'No'

Today she brought me her cup then ran and brought me a bottle of water so I could put the water in her cup.. She may not be using a lot of words yet but she sure is communicating!

This morning she put on pants all by herself. I asked her if she wanted help and she said "no".

She LOVES Books
Amazing sense of humour
loves running in her birthday suite and gets a squel out of me chasing her with her diaper
She puts on her own pants now and has a strong opinion of what she wears.
She's been strying to put her own shoes on, I found her the other days she did it but just opposite feet
Her favorite word is "no"
Today we saw a cat while we were walking outside.. She got excited but wanted me to hold her then the cat disappeared. I told her the cat went home and to say bye. She kept talking about the cat all night, saying "cat" and "bye bye" and pointing outside. It wwas so sweet.
0212

My big girl

Today she brought me her cup then ran and brought me a bottle of water so I could put the water in her cup.. She may not be using a lot of words yet but she sure is communicating!

This morning she put on pants all by herself. I asked her if she wanted help and she said "no". 020912

Dreaming of puppies

"I want to dream of puppies"
Hiding things- lip gloss went bye bye
2015

Pretty Nails

She can paint her own nails.. 010214
Now shes loves painting each one a different color, she also like to put makeup on whatever chance she gets but especially for shabbos or a special occasion.. I thought this wasn't going to happen until she was much older! ;) 011617

An old memory

Tonight before going to sleep I was talking to Esther Frayda and told her after the summer she would start school. Even though it is not for a couple of months I wanted to plant the idea in her head. For some reason this just brought up a memory for her that I wasn't aware of. She just started crying really card for about a half hour and in between her sobs she was trying to explain to me what was wrong. She said she didnt want to go back to her old playgroup. She said a few things and I didn't completely understand everything but it sounds like she had to go the bathroom and one of the morahs didn't help her. She said she wanted me and wasn't there and that she had wanted to go to the bathroom when I wasn't there. She was so upset and distraught. She said she wanted to go to play goup but a new one not the old one.  She said that many times so that I understood. By the end her little eyes were so red and puffy but I feel like she needed to release that memory by talking about it. I never realized she was holding on to something that was upsetting to her. She has excellent memory so now that she can better verbalize.. 070213

"New brand"

- When something is "brand new", she says "new brand" 2017

Guest and Hosts

Esther Frayda is very much into what a host should do and what is appropriate for a guest. In school they spent a week learning about this. She takes it very seriously. We were at Ruckis last week and the boys weren't playing with her, she broke down and was crying. She said she's a guest and they are not doing a mitzvah. She kept pointing and said "he knows everything, even though he's not alive".. "its not right, they're not doing a mitzvah". I finally realized she was pointing to a portrait of the Rebbe hanging up.. My beautiful girl, she has such a deep and sensitive heart. I love you with all my soul 💜💜💜

eeny meeny

Sept 2017
When she cant decide on something, she does eeny meeny miny moe.

She is getting for her birthday and planning out the details, it is now September;)

She loves turning around and shaking her tush at me.. all the time and it still makes me laugh. We both end of cracking up.

Her favorite color is Pink
 Favorite food: Nachos

The Chinese Train

Last month, Esther Frayda was on our way to NY on Amtrak. It made a stop at one of the popular destinations on the route. A huge group of people got off the train at once, it was a group of Asians. Esther Frayda looked surprised and leaned over and whispered in my ear: 

"Mommy we accidentally took the Chinese train". 

She was so serious, I couldn't stop laughing. 

"That was awkward"

So Esther Fraydas new word is "awkward". Everything lately is awkward. We were eating dinner and she took a bite that apparently wasn't good and she said.. "Oh that was awkward. I'm having an awkward day". 

Btw we were getting ready to go out for Pizza at the JCC. Esther Frayda told me to wait because she wanted to change, this was her outfit she changed into. Perfect outfit for getting pizza!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, My big girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

6 YEARS OLD!!!!

I've been planning this for a year, when you woke up on your birthday morning, I had balloons blown up in your room. I also had a strawberry frosting donut on a plate waiting for you on your bed next to some presents. You have been asking to have a donut on your birthday for like 6 months, so I knew that I HAD to have that.

When you woke up I carried you into your room and had you close your eyes. I carried you to your bed and said "Surprise!" as your opened your eyes. I think its safe to say that you were pretty happy. We had a lazy morning. Your birthday this year was on a Friday so I let you stay home. In the afternoon you went to Meirras house for a Friday afternoon play date. I loved seeing how excited you were for your birthday and turning 6 years old. You have been talking about since your last birthday:)  I am just so proud of you, just watching you grow up into such a beautiful and wonderful human being is the best gift in the world. I love you so much and look forward to each year, seeing all the beautiful changes that you will go through. You are special, beautiful and important. I will always love you no matter what, nothing can change that. I will always be your cheerleader in all the wonderful things you do in life.

Alice in Wonderland by Ballet Theatre of Maryland

So, as part of your birthday weekend celebration, I bought tickets to take you to the very special Alice in Wonderland Ballet. We went with our friends Mirra and Natania, a girls day out at the Ballet. This was your second big show, your first was Frozen on Ice. You guys had such a wonderful time, being big girls. You guys even got a picture with Alice. After such a long day out, we came home ate dinner while I read a few pages of Alice in Wonderland and then you were out like a light. Now its on to plan your birthday party with all your friends 

from school!

... Oh you insisted on dressing as a cow girl today. You definitely have strong opinions when it comes to fashion so I try and give you as much leeway as possible and try not to intrude on your very special fashion sense;)

I love you Birthday Girl!

"I miss Gingerbread"

We had to drop Gingerbread at the sitters house tonight because we are leaving to NY in the morning for Shabbos. After we dropped him off we came back home to light Chanukah candles for the 5th night. Usually we light candles, say the bracha then play music and dance while Gingerbread tries to join in and paw EF. Well tonight was the first night without Gingy:( After we lit candles, Esther Frayda started crying, saying the she "missed him so so so much", she just couldn't stop crying. I could see it was a real cry and not just her being dramatic. It was painful for her, she said it feels the way it did before we got Gingerbread. I knew how special he was to her but tonight I really saw just how much of an impact he has on EF. He has helped her so much in ways I probably don't even realize. I felt so sad to see her hurt and upset. In between tears, she asked me to draw a picture of GIngerbread so she could take it with us to NY. The picture made her feel a little better. I just held her and let her cry, I told her I won't drop him off next time early and that also made her feel better. My beautiful girl, she is so filled with emotion and love. I'm very grateful for Gingerbread and what he has brought into our lives.

Yes, unfortunately, that is the best I could do. I know very sad indeed..

Mommy does her best! I love you, my sweet girl.

Not fair

Her big thing lately has been to say "Its not fair".. like when her play tent collapses, she says "that's not faaaair". She says it so cute, she kind of pouts her lips and hunches her shoulders in. My little fairy bug!:)

She also does this thing that is actually so cute.. when she wants my attention, she pretends that she is a butterfly and lays on the floor on her stomach in front of me wherever I am. Then I walk up to her and say "Oh my, its a lady bug". I then pick her up and then she nuzzles in my neck, while I hold her. I tell her all the time, she is my special bracha. 
Mommy loves you more than all the stars in the sky!

ROAR!

Our lives have taken a few turns and have been very busy so I haven't updated the blog very often. There are so many little day to day things that Esther Frayda does that I want to remember and document for her as she gets older..

We had a really good time over Sukkot, we stayed with Sara Chana and her family. Esther Frayda is in love with all her children so she was in heaven. She is such a little social butterfly. In the Sukkah she was going up to each table and talking to everyone, by the end of the 3 days everyone knew her name. She knew more people than anyone else there. She was pretending to be a lion and ROAR to scare people, she got the biggest kick out of seeing peoples reaction and would think it was the funniest thing in the world. 

Her new thing now is calling boys "gross". She was calling the two younger teenage boys "gross" and would run away laughing. She was definitely entertaining herself.

She wants to be a big girl not a little girl, so I'm always telling her what a big girl she is and she likes that. 

I am really so proud of her, I tell her all the time. She is growing and maturing everyday and is such a caring and beautiful girl with a HUGE personality! I love you my sweetheart:)

"Stay in bed"

When we woke up this morning, we usually say our "Modai Ani" and then go eat breakfast but this morning Esther Fradya woke up and said "Mommy don't get out of bed", "Stay in bed with me and play". It was so adorable, so we snuggled and played around. She told me that I was "raw" and had to be cooked, so she stuffed me in the oven (which was actually under the pillow) and then pretended to eat me. Then it was my turn to do that to her, she thought it was so funny and was just giggling away and rolling over. This is what life if all about these beautiful moments, what more could I ask for. 

I love you my baby girl!!!!!

"Shabbos is all over"

Esther Frayda has been addicted to Caillou, everyday its "Caillou".. so, as you would expect she goes through withdrawal over Shabbos. She knows we can't use the computer or watch shows on Shabbos, so what did she do this last Shabbos when she really wanted to watch Caillou? 

She made an executive decision that Shabbos finished early. I was sitting on the couch and was wondering what she was doing... she was taking all the things on the table off and setting them down on the chairs then pulled the white Shabbos tablecloth off the table. 

I asked her what she was doing and she said that Shabbos was over and she could watch her video. 

She knows the white tablecloth is only on the table during Shabbos and comes off right after, so she just figured if she took it off that would end Shabbos! That was so clever of her. Ohh how I love this girl!

"This is a birthday for you"

Lately Esther Fradya and I have been going over when everyone's birthday is. She knows her birthday is in February and I told her my birthday is in June. I think she caught wind that my birthday was coming up (this week and we won't say how old mommy is). So, I walked into the office today and she had the party box (with all the ribbons and balloons) open and said she was making me a party. She was trying to hang ribbon off of the bookshelf I guess as decoration. Then she told me to close my eyes and kept saying "mommy don't look" that she had a surprise for me and handed me a bow in my hands. She spent like half an hour going through the box and setting everything up, even though it looked like a tornado ran through the room it was so incredible sweet. It was just so thoughtful and touching that she realized on her own that it was my birthday coming up and wanted to do something for me. She was so focused on making me happy. This is huge considering she usually will not even acknowledge anyone else's birthday. She's birthday obsessed and wants it to be her birthday every single day and of course sing the happy birthday song.

I love you so much! I love you more than all the fishes in the sea, more than all the stars in the sky!! I am literally the luckiest person on the face of the earth to have you as my baby girl.

Ramblings

Esther Fayda's favorite books lately, the ones we read every night are:

"I go to the Dentist", "Lets go to a wedding", and "I took the moon for a walk". Most of the time she'll ask me to re-read the wedding book. She is just absolutely obsessed with weddings.

Esther Frayda is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E, yes I love my child to itty bitty pieces! Whenever I see her feet, I just go crazy and want to eat them. I always tell her this and she thinks it is so funny, she just giggles away. Sometimes she'll take her socks off and stick her feet in the air because she knows that I'm going to go want eat them up. She likes to tease me. I can eat those feet for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

The other night when we were reading in bed, Esther Frayda turned to me and asked me to kiss her feet at which point I of course obliged. She then said "Come here and give me a big hug" and held her arms out. After I gave her a great big hug, she said "Do you  like me". It was such a tender moment we had. The depth of her compassion just amazes me. I always tell her what a gift she is, straight from Hashem and I am the luckiest MAMA in the world!

Mommy, you're so cute

Just a few phrases Esther Frayda recently said:

"Mommy I like you",
this meant a lot to me. I know she loves be but to like me, wow I feel so special. That means we're friends. I told her to remember this when she is a teenager.

"Mommy, you're so cute", 
she said as she looked at me lovingly:) 

"Leave me alone", 
she yelled this as I was trying to help her in the bath and asked me to get out!

I know the range of emotions, just like a teenager. I honestly don't think there is much difference between toddlers and teenagers.

You're too cool! I love you my baby girl.

The cracked egg

Esther Frayda and I made a yummy spelt chocolate cake today for Melissa's birthday. As usual, I set her up with her own bowl and ingredients because she likes to do everything herself. I usually let her do everything except crack the egg but today she insisted, so I gave her the egg and she (without my help) cracked it on the side of the bowl and opened it up to a perfectly cracked egg! It may not seem like a big deal but that takes skill. She is only 3 years old but definitely knows her way around the kitchen and around the house for that matter. She cooks, cleans, does laundry.. my little home maker. My heart just fills up with so much love every time I look at her.

I've been making little notes about Esther Frayda everyday so now I  need to catch up and I got a special request from Grandpa to update the blog. Hope you're reading this Dad, we love you!

My little baby is strong willed, she hates her hair brushed. Sometimes she acquiesces and lets me brush her hair but most of the time she runs from me like the black plague. She runs from one end of the house to the other and usually ends up in the bedroom, slamming the door in my face. She gets a kick out of that.

Whenever she really wants something, she doesn't tell me she wants it, she says she "needs it". 

She likes to run free outside, which usually involves throwing off her jacket no matter how cold it is then she runs as fast as her little legs will take her.

Just like Grandma Francis, Esther Frayda loves her dress-up  makeup, peals and anything that is remotely feminine or "girly".. She usually does this late in the evening when she runs around the house in whatever getup she pulls out of the drawers. The last few nights she's been putting on her tutus.. but not just one tutu, last night she managed to put on 5 different tutus at one time.

I walked in on her last night with her 5 tutus pretending to light shabbos candle and praying to Hashem. It was very sweet. I can see she is very spiritual as I think most children naturally are. 

Pure Love

Esther Frayda talks about Grandpa, Nani, Auntie Brenna and Gizmo every day. We miss you guys so much! 

Sending all our love and hugs:)