Some Parties! Including Thanksgiving

To make sure I don't sit on a bunch of photos for the next month, the following rounds out our November, which seemed to be all about parties, parties, parties!



Liora and her friend Ava enjoy some goldfish...she is now hooked on these. Thanks Ava :)

Liora (the owl) and her other PACE (my mom's group) baby friends. From left to right: Ava the poodle, Livi the lady bug, Robbie the clown, Ivan the penguin, and Cora the octopus.

A post birthday family photo, with Liora's favorite toy from the party, her #1 balloon.

At Andrew's Bar Mitzvah. Liora was the life of the party.

At Thanksgiving, with favorite older cousin Zachary. She would reach out for hugs from him!

Looking out the back door with cousins Devi and Caleb.

"What are you doing with my cup?!?"

Oh, so this is why Liora now has dents in her mattress! Kidding, kidding. The cousins had a great time bouncing around in the crib.

Cousins!

Siblings!

Enjoying dinner (notice, all adults without babies are enjoying dinner. Those with babies were probably running around somewhere).

Liora and I spent last Saturday at the botanical gardens and their annual train display. None of the photos turned out well, since I was there alone with. In this one, a reindeer bush lords over my baby threateningly (too bad none of the photos with her and the supreme court building made out of plants turned out).

And that brings us up to now! I'll post a few videos soon of her walking and playing with Mr. Zooks. xoxo

Happy Birthday Little One - Edition 2

So, I guess with all of the holiday planning (first Thanksgiving, now Christmas), I am VERY behind. Apologies.

Here are some photos and videos from Liora's first birthday celebration! She actually took her first steps at her birthday party (the broccoli helped with balance, I think?). She knows how to mark an occasion.

This is as icy as she got. Not too messy for her first cake.

She loved her mini-Stackhouse from Auntie Elizabeth and Uncle (and photographer extraordinaire) Jason.

And, since her birthday is so close to Halloween, she had to dress up! Thanks to Grandma Fay and her awesome hat, the owl was a big hit:

I think she was a little overwhelmed at being the center of attention at this moment (which is unusual for her).

What's better than a birth day? One that lasts longer than that, and into the next week. Packages arrived for Liora after her big day, much to her surprise and enjoyment.

The first was another panda to add to her collection, all the way from Israel! Thank you Hadasa and Araon; she loves to squish it, and it is in a place of honor in her room.

And, an awesome musical table from DeeDee! She loves it. She knew just what to do with the mallets.

I'll leave you with a video from the morning of her birthday...it's a cute one:

Happy Birthday Little One - Edition 1

It seems I am doomed to be two weeks behind on the blogging!

Two weeks ago, our little lady turned the big 1! It is true what they say, she grew up too fast. I can't believe we made it through this first year--it has been a constant joy, even when it's been rough. Liora brings light into every life she enters and every room she crawls into (still not walking on her own yet, but SO close).

So, to celebrate, this blog is a look back at this wonderful year, more for mommy than anyone else I think.

When Liora surprised us by coming 5 weeks early, mommy and daddy had just moved into our new house 2 weeks before. She came into the world a preemie, but this girl was "feisty"--even her delivery doctor thought so. And the doctors in the NICU constantly told me that they were worried least about the little girl who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it at such a young age. We were smitten. And in for it.

I can't get over how little she was!

So that was her first month! The feisty-ness continues...she is demanding, but sweet; she's got lots of energy, and is oh so smart. She is full of personality; very expressive. She isn't afraid to try new things, but stays close to mommy while doing so. And, she's a beauty, inside and out. Here are some of my favorite photos from the rest of this first year (at least one per month) of my little one's life!

These last two photos are from the weekend she turned one. What an amazing year. Phew, we did it together (mommy, daddy, baby and village who we couldn't have done this without). Thanks everyone. And boy, do we love our life with Liora!