Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Catching up....

yeah, yeah, we know, slackers we are... Not exactly starting off 2011 on the right foot in terms of bloggin, but we've been busy, as I'm sure all of you have been.

We left off with Hanukkah days 1 and 2 and let us tell you, nights 3-8 were just as exciting! Celebrating with friends, eatting latke's at every dinner, the Frog room Hanukkah celebration, making sufganiyot and just enjoying being together as a family.

We even got to celebrate the last night of Hanukkah with Grandma Sue, who graciously changed her plans to come take care of us while mama and daddy visited St. Louis, trying to figure out where to move our family. Grandpa Irwin flew in for the weekend and we hit it hard! Dinners out, hockey, attending The Big Chill (watching U of M take on Michigan State in the Big House with over 111K other people), making snowmen, sledding, making snow forts and in general, wearing down grandma and grandpa until they could stand up no more...

The next event, or non-event as it turned out was mama's birthday. This was heard the day of her birthday:

T: Mama why don't you have a cake?

M: Sometimes adults don't have cake's on their birthdays.

T: Why does daddy always have a cake for his birthday...

M: (silence) Well, sometimes mama's don't have cake on their birthdays.

T (several minutes of silence and looks of consternation) It's a good thing I'm never gonna be a mama!

The Brandt's (my best friend for my second year of life) came to town over the holidays and we got to spend an afternoon and evening with them. Lily and I picked up as if we'd never been apart, the only thing different is that we both have annoying little siblings we have to deal with now. It was great to see them and hopefully we can plan a trip to Austin next year to see them!

Then, probably the most monumental event that happened over our break from the blog or possibly all of 2010 was....

DADDY SIGNING A CONTRACT AND OFFICIALLY HAVING HIS FIRST REAL JOB

That's right after 4 years of med school, 3 years of residency, and 4 years of fellowship, daddy has finally decided that it's time to get a REAL job. Where are we moving you ask... Cincinnati!

While mama is a bit concerned about my well-being when we live in Ohio b/c I break out in "Hail to the Victors" (The Michigan Fight Song), at any given moment and at full volume! Hopefully I won't be beaten up too many times as we adjust to life in Ohio. Ohio... Not sure if I feel comfortable saying that I live in Ohio... Daddy will finish his fellowship in Ann Arbor the end of June and then starts in Cincinnati on August 1st.

Way to go Daddy! We are so very proud of you and to be honest, it's nice to know that all of those daddyless days, nights, weeks and sometimes months have paid off. Remi and I have both been told that we will be getting new rooms and a bigger yard. We are making this publicly known, so mama and daddy can't go back on their word!


And now, for the pictures..


Remi lighting the Candles


Her new stroller


spinning my new globe


Remi in her new coat and pushing her stroller


Making sufganiyot (jelly donuts) with daddy


"I'm going to eat a donut!!!!!"


Waiting for the dough to rise, passing the time on our trampoline


fryin' the donuts up!


Remi's turn


the best part, sprinkling the powdered sugar


again... Remi's turn


Enjoying our hard work...


"how many can I have?"


Celebrating with friends


I am no allowed to light the candles all by myself


The latke frying station at the Frog Room Hanukkah celebration


Hanukkah Memory game


We got to make our own Hanukkah candles with beeswax sheets


and make our own menorahs!


Remi is the class mascot since mama is the class parent, so she got in on the make your own applesauce action


Having a class sing along before he headed to the gym to have a huge Hanukkah meal with the whole school. Notice Remi snuck in next to her crush (Emiliano)


We made homemade pita and falafel for dinner one night. It was yummy!


This is Lily and me hanging out in the laundry basket when she came to visit


This is Lily and I hanging out in a laundry basket 3 years ago... We miss you Brandt's!


Remi in the basket. Yes, she is wearing her hockey helmet. She wears it several hours of every day, and people have actually asked if she is "special." She is, just not in "that" way!


Lily's little brother, Max


Daddy signing his contract. A big moment for our family


and for him too. I don't know if that smile is from happiness or relief. Maybe bit of both...


Making challah... Yeah, that's what we call it, but it's just our excuse to try to fit as many toys as possible in the laundry basket and then throw fits when it's time to clean it all up!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Hanukkah - Nights 1 and 2

Hanukkah is here! Right on the heels of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah kind of snuck up on us this year! Mama says the culinary gods are against her, as she can't seem to get away from cooking! The first night of Hanukkah is always exciting, as we brush off the menorah, fry up the latkes and sing "how many candles?" and "Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel." We got to celebrate Hanukkah with Grandma Jo via webcam; she watched us open our gifts and then run around like the crazy people we are. I got a new lunch box to match my backpack and Remi got her skates (yeah, she's already seen them, but she's little, you can still pull that kind of stuff off on her). The 2nd night I got a bunch of Magic Tree House books from my cousin Jayden (Thanks buddy! They are awesome!) And Remi got a new stroller, as her old one is no longer with us...

It's been so much fun lighting fires, decorating the house and just spending time together. Happy Hanukkah to all of those who celebrate!

Of course, the boxes are better than any gift could be


Robot Hockey Player


Remi's first time lighting the candles


What could this be....


Opening my books!


Remi and her new stroller (don't mind the blue bins, mama is already packing and we don't even know where we are moving yet!)

Thanksgiving...

Guess who game to our Thanksgiving this year, guess, I dare you! Family, that's right, for the first time in 4 years, we actually had family to spend with Thanksgiving. Don't worry, we still hosted our "orphan" Thanksgiving for our friends who didn't have family around, but it was nice not to be one of those orphans this year... We, of course, all got so busy with the cooking and the eating, we forgot to take a picture of the beautiful turkey daddy made and the table filled with yummy food and good friends.

Ok, let's back up a week or 9 days...Mommy and daddy had to go to Cincinnati to do a 2nd interview and a spouse visit. Basically, mommy got to check out the city to see if she liked it and tour a ton of schools and neighborhoods. And during that time, Grandma Jo and Grandpa David came to take care of us. We all had a blast together, but I do think Grandma Jo was a bit relieved to see mama walk in the door. Since it was so close to Thanksgiving, Grandma and Grandpa decided to stay for the holiday, all in all, they stayed for 11 days! That's right, we got to spend 11 whole days with grandma and grandpa, now that was a treat! And when asked what I was thankful for around the holiday table, I proudly said, Grandma and Grandpa.

Below are a few pictures of what we did that Thanksgiving weekend. We checked out the botanical gardens, played A LOT of living room hockey and then on Saturday, we got Remi her first pair of skates and took her skating! Now, she's not as good as I am, but... She was a real trooper and especially liked when mama or daddy would carry her and skate really fast.

All in all, an awesome Thanksgiving. Thanks Grandma Jo and Grandpa David for coming to spend so much time with us, we enjoyed it and hope you did too!


Remi helping daddy get the pan ready for the turkey


Massaging the turkey before it goes into the oven


At the botanical gardens, it was a nice treat to run around in a nice warm space


Making our own holiday wrapping paper with Grandma Jo


The crew


Remi's first time skating


She did enjoy sitting on the boards...


Mama and her superstars


Our most favorite person in the world


yes, we actually got a family shot, a true miracle!


Practicing my writing ... "HOCKEY"