Chanukah Video

Chanukah 2009

It's been a while since we've updated the blog. Unfortunately, it's been a rough few months for us. In November, our beloved cat Bernard passed away after a sudden bout with kidney failure. His loss was very difficult for all of us, especially Ema, who had lived with Beno for seven happy years in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, New Jersey and Seattle. A week later, we had to start packing for our latest move. Soon after moving, we all got colds. Then we had to buy a new car. Finally, we are settling into our new home in Wedgwood, getting used to our new surroundings and enjoying being in a more Jewish neighborhood, within walking distance to shul. And this week Avi LOVED chanukah. He learned songs, got incredibly excited about lighting candles every night, and certainly appreciated getting lots of presents, including several big trucks, a xylophone, a moose from Sweden (thanks Aunt Ruth!), lots of Thomas trains and an amazing wooden Chanukah play set (thanks Savta and Saba). Most of all, Avi loved his visit with Doda Elisheva, who came to stay with us for a week, and Great Aunt Sheila, who came from Vancouver to see us, as well as having shabbat chanukah dinner with cousins Chuck, Connie, Simon and Mimi. Avi also loved eating Saba's latkes, made by Ema and Doda. All in all, it was a great holiday for us, and we can't wait for next year!

October 2009: East Coast Trip

Avi spent the last half of October "back east" visiting his family. He enjoyed going to Hershey's Chocolate World with Nana and PopPop, going to "school" (i.e. day care) one morning, swimming and playing at the JCC while we were in Harrisburg. He then got to party till 1am at cousin Debra and Jason's wedding at the Please Touch Museum, where he and Daniel had all the toys to themselves. While Daniel managed to fall (and stay) asleep after the wedding, Avi was up the whole night, loving the music and all the attention he got (he kept saying "SO much fun! So many peoples!"). Finally, we had a great visit with Saba and Savta in Wayne. Saba took Avi to see the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, and Savta had fun taking Avi to work with her, too. As always, our trip went way too fast. Here are some of the better pictures:


Avi rides the carousel for the first time after Debra's wedding ceremony.

Wylen family photo on the Septa Bus

Doda Ellie and Debra hang out with the boys on the dance floor

Avi enjoys an egg roll with Saba Raba during cocktail hour

Savta puts Avi to work answering phones at the Y

Avi loves the BIG dinosaurs

Taking a bath in Ema and Aunt Daya's old tub

Cooking with Aunt Goldie in Nana's kitchen

Hershey's Chocolate world with Nana and PopPop

"Help My Pile!"

Avi explores the fall leaves in New Jersey.

Avi Tries to Drink Beer

...from an empty bottle, at the playground in Saba and Savta's complex

Avi Loves Japanese Food

Avi is still a picky eater at 19 months, but he is getting better. He's growing into "kid" foods like Macaroni and Cheese, Hambugers, and Hot Dogs (ugh), but he also has a special place in his heart for Yakisoba Noodles with veggies and tofu. Hey, they may be greasy, but I figure any way I can get a vegetable into that kid is a good way! Enjoy this cute video from dinner last night.

ABCs Crack Me Up

Weekend at Lake Chelan, August 2009

Last weekend we drove to Lake Chelan to visit Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Terri. Along the way, we stopped in Levenworth, the Bavarian Village. Avi had lots of fun playing with Puka the dog, swimming (and splashing) in the pool, and eating countless nectarines and peaches fresh from the orchards below the house.

August 2009: 17 Months

This August we traded Saba and Savta for Doda Shoshana and Aunt Goldie, who came to visit for a half-rainy, half-gorgeous 10 days in Seattle. Avi learned to scream while playing leggos with "Shooooshi!", play the piano with "Ah Gogie", and do all kinds of cute show-offy things for their visit. A few days later, Aunt Ruth (or "Ah Rufie"), Miriam and Rachel Wasser came for a brief but very fun overnight stay in the Emerald City. Avi has loved all of the attention, and won't know what to do with himself when he only has 2 adoring parents and one Aunt to dote on him in September. Good thing we're going back east in October!

Saba and Savta visit Seattle

This week Saba and Savta Wylen have been in Seattle for a visit. Saba has been very busy golfing, but we've also done lots of fun non-golf things, like going on a boat trip with Aunt Char and Uncle Kim, visiting parks and beaches, going to the Zoo, and having a family reunion with Aunt Sheila and cousins Chuck and Connie Broches. Here are few highlights from their trip.

July 2009: 16 Months

At 16 Months, Avi is more of a toddler than ever. He loves to play with cars and trucks, he's very into the potty (though he has yet to do anything other than rip pieces of toilet paper, throw them in, and flush), and he sings bits and pieces of the Alphabet song and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," as well as a line or two of his favorite Funkey Monkeys songs, including the Hebrew song "Ki Va Moed." Most exciting of all is his new red tricycle, which is the new love of his life.

15 Months: June 2009

Avi had his 15 month check up today. Apparently, he is the size of an average 20 month old, and about as advanced intellectually as well! With his enormous vocabulary and ability to speak in two word sentences ("Abba, up!", "Go Car!"), remember lines from books (and to make up his own titles, too), and phrases from songs (he loves to say "H,I,J" when he hears the alphabet song), as well as his 90th percentile height (32.5 inches) and 60th percentile weight (25lb, 9oz), we've got a big boy on our hands! He is also about to cut his one year molars, which should be a fun time for all. In the meantime, Avi is a super dare devil--climbing the furniture, jumping off whatever he manages to climb onto, and giggling like a madman when he manages to run into an empty room and slam the door shut behind him!

May 2009: 14 Months

Spring has finally sprung here in the great Northwest (at least on most days), and life is a lot busier now that Avi is down to one long mid-day nap. Our mornings and late afternoons are now open for adventure, and we are taking advantage of all that the Seattle area has to offer for families. We take Avi to our local playground next to the Richmond Beach Library, with unbelievable views of mountains and the Puget Sound, we are enrolled in two classes--one called the Fun Factory in Edmonds, where Avi gets to play, sing songs, and do art projects with 15 other kids his age, and also a Hebrew Immersion Playgroup at a shul in Queen Anne--we've gone to Funtasia, an indoor amusement park, and the Children's Museum in Everett, as well as the Woodland Park Zoo and the local beach, which we can walk to from our house. We plan to have lots of fun this summer going to beaches, taking ferry rides, and enjoying the gorgeous views.

As a 14 month old, Avi continues to astound us with his rapidly expanding vocabulary. We have stopped keeping track of his words, because every day he adds three or four new words or phrases, and he basically repeats everything we say. His first sentences include "Bye, Bye, see ya soon!", "Come on!" and "Get down!", which he says to the cat at every opportunity. He also loves to play with Ema's "loofa", which he totes around the house, and he thinks it's hysterical to hide under blankets and in the pillows we used to create a little "fort" for him between our sofas. It's just amazing to see him absorb the world like a little sponge. Yesterday he started filling in the blanks when I read him Goodnight moon, saying "mush" and "hush" (in a whisper, no less), at just the right time in the story. He's a genius. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

At the playground, with stunning views.

One day, Avi was so happy to see Abba coming home from work that he climbed inside the window to get to him. Abba let him steer the car in the driveway for about 30 seconds, till Ema snatched him away.

Floating in the pool of balls at Funtasia.

Driving the tractor at the Children's Museum

Playing "waiter", also at the Children's Museum in Everett.

April on the East Coast

We spent most of April "Back East," as they say out here on the West Coast. Avi's second Pesach was a fun-filled gathering of grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He and cousin Daniel got to spend lots of time eating matzah crackers together and playing under the tables during seder, and Avi enjoyed all the attention from his adoring fans. Next year in Wayne (or Jerusalem, which wouldn't be a bad place to spend the holiday either!). Here are some highlights of our time in NJ and PA.

Hip Hop Avi

The video speaks for itself. Enjoy!

He Walks!

After many months of not-so-patiently waiting, Avi finally took his first real steps alone last night. He's done it again a few times today, too, so we think he's finally on his way to walking. Avi turned 13 months today, so it's about time. We're sure that in a few weeks, he'll be zooming around the house!

He Speaks!

Avi's been saying "Hi" since he was just a few months old, seemingly on purpose, and he said "kitty" (his first "official" word) at 10 months. Now, at 12 months, Avi adds new words to his vocabulary every day. When we went for our 12 month appointment (fyi, Avi weighed 22 lb, 15 oz--50th percentile, and was 31.5 inches tall--90th percentile!), the doctor asked how many words he had, and I realized I didn't know, so I began to keep a list.

Avi's list of words: Hi, Kitty, Woof Woof, car, ball, go, teeth, nose, ear, eye, cracker, juice, bottle, spoon, bowl, no!, don't!, Bye Bye, mine, monkey (he also makes the "ooo ooo ooo" sound that goes with monkey!), Mooo (for cows), baaa (for sheep), nice, choo choo (train), book, light, bean, pea, night night, shoe, sock, belt (he loves Abba's belts), balloon, silly, challah and giggle giggle (by which we think he means "tickle tickle"). He's not as into names. He says "da-ah" for Daya, but only this week has he started to say "Abba" clearly enough that we know he means it, and he's started to say "Ma" in such a way that I HOPE it means Ema....One day I'm sure he'll say it, right?

He's also started saying "Oh Boy!" when he's really excited about something, and now that he is finally into reading, he has memorized cues for different pages of his favorite books, including animal sounds. When he wants to read Dear Zoo, he says "too tall!" because of the page where the zoo sends a giraffe, and the line reads "He was too tall. I sent him back." When we get to the end of a page of Five Silly Monkeys, he wags his finger and says "no mo mon", which means "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" Speaking of books, Avi loves to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Hebrew and says "toot" (strawberry) and "parpar" (butterfly), which is pretty impressive. He loves Tootim so much, in fact, that all fruit is now called "toot."

And there you have it. It's absolutely amazing to see him develop language skills. We keep trying to catch it on video, but no such luck yet. Soon enough, we'll post a video here for you of Avi reading a book to us!

Avi's First Real Purim

Last Purim, Avi was just a few weeks old, so none of us was up for dressing up and going out for Purim. This year, our little Monkey went to the Purim carnival at the JCC and the megillah reading at Kavana dressed as Curious George. He ate his first hamentaschen (apricot) and LOVED it, and had tons of fun lookng at all the other kids' costumes. Chag Purim Sameach!

Happy Birthday, Avi!

Our little baby is a whole year old! On Feb 27, 2009, Avi turned one. It's hard to believe how much time has passed, and how much he has changed from the tiny (ok, not so tiny) newborn we brought home from the hospital to the energetic, opinionated, adorable little boy we now know. The next year will be just as amazing, we're sure. Here are some photos of our little guy's big day, including the banana chocolate chip cake shaped like a turtle that his Nana Cheryl made for him!