Happy Birthday Little Girl!

Saturday was LO's 8th Birthday. For the past few years I have given her the choice to either have a party at home or to take a birthday trip to Disney World. Guess where she chose this year?

She is finally tall enough to ride all the rides she wants to ride. That of course means that I have to ride them with her and let's just say that there were plenty of times that I wished that she was still too small to ride them!

Despite some rain throughout the trip, she had a blast. I love being able to take time out of our "real" life to spend this time with her. As I am sure any parent knows, it is so much fun to see our children grow and change over time (even if it seems to be happening at the speed of light sometimes!)

Her birthdays are always a little bittersweet for me. I am filled with joy that G-d brought this little girl to me but I am also saddened that her birthmother will never know this incredible little girl. I can only hope that wherever and whoever she is that somehow she knows that her child is well-loved and taken care of and that I am so thankful to her for this little girl.

The "Hornet"

This morning while I was driving LO to school from out of the back seat I hear a noise that sounds a whole lot like an elephant blowing his nose. Here's the conversation that followed:

Me: What the heck was that?

LO: I'm practicing blowing the hornet.

Me: The what?

LO: You know, the HORNET. My teacher was showing us how to blow it at Sunday school.

Me: Oh...are you talking about the shofar?

LO: (very matter-of-factly) Of course I'm talking about the shofar Mama. I don't like hornets - they sting.

Back to School

School started on Monday. It seems to me that our summer vacations are shorter and shorter each year as school starts earlier and earlier.

As you can see, LO wasn't at all upset about starting school so early since it meant that she would get to see her best friend every day. They've been best friends since they were two - that's SIX years!

And so it begins...(amid some of the scariest gas prices ever) another season of "Mom's Taxi Service". Sunday school starts this Sunday. Hebrew School starts on Tuesday. Kid's Club starts on Wednesday. Oh, the joys of parenting!

Happy Birthday JJ

My niece (who I'll refer to as JJ here) turned 2 today.

I called her this morning to sing Happy Birthday to her. Since my sister and I love to hear her "JJ talk" we are always asking her to say things. Today was no exception. (Some of my favourites are "ah-gai-er" for alligator, "dabba doo" for her dog Scooby"and "mel-mo" for Elmo.)

Here's a run-down of our phone conversation:

JJ: Hi Ai Yee (Ai Yee is Chinese for mother's older sister/aunt)

Me: Happy Birthday!

I then started to sing Happy Birthday but JJ paid no attention and just kept saying LO's name over and over. So instead of singing the rest of the song, I resorted to seeing if I could get her to say something funny.

Me: Say happy birthday

She continued saying LO's name

Me: Say alligator

LO's name again

Me: How old are you today?

LO's name again

Me: Say I'm two today

LO's name AGAIN

Me: Say LO's name

JJ: Bye-bye

Oh boy - another comedian in the family.

This might make you cry

In light of the events today, I thought we could all use a little break from the constant war coverage...

Here for your listening pleasure...LO's version of Hinay Ma Tov. (Thanks for the suggestion SG!)

hinay.mp3

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Our Rabbi told her that her singing almost made him cry. That's a good thing, right?

Shavua Tov everyone v' Shalom al Yisrael.