A Very Chocolate Fifth Birthday

In honor of my birthday and despite the fact that it was Pesach, we planned two chocolate celebrations.  Mommy, daddy and I were excited to help you celebrate at school.

My Giraffe friends and teachers enjoyed fruit and marshmallows...

...CHOCOLATE "FUN"-DUE!!

I brought them party hats and they made me a beautiful crown.  

And I made you an equally beautiful card!!

Then, for dinner, family came over to help me celebrate with a flourless (and fortunately also matzo meal-less) cake.  It was basically a candy bar.

Thank you for letting me help you blow out all those candles.  Happy, happy birthday big sis!!

March Ahead

There was a lot of marching around this month.

We went all the way to the Bronx with Mema to take a ride around the zoo...

...and took a ride on the Bug Carousel.

Then we went out to Jersey, so we could celebrate Ethan's science party.

I thought this party was non-smoking!

We also traveled to Connecticut to celebrate Gabriella turning three.

We big sisters showed off our moves on the bars...

...tada!

I have some pretty good little sister bar moves too.

After all of this activity, our princess dogs are barking.

(Ou)R. Kellies

School yoga taught me this version of the R. Kelly classic:

And fortunately you shared your moves with me.

Dynamic Doctor Duo

Today we visited Dr. Yaker for our double annual check-ups and found we had grown quite a bit.  I weighed in at 29.5 pounds and 35.5 inches tall.  I was 40 pounds and 42.25 inches tall.  The most fun part was getting to do everything together.  (Except for drawing blood - that was reserved for almost five-year-olds.)  Fortunately we were both very brave and there were no tears, just smiles!!

The Whole Megillah

Queen Esther and an ice cream cone walk into a shul...

(Actually, it was just our neighbor Charlotte and me at Purim services!)

Chag Sameach, everyone!

Febru-varied

Even though it's the shortest month, we had lots of fun. (Having a leap day added to the fun!)

Mema took us to the Central Park Zoo.

Daddy took this video of the last ice skating of the season just before the guards kicked him off the ice for using a camera while skating.

Speaking about cameras, Mary and Nora came for a visit but we couldn't get everyone looking the same way at the same time.

See you in March!

Happy Valen-(three)-times

We went to Leo and Alex's house (before they move to the burbs) for our third annual Valentine's Day celebration. We made sugar cookies. First we shaped the dough...


...then we rolled the dough...


...then we decorated the dough...


...and then we ate the cookies - delicious!!


Happy Valentine's Day!

Big Sister Mania

As many of you know, there is a baby in mommy's belly (not to be confused with the dinner that is in mine). As we get ready to welcome a little brother or sister this spring, we have both had some interesting (and amusing) perspectives on big-sisterhood and just what this little baby is up to:

"We don't need a baby brother. We already have a boy. We have daddy and he's enough!"
"Actually, we already have three girls, that must really be enough!!"

"When the baby is born, mommy is going to be another mommy, daddy is going to be another daddy, Liana is going to be another big sister, and I am going to be a little big sister."

"Baby, don't kick mommy, you might hurt her."

"When is the baby going to pop out? Is it going to fall on the floor?" [Note: to be clear, this comment may have emerged from a story mommy and daddy have recounted that when I was born the doctor was getting the room ready and I ALMOST fell on the floor. I don't think the doctor would let that happen. Someone caught me and someone would certainly catch my little sibling.]

"Here's a rattle..." [holding and shaking against mommy's belly] "...just hold it here until the baby pops out!"

"Is the baby sleeping?" [...followed shortly by...] "Wake up, baby!"

In the meantime, with less than four months to go until mommy's due date, it sure is fun to feel the baby move, sing it songs and give it kisses and hugs. Don't come too soon, though, baby - we'll be here to welcome you when you're big and strong enough to meet us!

We'll Be Skiing Down the Mountain When We Come

Today we set out on our first family ski adventure. We started small, with a visit to Tuxedo Ridge. There wasn't much snow, but that didn't stop us.


My buddy Benjamin and I certainly dressed the part well.


I met a new friend, too, at the bottom of the mountain.


Liana, you looked great doing that slalom. PyeongChang 2018 here you come!

Happy Birthday, Mema!

While we weren't included in Mema's birthday celebration on her actual birthday, we heard that there was a delicious dinner involved and a tiramisu with a candle...Happy Birthday, Mema...we love you.


Not to be out-done, we visited Mema the day after her birthday and brought her chocolate treats (tira-not-for-me-su).

Walt to Walt Disney

Day three at Disney started with a delicious breakfast. How many Mickeys can you count in this picture?


Then we trekked out to Animal Kingdom, where we started on a safari that let us get up close and personal with some giraffes. They are a lot bigger than the ones in your class, sis!


One of the highlights was the Lion King show...


...until we got to meet Mickey himself.


In the evening, we walked along the Boardwalk, watched hilarious magician Brian Staron, and ate delicious treats.


We also played some of the midway games. In this one, the object is to get a lobster to land in a pot (how New England!!). Most of the grownups took a turn. Here's daddy's attempt. (At the end, BoMa saved the day and won us the stuffed dolphin.)


The trip ended with some of our favorite activities. We got some swimming in before we had to head home...


...and we sampled giant lollipops while checking out our souvenir initial necklaces.


Happy birthday, BoPa! Thanks for a great vacation.

Disney for Dessert

In honor of BoPa's birthday, we took a family trip to Walt Disney World. For once, we were glad to see a mouse in the room.


On the first night, we hit the Hoop De Doo Revue, where BoPa was celebrated.


I got to play the washboard. I hope mommy doesn't make me do the wash when we get home.


I don't know why you were working so hard. I was eating Mickey-shaped muffins!


The next day, the whole crowd headed out early to the Magic Kingdom to await the arrival of the mayor.


We went on "It's a Small World" several times, and mommy made us promise that this photo would make the blog because she thought the bride's hair looked like a challah. How twisted!


Daddy and I got spit on by some giant camels. You call this fun?


For BoPa's birthday, we had a special dinner with princesses. (You mean, besides us?) Daddy seemed more interested in the blonde than you did, sis.


Mommy tried to get Prince "Charlie" to explain the baby in her belly, but he was charming as ever.


Two days--two huge desserts. I like this trip!

Look at Us in Profile

After almost seven months, it is time to move on to a new profile photo, so here is the current one, for posterity's sake!


"Baby, after more than two years we are quite a matching pair! Big sis Liana takes exceptional care of her babies, including her little sister, Daria, who relies on her BOLDER voice to hold her own. (You can always reminisce on Liana's earlier blog - before Daria came on the scene - at lianayael.blogspot.com)."

Happy Birthday, BoPa!

We were very excited to help BoPa celebrate turning 70.


What better way to honor him than with a family chocolate brunch?


The highlight was helping BoPa blow out his candle...fortunately they didn't try to fit one for each year on the molten chocolate cake.

Ice Cake-pades with Liam

Liam and BoPa share a birthday, only 65 years apart. This year, I celebrated with BoPa in Florida, so I missed Liam's festivities, but our mommies decided to plan a pre-birthday shindig. It began in Central Park for ice skating.


Go "figure," you and daddy were quite a "combination" and fortunately not k-"lutzes" on the ice.


The evening ended with a not-so-"clean program" of pizza and cupcakes.