Noam Wolkenfeld, superstar

Need we say more? The terrible twos have definitely set in. Noam knows what he wants, knows how to ask for it (or perhaps we should say, order us to do it) and isn't afraid to scream bloody murder if he doesn't get it. Plus, he plays air guitar. And air violin. Oh, and air cello...and table piano.

Just a little family quality time - increasingly common as it gets harder for Eema to lift Noam...

More playtime with Ariel - pushing Ariel on the car, not to be confused with pushing Ariel, which we discourage. But it is confusing.
Tired after a long day's work...or maybe just sunbathing in our living room?

Noam: the movie

Last Friday, Noam returned from a trip next door with the following report:
"Sam, cook. Hot. Ayah, Noam, inside. Sam: NOOOO!"

In other words, our neighbor was grilling chicken on the mirpeset and would not allow Ariel and Noam to come outside, as the grill was very hot. Maybe this doesn't sound like a very intense story, but as you may be able to tell from the above, when Noam tells it, it sounds like the script of a very dramatic movie.

Similarly:
"Dada, kippa, tree! Dada saaad. WIND. Found - kippa - on DIRT! "

This great saga went on for weeks. The story just never got old. Daddy's kippa blew off the mirpeset and landed in a tree. Eventually - days later - it fell out of the tree and ended up on the ground, where Noam and Daddy found it and retrieved it (which involved asking our ground floor neighbor to let us into the yard, watching the dog in said yard eat his dinner, etc). It was quite the happy ending.

Noam also narrates his own accomplishments. As in, "good! job! Noam!" which he says when he is feeling particularly proud of himself. Or, "Noam! Coot!" when he feels he has done something cute. Yes, this child needs siblings. For his own good.

And in a final linguistic twist, Noam has a habit of switching the syllables of certain words, which makes him harder to understand but admittedly very cute.
Garage = "agaage" (he LOVES the book on said topic from Bubbe!)
Balloon = "aboon"
Daddy = "deedah"

Another new favorite word - "cello." Yael, Noam's amazing babysitter, takes him to a local music conservatory, where he gets to play the piano and watch the students play different instruments. He loves the piano and the violin, and guitar is an old favorite, but cello is his newest obsession. He pretends to play, and also makes Daddy and Eema pretend to play the cello - not really such an easy thing, if you think about it.

Here are some pictures from around the house:

Noam with his "thing." Every day, Noam picks one or two objects and designates them as "thing" and "other thing." For the rest of the day, he periodically requests his "things." If you are the hapless adult who was not with him when these "things" were selected, you are in big trouble.
Making a call. Probably to "mer'ca."

Nakie time with Ayah. Playing with aboon!

Did you doubt that our son would be reading the New Yorker?

NOT

Noam has recently honed some new styles of argumentation. Shades of Aunt Debra on the debate team, perhaps? We're not sure where he gets it from, but we just wanted to share a few of his newest linguistic treasures.
- When Eema says, for example: "I am going to cook dinner now," Noam says: "no, NOT!" (and so on and so forth)
- When Eema says: "we don't put rice in our cup of water," Noam says: "yes, do!" (and so on and so forth)
- When Eema says: "that's not funny, "Noam grins and says: "funny!!"

Just thought I'd share. It's sort of cute, only....not.

Shabbat Shalom

-Hey!

Dear All,

"Hey!" is what I say now when Eema says Shabbat Shalom. We sing that song sometimes after Eema lights candles for Shabbat. We both cover our eyes, and Eema says the blessing and then I say "amen!"

So I just wanted to wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom. Today I played with "Ay" (Yael) and then got to hang out with my cousin Adena for a bit. Now we're getting ready for Shabbat. Tomorrow we're going to Faffa's house (Yaffa)! And in a few weeks we're coming back to "merica." I'm excited to see everyone!

In the meantime, I am still having fun here in Jerusalem. I still love going for walks and playing in the park, though Eema is not quite as much fun as she used to be. Her belly is very big, and I prefer not to discuss the reasons. When asked, I sometimes volunteer the information that I am "coot" (cute) and that Noam is Eema's big boy. End of story.

Here are some pictures of me playing around the house, which is mostly where I play these days during the times when Eema is alone with me!

Love,

Noam


Who says I'm not ready for siblings? I like reading to my "baby."



Daddy says that Eema and I spend a little too much time bonding. Eema and I have no idea what he's talking about!

Holdit

Well, Noam's verbal skills have really taken off, and he learned to say "rabbi" just in time to be able to welcome his Daddy home in proper style (this is because we went to a Shabbat lunch where there were not one but TWO rabbis. Noam had two things to say to the rabbis. "Rabbi, 'doosh!" (i.e kiddush) and "Rabbi, sing!").
He talks pretty much constantly, and reads books to himself in between having Eema and Daddy read them. He has two copies of "Go, Dog, Go!", one big and one little, which he refers to as "Big, Go!" and "Yittle, Go!" Often Eema is called upon to read first one and then the other. They are strikingly similar...his new favorite book is "The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher." Noam requires that we read it to him at least five or six times a day. When we finish, he says, "more, this!" Thanks, Grandma!

We've also discovered that there are certain phrases that he says as though they were one word. I say "discovered" because it took a while before we had any clue what it was that he was trying to say...for example:
"Holdit!"
"Takeit!"
"Nothis!"

And a word to the wise, he can and will repeat just about anything that anyone else says.


Here are a few pictures of Noam showing off around the house....


Bad hair day. Have we mentioned that Noam needs a haircut?

Solution to bad hair day...
Showing off Eema's belly...(for those of you who were wondering what 24 weeks pregnant with twins looks like)
And Noam's belly!

Noam is really into bellies, though he prefers not to discuss what might be inside. He helps Eema moisturize every morning, and when asked what is in Eema's belly, he now says, "Cream." Occasionally he still mentions that there are two babies, but this doesn't seem to interest him a great deal. Hmmm....

Eee-nough!

Well, it's just Noam and Eema hanging out here in Jerusalem. We miss Daddy, but Noam has been very well behaved, and we've had lots of friends come to visit to make sure we're surviving. Noam has enjoyed playing with Yaffa, Liz, Jenny, and Hadas, and of course Ariel and Ariel's Eema and Abba! Here's a picture from the boys' most recent jam session:

Noam's interest in music continues to grow, as does his vocabulary. His appetite does not. Here is a recent story that illustrates all of the above:

For reasons he hasn't shared with Eema, Noam no longer says "all done" when he is finished eating. He now says, "Eee-nough!" though he still signs all done while saying it. Today, after Eema served Noam pasta, cheese, crackers, cheerios, and applesauce - all in a desperate attempt to get him to consume more than two bites of dinner- Noam announced: "Eee-nough!"
Eema: "You're all done? You ate enough?"
Noam: "Enough, pasta! Enough, chee-chee (cheerios)! Enough, cheese! Enough, this! (that was the applesauce)"
(...and goodnight to the old lady whispering hush...)
Eema: "Do you want some pretzels?"
Noam: "Yeah!"
So Eema gave Noam two pretzel sticks...and Noam then proceeded to conduct his own little symphony. Yes, Eema is thrilled that Daddy taught Noam this trick. He provided his own accompaniment while conducting, until Eema finally convinced him that it was bath time...



...he never did eat the pretzels.

The Master At Work

We've taken some pictures highlighting Noam's creative side. Even though music seems to be his medium of choice (he pretends to play piano, violin, and guitar, and sings along with all of the above), he also likes to create cars and helicopters out of blocks, dance, and draw pictures.
The blocks that Bubbe sent are a lot of fun!
The best thing about bristle blocks is definitely the wheels. Noam loves all things that go, but lately he's very into cabs. Last week we took a cab to the bus stop, and ever since, Noam has renamed his little car. It is now a cab, which he takes to the bus. When we go outside, Noam is forever calling a cab: "Cab? Cab? (when we finally see one:) Ohhh, CAB!"


Crayons and stickers are both favorites when it comes to making pictures. Noam can identify red, blue, and purple, and sometimes green as well!



And finally, relaxing with Daddy post-bath at the end of a long day...Shabbat Shalom!