unfamiliar objects in her path (okay, I confess we orchestrated the "in her path" part a little). She did not quite know quite what to make of them, despite a bit of exposure to similar objects last December. No matter. She quickly discovered something fun to do to them, as you'll see in the next post!

Going Natural

Supergirl has made it clear that she often prefers to wear less rather than more clothing. She will not wear a bib and removes them whenever they are placed upon her. Recently she managed to remove her shirt, as well.

Ack! The Paparazzi!

Play With Your Food

Stalking the not-so-wild-anymore onion. She has adopted a new playmate, a red onion, to replace the old yellow friend who, as you may recall, disappeared inexplicably one day. Of course we filed a missing onions report with the local authorities, but we have yet to receive any word. In the meantime, Supergirl has discovered that the new friend has an even better handle.



Branching out into cucurbits. Why limit yourself?

Pool Party

Superboy received his first formal birthday party invitation last month from his friends, twin girls M. and A., who live in our neighborhood just down the "magic path". He chose their gifts personally and directed the wrapping. Here he is preparing to set off for the party.

Look how patiently they are waiting! There were two cakes. Oh, and doesn't Superboy look dashing in his new dragon swim trunks? Thanks, Grandpa J.!

Superboy and birthday girl A. sharing a seat for cake and ice cream. When Superboy first arrived at the party, A. pushed him into a reclining chair, pinned him down, climbed on top of him and planted a big one right on his lips. Hmmm...do you think she likes him?

Isn't it interesting that the kids have segregated themselves, boys on one side, girls on the other? The girls opened Superboy's gifts first, much to his delight.

A contemplative juicepack moment.

Messy Sushi

This well-loved book was chosen as a baby gift for Superboy by a dear and special man, one who passed away early this year, I've only just learned. So we got out the book and made these with you in mind, M. We'll miss knowing you're out there in the world.

Thrones

Baby Girl has discovered the pleasure of having furniture just her size. She can climb into this chair unassisted and is quite pleased with herself. She likes to stand in it, too, holding on to the back for support, and then dance. So I tell her, "No, no, Baby Girl, chairs are for sitting." This worked for Superboy, who has always been concerned with things and their proper uses. And Supergirl does sit down when I tell her this. But as soon as my back is turned, she pops up again. And then when I whip around--at lightning speed of course--to catch her at it, she sits back down with an impish grin on her face. Clever girl.




It is good to be king.