Celebrate Good Times Come On!

The big weekend had finally arrived - it was time for Debra's Bat Mitzvah celebration! So off on a plane we went yet again, this time into Newark where Grandpa and Uncle Jason picked us up. We arrived there without a hitch and became more and more excited to see everybody. Friday night was a blast with yummy homemade food (I could not get enough of that Chicken Barley soup) and lot's of family to play with. I stayed up way past my bedtime, but it was worth it because I got to hear Aunt 'Lissa's great speech.

We woke up early so that we could get to shul and hear Debra give her speech. I was so proud of her for getting up on that stage and delivering such a wonderful D'var Torah - she did such a good job and mom said I should pay attention so that I'll be ready for my Bar Mitzvah. We then had lunch in the shul with some family and friends which was very nice. After shabbos I had to go to bed, but I got to hear all the details about the party at the Sunday morning brunch, as everyone relived the evening before. From what I heard it was truly Debra's Candy Land - lollipop place cards, Reeses Pieces, Mike & Ikes, and M&M's tables, cotton candy machines, make your own chipwich station, etc. I heard Mommy tell Daddy she really liked the Mojito bar - not sure what a Mojito is though. Daddy told mommy he loved the Sushi bar. I know what sushi is because daddy talks about it all the time.

On Sunday Debra was very sad for her fiesta to end - I tried to give her some wet kisses to make her feel better. Talking about kisses, I got lots of them when Grandmom and Sabba stopped by to say hi to me. It was great to see them since it has been a while since our Hawaii trip. I really gave Sabba a treat when I decided for him, Grandpa and Grandma to walk a few steps all on my own!! I knew I could do it but I was waiting for a perfect moment. Everyone was clapping and yelling - I chose it well!

That afternoon I went with mom, Grandma and Aunt 'Lissa on another plane ride - this time to Florida to surprise GG (Great Grandma Millstein). Well, before surprising GG I gave Grandma a surprise - by throwing up all over myself and her at the airport. Luckily, Aunt 'Lissa came prepared with an extra outfit for herself and mom had one for me. So with a bunch of outfit changes (Grandma in what Aunt 'Lissa was wearing, Aunt 'Lissa in her extra outfit, and me in my extra one) we boarded the plane. The airport attendant was kind enough to recognize I was not feeling very well and gave me a seat of my own. I think mommy was very thankful as well.

So we got to GG's and gave her a BIG surprise - she was so happy to see me and said I got sooo big. After that I went to bed - I was wiped from the long day. Unfortunately for my roommate (Grandma) I ended up getting sick twice in the middle of the night. I definitely caught a stomach bug (and it wasn't from eating too much candy – like my cousin Stevie!). The bug lasted a while - but I didn't suffer alone cause Mommy got it, and cousin Rebecca got it, and GG, and Great Uncle Ira, and Great Great Uncle Lenny. Not a great way to start a vacation....

However, along with our health improving so did the weather - and by midweek we had lots of sun. I spent a lot of time outside by the pool and walking along the Riverwalk bridges. All the people here seem to have dogs – so I became friends with China and Pogo and lot’s of others. But most of all, I spent time seeing people: GG, Great Grandpa & Rose, Aunt Granny (AKA -Great, great Aunt Rita) & Great Great Uncle Lenny, Great Aunt Renee & Great Uncle Ira, Great Great Aunt Ann & Great Great Uncle, Rebecca, Zachary, Amy, Anthony, Tony, Great Aunt Roz, Cousins Danielle and David, and the entire Baena clan (who knew I had so many female cousins!). Even though we traveled all the way to Florida I also got to see Grandmom and Ethel who saw first hand how much I love pancakes!

You know, throughout the trip I tried to stay out of trouble. But it was really hard to since Grandma kept tickling me all the time. In order to get her back, I found all the tissue boxes around GG's house and decided to have my own fun.

I also had a lot of visitors at the pool. My friend Jack and his mommy Jen from Chicago came over to swim one day, and Great Grandpa and Rose came on another.

Great Grandpa chased me around the pool and played with me on the stairs. Are we sure he is really 90??!

Overall we had a great time and we were very sad to leave the beautiful weather. We got back to Chicago safe and sound - and you know who was at the airport? Uncle Jason! No one tells me anything so it was a very exciting surprise. He stayed for the week and we had some nice bonding time. He even went with me to Gymboree and watched me slide down the slide and pop bubbles. I was sad to see him go but am hoping he will come out again in the summer so he can see all the beautiful things Chicago has to offer.

Life is relatively back to normal for now. We had a nice outing with our Kellogg Kwest families and I go to gymboree 1-2 times a week with mommy. It's nice to be at home with Daddy and now that I know how to put a ball in a hoop we play basketball everyday. I am continuing to take big strides (literally) and each day I can go a little bit further.

In other news, I am turning 1 in about two weeks and I can't wait. Mommy and Daddy are throwing me a party and I hear the theme is Sesame Street. Woohoo - I love Elmo! Now I just have to figure out what kind of present I want.......

Who said sand doesn't taste good??

The first few weeks in December were relatively uneventful. Daddy had a lot of studying to do for his finals, and Mommy and I laid low after such a long time away from home. And just as I got back into my routine and sleeping schedule - they throw me back on a plane - this time all the way to HAWAII (Not that I am necessarily complaining)!
I should mention that the ride to the airport itself was pretty eventful. The cab driver who picked us up was possibly the worst driver on the road, and almost got us into a number of accidents. He also couldn't hear anything so when Daddy told him there was an accident in front of us and we had to switch lanes it didn't really mean anything and we were stuck in that lane for quite a while. Mommy and Daddy were pretty traumatized (whatever that means) - and were very happy to see Aunt Leez at the airport when we finally arrived. The first leg of the flight was pretty fun - I read some books and played with some toys. We met Grandmom and Sabba in Phoenix and caught the longer flight to Maui. I was awake most of the trip but I had a good time watching Mama Mia and listening to some music.

We landed at around 6pm Hawaii time, and luckily everyone's luggage arrived (mommy and daddy were not looking forward to a repeat of what happened on their honeymoon). After a bit of hassling to get the cars we were finally on the road to the villa. We stayed at a beautiful place - and the views of the ocean, mountains and other islands were incredible! All of us spent a lot of time sitting out on the lanai (Porch). Mommy had arranged with a company to deliver a stroller and toys for me, so I felt right at home in our villa. Since I was asleep by the time we got to there, I did not get a lei until the next day - but how cute do I look?!

Since I thought it was morning around 4:30am, I woke up Grandmom and she played with me so mommy and daddy could sleep. After a while I was exhausted, and since Grandmom did not want to wake anyone, she put me in the only place that was empty - the giant jacuzzi bath tub!

Uncle "whistler" Mike and Aunt Tovah arrived and we had a nice time catching up with them. Since I was not on Hawaii time I woke up the following morning at 3am, and it was a perfect wake up call for the family so that we could all drive up Haleakala (a non-active volcano) and watch the sunrise. It was freezing up there but it was worth it to see the constellations - while I have never been to a planetarium I was told that what I saw that morning was unbelievably better. We watched and waited for the sun to come out and wow was it a sight to be seen. We stood above the clouds - and it was if we could reach out and touch the sun.

On the way down the mountain we saw a huge full rainbow - it was breathtaking. We also saw bikers riding down the mountain and realized how crazy mommy and daddy were for doing that just a few years ago. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun on the beach. This was my first time touching the waves and playing in sand - the ocean was a little loud and the sand a little strange - it took a while to adjust. But by the end of the trip I realized how fun it is - and wow did I have a blast (not to mention ate a little sand)!

The next day was filled with adventure, as we went out onto the high seas with the Pacific Whale Foundation to go whale watching. Both Grandmom and Sabba went on the boat prepared with sea sickness bracelets, while the rest of us figured we could weather out the boat ride. Or so we thought.... Well slowly but surely Daddy, Aunt Leez, Uncle Mike, Mommy and Aunt Tovah all ended up in the back of the boat where you have to go if you felt sea sick and were likely to throw up. Only one of us on the trip did (but I will never tell who!). I was fine (at least I didn't verbally complain) and remained at the front of the boat with Grandmom and Sabba.

The next few days passed by quickly. We did some shopping in Lahaina, went on a plantation tour, and played on the beach and in the pool. I built sand holes with Uncle Mike and Daddy (they kept hogging the pails) also saw a lot of neat fish and even sharks at the aquarium. Everyone had a great time - it was a perfect vacation for some R&R.

The flight to Phoenix was a bit hectic, as the US Airway computers were down and they had no record of where people were supposed to sit on the plane or who should even be on the plane - eventually though we had to say goodbye to sunny Hawaii, and a few hours later, a hurried goodbye to Grandmom, Sabba, Uncle Mike and Aunt Tovah. It was time to head back home to snowy Chicago. I slept most of the trip and got home safe and sound. Mommy and daddy really enjoyed the time zone changes on this end, because on my first night back I slept until 10 in the morning!

Now that we are back I am adjusting to the cold weather and having to stay indoors. All the flying and weather changes finally hit me, and I now have my first real cold. Hopefully it will be gone soon.

I am Thankful for.....

So I got to go on my 8th plane ride this week. I am a pro at going through security and being a good boy throughout the trip (at least my mommy and daddy say so, not sure about the other passengers).

We went to Grandmom and Sabba's house in New Rochelle first where we spent the weekend with them, Aunt Tovah and Uncle Mike. It was a lot of fun - especially with all the toys Grandmom found for me. Of course, with all the shiny new light up musical toys the one's I kept going after were the blocks from when Daddy was a kid. I also had a ton of fun chasing after Raja (the Persian cat) and when I got close enough he let me pull his hair!

Mommy and daddy went on what was essentially their first "date" night since I was born - and boy did they have a blast without me - they saw a movie, played some pool and even had a beer. Well I was very angry about being left out so I got a bit hysterical and refused to calm down until they came home hours later. Teaches them to leave me out of the fun!

We transitioned over to Grandma and Grandpas house on Wednesday and spent Thanksgiving with a whole load of people who came over to party. Since we were in town, both Grandma's side and Grandpa's side came - and since everyone pitched in there was A LOT of food. I enjoyed the feast and ate my fair share of turkey!

I played with all my cousins, including Ben who is only 3 days older than me! We had fun with the musical table. I stayed up late so that I could play LCR - the traditional family gambling game.

The next day I was hung over from partying (at least that's what all the grown ups call it when they party too much) but Mommy and Daddy said I needed to smile for family pictures. We went over to Capitol PhotoInteractive and got some very nice shots.

The weekend was very nice and I played with Aunt 'Lissa and Uncle Jason. Uncle Jason taught me all about the human body and about how important it is for him to go to Uganda in a few weeks to work at a clinic. Mommy told him to stop giving me ideas.....I'm not sure what she meant but this Uganda place sounds like fun.

I was very sad on Sunday because we had to bring Daddy to the airport. After a lot of kisses we dropped him off and went over to see Uncle Eli and Aunt Tzi' (and Leelah, Atara, Aderet and Kayla). It was very fun playing with all the toy cars and trucks (not sure how they ended up with so many considering they have 4 girls) and eating vanilla ice cream.

I spent the week exploring Grandma and Grandpa's house trying to find mommy while she was working. They let me play with their piano and I composed a few songs in my spare time. You can check it out on the videos section (click on the "watch my video" button on the top right hand side of the page). On Friday we drove down to Aunt Bat and Uncle Nach's (and Debra, Stevie, Jonathan and Sophia) and spent the weekend playing with a lot of toys. I was especially a fan of the big moonbounce, which Grandma and Grandpa bought for them. Hopefully one day they will get me one too....

My new tricks of the month include walking along the couch, making Indian calling sounds, and popping the pacifier into my mouth all on my own.......and DANCING!!!

I am thankful for my Baby Einstein Sing and Play CD, but I can't find the singers to thank them for their wonderful songs...

I am thankful for the new baby gate daddy put up, giving me something new to climb.
I am thankful for getting the chance to see many of my friends in Boston

I am thankful for my family (and the picture by Capitol PhotoInteractive)

November

So now that the holidays are over mommy and I finally are able to spend some quality time playing on the days she isn't working. This week we went to the playground and I went on a swing all by myself. It was fun but I got cold so mommy took me inside after a while. And talking about cold....
It's cold here in Chicago. I was so cold that Mommy said it was time to get a warm winter coat. Mommy hunted through all of the Old Orchard Mall. We tried on a brown coat and it was too small. We then tried on a green one and it was too big. We went from store to store - but no one had the perfect one. Until Grandmom went shopping in NYC and found a blue one that fit just right! Take a look - do I look good or what?! This down coat will keep me toasty for months to come.

I'm getting better at this crawling thing, so mommy's nickname for me has changed from monkey to trouble. And I know I found something I shouldn't be playing with when she trys to sound serious and calls me her favorite little trouble monkey! But last week we went someplace called the Family Room where I was able to play with anything I wanted. Here is a picture of me at The Family Room doing some of the the fun indoor kids activities that they have. We played games, rode on cars, and had circle time where I sang songs and met some other kids. It was fun and hopefully mommy and I will get to go back there soon.
Daddy has been very busy with school but somehow he still has time to grab me in a bear hug and tickle me with his prickly 5 o'clock shadow. He makes me laugh so hard that it wears me out long enough for me to go into a deep sleep each night and not wake up until 6:30/7 in the morning.

Last weekend was really fun because I had visitors again!

Grandmom and Sabba came to play with me. Sabba read me lots of Dr. Seuss books (there are officially no copies left in the Evanston Barnes & Noble) and got me some Baby Loves Mozart CD's as well. We were having such a good time that he sent everyone else away to go kitchen table shopping so he could have me all to himself. While he was chasing after me (I can crawl pretty fast these days) all morning, everyone else found a kitchen table to bring home(yes - we finally have found a kitchen table and mommy says now I can stop making the dining room all messy and sticky!). Grandmom taught me some songs from Peter Pan and I cannot wait to see the movie (daddy says it won't be a while since I am not old enough for tv yet, but don't tell him that Sabba and I watched a whole quarter of football together). Grandmom was jealous that Sabba got to spend the whole morning with me so she decided to stay a few extra days. Which, to make a long story short, led to my meeting cousin Yali from Israel. He was in Chicago performing in the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra - maybe one day he will teach me how to play the french horn!

Bath time is still a favorite part of my nighttime routine so here are a few more pictures:

I hope you are enjoying my blog so far. More to come so keep checking in!

October already??

It's October and we have been flooded with holidays. This year was a bit tough being away from family, since we did not spend Rosh Hashana with the Rothwax side and we were not able to join Jon's side for Sukkot. However, we made it through with our new friends here in Chicago. Josh has a lot of friends to play with including Ethan (2yrs), Habie (2yrs), Lea(1.5yrs), Leah (1yr) and Ayden (6weeks), and he has met many others at the Mom and Tot's group at shul.

Josh and I (Jon had too much school work/classes) took a hiatus from Chicago to go to NY for a birthday bash for Great Grandpa Rothwax who turned 90!!! We got to see Grandmom on Friday and she spent the afternoon playing with Josh. We then spent shabbos in Teaneck at the Paul residence where we celebrated with the entire family on Saturday night. Grandma and Grandpa spent the weekend spoiling Joshua rotten (and let me take some much needed naps!). Josh got to play with his cousins - and I think picked up a few little tricks from his older cousins Sophia and Jonathan. Debra missed him dearly and hugged him tight all weekend long. Stevie spent the time trying to convert him away from being a Boston sports fan (he figured with Jon not around it was the best time to try). Unfortunately Josh had to go to sleep before the real party began so he missed his other cousins Leelah, Atara, Aderet and Kayla. Luckily Jon was able to join the party virtually and he even sang along for the grandchildren and great grandchildren song.

Aunt Melissa came back to Chicago with us on Sunday and stayed for the first days of Sukkot. She was able to meet some of our new friends over yomtov and we even took her to a Kellogg barbecue where she was able to see some of our Kellogg friends. Of course, Aunt 'Lissa had her camera every step of the way and took some great videos of Josh - here is one of them...


Less then a week later, we were lucky enough to have another 2 visitors! Grandmom and cousin Omri (he came all the way from Israel) came to Chicago for the weekend. Josh got to spend a lot of time playing with Grandmom and reading some of the new books she brought him. He loved sitting on Omri's lap and playing with his long hair. Josh did a bit of showing off for Grandmom as he "swam" in his big blue bathtub. This visit also included one of her famous birthday cakes - and Josh got his first taste of a true dessert.

Meanwhile this has been a month of milestones for Joshua. He has his 2 front teeth and he is eating like a pro (Cheerios, yogurt with fruit, melon, challah, and drinking water from a sippy cup!). He can now sit himself up completely on his own - but the biggest feat of all is that he is CRAWLING!

He follows us around the house - and aims to grab hold of any item that he shouldn't be touching. His favorite toy appears to be the keyboard on this very laptop.

Which is why it is time for me to officially hand this blog over to him. From now on enjoy our news and updates from Josh's perspective......