ALL ABOUT ADAM

"pre-4th of July" Beach Trip

2011-09-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

We headed to Ocean City, MD for a "pre-4th of July" vacation with Grandma, Marty and his kids: Ruth & Will and Josh, Nicole & Mo. It was really great being together. Adam and Mo are a little less than 1 year apart and are so cute (and mischievious) together, as seen below:

Looking for "ghosts" in the closet

Adam is definitely a beach baby (or "big boy" now)! He LOVED playing in the sand, jumping the waves, etc. From early in the morning till late at night, he was happy as can be just hanging out on the beach (we all were)! Here are some more pics from the beach:

Here's the beach crew: Mom,Marty, Ruth, Will, Nicole, Adam, Mo & Me (minus Josh and Steven, who aren't in the photo)

We are already looking forward to going back next summer!

"All about Adam" is BACK!!!

2011-09-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

We're baaack!!! Yes, it is true... All About Adam has returned after a very long hiatus! My goal is to get all caught up from the last 6 months in Adam's life. I will be "backtracking" and adding lots of posts that highlight the spring and summer. We took a lot of trips! One being to Birmingham to visit Bobbe, Zaide... and Zebe, the cat (pictured above). Adam really took a liking to Zebe this time... spent lots of time talking to him, petting him, and trying to sneak him into Bobbe & Zaide's house! :) Lots more to come, I promise...

Another photo taken in Birmingham last month

blog update & Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

so, my computer sorta crashed when i tried downloading pics from my mom's camera card. all the files were erased (thank goodness for shutterfly where i store all my pics!) and i can't save anything. i won an ipad (yahoo!) last month and i'm waiting for that to come in. once it comes in, i'll be updating lots and posting tons of pics.

in the meantime, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the moms out there... most especially to mine... the best Mom/Grandma EVER! Love you, Mom, SOOOO much!!! xoxoxo

Passover in Birmingham

2011-04-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

We spent Passover in Birmingham with Bobbe & Zaide this week. Adam, my Passover Baby (since he was born 3 days before Passover and had a "Passover Bris") did awesome this year. I was so proud of him! He very proudly sat next to Zaide during the Seder on both nights. He took it *very seriously* and really listened to the Passover story. Well, for the first 30 minutes at least... and then he colored peacefully. :) His favorite part was "hiding the Matzoh (afikomen) from Zaide and getting 5 dollars since he couldn't find it!" - so cute. I also loved it when he said "good job, Mommy" after I read a part of the Seder. He also said "Mommy, you look very pretty in that shirt" when he saw me all dressed up. He is a charmer!!! Here are some pics from the Seder... not too many since it's apparently a faux pas to take photos at the Seder. ;) The little girl next to him is Ellie Mac (or, as Adam spells it, L E MAC), Pam's sweet granddaughter who colored with him. There were 2 great Seders filled with delicious kugels and Matzah Ball Soup (which Adam enjoyed)! :)

Adam's 4th Birthday Party (in photos)!

2011-04-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Little Love's 4th birthday party was a couple of weeks ago and was so very fun. We had a "Find.ing Ne.mo" theme (Adam's favorite movie) and Ms. Nichole from KinderDan.ce joined us again for dancing/obstacle course/parachute fun. We finished the party with pizza and birthday cake. We used the banquet room at the rec center across the street... a perfect location except for the 5K they were hosting that morning (Wow... is all I will say... I'm just glad I didn't pass out from stress when I wasn't allowed in to the rec center - due to the 5K - that morning. OMG!). Fortunately, the race was over by the time the party began and the rest of the party went off without a hitch... all's well that end's well, right?!? ;) The only thing missing was Grandma (who was at Aunt Hillary (to be) Bridal Shower) and Bobbe & Zaide. Marty was there to represent the grandparents! :)

Here are the goody bags... check out the label! :) Adam literally stuffed all the goody bags himself... goldfish, Ne.mo fruit snacks, a lollipop, sunglasses with fish on them, bubbles with a fish top, fish stamp, Ne.mo sticker & Ne.mo tattoo. I get really into the goody bags! :)

The afternoon ended with LOT of wonderful presents to open. Adam was very into his birthday cards this year and looked for his name on each card. After opening each present, he wanted to play with it... so the opening presents act took a long time! :) Immediate hits were the Magna Ti.les from Marty and the Thom.as the Train re.mote from Riley. That being said, Adam LOVED all of his presents! :)

All in all, a great day. When I asked Adam what the best part of his birthday was, he replied "chasing Roshan with the balloons" and "My Nemo cake". Sounds like a successful party to me. :)

P.S. More pics from his actual birthday coming soon! :)

Adam is 4! 4! 4! 4!

2011-03-28T20:47:00.001-07:00

Wow! Adam is 4-years-old today! I still can't believe it has been four years since this amazing little person came in (or should I say "out"? haha) and changed our lives forever...

Happy Birthday, Little Love! We love you SOOOOO Much... More than anything!!! xoxo

P.S. More birthday pics - including party pics - later this week! :)

Happy Birthday, Zaide!

2011-03-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Zaide,

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day! I recorded a special birthday song for you below (make sure you hit "play") and even included another holiday song. Think of this as your special birthday present until I see you next month in B'ham. Can't wait! :)

I love you, Zaide!

Your Little Zulich, Adam

Yay! Visit with Bobbe & Zaide

2011-03-07T17:33:00.000-08:00

Adam was SOOO excited about Bobbe & Zaide visiting him the last weekend in February. He had a great time writing for them (he could spell Bobbe & Zaide almost perfectly!) and helping Zaide finish up his train table. On Saturday, they took a trip to the Chil.dren's Museum in Bethesda and Adam went to the National Z.oo for the first time. No photos since I wasn't there - I had a dr's appt that morning. On Sunday, Grandma & Marty joined us for lunch and soccer outside. It was a very fun weekend. We can't wait until their next visit! :)

Wordless Wednesday -- Adam meets Belle!

2011-03-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Once again, apologies for the lack of posts. Some days I barely remember to breathe, let alone post! This past weekend, Bobbe & Zaide were in town so Adam had a lot of fun spending time with them. More on the visit later this week (hopefully).

Two weekends ago, we joined Grandma & Marty at the JCC to watch their teen production. It was very good... but very, very looong. OY. Adam did great during the first half (90 minutes long!!!), intently watching and clapping with the audience (so cute)! He was done - as was I - by the second half (another 45 minutes). The best part was getting photos taken with the cast members afterwards. I love this pic of Adam & Belle!

Happy 3rd Blog-anaversary! :) :) :)

2011-02-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

Wow... it's my 3rd Blog-anaverary (well, 2 days ago it was!) Thank you to all my friends (both IRL, virtual or both!) who have read about the adventures of Little Love throughout the years. I love my "baby/big boy book" that I have created and I'm about to publish the 4th edition. So cool! Little Love has come a long way since the first post 3 years ago....but he still has that mischievious smile! As Uncle Steven says, there's a lot of mischief behind those eyes... always has been! ;)

Adam at 10.5 months - Feb. 2008 -- Look at the mischief brewing already in his eyes! ;)

Adam at 1 year, 10.5 months -- Feb. 2009 -- Shopping with Mama

Adam at 2 years, 10.5 months: February 2010, at Bethes.da's Child.ren's Mus.eum

Adam at 3 years, 10.5 months: Feb. 2011 - excited to have found a raisin in his trail mix :)

If you are still reading, leave a comment and let us know! xoxoxo

Little Love Update

2011-02-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, I am soooo behind in my blogging! I think about blogging all.the.time but between all the other things I think about doing plus the things I actually HAVE to do... well, unfortunately, blogging is low on the "things to do" list (literally). Right now, Adam is busy playing with my "computer/phone" so I have a few minutes. So, what have I been so busy with, you may be wondering? Besides hanging out with Little Love, I have been working. A LOT. I'm (slowly)getting used to the full-time working gig. Fortunately, I truly love my job but it is difficult having less time with Adam and less time to myself. I just finished my first full working week since there were no snow days last week. :( The biggest adjustment for Adam is not having me around in the morning as much. As a result, he's a bit clingier when he goes to sleep (wraps his arms so tightly around me!) and has been waking up more at night. He's also been acting out a bit when we first get home, after school. I'm hoping the transition will be easier for the both of us in the upcoming weeks.

This is how I found Adam & Daddy one morning last week.

Adam is becoming more & more of a big boy everyday... he'll be 4 in about 6 weeks (OMG)! He loves to show me how much he's grown and likes me to measure him on his growth chart almost daily. :) The coolest thing is that he's READING and WRITING!!! So exciting!!! He's been reading for about 3-6 months now but has really caught the hang of phonics now. He can "sound out" almost any 3-4 letter word now and spell them, too. Here is some of his writing from earlier this week:

He wrote 3 sentences (I Love Adam, I Love Mommy & I Love Daddy) and some words. We never ask him to read or write, he always chooses do. He really gets excited to "show off" his reading & writing to us. They emphasize learning a great deal at school (can you tell?!?) but he seems to like it (for now, at least). He's also into "math" these days. He collected his foam numbers from the bathtub earlier this week and got really excited making number combinations. He can name 20, 30, etc. and can tell time (6 o'clock, 3 o'clock, etc.). It really is amazing how much he knows at such a young age.

He still loves to draw, too. Here's a watermelon and a little boy. The boy is crying because he misses his daddy (we were waiting for Steven to come home when he drew this... aww)!

Of course, he also loves to PLAY! Our gym has an open basketball court so we take Adam most weekends so he can run around with the soccer ball & get some of that energy out!

Most of all, his favorite thing to do is CANDYLAND!!! He is OBSESSED with the game and plays several different "versions" of it with Daddy. Unfortunately, he is a very sore loser. We're working on it!

Snow Day!

2011-01-29T14:48:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday, it snowed 6-8 inches so we had our first snow day on Thursday! As long-time readers, you may recall that I'm a *huge* fan of the white stuff! So fun and pretty! Of course, my kid is a big fan, too. He kept going to the window and yelling, "Mommy, look at all the SNOW! Say WOW! Loudly!" (He loves it when I say "wow" and literally asks me to say it several times a day)! :) Anyway... we bundled Adam up (I had 2 pairs of snow boots this year - after only having rain boots last winter and driving all over the city in a desperate attempt to find some last year before our huge blizzard) and headed out. Adam was excited to have his very own "real" miniature shovel (the saleslady at Ho.me De.pot pointed it out to him) and he couldn't wait to shovel with Daddy:

Afterwards, he made his very first snowman. His only real requirements were that the snowman had a carrot & raisins... and a HAT. Well, we had the carrots & raisins but no hat. So Adam insisted that the snowman wear the ALA.BAMA baseball cap that Daddy was wearing. The cap covered almost the entire snowman (see below) but Adam didn't care... since the snowman's head was warm, I'm assuming. ;)

The only downfall to the snowstorm is that we lost electricity for 33 VERY.LONG.HOURS. Actually, during the day wasn't too bad... we played in the snow and saw "Tang.led" at the movies (Adam's 2nd time seeing it - he saw it with Uncle Steven & Aunt Elizabeth in Palm Springs - and kept saying "I already saw that one!" afterwards). However, the 2nd night was ridiculously cold - the thermostat was registering 56 degrees when the power finally came back on! I will never take electricity for granted again!

The best part of the snow day was having additional time during the week with my Little Love:

(not the most flattering pic - hey, we didn't have any power!).

Speaking of time... I will begin working FULL-TIME this week! This is great news as I love my job - and the extra income is nice - but it does mean less time with Adam which I'm definitely sad about (and feeling guilty, too). However, I really didn't have a choice but to accept the offer if I wanted to stay in my current postion (and I definitely do). I'm really hoping it will all work out!

Happy Birthday, Bobbe!

2011-01-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Bobbe,

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating!

Can't wait to see you next month!

Love You,

Adam

P.S. Here's a picture of us celebrating your birthday 2 years ago:

Wordless Wednesday -- LOVE (in photos)

2011-01-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

Adam has always been a very sweet & affectionate child (when he's not wild & crazy, that is) who happens to give the best hugs, kisses & "nosies". He's really into snuggling these days, too, as in "Mommy, let's snuggle"! It's precious. Here are some photos taken from the last month of Adam spreading his love around...

Giving Uncle Joey a "back hug" in Palm Springs

Nosies for Uncle Stevenie (his new name for him)!

Lots of love - in the form of tickling! - between Adam & Uncles Joey & Steven.

Adam always gives Grandma BIG HUGS and lots of nosies. She especially loves his "real kisses" now! It's so funny b/c if you ask him for a kiss he'll stop what he's doing and kiss whatever body part is closer... usually your arm. :)

Snuggling with Mommy

Reading/snuggling with Daddy. As you can see, reading books is HUGE around here! Adam loves to take out all of his books (or as many as we'll allow) and choose his favorites each night.

Hugs for Marty

Adam has A LOT of love to give... especially to his Mommy! He loves giving me multiple kisses a day and says "I love you so much, Mommy"! whenever I leave. When you ask him "how much" he opens up his arms really wide - too cute! If only he knew how much I loved him...

Happy (belated) New Year!

2011-01-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

Happy (belated) New Year to all my wonderful blog-o-sphere friends! =)

We are back from Palm Springs, CA where we had a wonderful vacation. It was so great having my whole family back together (minus my Dad, of course... but hopefully he is up "somewhere" smiling down at all of us together). Anyway... it was truly great spending time together. Adam was a bit of a nut... due to the 3-hour time change, overstimulation, fatigue, etc. so that was a little stressful. I need to do a better job planning his daily schedule (nap, meals, bedtime, etc.) before we make the trip again in June for Joey's wedding. Anyway... he's certainly happy to be back at home. We are, too, but I do miss being with my brothers. Sigh.

I have made books for each calendar year of Adam's blog (I'll be publishing the 4th book - 2010 - soon!) so I think I'll back-date the CA posts so they'll be a part of the 2010 book. Long story short, if you would like see photos from our CA trip, check back in a few days and they will be listed in the Dec. 2010 archive.

For now, I'll leave you with a few (terrible quality - from my phone) photos of Adam's new favorite activity - "marble hockey"! He made this "game" up himself after being inspired by the air hockey game at Chu.ck E. Cheese's! He uses his train table as the board, his toy hammers for hockey sticks, legos for the goals, marbles for the pucks, and clay containers for the marble holders. Super imaginative and cute... and LOUD. Oy. He absolutely LOVES playing, though... by himself and with us. You may notice the little scar under Adam's nose - not sure how he got that but hoping it will go away soon!

Wishing everyone a happy & healthy New Year! =)

Winter "Staycation"

2010-12-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

Winter break started for Adam & I on Friday so we've had lots of awesome quality time together the past few days. It's so wonderful spending the days with my Little Love. Even though he certainly has his 3-year-old moments, for the most part he's a total delight. He's been really into reading books, doing puzzles, playing with his trains, building his legos, watching dvds (the Care Bears - old school! - is his new favorite), cooking with me, helping organize toys, drawing, etc. Today he made up a new game called "Stop & Go". He found a pointer and made up a game very similar to "Red Light, Green Light". :)

On Friday morning (Staycation Day #1), we took a "field trip" to the mall to see a kids' rock band but they didn't show (probably b/c it was on Dec. 24). Since it was Dec. 24th, the mall was PACKED. Adam played in the kids' area for a few minutes but it was too crowded. It was still morning so we headed across the mall to... Chuck E. Chee.se's (it was his lucky day, what can I say?!?). Actually, we both had a pretty good time as it was fairly empty (everyone must have been at the mall)! He LOVED playing air hockey (and would get excited when he would score goals on both sides - check out the picture of him literally jumping for joy!) and he also enjoyed skeeball - even got it in the 100 pt. circle a few times.

Afterwards, we went out to lunch together at Mimi's Ca.fe. Adam was very well-behaved (well, except for wanting to spill salt & pepper on the dishes - after we were done eating them, at least!) and he completed his meal with a gummy worm sundae! Yum!

On Saturday (Staycation Day #2), we got together with 2 other Jewish families for a traditional Chinese "Dec. 25th" dinner =). Adam had a ball playing with Alison/Don's son, Geoffrey (his birthday twin) and Lori/Alex's sons, William & Matthew. They could all be wild together! It was awesome! Here are some (terrible) pics of the boys taken from my cell phone. No pics of the men as they were busy eating separately from us women & talking football. Steven was in heaven. ;)

Yesterday (Staycation Day #3), I began to pack for our trip to Palm Springs (we're leaving tomorrow early evening) so Steven took Adam to see "Yo.gi Bear". Adam didn't talk too much about it but Steven said it seemed like he enjoyed the movie. Besides that, we just all hung out together (it was FREEZING & snowing a bit outside)!

Today (Staycation Day #4), Adam and I had another "Mommy & Me" day as Daddy had to work. We went over to Molly's house for a playdate with Riley & Jude. The kids had a good time playing together except for their arguments over who would get to hold the BLUE net and the BLUE golf club. Oy! Adam's favorite color is blue and even though he's much better with sharing these days, he insists on always having "blue". We're working on it!

We were supposed to attend another playdate this afternoon, at Selin's home (from school), but Adam was too tired as he was up way-too-early this morning. So we just hung out and rested and packed. A good end to a wonderful 4 day Staycation with my Little Love. ;)

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** Hope all of our Blogger friends who celebrate had a Very Merry Christmas! Blog will resume after the New Year... we'll be in Palm Springs with Uncle Steven/Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Joey/"Aunt-to-be" Hillary and Mom(Grandma)/Marty until then! Happy (early) New Year's!**

Preschool happenings: Dance Recital & Holiday Pageant

2010-12-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Adam has been on stage twice this past week. Good thing he likes to perform! Last week, he performed with all dance class at school. Most of the kids were much older (4- 5.5) but he held his own, for most part, until the end. During the last song, he got silly (he fell down and pretended he couldn't get back up) and then ran to me. Oh well... he did well until the end, at least. Mom & Marty also came to watch which was a special treat.

Yesterday was Little Love's class's Holiday Pageant. He did much better during this performance. He is still the youngest kid there (it's a multi-age class, in true Montes.sori fashion) but they are his regular classmates and teachers so he was fine... and quite cute, I must say. Below are some photos; for some reason, the video clip won't attach correctly - I'll try to post that again tomorrow...

With Caleb & Delaney, 2 of his "best friends" With his other "bestie" (besides Jackson), Rushan With Ms. Nalika - she's a wonderful teacher!!! With Ms. Claudia - the lovely teacher assistant Adam & Mommy

Enjoying the remaining 7 nights of Hanukkah...

2010-12-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. I've been ridiculously busy the past few weeks... have barely had time to breathe, let alone blog! Winter break will be starting in 9(?) days and then I should have time to catch up on blogging and write some "real" posts. For now, here are some photos from Hanukkah which was extraordinarily fun this year, thanks to our Little Love.

Photos were taken from Hanukkah at Sarah & Ella's house, the Hanukkah celebration at the local JCC (Adam LOVED the Le.gos!), Hanukkah with Mom/Grandma & Marty, and the last night at Hanukkah (again with M&M - Mom & Marty). Special thanks to Grandma & Marty for the wonderful Hanukkah presents - the tail-wagging, bone-chewing, barking doggie was AWESOME!

Adam checking out his new train table (obviously unbuilt) - his "biggest" Hanukkah present, literally! I love his little face - filled wint obvious delight - here.

Adam and Sarah intently watching Sarah's daddy, Jon, light the menorah.

The 3 kiddos playing together (the only photo where I got them all together!). Adam LOVED the ball popper - probably played with it for over an hour. He received one as a 1st birthday present but wasn't too interested in it then. Hmm... maybe we can find it now?!?

Sir Brix-a-Lot (that's really his name) bought thousands (literally) of Legos to the Hanukkah Celebration. Adam spent 2-3 hours playing with them... which was cool except he didn't participate in any of the other Hanukkah festivities... I think we'll hit the legos last next year!

Grandma's favorite!!! Adam collected all of these transparent legos for Grandma and me - he was so excited to find them all!
Look at the Lego Menorah & Dreidel! How cool is that?!? Except the dreyfel fell apart a minute after Adam gave it back to Sir-Brix-a-Lot so I felt kinda bad. Oops... well, he was allowing kids to hold it!

Making sure Grandma is lighting the Menorah right

I LOVE Adam's smile here as he was clapping (after the prayer, I guess?). Cool table reflection, too.

Opening up Marty & Grandma's present...

... a new doggie! Yay!!!

"Look at my new doggy, Mommy!"

Checking new doggy out...

Last night of Hanukkah!

Check out Marty's super-cool Hanukkah glasses!

Hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful Hanukkah, too! =)

Wordless Wednesday -- 1st night of Hanukkah!

2010-12-01T22:42:00.000-08:00

Very thankful

2010-11-28T19:58:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Day started with Adam wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving and reminding me that "we are going to Grandma's house and having a turkey!" Then he put on his fancy headdress (that he made at school) and took out his turkey wand:

We hung out together in the morning (but forgot to watch the Ma.cy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!) and left for Grandma's in the afternoon. First we stopped over at Rona & Eric's house - wonderful neighbors & family friends. We got to see their kids (who are not really kids anymore - they're only a few years younger than me!) and Adam loved playing with their dog. It was really nice catching up:
Adam with the lovely Rona

Next, we went to Grandma's House for the biggest Thanksgiving dinner we've ever had! Besides our family and Marty, Marty's kids and their families (Josh, Nicole & Mo and Ruth & Will) joined us which was wonderful. My dad's first cousin, Annie, was also in town with her son Yossi and his family (Idit, Shair, Hela and Gali) also joined in on the fun (in town from Atlanta). I haven't seen Annie, Yossi & family in years so it was a real treat to spend Thanksgiving together. Of course Mom outdid herself with the food - wow - the turkey & stuffing were incredible (Uncle Steven & Uncle Joey - you really missed out this year)! ;)

Here are some photos from the evening:

Marty, Mom, Mom/Grandma & Adam getting ready to carve the turkey!

Annie and her wonderful grandchildren - love them!

Adam getting to know cousin Yossi

Adam enjoying his Thanksgiving dinner (especially Grandma's homemade cranberry sauce!) with Daddy, Will, Nicole & Grandma (and my empty chair!)

Adam and Mo watching post-meal football (or, Cur.ious Geo.rge)?!? =)

Nothing ends a Thanksgiving meal better than an exciting game of Tab.oo!!!

Our best attempt at a family picture (Adam was not in a "photo-taking mood" - can you tell?!?)

Hanging out with Annie before eating Thanksgiving leftovers on Friday! =)

We all felt VERY THANKFUL to be together... and to enjoy such a delicious meal! =)

The chosen one (holiday card speaking)

2010-11-26T23:18:00.001-08:00

With Love Blue Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

holiday card shopping

2010-11-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

The holidays are here! I'm so excited as it really is the most wonderful time of the year! I love the spirit, the decorations (esp. the lights), the cookies & other homeade treats, the vacation time, the hope for SNOW and,especially, all the wonderful holiday cards (I just LOVE getting non-junk or non-bills mail - I even love the catalogs)!

As my longtime readers may remember,I send out 2 different cards each year... a Hanukkah card and a "Happy Holidays" card (usually with a SNOWY background) as we have friends who celebrate both holidays, Hanukkah and Christmas (some even celebrate both)! Luckily, Shutterfly has a great collection each year to fit both our needs. It's so easy to order, too... you can choose your price level, size of card, font and size type, greeting,etc. Simple & yet very personalized! This year, I will probably order these for our Hanukkah card. I love the beautiful but simple design and the fact that they are "folded" cards. It's also perfect for a family picture as well as one of just Adam.

I haven't decided yet what "happy holidays" card to get yet, but I'm thinking about ordering these. There are just too many cute designs to choose from!

Since they are so reasonably priced, I have also decided to buy matching address labels from Shutterfly this year to go along with the holidays stamps. Since they have a snow-y theme, I can use them all winter, too. =)

Now the tough part... I have to figure out which family photo to use. We had some photos taken this weekend at a "holiday event" during the train show. I really like how Steven & I look in this photo -- is there any way to digitally rearrange this photo so Adam would look up and smile?!?

Oh well, we will try again this weekend for another family shot. =)

You'll have to wait until our holiday cards come out to see it! I'll post one on the blog and I'll be happy to send your family one, too, if you leave your address in the comment section. =)

P.S. Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly - just click on the link for more information! =)

Adam & Riley

2010-11-21T11:42:00.000-08:00

One of Adam's very first friends was Miss Riley. Her mom, Molly, and I were in the same playgroup but had never met. She saw that I lived in the same neighborhood and that our kids were only a few weeks apart (gotta love online profiles!) so she contacted me. A quick friendship was formed between Molly & I and, of course, Adam & Riley. We used to hang out all.the.time when the kids were babies since we both had time off from work that "first year". Unfortunately, our schedules are opposite this year (we are both off 2 days a week - but not the same days!) so it's much harder to get together. When we are lucky enough to get together, though, it's like no time has passed - for our friendship and for the kids!

Back in the Day - Nov. 2007

Adam and Riley TODAY (well, last week)- Nov. 2010

We got together at a local park last Sunday and the kids had a blast playing together. It was so great to see them together again and to catch up with Molly. We always promise that we won't wait as long until our next playdate!

A new "friend" has also come along in the past year - Riley's adorable brother, Jude!
Molly & Jude. He is the same age now that Adam & Riley were when they met in Nov. 2007! He seems so little and they seemed so big at the time. Interesting, huh?

We are very happy to have Riley (and her own family) in our lives! =)

Adam meets Cur.ious George (and Frog & Toad, too)!

2010-11-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Adam met his (well, our) favorite character at the JCC book fair this morning... Cur.ious George!!! He was very excited to meet CG as well as the infamous "Man with the Yel.low Hat"! As a special treat, Frog & Toad were also there to meet which was very cool since we started reading their book a few weeks ago (another favorite from my youth). Adam was his casual self when meeting the characters but he mentioned a few times today "Do you remember meeting Frog & Toad?" so that made it all worth it! Another bonus was that kids were supposed to come in their pajamas... love it!

Adam's face when seeing Cur.ious George walk in the room

Giving our favorite monkey a big hug

Giving Frog(or Toad?) some love

Meeting the illustrator of the "Dinosaur on ... (insert Jewish Holiday here)" books who was also at the book fair. He signed all 3 of Adam's book (2 which we purchased today; they are very cute).

Showing CG his new book as CG & friends were leaving the book fair

Last photo op!

Afterwards, we stopped by Car.toon Cuts in the mall so Adam could get a haircut (finally, I know, but I love his hair long)! Anyway, as you can see, it's very short (for Adam) but still cute... and it will grow back, right?!? =)
Showing off his new 'do (and his Le.go house)!

Adam's "OFFICIAL" Big Boy Bed!!!

2010-11-05T03:53:00.000-07:00

Adam is officially sleeping in a BIG BOY (TWIN-SIZED) BED now!

Before he was in a toddler-sized bed which had been converted from his crib.
Bobbe & Zaide bought him a fantastic mattress that arrived 2 nights ago. He's had his best 2 nights of sleep in MONTHS. We are very excited about this!

Of course, the decor is Curi.ous Geo.rge who we both love. Adam especially loves the border that our dear friends, Christy & Travis, put around his window (they also set up his bed -- THANK YOU!!!). I also bought him a new book rack since his official bookshelf is in a little nook outside his room.

I love seeing my own little monkey sleeping so soundly in his new bed!

Trick-or-Treat 2010

2010-10-31T22:03:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween from Our Cat in the H.at!

a Delightful Fall Weekend with Bobbe & Zaide

2010-10-29T03:45:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday night, Adam could barely sleep as he was so excited about seeing his Bobbe & Zaide (B & Z) the next day. They surprised him by picking him up at school on Friday and he was delighted.

We had such a wonderful weekend together... Shabbat pizza dinner on Friday night, brunch on Sunday, and the PUMPKIN PATCH on Saturday... definitely the highlight of the weekend. Adam had a ball on the hayride, going down hay slides with Zaide ("and by myself"!), walking through the corn maze (even though he refused to go in any of the haunted houses), feeding the baby goats & picking out a HUGE pumpkin to take home.

Unfortunately, I lost my camera that afternoon (I think it flew off my car when we leaving Dair.y Queen) so 95% of my photos from the weekend are gone... which I'm STILL quite upset about. I took a few photos on my phone, though (not nearly enough as I used my camera for all the "good" pictures. *Sigh*). Anyway, here are some phone pictures from our lovely weekend together, the majority taken at the pumpkin patch/farm:

Adam having fun with Zaide when purchasing his new BIG BOY twin mattress (more on that in a future post)!

COME BACK SOON, BOBBE & ZAIDE! YOU CAN RIDE MY BIKE (OR CAR) ANYTIME! ;) LOVE YOU... SO MUCH!!! XOXOXO

Uncle Joey in Da House!!!

2010-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Uncle Joey came for a visit from L.A. last weekend! Unfortunately, Aunt Hillary wasn't able to join him for this weekend. We all loved hanging out with him, especially Adam. They spent a lot of time chatting and dancing...and also had some tickles sessions (usually with Adam tickling Uncle Joey)! =) We also had a good time together at the playground and at Grandma's house. Here are some pics from the weekend:

Can't wait to see you in Palm Sp.ings in December, Uncle Joey & Aunt Hillary!!! xoxoxo

blog update

2010-10-25T19:15:00.001-07:00

I feel like such a blog slacker! Between being sick, being swamped at work, busy with company, etc. the blog has taken a back seat. Lots to catch up on! Sadly, I lost my camera this weekend (I think it fell off the car when we were leaving Dai.ry Queen). It had over 100 photos on it including pics from Uncle Joey's visit, Christy & family's visit, Adam's new bed (more on that in an upcoming post!) and visits from the pumpkin patch with Bobbe & Zaide this past weekend. Fortunately, I also took a few pics of Uncle Joey's visit and of the pumpkin patch on my phone but the quality isn't that great. Hugh sigh.

Anyway, I'll do my best to catch up on posts in the upcoming weeks!

Wordless Wednesday -- What the &%*$?!?

2010-10-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Adam is quite the character! He has me laughing every day with his "antics". Here are a few that I captured this month:

Wearing Mommy's dress... he slipped it on his head and refused to take it off! ;)

We were getting ready to go to the library... I turned around and saw Adam carrying ALL of the library books & DVDs! A side note: you can see that it was time to run an errand since Adam had gone through all of his toys that morning!!! He was very helpful in putting everything away when we got home. =)

We go to this awesome grocery store, Weg.man's, once a week. Adam always gets to pick a decorated cookie when we're there as a "special treat". He chose an apple cookie last week and a jack-o-lantern cookie this week.

Who's that?!? Grandma & Marty bought Adam this funny face when they were in China. The whistle mustache was a huge hit.

Here's Little Love, hiding in the playground since he didn't want to go home!

He is such an incredible little boy! We're so blessed.

Sunday School

2010-10-12T03:29:00.001-07:00

We have enrolled Adam in his first Sunday School! It's called Training Wheels and it's run by Had.assah at a local temple. The kids (ages 2-5) meet once a month and do a lot of hands-on activities. Last month the theme was Ro.sh Hash.anah and Suk.kah and this month the theme was Shab.bat.

The class on Sunday began with the Al.ef Bet song (Hebrew alphabet). Afterwards, the teacher showed the children how to make challah and then each kid got their own challah dough to knead & braid:

Then the challahs were put in the oven to bake. Yummy!

Afterwards, the kids sang some songs and the teacher read a book about a Shab.bat box... where you store your Shab.bat candles, kiddish cup and challah cover. Each child got their own Challah box, full of the goodies, to decorate:
Making his Shab.bat box -- he wrote his name and applied metallic dots around the rim in glitter glue. Next to Adam is his "birthday twin", Geoffrey (they were born on the exact same day)... his mom told me about the program (Thanks, Alison)!
Decorating the challah cover with his name and some happy face people =)

Next, the kids played a Hebrew version of "Sim.on Says":
"Put your hand on your rosh (head)"
I love how Adam is sticking his tuchus out here! =)

The class ended with another Shab.bat story and a good-bye song ("Shalom, Chav.erim", I believe - Goodbye, Friends")
Listening to a funny Shab.bat story... I love how Adam is sitting & listening so nicely :)!

Afterwards, we hung out at the Temple's playground with Geoffrey & the other kids. It was a wonderful morning! =)

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

2010-10-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I loved spending the afternoon with you and Marty at the playground. As always, we had so much fun together!

Thank you for being the most wonderful Grammy. I love you sooooo much!!!

xoxo,

ADAM

Soccer Star!

2010-10-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

Adam is a natural athlete, like his daddy and cousins Jake, Evan & Zach. He loves throwing a football around, hitting a tennis ball (or balloon) and running. However, his favorite sport is soccer (he'll tell you this, too!). He took his first soccer "class" at only 17 months old and has been kicking balls passionately ever since.

Little Love at 17 months! Aww!

We enrolled him in a soccer class at the community center this summer and he enjoyed it... so we enrolled him again for the fall. 2 days after enrolling him, his school sent out an e-mail saying that a soccer coach was coming to his school on Mondays for kids interesting in learning... you guessed it, soccer. It was an extra charge (of course) but totally worth since most of the 3-year-old boys are in the class plus it's outdoors. So now Adam has soccer twice a week... and STILL can't get enough of the sport... we have THREE soccer balls!

The weather dropped into the 50s today so I bent the rules and let Adam play soccer in the house this afternoon... all moms do this, right?!? ;) Here's a short clip of him playing... I especially love how he yells that he's a soccer star... he's very modest, as you can see:

Adam & Sarah at the Fair

2010-10-04T21:08:00.004-07:00

The weather was so lovely this weekend. We took full advantage of it by heading to a fall fair! We met Rachel & family there for Adam & Sarah's annual "fall (play)date"! =) They really are so cute together. They had a great time going on rides (if you look carefully in the "dragon photo" below, you can see them!)and petting the animals (Adam's new favorite thing to do). Ella, Sarah's baby sister, also joined in the fun... she is such a good baby & so precious!

Waiting patiently in line

Excited!

Can you see them in the front row?!?

Adam loves petting the animals!

Hey, it's Franklin! ;)

All aboard... Rachel, Sarah, Adam & Me

Ella & Rachel (they are BOTH so photogenic!)

Afterwards, we headed for the Sil.ver Din.er and the kids were really well-behaved (and the place was really loud which definitely helped!). We even let the kids chase each other around the table at the end of the meal while the dads (Steven & Jon) chatted about... what else... football!
Sarah & Adam, peacefully coloring (for the moment) while waiting for their mac & cheese

The Dads! Jon & Sarah, Steven & Adam

We had a great time with Rachel, Jon, Sarah & Ella on Saturday and are looking forward to another "family playdate" soon!!!

3.5

2010-09-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Little Love is 3.5 today! Unbelievable. Here are a few pics taken today of my 3.5 year old:

Playing around
"Reading" a book to us (his new favorite thing to do)
Mommy & Adam

Of course he refused to look up... except for the last photo where he gave a huge smile! Yay!

More to come on my big boy later this week...

Wordless Wednesday -- reading in striped pajamas

2010-09-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Adam continues to enjoy "reading" to us. He'll look at a picture and create a story for each page. He's pretty creative with his tales! He has also memorized some parts of books so of course he'll "read: those lines, too. Here are some pics taken on my phone (apologies for the quality!) of him reading "Danny and the Din.osaur":

Every morning Adam crawls into bed to snuggle with us... and usually falls back asleep for another hour or so. Here's a picture of him snuggling up to Daddy:

my little shark

2010-09-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood pools are open for one more week - yay! We decided to take full advantage of this during the 87 degree weather today. The baby pool was pretty empty and after Adam got over the "water being too cold!" he finally went in and started swimming (and splashing) like a shark. Or a whale, as seen below:

Rosh Hashanah 5771

2010-09-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) dinner at Marty's house last Wednesday. It was especially fun since Marty's kids also joined the festivities including Marty's grandson, Mo (Adam's "twin"). For the most part, the boys played really nicely together. Mo seems to look up to Adam -- after all, he is 10.5 months older ;)-- and would run around going "A-dom, A-dom"... so sweet.

Before dinner, the boys had fun playing soccer outside(so did Daddy!):

The dinner was delicious (my mom is THE BEST cook!) and the boys enjoyed drinking their grape juice "wine":

The next day, we went to services at the synagogue I grew up in. Mom had arranged babysitting for Adam but I wasn't happy with the program: lots of kids in a small room with just a few toys. I picked him up after 30 minutes to join us for the Rab.bi's speech which, incredibly, he sat quietly through on my lap. Unfortunately, I was coming down with a terrible stomach flu that day so I just felt awful the entire day. Adam also acted like a little terror right after lunch at Mom's house. So, overall, not the finest way to start the New Year but at least we were all together!

As you can see, the temple has a new playground that Adam had to try out! To our bloggers who celebrate, we are wishing you L'shanah Tovah - a Happy & Healthy New Year! =)

Wordless Wednesday: Farewell, sweet summer days

2010-09-06T20:36:00.001-07:00

Ahh... the last week of summer has come & gone. We made the most of it and hit Clej.montri Playground... a huge park which Adam enjoyed... but made MOMMY (aka ME) very nervous b/c it's impossible to keep track of your kids there... or take decent pics... but I tried (in vain)...

Look at my BIG BOY!!!

We also went to the new water playground in Leesburg, which was really nice. They had a cute area for little ones, complete with 2 water slides. Adam was terrified to go down them, though, even though he *really* wanted to. He was worried he would "hit his head" at the bottom... he was so upset and torn about what to do. He used to be scared of regular slides, too, and now goes down them like a pro. He swam around for a while and then we took a "frozen ice" break. Afterwards, Daddy & Adam went in an innertube. However, it wasn't that comfortable and Adam wanted OUT pretty quickly! Steven enjoyed his ride, though. =)

We certainly will miss you, sweet summer days!!!

Big Day Ahead...

2010-09-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

We have finished up our last week of summer, at least according to the "school calendar" year. Tomorrow is the 1st day of preschool (officially) for Adam!

I am quite nervous about Adam transitioning to the 3-year-old class and he is, too. The past week he has been talking about "Ms. Nalika's" class A LOT. At first he was excited about going to "Room 5" with the big kids. Recently, though, he has talked about being scared and has told us numerous times that he doesn't want to go to "Room 5". He wants to stay in "Room 1" because "he wants to be with all the friends". It really is quite sad. The only kids he'll know in his new class are Rushan and Nila (and 2 other kids that I don't know). His "best friend" Jackie will not be in his class =(. Also, since the school is Mont.essori he'll now be in a multi-age class with kids age 3 & 4 and he'll be in Ms. Nalika's class for 2 years... until Kindergarten!!!

He visited Ms. Nalika's class three times last week... the first time Ms. Lizeth (his "old" teacher - sigh) said he was literally shaking he was so nervous. However, Ms. Nalika said he was happy once he got in there. She's VERY serious about the kids learning... I had to buy Adam a folder and composition book for "weekly homework"! The cool thing is that Adam read 2 words himelf today without prompting -- hot and cat. So hopefully he's prepared enough!!! I REALLY wish I could go with him tomorrow but since it's the 1st day of school at my work, I need to be there. Hugh sigh. Hopefully Steven will remember to take pictures of my big boy! I just hope that the day will go well for my Little Love. He was in Ms. Lizeth's class for a full year and really enjoyed it (the majority of the time)... change is HARD (admittedly, probably harder for ME than for him... at least I hope so)!

Here are some pics from Friday when Adam said good-bye to Ms. Lizeth and her mom (teacher assistant), Ms. Racquel. Sorry that they are sideways! I was able to take the first pic before Adam saw me... he's sitting next to Ms. Sauzy (another assistant) here:

Last day in Room 1
Giving Ms. Lizeth her present & a farewell hug
Farewell hugs to Ms. Racquel
One last hug for Ms. Lizeth (she is so wonderful!)
I'm ready for ROOM 5!!!

Happy Birthday, Cousin Jake!

2010-09-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Jake,

Happy Birthday to my "oldest" cousin! Wow, you are 10 -- Double Digits! =)

Hope to see you again very soon. I miss you!

Love,

ADAM

Wordless Wednesday -- "Grandma's Swim & Racquet Club"

2010-09-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Two things that Adam loves to do when he visits Grandma is to play tennis with her -- she bought him a little racquet and they use a balloon -- and go swimming in the neighborhood pool (the same pool I swam in as a kid). Here are some pics taken last month from Grandma's kitchen (the most appropriate place to play tennis, of course) and her neighborhood pool:

he's swimming by himself in the BABY POOL here...

Future Model?

2010-08-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

The picture above of Adam riding Pete the Pony was taken at the Sou.th Riding Fair in June 2010. Since then, it has been published in the Sou.th Riding Magazine TWICE. First it was shown in the July edition when they showed about 10 pics from the event. Tonight, Steven showed me the September edition of the magazine and the picture (even bigger now!) is shown again as part of the "summer highlights pictures"!

We didn't even know that someone was taking his photo that night!

Hmm... wondering who we should send his modeling bill to! =)

Hangin' with the Cousins

2010-08-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

We had THE BEST TIME hanging out with the L-Man crew last weekend! Jake, Zach and Evan are such INCREDIBLE cousins... I'm in awe when I see them interact with their little cousin, Adam. They are so playful & fun yet gentle & protective of him... they are so very precious. During the 48 hours that they were in town, the boys played & played... amazingly, Adam did a pretty decent job keeping up with them!

On Friday night, we had a late Shab.bat dinner (pizza) and the boys reunited:
The cousins having lighting the Shab.bat candles (open your eyes, Adam)!

Enjoying pizza together

Aunt Samantha and Uncle Jeff, sharing a laugh =)

Playing on Adam's computer, a birthday gift from the cousins

On Saturday, we headed Downtown to go to the International Sp.y Museum. We had fun being in D.C. but we'll probably have to wait until Adam's a little older before we visit the museum again. We still had fun on the (looong) Metro ride and eating lunch together:
Evan & Zach helping Adam buy his metro ticket

Aunt Samantha, Adam, Evan & Zach in D.C.

Adam & Jake enjoying their lunch at "The Spy Ca.fe"... Adam is fascinated by his "biggest cousin" Jake... look at the look on his face! =)

On Sunday morning, we went over to Mom/Grandma's house for Brunch. Afterwards, we went to the Red.skins Training Camp. The Skins are looking good (finally)!!!
Grandma & Adam entering Red.skins Training Camp. Go Skins!!!

Watching The Skins up close

The best seat in the house!

The boys helping Adam jump through the tires at training camp

Jake was a "tire jumping" winner!

The boys were still in Red.skins Spirit when we returned from Training Camp so they played football for hours outside... until it was time for the L-Man Crew to head back to Chicago.

We love you, L-Man Crew!!! Come visit again soon!!!

P.S. GREAT monster face, Jake! Are you sure that's you?!?

H, F & M

2010-08-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

Adam's canker sore turned into about... 10 sores in his mouth... poor baby!!! I found out that 2 kids in his class have "Hand Foot & Mo.uth" so we're pretty sure that is what he has. He doesn't have any sores on his hands or feet and no fever (except for a 99.8 temp at one point which was temporary). However, it's just too coincidental with the mouth sores. I took him to the Min.ute Clinic on Thursday and the nurse practitioner is pretty sure that's what he has. I have to say, it is a NASTY VIRUS. It's the sickest Adam's been since his bout of roseola, back in December 2008. He ate very little on Monday and Tuesday and didn't eat ANYTHING Wednesday - Friday. We had to beg & plead with him to drink milk and juice which he drank from a little straw in the corner of his mouth. So pitiful.

The good news is that he was MUCH BETTER today... yay!!! He actually ATE all 3 meals (blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs w/cheese and a grilled cheese sandwich on a soft tortilla). He would complain at first that "it hurt" but then he ate... he was starving! His bout with constipation also ended this morning, thank goodness! His mood & energy was much improved. I think he's FINALLY on the mend, knock on wood.

Here is a picture taken last night -- as you can see, he was already starting to feel better then:

I'm SO HAPPY to see Little Love's smile back!!!

Canker Sore H*&#ll

2010-08-18T20:14:00.002-07:00

This post was supposed to be all about our awesome weekend with the cousins... but that post will come tomorrow. Right now, we're in canker sore hell. Seriously, people. Adam developed a canker sore on Monday and I've never seen him so miserable. Ever. I took him to Urg.ent Care on Monday (his ped.'s office was booked) and the Doctor saw the canker sore on his tongue. His ear was also "borderline red" and so was his throat. Doctor thinks it's just a virus... but poor little love is freakin' MISERABLE. On a side note, his blood pressure was on the high side... first it was 103/50something and then it was 97/50something... so we'll have to keep an eye on that.

Little Love hasn't eaten in 3 days now (except for some scrambled eggs I made yesterday) and will barely even drink... but Thank G-d he will... he'll drink juice and milk in the little boxes with a tiny straw on the very edge of his mouth... crying that "it hurts" every 10 seconds. He hasn't been able to sleep without waking up in serious pain every.single.hour until we bring him to our bed and then he can sleep a little. He's pretty miserable in the morning, too. This afternoon he totally lost it for over an hour. Hysterically crying... it was terrible... after he drank, though, he felt much better and was even able to throw the football around with Daddy.

Found out today that 2 kids in his class have Hand, Foot and Mou.th Disease... so now I'm totally suspicious that he has that, too. He doesn't have a fever or sores on his hands or feet... but I read you don't have to have all the symptoms. I spoke to the Dr. on call tonight... she said that canker sores and H F M or both viruses... and there's nothing you can really do for either except tylenol. The Dr. on Monday also gave us a numbing ointment but Adam won't let us get near his mouth. The whole thing is so upsetting! I *hate* to see my child in so much pain. I really hope that my mom is right when she says that "it's always the worst before it gets better" and that Little Love is back to his happy (and eating) self tomorrow... for ALL of our sakes!

Cousins reunite!

2010-08-15T21:24:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous weekend with Aunt Samantha, Uncle Jeff and Cousins Jake, Evan and Zach! They came from Chicago to visit on Friday night and it was so great being together again (the first time since Thanksgiving!) The best part was seeing the boys together. My nephews are THE GREATEST kids ever. They are so sweet, smart, fun, etc... Steven & I (and Adam) just adore them! They are so great with Adam... always have been. From the moment the boys met Adam 3 years ago, this month (Adam was only 4.5 months old!) they have been inseparable (when we get together - which isn't nearly enough!). Here are the boys together in August 2007:

Here are the boys together now (August 2010):

They are just too sweet together! Much more tomorrow from the visit! =)

"Mommy, I ate the raisin bread"!

2010-08-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Adam went downstairs before me yesterday. As soon as he saw me, he gave me a huge mischievous grin and said "Mommy, I ate the raisin bread!"... actually he ate some raisin.ets, chocolate covered raisins that Steven left on the couch the night before. I couldn't help but videotape his guilty confession. No worries, we had a more "serious" discussion afterwards about how he really DOES need to get permission before eating food left on the couch!!! As always, please ignore my screeching voice... oy.

Here are a few of the guilty smiles I received pre-confession. You can see how sorry he felt, haha. My apologies regarding the quality, they were taken on my phone:

BEACH WEEK!!!

2010-08-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time in Oc.ean City this past week. We stayed at Marty's condo with Mom & Marty... and Marty's awesome son & grandson, Josh & Mo, also joined us for a few days. It was WONDERFUL being at the beach. The weather was perfect and it was so relaxing and peaceful being there. Of course Adam had a blast in the surf and sand, too. He was a litte hesitant to go in the water at first but was running through waves by our last day! Mo is 10 months younger than Adam and they seemed to enjoy having another "little person" to play with. =) Here are some pics from our beach adventures (I took over 300 pics)! Most of the pics are self-explanatory... the amusement park pic was taken on the boardwalk and the cutie (besides Adam) is Mo. One of my favorite pics is the one of Adam writing his name in the sand... his idea. =)

I also celebrated my birthday on Saturday night... loved celebrating it on the beach with family... Adam and Mo helped me blow out my candles.

Life is a Beach!

Picnic Time!

2010-07-27T22:31:00.001-07:00

Picnic time is huge these days in our house. Adam loves to cook for us and then prepare his food (and cooking utensils) for a family picnic.

Steven and I always CRACK UP during the picnic because Adam is so, well, BOSSY. You aren't allowed to touch any food unless he tells you to. If you try to sneak a bite in, he'll yell "No, Mommy, that's too hot! Put it back!"... and, by all means, you better put it back!!! Once we're all settled, Adam will usually ask "what do you want?" in a sweet (and yet authoritative) voice and he'll find the foods you ask for and gather it all up. Then you have about 3 seconds to eat until Adam announces "OK, you're finished" and places the food backin the crate. We're not allowed to touch any utensils, either... only Adam is allowed to. He has a little pink plate that is just for Daddy, too. =)

My favorite thing to do is to ask Adam for some water with ice. He'll then go to his "kitchen" and put a cup (an empty play-do.h container) under the water & ice dispenser. Then he'll make noises for the ice & water filling up... classic!

Here are some pics from picnic time this past week:
preparing the feast

the spread

mmm... grapes

Daddy enjoying his meal

The many faces of Little Love

2010-07-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

Since it's easy to take (and publish)photos on my beloved new phone, I am constantly snapping pics of Adam (like I wasn't doing that enough before, haha). Anyway, here are some cute ones that I took during Steven's birthday dinner on June 29th:

A few more that I took a few weeks ago when Adam was watching TV. The 2nd photo cracks me up... Steven is a *little* annoyed about all the photos I'm taking... but it's hard to look like Mr. Tough Guy while holding Ruff!

On another note... Adam said the funniest thing tonight. I was putting a new sheet on the bed and he said "I can help you, Mommy... I'm SUPER ADAM"! That kid cracks me up (and he actually did help)! =)

Thanks to my readers who have requested the blog address of my personal blog. I am on a "Get Healthy (lose weight!) Mission" this summer. If you are interested in reading about my journey, please leave your e-mail address and I'll send you the link. Thanks! =)

Wordless Wednesday -- Grandma's Back!

2010-07-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

My mom just got back from a week in Toronto with Marty. Adam was SO HAPPY to see Grandma again today... we all missed her so much! Adam gave Grandma lots of hugs and "noseys" as you can see below. Apologies for the messy table(sorry, Mom!) and photo quality... they were taken on my phone.

New Wheels

2010-07-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

The other day, I received an e-mail from a neighbor announcing she's giving away her son's tricyle and I couldn't resist picking it up for Adam. He's had it for 3 days now and insists on riding it for about an hour every evening. He especially loves riding with Tara, our (almost)6-year-old neighbor. Adam ADORES Tara. She rings the bell every afternoon, asking Adam to play... and Adam goes NUTS. He RUNS down the stairs yelling "Tara! Tara! I'm coming, Tara!" the whole way down. They take turns bossing each other around when they play together... and I have to constantly remind Tara that Adam is only 3... but they are precious together, nonetheless.

Interesting story about Adam's helmet... we went to Tar.get together to pick one out the other night. I asked Adam which helmet he liked and he immediately picked out the Sch.winn (glad that company is still around!) one with the "fishies". Just for fun, I asked Adam if he wanted the "Abby Cad.abby" or "Do.ra" helmet instead. He replied "Mom, those are for GIRLS!" Wow... can't believe he already has some gender stereotypes at 39 months. Incredible. Anyway, the fish helmet won out... which was my favorite one, anyway. Here are some pics of Adam with his new trike:

Doesn't this picture just scream "SUMMER"?!? Adam eating his 1st icee, courtesy of Tara

Adam & Tara, getting ready to "race"

There they go! Also, notice our new wheels (car) in the background? Adam is *fascinated* by it. Almost every day he'll say to me "Daddy got a new car?" and "Where's Daddy's old car?" =)

D.C. Tourist =)

2010-07-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

I promised I would blog a lot once I was on summer vacation! =) Here's another post that I should've written back in late May when we went Downtown to the Nation.al Mall/Smithson.ian. We took a Metro to the Smithson.ian stop which is significant b/c it's at that Metro stop that Steven and I first met... on a blind date, almost 11 years ago (awww)!

We took Adam to the Nation.al History Museum (his first museum visit!) and he really enjoyed it. We went to the butterfly exhibit, dinosaur exhibit (of course) and the sea life exhibit. Adam also saw his 1st IM.AX film, in 3D, no less. It was about the ocean and he was mesmerized. Here are some pics from our adventure in Downtown DC (only about a 30 minute Met.ro ride away):

Adam was on the Metro once before, 2 years ago. As you can see, he really enjoyed it now!

See the Washingt.on Mon.ument in the background?

In awe of all the butterflies

Stunning

Adam, trying to catch a butterfly (as you can see, he followed the directions NOT to touch a butterfly to the tee, haha). He was really gentle, at least!

Love this photo; too bad it came out all funky

1st IM.AX -- 3D! Glasses were a *bit* too big but if he sat absolutely still, they stayed on =)

dinosaur bones... or maybe a big lobster???

Under the Sea...

Besides running around the Nation.al Mall, jumping in puddles like a little madman afterwards, he was a wonderful little tourist. =)
-------------------
***On a side note, I have started a new blog regarding my journey in "getting healthier"... if interested, leave me a comment, and I'll send you the links. Thanks! =)***

Ses.ame Place!!!

2010-07-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

It has been brought to my attention that I forgot to post photos from our trip to Ses.ame Place back in May, when we went! Adam had the BEST time as you can see...

Countless hours were spent in this HUGE "baby (wave)pool"

Adam was literally distraught at first that he couldn't participate in the parade. Cookie Monst.er saw him crying and came over and gave him a hug. Love that monster! ;)

Finally, enjoying the parade

1st Ride with Daddy -- so excited

Can you find him? =)

Taking a break... notice Adam's first face painting... a rubber ducky, of course!

Another ride!

Can't believe I let my 3-year-old go on this! I can see his smile from here (not really)!

"Hi Abby Cada.bby"! Adam eventually met all of the Ses.ame Street characters... funny thing is it didn't faze him at all... you would think he met characters every day!

Hugging Super Grov.er!

Back at the hotel... definitely not a first-class stay (huge understatement there). It was Adam's first time in a hotel... he kinda freaked out... especially since the first room we were given was an "upgrade". There was, kid you not, a jacuzzi in the middle of the room that could fit 10 people!
I really should've taken a picture before we changed rooms! Fortunately, once he settled down (in the new room), he slept through the night.

On Day 2, we went to 2 shows. Adam intently watched the first show, "El.mo Li.ve!" which was pretty cool. It was modeled after an "El.mo's Wor.ld" segment, complete with Mr. Noo.dle... a favorite of Adam's from a year ago.

Can you find Dorothy, El.mo's fish? =)

The next show was "Abby Cad.abby's Treasure Hunt". The characters were adorable but the show was much too long.

Enjoying lunch.... esp. the Cook.ie Monst.er cupcake! Yum!

Another water attraction, perfect for preschoolers. Very, very cool (no pun intended, hahaha)!

The Ses.ame Street Walk of Fame!

Quick photo stop with Big Bi.rd. Of course, the photos are photoshopped so you see an "authentic" Ses.ame Street background if you purchase the photo.

We bought a photo similar to this one... of course it's much closer up... it's really adorable, actually, as Adam is BEAMING in the picture. I even caved and bought the cheesy Ses.ame Street frame to put it in!

Ern.ie's Big Bounce -- a HUGE open moon bounce for kids

Last ride before we head home... Big Bi.rd's Balloon Ride. Steven was a great sport for going on all the rides with Adam... while I snapped the pictures (shocker, right)!

It was a wonderful trip! We hope to get back to the "Street" later this summer/early fall! =)

3 year stats

2010-07-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

Adam had his 3-year-old "well visit", 3 months late, yesterday. Oh well... between work, travel & the fact that Dr. F is enormously popular, it was scheduled a *little* late. Anyway, here are the stats for our "Big Boy" (don't even think about calling him a "baby" these days. He'll raise his arms up and say "Look! I'm a Big Boy!"... so funny).

Weight: 31 lbs, 4 oz (with a T-shirt/shorts on) -- 25- 50th %ile -- WOW!!!

Height: 38 inches WITH SHOES ON!!! So, he's in thd 50th %ile with shoes on.... but with shoes OFF he's 37 inches which puts him in the 25th %ile (I think). I'm really frustrated that they didn't take off his shoes... which I didn't even realize until we were driving home. He definitely looks like he's more in the 25th%ile range for height so I was thinking about it... and then I realized that the nurse kept his shoes on. No big deal, of course, but I'd rather his medical records be accurate.

Anyway... the appointment went well. They checked him for lazy eye (apparently they do this for all 3 year olds) and he passed the check. They also took his blood pressure for the first time, it was something like 88/44 (???) -- which is apparently normal for a little guy.

Adam literally sat like a statue throughout the exam; he was clearly fascinated. I wish he would've been more "himself" (goofy, talkative, etc.) but Dr. F was clearly thankful that Adam was so cooperative. He also sat perfectly still and didn't make a peep when the nurse did a blood test (finger prick) to check for his cholesterol... another new test they do for 3 year olds... who knew?

Another thing Dr. F mentioned was the "new" Pneumococcal 13 vaccine. It's a vaccine againt meningitis. The previos vaccine was Pneum. 7... and Adam already received all 4 doses of that one. Of course, AAP recommends getting a Pneum. 13 vaccine now, too, since it prevents 6 more strains of meningitis. I'm all for meningitis prevention but I'm a little concerned about how new this version is. Have any of you blog readers heard about this/gotten the new vaccine for your kids? Thanks for any info! =)

Adam with his new "Tag" reading system in B'ham... what a great invention!

Annual Summer Birmingham Visit (with lots of photos)!

2010-07-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

For the past 3 years, we have taken Adam to Birmingham for a few days each summer. Each visit consists of a trip to the zoo, visits with Bobbe & Zaide's lovely friends (Shirley, Pam, Arlene & Chita) and lots of wonderful quality time with Bobbe & Zaide. We added the science center/children's museum and the pool to our annual visits last year, too. I love being in Birmingham and after visiting there for 10 years now, it feels like home to me, too. Of course, Adam had a BLAST being with Bobbe & Zaide. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh so much!

Adam went swimming 3 days in a row with Zaide. He LOVED jumping from the side into the boat... made him laugh every single time. He finally had the courage to "swim" on the "third step" by his 3rd time in B & Z's pool. Here are some pool pics:

Adam had a good time at the science museum, the McWa.ne Center. It reminds me of a science children's museum since most of the exhibits are kid-friendly. Adam's favorite thing was petting a (very small) shark with Daddy (it was also very frustrating for him.... he would whine every time the sharks didn't go towards him!). He also liked digging for dinosaur bones and participating in some of the attractions:

Adam's visit to the zoo this year was especially magical since he went on his first camel ride AND was able to feed a bird! Unfortunately, I had a terrible toothache that morning so I wasn't able to see it. Fortunately, Steven took some great pictures:

The rest of the time was spent playing and hanging out with B & Z. Adam started each morning watering Bobbe's plants and feeding the kitties with Zaide:

Other cool activities included cruising in the tricycle, playing soccer, reading with B & Z and seeing his first "real" movie, Toy Sto.ry 3! He literally sit silent, like a statue, throughout the entire movie. I'm not sure how much he liked it, though -- didn't talk about it too much, afterwards. I'm sure most of it went over his head. Good movie, though. He also learned to play ping pong and spent lots of hours playing. He actually has a pretty decent serve!

I think one of Adam's favorite moment was when he invented the "green ball book game". Adam would take a green ball and place it in the middle of a book and very solemnly ask Zaide to read the book to him. When the ball fell out, he went HYSTERICAL LAUGHING... it was so funny how he kept cracking himself up! =)

What a fun time in Birmingham we all had! Thank you for the wonderful visit, Bobbe & Zaide! See you next summer, Birmingham!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

We spent our 4th of July (today) traveling back from Birmingham, where we had a great visit with Bobbe & Zaide (lots more on our trip tomorrow). Adam was an EXCELLENT flyer on all 4 flights. Since there are no more direct flights from D.C. to Birmingham, we had to stop in Charlotte both times. Fortunately, all the flights were on time (amazing) and were very smooth. Adam slept during one flight each time and colored peacefully (and played with my new iph.one -- great preschool applications!) during the other flights. It was a lot of traveling, but Little Love did great. I'm pretty sure that this was the 8th round trip that he's be on... he's definitely a little frequent flier at this point! When we were walking out of the plane in D.C. he asked me if there would be any more airplanes today. Thankfully, no! ;)

Loving Mommy's new phone!
Coloring beautifully on the plane
"No more airplanes!!!" (truth be told, it was more like "No more photos, Mommy!!!")

By the time we got home, though, we were exhausted and decided just to watch the fireworks on TV instead of going out w/friends, as originally planned. Plus, I have a MASSIVE toothache (I'm on both Vico.din and 800 mg of ibupr.ofen as I write this) so I definitely felt like staying in. Fortunately, the massive amount of drugs have kicked in and I'm out of pain... for the moment, at least. I have a root canal scheduled for Wednesday but may need to move it up till tomorrow. Fun times. Anyway... hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Hot week ahead -- 103 on Wednesday! Yikes!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

2010-06-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today was Steven's 38th birthday and Adam was sooo excited about it! He wished Steven a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!!" every time he saw him and gave him huge hugs all day. He even helped decorate his birthday cake making "flowers" with red icing. When it was time to sing "happy birthday" and cut the cake Adam said "make a wish, daddy" and "blow out your candles"... sooo cute! Of course, Adam was the one blowing out the candles... and they were "trick candles" so he was blowing for a looong time!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you SOOO Much!

Wor.ld Cup Fun

2010-06-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

We celebrated the Wor.ld Cup Soccer Tournament(?) in style today. Adam started his soccer classes that were, thankfully, indoors (since it was 95 degrees outside today)! He seemed to enjoy the class and learned to dribble the ball. The teacher was really sweet and there were only 4 kids in the class. I think that Adam would just be happy to run around a gym while kicking a soccer ball... but he seemed to like the structure of the class. Afterwards Steven and Adam played themselves for about 30 minutes... I think that was their favorite part!

After Adam's 20 minute nap(!), we went over to Michelle & Paul's house for a Wor.ld Cup BBQ which was great fun! I just love my girlfriends and their kids... it's always a treat to get together, esp. with the families. Adam hadn't seen his friends Tomas, Benjamin, Nathan, Addie & Asha in a few months so he had a great time "catching up" with them. =)
These 3 Amigos (Tomas, Adam & Benjamin) were pretty inseparable

"exercising together"

Adam serving Addie a carrot =)

Sno-Cones! =)

Adam loved playing in this cool sandbox!

All in all, a great day. Even with USA's soccer loss to Ghana! As you can see, Adam is still in the spirit!

our little performer

2010-06-23T20:58:00.001-07:00

Adam is definitely a little ham. Even though he does have some moments of shyness, put some music on and he is usually on the floor, bouncing away. He recently had two opportunities to show off his dancing skills. The first time was at a neighborhood fair where he performed with Ms. Nicole a Kinderda.nce routine. It was over 90 degrees outside but he did great! Most of the other kids were older but he kept right up:

Then, on Friday, his class (Ms. Lucette's class at Montessori) had a "spring musical" that Adam sang in. Since it was the last day of school (at the school I work at) I wasn't allowed to take leave to watch him. Fortunately, Steven was there and took a few pics. You'll notice Little Love in the back row, on the far left (yes, he finally got a haircut!):

Playing outside after the musical:

School's (finally) out for summer for me, too! Hooray! I can finally catch up on my blogging now! I'm hoping to blog 2-3 times a week this summer... LOT of stuff to post... including photos from Cousin Blake's 1st Birthday Party which was on Sunday. Can't believe he's one -- he's such a cutie! Signing off for now, will be back with another post by the end of the week! =)

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Daddy,

Happy Father's Day! I love you SO much!!!

Adam

1st Father's Day, June 2007 (2 months old)

2nd Father's Day, June 2008 (1 year old)

3rd Father's Day, June 2009 (2 years old)

Adam & Daddy -- May 2010

Happy Father's Day to Zaide, too! Can't wait to see you in 10 days! xoxoxo

Wordless Wednesday -- Pete the Pony!

2010-06-09T04:01:00.000-07:00

We went to the neighborhood carnival on Friday night (so fun!) and Adam had his first pony ride! Of course, he loved it. Meet Pete the Pony!

P.S. My apologies for my lack of blog posts. It's the end of the school year so I've been busier than usual. LOTS of posts to come later this month!!! =)

Wordless Wednesday -- new sleeping position

2010-05-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

This is how I found Adam SOUND SLEEP the other night:

And Steven wonders why I check on him every night before I go to bed!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! =)

Adam at 3 years & (almost) 2 months

2010-05-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

Adam continues to amaze us every day. I refer to him as "personality plus -- both good & bad" since he is so incredibly strong-willed, curious and spirited. Fortunately, he is a very happy little guy -- as long as he's getting his way. If he's not, all heck breaks lose.... just as it has since his first temper tantrum at 7(or was it 9?) months old!!! There is never a dull moment with Little Love around!

Here's what our little guy is up to these days:

Playing: Adam continues to be interested in a wide assortment of activities. He still enjoys playing by himself. He especially likes to cook in his kitchen, play with his trains or turcks, and write (especially letters). He recently has begun to also take care of his doggies. He likes to feed, burp, rock and put them down for a nap. He has officially named Big Doggy "Ruff!" and his baby doll (yes, he has a baby doll... I bought it for him about a year ago and he has recently taken an interest in it) "Yoke". He really likes naming things these days with his absolute favorite name being MAX. I think it's from "Max and Ru.by" since he enjoys that show. Besides the common name of Max, he makes up the most random, nonsensical names for people. They usually have a German or Dutch sound like "Yogelshwawa" or something... it's truly hilarious. If you ask him to repeat the name he'll reply "I already told you!" I told you -- personality plus, that kid!
Adam's signature... and self-portrait =)

Adam also loves playing with other children, including our 5.5-year-old neighbor, Tara. It's so sweet since they started playing together 2 years ago. Now she'll even knock on the door sometimes and ask if Adam can play. She's very patient with him and he just loves her. He has also started interacting (cooperatively play) with the other kids during playdates. We hung out with Riley and Sean the other week and they had a great time together. Last week, we had a playdate with Sarah (and baby Ella) and Adam & Sarah held hands going down the slides together. It's so funny hearing him talk to other kids. He can get silly... purposely bumping into his friends... guess it's a boy thing?!? Regardless, it's really fun watching him interact & talk with other little people. =)
Playdate with Sarah

Of course, Adam still loves sports, running around, etc. And music. and TV. He's truly a Renaissan.ce Kid!

Potty Training: Besides sleeping, Adam is 98% potty trained. He's been 100% potty trained (including naps!) at school for months now. He's great about letting us know when he has to go potty and is beginning to use the potty in public places (ugh... I always have potty protectors). However, if I put him in a pull-up (in the fear that he'll have an accident when we're out), he will not go in the potty -- only in the pull-up. He usually doesn't have accidents, either... but traffic in D.C. isn't always the greatest and little ones can only hold it for so long. Any suggestions???

Eating: Adam eats pretty well, for the most part. He usually eats a decent breakfast and dinner... but a very small lunch. His teachers at school have recently been very upset about him not eating much at lunch. I have to remind them "not to force him" and that he's never been a huge eater. His 3-year-old check-up isn't for another month... he looks like he weighs around 30-ish pounds...I try not to stress too much about what he eats (or doesn't eat) these days. Fortunately, he still drinks milk (even "plain milk") so that helps with the calories. He eats all the toddler staples -- chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta, yogurt (in the tube), fruit (loves fruit), etc. He doesn't like to try too many othnew foods, though. He LOVES breads & sweets... definitely got my sweet tooth/fondness for carbs. The only time he'll really sit still and "nicely eat" is when he's eating dessert!!!
Finding a quiet spot to enjoy his ice-cream cone =)

Our little braniac: Adam continues to to be a chatterbox, like his mama. =) He loves to "read" books... creating stories from the pictures. He has quite the imagination! He also will amaze us with his knowledge. Last night he was stalling going to bed and asked for water. When we said we had to check if we had any, he said "You do... you have filtered water. Water comes from the tube(?) into the cup". Steven and I looked at each other in shock... filtered water? Really? I didn't even know of the term until I was in my 20's! He also mentioned how something had "energy" the other day. Looks like they really DO teach the kids science at his school, haha.

Our little sweetheart: Recently Adam has been giving us tons of hugs and REAL actual kisses several times a day. He's also saying "I love you, Mommy" or "I love you, Daddy" all day long. If he does something wrong he'll say "I'm sorry" and "Don't be sad". Of course, he still has temper tantrums (much less, thank goodness!) and then a whole other side comes out (beware!!!)... but, fortunately, he's usually our amazing Little Love.

Adam meets El.mo!

2010-05-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

We went to Sesa.me Place in PA last weekend and had the most fabulous time! Here are a few pics of Adam meeting El.mo and Big Bi.rd... too cute! Lots of more pics to be posted this weekend so be on the look-out! =)

Down on the Farm

2010-05-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

Uncle Steven & Aunt Elizabeth came for a visit from CA last week! It was wonderful seeing them... my brother and I even took a road trip to H'burg, VA together and hung out with Craig, an old friend. Good times.

On Saturday, we all headed out to a local farm where they have strawberry picking... and wine tasting... along with lots of animals, tractors for the kids, etc. Here are some pics from our day "down by the farm":

One last tickle session from Uncle Steven:

It was a beautiful day! More posts to come later this week!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Steven! Happy Birthday, Uncle Joey!

2010-05-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Uncle Steven & Uncle Joey,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope you both had a fabulously fun day! Uncle Steven, I can't wait for you to arrive on Wednesday -- I'm ready for a great tickle session & hopefully some tennis! Uncle Joey, I know you were just here one month ago -- but I'm already ready for another visit!!!

I've always loved you both... even though it's hard to tell when I was snoozing -- hey, I was only 1 week old -- give a guy a little credit:

However, we do have more fun together now:

Happy Birthday, Uncle Steven! Happy Birthday, Uncle Joey!

Love you both... so much! XOXOXOOXOXOOXO

ADAM

A beautiful day... filled with very smelly animals =)

2010-04-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

We headed to Fry.ing Pan Park last week, before I got sick. We have been taking Adam to this park for 2 years now... here is a blog post written when we first took him... he had just turned one (awww)! Adam loved seeing all the animals (especially the pigs and HUGE horse -- the biggest horse I've ever seen -- see below!)and the wagon ride. However, he especially enjoyed RUNNING FULL SPEED (he is FAST!) through the park... until he fell, that is.

Here are some pics from the park... look at my BIG BOY!!!

Seriously... this horse's head was bigger than Adam's whole body! I think it's the same horse that we saw two years ago! This is so terrible but it reminded me of a particular scene in the Godfather -- right, Steven?!?

Happy 3rd Birthday, Cousin Claire!!!

2010-04-24T22:54:00.001-07:00

I am so bummed. Today was Cousin Claire's 3rd birthday party and I woke up sick! Achy, low grade fever, etc. I didn't get out of bed until 6 pm! Of all the days to be sick. =( We are all very sad to have missed Claire's birthday and are sending Cousin Claire a huge HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY shout-out!!!

Favorites at 3

2010-04-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

ADAM'S FAVORITES AT 36 MONTHS...

Food: fruit, chocolate and lollipops =)

Drinks: water, chocolate milk, apple juice

Colors: "blue and black"... he's been saying this for months now

Letters (he loves his letters!): "L and M"

Stuffed Toys: Doggies, of course... original doggy still being his favorite and who he sleeps with every night. Funny story... this morning he changed "Big Deegy's" name to "RUFF". When I called him "Big Deegy", he even corrected me! Such a bossy little love we have! =)

Books: Curio.us George... and whatever else he's in the mood for at the time. We usually read 5 - 10 books a day. He especially likes "reading" books himself, now.

TV shows: Frank.lin, Ma.x & Ru.by, Do.ra, Dieg.o, Lit.tle Bear

Movies: The Lion Ki.ng & Charlo.tte's Web (the original one). He also sat through his first movie from beginning to end which was "U.P" and was totally intrigued. I especially liked it when he commented that the "old man" and the construction worker "weren't sharing"! Classic.

DVDs: Here Com.es the Cat (Scholas.tic book on DVD) and all the LeapFr.og ones
(current fave being The Talking Wo.rds Factory)

Friends: Jackie, Rushan, Olivia, Benjamin, Tomas, Nathan, Riley (and lots more... but these are the kids he talks about the most)

Activities: Cooking in his kitchen (esp. with his cookies), Running around outside (esp. with a ball), bubbles, "cleaning" (sweeping, wiping off stuff, etc.), and drawing (esp. letters)

Toys: Meli.ssa & Doug's "See & Spell", LeapFr.og's alphabet tracer, Le.gos, and sometimes cars & trains

CDs: Dis.ney's 35 Years of Magic... it's awesome. We rented it at the library months ago and I keep renewing it. Every song is great. We seriously listen to it about 3-5 times a day!

Places to go: fields to run around with (with a ball, of course), playgrounds, friends' houses, ADAM'S HOUSE (his favorite place to be!) and, of course, Grandma's House!

Adam & Mama with Big Re.d!

"magical wand" photo shoot =)

2010-04-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

My apologies for being a blog slacker this week. Back to work = Back to reality (I was on spring break the week before so I had more time to blog). Oh well... just a little over 2 months until summer vacation... yahoo... it's a huge perk of being in education! =) I have SO many posts to write, finish up, etc. Blog ideas come to my head on a daily basis. I just need to sit down and write them... hopefully later this week. For now, I'll leave you with some photos I took of Adam with his "magic wand" taken this past Thursday. His magic wand was a birthday present from Miss Nichole... she uses it during Adam's KinderT.ots class every week. He loves having his own wand!

He's such a cool & happy little guy:
Mama's Shining Star!

Passover 2010 (with Uncle Joey - yay!)

2010-04-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Adam enjoyed his 4th year of Passover Seders earlier this week. Passover has always been a special holiday for me, especially since Adam has been born... as he's my little Passover baby (he was five DAYS old during his first Seder)!

We were all very excited that Uncle Joey was in town from CA to celebrate with us. Adam & Uncle Joey had a good time reconnecting on Sunday night (what a special birthday treat, having Uncle Joey there to celebrate with!):

For the first Seder, we headed over to Marty's house. We got to meet Marty's kids (they were very sweet) and Marty's 2-year-old grandson, Mo (who was absolutely adorable). Mom & Marty led the Seder and they cooked a scrumptious meal!
Uncle Joey with some Passover guests

Seder

Adam entertained himself during the seder by making a "matzah/apple juice treat" (ugh)

Adam found this old recorder in the house... it wasn't as much of a hit with the guests, I might add!

Adam & Marty

Adam & Mo... they almost look like brothers!

Adam loved Mo... he even told Grandma that they were "twins"!

Our second Seder was very low-key... just a little family seder at Mom's house:
2nd seder at Grandma's house
Adam always enjoys his "wine" (apple juice!)
Adam playing with a plague -- the frogs!

Overall, we had 2 enjoyable (& quite short - not that I'm complaining!) Seders this year. I think of my Dad every day, but especially during Passover. He loved the holiday and followed his haggadah from the '70s (which I just spent 30 minutes on-line looking for) almost to the letter. We always used Mom's Len.ox Seder plate, (brother) Steven's seder plate (that he made when he was 10) and the afikomen holder, also from the '70s. Mom used the same recipes, year after year, and we always had the 1st Seder at home (usually follwed by a 2nd Seder at the Shuman's house). Such sweet memories.

Adam's 3rd Birthday Party (#2)

2010-03-30T04:35:00.000-07:00

Adam's huge birthday party was on Saturday. Ten of Adam's friends were in attendance (Sarah was sick so we missed seeing her); most of the kids have been attending Adam's parties since he turned 1! We had the party at the rec center and rented out a classroom (for lunch) and a gym.

The Goods... minus the juice boxes which I totally had forgotten about =(

Getting a birthday hug from Jackson (Jackie), Adam's best friend from school

Mrs. Nichole from Adam's beloved Kind.erTots (or KinderDan.ce) class was the "special guest". She was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G and all the kids (especially Adam) had the best time!
Using the magic wand to sprinkle everyone's feet with Mrs. Nichole

Kid line-up: Lily, Asha, Jackson, the birthday boy, Olivia, Benjamin, Addie, Tomas and COUSIN CLAIRE (we were so glad they came up from Baltimore!). I'm not sure where Liam is; I don't see him in this picture. Lots of 1-year-old siblings were also in attendance: Connor, Andrew, Gavin, Zach, Nolan and Cousin Blake. Tomas's little sister, Sofia, was at home with her Grandma, I believe.

Warming up with Mrs. Nichole
Stretching with Tomas and Lily

Keeping his balance...

Cirdle Game! Act like a monkey if you catch the banana!

Oh no! Adam's the monkey! =)

Intently listening to Mrs. Nichole

Trampoline!

Loving it!

Mom & Marty enjoying the show

Yay... KinderDan.ce!

Adam & Miss Holly

The party concluded back in the party room with a catered lunch from Weg.man's and, of course, a cupcake cake!
Lunch Time!

Sharing a laugh with Zaide

Cake Time!

Blowing out the candles!

"I did it"! =)
Birthday love from Mommy & Daddy

Adam & Grammy

The Birthday Boy with his HUGE Curi.ous George balloon. When he first saw it he exclaimed "What a BIG BALLOON!"... which made it almost worth the $10 that it cost! =)

Cousing Blake at 9 months -- such a cutie!

It was a wonderful party! I was actually relaxed for most of it and loved having all of Adam's friends(and mine!) at the party. We're so glad that Bobbe, Zaide, Grandma & Marty were also there to join in the 3-year-old fun! =)

3...3...3

2010-03-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here is what 3 looks like... =)

Adam is 3! Happy Birthday, Little Love!

2010-03-28T23:01:00.001-07:00

Adam on March 28, 2007 -- a few minutes old

Adam on March 28, 2008 -- 1 year old

Adam on March 28, 2009 -- 2 years old

Adam on March 28, 2010 -- 3 years old

Adam turned 3 years old today. Hard to believe that I've been blessed with this amazing little love for three years now. He touches my heart every single day with his beautiful face, adorable little voice, and unbelievably fun personality. His intelligence & humor continue to surprise me. Just looking at him sometimes still takes my breath away... just like it did when we first met 3 years ago, today.

p.s. Lots of pics from Adam's birthday party will be posted soon -- hopefully tomorrow! =)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

2010-03-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this little boy:

this face:

these curls:

this smile:

these hands:

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that:

-- he calls me both Mama & Mommy pretty equally... depending on his mood (with a Mom & MeeMee occasionally thrown in, too!)

-- how he calls me in the room when my favorite part of a movie is on

-- how he "gets lines" from his favorite TV shows/movies and uses them in context days later. For example, he told Zaide on the phone the other week "you're so weird!". After I got over the embarrassment, I was left curious as to how he learned that phrase... until I heard it on "The Li.on King" a few nights later! Thanks, Simba! He also has started saying "whatever" in a wistful tone... Thanks, Bear, from Frank.lin! =)

-- is learning how to read (sort-of). He has figured out "-at" words (i.e. cat, hat) by sounding them out. Pretty cool!

-- likes to "read" whole books by creating stories from the pictures... such an imagination!

-- looks at me like I am PERFECT (and I am soooo not).

-- how he says Abby Padabby (as opposed to "Abby Cad.abby") since he usually articulates really well these days -- it's kinda cute when he doesn't! He also still calls a baby bottle a "baba" which I think is beyond precious. "Baba" was one of his first words and G-d knows, he knew his "baba"... so it's so funny that he STILLS call it that now!

-- how he remembers *everything*... like today... when he saw a shower cap in a book today and said "that's like yours, Mama"!

-- how he comes in to snuggle with me after exactly 2 hours of sleeping during his nap. I know to be laying in bed then b/c he gets very upset if I'm not in the room when he comes in! Sometimes he'll fall back asleep, other times we'll just snuggle.

-- how he gets so excited when he does "the right thing". just today he came up to me and said "Mama, I SHARED!" and "Mama, I said I was sorry"... so sweet.

-- how he actually thanks me on the days I don't have to work (T & Th, weekends). He says "Mama, you don't have to work?" and when I tell him "not today!" he says "THANK YOU!" like he won the lottery or something! Precious (and kinda sad).

-- how he's such a sweet talker, always saying: "I'm happy to see you, Mama", "Mama, I love you the most" and "You're the best Mommy".

-- how he says "you came back" with a huge smile everytime I... well, come back... from wherever I am. I always tell him "don't worry, Mommy will always come back" (saying a silent "G-d willing" to myself)... but he still says it without fail every time he sees me. =)

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE my little love (who will be 3 in 3 days!!!):

Birthday Party #1

2010-03-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Little Love is turning 3 in 3 days... omg!!! Seriously, he really & truly is no longer a baby or even a toddler. He's now, officially, a preschooler. Be still my heart!!! Soooo much to write about... so many pictures to post... and so little energy & time to do so now.

The past 6 weeks have been unbelievably busy, esp. with work... hence the reduction in blog posts. Next week is spring break (yay!) so I'll be able to catch up... so much to write about!

Adam had his first (of 3!) birthday parties yesterday. The party was for the neighborhood play group kiddos. The original plan was a "small party" but we ended up having 13 kids and 2 tots! Hey, the more the merrier, right?!? Anyway, we had the party at the multipurpose center across the street since our little townhouse is just too small to host a party. We had games, an egg hunt and lunch. The gymnastics mats and trampoline were set out so the kids had a blast tumbling, jumping, etc. It was a fun "little" party with a Mi.ckey Mouse theme. Here are some pics from the par-tay:

the goodies: wraps for the moms and mac & cheese (and cupcakes!) for the kiddos

"Where are all my friends?" aka "The calm before the (3 year old) storm"! =)

Let the fun begin! Yahoo!

Adam & Sean sharing a laugh. It should be noted, however, that they had major issues sharing the balloons!!! =)

Adam getting ready for his egg hunt... notice his chocolate goatee... my boy & chocolate!

On the look-out for eggs...

Darlene & Sean, Carrie, Joseph & Michael searching for eggs (as you can tell by the jackets, Mother Nature was not our friend that morning!)

"Pin the nose on the clown"... I didn't blindfold the kids and Adam "pinned" the clown during his first try... and then got annoyed when other kids tried to... it was kinda funny, actually.

Getting ready for lunch... Adam with Joseph (on his R side) and Caylee, Seth, Grace, Parker & Darden

Riley, Sean & Gabriel

mmm... apple juice!

Adam's "birthday cake"... and my first cake decorating... notice the letters on the cupcakes... nice, huh?!? =)

Singing Happy Birthday to Little Love

Adam & Riley

It's fun to be (almost) 3!

1 party down & 2 to go! On Friday, Adam will have a little class party at school and his big birthday party is on Saturday... all leading up to LITTLE LOVE'S 3RD BIRTHDAY ON SUNDAY!!! =)

Update (just a cold!)

2010-03-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

Even though I'm still sleep deprived (NOW I remember what that feels like... no wonder why I don't remember much from Adam's first six months!), I'm feeling sooo relieved. Since I had to go to work today, Steven played "Mis.ter Mom"... and he did GREAT! He took Adam to the ped.'s office by himself for the first time ever! To back up a little... Adam woke up around 8:30 and was HYSTERICAL that I wasn't home (I know since I was on the phone with Steven when he woke up). He got on the phone with me and said "I want you. I want you right here. I'm very sad")... heartbreaking! He calmed down soon afterwards, thank goodness. Steven thought he felt kinda hot but wasn't burning up. Anyway, I made a dr's appt for LL and Steven took him in.

I was on pins & needles all morning, waiting for the call from Steven! Well... turns out that Adam just has a... BAD COLD!!! Just what I thought!!! He's never had an infection, not even an ear one (knock on wood -- yes, I know I just jinxed this!) so i was happy to hear that he didn't need antibio.tics! I was also THRILLED to hear he weighed in at 30 lbs (w/clothes on)-- NICE!!! He did have a low grade temp though (99.5) but, overall, he checked out okay (Thank You, G-d!!!).

He's in great spirits and his cold seems to be clearing up. Now we're just hoping for a peaceful & restful night!

what a night

2010-03-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

i'm sitting here, at 6:52 AM... having woken up after getting 26 minutes of sleep last night. i am so exhausted but i have to go to work anyway since i missed work on monday... having pulled an all-nighter sunday night. why the all-nighters, you may be asking?

well, i mentioned that adam has had a cold/virus/??? since saturday. during the day, he's been acting 90% fine... tons of energy, eating, playing, happy, etc... with a little cough. yesterday he also started sneezing and his nose started to run. however, he has been up pretty much the whole night (on/off) the last 3 nights since he's SO stuffed up (hence my all-nighters). regarding a fever, the only time he had one was early sunday morning when it hit 101.5. i gave him some motr.in and the temp went down immediately and did not return, at all (that i know of). until 1:30 this morning... when, out of the blue, he had a temp of 101.2 and felt HOT. he was also jerking around a little in bed (when i asked him what was wrong, he told me he was moving a lot) and his breathing was very labored, due to the very stuffy nose/coughing/sneezing.

i called the dr on call and she told me to give him some tyl.enol or motr.in and check on him again in 45 minutes to make sure the fever has gone down and that he's breathing better. well, after i took his medicine, he was WIDE AWAKE and in a very good mood (almost manic - i guess since it was 4 am at this point!). he kept saying "i love you, mama" and "you're the best mama" and hugging me. it was so sweet and so sad as he was literally hot to the touch. it took an entire HOUR for the fever to go down to 99... and when it did, he fell asleep (around 5 am) and has been sleeping soundly (breathing seems fine, he feels cool) since then. i managed to squeeze in 26 minutes of sleep, too.

i have an important meeting with my boss at 8:15 this morning, so i have to go in to work. i'm going to try to stay the whole day without falling asleep on my desk!!! steven is going to take adam to the doctor's when he wakes up. the one thing the dr on call said that concerned me was that it's rare for a temperature to come (like it did on sunday morning) and then go away for a few days and then come back (like it did this morning). so she thinks he may have an infection of some sort. he's never really had one, either... only viruses... so we'll see what the dr says this morning. i'm nervous, exhausted and upset that i can't be with him. =(

thanks for letting me vent... had to get it out... i'll update tonight with how little love is doing.