Walker!

Esther Frayda (aka "honey bunny") has officially been walking for over a week now!! She walked across the apartment all by herself last Shabbos. She is doing such a great job:) I wanted to include a picture of her walker because mom was invisioning an old persons walker. I think this one is a bit cuter:) It's a wooden walker I found on Craigs list after doing a lot of research. I love it and I think Esther does also. There are these alligators on the front that bop up and down when she pushes it. The last few days she has been trying to ride it like a horsey. I guess she hasn't figured out its not going to go anywhere..

Esther is taking steps!!

This was taken last week, she was having fun:) You could really see parts of her personality shining through. She is very determined and independent (that's my baby!). We bought her a cute wooden walker, so now she's using it to walk all over the apartment. She also took her first few steps last week, they were sideways but I think that still counts!

Swinging!

Her first swing ride! The weather is finally nice enough to go to the park, so I've been taking Esther Frayda to the park almost every day now. You could see she really loves it. 

COPY CAT on the loose!

Ok, this is probably one of the cutest things I have seen. We had the cleaning lady over a few times before Pesach. At one point she was cleaning the refrigerator and I was on the computer, all of a sudden a heard her yell "QUICK, QUICK!". I ran over and Esther Frayda maneuvered her way into the fridge and was cleaning the shelf. She found a small rag (we don't know from where she got it) but she had her rag and every few minutes she would go over to the spray bottle on the chair and rub her rag on it then go back to her spot to continue cleaning the shelf. The cleaning lady could not stop laughing and could not believe what Esther was doing. She asked me if I had showed Esther how to do this- NEVER. I don't know how Esther picked this up but apparently she had been watching the cleaning lady's every move.

At one point I tried to take her away so the cleaning lady could get back to work, let me tell you I have never seen Esther protest so hard before, she absolutely refused to move from her spot. She was very serious about this.

SO, they continued to clean, side by side..

Fit for a Princess!

I saw this dress in a store window a few weeks ago and had my eye on it for a Pesach dress. When I finally went to the store in search of a dress I picked this one up and Esther immediately pointed to it and wanted to hold it so bad she was trying to jump out of her stroller (yes, it was one of the few days I had her in a stroller!). Well, with that reaction I knew I had to get it. I gave to her to hold when we got home and it kept her occupied for a good ten minutes. She was playing with the tulle and the small little beads on the front of the dress. Then we had the photo shoot in our at home "studio". I hope this makes you feel like a princess my lil love!

Watch out, toddler on the loose!!

Well, this week has been a bit of a challenge to say the least. My sweet Esther Frayda has officially entered TODDLER-HOOD. She has been exhibited the first signs of defiance. It started with her not letting me change her diaper. It may sound easy to wrestle with an 18 pound bundle but she has some amazing strength and can jump and crawl at lightning speed, which leaves me standing there with an empty diaper. I find myself getting more and more desperate trying to locate things around the house that are novel that will hold her attention for the required 3 minutes it takes to change a diaper but most things lately last a minute then are tossed over the side of the bed as if SO passe and not to be looked at again.

If you think this is a challenge, it was a stroll in the park compared to what came next. Now, I've read about this and heard people talk about it but nothing can prepare you for the first time your sweet ball of love CHOMPS down on you, while you are lovingly nursing her! There are no words for the throbbing pain that follows... then after the shock wears off, you lovingly but firmly tell her "NO" and continue nursing thinking that it won't happen again.. (wishful thinking!) again the feel of 4 sharp teeth chomping down followed by a sweet giggle. You can see where this is going.. I do everything the books tell me to. I say "NO" then pull her off (again the laughing). OK, next I bring her in closer to me so that her nose is covered for a second, the purpose being that if she can't breath she will disengage (now the laughing is even stronger). This has become a game of "lets wait for mommy to YELP" followed by "what will mommy do" and she is all the while having a grand ole ball.

Well, where does this all leave us? 

With one hurt mamma and one obliviously happy toddler leaving trails of pea around for mommy to find!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA!!!

Melissa turns the big 19 today! WOW, how time flys.. and I remember when she was just a little itty bitty baby, the size of Esther Frayda;) Well Melissa, you are officially an ADULT. I want to really wish you a year full of growth, confidence and true happiness. May you find your calling and pursue it will a lot of strength and vigor! May you always know how unique and wonderfully talented you are, always remember what a strong and beautiful woman you are. You deserve the best in every area of your life, don't you ever forget it!

Janelle, get well soon!

Thank g-d, dad called me with the good news today that everything went well with Janelle's surgery. It sounds like its a long recovery, so we just want to let Janelle know that we are all thinking of her. Janelle, you are in our thoughts and prayers. May you have a speedy and quick recovery. We are sending you lots of love and a BIG HUG from New York!

My Bubala

Thank you Esther for bringing so much joy and love into my life. I feel so blessed.

Brenna Time!

Every few days or so I want to make a small tribute to each person in the family. TODAY, its BRENNA TIME! Brenna's not sure what she wants Ester to call her but we'll start with auntie Bren Bren. We're looking forward to coming, g-d willing this month and everyone could have more bonding time :)

Dogs & Cats

OK, here is another video. You guys asked for it:) This is one of her favorite books, each pages has a different animal. This is the closest she is gonna get to animals, at least in the present time. If we do go to California, which its looking good, Esther will be able to bond with Brenna's dog. Grandpa's dogs, I think are too big, I think probably 3 times the size of little pea Esther..

Challah time!

-Flashback-

Esther makes her first Challah! This was taken a few months ago when Melissa was here. Melissa made Challah for us and showed Esther how to do it. Esther was a little taken aback by the ball of dough but soon dug in there..

Stuck to couch..

Esther has been standing a lot and trying to keep her balance. She's just figuring out how to get down and up. Its so cute, you could see her thought process, which works faster than her lil body..

Commando Crawling!

Watch Esther Frayda crawl! I figured I should capture this on video before she starts walking. She learned this back in her army training days, commando crawling!

Avocado in the hair!

Esther had a lot of fun playing with the avocado and occasionally putting some in her mouth. I could already see her little personality developing. She is for sure going to be very independent and strong willed. She really likes to do everything herself.

I'm trying to feed her as much as possible now, so she gains weight. She is so active, which I think is one reason why she is not gaining as much this past month. Her favorite foods are avocado and carrots. She's allergic to peas for some strange reason. Every time I fed her peas she would get a rash and her little cheeks would turn red.

Pretty in Pink!

I knit the head band for her. I was so excited I figured out how to do it. I hear my sister knits pretty well but this is a step up for me:) 

 

Oh, special note to family: so far only mom has become a follower and I don't see any comments. Come on people, I know you're out there! I want to see followers and comments, so we know you're out there:) Oh and Dad's having some problems cracking the system and making comments maybe someone could help him out. Lov u guys!

First shoes!

These are her first shoes, well the first ones that stay on her lil feet:)

 

 

Here she's looking at a book she wants but doesn't know how to get it without loosing her "standing" spot.

Esther has this one place on the couch where she always goes to stand. She's so excited that she could do this new thing. Wherever I set her down in the house she will make her way over to this one spot, pull herself up and stay there. She holds on to the couch for dear life and not move.

I caught her under the table with a bag full of cups. She knows she's holding something she's not supposed to;)

Once upon a time...

This was a song that I made up on Shabbos a while ago. I sing it to Esther often and I think she really likes it (at least I like to think she does:)

L is for...

T

Today was our 10 month old photo shoot. I gave Esther some flowers to keep her busy. She was so focused on the flowers and picking each and every petal. It keep her attention for a whole 15 minutes! Then she decided she wanted to eat them and that's when the photo shoot came to a close... My curious lil petal.

Thank you DAD!!

Thank you dad for all the clothes, this is one of the sweaters in the package. I  love this one, its fuzzy and cozy.

Grandpa & Esther Frayda back in July