Day 273: Monkey See

Just once, is love for Michal to use her powers for good and not for evil. Sivan is pretty strong willed as it is, but when her sister does something, it's hard for her to not follow suit.  And then I'm chasing two children.

If you look at the wall on the left - that blue figure? That's Michal climbing the wall. And this is Sivan, watching to be sure I'm still there. 

And there she goes. 

Day 272: Ecuadorian Visitor

A good friend of ours moved a few years back to Ecuador, and she was back in town for a quick visit. It was so nice to see her and hear about her life abroad. Of course she was incredibly sweet and brought gifts. Sivan is now set for winter - which is not to say it should rush to get here. Winter, please delay as long as possible!

Look at this cute hipster child in her perfectly cuddly, slouchy hat. All she is missing is a beard. 

Look at that smile. You wouldn't know she's itching to rip that thing off. 

#crazyhathairdontcare

Day 271: Funny Face

She is so silly. Her personality is really starting to show, and boy is it a funny one. 

Day 270: Sukkah Dining

Sukkot starts tonight, and we are going to enjoy dinner in our sukkah, which we managed to build last night after Shabbat ended.

Chag sameach to all our friends!

Day 269: Renaissance Festival

It has been a few years since we've ventured out to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and while I do enjoy visiting and walking around, we probably wouldn't have thought about attending one if it hadn't been for one of my favorite authors.  Diana Gabaldon was in town this weekend and did a reading and book signing at the Festival, and I was lucky enough to be chosen through the lottery to have a couple of books signed.  So twist our arms - it's off to the Ren Faire!

Waiting for jousting...

Where are the horses?

We had tons of fun.  Michal even saw someone dressed in a TARDIS-inspired costume.  We might have to make this an annual visit.

Day 268: Kindergarten Baby

Now that the school year is underway, I have Fridays off, so Sivan and I get to walk Michal to school.  Michal insisted that she and Sivan take a picture in front of this bunch of flowers across from the school.

Sivan was not interested in looking in my direction - she actually kept trying to pull Michal to walk with her.  She certainly has a mind of her own.

In line with big sis, waiting for the bell to ring and the classroom door to open.

I'm going to blink, and suddenly Sivan will be five and going to kindergarten.

Day 267: Piggyback

Enjoying a little piggyback at Costco 

Day 266: Break Fast

Today was Yom Kippur, so while the kids were obviously not fasting, Josh and I were. Which meant shorter tempers and naps to get through the afternoon. We broke our fast with friends, and while she didn't fast, Sivan eagerly displayed her love of eating.

Ooh... Berries (she ate all the fruit off my plate)

So ladylike - what table manners!

Hurray for food!

Day 265: Ready... Set...

Ready... set...

Go!

She's coming for you.

But don't worry. She isn't that fast. Yet. 

Day 264: 3/4 Family Selfie

Goofy 3/4 family photo. I should learn to use photoshop and just paste Josh in there. 

Day 263: Reverse Monkey

Someone thinks she is big enough to not only climb up stairs, but go down them as well. 

She's getting pretty good at it. 

Day 262: Farm Morning

It was a friend's birthday, so we headed up to a favorite orchard/farm to pick apples and enjoy ourselves. So of course I took not a single picture of apples.  We still had fun.

Obligatory baby in a field shot. 

Going for a ride with Sissy

"You sure you know how to drive this thing?"

Watching Michal go down the slide.

It looked like fun, so Daddy took Sivan for a slide. She mostly enjoyed it.

Day 261: Family Selfie Friday

It is nearly impossible to get four people to look in the same direction, hold still (more or less), and attempt to smile. This was our best bet. 

Happy Friday! 

Day 260: Feet

Love these little feet. Especially how she keeps them crossed. 

Day 259: Picking Up Michal

Picking up her big sister from after care. I can't tell if she looks super big here or super tiny. 

Day 258: Rimonim

Today a very special package arrived from California. We get one every fall, but it would be Sivan's first time experiencing it. 

What's inside?

What the hell is wrong with this apple? 

Uh, Sissy, do you know about this?

What the...?

What's this thing? So shiny and red. 

Hmm...

Hhhhmmmmmmmm...

Oh my! These are kind of tasty!

Yummy!

Give them all to me! Nom nom nom.

Day 257: Lunch

Quick lunch after synagogue today

Sivan is really starting to enjoy coloring.  

Aw, look she's smiling and having a grand time.

It might be because she tossed the crayons onto the ground about thirty seconds after I snapped this one.  She and I played silly games instead as we waited for our food.

Day 256: Apples for the New Year

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year begins tonight, so we headed to one of our favorite farms for some apple picking.

We also visited some of the cute farm animals

Playing in the mountain of hay.  Sivan seemed mostly uninterested in having anything to do with the hay itself, more interested in the kids playing around her.

Sivan really wanted to pick apples off the ground, but there weren't many that hadn't already been sampled by any assortment of critters.  We found one for her try, and she went to town on it.  She would have eaten the entire thing, core and all, if I'd let her.

There is a reason we don't take many full family selfies.  This one is certainly not helped by the fact that I chose an angel that required us to look into the sun.  Sivan, smartly, was the only one to not even bother with looking at the camera/phone.

Day 255: Birthday Breakfast

Today is my birthday.  While Michal occasionally tells me that I'm 56 (she knows I'm not really 56), it is nice to welcome in another birthday with our wonderful little family.  First up on the day's agenda: breakfast at our favorite greasy spoon joint.

Look - she's using a fork!  She does this from time to time, sometimes even spearing food and getting it to her mouth.

And yes, she is using her left hand.  Sometimes it's left, sometimes right.  I guess we'll see if she inherits that trait that is sometimes seen on my side of the family.

Guess she ditched the fork

Sometimes hands are just so much easier than forks.

Day 254: Back to School Picnic

Tonight we headed over to the elementary school for Michal's back to school picnic.  We saw friends, ate dinner, and had a fun time.  It's nice getting to know a new school community.

Posing with neighborhood friends

Headed off to the carnival games - she really wanted to walk on her own

Discovered this ring toss game.  Sivan was obsessed, getting in the way of the game.  I had to pry her away, which was not easy to do.

Super not happy about mean Ima making her not play the funnest game ever.  I am so mean.

She got over it - we're cool now.