Bye, Bye Montclair

Last night Avi and I went out for dinner with our friend Naava Katz, website designer extraordinaire (she did my site) and talented artist and photographer in her own right. She decided to take some portraits of Avi and me at the Montclair Diner on Valley Road. This was her favorite, and I have to agree--it's a sweet shot of us!

Avi and Friends

In the last few weeks, we've been making the rounds of our new and old friends in NJ to say goodbye before we move to Seattle. Below are pictures with Miles, Caleb, Liev, and Ava. We also got to see baby Noah Magnus, but since Avi was sick at the time, we didn't get a shot of the boys together. Bye, bye friends! We'll see you when we come back to visit in April.

Avi's Third Haircut

Avi's first haircut was done at home by Ema and Abba. His second cut was at the mall, where Ema forgot the camera but Aunt Goldie snapped a few shots on her cell phone. The third time was a charm, when Saba took us to his barber shop in Wayne, Mario and Gerald's, and Ema remembered the camera. This Italian barber was all we could have hoped for. Avi cried a bit, then decided the car seat he was strapped into was fun enough to offset the wierdness of having someone come at your head with a big pair of scissors. And now our little guy looks like he is ready for kindergarten.

Avi and Daniel: The Sleepover

Avi and I took one last trip to Philadelphia last weekend to hang out with the Goldenberg cousins before we move to Seattle, and we had the great pleasure of sleeping over at Daniel's house so we could play all day long. The boys are finally big enough to interact and even sort of play together. They mainly focused on the same toys at the same time (and the same bowl of Cheerios), and Avi proved himself yet again to be "mini Jeremy" by continually wrestling Daniel down to the floor, and then giving him hugs and kisses. Luckily, Daniel has a very forgiving nature, and didn't seem to mind being bowled over in his own home. Avi had a blast with all of Daniel's great toys, and Ema had fun hanging out with cousin Hannah and the gang.

Avi Does the Farm Show

This year Avi continued a Yablon family tradition of going to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. He enjoyed looking at the cows, horses, sheep, chickens, and rabbits, and called all of them "Kitty." A good time was had by all!

Avi Dancing, 10 Months Old

A short but sweet video of Avi enjoying his newest love, the singing drum set (thank you, Erik and Morivan Wasson). Ah, to be so easily entertained!

December 08 and January 09

It's been quite a while since I updated the blog. Things have been pretty hectic for the "little Wylens", as we recently moved out of our Montclair, NJ apartment, and are on our way to the great northwest. That's right, Jeremy has already moved into our new home in Seattle, and Avi and I (and Aunt Daya and Bernard the cat as well!) will be following in a few weeks.

For now, Avi, Bernard and I are living with Saba and Savta Wylen, Doda Elisheva and her dog, Chai. It's a full house--grown ups, cats, dogs, and babies. We are all getting along, and even sharing our germs so that we have all had the same cold for about a week now. Avi loves all the attention he is getting from everyone, and has started talking. Although he's been "verbal" for ages, and has probably been trying to communicate with words for months, his first real word that we are sure means what it sounds like is "Kitty," which he uttered for the first time on New Year's Day 2009. He also says "Don't", and wags his finger when he says it, and "Ball." So far, he hasn't bothered with "Ema" or "Abba." What can you do?

Avi has also grown into a very picky eater as a 10-month-old. He HATES vegetables, eggs and chicken, and is able to pick them out of any "creative" combination I try. He will eat cheerios, fruit, rice cakes and yogurt at any time of day, and whole wheat toast is a big hit, as long as you give him the whole piece and let him take his own bites. But don't try to give him veggies unless he is totally distracted by a toy or a fun spoon, and then you can sneak in a few bites before he realizes what's happening. He's such a little character, and loves to dance, bang stuff, climb the steps and speed-crawl around the house.