(Not What) We're Expecting

9 months and change

2009-09-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

9 months ago and a couple of weeks, our son joined our family at 1 AM. It's so hard to believe he's been with us outside my body as long as he was inside! Milestones are piling up and I am not doing him his right stuff by keeping track...so here goes a little late!

The week before he turned 9 months old he crawled across the room on all fours. Now, he'd been scooting, rolling, and getting where he wanted to go, but this was the real thing. 3 weeks earlier than his sister but just as fast!

The week of his 9 month old birthday he figured out how to pull himself up on EVERYTHING. His favorite toy is the kitchen, leap frog table, and his sister's Princess dress up trunk. Ideal height for standing and banging like a drum.

He also has discovered that if you let go of something you stand...for over 5 seconds at a time! He has also "cruised" a bit on the kitchen to get something he pushed away. Not major steps yet, but it's coming fast.

He weighed in at 20.5 pounds and 28 inches at his doctor's appointment and she confirmed swollen upper gums which indicates more teeth are a coming. The snotty, nasal congestion was a sure sign too.

He continues to be the happiest baby on the block. Giggling, smiling, flirting. A pure delight who sleeps for over 10 hours at night. Life is grand in our house with our son. We are mostly excited because we are just as amazed as he does his "firsts" as we were with Hadarya.

Sweet baby boy. Scrumptious!

Day 5 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

The last day of paternity leave fell on Monday, July 6th and we decided to end our staycation with a bang! After swim class (doing better each day!) we loaded the kids in the car for the 1 1/2 hour drive to DISNEYLAND. We were off to the happiest place on Earth and spending the rest of the day with our friend Tamar and her son Aidin. We did not tell the kids where we were going until we pulled into the parking lot and made them guess. We took Hadarya 7 months ago (right before her brother was born!) and she did not really remember.

What an amazing day! She has not stopped talking about Disneyland and "we go to Disneyland tomorrow?" is a regular question in our house. We had a picnic lunch before we entered the park and then began our adventure. We splurged on a Princess balloon...$7.00, which continues to make our Princess smile. The first ride was the Rockets in Fantasy land where she LOVED flying high with her Aba. We went to It's A Small World and watched with delight as she took in all the music and dancing and characters. She asked for it again and so we did not get off the boat! We rode the Carousel too and watched the dance parade celebration. Again, the music hooked her and she loved seeing the characters moving about.

The biggest hit was the 45 minute wait to see the Princesses. While she is not giggly and smiley when meeting them, she did go right up to them with her autograph book and hug them and talk to them! She just loved seeing them in person and noticing their dresses. She is now really into dress up, the hats, scarves, and other around the house items are not quite cutting it anymore! So the other question of the week was "Did you get my Cinderella dress yet? We go to the store and get it?"

Yonatan took it all in from his stroller. He loved the music too and the lights. He was very happy all day, napped like a pro and ate well. He loved riding on the horse on the carousel and the boat ride was fun too despite the nap he was taking in the carrier~ The discovery of batteries for my pump made the day extremely easy and pleasant since I am no longer tied to finding an outlet.
Hanging out in the Happiest Place on Earth was delightful for the second time with our children. We cannot wait to go back again! If Hadarya has her way, it will be tomorrow.

Day 4 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

There are no photos of our day today but lots of fun times and memories! We hopped into bathing suits as soon as our sleeping beauty woke up at 8 AM. We love that she is a sleeper and life would be grand if her brother had gotten the message. He is partial to the 5 AM hour though. We are hoping an earlier bedtime will get him to sleep longer...weird I know, but I've heard it works.

So we packed up our pool stuff and headed the YMCA in Santee for fun in the sun. We had a great time even though Hadarya shivered and chattered for the first hour! She was so cold but wanted to stay and play. Her very good friend from school, Tay, came to play with her and they had fun chasing each other and being in the water. Hadarya practiced her scoops and kicks. We did twirls and motorboats. She hopped like a kangaroo and walked like an alligator.

Yonatan loved the water and splashed around on my lap and sitting between my legs in the beach entrance area for about a 1/2 hour. Then he'd had it. I stripped him of his wet things and warmed him up and dried him off. He was asleep in the stroller in about 30 seconds and didn't move for the next 1 1/2 hours.

After the session ended and we'd showered and shampooed, we headed home, sure we'd have a napper on our hands. BUT no such luck for our 4th day of staycation. She wanted to play when we got home and spent much of the time doing so by herself yet having tired, cranky spats if something didn't go her way right away.

We ended up making a Costco run for toilet paper and ended up getting some yummy berries to eat all week. Sometimes we just need to get her out of the house and she is ok! We went to my parents for a yummy BBQ steak dinner and everyone was happy and smiley. The baby sat at the table and gobbled up green beans and rice and pears and mangoes. Hadarya devoured her dinner too and left the plate almost empty.

Grandma had a surprise for the big girl and she readily put on her jammies and sat in front of the tele to see. Grandma had tivo'd the 4th of July special at the White House that featured the Sesame Street gang singing with live music. She was in HEAVEN! She watched it twice and the baby got in his jams at 6:40 PM, drained a bottle and fell fast asleep. We put the kids in the car and drove home where both were fast asleep and in bed by 7:25 PM. I wouldn't mind that early time every night!

Tomorrow is our last staycation day. We start with swim lessons and end up at the Happiest Place on Earth. It's going to be great!

Day 3 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Tired but what a fun day we had! It's certainly a good thing that any type of break in routine is just a break! I am going to be exhausted after day 5!!

Today we started out our Independence Day Celebration with a trolley ride to Seaport Village. Hadarya's BF at school, Gabriella, rides the trolley to SDSU every day with her daddy. Hadarya has been talking non-stop about trolleys and gets very very excited when we see them. She has begun asking to ride one "one day." So, today was the one day.

We drove to a safe part of the outskirts of downtown to catch the trolley and took it about 5 stops to our destination. Just enough to be exciting but not get bored! She was very concerned because "the birdie needs to move out of the way, Ima" before the trolley got onto that part of the pavement. They did indeed fly away at the last second and she thought that was hysterical to see them flapping about out of the way.

At Seaport Village we were on a mission to find a balloon person and get her a balloon. We found someone (not the usual good one...but one nonetheless) who made a good enough Zoe (pink not orange) with a tutu to satsify our daughter. She had talked non-stop about a balloon since seeing someone with one the day before. We rode the carousel... all of us. Yonatan did his part and spit up at the end. We picnicked on the grass amongst the hundreds already camped out for the fireworks and then took a return trip on the trolley to our car. Yonatan sacked out in the carrier on the way to the car and Hadarya sacked out as we drove home.

After a 2 hour nap for her, lunch for him, and getting bags ready for us, we were off to Elijah's hosue to swim and eat and hang out. Despite the freezing cold water, we played and splashed and enjoyed ourselves. Yonatan loved hanging out on the grass chillin under the rainforest mat of his friend. After some fresh berries, chips, and brownies, we were off to Hank's house for the remainder of the afternoon/evening.

Hank's house has a very warm pool and we all got in; along with the other 7 kids there! It was crowded but fun for everyone. His playroom is always a big hit and Yonatan LOVED a new toy of David's that his does not have. He sat for over 30 minutes playing in the room by himself while I dried off and packed up some stuff! The kids had a blast and we ate too much food and laughed a lot and realized it was a fabulous way to end our day. The company was what made it so much fun and all the way home Hadarya asked when was Hank going to get to come to her house and play. She actually said, "I have a question" and then asked about him coming over. It was very cute!

The highlight of our entire day was Hadarya reading us her favorite book Little Quack before it got too dark in the car. She was so cute reading all the words and using tones and getting through the whole thing so nicely. We were very proud and wished we'd had a video camera!

Day 2 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

After a lovely breakfast of homemade chocolate chip pancakes eaten picnic style in the family room, we loaded up in the car and headed to the beach. The car had been packed the night before and so the load up was much easier! We detoured at Walgreens for new sand toys and lucked out with a 4.99 bucket set with 8 pieces inside. That made all the difference in our day, seriously.

We got a great parking space at La Jolla Shores and unloaded 2 bags, 1 cooler, 3 chairs, 2 umbrellas, 2 kids, and started walking towards a spot. There were already many people at the beach despite the coldness and overcast sky. Yet, we found a prime area not to far from the car nor the water. While it was quite cold for most of our stay, Yonatan fell fast asleep at his nap time and cozied up on a lounge chair. BUT not until he'd played on the blanket with some toys and managed to get sand in his hair, diaper, and every possible orifice his body owns in under 15 minutes!

Hadarya had a blast making sand castles with our new toys and going to the ocean to get wet and bring back water for her moat. We had a little girl just under 2 named Charlotte who wandered over and sat down to play. Her dad is a teacher at a high school not far from our house and he got his stuff and joined us. Then Tanner from Arizona wandered over and played with the truck and shovel (he's 14 months old) and we totally had the party pad going on with our kids and the twins and these new friends. It was so much fun!

We ate and snuggled and dried off and got sandy and warmed up as the sun tried to break through the clouds. As soon as she said she had to go potty, we were ready to pack it up. Off we went to the lovely beach potties and she peed while I held her up! Changed quickly into undies and her new pink beach dress and then we were off to the car for her to fall asleep on the way home. Do note the cute hairdo she wore. It's one of my best and favorites so far!

After a nice nap and showers for all... well the baby got a bath in his new bath seat which he LOVED, we had a lovely visit with Grandma and Auntie Kimber. Then packed up again and headed to Balboa Park for a shabbat dinner picnic with Savta.

Savta loves to cook and she outdid herself tonight! It was quite a spread but Yonatan had the best time sucking on the cucumber sticks and nectarine pieces. We clearly are into food and are not holding him back too much. The jars of food I bought are just props that I'll use here and there...this boy is serious about getting to the good stuff!

It was a fabulous day that ended with fro yo in Hillcrest, a bottle for Yonatan, and a potty run to Starbucks for Hadarya. All asleep by 8:45 PM and our 2nd day is a hit!

Just in...

2009-07-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

We interrupt the staycation updates for this important photo sharing opportunity! On an impulse we took the kids over to our neighbors who are photographers and asked them to take some shots (they love the practice and our kids). I had just bought them matching Elmo paraphernalia and their hair was fabulous (well Yonatan's always is!)
Here are our favorite 3 out of the 47 amazing photos. ENJOY.

Day 1 - Staycation 2009

2009-07-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

We canceled a short trip to Palm Springs in favor of creating a staycation for the next five days. We kinda thought 105 degree weather with an infant and toddler was not going to be the vacation we wanted. We're making our own fun at home.

Today Hadarya had her 4th day of swim lessons and the best so far! She stayed in the water the whole time, did all the activities, and did not cry. It was so much better than yesterday. There was also a sub teacher who was female and I think that made a bit of a difference. I am so proud of her for trying and keeping up with kids almost a year and a year and half older than her! She then went to "school" and was happy with her friends (all boys today in her group; who could complain?).

Yiftach was off today on his 2nd to last day of paternity leave and the baby was playing with my parents while Hadarya swam. We convinced them to keep him all day and we had a DATE. Yep... a date with no kids, in the middle of the day on a Thursday. We went to a movie, held hands, and at popcorn. Lovely to not have little hands pawing at our faces and bodies! UP was so wonderfully done and such a feel good movie with great themes for these tough times. We lunched at Rubio's (mmm... fish tacos) and then headed home to pack up the beach stuff for tomorrow.

The baby got picked up first and then the big girl and we were off to a park to meet a friend who was in town visiting for the weekend. It was so fun to see Jean again and catch up! We then rushed off to dinner with the grandparents and everyone had fun eating together and behaving and playing. It was a delightful dinner and fabulous ending to our first day of staycation.

Total staycation cost for the day: lunch $12.53, popcorn $7.00, candy $3.10. Staying home is cheaper than going out when you use your movie passes and grandparent daycare, and restaurant gift cards! I like this so far!

Six months old

2009-06-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful baby boy is 6 months old already! How did that happen? He weighs 17 lbs 14 oz and is 26 3/4 inches long. He is round and chubby and has lots and lots of tire rolls. He is too cute for words!

He loves to blow raspberries and drools all the time. One of his favorite things to do is grab your face and hold it in his hands. He is very alert, very curious, and always looking around at things.
He has been sitting up solidly for over a month and his doctor says he sits like a 9 month old. He has begun pulling himself up to standing when we hold his hands and delights in music and his big sister.

Summer is finally here and I am looking forward to quality mommy time and lots of blogging time of my children doing remarkable things.

No More Diapers

2009-06-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

May 14th, 2009 our daughter decided she no longer wanted to wear diapers and insisted on underwear to school. She had just peed on the potty and we decided to let her go but were definitely wary as to how the day would go. Her regular and favorite teacher was not going to be at school that day, Thursday or Friday or Monday or Tuesday. But off she went.
AND she held it all day and went in her diaper at naptime and then used the potty at home. We were on our way!!!

Within a week she was a champ and we traveled to New Jersey for a bat mitzvah. We made her wear diapers on the airplane but they were wasted. I had bought her a special new folding potty seat that goes on top of the big adult seat with Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie, and Abby. She used that at the airport bathroom in between flights. She used it on the airplane... ON THE AIRPLANE! She used it in the hotel. She used it everywhere and never had an accident. By the time we were home, she didn't really need the little potty seat anymore and did not need a diaper at nap. 2 weeks and no accidents and no diaper. Way to go baby girl!

Now, 6 weeks later, she is a champ and tells us when she has to go. She holds it all night too and we are only steps away from no diaper at all. She is still comfy in her crib so, I don't want her to have the inability to go in the middle of the night if she really has to. But so far this potty training has been amazing and easy and fun. Everyone says that boys are different and we won't get it so easy again. But then again we were told that we'd never get such a great baby twice and we did...so we think we'll get the potty training so easy twice too.

No self esteem issues in our household

2009-06-02T06:10:00.001-07:00

Ok... it's been 2 months since I wrote about my beautiful family and life with 2 children. Hence... the reason I haven't been able to blog is because I have 2 children. I don't know what's going to happen when more join us (no, there's nothing brewing right now, people.. relax)!

ANYWAY back to the topic at hand. We are now able to actually have back and forth conversations with our funny 2 1/2 year old who has a creative, humorous side and lots to say.

Yesterday at Target in the scrapbooking aisle:

Hadarya(pointing to purple sparkly scrapbook paper): Sparkly!
Yiftach: That is sparkly. I didn't even know you knew the word sparkly. It's beautiful.
H: That's beautiful.
Y: Do you know what's more beautiful?
H: Yeah.
Y: What?
H: HADARYA!!

She's so right and so not full of her beautiful self.

You Had to Be There...

2009-03-21T21:36:00.001-07:00

but I'll try to make you feel like you didn't miss an incredibly proud moment (I am sure there will be many more) in our daughter's life.

Brief background: From the day we brought our daughter home (at 10 days old) we put her to bed singing the Sh'ma. It's the prayer that translates into "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" and then the V'ahavta that talks about loving God and performing mitzvot. These are the core prayers of Jewish Tradition.

We send her to a "public" daycare where her 3 best buddies are all of different races and backgrounds giving her a daily look at the world in mini size. We attend Shabbat services almost every Saturday morning and celebrate Shabbat at home (albeit irregularly over the last 2 years until our son arrived in December!)

Hadarya LOVES going to services and being at the synagogue. This past Friday morning we asked her "What is tonight?" and her answer was "it's Shabbat!" When we picked her up at daycare her first words were "Go to synagogue tonight, Ima? Wanna where dress, tights, and underwear, k?" How can you say no to that?

This morning we also went to services as usual and arrived a little later than normal. I was asked to lead the torah service and took H with me to the bimah. She wanted down out of my arms fairly quickly to only reach up to try to see at the douchan. The Rabbi quickly knew that she wanted to stand next to me on her own and brought her a chair. She wanted her own book to lead the service with me and insisted on the big chumash that contains the torah and haftorah portions.

After the ark was opened, the torahs were taken out, and I told her that it was almost time to say the Sh'ma. She started to sing it right away and I told her to wait. The torah scroll holders turned around and the ark was closed. The leader then recites the Sh'ma and the congregation repeats it. I said to H that it was time for the Sh'ma and with all the poise and charm and sweetness she possess, she chanted the Sh'ma (Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad) into the microphone for the entire congregation to hear!!! It was amazing! Then the congregation repeated it. I was so amazed and in awe of my little love and her abilities.

This evening she sang it again and again, but this time she added the 2nd line for the torah service: Echad Elohenu Gadol Adoinanu, Kadosh Shmo. Obviously being in the environment on a consistent basis makes a huge difference. We are doing something right!

Maybe the Rabbi will give her a spot next week too!

Historic Day

2009-01-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today was a historic day for our country and my household! I watched, like so many others, with tears in my eyes as Barack Obama became the 44th president of our country. I listened to his speech with renewed hope and light that there might actually be something good to come in the next few years. It was a wonderful morning.

Today was the first day I picked up Hadarya with the baby. He was so good! He slept for a bit and then woke up as Hadarya's friends came to see the baby. They all wanted to admire him and look at him and touch him and did a great job listening to touching only his feet. Then I realized that I had volunteered to bring bananas for her class and needed to go to the grocery store. WITH TWO KIDS??? one being a toddler who loves to run away? Yikes... but I did it and they did great. Hadarya was a big helper and stayed nicely in the cart the whole time. It was actually a pleasant trip.

Today was the first day that Hadarya pooped in the potty. I think we are turning the corner on the potty training thing. No more crib is around the corner for my baby girl!

Today was the first day that I had both my kids by myself for about 45 minutes and it was great! My dad was coming over at 6:30 when Yiftach left to lead a shiva minyan. He didn't get here until 7:10 and no one threw a tantrum, cried, or hit. It was awesome! Yonatan sat in my lap and listened to a story I read to Hadarya. Then he laid on the playmat and fell asleep while Hadarya finished dinner. Then he stayed asleep in the swing while she put on pajamas, played with Grandpa, and then went to bed without a fuss.

It was a wonderful day. A historic day. One that I look forward to repeating again and again.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-01-18T21:01:00.000-08:00

Six years ago today I married my soulmate, my other half, my life partner and best friend. We were married by 2 Rabbi's and A Cantor in front of about 150 people. It was an amazing day preparing and an incredible evening (in 85 degree weather) of love, friends, and fun. Every year we watch parts of our DVD from that day and remember the special moments from our wedding.

This year we haven't made it to watching the DVD. A 27 month old and 5 1/2 week old keep us from doing much of what we used to do. So today, on our wedding anniversary, we planned a family day because we knew with a toddler, it was not about us anymore. The day could not have been better!

We spent our 6th wedding anniversary reveling in the musical talent of our daughter as we attended music class at 9:30 AM. Hadarya LOVES Miss Laura and going to the music classroom. She bounces to the beat, cleans up nicely, sings the songs out loud, and genuinely and thoroughly enjoys herself. It is worth every penny we have spent to see her get so much out of 45 minutes and then transfer all of that to singing to us later on.

We were then off to Sea World to break in out new fun card passes. With 80 degree weather today, we should have been in shorts as we played in the Bay of Play and watched our daughter ride Abby's tea cups and Elmo's fish ride. She LOVES rides. We are in trouble with amusement parks as she gets older. She also has little fear and after running, jumping, laughing, and playing in the Tide Pool child's play area, she climbed out and walked away.

Of course, one of us had an eye on her and jumped to follow her. She was just going to check out other things to do. BUT she was barefoot on rocky ground and WITHOUT A PARENT. She didn't care! She just went and knew we'd find her! YIKES... we better start working on that one.

We ended the day with a surprise visit from my parents bringing us KOSHER CHINESE FOOD for our dinner from LA. We are so excited to enjoy the treat. It will be awesome! And we also visited with some friends who moved several months ago to Orange County and came to meet our son and have our daughters play together. They had so much fun!

It was a great day and our daughter is fast asleep, as well as our son. It's time for us to join them.

One Month Old

2009-01-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Time seems to move so quickly yet so slow! Our son is 1 month old. Adorable. Alert. (when he's not sleeping!) Good natured. Bright eyed. He's filling out and gaining weight (probably about 10 lbs.) and sleeping good stretches.

Yet...he decided to stay awake after his 4:30ish AM feeding. Yiftach went back to bed so I had to get up. I've been up ever since. I've packed a lunch, done a load of laundry, showered and dressed, dressed a toddler, and addressed envelopes. It's not even 8:30 AM and I need a HUGE nap that I won't get because it's almost time for the baby to eat again.

I don't remember being this tired and my body being so worn out. I don't remember the active movement this little man does nor the following/tracking with his eyes. I do remember the baby smell and the sweetness. I remember the snuggles and the smiles.

At one month, he's a cute as can be and we starting to have some fun with him as I feel better and we begin doing things together as a family!

Yonatan Tzvi

2008-12-18T15:15:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful child. Our miracle. Our son. Yonatan means Gift of G-d. His name was chosen for both its meaning and its initial letter. The Hebrew letter Yud, pronounced like Y in English, is translated in English as the letter J.

Yonatan is named for several family members whose names begin with either a J or a Y.

Yonatan was conceived just two days before my beloved Aunt Judy passed away. Aunt Judy was my second mom – the funny mom, the spoil-me mom, the listen-to-me-and-not-judge mom. She was the one who shared the personal heartache with me over our inability to get pregnant quickly and easily like so many of our peers. Although I was unable to tell her that we were pregnant, I know that she knew and that she passed away knowing that we had finally achieved our miracle. She was able to peacefully leave our world to watch over us from another place. It is in her memory that Yonatan receives part of his name and meaning. The Y comes from her name Judy and her Hebrew name Yehudit. Yehudit means “praised” and Aunt Judy was a woman who lived that meaning by always being interested in others despite her own pain and illnesses. She was the first one to offer words of comfort, wisdom, and love. Her praise of our individuality was a source of support that is greatly missed. Our hope is that Yonatan will carry on her love through caring for others more than himself like she did.

Our miracle would never have been possible without the love and support of our friends and family. Sharing our struggles and heartache and our joy with those closest to us helped us cope. We will never be able to adequately thank our cousins Janis and Jim for their generosity, love, and support. In honoring them, we wish for Yonatan to embrace their giving spirit and fill his life with acts of lovingkindness.

Jenn's maternal grandfather – Yonatan’s great grandfather – Irving (Yitzchak in Hebrew) was 12 years old when he arrived in this country. As an immigrant he worked very hard to build a successful butcher business and provide for his 3 children. Grandpa Irving was a kind and loving man who I was fortunate to have known. In his memory, we wish for Yonatan to inherit his sense of hard work and determination no matter what obstacles he might face.

My (Yiftach's) paternal grandfather – another of Yonatan’s great grandfathers – was Yaacov Levy, a prolific writer and influential educator who left his boyhood home in rural Ukraine and ended up contributing a great deal to Jewish and secular thought in Western Europe and Israel. While I never got the chance to know him, my dad’s figurative and literal journeys through his father’s life and work over the last several years have made me ever more confident of his place of honor in Yonatan’s heritage.

Several generations back on my (Yiftach's) maternal family tree is Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, a renowned 19th century rabbi from Lithuania whose influence on Jewish life is still felt today in Israel and around the world. Over the last decade or so, as I’ve become more knowledgeable – and, of course, more curious – about Jewish traditions, texts, customs, and history, I’ve felt an increasing spiritual kinship with Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan that has enhanced my bloodline relationship with him, and I enthusiastically pass these gifts on to Yonatan.

Your Ima and Aba’s names begin with J and Y, thus completing the circle of life from your great-grandfathers, your great aunt and your cousins with J and Y names throughout our family. You are the next link in our lives binding our families together and strengthening the millennia-long chain of Jewish generations.

Your middle name – Tzvi – is another link in connecting your life with your big sister Hadarya’s. In anticipation of having a family, we decided to give all of our children middle names that began with a T to honor Jennifer’s maiden name TABAK. It was also a way to link all of our children together no matter how they came to be part of our family. Tzvi means a deer or gazelle. These animals are very graceful and gentle. We hope that your will embody that characteristic and be a gentle person.

Welcome to our family!

12/10/08 - Blog Address Becomes True

2008-12-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

2 1/2 years ago we (mostly I) began this blog to create a space to share my joys of being a mom and the life with the children my husband and I planned to have.

On 09/06/06 I wrote the following: "Welcome to our blog for our journey to becoming parents. ouryeladim.net was created to share our expereinces, our highs and lows, and finally the celebration of our yeladim (children) coming home."

Little did I know that 3 weeks later our beautiful daughter would come into our lives and begin the process of making the title true... OUR CHILDREN. But alas, she was just one and so the address did not match our intentions at the time with just one child.

Now it is true, thanks to the support of amazing family and medical intervention. We welcomed our son into our family on 12.10.08 at 1:05 AM. NOW our blog address is true because there are CHILDREN in our house and G-d willing there will be more to come.

What a fabulous feeling and amazing life I have with my husband, daughter, and son. Life with our yeladim is grand; even just 3 days after his birth and very little sleep. Yep, life is grand as of now and no one could tell me anything differently.

38 weeks!

2008-12-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday, I am officially 38 weeks pregnant and staying that way for a while longer. WOO HOO! The high blood pressure scare and swollen legs certainly scared my doctor and the rest of us, but not working does wonders! This baby is not ready to meet the world yet and while bed rest seems to be getting a little tiresome (mostly from getting sore from sitting!), whatever I have to do do make sure this little one is totally ready, I'll do.

We have finally found a routine and seem to be on a good pattern of adjustment to this lack of cooking, cleaning, laundry on my part! Hadarya seems to be doing much better than the first week or so and it's great to have so much help from family and friends.

We are looking forward to meeting to our miracle and beginning life as a family of four. BUT not for a couple more weeks...

3 AM -- No party in her crib

2008-11-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 20th was the night before the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. For 5 years we've both participated: me through walking 60 miles or crewing on a pit stop and my husband through crewing gear and tent. Even when our daughter arrived 2 years ago, I still walked and he cheered us on from the sidelines. So this year, it was obvious that I would not be able to crew being 9 months pregnant and we would cheer him on from the sidelines. Hadarya had other things in mind.

While I was a bit nervous about the weekend by "myself" with her (and grandma and savta) I figured we'd make it happen somehow. But Tuesday's doctor's appointment, putting me on bedrest, changed everything. I was now out of commission and we needed to make changes.

Savta agreed to spend the night on Thursday night and help get Hadarya to daycare in the AM. She sleeps until about 7 AM and that would work out perfectly. Yiftach was set to leave at
4 AM to get to the fairgrounds for day zero to join his crew members lugging gear and tents.

Hadarya had been sleeping through the night for a couple of nights in a row and even if she woke up for milk or from a dream, it was usually around midnight, 2 AM, or 5:30 AM. So at 2:55 AM when she called out for Aba, we were a little unnerved.

For almost an hour she cried, whined, fussed, drank milk, fell asleep on Aba's shoulder, refused to come to Ima or Savta and generally acted uncharacteristically of our amazing child. It was bizarre. If you were not in our house you would never believe that our 2 year old knew Aba was leaving the house and she wanted to be part of it. It was just so uncanny.

He finally got her back in her crib at 3:50 and left with Grandpa to pick up Auntie Kimber. As soon as I shut the door and locked it, she woke up calling out for Aba. She let me pick her up (I haven't done that in a very long time due to growing belly and her lack of comfort!) and we laid on the couch together. I thought she was falling asleep but Savta said she was wide-eyed. She allowed Savta to carry her to our bed and she laid down between us and closed her eyes.

I called Yiftach to tell him (4:20 AM) that she was good...did not use his name but just said she's on her way to sleep in our bed; and she popped up and called for him. He did not make it to Del Mar and the beginning of the 3 day.

Our daughter has a sixth sense about things and she knows when things are not exactly as they should be. She totally knew that our lives had turned upside down on Tuesday at the doctor's and she was trying to figure it out. This was not a party that we were glad to be invited to!

0 to 60 in 1 Doctor's Appointment

2008-11-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 18th started off like any other day but ended with a new plan for our lives for the next month. We carpooled to work and I had my typical 1/2 day with students. I knew that I only had 4 more teaching days left until I was on maternity leave and so we made the most of our day and ended with sharing. I had a one hour inservice (sitting and listening and participating) and then left to pick up Yiftach for our 4 PM regularly scheduled Doctor's visit.

Long story short, my blood pressure was way too high for my doctor's liking and my feet and calves were very swollen. Not surprising at the end of the day, sitting half naked on a small doctor's examining table with my feet dangling and waiting over 30 minutes to be seen...but the blood pressure wouldn't come down as she continued on with her exam and measurements.

My parents had picked up Hadarya for the doctor's visit and we called to ask them to keep her longer as we were headed to the hospital for further testing for preeclampsia. The doctor gave us 30% chance of being admitted and induced that night and that was a little much for us! We're not ready for this baby yet and it's not ready for us!

Blood was drawn and sent to the lab. We waited for a room in an office as there were too many people who came to triage right before us. I was hooked up to fetal monitoring machine, blood pressure machine, and contraction machine. Told to rest, lie still, and hang out. It took awhile but I finally got comfortable after Yifach piled a few more blankets on me to make me warmer and propped up my arm on a few folded sheets to keep it steady.

My blood pressure came down significantly and the baby's heartbeat was fine. The blood work came back clear and I had no extra proteins floating through my liver and kidneys! YEAH... we were sent home. No more work, no cooking (standing on my feet) and no significant anything but laying around on the couch on bedrest.

Life has changed. Dramatically. I sit on the couch all day. My mom comes over. My mother-in-law comes over. My daughter cuddles near me. I do not do a whole lot but flip through the channels and check my email! Our hope is to continue this lifestyle, as hard as it has been on my husband, and figure out how to keep my BP down and let the baby wait until it's really the right time....4 more weeks to go. We'll see what the doc says on Monday AM.

Do You Want...

2008-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

So our daughter has a very smelly poopy diaper and refuses to change it. She thinks it's a game. She really wanted her bitzy (pacifier) and I told her only if she got the wipes and pad. Usually she complies and is very helpful. Today, not so much. Probably because she refused a nap and is being 2.

Here is the conversation we had with our 2 year old:

Me: Do you want to change your diaper?

H: Nope

Me: Do you want to go to Target?

H: No

Me: Do you want to go to bed?

H: Nope

Aba: She's going to say no to everything you say.

Me: Do you want to go in the car?

H: No

Aba: Do you want to go to skydiving?

H: YES!

Grandma's Blankie

2008-10-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday night at 1:30 AM we ventured into the car with a wide-awake but very sleepy child after soaking the bed and her pj's. She couldn't get settled and wanted the car to fall asleep in. We've done this before so it wasn't that big of a deal and since I didn't have to work the next day and was worried about the whole bed wetting issue anyway, I was wired to go.

There were a few rules though from the toddler: she insisted, of course, on her bitzy (pacifier), and a blankie. She rarely sleeps with a blankie but boy did want one and it had to be a specific one. We got it right on the 4th try. Then she wanted her minnie mouse pillow too. We got her in the car and she started on about Grandma's Blankie. It took several attempts to understand her (we are working on taking out the bitzy when she talks but at 2 in the AM it wasn't worth the fight) and after repeating what she said again and again, we caught on to Grandma's Blankie.

The problem??? What was Grandma's Blankie?? Then I got it. The Luvee that Grandma made her. She got one when she was born and Grandma made her several more to have in the car and day care and to be the hot baby item for all her friends to give as gifts. It's a rectangle shaped flannel material on one side and minky dots on the other with different textured but coordinated ribbons all around. Hadarya doesn't sleep with them at home anymore, but she does at daycare. At home they are her babies blankies. YET... she knew, somehow that it was made by Grandma, and she had to have it in the car that night.

She got it. Slept fairly quickly. and tonight asked for Grandma's Luvee at bedtime.

Birthday Girl

2008-10-15T12:11:00.001-07:00

Here are photos of our love on her 2nd Birthday. We can't believe she's already 2!! Where did the time go??

Sukkot and Soaking Wet

2008-10-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Although we've talked about and talked about building our own Sukkah every year for 5 years of our marriage, it just hasn't happened. We have had a backyard, albeit just dirt, but a place to build one. We just haven't gotten it together. This year was no exception but next year will be different. Nana and Saba came through with a fabulous birthday present for us both: a Sukkah Kit! We are beyond excited to have the directions, the lumber, and all the mechanics to make an 8 x 12 structure. Next year it's going to be fabulous. This year, we continue to "crash" at our friends Sukkahs to experience the holiday.

The word Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut. During this 7 day holiday, Jews are instructed to build a temporary structure in which to eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and is intended to reflect G-d's benevolence in providing for all the Jews' needs in the desert. The sukkah is a temporary structure used for meals throughout the holiday.

We spent Monday night with our 2nd family...the Meltzers in their Sukkah. Hadarya had a blast playing with the kids, eating at the picnic table outside, and just soaking up the atmosphere. She is such a social kid! We had delicious food, great company, and headed home for bed around 7:45. Munchkin put on her pj's with all the other kids and wore her new birthday hippos from Baba Karen.

Around 1:30 AM she awoke crying, which is unusual. Yiftach went in and tried to give her something to drink and pat her back. Didn't work. She kept asking for Ima. So he finally took her out of her bed to discover she was completely soaking wet!! Her legs were soaked as was her freshly made bed through 2 sheets and a mattress pad.

Ima got out of bed and went to get her not yet realizing how wet she was. I took her to my room and laid her down to change her pj's. She cried the whole time from being cold and uncomfortable and wanting to sleep so badly! It turns out that somehow her diaper was not longer attached. One side was totally undone and the other barely hanging on. The diaper was dry but her legs and pj's were soaked!

She refused new pajamas and cuddled under a warm blankie on our bed. We stripped her bed and put on a new sheet but she wouldn't get in. She was pretty awake and just kind of freaked out. This is only the 2nd time she's wet through a diaper/pj's in her life! So we ended up having a snack and taking a ride in the car. She crashed quickly to the lull of the car and we transferred her to her bed.

We unfortunately were awake for a little longer since this was way more than just waking up! We are working on securing diapers better and trying to make sure she is able to sleep without being wet again.

Morning Rituals

2008-10-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Somewhere between 6:45 AM and 7:15 AM a sweet little voice can be heard calling, "IMA" down the hallway. That's my cue that my angel is awake. I respond with, "HA-DAR-YA!". She responds back in a different tone, "EEE-MA!" Then it's my turn, "Hadar-YA!" Until I make it into her room and she giggles at me and smiles. Rarely does she call for Aba. She's learned that Aba graciously gets up in the middle of the night, unless there is an emergency such as the night before last and then all she wants is Ima. (See next post for that incident).

Hadarya then asks for her song. "Good morning to you, Good morning to you, Good morning sweet Hadarya, Good Morning to you!" She then says, "again" and I proceed to sing to her again this time with saying good morning to her body parts. She giggles and giggles until she is ready for up and out.

Because I am on a fall break from work, we've been getting back into my bed and cuddling for a while. She just thinks that is the best of the best to snuggle into our bed and against my growing belly. We tickle each other, sing songs, and smile into each others faces.

It's sweet and delicious and I am going to miss it when I go back to work next week!

And I thought I would be alone...

2008-10-14T08:48:00.001-07:00

It's been almost 6 years since I was married and it's often hard to imagine another life without my husband, my daughter, being an adult and the never ending bills, laundry, and cleaning that comes with it. That was not a complaint...just the life of grown-ups! We got married later than most of our friends (at 32 years old) and waited a year to even begin thinking about starting a family. We wanted to enjoy being married first.

Most of my friends already had kids by the time I got married. The oldest turns 18 tomorrow. Most of them are dealing with school age children and are at different stages in their lives with sports, dance, homework, and a variety of other activities that consume your children. Most of them have at least 2 and many of them more. Since we got married much later than them and therefore were going to have children later, I figured that I'd be alone in my pregnancy and child-rearing stages. It would not have been exactly how I would have planned it, but we plan and G-d laughs.

When we struggled to even get to the first stage of the game by getting pregnant, I knew for sure that I'd have my children but all my other friends would have theirs first and we'd be at different places raising our kids. Hard to take. Hard to explain. Tough to manage emotionally even though there was not a lot I could do about it. I even had a friend tell me that it didn't matter so much because I would make new friends who had kids the same age.

BUT I DIDN'T WANT NEW FRIENDS!!! I liked my old friends and the history and time we'd invested. I wanted to be a mom with these friends and not have to start all over.

Rewind to 2 years ago when our daughter arrived on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. In our group of friends, she was 7 months younger than 2 of our closest friends girls, 4 months older than another friends' daughter, just over a year older than my best friends twins, and 2 years younger than the group of our friends who had boys all at the same time. She fit right in age wise with everyone else and we couldn't have been more delighted! It was great.

Now she is 2 (as are most of the other girls or about to be!) and we are delighted to find ourselves pregnant with a healthy baby due in just over 2 months. When we first found out, we were thrilled to be adding to our family and being able to experience the joy and miracle of pregnancy. It doubled when we found out our dearest friends (who have a daughter 7 months older and a son 2 years older than H) were also expecting and due 9 days before us!!!

I WAS NOT ALONE! I was going to have a baby at the same time as our close friends.
WOO HOO!!

It gets better. . . we have since found out that another set of our friends (whom we do not see enough of) are having a baby boy 6 weeks before us and another good friend (whom we do not see enough of) are having a baby boy 4 weeks after us!! There is another friend of a friend due a few weeks before me and another due 4 months after me. Then we just got the best news that our other friends are having their first baby about 3 months after us and we couldn't be more thrilled for them. Our friends who have a daughter 4 months younger than ours are also having another baby due 4 months after this one of ours! SO our two kids will be about the same age difference!!

That's a total of 8 babies born within 6 months of each other. I am so excited and so thrilled to not have to make new friends. To have families with other kids having kids about the same age. This is my babies hebrew school class. It's the b'nai mitzvah track. Even though I had a plan, G-d's plan was better. Have faith and look what happens.