Rafi's had a big week! I'll eventually get around to posting Purim pictures, I hope, and we had a visit from Grandma and cousin Megan this weekend. On Sunday, Rafi learned to ride a bike without training wheels:
and yesterday, he lost his first tooth! (Late tooth-losing runs in the family.)
Below is visual evidence that Sam has learned to roll over. He has been getting on to his side for a while now but here he is rolled over onto his stomach.
In other news, Rafi is quite happy with his new playroom. He runs around it jumping up and down yelling either "I love my playroom" or "I love my chalkboard wall" then we get this...
the falling down rolling on the floor. Maybe he's jealous Sam learned to roll over. - BRN
This is our first Chanukah with two kids, and our first Chanukah with one kid who gets what the holiday is all about. We have a beautiful snowy evening here for the first candle, and Rafi helped us sing the brachot and light the candles.
Sam, needless to say, didn't much care about the holiday. He did, however, receive a lovely gift from Bubbee and Poppa-Zayde - a menorah belonging to his Great-Grandpa Sam, for whom Sam is named.
Sam had a doctor's visit on Friday - 15 lbs, 9.75 oz. 25.25 inches. Our little boy has gotten awfully moosey of late! Sam continues to be a great baby - sleeping well most nights, eating quite a lot. His teachers report he's a very good boy at school.
Thanksgiving photos coming soon!
We went today to Toys R Us and bought Rafi a toddler bed today. We thought about getting a regular twin bed but decided for space we'd get a toddler bed. We headed off this morning to the store with some trepidation about getting Rafi to actually sleep in the bed. The only positive sign is that 2 or 3 of his friends at the J have moved to beds and so he's heard about it from his friends. When we got to the bed section he wanted a Thomas bed but we didn't want to spend $250 on a toddler bed. We did get Rafi the Thomas sheets and blanket. We then stopped and got a soft baseball bat and ball and a plastic golf set.
Rafi was very excited about the new bed. He couldn't wait for me to put it together. I think he was most excited about the Thomas sheets. He jumped around giggling for most of the lunch hour. When the sheets were out of the dryer, he had to carry them to his room (NO Daddy. I will carry them!). Once the sheets were on he wanted to take a nap on the bed. (Nap right now!) Other than a sudden fear of turning the light off, the nap went off without a hitch. He slept two hours in the bed.
We'll see how tonight goes! Wish us luck.
He're Rafi on the new bed:
Here's new bed itself:
Here is Rafi jumping on the new bed:
UPDATE: We had a mostly successful night. Rafi was a little reluctant to sleep in the bed. He asked to go back in the crib but eventually we got him excited again about his big boy bed. (Which by now he has probably told his whole class at the J about). He was ridiculously cute as we were getting ready for bed he put his "guys" (i.e. his stuff animals) in the bed and then picked up his blanket. Instead of putting in the bed, he took it over and threw it in the crib and said, "I'll give this to my baby brother." I thought it was quite cute. Marsha almost lost it.
He made it most of the way through the night. He got up at 4:45 or so and i got him back down for another 1/2 an hour but he was up at 5:15 although I stayed with him until about 5:40 when he sat up put his feet off the bed and asked, "Can I get up NOW?".
- BRN
Today is Rafi's last day in the Tots Room at the JCC. On Monday, he's moving into the Twos Room (as Rafi says, "because he's TWOOOOOOO!"). We've had a great time with the teachers and kids in the Tots Room, and we're really pleased that all the Tots are moving up together (and adding a few more kids as well). This should make the transition much easier for everyone. Well, except for the teachers. Only Miss Kiara is moving up with the kids, and it looks like the teachers will miss the kids as much as the kids will miss the teachers! So thank you to Marion, Deb, Krystal and Sarah (as well as the others who've been through the room this year) for a great year!
Here's a photo of Rafi and his best buddy Elan (taken by Elan's dad Shelby) on their second-to-last day as Tots.
Rafi is now officially two, and has been suitably feted. The birthday party was, I think, a great success. First, Rafi helped us clean the house:
We blew up a whole bunch of balloons, got the food ready, and then it was off to the races. Friends began to arrive, and Zilah the music lady began to work her magic. Rafi was little slow to warm up (all the guests arriving proved a little overwhelming) but he got into the swing of things once Zilah started singing his favorite songs.
Zilah brought out stuffed animals to play with and Rafi snagged a very cute blue doggie.
After the animals came the instruments. All the kids seemed to get a real kick out of the maracas, tambourines, shaky eggs and the like.
Of course, Rafi being Rafi, the clean up was almost as much fun the the playing.
Then we moved on to the parachute:
And the scarves...
And finally the bubbles.
The highlight of any musical experience for Rafi, of course, is the guitar. Rafi serenaded Zilah, then was thrilled that Zilah let him not only play her guitar, but let him help put it in its case!
After the entertainment, we moved into the food. Rafi experienced the time honored tradition of letting a pretty girl steal food off his plate.....
and then the tradition of blowing out his candles.
The cake, made to look like a construction site, was a big hit with the Rafster. He discovered rather quickly that digger trucks are good for more than scooping up dirt.
Of course, Rafi wasn't the only one who enjoyed the frosting...
In all, I think we had a very successful day! We were delighted to have Grandma and Aunt Susan with us, along with Bubbee and Poppa. Rafi seemed to very much enjoy himself, and so did Brian and I. Thanks to all who made the day special!
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