Aim Habanim Smaicha: I didn't give up the blog!

I wonder how many people will actually see this blog........everyone has probably given up hope, moved on to greener pastures, laughing over someone else's kid's antics. Sigh. Do we get credit for good intentions? I wanted to blog, really I did. My boys didn't stop being fun/crazy/lovable/nutty/exhausting, we've just been very busy.

First I accidentally put my memory card into the washing machine, then we went to America for Tanta Leeba's wedding, then came the chagim, and work is CRAZY (though that doesn't stop my illustrious boss from regaling us with the latest from her princess- long may she reign- both the boss and the princess) (Now can I have my raise?)

So here I sit at 12:50am, ignoring the dishes and my delivery from the grocery store (why is it so much esaier to pull the stuff off the shelf in the store than to put it back onto the shelf in my kitchen?) because, despite the fact that I may be the meanest mommy in less that 5 hours from now (yikes!), I simply cannot be remiss any longer. They are 2 months older, bigger, crazier! 2 months more practiced at taking my house apart! 2 months more adept at terrorizing little kids in the park (a terrorizer? not my kid.)......2 months more proficient at climbing up the walls (I exagerate not. I'll video it for y'all some time)

But they are also 2 months wiser, 2 months more sensitive to the world around them. Yisroel Meir's continued development is constantly clear but even the big boys surprise me- sometimes the differences are day to day. The 2 big boys slept in the sukkah this year. They also went with their Abba to dance in a few different shuls on Simchas Torah, bedeked in their yontif (nee wedding) finery. I kvelled. Yitzchok Zevi continues learning how to read and Aryeh Leib.....well, he continues to like chocolate.

The other day we played a word game that encouraged the boys to identify parts of an object that are intrinsic to it.

"Have you ever seen a chair without legs?" I said.
Yitzchok Zevi responded, "Have you ever seen a table without legs?"
"Well, have you ever seen an airplane without a wing?" I countered.
Yitzchok Zevi replied, "Have you ever seen a house without a door?"
Then Aryeh Leib piped up, "Have you ever seen a cake without sprinkles?"

Some things never change........

And other things really do..........

Our big change of the week: Yisroel Meir started going to gan! He's only going 2 mornings a week since- quite frankly- I'm not ready to give up my baby just yet. I have a parenting class once a week in the morning (babies are not invited) and I figured I'd send him one more day just to give him a sense of continuity. I got emotional when he came home with fingerpaint on his hand. My baby is doing art! So far he's doing fantastic. He loves the ganenet and is having a party with kids his own size. (And, of course, I don't have a complex about this issue at all.......I feel no need whatsoever to justify sending my baby to a sitter.)

And look what he can do now!