Last Post of The Year?

Look at our smiley boy in Baltimore!

Well, by no intentional means of my own it appears I’ve been going without monthly updates on this blog.  I suppose given the nature of the blog and the fact that most of you are family and friends who don’t need to hear what Olivia and Jake are eating everyday, a monthly post is sufficient.  To that end it’s already December and with less than 14 days left in the year, given my track record, this will probably be the last post of the year.

Since we last spoke we all went back to Baltimore to visit with family over Thanksgiving.  It was so great being able to spend a major holiday at home as we haven’t done that in quite some time.  The last time Olivia was in Baltimore she was only 11 weeks old and on this most recent trip she was 19 months and Jake was 12 weeks.  So needless to say, a lot has changed since our last visit some 16 months ago.

O and Bubby checking out some deer.

This last trip was really nostalgic for me as I made it a point to eat at all my favorite stomping grounds.  The neighborhood has changed so much from when I was growing up.  It’s just gotten so much busier but that’s mostly par for the course as I’m sure my parents thought the place was built up when they were adults as well.  What was really fulfilling for me this time was having the family play with Olivia and Jake.  Having family in my life is so important and I want that for them as well.  It’s so hard now with us living so far away.  As always the trip was jam packed with activity.   However, with a slightly different twist this time it took us much longer to get ready. I think sometimes we forget how much work it actually is to get an infant and a just barely toddler ready in the morning.

Livy and Aunt Evie getting in some snuggle time.

Another highlight of the trip was visiting with my sister, Maya.  Maya living in Israel has made it even that much more of a struggle to visit with her.  I’m deeply saddened that Olivia and Jake will grow up not having a real solid relationship with her.  I’d always dreamed of her playing a very active role in their lives; picking them up, taking them out for play dates, etc.  Of course, we live some 3,000 miles from Baltimore now but even worse she’s over the pond and then some!  Given that she’s in a serious relationship at this time the idea of her living oversees is gaining more permanency.  I want her to be happy and if living there is where she finds her happiness then that’s how it is.  The unfortunate penalty we all pay is the loss of relationship.  We know this too well since we live 6 hours from Susie’s family (driving) and 6 hours from my family (flying) so in essence we have made this same choice.  Ahhhh, the joys of conflict.  Thank goodness for Skype and iChat though, huh?

Aunt Maya spending time with Jake.

Olivia’s talking up a storm lately, combining words, reading books (well at least she thinks she’s reading) and completely understanding both english and spanish.  She’ll actually answer spanish questions with english answers.  She repeats EVERYTHING you say.  It’s very funny and amazing!  She’s been using the “potty” now for 3 months and is doing great.  She’s still in diapers (just in case) but she’s not far at all.  In fact, if we pushed it I’m sure she’d be out all together but to be honest I like diapers.  Why?  Well, I don’t have to stop for the bathroom…I know I’m lazy but the idea of being able to poop right where your sitting is appealing to me…albeit, so long it’s other people doing the pooping.  I’ll take my bathroom breaks in the actual bathroom, thank you very much.

Liv loves the camera and the camera loves her!

Jake’s growing like weeds!  He’s so long and is about 17 lbs now.  He just turned 15 weeks old…hard to believe!  He’s such a sweet boy!  He’s just a happy baby and loves to smile.  He’s much more laid back than Olivia was at his age although she was pretty happy too.  He’s doing the typical cooing, gooing, and other “ooing” things that babies should be doing at his age.  He’s reaching out and grasping things really well.

Happy Jake

Susie goes back to work in mid-January and is not looking forward to it.  We’re taking donations should anyone want to cover her salary so she can stay home.  I’m doing the commute thing and try to race home as quickly (and safely) as I can to catch a couple hours a day with them.  I’m working on potentially creating another blog.  This is sort of a project for me and to ensure I’m on top of it I will be posting daily.  It’s going to be in a Vlog format which means if you’ve been really missing what this mug looks like you’ll be able to see me daily.  It’s still a work in progress but I may (just may) shoot for a January 1 launch.  Kind of a New Year’s resolution thing without being a real resolution.  They never seem to work and afterall, quitting smoking, losing weight, and getting out of debt all top the chart.

Since this may be our last post I want to wish everyone now a Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas and Happy Happy New Year.

This was on our way to the Hannukah Tree Farm