Fountainhead

No, I'm not a big Ayn Rand fan. But the title is apt...my daughter the fountainhead:

And a week later, DeeDee visits

A week ago, DeeDee came into town to spend some quality time with Liora. She didn't know we would also be dragging her around town to spend some quality time with us and all of our friends (of all species).

First, we had a great bbq at the new home of Jess and Chris! So nice to enjoy an outdoor meal with good friends.

Liora loved hanging out with all of the kids. We don't have photos of it, but at one point, she actually sucked on baby Penny's toes. For fun! I think? Honestly, I'm not sure why she did it, but she definitely enjoyed that baby's toes.

She also got some quality time with her aunties! Here she is dancing with Auntie Francesca:

The next morning (we're still with the humans) we went to brunch downtown, again at Redwood but this time with Aunt Diane and Uncle George:

She really bonded with Uncle George.

Is it because they share an eye color? Now we know for sure, her beautiful blue eyes are a match with the Yaunches! (It's also the same eye color as Grand Pop-pop)

Then it was off to the zoo! We didn't want to do too much since Liora is still so young. We saw the pandas, the elephants in their new exhibit, and the bird house. Liora had a ball! She got so excited every time we saw a new animal. Here she is with DeeDee after this young elephant came out to play.

But her favorite was definitely the pandas! So of course, we decided she couldn't go home without a new pet.

First photo with her very own Tai Shan:

It is so blurry because she was SO EXCITED. Even at home, this is the best stuffed animal ever. Every time she sees him, she has to give him multiple hugs and kisses. 

Finally, we got her to calm down for a pic, but the pure joy is written all over her face:

We'll miss DeeDee, but luckily we'll be seeing her soon when Aunt Gabi visits PA. Liora says, "Move to DC DeeDee!!"

California Grandparents Visit

Two weeks ago, MeMe and Amity came for a nice long visit. Liora was pleased, as always, to be the center of attention and spend time with them. She also loved all of the activity...we were busy!

The first night, we all got together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.

Liora was, I think, surprised to be going somewhere special during the week. She loved the dinner, eating up all the roast vegetables we gave her.

We saw MeMe and Amity often during the week, and it always seemed to revolve around food! We had everyone over for dinner on Friday night, our first time hosting that whole side of the family. Wish we had taken some photos, but I guess we were too busy cooking and enjoying the company! : )

Side note: we normally eat dinner separately from Liora because of her early bedtime. So when the whole family eats with her, she is over the moon...I am also beginning to think that during those dinners, she eats much more. That night she ate a lot, and tried many new things, including white bean salad.

On Saturday, we had more fun! Here she is, getting excited to go out to lunch (my new favorite photo of her):

After playing on the floor for a while, we went out to Redwood in Bethesda. Liora ate off of the children's menu for the first time--macaroni and cheese. She really enjoyed herself.

After lunch, we finally had an opportunity to walk around downtown Bethesda together, something we never seem to find the time to do.



That night, we had another great meal at Black Market Bistro in Kensington. Yummy! And mommy and daddy enjoyed having a little time away from Liora. Wait, what? Of course we didn't...we missed her every minute.

To give MeMe and Amity a proper send off, we had bagels on the morning of their departure. Liora will miss seeing them every day; she definitely became used to having them around for hugs and love.

Come back soon!!

Labor Play

On Labor Day weekend, we met up with baby Novali and her family at the best playground around. Just over the border in Virginia, this playground has 10 or so different types of play areas; honestly, it is a little over the top. Of course, the girls loved it! And the adults appreciated being somewhere that we could chat while the little ones were occupied with bigger things.

The playground is very unique; each play area was built with different heights and abilities in mind. It was nice to find things low to the ground for the girls. As she grows, it is also so much fun to see Liora's changing view of playgrounds. She loves seeing all of the kids and playing with wheels and going down slides.

Here they are together. Are they the cutest girlfriends or what?!?

Novali's mommy captured this photo, and it is a gem.

Your cuteness for the day

Sometimes, I tell myself, it's ok just to post some photos without some big story.

So here are some photos so far from month 10!

Here she is rolling around on our bed, a favorite way to pass the time.

Hmmm, another bed pic--a theme I guess. This is a photo of Liora and I waking up daddy on a weekend; note the time is close to 8, and she and I have probably been up for at least an hour. Lazy daddy!

Hanging with her buddy Zooks in her bedroom. I like how Zooks is very interested in what she is doing.

We are so glad we caught this face on film. Liora's top teeth are coming in, and we *think* this face came about because she was feeling them with her tongue or something. Otherwise, I have no explanation, and she does it a lot!

And she crawls!

Pop quiz. Liora finally crawled for:
a) mommy
b) daddy
c) cats
d) cat food

If you answered "d," you win! Liora not only wants to eat the cat food, she wants to play with it too. We are currently trying to figure out where to relocate it. In the meantime, we have to watch her in the kitchen. It's the first place she goes when we set her down.

Does she repeat the crawling elsewhere? Every once in a while when she has her sights set on something. But mostly she still wants to walk with help or be carried around with us, and she hasn't quite figured out that she is not stuck wherever we set her down.

Without further ado:

Some Updates!

Before we went to the Hamptons, we had a weekend of great-grandfathers! We drove up to Gettysburg to visit Grand Pop-pop and Fay.

Here is Liora admiring Pop-pop's beard:

And getting cuddles from Fay:

That same day, we were invited over for a dinner at Aunt Nurit's and Uncle Roy's house. It is always so nice to get together with them. And, this time Liora got to see both of her great-grandfathers in one day! I am posting both photos from this get together, because I love how in this one, Liora can't get enough of Saba:

And in this one, she is looking super cute!

Liora has acquired so many skills in the past month, it is exciting! She is giving high fives, waving, clapping, spinning around in circles on her bum, and, finally, crawling (video to come). She is also still walking with help, but now only with one hand in mommy's.

Here are some photos of her clapping: