Happy Birthday Aunt Debra!

Just a quick note to wish my Aunt Debra (W) a happy birthday, and to post a new video of MOI!

More soon.

click here

Noam goes Hollywood

Never a dull moment in Noam's life. In addition to learning tons of new words and even a few new signs, Noam has been keeping busy hanging out with his Bubbe and his Aunt Debra ("debaaa!"). Of course he's always happy to have an appreciative audience, and getting to wake Aunt Debra every morning by forcing her to play with bristle blocks is an added bonus. 

Speaking of bristle blocks, Noam has received a whole lot of great gifts from assorted grandmothers and aunts. The bristle blocks are a huge hit, as is his new Noah's Ark toy. He also LOVES "Where's Spot?", and made Eema read it three (3) times before bed this evening. It's a very exciting book, and the tension mounts with each page: will Spot be found???? "NO!!," shouts Noam, and we turn the page, desperately hunting for Spot "Spaht!" Of course, when we find him, that means there are no more flaps to open, so we have to start the book from the beginning.

Meanwhile, Aunt Debra has been experimenting with her new camera, so here is a brief video - just a little taste of Noam's music & movement abilities. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL2wa-Gv9Cg

(if this doesn't appear as a link, just copy and paste it into your browser)

Post-Chanukah wrap-up

Chanukah was a good time for Noam. It started off with a trip to the zoo with Eema and Daddy. Noam really enjoyed it, particularly the penguins and the elephants. He pointed and said, "hi!" to many of the animals...

The lion made him a little nervous, and the hippo was exciting in theory (because we love hippos) but stayed in the water the whole time, which was a little disappointing. Probably his favorite part was being able to run around in big open spaces...

...which he did until we told him it was time to go home. At which point he started to run in the opposite direction (away from the exit), so we had to pick him up and haul him out. Here we are waiting for the bus to take us home!

Another highlight of the holiday was the book that Aunt Debra sent. It's all about babies ("bebeee!"), dogs (woof! woof!) and a few other topics that are hard to reproduce in writing (Noam's ability to babble has reached new heights). Suffice it to say that he spends a lot of time reading it!

What's next on the agenda for Noam? Well, Bubbe and Aunt Debra are coming to visit, which is very exciting. Also, his friend Ariel ("ayeeah!"), who has been away in America, is coming back this week. He's got at least one more tooth coming in. And no, we are not letting his hair grow on purpose - hopefully he will be getting his first haircut sometime in the very near future. We'll keep you posted!

From one holiday to the next

Dear All,

I'd like to tell you all about some recent developments in my life. Things have been a little hectic, what with Thanksgiving, a visit from Grandma and Aunt Debra, and learning to go down the big slide in the playground all by myself!

~ First of all, I've had some exciting shoe encounters. Not only is my Aunt Debra lots of fun to play with, she also has great boots (I can say "boot" now). She let me try them on!





Here I am modeling both Aunt Debra (W) 's boots, and the slippers sent to me by Aunt Debra (T) (I love them!)...



~ I'm sixteen months old now, and I can run - and I think pretty soon I'll be able to climb up the ladders on the climber. For now, I like to climb and jump on people, and Grandma was really great for that. Here I am playing on her lap....




~ I really love my bottle, which I call "baBA!" (strong emphasis on the last syllable). Second only to "BaBA" is "cooKOO", and Eema makes special (healthy) cookies for me sometimes.
Here I am enjoying my bedtime BaBA with my Aunt Debra.



More soon. Happy Chanuka!

Love and kisses (Eema wants me to tell you all that I blow kisses now. She thinks its very adorable...),

Noam

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

So much to do, so little time! We are getting ready for a visit from Grandma and Aunt Debra W, getting ready for a big Thanksgiving dinner, and trying to play a lot in the meantime. Not much time to write, but here are some recent vignettes.

Noam savoring his food - a rare sight.



Getting him to eat is an ongoing challenge. We think we might be ready for a booster seat instead of the high chair. We think this because sometimes when Eema is eating, Noam will walk over and try to push her off of her chair. He then indicates his desire to sit in said chair and eat Eema's food. Hmmm.


Noam visiting with Aunt Liz - a willing victim when it comes to fun games like "throw the ball off the couch and make Liz go get it again and again." She is our favorite Tuesday playmate!




Noam building with blocks - he's really very good at it now. It's fun to watch him figure out what will balance and what won't.





Finally, a note to Steven, who wanted to know when Noam's reading material would advance past Goodnight Moon. Steven, please see the picture below. Sure he's young, but we think he's ready to know the truth about patriarchy and orthodoxy.

Cats and other Fun Things

Did you know that Goodnight Moon is all about cats? It is when Noam reads it. On each page, he searches for the kittens. When he finds one, he points and triumphantly cries: "cat! cat!"

Outdoor adventures have a similar focus. When we see a cat, Noam stops and call to it: "Cat! cat!" When we see a dog, Noam woofs (if the dog woofs back he gets a little freaked).

For the most part, Noam doesn't touch cats or dogs. He has, however, become extremely affectionate with people and toys. He hugs Eema and Daddy (and yes, he says "dada" and no, he does NOT say mama...). His doll, which he refers to as "babeee!" gets kisses, and very gentle hugs - Noam wraps his arms around the baby, holds it to his shoulder, and gently pats its back. And of course, there are tons of hugs and lots of pats (some more gentle than others) for "Ayeah" (our next door neighbor, Ariel). They are extremely cute together!





In less fun news, the last few days have been very chilly here in Jerusalem, and we're still learning how to use the heat in our apartment. Noam woke up cold the last two mornings, so we are trying to buy him some new warm pajamas and up the heat in his room. In the meantime, he still prefers his summer hat, which has resulted in some interesting fashion statements.

Help!....

...Noam is teething. In a big way. On Thursday he had a high fever, and since Shabbat the fever is gone but the misery remains. He is a grumpy, grouchy boy!


...Noam throws major fits. When he doesn't get his way, he screams and kicks and throws things. Eema and Daddy do not know what to do with him. Here is Eema kissing and cuddling with Noam till he finally has to laugh!



...Noam feels ready to take on the world - without the help of Eema. On Sunday we had our first Mommy and Me music class. Except in Noam's case, its just "Me." He spent the time walking around to meet all the other children, sharing their food, talking to them, and occasionally sitting in another mommy's lap. All the other mommies and babies sang songs and learned hand motions together. Noam mostly pretended not to know me, though he did occasionally give me a reassuring pat on the back on his way around the room. (No pictures of this class just yet - hopefully soon)

...Noam's newest word is "help!" - though it comes out as "hap! hap!". Eema is trying to teach him to say this instead of "uuh! uuh! when he needs/wants something (such as when he has somehow climbed into the laundry basket and needs "help" getting out). Its a big improvement.



You're all invited to come over and help!

More Words

Eema's blogging has definitely not been keeping up with Noam's vocabulary, or with his other achievements. Some recent milestones:

~ Noam speaks Hebrew! He says: "todah!" (thank you). He occasionally thanks Eema for toys or food, and he almost always says it when handing little gifts (trash from the floor, etc) to Eema. Its not clear whether he learned this from his babysitter, or from his friend Ariel (who learned it in his Israeli daycare!)

~ Noam says both "no" and "nonononononono!" He does not say yes, in any way, shape, or form. Hmmm....

~ Noam weighs 9.26 kilo. In American, that's 20.4 pounds. In percentiles, that's 4th percentile. In other words, as Mike pointed out, we probably do not have a future football player on our hands.

~ Noam is also 4th percentile for height, but despite that he has recently started working towards a career in basketball. In an ingenious attempt at defense, Noam carries the hoop with him as well (and Ariel likes this game, too)
Thanks for the great present, Mike!



~ Noam loves his hat. Still. The most. First thing in the morning or last thing at night, Noam will grab his hat, run to get his shoes, and be ready to go outside (sort of).




~ Hot off the presses: Today Noam walked to the bowl where we keep the keys, looked up, and said: Key! Key!
I handed him the keys and he headed over to unlock the door.

~ And finally, here is Noam, carefully dissecting pasta in his highchair while singing to himself. I wish I could post sound effects, because Noam talks to his food!

Start to Finish

Just a quick note to say that Noam has started saying "bye-bye". This means that his conversations have a beginning ("Hi!") and an end, but no middle. Unless you count the extensive babbling both on the phone and off!
His other words are "uh-oh," "cat," and occasionally "more." So conversations with him are limited but exciting. I keep saying, "Noam, use your words!" and I think he's trying!

No Fear

Eema recently took Noam to an Israeli dance session, where he happily squirmed out of my arms, walked all around the room greeting the other dancers, and then sat himself down in the center of the circle. He laughed, babbled, talked on the phone, and was occasionally scooped up and hugged by random women.
"He certainly isn't afraid of new situations!" one woman said to me.

No, he is not. Noam has no fear and few inhibitions. In the house, he climbs whatever stands still. Yesterday at shul, he attempted to go for a little stroll on his own (we were outside at kiddush. When I caught up with him he had made it into the shul and was talking to another child).
In the playground, he makes new friends...(here he is with a little girl also named Noam!)



...that is, when he's not busy cleaning up the park. Noam apparently thinks he works for the city - his first act upon reaching the playground is to slowly and systematically pick up every single piece of trash and bring it to Eema or Daddy.
He is very outgoing with his friends here as well. Yesterday he decided it was time for a playdate with Ariel (his friend next door), so he walked himself over. We think he's a little young for a playdate without one of his parents present, but he seems to disagree.

He's also extremely friendly with his cousin Adina, who came for Shabbat with her friend Rina. We all love having them come visit, but Noam is especially delighted with the extra attention. Noam played with Adina and showed her how he talks on the phone....





On the phone, Noam is loquacious and opinionated (as long as there's no one actually on the line, in which case he clams up). Here he is carrying his "cellphone" in his bag (just like Eema!) and talking on the phone. He loves to do this naked, just as he likes to stand on the mirpeset while naked and scream at the passers-by.






Some other favorite activities:

Head...and Toes (and some other parts in between)

Noam has not yet found his shoulders or knees, but the other night in the tub he did correctly identify his head, mouth, ears, and toes! Nose is still in the works.

All this is very exciting, though he still doesn't speak. His non-verbal communication gets better and better, but it would be really great if he learned some words.

In other news, the other morning Noam patted his head repeatedly, while looking pointedly at Eema. Eventually, his kippah was found. But it kept falling off, so Noam helped Eema locate some bobby pins and we took care of the problem. Here is Noam doing his thing (helping Eema with the laundry, playing on the mirpeset, running around the apartment) while wearing his kippa like a big boy!

All About Shoes

Dear All,

Since I know that Eema has been bragging about my walking skills, I thought I would tell you all a little bit about the role that shoes have come to play in my life.
I love shoes! (in this I know I take after my Eema). They are so much fun. Until I got good at walking, they really weren't all that exciting. It was mostly just annoying that Daddy and Eema would try to cram my feet into them, but I put up with it cause I love to go outside. But now everything is different - I walk everywhere, and my parents are so impressed with my toddler-ness that it's easy to trick them into taking me outside: I just go into my room and get my shoes and socks, and bring them out to Eema or Daddy. If that doesn't work, I sit down and try to put them on by myself.



That usually gets them. They say, "look how cute!" and they help me put them on and take me out for a stroll.



But actually, its not just my own shoes that are fun. Other people's shoes are really fun too, and it's easier to get them on, even though it's sometimes hard to walk in them. For example, Mike has really great shoes...






...and Daddy does too, with laces...and Eema's flip flops are kind of hard to figure out, but her sneakers are just right!




No matter where I am or what I am doing, if Daddy or Eema asks me to bring over my shoes, I hurry off to get them. Then Eema and I put my socks on together, very carefully, and I wiggle my toes a little. Then we put the shoes on. It helps to scrunch up your face a little and make grunting sounds - that helps push my feet into my shoes. Then we close up the velcro and off we go!

Off course, shoeless and naked is still a good option when my parents insist on keeping me indoors. In fact, our mirpeset (balcony) is a great compromise - I can hang around naked, yell at the people on the street below....




...and then when I'm thoroughly grimy, I get dunked in the tub!




More soon.

Love,

Noam