We're back!

It's true. We've been very, very lax about the whole blog thing. But we've been very, very busy with other things.

Like this...

And this...

...and this...
And moments like these.

To sum up, we had a great summer which included both an amazing stretch at Bubbe's house, where Noam went to camp, and some time at "Grandma's country house." We are now more or less happy to be back in Princeton (we love being home, etc, but some of us miss the beach, Bubbe's swingset, and their aunts - not necessarily in that order).

Noam is a big boy, back in school, now in Pre-K. He has a full-sized backpack (by which I mean that it is the size of his entire body) and an all-important folder which he transports to and from school inside the massive backpack.

[A brief interlude for some words of wisdom from Noam: A few nights ago the three boys were eating dinner. Eema was trying to instill some semblance of table manners, and mentioned a few details about not using finger and not wiping fingers on shirts.
Eema: "But the most important rule...(turns to get something for twins)..."
Noam: "The most important rule is don't kill anybody, Eema. That's the most important rule."
Eema: "Um, right." (I forgot the other rule anyway...)]

Hillel is a real two-year-old, with strong opinions and a tendency to grab toys away from his brothers, while declaring: "No, mine!"

Favorite pastimes include pulling all the sheets off his bed and instigating food fights with his twin. He loves to make trouble in his crib (flinging, pulling, stripping, etc) and often requests "night-night" for that purpose (even in the middle of the day).

Akiva is shaping up to be our most stubborn child (which is saying a lot)...

If looks could kill, only Akiva would know where he'd buried the body. A two-year-old who is still smaller than most 0ne-year-olds, Akiva is clearly going to use his intimidating glares to muscle his way to the top. When he sulks, it's serious - but luckily little brother is there to comfort him.

And they fight. Over everything. We hear, "Mine." "No, MINE!" "NO, MINE!!" at some point during most playtimes. Oddly, this includes times when they are playing separately, each in his own crib. Go figure.

Other times, though, there's lots of love.

They do also seem to be developing a kind of twinspeak, a mix of real words and babble that seems to work for them. Yesterday, Hillel asked Akiva if he wanted to play ball, and Akiva said okay. I know that's what happened, but the only word I understood was "okay." Wish us luck.

More soon (this time for real!).