The Adventures of Zev and Tahl

Painting in the nude

2012-02-13T10:44:00.003-06:00

Today Zev was doing water colors, and he wouldn't stop sticking his hands in them, so we decided to get in the tub and finger paint instead. We haven't done this in a while, and Zev used to be afraid to get it on his body. As you will see, he is past that now! Luckily we have a tub with a sprayer which makes this mess easy to clean.

We started out learning about color mixing. Here he is seeing that blue and yellow make green.

When we moved on to red, he decided he wanted some on his body.

He stepped in it and fell right after this. That's a quick way to learn a lesson about listening when your mom tells you not to step in it...

He got over his fall and lived to make an even bigger mess.

Next time maybe we won't use red.

Zev had lots of fun though. There were lots more pictures, but since this blog is public, I tried to only post the decent ones.

Random phone dump

2012-02-12T14:54:00.003-06:00

This week Zev actually took a nap. Here is he is. He fell asleep on top of his stool.

He was not happy when he woke up. I'm sure he had a major back ache.

He put his hat on like this, and he told me he was a pirate because he only had one eye. Then he asked me to take his picture.

He is still very in to pretending. He's a baby, a fireman, a bear, a fireman bear, a froggie, a baby froggie, and on, and on...

Here is Tahl at the mall playground. He loves it there on the cushioned ground to crawl and play.

Zev and I at the mall.

Tahl was playing with another little girl, but he kept grabbing the poor girl's toys right out of her hands. I guess that is all he knows at this house.

Here is Mr. Tahl with a berry face.

Yum.

Here is Zev trying to drink and lick out the last of his frozen yogurt. He was quite the mess.

Last, here is a picture of Tahl playing construction worker.

He and Zev were taking turns.

Taking turns is blog worthy in itself. Hopefully I will do better about taking more pictures this week!

10 months!

2012-02-12T11:53:00.006-06:00

Tahl is 10 MONTHS old today! I can't believe how fast the time seems to be going now that he is so big and fun!

Tahl is still incredibly sweet and happy. He does let you know when he is hungry though, which this month has been a LOT of the time. He is a thin guy, but he eats and eats. He likes table food, especially carbs, cheese, and some fruits. He is not ready to give up baby food though. He is still nursing four times a day, but I am hoping to cut that down to three this week.

He loves to play, and he loves his family. He loves almost everyone he meets.

He still loves to put everything in his mouth, especially socks. They never stay on his feet for long.

He is really fast at crawling now, and he is cruising a little when he feels like it. He definitely prefers to crawl though.

I think this is my new favorite picture of him.

He likes to look through his books, but I have to be careful because he will take a bite out of them. I mean a big, chunky, bite of cardboard in his mouth.

He does like to look at the pictures too though.

Zev wanted his picture made too, so he decided to hold Tahl in his lap.

Tahl started off really enjoying it.

Tahl got pretty mad when he was ready to go, and Zev wouldn't let him go.

He was happy to be back beside him now.

Here is Zev solo.

This is his fake smile.

This is his also (mostly) fake smile, but a cute one nonetheless.

Zev is a fireman half our day now. He does love Tahl, and he still giggles at things he does and gives him kisses. He is also still passive-aggressive towards him at times too, stomping on his fingers, etc. He is definitely sweeter to him than he was a few months ago and sharing better, but we still have a ways to go.

2012-02-11T15:28:00.000-06:00

Silly guy

2012-01-30T13:28:00.002-06:00

Zev has become incredibly silly. Here he is showing that off at school.

The other day after Zev's "rest" time in his room alone, I went in to find an entire roll of toilet paper in this bucket.

Yesterday, Ari and I went in to find his stool set up by his open closet doors. Every piece of clothing Zev owned was on the floor, including clothes from his drawers. He had the wipes down, and he had emptied an entire package of wipes into the trash... He is very destructive as of late.

But, back to the silly! Here he is as a fire dog...

He has recently been putting hand cuffs on everything. Then he will tell me, "my bed is a bad man," or whatever else he hooked them on to.

2 other big weekend sillies:
1. A woman was talking to Tahl when we were out to lunch having sandwiches. She was going on and on about how he was eating a sandwich. Zev looked right at her and deadpanned, "I eating a sandwich too." Tahl isn't going to get all of the attention while Zev has a say about it.
2. We went to the park with my parents and Kade. Zev and Kade were going up the slide instead of down, and I told Zev that if he went up the slide again we were going to go home. He then turned around and told Kade, "Kade, we go DOWN the slide." He is getting very bossy.

School

2012-01-25T14:09:00.004-06:00

Zev's teachers posted some more pictures of him taken this month. Here he is sitting in one of his teacher's laps for Shabbat.

Birthday cupcakes!

He really liked this hat.

He also loves this floam. It shows up on his shoes quite often.

lunch with friends

Here they are exploring their new playground.

Zev loves to dig.

He also loves his silly hood.

They love this new sandbox. I am not sure what else is so great about the new playground...

It's sunny!

(This is Zev's "I peed on myself" outfit.)

Here he is hugging his other teacher, Miss Mari.

Zev has so much fun at school, and they say he is really doing pretty well. We are very proud of him.

Zev is jumping in puddles!

2012-01-25T13:50:00.002-06:00

Zev loves to talk about rainy days and jumping in puddles. Last night it RAINED and RAINED. It kept me up half the night, but it did make some puddles.

Here he prepared in his "rainy boots" and his frog rain coat.

The first jump!

He had lots of fun.

He came in to (not) take a nap. Maybe he jumped enough to actually get one.

Tahl dances

2012-01-20T21:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday at a play date some music came on and Tahl started to dance! I was so excited. I tried to get a little video of it today.

In the second video, you see a little more dancing, and also T stops doing something when I tell him "no." This is about 50/50 right now depending on how much he wants to take apart the train set/ eat electrical wires/ chew on a tiny piece of carpet he found/ etc. I do have to tell him quite a lot though, so I think he is learning this word much earlier than Zev.

Today at school I told Zev to say goodbye to his teacher, and Tahl started waving! We have also been working on high 5's which I think he is getting pretty good at. This is on top of his other skills, so I have to say, this kid is awesome. He is also quite the dancer, the videos do not do him justice.

Visiting with Emily, Matt, and Grey

2012-01-17T13:47:00.005-06:00

When Emily, Matt, and Grey were in town after the new year we went to the park together. I stole these pictures off Emily's blog, but I forgot to post them. Better late than never.

Grey is getting so big. Here he is sliding all by himself.

Zev didn't really want to do anything except play in the sandbox.

Grey didn't really want to join him, but he thought about it.

This kid LOVES to dig.

Tahl has fun being outside, but you can't put him down because he puts everything in his mouth, so instead he gets to be in pictures with me, Matt, and Grey.

Em and Grey sliding.

Em and I with our babies

Climbing

We asked the boys to give hugs before they left.

Zev hugging Grey.

Grey hugging Zev. Zev is standing on a rock, so this is the best Grey could do. How sweet is he?

We always wish we could see the Richardson's more often! If Tahl could stop hating his car seat, maybe we will make it all the way to Mississippi one day soon.

Big imagination...

2012-01-16T19:04:00.008-06:00

Lately Zev's imagination has grown by leaps and bounds! He is so much fun to play with. He loves to pretend ALL the time. If he is picking something up, he will tell me his is a crane. When he dumps it, he is, of course, a dump truck. He will take the round pillow off my bed to be a steam roller. When he sits in the rocking chair, he is an engine. The list goes on and on.

He is also full of funny sayings. He wants everything "so bad!" He also "loves it all day." For example, "I love lettuce all day! Need lettuce so bad!" He is always cracking us up.

Here he told me, "Tahl is in a cage".

I'm not sure how much Tahl appreciated it.

Then Zev told me, "I an astronaut!"

"CHEESE!"

Here he is before his nap. He wanted this pillow down at the bottom because now he's in a cage. He loves to be a polar bear or a zoo keeper (zozippeer). He plays zoo keeper a bunch with his stuffed animals or he will tell me what animal to be.

Zev has pretty much given up his nap. He actually hasn't napped in his bed since before Christmas. We get an occasional car nap or maybe even in the stroller, but he just plays to much in bed. Today, he was just overcome mid book.

He also paints...

...sans pants!

At lunch today Zev told me this was his nest. I asked him what he was, and he told me he was a blue bird, complete with lovely tweeting noises.

This afternoon he wanted to wear his "worker guy" clothes on our walk. He was a little sad when the trucks weren't there today, but I let him down to explore.

It was mostly a photo op...

Zev loves to talk about caution cones...

He was sad he forgot his tools, so I'm sure he will be wearing this on another walk again soon.

On another note, this morning we went to the doctor for Tahl's 9 month. He was 28 inches tall, the same as Zev was at this size, and he weighed 18 pounds, 3 ounces. Zev weighed 19 pounds, 7 ounces at 9 months, so I guess he was a little bit chubbier. Zev has been much sweeter to Tahl lately too. Hooray!

9 months!

2012-01-12T20:11:00.018-06:00

Today Tahl is 9 months old!

He could not be sweeter. He is so much fun and SO active. At this age, Zev was just learning to army crawl, but Tahl is EVERYWHERE. He is all over the house: crawling, and pulling up.

He was happily cutting down on baby food and eating more real food, but now he is completely hating anything real and eating tons of baby food again. He is not only picky, but he changes his mind all the time about what is good or not. He will definitely eat *yogurt, sweet potatoes and other orange veggies, oatmeal, and crackers/mum mums/stars/carbs!* Other than the previously listed foods, there is no way to tell if something will be good or disgusting from day to day. Blue berries may be delicious for two days and then the worst thing ever....

He is still nursing four times a day, and eating solids at breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the family. He is sleeping most of the night, but several nights a week he wakes up at 4:30... We are hoping he gets over that soon! (Excuse all the extra info, but this is my baby book after all!)

Now to the pictures!

My camera died right when I put the sticker on, so I have a few cell phone pictures.

"It's a gate," says Zev...

Tahl loves to clap. He isn't exactly sure when to do what, but he loves to clap, put his hands in the air for "so big," wave, and sign milk and more. He just does them all in a row, and he isn't quite sure when to do what. It is really cute though.

He loves to babble too. This is not a quiet guy.

Here is a little video of the boys together. Zev is such a sweet and gentle older brother...

I had to end the video to help poor Tahl...

Once my camera battery recharged, we had another photo shoot.

This is a happy guy.

He loves my cell phone. He does not love when I take it away.

This was Zev's outfit all afternoon. Tahl is busy talking on Wanda's phone.

Potty training is going pretty well, just a few accidents.

Here we have Zev listening to Mimi's heartbeat.

Tahl loves instruments.

They make great sounds, and they're delicious!

He loves to pull up, and he loves to look out the window.

Here we have a few shots from my iphone in the last week.

Mater watching Mater on the TV.

Z driving the truck at the zoo last weekend.

Zev when he told me, "I put on lotion..." It was EVERYWHERE, but on TOP of his clothes...

He begged me to take this picture of his sock. Then he posed for it.

This is the "bad guy" phone.

Here is Zev "being a bridge"...

As you can see, he hasn't been wearing pants as much lately... He has also been saying tons of hilarious things. Hopefully I can keep track of them and put more of them up here later...

Craziness...

2012-01-05T10:42:00.001-06:00

Starting on New Years eve we started to try to do a little potty training with Mr. Z. He had one accident Saturday, one Sunday, none Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, and then two today. It is going relatively well. I think I am more potty trained than Zev in that he goes almost every time I take him, but he never tells me when he has to go yet. He also hasn't pooped in the potty yet. Hopefully he will start telling me soon.

He is really proud of his big boy underwear though!

This is what you get when you ask him to show you his undies... He was also very proud to have peed for the first time outside today!

On another note, Tahl is trouble. He is into everything.

If I loose him, I could find him anywhere. He might be down the hall or in the laundry room, or playing with his stroller...

This guy requires constant vigilance. I find things in his mouth that are not food more than I would like. We have to be very careful.

Thank goodness he's cute...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-01T09:41:00.006-06:00

I am posting again my favorite pictures of the last year!

January
(not the strongest start, but it is one of the first pictures where you could tell Tahl was in there)
February

March
(couldn't pass up this belly)

April
(first picture of my two boys!)

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

My kids get cuter every month. 2011 was a great year for our family with Zev starting school and, most importantly, Tahl coming into our lives! Can't wait to have fun with our little family in 2012.

2012 resolutions:
1. Tahl - learn to walk and say some words
2. Zev - learn to use the potty and dress himself
3. Mommy - make the above things happen and drink more water!
4. Ari- doesn't believe in New Years resolutions, but I hope his is to get our front yard redone...

Christmas!

2011-12-31T15:01:00.014-06:00

We were in Tyler for Christmas. We had such a great time visiting with family and friends, and Zev loved getting visited by Santa. Here is Zev setting out Santa's cookies.

After he went to bed, Santa brought this!

Santa also brought Zev a book, a "Mater" costume, and a "worker guy" costume.

Here he is running in to see what Santa brought him.

I asked him what Santa brought him, and he said "nothing..." I think he didn't understand that these were his presents.

Then the wheels started turning.

Tahl took to his present right away.

Tahl even got to play Godzilla.

Here is Zev opening his stocking. The first thing he got was truck stickers. He passed them out to everyone in the family. He is very particular, so each person has to get two matching stickers, one for each hand.

He got an Elmo t-shirt in his stocking.

Here he is trying out his working guy stuff.

driving trains

Tahl's favorite, eating wrapping, bags, and tiny lego pieces.

Here I am opening my stocking from Ari, best husband ever.

After opening presents at my dad's house we all got dressed and went over to my Aunt Lisa's house for brunch and more family Christmas. Here is Tahl with my cousin Keaton.

Tahl loves to flirt. Here he is with another one of my pretty cousins, Meredith.

Tahl is hanging out with his dad now, trying to eat his egg casserole. Tahl is sure that big people food is the way to go.

Grandma got an Elvis snuggie!

Everyone gave grandpa a gun! Crazy!

Zev got a fireman costume and a fire truck from Grandma and Grandpa which he LOVED. Here he is putting out a fire in the Christmas tree.

After all that, people took the afternoon off. Madi and I watched the last Harry Potter movie which everyone else napped. Then people came over to my parents' house for dinner. Zev was very excited to see Uncle Scott again.

He also hung out with Aunt Li Li.

Somehow Ari was dared to eat this congealed salad. He couldn't stand that they were going to throw it away, so he gave it a try.

I'm pretty sure this was right before he spit it out...

Tahl loved Pop's and Gram's kitchen island. He loved to crawl up and sit here, but then he would get stressed about getting down. It didn't stop him from crawling up over and over though.

When we got home, I set the train from Santa up on the table from Buby and Buster. It fits perfectly, and Zev loves it! His favorite part is the crane. He loves moving it up and down.

We had so much fun with everyone in Tyler. Zev and Tahl loved spending time with our family and staying at Pop's and Gram's house. They feel so special when they are there. Thanks for having us!

The rest of Hanukkah!

2011-12-31T14:22:00.004-06:00

We didn't do a great job keeping up with Hanukkah pictures as well this year, but here are a few more. (We actually have more than this, but they sort of start to blend together...)

Here is Zev opening his present from Uncle Oren and Aunt Lindsay on the second night of Hanukkah.

The boys got monster bowling, some great books, and fuzzoodles. For those of you (me included until I opened the box) who don't know what fuzzoodles are, here is a picture.

Zev and I built that one together. The ones he makes on his own still look like a thing with feet.

Opening his boots on the third night...

Holding up his boots! In case you haven't yet had the joy of seeing them, it can't be long. Zev is currently wearing his "rainy boots" every day. He wears them to nap, and when he wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is put them on.

This is a scary picture of me, but it shows Tahl's favorite part of Hanukkah: wrapping paper.

This is the fifth night. We did the fifth and sixth nights all together in Tyler. Pops, Gram, and Madi gave Zev and Tahl bears, which according to Zev, are both named "Dreidel".

On the eight night, I forgot Hanukkah and went to the movies... whoops! Pops and Gram did it with Zevi though. They said he said some stuff he thought sounded like the prayer and then they all said "Hanukkah!" He opened up some matchbox cars from my mom.

Zev LOVED Hanukkah this year. They talked about it at school, and he and I both learned all the songs, our favorites are, of course, "Dreidel, Dreidel," "How Many Candles," and the one where you march around singing about the Maccabees! We already can't wait for next year.

First Night of Hanukkah!

2011-12-20T20:52:00.006-06:00

We had a super busy day today.
Right after breakfast we made some crafts. I had to include this one because it is too cute.

All day long, Zev said, "We made Santa face!" He wanted to do it again right away. We used finger paints to make a menorah next. We have made it the last two years, and I wanted to see how the boys' hands grow over time.

Here is Tahl's:

Zev's:

After this we went to a play date where we decorated Christmas cookies, then home for lunch and a nap. After that we went over to my mom's house where she gave Zev an early (by just a few hours) Hanukkah present. He LOVED it. He has been asking for a scarf.

She got it in navy to match his winter coat, and of course, it wasn't quite as cold today and I let him wear his fleece. We will get more pictures later I'm sure. He also wore his scarf and hat to meet Santa at the mall, which I am sad to say you are not allowed to take your own picture of. You have to pay $25 for the package, which being married to Ari, I cannot do in good conscience.

Right before we left to meet Santa, I asked Zev again what he was going to ask him for. He told me, "everything." We have been talking about asking him for "working guy stuff" (a construction worker costume) and a train for a week or two, but apparently that hadn't sunk in. Then Zev told me he would ask him for a book, no many, many books. (I think he got this idea from a book we have been reading about a bear who gets a book from Santa.) Last, he told me he would be asking for a phone. I said, "You already have a phone." Then he said, "A phone that plays music like mommy..." So, he wants an iphone from Santa, or at least an ipod. I told him Santa doesn't make phones, only toys...

When Zev did meet Santa, he asked him for just a book. Santa asked him if he wanted anything else, and then he said a train table. He did great sitting in his lap, and he wasn't shy at all.

Not too long after we got home from meeting Santa, we started Hanukkah which is even more exciting to Zev. There has been quite some build up for Hanukkah this year at school. The school also has a video on YouTube of the Hanukkah songs, which we watch many times a day.

First only Tahl was involved.

Then Zev came over to help, and I distracted Tahl from the candles with the camera.

Time to open a present.

Tahl got to open his first Hanukkah present ever with dad. He is getting books and old toys of Zev's that we took down from the attic and wrapped.

Then as a big surprise, Ari put out the new train table that Buby and Buster got the boys. I think Tahl likes it.

I think Zev likes it too. The only thing missing now is a train, and I think Santa just might bring that...

I'm sure Zev is saying something very nice to his brother...

We are excited to have seven more nights of Hanukkah, and it is almost Christmas! This is a fun (and busy) place to be in December.

Park

2011-12-18T21:27:00.006-06:00

On Saturday we went to the park. My mom and Kade met us there. Zev and Kade had fun together. Here they are driving.

They play pretty well together, at least at the park.

Tahl had tons of fun at the park too! Here are two short videos of him giggling on the swings.

This isn't the park, but it is Zev playing our ipad while wearing mom's shoes. He loves to wear my shoes...

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. Expect more pictures soon!

8 months (+ some extra fun)

2011-12-13T10:19:00.007-06:00

Tahl is EIGHT months old!

He is an amazing, fun, and happy baby. He is active and silly. He is crawling everywhere, pulling up, and is very verbal. We do wish he would sleep better though the night, but he is otherwise practically perfect in every way.

We got the one above picture of Tahl in the chair before he decided he should leave.

When I put him back, he discovered he had a sticker.

He took one more picture in the chair before he moved to the floor for safety.

If only he would keep his hands out of his mouth, he'd have lots of cute pictures.

Tahl went to pick up Zev's shirt. Zev, of course, took it away. When I asked him to give it back, this is where it ended up. Luckily Tahl doesn't seem to mind yet.

He went over to the bookshelf to play. Earlier this week, Zev took a book from Tahl's room. When he was taking it off the shelf, he told me, "I borrow this from Tahli's library..." It cracked me up.

Somewhere else fun to pull up.

Zev wanted Tahl to touch his head. He was mad when Tahl pulled his hair.

Zev got over it quickly though because he went to get his guitar. He told me he was going to sing "many let it be's"...

He also decided he needed to take his picture with the sticker.

"CHEESE!"

This guy is cute.

That is until he has an itchy tushie.

I know this picture is boring, but it shows some progress. Zev decided (on his own) to share his guitar with his brother. It lasted about 20 seconds, but progress is progress.

This sweet little guy was crawling down the hall to me in my room.

Until he heard Zev in the living room.

He turned in the doorway to see this...

Zev, who was rearranging the furniture.

Tahl, naturally, has to get right in the middle of the mess.

Last, but not least, Zev finished putting the furniture back, and he decided to sing the Dora song: "I did it! I did it!" Here are the pictures of the accompanying dance.

All this excitement, even before breakfast. It's never dull around here.

Random

2011-12-12T20:58:00.002-06:00

Here are a few random pictures of the kids.
Zev went to a birthday party on Sunday at Chuck E. Cheese. He had a great time, and he definitely LOVES chocolate cake.

Sunday night we made a gingerbread house. Zev even got to sample a little.

Tahl is currently pulling up ALL the time. He can't do it on the table, but anything a little lower is fair game: drawer handles, Zev's kitchen, stools, and his crib.

Tahl is not quite sure how to get back down yet. He fusses sometimes and I will look over and find him stuck all sorts of places. Yesterday we saw him stuck up on Zev's kitchen with just his mouth, no hands.

We also got out the tunnel. Tahl loves crawling through it.

I ran out of time today for Tahl's 8 month pictures, so I will have to take them tomorrow.

Indoor Safari Park

2011-12-06T13:29:00.012-06:00

It is FREEZING in Dallas today, so we went on a trip to the Indoor Safari Park. (Thanks Emily for the coupons.) The boys both had lots of fun. It was really empty, so Mr. Tahl got to play in the balls.

Zev loved the ball pit too.

There were two little girls playing with Tahl in the ball pit. They were rubbing his head and talking to him. He loved it.

Here he is all by himself.

That is until this guy comes down the slide. He likes to "swim" in the balls.

He also rode on the train all by himself.

Tahl and Zev both also had fun crawling around in the baby section.

Zev did end up in timeout though for pushing his brother...

There were so few kids that I let Zev go up into the 5-10 year old crawling structure. He had a good time.

He thought this was pretty hard though. I had to go under and talk him through.

Tahl really wanted to go on this balance beam. Maybe next time.

Here is Zev in the lion's mouth.

Tahl doesn't seem to want this hug I made Zev give him.

Here they are watching another kid ride on the robotic animals.

Zev decided to ride the zebra.

He seems very serious, like always, but I think he really liked it.

Last, here is a video of Zev going down the slide.

Zev had lots of fun, and Tahl seemed to like it too. I'm off to order the top picture of Tahl in the balls! We need more pictures of him around here.

Family Photoshoot

2011-11-30T11:04:00.008-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a local park to have a photo shoot. My friend Katie took the pictures, and we think they turned out pretty well. Here are a few of the pictures.

Me and Tahli

Ari and Zevi... This is one of my favorites.

I thought this was the best family shot. We used it on our holiday cards.

Tahl loves his dad.

I love this one because I love Tahl's little tongue out.

Shy Zevi

We will be using Katie again for Tahl's first birthday pictures. I can't wait!

Thanksgiving in Atlanta

2011-11-30T10:03:00.014-06:00

We got back from Atlanta on Sunday night, but we are having some technology issues around here, so I am just getting around to loading some (mostly Rachel's) pictures. We had such a great time, and it was so wonderful of Tova and Brad to host everyone right after they just had a baby! Karen and Gregg had been helping with the baby too, and they still found time to get Thanksgiving together. Thanks everyone!

Here is Zev playing at the table. He had so much fun on this trip. He loved the hotel, playing with his cousins, seeing all his family, and all of Noah and Jaren's toys. He also loved playing "i spying" out the hotel windows...

Here you can see Zev and Ava's cute matching shoes.

The kids had lots of fun playing with their aunts and uncles, especially Oren who is super fun.

a little tv time

Here are Tahl and his dad. Tahl had tons of fun too. He loved all the attention and crawling around exploring.

Here is Grandma Mimi with the new baby Harper. She is so sweet and quiet.

We went out to dinner on Wednesday night. We had our own room and the kids loved it. Here is Buster playing with Tahl.

Zev and Jaren became pretty good friends. Here they are hugging good night.

on our way out

We had lots of fun Thanksgiving. There were tons of kids there, having lots of fun.

Lindsay also had these stickers on her face, but for some reason there is no picture of her...

All the kids had fun spinning in these chairs.

Tahl spent his day playing, crawling, and being held by all his cousins.

Rachel, Tova, and Harper

This is the day after Thanksgiving. Harper had her baby naming, and it was really nice. Jimmy and Dale had yummy burgers from Varsity there and tons and tons of delicious desserts.

Here is Zev reading with his dad after the naming.

Zev also loved playing up on Noahs bunk bed. Ari, Zev, Jaren, Noah, and I also played the best game of hide and seek ever. Jaren jumps out and giggles, and Z just screams, "I in Noah's room!" The two of them were so excited when they would find each other.

On Saturday we went to the Georgia Aquarium with Ari's Uncle Larry, his cousins Danny and Beth, and his Aunt Robin with her kids Matthew and Amanda.

Here are Amanda, Zev, Matthew, and Danny.

You can't really tell from this picture, but this was the biggest aquarium I've ever seen. It was HUGE. The place was amazing with whales, giant sting rays, sharks, and all sorts of things.

Here are the little guys looking at the whales.

Ari and Zev

Here are Danny and Zev in a tunnel you could crawl through. We also went through a penguin tunnel where they swam right next to our heads, but we didn't get a picture of that one.

While we were at the aquarium, Noah, Jaren, and Ava went with Buster, Brad, Zach, Rachel, and Brad's dad Jimmy to the Georgia/Georgia Tech pre-game. They had lots of fun.

We tried for a picture with Buby and Buster and all six of their grand kids before we left on Sunday.

Then we tried for one of just the kids. It was much harder. Here is Zev snuggling Jaren.

Immediately after, I think, kicking Ava...

Zev got some sun glasses.

Someone made poor Ava sit back next to the bully and she wasn't happy about it. Tahl isn't too happy either.

This might be cute if you just had Noah and Jaren with the baby.

Zev still loves to pick on Ava, and he is actually testing his bullying muscles quite a lot on everyone. His favorite person to bully and boss is poor Tahl. Hopefully he will grow out of it soon...

Off to Atlanta

2011-11-21T21:05:00.002-06:00

We are off tomorrow for almost a week to Atlanta for Thanksgiving to see these guys! (There will be lots more awesome people there too...) We can't wait. It will be quiet around here for a while, but there will be a big post when we get home!

TRUCKS

2011-11-20T15:12:00.007-06:00

Today our family went to a truck show at a temple in town. Zev had LOTS of fun. He played around on this truck while he waited his turn for the backhoe.

Here is Zev driving the backhoe while wearing his backhoe shirt...

Investigating the digger

Climbing in the digger

I'm trying not to laugh at this series of pictures because I feel that it makes me a bad mother, but he did get over his head injury really quickly...

He got over it just in time to "jump" out the window when the smoke detector went off.

Zev liked this fire dog.

It's hard to tell, but here are Ari and Zev driving the fire truck.

Zev was too busy driving to look at the camera.

Here he is trying out the back seats.

There was also an old fashioned fire truck.

Zev loved ringing the bell.

He also got to drive an 18 wheeler and pull the string for the horn. He really loved running in the trailer with Ari.

We thought Tahl might like to drive the tractor.

Zev even let him go first.

They both sat on this saddle too.

I asked Zev if he wanted to sit on the horse. Zev walked in a circle around the saddle and then he said "has no face..."

All three boys in a giant chair.

The last thing Zev got in was this police car. It is amazing how many adults will watch their kids cut in line and not say anything, but eventually Zev got a turn. He was too busy checking out the walkie talkies to stand up for a driving picture.

We got one of Tahl though. He's got his serious police man face on.

On the way out Zev saw this slide and had to try it.

He went twice.

He told me his favorite was the fire truck. We had a lot of fun, and we may have to make this an annual event.

Tahl likes big beets and I cannot lie..

2011-11-20T14:39:00.003-06:00

For some reason, I apparently just love taking pictures of my sons with beets all over their faces... I think it's the hot pink...

Maybe it's the cute smiles!

So far, Tahl seems to actually like beets. We will see if he keeps that up!

Some one asked me what a "mum mum" is. Here it is, a big rice cracker, that Tahl loves to chew on. Yum.

Harper Mae Glenn

2011-11-19T15:05:00.000-06:00

Ari and I are so excited about our new niece, Harper Mae Glenn! She was born this Friday afternoon. She is beautiful. I already think she looks like Noah. Ari thinks I'm crazy and all babies look alike.

She has such pretty skin.

Here are Tova and Brad with the new baby! They are having their house invaded by about forty people less than a week after they had a baby for Thanksgiving.

I can't wait to see the baby, and for the boys to meet their newest cousin. Zev has been practicing her name, but he doesn't quite have it yet. Hopefully we will get lots more pictures of her next week.

7 months!

2011-11-14T11:53:00.002-06:00

I can't believe Tahl is 7 months! He is growing so fast, and he is SO sweet. He is happy, funny, and adaptable. We are having lots of fun with him learning to sit and crawl.

He always wants to be on the move.

He loves Zev, and he loves to watch everything he does.

Zev loves him too, but he does not really like for him to touch his stuff. Zev can be a little on the bossy side...

Tahl still nurses about 4 times a day, and he is loving the baby food.

We also gave him so "mum mums" and this is how the felt! He loves them, but he can't really do small things like cheerios yet because he can't pick them up.

We are in love.

This weekend we went on a VERY short trip to Tyler to see everyone. Here is Tahl playing on the floor at Grandma's house.

Zev DOES NOT want to share his legos. These are going to be some growing months for Zev...

Here he is getting love from his Gram to make him feel better.

Hopefully next time we can stay in Tyler a little longer!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T10:02:00.001-06:00

Memories!

2011-11-07T21:47:00.002-06:00

When I was at my great grandmother's funeral on Saturday, my Aunt Julie reminded me that what I should take away from the day was the importance of recording my memories with these amazing little boys. Here we have just a few.

Here is Zev doing one of his favorite new things, a forward roll! We have to watch out that he doesn't hit anyone, anything, or any Tahl!

Some other big Zev moments this week:
1. He told me he saw bears in the back yard, when I said I didn't see anything, he told me, "IMAGINE bears"... with a very duh tone of voice.
2. The same afternoon Zev was pretending that his Rody horse was peeing into his dump truck. His play is getting very interesting...
3. About every third thing Zev says to Ari is "both boys!" He loves to talk about how they are both boys, but Tahl he could give or take.
4. Zev is having a rough time with Tahl's new desire to play with his stuff.

How is Tahl playing with all of Zev's stuff you ask?
He can sit!

He does still fall over quite a bit, but he is getting really good!

On an even more exciting note, he is crawling! He has been sort of scooting and lunging for a little while, but now he is really moving! He has skipped the army crawl and gone right to the big stuff! Let's hope he keeps going slow for a while now.

Please excuse my shoddy camera work, but Zev's cheering is pretty cute. He does like Tahl every once in a while. It is taking most of my patience to try to teach Zev to get along with Tahl, but hopefully it will pay off to make two guys who are good friends.

Mamaw

2011-11-06T21:37:00.002-06:00

This past Thursday my great grandmother, Virginia Lee Thedford, passed away. Mamaw was 97, and she was an amazing woman. She had two kids, seven grandchildren, thirteen great grand children, and two great great grandsons (Zev and Tahl). She was married to my great grandfather for 65 years. I remember that she was a wonderful woman who was sweet, a great cook, and always spoke her mind. She never got to meet Tahl, but here she is with Zev.

She said he was "the most beautiful baby she ever saw"... I am told she said this about all of grand children.

I was lucky to have Mamaw in my life. I know my boys couldn't be luckier to have her daughter, their great grandmother, in their life either. My boys still have 1 great great grandmother, 10 great grand parents, and 6 grandparents. They are incredibly blessed.

Emily, Matt, and Grey visit...

2011-10-31T21:35:00.004-05:00

When Emily was in town she took lots of pictures! I stole them so I can repost them on my blog.

Here is her arboretum picture.

Here are Grey and Tahl spending time together.

Matt and Tahl. They were fast friends.

Grey and Zev had fun playing in the kitchen.

Who doesn't want a good fuzzy ball?

More Tahl and Matt. I'm sure Matt got very drooled on for his troubles.

Zev and Grey shared a yummy lunch.

They also shared a big hug before Grey left.

Zev got very upset when he didn't get a "real" hug from Matt. Then he wanted two hugs.

Emily got a big hug from Zevi too, and I got one from Grey.

We had tons of fun playing together, and we can't wait to see Matt, Emily, and Grey again!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:40:00.004-05:00

This weekend we finally carved our pumpkin! Zev did NOT want to stick his hand in the pumpkin. He thought it was gross. I found a stencil to make a "Dora the Explorer" pumpkin, so we decided to try it.

Zev is getting a little better with those picture taking skills!

Not perfect though.

Zev was not happy that he didn't get to use the knife. We turned on "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," but he got very upset that our TV didn't record the ending.

Here is the finished pumpkin. We have it out in the front yard with Zev and Tahl's other pumpkins. We painted the Z and T pumpkins from the good idea Aunt Ray Ray sent us.

Here is Zev checking them out.

Today we went trick or treating. Zev had SO much fun. Here is my little dog with his vet.

Here is Tahl with the vet. He thinks his toy bone is delicious!

Two dogs and vet.

Family shot!

In case you hadn't noticed, Tahl is cute.

Here are our two puppies hanging out with their friends, two bumble bees, a parrot, a pirate, and Olivia the pig!

Trick or treating in action. Zev did a great job saying trick or treat at every door and thank you before he left the house.

Walking with dad.

While we were trick or treating, Zev turned to me and said, "I happy!" He did get really tired by the end, and he wanted me to carry him, but he loved it.

He got REALLY tired.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Trick or treating at the Arboretum

2011-10-29T14:33:00.006-05:00

Today we went trick or treating at the arboretum with Mimi, Emily, Wendy, Wayne, and Grey. We had a lot of fun and we even got a few good pictures.

I'm starting with this because it is the best picture I've gotten in MONTHS.

This is really when we got there. Here is a serious doggy Tahl.

We got one picture of both boys looking at the camera.

Then Tahl got grumpy, and Zev got silly.

Baby Grey was shark!

This was the best picture I got of all 5 of us. Tahl was ready to eat. This is the best picture I got, but Emily took a few more.

This goes with Zev's picture from the top. He was climbing and really excited about it.

Zev was pretty sure that every fence there needed to be torn down. Here he is working on this one.

Zev didn't knock those pumpkins down, but only because some other two year old probably already had...

"Cheese!"

This is the best picture I got of the three of us. Of course, no one is looking.

Tahl is too busy being interested in Zev.

Kisses!

I didn't get any cute ones of Mimi with both boys, but here she is with Tahl.

This started off fine.

But it ended with Tahl feeling sad again. I think Zev might have been choking him.

I'm sure you can tell, but Zev busted his lip really badly in the morning before we went to the arboretum. Right after this picture, he stood up, and he busted it again on the other side.

The arboretum was REALLY tiring...

We have lots more Halloween plans including carving our pumpkin, a Halloween birthday party, and actually going trick or treating. Be on the look out for more pictures!

Zev goes to Tyler

2011-10-25T21:48:00.003-05:00

On Sunday Zev went to Tyler to stay with Pops, Gram, Uncle Scott, Uncle Jake, and Aunt Madi. He had SO much fun. He didn't miss us at all! Every time I called him, he would say "hi" and when I asked him what he was doing, he would tell me, "at Pops's house!" Then he would run away. By the end, he thought I was kind of crazy for not knowing where he was.

Here he is hugging Uncle Scott.

Hiding from the camera

Gram got some new toys Zev was loving.

Pops and Gram took Zev to the zoo. I heard that his favorite part was the wagon they rented.

Zev loves goats. I swear everywhere we go, he ends up with goats!

Aunt Lisa and Carter went to the zoo with everyone too.

Zev ended up with a souvenir. He loves animals, and these guys are already spread around the play room.

Here are Zev and Pops watching TV, Dora I'm sure.

Thanks so much to everyone in Tyler for taking such great care of Zev. He had so much fun, and he can't wait to go back in two weeks!

While Zev was gone, Tahl and I had a little fun too. Tahl loved our trip to grocery store.

He doesn't usually get to sit in the front seat, and apparently it is so much FUN.

Here he is with his blue berry banana face. Tahl has looooved fruits.

Last, but not least, I wouldn't say Tahl is quite "crawling" yet, but he is getting where he wants to go. He pulls, lurches, falls, and moves his knees some. Whatever he is doing, it is working somehow because I'm finding him feet from where he started playing with Lego's, TV remotes, and Zev's cars. I am going to have to start being very vigilant.

The best part is how much fun he is having. He loves tummy time!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T20:48:00.002-05:00

Last Friday we went to Owen's Farm with our friends Heather, Addie, and Asher. It is not the best pumpkin patch per say, but the kids had a good time. Here are Addie and Zev being flowers. Heather and I were amazed that he got in the picture!

We had fun feeding the goats, but some of them were very aggressive. They took the cup right out of Zev's hand, which really made him mad. Tahl wasn't really bothered by much of anything.

Most of all Zev loved the hay ride. He sat by Addie, instead of me, because he is getting big and independent! He seemed very pensive the whole hay ride, but after we got home, he said he wanted to go again.

Here are Addie and Asher on the hay ride. They are too sweet.

Zev also picked himself a pumpkin. He says "pun-coon". We got one for Tahl too.

On Saturday Ari and I went to a Halloween party. At noon we still had no costumes because we are procrastinators. We ended up going as nerds...

Maybe next year we will plan ahead better. Today my dad met me half way between Tyler and Dallas to pick up Zev. He is going to stay there until we meet again on Tuesday. They said he had tons of fun today and didn't miss us at all! Hopefully they will take some pictures.

Videos at the Park

2011-10-19T21:43:00.004-05:00

This afternoon we went to the library and the park. I took a few videos at the park. The first one is of Tahl swinging. He is starting to enjoy himself. He especially likes the kisses.

Here is Zev climbing up the stairs and going down the slide. He does some pretty good counting before going down. He loves to throw in a random 8 sometimes because it is his favorite number.

After I was at the slide with Zev, I walked back over to Tahl. This is his response.

I love this kid. Zev's not too shabby either.

School this Month...

2011-10-17T20:53:00.002-05:00

For Yom Kippur the kids talked about erasing their sins. They drew on these coffee filters.

Here the kids are with Miss Laura washing them away.

More washing.

Here is Zev getting his picture taken.

Here is Zev sitting in Miss Tammy's lap. They were smelling things and trying to guess what they were.

He painted these packing bubbles and then pressed them to the paper to make grapes. The best part was when I picked him up from school and asked him what he did that day, he said, "paint grapes!" I usually have to ask him tons of questions, but this day he volunteered his information.

Zev loves to play in the kitchen wherever he goes.

Climbing.

The school is getting a new play ground. The kids love to stand outside to watch the construction.

Zev has been testing his limits at school. Hopefully it is just a phase. We are working at home on learning the rules of our house because he been really testing MY limits here. It is hard to be two.

TEXAS STATE FAIR!

2011-10-13T22:10:00.004-05:00

Tonight Ari, Zev, and I went on a big adventure to the Texas State fair. We left Tahl at home with Mimi because this was a special "big kid" only event.

(This is actually from yesterday.)

The first thing we did when we walked in was eat a corny dog! This was Zev's first Fletcher's corny dog, and he thought it was delicious. We also had some fried cookie dough. He said that was his favorite thing of the day.

Zev looked at all the rides and decided to go on these monster trucks. He picked the red one.

Next we went over to this little farmer exhibit.

Here is Zev as Big Tex.

The kids get to water the trees and pick fruit.

He fed the chickens and gathered eggs.

Then he rode a tractor. He actually got to have Ari push him around on one.

Next we went to see the animals. Zev got to pet a zebra. I didn't get a picture of that, but this is a kangaroo with a baby IN HER POUCH!!!

We also had to stop for our annual fair bench pictures.

It's very hard to get a smile.

The poor woman who took this picture was trying everything to get Zev to smile. This was the best picture out of ten.

Zev LOVED Texas shaped nachos. He might have gotten the idea that it is okay to just dip your finger in the leftover "cheese" from me...

Yum! Extra cheese...

Zev loved playing in the cars. He got to "drive" a race car, a minivan, and a SUV. He loved pushing all the buttons. The last thing we did before we left was get some cotton candy. I wish we had filmed Zev's first taste. He was really not sure about it, but then he quickly decided that it was delicious.

We had so much fun. I LOVE the fair. I love sharing junk food with Zev. Next year, maybe he will ride on his own and get to try more rides. I can't wait until we will bring Tahl to try his first corny dog. We have many more fun fair days to come.

6 Months!

2011-10-12T08:53:00.005-05:00

6 MONTHS!!!

Tahl Benjamin Lund is 6 months old today! He could not be cuter, sweeter, or more precious. We are, of course, in love. He is so close to crawling, but who knows how long he will stay that way. He is getting closer to sitting too, and he loves to babble. I called in my secret picture weapon today, dad. He talked to Tahl while I took pictures so I could get a few smiles.

Huh?

He does not care for the flash...

I think he looks a little like Zev in this one.

Zev decided he should change clothes.

Hugs!

Birthday kisses. Zev told me that Tahl needed a birthday hat.

Look who's 6 months old now!

So proud.

This was a big month for Tahl starting to eat solids, which he is fantastic at now. He has loved everything he has tried. When he runs out of carrots, he cries. He has also (knock on wood) slept through the night for the last three nights. Last night was 8 pm to 6 am, but the night before was even better from 7 pm to 6:30 am! We are hoping this sticks. Tahl is currently 26 inches tall (exactly the same as Zev), and he is 16 pounds, 7 ounces (Z was 16 pounds, 11 ounces).

Yet another phone dump...

2011-10-08T13:54:00.003-05:00

Today's phone dump is in honor of the Texas vs. OU game. Ari is currently watching Texas loose very badly as I type this...

First, here is Zev two years ago.

He was a little more photogenic than this guy (and a little bit chubbier...)

It is much harder to catch Tahl smiling. He gets very thoughtful whenever he sees a camera.

Just like this.

Zev wanted to get in on the picture taking.

I told him he had to sit right by Tahl.

This is when I asked him to hug his brother.

Thursday we went out for lunch with my mom and Wanda. I call this resulting nap, the "Mexican food coma". He is wearing his Texas shirt here a little too early. He call it his "dad's team" shirt.

Last, this is a video of Tahl's new favorite hobby. It is REALLY annoying. He loves to scream. You have to watch him because he sometimes does it and smiles like he is having fun. Usually when he does it though he is just mad. I wish he would forget how...

I guess I should go comfort poor Ari about his team's big defeat.

Busy weekend

2011-10-02T21:22:00.004-05:00

We had a very busy weekend around here. On Saturday we went to the park. Zev and Tahl did some swinging among other things.

Two guys sitting next to each other on the swings!

Zev thought it was pretty fun...

On Sunday morning we got up and headed straight for the zoo. The elephant was as close it can possibly get to us. She kept looking for snacks in the holes and drinking water with her trunk. Zev was mesmerized. I didn't think to take a picture until she had wandered off a little. Zev was too busy watching to turn around for the camera.

Ari and Tahl

Zev and the ostrich

There were two up really close.

REALLY close. Ari thought they had a moment here.

The weather was great and all the animals were really active. It was Zev's first time to see the rhino and the lamas since they were moved to new exhibits. Zev liked the lamas and said something about them "missing mama," which is a book we read.

Later that afternoon I fed Tahl some cereal. He actually ate quite a lot, and then he still cried when the bowl was empty. I decided it might be time for him to try sweet potatoes.

He liked it.

He ate the whole serving and would have happily eaten more. We will stick to sweet potatoes for a few more days, and then we will try something new.

Tahl also crawled a little today, but I wouldn't call it successful. The poor thing gets up on his hands and knees, but he can't coordinate. He moves his legs, but he doesn't move his hands so then he face plants onto the ground. He really wants to figure it out though. He's growing up so fast!

ZOO!

2011-10-01T13:42:00.003-05:00

We went to the zoo yesterday with a friend. She has a membership that allows for free pony rides and free visits to feed the birds. (Thanks Heather!) I have never let Zev ride the pony at the zoo before (...sorry mom...), but now that he has already ridden several times at school over the summer, I thought he would like to do it again.

He was very serious the whole time. He did not want to talk to me, and he did not want to say "Ye-haw!"

He did really like it though.

After riding the horses, we went to feed the birds. While we were in there, Zev fell into a BIG puddle. I had an extra shirt, but no extra pants. I told him "wet pants or no pants?" As you can see, he chose no pants.

Mr. No Pants got a very good look at the cheetah. I know I say this every time, but he is getting more and more interested in the animals. We have been watching "Go, Diego, Go!" so I think that is increasing his animal interest level.

Tahl did GREAT at the zoo! He didn't fuss, he nursed while Zev was looking at the ducks, and then he actually fell asleep in his stroller right when we were on our way out.

This last one isn't at the zoo. It was taken in my room right after Tahl peed on my bed! I gave him a bath in my room after he did that, and instead of brushing his hair down, I just mussed it up. This is what he ended up with. I think he might have curly hair!!!

We all had so much fun at the zoo. We are thinking about going back tomorrow with Ari. Zev has never riden the monorail, so we'd like to do a few things we need a second grown up for.

Tahl LOVES tummy time...

2011-09-28T14:10:00.005-05:00

Tahl has been loving tummy time lately. You can't keep him on his back, but before we get to that, here is a picture of Zevi. He was reading to his babies, and he fell asleep right in the middle! When he got up there were even more books underneath him.

Here is Tahli doing some tummy time. He is chatting it up with his Mimi. You can see how far back he has moved from the towel, which is where he started. Yesterday I put him down by Zev's toys and about two minutes later I looked for him, and he had backed up under the bed. He isn't moving forward yet, but he wants to.

In this video he is planking. It is funny because instead of just laying down, you can hear him grunt and work at staying up in the air. Silly baby.

I'm very worried about when he starts to crawl, and the fits that will ensue from Zev when Tahl touches all his stuff. I guess he will have to learn to share some time...

Saturday morning play time

2011-09-24T16:22:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning is always a great play time for Zev and I. We don't usually have plans, and I don't need to do any chores, so we just have lots of free time. This week Zev and I fought fires....

We also played zoo vet and fixed up this elephant. I love his band-aide.

We learned about shapes with these tape shapes I made on the floor.

Zev practiced walking on a tape balance beam. We need to keep practicing....

Here he is practicing the shapes!

After our play time we had a birthday party to attend, nap time, duck feeding, and now I'm off to make dinner for this crazy kid...

More cuteness!

2011-09-22T20:15:00.003-05:00

We had a really cute day today. I have been trying to take more pictures, so here we have it, another cell phone dump.

Zev has been reading books to his stuffed friends, and my favorite part is that he turns it around and shows the pictures like he is a teacher.

Here he is pretending to feed Tahl yogurt.

This was cute, but poor Tahl thought he was really getting something to eat. He was a little disappointed. Zev also then stuck the spoon in a little too far, so the game had to end. Zev did actually help me feed Tahl his cereal today though.

On an even cuter note, Zev actually fell asleep in his big bed today for his nap! He has done it twice at night now, but this was the first nap. He has all his babies, and he just laid there and picked his nose until he fell asleep. (I watched on the monitor!)

When I went in later, he looked like this.

(He is wearing this weird outfit because his was drying from the water table. )

Then in the afternoon we went to see the ducks. Last spring, Zev still didn't really care that much. Now he loves to visit them and throw bread.

Another duck video with Zev quacking, throwing his bread backwards, and saying hi to his dad!

More news!

2011-09-21T10:14:00.003-05:00

This is Zev's new favorite place to play. He makes me take his mattress out and then he plays on the floor. He makes his babies go to sleep, and he just hangs out here.

Here he is reading to his babies.

He is reading about Dora to Dora, Swiper, and Boots.

He really wanted them in his lap.

Then we put Tahl to sleep awake! Yeah!

And Zev slept for the first time in his big bed! I don't know if he will want to do it again to night or not, but we will keep the world updated. He did great, he stayed in bed, and Ari only had to go in once to give him Boots after he dropped him.

It's a big week in our house!

A little video...

2011-09-20T15:49:00.002-05:00

Here is a little video of Mr. Tahl. He is playing "Peanut Butter and Jelly." (As usual please ignore my annoying baby singing voice...) He has a big thing to show at the end!

I'm not sure if you can really see it or not, but Tahli is getting his first tooth! We thought it was coming for a while now, but we first spotted it for sure last night. So just a few weeks or so after Zev's first teeth (age wise), Tahl is getting his own. Zev got seven in that first round, and I am hoping Tahl follows suit!

More School Pictures

2011-09-18T21:56:00.004-05:00

Zev's teachers this year are REALLY great about taking pictures and posting them to Shutterfly. Here is the newest update!

Dressing up in the loft.

Movement class

Discovery time - I am sure these Lego blocks were a hit!

Listening to a book about the five senses

Making play-doh

I was told that Zev did not like this and kept saying "off!"

Blowing the shofar in "Torah with Laura"

Relaxing in the reading center

AND the best picture so far this year... Looking good in a feather boa while dressing up!

There is a cute video of Zev blowing the shofar, but I can't figure out how to get it off Shutterfly. Maybe some day...

Cereal

2011-09-18T13:57:00.002-05:00

Today Tahl tried cereal for the first time. He has been interested in our food for a little while now, and he is a very hungry guy. Also I promised my doctor I would try solids before six months this time. So, he is eating a tiny bit of brown rice cereal mixed with breast milk once a day for the next two weeks or so before we move on to fruits and veggies.

He liked it. It was almost like he already knew what to do!

Some of it came back out, of course, but he also ate a fair amount of it too.

Yum!

He ended up a little messy, but I think he was sad it was gone. Next time we will do it thicker.

Hands make a good after breakfast treat.

I tried to give Tahl water yesterday in a cup. That did not go as well. He spit it out and cried. Zev told him "HAPPY!" and shoved the cup back in his mouth. We will have to keep practicing all these new bigger baby things!

Dress up

2011-09-18T13:31:00.004-05:00

Last year for Hanukkah Buby and Buster gave Zev some dress up clothes. I bought him another outfit or two after Halloween last year when they were on sale. We finally got them out not too long ago, and Zev has been enjoying dressing up! I wanted to take pictures, but when I got out the camera, it was out of batteries, so I only have phone pictures...

Policeman Zev

Here is Mimi helping him get dressed as a "Zoo worker".

Here he is feeding the elephants.

Now he's a doctor listening to Mimi's heart beat.

Dr. Z

Maybe his favorite, is to dress up as a chef. He made me eggs for breakfast.

Chef Zev again...

While Zev was playing dress up Tahl was napping. I took this video right after he woke up. He is very happy when he wakes up!

5 Months!

2011-09-12T22:07:00.003-05:00

Today this guy is five months old! He is sweet and silly. He is very happy, always smiling and laughing. He is still very social, and he already has a great sense of humor. He is still sleeping swaddled, he eats about 6 times a day, and I still wish he slept in a little bit longer chunks at night. He loves his family, people, bright lights, tv, and most of all his fingers.

He is getting close to sitting, but he isn't quite there yet...

I'm biased, but I think he could not be more precious.

He had even less balance than usual in the soft chair.

It is pretty much impossible to keep his fingers out of his mouth. I am not sure if he is teething, or if he is just going to be a finger lover.

If you try to use your fingers to get his out, he thinks you are just giving him an even bigger finger snack. Yum.

Then he discovered that he wanted his pretty shoes.

Our photo shoot had no chance in the chair after this.

He also slobbed up his 5 month tag. Tahl is a very prolific drooler.

So we moved to the floor. Tahl is pretty good at tummy time, he would be great if he could stop spitting up so much.

Surprise!

Last, but not least, a treat for Emily who asked for a picture of his chubby legs.

This is a video of Tahl talking. He is a very verbal little guy!

This month Tahl started going to sleep on his own in his room and sleeping for longer than just 45 minute chunks. Next month, rice cereal and who knows what else!

Buby, Aunt Ray Ray, and Ava visit!

2011-09-11T10:21:00.004-05:00

This weekend we had some special visitors! Buby, Aunt Ray Ray, and Ava came to visit us in Dallas. We got just a few pictures.

Zev was still not great at sharing with Ava, but he did better on a few things like coloring. Ava LOVED Zev and wanted to do just what he did. Here they are coloring at the little table.

Zev got a new Dora coloring book at the Dollar Tree. He loves to color Boots.

Ava still thinks crayons might be yummy. She liked being a big kid though.

Here is Buby with Zev and Tahl. Two out of three looking at the camera isn't too bad.

Tahl can't stop eating his finders long enough for a picture.

We told Zev to smile, but he wouldn't smile AND look at the camera at the same time.

Since it was so easy taking pictures before, we decided to add a third kid to make it more fun.

Tahl thought Ava might taste yummy.

In the end though, he went back to his hands.

Finally looking at the camera

On Saturday we also went a cheesy "Indoor Safari" park where the kids rode trains and an elephant. Zev and Ava loved playing in the balls and the slide too. Those picture are on Karen's camera though, and my cord wouldn't fit. Hopefully I'll get them in the next week or so! We had so much fun with our family. Zev even let Buby read him books and put him to bed. He also liked Ava when she wasn't touching his stuff. Hopefully Thanksgiving on someone else's turf will go even better.

School pictures

2011-09-09T08:42:00.003-05:00

Zev's teachers updated his class web site this week. Here are a few pictures of Zev from school.

snack time

Zev finds the kitchen where ever he goes.

He's in the house (maybe with a friend?)

Here he is watching the other kids do play-doh.

The wood chips need a good mowing.

Playing the with the rocks.

Here he is in the music classroom.

Zev loves the maracas.

Zev has been making up a few more sentences (not just copying me). Mostly, we think he is pretty awesome all around. I think I won the toddler lottery.

My kids are precious.

2011-09-03T14:23:00.002-05:00

I don't have any pictures this post, but I do have some cute two year old things I don't want to forget.

1. Zev has two new favorite songs. First, I have been singing "Zev-e-dee-do-dah" since he was born, but he now makes me sing it like six times a day. I think I need to play him the original so he understands why it is "zev" because he also insists that I sing "Tahl-e-do-dah" every time we put Tahl to sleep. It is so sweet when right before he goes to sleep, he puts his head on my shoulder and says "do dah".

2. Zev's other new favorite song is "Let it Be." We listen to it on my phone, and he sings "beee, beee" while he sways. I love it. He also likes "Hey Jude" and "Yellow Submarine".

3. Along with Zev's new Dora obsession, he is now carrying a backpack, which makes him very happy. We are thinking he might be Swiper, a character from Dora, for Halloween. If he is watching Dora while I cook, he will run into the kitchen and tell me "SWIPER!!" and then run back to the TV to finish his show.

4. Today, Zev picked up a banana, and then he dropped it. He said "Ohhh. Heavy." It cracked me up. He is getting much better at using two word combinations and even more phrases every day. His new favorite is "all right." Ari has also been making him yell "Touchdown!"

5. Zev loved his first week of school. After Tahl came, Zev started crying some when we dropped him off. My dad did say he cried a little on Monday, but on Wednesday and Friday, he didn't mind when Ari left at all. On Friday when his teacher brought him out to my car, she said, "We love him! He never stops laughing."

Tahl has been getting even sweeter if you can believe it. He hardly ever cries in the car seat anymore, and he loves any stranger. He is quick to smile, and he has been learning to go to sleep in his own bed! We finally decided to start crying it out, and in our first four tries, he did not cry for longer than five minutes one time! That is a big change from when he would cry any time we were in the car for even a minute. He seems well rested and happy.

Things are going great around here. Next post, pictures!

Zev's first day!

2011-08-31T07:23:00.002-05:00

Zev has moved up into the Two's classroom at school. We are VERY excited for this year! His new teachers seem very nice. One of them also used to work for ECI as a speech specialist like the one who visits Zev. She has said she will work with him at school. Last Friday, Zev and I went to meet Miss Mari and Miss Leslye, but he actually had his very first day of school while Ari and I were out of town. Here are some pictures that my dad took!

Here he is making a silly face before he left.

Now he's getting in the car.

He found some puzzles.

My dad said he cried a little when he left, but the teachers said he did great at the end when he picked him up.

Here is what Tahl did while Zev was at school.

He also loves to sit in his Bumbo chair.

I'm off to get Zev ready for his second day of school!

Thank you Pops and Gram!

2011-08-30T21:38:00.001-05:00

While we were in Vegas, my dad and Stacy watched the boys for us. My sister, my Aunt Lisa, and my Uncle Mike came in town too to visit with the little guys. Here are a few pictures my dad sent me while we were gone! Please excuse the cell phone quality.

Hanging out watching Dora!

Here is Zev before they left for his first day of school!

What a little cutie!

We can't thank you enough Pops and Gram for watching these guys while we were gone. They had so much fun with you. Zev has been talking about you since you left!

We love you!