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Archive for the 'Miscellaneous' Category
It’s the Mannes’ favorite holiday: Thanksgiving.
They go all out and make a feast (smoking turkeys and making really gross ice cream…so gross I don’t understand who ate it all). There were about eleven side dishes….can you imagine having so many serving spoons?
Kieth hosted us in his perfect home (note the lighting conditions and the uber good taste everywhere):
Neko was so awed at the amount of new toys and sheer stuff the girls had in their giant rooms, she was actually speechless (but just for a few minutes)..seriously, we could live comfortably in their doll house!
Thank you Manneses for being such amazing hosts, for giving neko and us so much and for being my family!
One year ago: Eating wurst in Hamburg
For this year’s thanksgiving celebrations we headed down to Atlanta: to visit with E-E, Oompa and the Mannes family. Upon our arrival, after neko inspected every inch of the fine Newark airport, and proceeded to stick every barbie, dora and kitten puffy sticker available for purchasing in Brooklyn, she repeated (and I mean loudly): E-E, yeah, bait…E-E, yeah, bait (bait=house) the entire 45 minute ride home.
Oddly enough, she did not let go of my thigh, knee, foot or anything she could grab from her shrimpy height, for the rest of the week.
We began the festivites with a visit to the Atlanta Aquarium, where neko held hands (how come she never agrees to hold my hands when running the sidewalk?) with her cousin Fopha (Sophie) and Clawa (Clara)..yeah (she likes to say that now and we think it means let’s go, i want, or this is great)…and pointed at the shish (fish) and turta (turtle)…..
I think her favorite was the petting pool, where she got to touch starfish (nice) and random icky sticky things. and yes, she licked her hands right after wards….
Later that day:
Neko is ecstatic, yelling (well, you know, she’s half Israeli) at Sophie to be by her side at all times. Playing with every piece of pink plastic goodness around, and loving it. The hours spent with older girls have added at least 82 words to her vocabulary and she says mini sentences now: hold dis and mo muchis pease (music please) or aaachu (from the sneezing cow book) and nice shuz (she still does the french pucker lip thing) and no stuck (as in do not help me out i like being in this position)…and the best: boogy (sticking finger in nose) followed by an adult fake laugh….
One year ago: Thanksgiving in Hamburg
In every adult’s life there comes that special day, that incredible moment - the realization that they have become their parents.
Nothing makes that more obvious that having a child of your own.
We fuss, we do things we swore deep in our childish hearts (and on the shrink sofa) we would never do.
For me, such a moment happened today (there have been many in the past - ask my sister about talking with the finger)…..
I had a few minutes in between meetings = go to starbucks for bad expensive coffee and free wifi.
what did I do with those precious minutes? Yeah, you guessed it, I looked at pictutes of my daughter, obsessing over every detail of her hair (will it be curly or straight?), skin (is it a little dry lately?), development (is it ok that she no longer meows for cat?) and growth (is it ok she will only eat avocado and cookies?)
But that’s not the story: they were playing, now, Saba Chaim, this is for you, Weather Report (Birdland - I llooked it up), and I liked it.
I wanted to stay there and be all sentimental and move my foot to the music.
Oy - pappi, what have you done to me?
And, will i do it to neko too?
It’s that time of year again.
No, not time to wear ugly Cosby reindeer sweaters or drink that hobnob stuff.
It’s Franck’s eternal 29th birthday.
We spent the weekend celebrating in style: eating, drinking beer, eating, chasing our daughters, and oh, eating.
Neko exhibited the beginnings of social normalcy: she loved having Elodie around, almost too much, calling for her (Eh-yodie) and begging for her to keep up and always be by her side. She didn’t hit Elodie once (shoving doesn’t count and neither does a toy hammer). Watching the two play and get each other excited (demonstrated by jerking their little bodies from knees upwards) was totally inspiring. Yeah, it inspired me to eat half a chocolate marzipan cake!
As a show of neko’s adoration for baby eh-yodie, she woke up Monday morning in Brooklyn, sat down at her table and said: ‘eh-yodie…bo’ (bo=come in hebrew) gesturing in israeli style for her to come hither…..
Happy Birthday Franck - and many more!!!!!
Wedding, synagogue, rabbi and lots of people everywhere. Sun shining and happiness.
Neko’s impression of the house of god: no pictures in the books but these benches are great for climbing.
Neko’s contribution to the ceremony included an uttering of a very loud ‘OH-OH’ just as the vows were being spoken…kinda broke the ice and made the entire wedding party laugh.
At the party,she ate about ten pieces of sushi (who says you can’t give raw fish to kids), danced with the band and although she didn’t explicitly say it, she was really happy for the bride and groom, but especially for Lulu.
It started Friday morning with some minor vomit sessions in our bed and high chair.
I thought it was my fault (for trying to give her cheerios with full fat hormone free organic grass fed cow’s milk)
It proceeded with assplosion diapers (multiple outfit changes per day) and some more vomit sessions in crib (yup, changed all the sheets yet again).
I must admit she is an amazing sick child though, happy and playful, in a subdued way. Not that that’s a bad thing.
Neko’s gurgling empty belly (she even refused avocado) combined with the gas she is passing and the gatorade laced burps is making for a real bouquet.
Poor baby…by that I mean Peter, he’s got it now too….
Man it is cold outside.
The Middle East only gets hot, humid and contentious, not sub zero-ish.
But, nothing will stop us from trying to keep Neko busy, smiling, laughing and enjoying herself. Nothing, not even snow storms, icy side walks and the pain of six teeth coming in right at three in the morning!
The weekend festivities included her cousin Dylan one year birthday party (unbelievable):
Flirting with the future Papa Kusminsky, tumbling with our sweet Nina, helping her multi talented father build things and diving into ball pools.
Yup, she had a superb time.
Everyone knows that rain is a Jew’s worse nightmare. Humidity is the enemy.
We tried hard to escape, even making it to the Met to explore some antiquities and hide from the mess outdoors.
Neko loved it - babbling away at the Egyptian sculptures and Mythic creatures, crawling through the Temple of Dendur and changing diapers behind the silverware collection (no one goes to see that anyway).
As for her parents, we either need a hair cut or some investment in product!
I read somewhere that babies should not be treated like babies…whatever….if you give a baby a spatula hoping they help you flip that omlette, or a spoon to help you mix the sauce, well, all they do is stick it in their mouth and drool….neko loves helping me in the kitchen….
