15 months

Yesterday, our dear sweet AlteLu turned 15 months old.  She is getting lots of molars and is definitely in the midst of  some sort of developmental shift.  She has strong emotions and has been screaming a lot.  We are hoping that this will pass.  At the same time, she is communicative, lovable, delicious, inquisitive, smart, and silly.  New words and ways of communicating pop up all of the time.  She weighed in yesterday at 23lbs, but did not enjoy the dr.'s appointment.  Jacob and I were trying to remember when Hersh went through this phase.

Hersh is kind of like a teenager. He has lots of emotions and ideas, is very capable, and incredibly sweet.   He is full of creativity, and has really taken to drawing, and he LOVES tape:)

Raincoats

Wintercoats

Family Portrait 

Lots of leaves

There are many things we like about the house we live in, with one of the best features being the yard.  It is big, two-tiered, and full of lots of to explore--animals, bugs, birds, wildlife, and foliage of all kinds.  This also means that there are lots of leaves!  So, around this time of year one of our favorite activities (and forms of exercise) is leaf raking.  The funny thing is though, no matter how much we rake, there are always more leaves on the ground, and it literally looks like we didnt rake at all!
Last week I had my first real cold of the season and am working on getting over it.  Hersh had his first stomach bug ever (!), but he seems to be better, except for the fact that his appetite hasn't returned to normal.  We also had a surprise visit from Aunt Mimi this weekend, which was wonderful, as she truly is one of our very favorites.
Hersh is really into drawing right now and has begun to create some really intentional, cool creations.  AlteLu's latest trick is that she can "wiggle her nose" which means that she scrunches up her nose and blinks her eyes----soooo cute!

A walk with Aunt Mimi:)

 Hersh and his "pet" slug:

"Dog"

A visit with Andrea and Mary!

A very spooooky week!

This past weekend we celebrated Halloween, and I must say, this is the most fun I have ever had on Halloween, and I totally credit this to our children.  Hersh's joy and excitement around this holiday was so genuine.  He was psyched to dress up and loved all of the decorations.  Every night we have been lighting the Jack-O-Lantern, even though the holiday is passed.  AlteLu was dressed as an aerobics instructor, and my only regret is that I didn't take her to a costume contest because she definitely could've won.  Hersh was a fireman, I was the constellation, Ursa Major (thank you Hersh), and Jacob was a soup inspector,
We also had Hersh's last day of the soccer season, Jacob and I went to a fancy bat mitzvah, and we had friends over for s'mores around the campfire, which was so fun!  We have such awesome friends and I love having them over.  The kids played in the leaf pile and everyone enjoyed.
Last week I took AlteLu to her first library storytime and a playgroup.  She loved both---checking out all of the people and toys, and really enjoyed the stories and singing.  One book that the librarian read was all about cats, so AlteLu kept saying, "Gaato, gaato, gaato." She is to delicious!

Thanks, Zeyde, for the cozy winter coat!

Me and my girl

Family selfie

Fireman

Aerobics instructor

Cozy with the schluffensak

Soccer scrimage

 Medal Ceremony:

 Baby in a basket:

 S'mores:

Taking care of her babies

 More Halloween:

Paper airplane making

The Encyclod User (by Hersh)

The Encyclod User
("It's a book about various . . . mammals and reptiles."

By Hersh

Once upon a time there was a Dare-Yank-A-Triumph.
(According to the author, a Dare-Yank-A-Triumph is a "female protector. The eggs grow in her body, then she lays them and sits on them until they hatch. Sort of like a bird, or a bug, or an insect.")

There was a Wyber,
(A Wyber is "a pursuiter, and a helper to the Plexodon." Read on to learn about the Plexodon.)

and a poisonous, fire breathing Dragon.
(Unfortunately, the text got somewhat cut off when I tried to scan it.)

A spiky thorcedon reptile,

[and] a poisonous Plexodon.
(A plexodon has a chomper, an internet beak, a smoke breather, and a gozzle. When predators come, the ima hides the babies in the gozzle. After sixty-two weeks, the babies can come out with their Ima. Plexodons can eat sticks, tree logs, branches, and plastic bottles.)