Strawberry Picking and Other Adventures

Noam is somewhat preoccupied with the idea of getting older in a hurry. At dinner a few nights ago:
Noam: "Eema, I'm eating all my food!"
Eema: "Great!"
Noam: "I'm eating so fast! (pause for thought). Eema, if I eat faster, will I turn four even faster??"

In the meantime, it was a great day to be a kid. We took the whole family strawberry picking at our local farm (hooray for rainstorms that don't start till after dinnertime!) In a rare bold move, Eema and Daddy released the twins from their stroller and allowed them to participate (broadly speaking) in the harvest.


After gathering lots of sweet small strawberries, it was off to ride the tractors and bikes. Noam (who told us this morning that when he grows up, he wants to be "a boss" kept his brothers in line and out of his way while he pedaled around.

That could have probably kept us occupied for hours, but eventually Akiva and Hillel, who had been too grumpy to eat a post-nap lunch, decided they were thirsty and hungry (both of which sensations they can sign quite dramatically).

So we headed over to the farm store for some yummy apples, which all three children enjoyed. Though of course, "enjoyed" means different things to different people. For Noam, it meant that he ate a respectable two-thirds of his apple, passed the rest off to Eema, and then went off to say hi to the animals. For Akiva and Hillel, it meant that Eema eventually pried the stems out of their clenched little fists - that was all that was left (um, it's totally okay for babies to eat apple seeds, right??).


As you can see, this kept them busy for quite some time.

Back at home, everyone had a great appetite for dinner. Hillel and Akiva were ready and eager to get into bed. They curled up obediently in their cribs, were tucked in by Eema and Noam, and showed every sign of falling asleep.
An hour later, when they were still shrieking with laughter, what did Eema and Daddy think was happening? As now-experienced twin parents, we hadn't the faintest clue - nor did we care. Were they in their cribs? Yes. Did they need anything from us? No. Problem solved.

But little did we know. When the laughter dissolved intro true screaming, Eema went to investigate. A quick entrance into the bedroom caught Akiva prancing around his crib - completely naked. Hillel, though his pajamas were nowhere to be seen, was still in his diaper. Apparently Eema's sudden appearance at the naked party caught him in the process of trying to extricate himself.
Yes, Eema did try not to laugh. But no, the twins were not fooled. Their unrepentant giggles, plus the fact that this is the second time in four days that they've had a naked party, does not bode well. It's been quiet for several hours - we do think they are sleeping - though whether they are dressed or not is anyone's guess.

Shorter hair, new shoes, and an overall good time!

Here's a picture of Akiva, showing off his new haircut. Which you can't really see, because this is immediately post-bath, so more pictures will have to be forthcoming. But we did have an amazing day this past Sunday, which must be reported on.
Hillel strikes a pose. Dimples, new haircut, new pajamas from Grandma - this is one lucky boy!

Grandma and Aunt Debra drove down to Princeton, and after some yummy imported lunch, we got down to business. Our first stop was Noam's favorite haircut place (everything is relative, as you can see by his expression). Notable for the sheer number of distractions they provide for your children (okay, yes, we are taking your hair, but we have tv, cookies, toys, gifts, books, bubbles, and cool keychain-like bracelets to help prevent you from taking note of this reality!). Noam basically enjoyed the experience, which is more than we can say for his brothers.
Well, they enjoyed watching Noam get HIS hair cut (and this is such a classic "before" shot of their curls!).

Akiva's face is the combined result of his "no, I don't want a haircut!" and the hairdresser's "really? Okay, have a cookie!" Akiva is the family chipmunk - he seems to believe that he can store food for later by putting as much of it in his mouth as possible and continuing to go about his business. Here, the cookie is lodged firmly in his mouth, while he continues to cry in protest.
Hillel watches and contemplates his fate...
He cried less because we found the magic solution. And the award for best use of a pacifier in a public screaming situation goes to...(applause!)

Thanks to Aunt Debra and Grandma, our adult to child ratio was good, and having survived the haircuts, we felt emboldened. Time to buy sandals!

As an intrepid shoe-shopper myself, even I have to admit that we spent a LONG time in that store. Three children = six feet = much chaos. Luckily, Aunt Debra is decisive and Noam listens to her, and Grandma picks out great clothing, so we had quite the shopping spree!

Amazingly, we still found energy to visit several other stores, culminating in a trip the ice cream shop. A good time was had by all...

...and we all slept very well that night!

We promise to post some dry-haired pictures soon.

Getting ready for Passover

Despite some recent crises, we are doing our best to get ready for Passover. Noam knows many Passover songs (he especially likes to sing, with great feeling: "No, no, no! I will not let them go!") and he and the twins have been a part (if not necessarily a helpful part) of the Passover preparation process.

Here are Hillel and Akiva, emptying the cabinets of all the non-Passover things...


They specialize in Tupperware.

And here they are, climbing the boxes of seder dishes. You know, the ones labeled "fragile."

For a while, the twins took turns climbing the boxes and shrieking when they were removed. But ultimately, Akiva won the battle.
He's a stubborn little thing.
Once he decided that the top of the boxes was the best place to talk on his cell phone, there was no stopping him. And yes, he can now have some epic conversations: He says "hi" and "Bye" (that last one comes with a little wave).

More soon. Happy Passover!

Final Purim Post

Since it's going to be Passover any minute now, I figured I'd better hurry up and post the last of the Purim pictures. Purim was long this year, seeing as how Noam's school Purim show happened the day after the holiday. But a good time was had by all - probably even by the twins. And even by Noam, despite some concerns on his part that if we didn't all say, "go away, Haman!" when hearing Haman's name, that Haman would actually come and get us. He seemed to think that reading the Book of Esther would in some way conjure up Haman...
Eema: We're going to the CJL to hear the story of Purim!
Noam: But Haman is mean. (apparently he had some sort of concern that Haman would be present?)
Eema: But Boaz is reading the megilla!
Noam: (with relief) Ohhh. Boaz isn't Haman. Boaz is too nice to be Haman.
(It's a good story even if you don't know Boaz; infinitely better if you do)

Noam is really growing up. The difference between his Hannukah "performance" (characterized mainly by the deer-in-headlights why-am-I-here blank stare in his eyes and decided lack of musical participation) and his Purim performance was really amazing.

(you have to look really hard to see Noam in this video, but he is the one in orange, and he's doing all the hand motions and everything!)


So that's pretty much it for Purim. A good time was had by all, Noam ate lots of junk food and did not have any unfortunate encounters with Haman or any other scary individuals, and the twins tolerated their tiger costumes remarkably well.

Challenges in the coming weeks include preparing for Passover, while simultaneously weaning the twins off the pacifier (at least during playtime). Thanks to our fearless nanny, Melissa, they seem to be well on their way. Akiva responds well to the command: "Now take your pacifier out of your mouth and leave it in your crib." Hillel is slightly grumpier about the whole thing (and I was so sure it would be Akiva who would be distraught about this. Go figure). Now if they would just start talking (in English. They have a lot to say in seemingly the same rare Asian dialect Noam spoke when he was a baby - and they understand each other).

We'll keep you posted!

But Can We Return it if We Don't Like It?

Noam has a friend in school, a girl a bit older than he is. The girl's younger brother, aged 2.5, also attends Noam's school.
Last night at dinner, the following conversation ensued:
Eema: Noam, your friend has a new baby brother!
Noam: She does?
Eema: Yes!
Noam: Does she get to keep the old one?

(Admittedly, this took Eema a while to figure out. But when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Sort of. Basically, it's probably good that he wasn't more verbal when the twins were born).

Purim Pictures

Just a few - to whet your appetites. I'll have to do a proper post later on, but in the meantime...

Hillel Climbs Stairs

Not clear how long he's been hiding this talent, but Eema discovered it this morning. She took Akiva upstairs, planning on going back for Hillel a moment later (no, I cannot carry them both up the stairs at the same time - my supermom powers do not extend to climbing steps with at least 45 lbs of baby...), and found him hot on her heels. But forgot to tell anyone else about this development, so this afternoon, Noam charged up the stairs, and finding Hillel hot on his heels really freaked him out. That's right Noam, you can run but you can't hide...just wait till he learns to hit back...

A bit later in the day:

(Hillel takes Noam's kippah off his head. Noam smacks Hillel, gets put in time out. Eema heads in for a little what-went-wrong discussion).

Eema: You may not hit your brother.

Noam: But he took my kippah!

Eema: USE WORDS. We don't hit.

Noam: (considers this for a moment) Okay. But do I have to say please?

Eema: (tries not to laugh) Well, it's always nice to say please...

Noam: In school that's not the rule. In school if someone takes something I don't have to say PLEASE give it back!

Eema: Okay, you don't have to say please. But you can't hit!

Noam: (indignant) Eema, I don't hit anyone at school. I never hit at school. I only hit at home.

Um, great. Glad we had this conversation.