Kiddos playing

Eva, Belle, Emma, Josh (Emily is sitting next to me and Nathaniel hasn't arrived)

Let's go Mets!

Grocery shopping

Just have to figure out where to put the groceries...

Ready for the hot weather

Despite her runny nose and eye infections, Emily is in good spirits as she prepares for this scorcher of a May day.

One of those days

Craig is sick, Belle has a cold, Emily has a runny nose and now pink eye. Belle had an accident in the examination room of the doctors' office (we were there to diagnose Emily's pink eye). Both girls fell asleep in the car between the doctors' office and the pharmacy so I did not go in and pick up Emily's prescription eye drops despite the fact that I was right there, so now I will have to go back out to the pharmacy later.
It's just one of those days....

Farmer Ceps

Belle and I are growing vegetables so we decided to invest in some major equipment.

Picture taken during a fun day out with Uncle Jeff, Aunt Joanna and cousins Noah and Mia at Muscoot Farms in Westchester.

Belle types this with minimal aid

Belle

Loving big sister Belle

Couldn't catch both girls with their eyes open, but you get the idea. Belle loves holding her little sister.

Emily is 7 months old today!

My buddy Emily

Surprise!

Belle, Emily and I surprised Craig at his office with cake ("Congratulations, Craig!") and a balloon ("Congrats to you!") to celebrate his passing the New Jersey Bar Exam, which he took in February.  Yippee!

A Date Afternoon

Uncle Alan invited Seren and me to see the taping of Letterman on May 21. Jason Bateman (famous, of course, from the Hogan family) was the guest, and John Fogerty was the musical guest. Tom Hanks made a special appearance. We had a great afternoon. This is a shot from the stage.

Super baby strength

I strapped Emily into the bouncy seat while I took a shower. I got out of the shower and found that she had sat herself up (what ab strength!) and partially shimmied herself out of her seatbelt. Emily is one strong baby. And a happy one :) She also has the coordination to pick up her Nuk pacifier from a surface and put it not her mouth. Strength and coordination; do I have a future athlete on my hands?

Letterman

Uncle Alan Kalter invited us to enjoy John Fogerty (and Jason Bateman and surprise guest Tom Hanks) at a filming of The Late Show with David Letterman.

Post-bath silliness

Dancing

Daddy napping in Belle's bed

Why, yes, that is a Cabbage Patch Kid doll on top of him.

Belle learns to drive the Volvo

Emily's tummy time

Oldest with youngest among us, and all four generations together

More smiles playing together

Playing together on this gray day

Sleeping like a baby

Our neighbors got a new puppy: an eleven-week-old chocolate lab (very cute) named Hudson.  I asked the new doggy mom how Hudson was sleeping.  "Like a baby," our neighbor answered.  I wrinkled my nose and said sympathetically, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear it.  So, he's waking up and howling or crying every few hours?"  The neighbor laughed and explained  "No, he goes into his crate at 8pm and we don't hear from him again until about 7 or 8am."
I clearly have a skewed perception of the phrase "sleeping like a baby" based on my experience with my little non-sleepers, whom I love dearly.

Chugga chugga choo choo

The Ceplers met the Gibs for an outing at the Bergen County Park complete with a train ride.

Feet in mouth

I love the foot in mouth stage. And it's a skill Emily got from me. I'm quite adept at putting my foot in my mouth.

She's pink

Pajamas and a pink hat looking at what's outside.

Sweet Belle

Belle says sweet, wonderful things. Like the time I put on a new lipstick, Belle exclaimed, "You look beautiful, Mommy!"
The other day,while getting ready for Shabbat morning services, Belle told Craig,"Daddy, your hair looks beautiful in that kippat!" (Yes, Belle calls yarmulkes kippats, sort of like kip-hats).
What a lovely thing to hear from little Belle.

Emily sits in a high chair

The first time Belle sat in a high chair, she was wearing the outfit Emily in wearing now. Funny...

Belle's nails

After admiring my mani/pedi, Belle begged me to paint her nails. I dug out my old quick-dry pink nail polish and painted one coat of it on Belle's little nails. She is elated. She can't wait to go to school tomorrow to show off her pink nails.

Clean up

"Belle, put your Play-Doh away. And make sure you put a lid on the container."
Technically, she followed directions...

Emily's little; Belle's dry; both girls are healthy

Emily had her six-month check-up today. Her growth rate has slowed down significantly, but reasonably, and she continues to exhibit age-appropriate skills (sitting up, rolling and reaching or objects, smiling and reacting to stimuli). She is 25.5 inches long (29th percentile), 15lb 8oz (35th percentile), and her head circumference is 16.5 inches (37th percentile). She is petite, but in proportion, and healthy.

Emily was vaccinated today. She didn't flinch when she received a shot in her left thigh. Perhaps she is less sensitive to being poked and prodded since she is a little sister who is often treated as a plaything by Belle.

Emily and I left the pediatrician's office and picked Belle up at school. Belle ran to me shouting, "I am dry, Mommy!" A proud reference to Belle wearing big-girl underpants (she of course wore her Fridays today) and making it through the morning accident-free. We only started potty training Belle a week ago (last Friday, April 26 at around 5pm, to be precise) and Belle has proven a quick study.

Two healthy, beautiful, joyful little girls. How lucky can one Mommy be?!

Emily's good night sleep

I put Emily down at 7pm-ish as usual last night. She was asleep by 7:40. She fussed at 11pm, which I ignored. I heard from her again at around 5:30am, which is when I went to her and fed her (for the first time since putting her in her crib at 7pm). So, Miss Emily essentially slept through the night for the first time last night!
So that's the good news. The less-good news: Emily woke up all stuffed up, clearly under the weather, and has been snoozing on and off on me all morning with labored breathing. Poor Emily. Also, I was up twice with Belle last night (just because Emily slept doesn't mean I slept), who had trouble sleeping because of a cough and a cold. Seems as though both girls have little colds. Must be the spastic weather.
Here's hoping for more sleep tonight!

That's what neighbors are for...

We live in a cozy, friendly neighborhood with really nice people.  We are so lucky to have such wonderful neighbors.  It's rare that we walk down the street and don't stop to talk to someone or get invited to someone's home or backyard for a play date.  But our neighbors two-doors-down are especially kind people.   Debbie and Chris have a son, Joey, a year old than Belle and an almost-one-year-old little girl Mina.  Pics of our impromptu playdates with Joey and Mina litter this blog since we moved into our home.

Besides having kids close in age to our girls, Debbie and Chris have eased the transition to suburban life and helped us out in random, neighborly ways.  They refer us to people, like an appliance guy when our dryer broke.  They loan us things, like shovels and a rake when we tried to beautify our yard.  When Belle's school emailed me at 3pm on a Wednesday that Belle needed to bring 2 carrots to school the very next day, Debbie gave me carrots.  When I couldn't get the car to start when I was 3 miles form home at 9:30pm on a Monday, Chris ran over to stay with our sleeping girls so Craig could come rescue me.

So, when Debbie called at 7:30 this morning because her mother was sick and unable to watch little Mina, I was delighted for the opportunity to finally be of service to our kind, generous, helpful neighbors.  Debbie dropped Mina off before 9am and picked her up at around 11am.  In between, Mina came to Belle's school and sat sweetly through our parent-teacher conference, then returned to our house for a play date with Emily.  Watching Mina was a breeze, and I am so glad I could be the helpful neighbor instead of the neighbor-in-need today.  I also learned that my inability to get babies to nap extends beyond my own children: neither Mina nor Emily actually napped during our time together, but both little girls were so sleepy that we spent 10:30-11 snuggling on the couch (I had both girls in my lap, an arm around each and a head on both my shoulders).

I know it won't be long before I call on Debbie and Chris for another favor, but I was delighted to help out this morning and to spend time with little Mina, whom I hope to watch grow up.

Super Big Sister Belle

Belle asked me if she could give Emily a bottle "because I am her big sister." Belle was so sweet and eager to help that I had to prepare a small bottle for Belle to give Emily.

Emily's first real play date

Our neighbor Mina (11 months) came over for a few hours this morning so her mommy could accompany her big brother to a special event. We three girls had a fun time together.