The Week of Shavuot

Busy-ness seems to be a theme for us. This week was chock full of activity! We visited the Liberty Bell, the zoo, the Jersey Shore, the pool, shul...We finished installing an exterior drain to our house...Libi's drama class finished and we got to watch the last class (and participate!). I've added 5 new albums--you must check them out.

Marigold is talking so much! She does a lot of pretend play with her dolls, and with other objects too. She pretends that her stuffed fish are swimming; she picks up handbags, puts them on her shoulders and says 'bye'. She calls Libi and Julia, "Bibi" and "Yaya". She loves coloring with markers and colored pencils--no crayons for this 3rd child! She is very independent and will try to do everything herself before she asks for help. She says "Ow" to get out of her highchair, or down from the bed. She says "Puh" when she means Up. She says "bapi" for Pacifier...it's so much fun!


Libi is really picking up some pre-reading skills! She has a number of words that she can recognize, including "And" and "Mama". She is able to figure out the beginning letters of many words based on their sounds. She is now getting excited about all this learning!

Julia is reading Harry Potter. For some reason she refused for a while, but then I read the first chapter to her and we were both enthralled! Now she loves the story and I'm sure we'll be going through the whole Harry Potter series.

My 3 year stint as leader of the Preschool PTA is just about over...We have found a new leader and I'll be working with her over the summer! It's an exciting time for me as I expect to have some time to myself (I hope). But I am sure I'll get involved in the PTO for Julia's new school in the Fall, and I've already agreed to be on the Membership Committee for our Synagogue.

Josh is extremely busy too! His company keeps growing and using him in different ways...I can't say much more at this time, but we'll keep you all posted.

I am also excited because a number of my friends are expecting babies soon! I can't wait to hear about Joanna and Kevin's first baby! Chris and Rachel are expecting their second...another friend is expecting her second as well (but I'm not sure if the news is public yet)...I hope to be visiting the Boston area this summer sometime to see all the new little ones.

This busy weekend

This weekend we travelled to NY to visit family. My, was it busy! My parents were in Virginia the whole time at David's Graduation Ceremony from Business School at UVA. Congratulations Dave!!!
Keri and Lavi invited us to Shabbat dinner, so we started our trip on Friday evening after we picked up Julia at 3pm. TRAFFIC. We only arrived at their house at about 7:30 which was SO LATE for our girls to eat dinner. But we enjoyed a wonderful meal of grilled chicken, corn, mushrooms, and salad. Libi was so overtired that she could only eat Challah and peanut butter. We loved seeing Keri and Lavi, and we were lucky that Ari was still awake when we arrived. He is delicious!

Then, on Saturday we began our day at 10am when we all trekked to the Galleria to get Julia a new Webkinz. She had been working all of the previous week to earn extra cash to pay for this doll. All Galleria stores were sold out. So we went to the Westchester Mall. Also sold out. After our late night, Libi was a mess and we had to rent a stroller that could fit both her and Marigold. Can you imagine the fun?? Anyway, on our way back home, we racked our brains and decided to try the tiny little card shop in Scarsdale across from Balducci's. Success!! He had a good selection, including the Pink Pegasus that Julia wanted. She was overjoyed and decided to name it "Strawberry Wings".

Hey Lavi--how do you say this in Hebrew?? Post a comment please.

So we've already had a full day dragging everyone to 2 malls, and then a little shop, and then we had to get lunch...It was only noon. Oh, did I mention that Marigold was up all night, every half hour, coughing and complaining? So Josh and I are totally exhausted.

At around 1:30 Candi and Ronin come to visit us. We haven't seen Ronin in person since he was about 4 months old I think. He is an active little boy! Candi was running after him nonstop. He is very good-natured and sweet, and got along well with Marigold. It was very nice to see them both. I would love for them to see us in our own home one day! Especially since my parents' home is NOT baby-proofed whatsoever, and Candi was freaking out (especially being a first-time mom).

Anyway, we all napped afterwards and then went to Solange's birthday party at 6pm! Everyone was there. Oma & Opa, of course. Jillian & Brian, Shoshi & Evie, Jacques & Mary, and Jeanne too. And also Jerry & Patty Kellert. The Osborne is a very nice place to have a function like this as the food is pretty good, and the staff is very understanding (considering they don't deal with children very often).

So we got to bed with another late night for the kids, but they handled it pretty well. Too bad everyone still wakes up at 7am. (make that 5:30 for Marigold). Today we had brunch at the Nautilus with Josh's family, then we packed up my parents house, cleaned up as much as we could, and came back home. It's definitely nice to be back. Everyone's asleep now and Josh and I are calling it quits as well. Getting ready for a jam-packed week!

Happy Birthday Gomer!

Happy Mother's Day

To all the wonderful women in the world who have been blessed with children: I hope you had a wonderful day today. This day means something different to every mother, and I hope your hopes were fulfilled today.

As for our family, we had a lovely brunch at the Valley Green Inn in Fairmount Park. After the meal we walked to the stream right next to the restaurant and the girls discovered a whole brood of goslings! There were actually two families of geese with babies and it was beautiful to watch. Marigold broke out in giggles a couple of times. Julia and Libi had fun feeding the ducks and geese some scraps of bread. I was able to enjoy the sweetness of this day.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

You never knew that "Who Let the Dogs Out" could be so adorable!
Watch all 4 videos in order

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I just uploaded a new album of recent photos!! Check them out at "The Osborne & Ari's First Birthday Party".
Tomorrow is my birthday and the girls have been so cute scurrying around trying to hide something from me...Julia said this morning,"we were coloring something Mom, but NOT your birthday cards." Libi told me that Marigold made a card too...I can't wait to see them tomorrow!! It will be mostly an ordinary day, but I'll try and treat myself a little. Not sure what the plan is yet.