Enjoying the National Zoo in DC

Before leaving DC, we visited the zoo! It was a perfect activity for Belle: fresh air, an opportunity to walk, other people to look and wave at, and animals! Highlights included the elephants and, of course, the Giant Panda.

Belle was here

If you look closely, you can see Belle's handprint on the mirror. Belle has left her mark on our DC hotel.

Reading with Mom's friend at our DC hotel

An easy way to befriend Belle is to read to her, and be patient when Belle wants to hear a book more than once. For instance, these friends who visited us Friday night in DC generously gave Belle a new adorable book. Belle wanted to hear the new book no fewer than four times the next morning. Anyway, here Belle hears a story from Alexandria and Zachary:

Enjoying the sights of DC

On Pennsylvania Avenue:

Belle napped while Seren said hello to Honest Abe:



Seren was disappointed when Lincoln did not come to life and join Starship in singing "We Built This City":




When Belle awoke from her nap, she enjoyed a monumental picnic on the Mall:

Unfortunately, they didn't invite us.

And they're not home. Belle was hoping to play with Sasha and Malia.

I bet Shabbat dinner is great in that house.

On the Road

At a rest stop in Maryland

Belle goes Bananas (B-A-N-A-N-A-S!)

Belle loves her bananas (now that her short-lived banana-strike, when she vehemently refused to eat them, is over). She can hold and eat them all by herself, in any place she likes:

Wearing food

As I was changing into my pajamas last night, a Cheerio fell out of my top. If I had a dime for every time Belle's food ended up on me in some way, I could buy a whole new food-free wardrobe.

They grow up so fast

Belle and I had a playdate with my walking mom friends and their children yesterday at a friend's apartment in Manhattan. How the children have grown! When my friends and I first met, the babies were infants who barely moved at all. Yesterday, however, the kids were running around and playing together. What a pleasure to see how they've grown!

Here, a mom friend plays with four of Belle's friends:



A highlight of the get-together was watching the hostesses son Marc try to show Belle affection. He continually tried to give her hugs and pet her head and play with whatever she was playing with. Belle wanted nothing to do with him. She pushed him away and even cried when he hugged her. We joked about Belle playing hard-to-get; that she is practicing being a heart-breaker; that she'll regret how she pushed Marc away when their grown; how she had better not come crying to me if she doesn't have a prom date someday. Anyway, it was great fun.

This is Belle and her suitor, little Marc:

Relaxing...

A cousinly hug

Wishing each other a happy Hanukah.

Fill'er up!

I refilled the gas tank of the new car today for the first time. It reminded me of when Belle first finished an entire container of A+D. It took Belle a few months, and the A+D costs about as much as three gallons of gas, but it's the same idea- a milestone :)

Happy Hanukah

Night 2

Cousins Noah and Belle play

Cousin Dylan and Belle play :)

If the shoe fits...

Belle put her little foot into my shoe and took a walk around the dining room:

Honesty is the best policy

Belle had a little meltdown in Target this afternoon. She was screaming and crying and wasn't happy in my arms or on her feet. I finally calmed her down by giving her a $2 hair comb to hold in one hand and my house keys in her other. After her tears ceased, I rushed to get through the check-out line to get my cranky Belle home. I was nearly at the car when I noticed that the $2 comb that I had not paid for was still in Belle's hand. It occurred to me just to go home with the comb in Belle's hand. I am sure I'll be back to that Target soon and I could pay the $2 at that time. No, that's stealing. I thought about leaving the comb in the Target cart in the parking lot, but I figured it would likely get taken before the cart returned to the store. So, despite Belle's protests, I did the right thing. I picked Belle up, which made her cry (she was happier walking), took the comb from her hand, which made her scream, and ran back into the store to the service desk. There I put the comb down on the counter and said, "I am sorry. I accidentally took this comb." So, back where I started before the comb touched Belle's hand (that is, with a melting-down baby), I know honesty was the way to go.

Sunday Home Depot Party

Belle's new chair

Belle is so excited for her Belle-sized (and personalized) chair!

"I'm the greatest"

Another trip down wardrobe memory lane:

Belle is wearing my (or her Uncle JoJo's) old top. The front says "I'm the Greatest"


And the back reads "Just ask Grandma."


So true :)

Belle's First Piano Lesson

I think she's on her way to success.

Ladies' Dance Party

A before-bed dance party to Beyonce.

15-month check-up

Belle and I visited a new pediatrician in our new city today. Belle proved that, like her mom, she's not a doctor's dream patient. She fussed from the moment we entered the waiting room until she was back in her car seat heading home, including red-faced, tear-streaming screeching during the actual examination and two shots.

Despite the tears, Belle checked-out healthy. She's just over 22 pounds and over 31 inches long (fiftieth percentile in weight, seventy-fifth in height),and she is growing and developing as a fifteen-month should. I couldn't be happier!

New car owners!

We bought a new car- another first for us. We are thrilled to own a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. (And, yes, I am especially excited that we bought a Korean car since part of my heart belongs to Tae-Han-Min-Kook).

Despite the fact that we live a mile from a Hyundai dealership, we bought the car from a place a few towns over, about 10 miles from home. That's because you don't mess with me, especially when I am making a large purchase.

See, I was treated poorly at the nearby dealership. I was astounded by the behavior of the car-sellers at the local dealership. I realize that gone are the days when "the customer is right," but I also thought that the days when a woman wasn't respected when she is on her own were also behind us.

I am getting ahead of myself.

Craig and I looked at the car at the nearby dealership, and we both liked it. We returned to the same place and worked with the same salesman (separately) to test drive the car. I returned yesterday to price out the car; to find out exactly how much the car would cost from this dealer once we had negotiated all of the details and add-ons. First, the dealer asked me where my "hubby" was and if I'd talked to him (as in, did my "hubby" know I was there). Then, he made me wait while he got some papers together. While I waited, another car dealer belched loudly (I heard him from halfway across the room). When he noted that I had heard his burp, he looked at me, laughed, and said that the burp was louder than he thought it would be. No "excuse me." Gross!

The dealer I had been working with finally returned with a three digit number scribbled on a piece of scrap paper: what my monthly payments would be based on the currently financing deal and the suggested manufacturer's price of the car. I said, "I could have done this math at home." I tried to explain again that I wanted to price out the exact car we wanted to buy. Again, he had me wait for an awfully long time. While I waited, the greeter/secretary belted out Christmas tunes while she unpacked the dealership's Christmas decorations. Two of the car sellers asked her to lower her voice or to stop singing, but she went on belting away. Unpleasant.

Finally, my car salesman returned with a print-out from Hyundai.com of all the standard and optional features available with the 2012 Sonata with no pricing information. This was, again, information I didn't need to go to the dealership to obtain. It finally became clear to me that this dealer was not going to take me seriously or answer my questions or give me the requested information without my "hubby."

I left angry, offended and frustrated. I liked the car, but not the dealership and certainly not the salesman. Craig to the rescue! He found and contacted another dealership and, yada yada yada, we own a Sonata!

Oh, wait, I "yada yada yada"-ed the best part: Craig was a stellar negotiator. We got every feature we wanted in a car and more, and we bought the car for $1100 than the lowest price we found anywhere, including on Buyer's Edge to which I have access as a members of the teachers' union. If you need to buy a car, bring Craig. He means business and get what he wants.

And don't piss me off because you will lose my business.

Car Buying

Belle and Mommy are dancing to Beyonce while Daddy negotiates.

See the resemblance?

That's an original sweatshirt.

4 Generations

Four generations. Abraham, Fradis, Levinson, Cepler.

Generation gap?

Today, a freshman walked into class singing, "Straight up, now tell me, do you really want to love me forever?" Without thinking, I finished the line to the song: "Or I am caught in a hit and run?"

The student looked at me, eyes wide with wonder and excitement. "You know J. Cole, Ms. Cepler?!"

"Who?" I asked. "I thought we were singing Paula Abdul."

To this, my student responded, "Who?"

Turns out, this J. Cole sampled the two lines from the song Paula Abdul made famous in 1988.

Boy, do I feel old...

Living where I teach

The other day a student told me she had seen me walking. When, I asked? She didn't remember. "A few days ago." Where, I wondered? On a street she and her mother drove down.

I must remember to walk as if I could run into or be seen by a student and her mother at all times.

Relatedly, I was on the phone with a parent today. While I explained the child's quarter one grade, I looked up the student's information and learned that the child student lives a block from me. Yup, I could have walked around the corner from my home this afternoon to have the conversation about the child face-to-face at the kid's house.

Test driving a car

Belle was quite cooperative during our car shopping experience, including riding in her car seat in the back of the two cars with two different car salespeople. She really enjoyed exploring the various cars, too.

Belle goes to high school

Belle enjoyed meeting the cast and crew of the fall school play last Thursday.  The high school students had fun with Belle.

Belle's new wagon!

Cousin Noah visited today. The two enjoyed Belle's new wagon (a birthday gift from Uncle Joe and Aunt Carla) very much today!

Belle and Stella

Stella father and I direct the school plays. At this afternoon's performance, the kids (and Stella's mom and Belle's grandparents) came to support our efforts...or just walking around the lobby eating Cherios.

At White Plains High School.

A New Mug

Belle enjoys Mom's Tufts mug.

Lunch with Grampy

Belle eats like a birdy.

Tough Weekend

Belle as we go from hotel room to car. Passed out solid. She had a good, partying weekend.

The Next Boston Pop

She plays a very modern, untraditional style. I regaled her with my whole canon - Chopsticks, Heart and Soul, scales.

Mommy who?

I took Belle to day care this morning. She smiled when I dropped her off and didn't mind when I left. Even more indicative of her adjusting to day care was when I picked her up. She smiled at me when I walked into the playroom, but kept on playing. She fussed when I picked up her to leave; she was having so much fun! Good. I'm glad to know that she is safe and happy while I'm at school.

A Belle Afternoon

The welcoming committee

Since we moved into our new home on Monday, I have given no fewer than two house tours each day, meaning we've had a steady stream of visitors welcoming us to the area. People have been so warm in welcoming to us! Yesterday, a friend of a friend who lives nearby stopped by with a basket of treats and an invitation to Shabbat lunch this week. How kind!

And herein lies a delightful difference between the suburbs and the city: I didn't meet any of our neighbors in Manhattan until Belle came along (babies make great conversation). For more than four years, I rode the elevator with people and didn't say a word. I bumped into neighbors in the mail room and said merely, "excuse me." And now I know neighbors after 3 days of living in a neighborhood instead of a high-rise.

I think we'll be OK here in White Plains...

"We're not in Kansas anymore..."

A little bit we miss NYC already. We ordered take-out Italian the other night because our kitchen was too full of boxes to be functional. The take-out menu that came with the food we ordered had printed in big letters on the front "Delivery until 10pm!" The exclamation point indicates that 10pm is an excitingly late hour at which to received delivered food around here. We are SO not in NYC anymore...

Moving Day 3

As you can see, Belle did more relaxing than moving.

Our New Home

October 31, 2011

Moving In

Ready or not, White Plains, here we come!

Moving Day 2

Until break time that is.