drumming and humming

We had such a fun time with Tali, Avi, Linda, Eric, Savta, Jerry, Dod Eyal and Aunt Lauren during our very first drum lesson. Check out all of the pictures! Koby has also really been enjoyind Mark's harmonicas. I snapped the other shots when we were getting ready for the day this morning.

Koby has also been singing the ABCs and counting with us. They typical ABC song begins with me singing most letters, Koby adding in the letters "C" "G" "P" "S" then it gets funny. Instead of saying "V" he says "double" ('cause "w" is the next letter), and then when I pause for him to say "z", he sings "know" (jumping to the "now I know my abcs"). It's so cute, I hope to get it on video one of these days.

Here are the pictures from drumming and humming:

December 2008

Halloween, AC and Grandpa Phil's Wedding

Much has happened since we last posted. Here's a very short update... Meme and Grandpa James visited for a few days and Koby played hooky from school and had a blast! Then, later on that week was Halloween, and immediately following, Grandpa Phil and Judy's wedding.

So, Halloween: Masquerading as a panda bear, Koby visited a whopping four houses. I think that the door knocking and doorbell ringing was more for me than Koby because I wanted to show off his great panda bear costume - which I handmade!!! (With quite a bit of help from meme, of course!) It was funny, when we went to the door, Koby didn't quite understand what was happening. He wanted to ring the doorbell (which he indicated by saying "push, push"), and then once someone came to the door, he wanted to ring the doorbell some more. And then, when that wasn't an option, he wanted to go into the house and play. So, after four houses, we went to Koby's friend Nadav's house. There, the two of them played, and their parents ate all the chocolate :)

Immediately after Halloween, we went down to Cape May for Grandpa Phil and Judy's wedding. The weather was just glorious, so we visited Aunt Alexis (on her birthday!!) and Jake and played in the sand in Atlantic City. Then we went off to meet the new family. Koby really held his own at the rehearsal dinner, making his way in between all sorts of legs to find Mark and me. He enjoyed the wedding also, gotta love the live music! Congratulations to Grandpa Phil and Judy!

October November 2008

Koby, BMOC, and his cousins Chloe and Caroline

We went to CT for Chloe and Caroline's Christening this weekend. The girls were very well-behaved. Koby was a little rambunctious. He played with the girls, and with their dog, Mazie. Here's a short video of Koby with his cousins. During the entire time that Koby, Caroline and Chloe were sitting in the chair, Koby was snuggling them. This video shows him patting both shoulders. Earlier, he was kissing them! Quite a far cry from when he was "sweeping" Chloe and Caroline with Meme's broom just a few weeks ago.

click to see Koby hugging his cousins

click to see more pictures of Koby from this month.

July 4 vacation

We just spent the week with family, both in Connecticut (congratulations to Melissa and Jon for officially tying the knot!) and Massachusetts. In Connecticut, we explored the Mystic Aquarium with Uncle Dave. Koby - true to form - loved the fish. He played with sting rays (really - they have a touch tank), and watched jelly fish and sharks and all other sorts of sea creatures. It was hot, but quite fun!

In Massachusetts, Koby had his first row in a row boat, first sail in a sail boat (thanks Mr. and Mrs. Bowker) and first introduction to a cat. He loved each new experience. We also had ice cream and lots of long walks. Koby also participated in his first "Horribles" parade. And, of course, we can't forget to mention Koby's friend Thea. She was just precious as could be! Hopefully, we'll get back to see everyone later this summer.

Here are some snapshots of our journey:

July 2008

Vacation!

All we ever wanted.  had to get away!

Mark's painting the boat, I'm staying up too late talking with Connie and Big D. and we're having a blast.  Tomorrow, who knows? 

Well, we're hoping to go to the beach and to see Nana.  Definitely some long walks and some ice cream.  mmmm.

 

Nora turns one!

Nora is one of Koby's first friends. Nora's mom and I were in prenatal yoga class together. Pre-babies, we used to go to dinner together after class - when Nora was born, she joined us for dinner also! Now we see each other for trips to the park, play dates and just Sunday afternoon. So, imagine our shock when we received her birthday party invitation. "She can't be one," we exclaimed! But she is and what a party to celebrate!

We just had to get a family shot of all of us:
Our backyard is looking really great! Koby is having a good time playing out there with his magic wand - it's like he's willing the flowers to come up!

for other fun springtime pictures, click on the picture below.

April 2008

another zoo visit!

I had another great visit to the zoo this week. Savta and Aunt Lauren took me and we had a blast. During lunch, I saw my friend Nadav and his mom Hila. Fortunately, Aunt Lauren recongized them also, and they joined us for the rest of the day. Here are some fun pictures to enjoy.

xo, Koby

springtime zoo

Earth day 2008 AKA Election Day

We all know that it's earth day every day and election day only once every few years, but Briar Bush celebrated with quite a number of festivities over the weekend. We just had to go and give a shout out to Mark!

Koby had a great time. He was outdoors for most of the morning. He was clad in a great big sun hat - which he has figured out how to pull off, of course. He still got quite a bit of sun. The weather was beautiful. 70 degrees and sunny, and with no leaves on the trees, it became a little too sunny for the little guy.

Koby had a great time watching the animals and talking with the birds. The picture of him at the gate is right outside the turtle / tortoise enclosure. Quite fun!

Thanks for being good stewards for the planet for our son.

Earth Day at Briar Bush 2008

Passover 2008!

Passover is this week. We celebrated first seder at Aunt Do and Joes, and second seder at Cousins Pam and Doug's house. Lots of photos to share! Click on the photographs to see more from that night.

Passover at Aunt Do and Joe's

Passover at Pam and Doug's

what a week!!

This week really started with Saturday. That's the day that Koby and I took Septa to 30th Street Station and then Amtrak to New York Penn Station. It was a whole day of firsts, for both Koby and me: #1 Koby's first Septa train ride #2 Koby's first Amtrak train ride #3 Maani's first time using Red Cap service at 30th Street - did you know that escalator 7 only goes up? and that the elevators at 30th Street all need a key to operate? #4 Koby's first time nursing VERY publicly (the first seat on an Amtrak car where everyone sees you) #5 Koby's first escalator ride in a stroller - you try finding an elevator in Penn Station! #6 Koby's first time in NYC! so many people to look at, so little time! #6A including a huge ELMO, which we paid $1 to photograph. Aunt Julie, you've made us elmo-crazy! #7 Our first visit to Aunt Alexis's and Jake's apartment #8 the first time that Maani saw the most beautiful snowflake dangling in NYC.

We - finally - met Mark at 7 PM and drove to CT to visit with Mark's dad and step-mom, Grampy Jay and Missy. Koby was in jammies when they arrived from their dinner, but we stayed up to say hello. We had a fantastic time in CT - thanks Missy and Grampy Jay for everything... the delicious food, the warm kitchen sink bath, the company, and the love. We also visited with Jenny and John. We can't wait for Koby's little cousins to arrive, well, we can wait, we want them to be very healthy little ones :)

Koby came home with lots of presents, and a fever. He's sleeping now and on baby tylenol.

Here are some pictures from the week.

the Pre-Hanukah Celebration

We spent the morning at Joe and Do's celebrating Hanukah a few days early. Koby hung out with his second cousins Mara and Emma. And, of course, his Zants Avie, Shanni, Alia, Ellie and Leah (we missed you Aunt Alexis and Zant Rachel!)

Emma lit the Hanukia with the help of her cousins.

It was sometimes hard to follow Koby, he was getting passed around so much. The real Hanukah starts on Tuesday night, so we'll light more candles then.