The no fly list

So this weekend we flew to Toronto to visit Mom's family for Yom Kippur and the Canadian Thanksgiving.  All started well when we got to the airport with time to spare and had a lovely breakfast together in the LGA airport food court.  Unfortunately, the tables turned when we found out our flight was delayed over an hour.  Everything was going ok while waiting to board as I sat patiently in my stroller watching Sesame Street.  Eventually we boarded and since I'm not 2 just quite yet…I am still saving a few bucks by sitting on my Mom's lap.  Well honestly, this isn't very comfortable because I'm sure you know…there's not much room on airplanes!  We did however get to board the plane first so I got to run between the seats pressing every button on ceiling of the plane before the rest of the passengers got on.

The plane fills up and the captain comes on and announces that we're 15th in line to take off and it will be at least another 30 minutes or so.  Do you know how hot that plane was?  How squished I was on mom's lap (since I had to have the tray down for my "shnilk" aka milk)…not to mention I was pretty darn exhausted since we were nearing onto my nap time.  So, instead of waiting patiently, I acted like a normal 2 year old and threw a hissy fit.  Dead fish straight back, screaming hysterics and laying on the aisle of the plane.  Everyone was staring, some laughing and crazy dirty looks were being thrown by the flight attendants.  Why can't this mom control her child, they were probably thinking.  Mom calmed me for a few minutes with the Sesame Street bribe…but that didn't last for long.  Thankfully there was one sympathetic and incredibly sweet flight attendant who came over and admitted she has two boys of her own so felt for my mom.  She took me off mom's hands for a walk as she was still allowed to roam the plane.  Things got much better when we arrived in Toronto and I got to spend a week with my family…it was so wonderful to see everyone!

I got to see my Aunt Mandy and Uncle Jason…and their cat Tessa of course. And my Boobies, Aunts, Uncles, cousins…it was FAB!

As always I got to go to Paradise for Dim Sum with Boobie Frieda, Uncle Ronnie and Mom.  Delish.

I also got to go for all you can eat sushi with my cousin Jesse and Aunt Debi…it was awesome!

I got to have dinner at my Auntie Marissa's for Thanksgiving which was divine…and I got to have dinner at my Aunt Debi's as well!  We picked tomatoes, talked to cats, rested on the floor…it was a fun week and I can't wait to go back!

A festive week

Well this was one heck of a week.  I learned all about the Jewish New Year: Rosh Hashanah in school, got to eat apples and honey for a sweet start and even got to make some dough to bring home so Mom could make challah with me! My challah turned out awesome.  Crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.

The fun continued with a dinner for the first night of Rosh Hashanah.  My pals Sam and James came over and instead of eating all of the delicious food that Mom made we ran around playing music, jumping on the couches and then crashing in front of some Sesame Street.

Ali also joined us for dinner which was super cool because she has never been to Rosh Hashanah dinner before…so I got to show her the ropes.

Mom, Dad and I got a lot of QT this week with the holiday going on…it was so nice to be with them both at home for a few days in a row!

On Thursday afternoon, the big guy and I got all dolled up and went to a children's service at our temple in Gramercy Park.  We sang some songs and said some prayers…it was a good time.

Friday was another big day to write home about…Mom officially became a citizen of the United States of America! She pledged her allegience in an official ceremony that I got to go to…where I waved the flag and cheered her on.

The weekend got nothing but better from this point on…Morgan turned 3 on Saturday and I got to go to her birthday party at the Art Farm.  It was a blast. We got to blow bubbles…

paint piggy banks and there were live animals like tortoises walking around and bunny rabbits that we could pet!  Awesome.

The fun continued with pizza, party hats and cake.  I wanted to dive in there…and tried some…but it wasn't my bag.  I'll stick to fruit and broccoli.  What?  Ha!

Sunday morning Mom and I took it easy and slept in late.  I had breakfast with my bear and then we hit the park.  For those of you who watch Boardwalk Empire you'll appreciate that Michael Shannon who plays Agent Nelson Van Alden was there and I was climbing the monkey bars with his cute daughter.  He was totally scary looking and sounding…just like in the show…but none the less, a pretty cool sighting. 

Believe it if you can…later in the afternoon I had another birthday party involving more animals!  So fab.  I got to pet a dove, iguana, more bunny rabbits and even a snake.

And there was a bouncy castle…and cupcakes that I dove right into.

All in all…loads of fun this week and happy new year to all of my friends and family!

Boston bound, baby.

After school on Thursday Ma took me home, gave me an awesome lunch and we packed up and got on the road to visit our friends Eleia and Jeff…who recently had a baby. We arrived in 3.5 hours, 2.5 of which I slept through…and were greeted by my new friend in Boston:  Asher.  What a cutie!  I really enjoyed hanging with this lil guy…and getting to know him.  By the end of the trip I was sharing my foo foo and snuggling up to his little legs.

Since it was my first time in Boston, mom wanted to show me around a little bit.  So before heading back to NYC we went for a walk through this really cool park, played in playground where I tempted my fate and almost dove off this very high ledge…and gave mom a good old fashioned heart attack.  

After all the fun I was pretty pooped…but that didn't stop mom from snapping a shot on the lovely bridge we walked over to get through the park and back to baby Asher's.

After a couple of fun days together, we got back on the road and went to Sloatsburg, NY where our friends Viktoria, Alan, Sam and James have a beautiful lake house.  My friends Sam and James were super excited to see me…and vice versa.  We ate lots of great food, played in their tree house, threw rocks into the lake and had loads of fun.  All in all, a great weekend was had!

Will be seeing my cool friends Sam and James for Rosh Hashanah later this week…can't wait!

School is cool.

So I got a real taste of school #2 this week.  On Tuesday I went for 30 minutes.  It was an introduction class where I got to know the teachers and check out the class room.  Ma hung around and watched my every move…while I watched hers.  Then today, Mom left.  Um, hello?  Where do you think you're going?  She came back after one hour.  I actually had a great time!  And although I went looking for "mama, mama" several times during that one hour, Morah (which means teacher in Hebrew) Lindsay & Eli took great care of me and we had tons of fun!  I cannot wait for next week…

My 1st day of Preschool - big time.

Here's the scoop…
Mom's got me enrolled in preschool.  Pretty awesome right?

So Monday and Wednesdays I'm going to school with my best bud Julian.  The story is like this...At the 12th hour last year, my mom and Julian's mom decided to put us in this program so we could be together and so we'd have a fuller schedule since we're a couple of looney tunes and love to be in class.  This preschool that we're going to together is called Perry Street and is the same place where we took our messy art class last year.  It's a fantastic little school and the teachers are wonderful.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll be attending the Preschool of the Arts.  This is the school that mom discovered to be right across the street from our apartment building.  Doesn't get any better does it?  This is a Jewish preschool in a brand new location and I am really excited to give it a whirl.

So today we started day #1 at Perry Street.  All four days in class will normally be drop off so Mom gets a little break, I get to socialize with my friends and detach from the hip a bit…BUT to start off the week with ease the teachers are encouraging the parents to stick around and check out the situation.  So mom did just that today.  And thank goodness because I clung onto her leg like a koala bear when we first walked in.
It took me about 10 minutes to warm up and as soon as I did I hopped right up and started sharing toys with Julian.  It was so great seeing my old pal as we only got to hang out one time this summer!

I also found a castle to be king of by sitting right on top of it…

After about 20 minutes of play, it was time for a snack.  Bring it teach!  Snack time is my favorite time.  Please note:  I had a large bowl of oatmeal mixed with fruit and cut up cantaloupe for breakfast before leaving the house today.  ALSO while on route to school mom got a latte and I got a croissant and ate the entire thing.  Back to snack time…

The teacher gave us each a hand full of goldfish crackers and a cup of water.  I downed the water while promptly spilling half on my shirt within a few moments of receiving the cup and then proceeded to inhale my goldfish.  If I didn't know any better I would have to guess my teachers assume my mother starves me from the way I was eating in class.  As soon as that last goldfish arrived in my belly I started to bang my hands onto the table shouting "more, more, more, more, more".  The teacher finally caught on and gave me more.  Just when she thought I was done with round two…I asked for her round three. Just keep em coming lady.  Don't hold back here.
Following snack we got to put on a smock and finger paint.  This was an incredible experience for me.  I got to dip my entire hand into paint and put it all over the place.  And I did an incredible job following the teacher's instructions exactly as she gave them to me.

Finally, story time and some more playing.  Julian and I started to play with some toy animals and got into a bit of a tiff over the giraffe.  It didn't end well…a few tears and many screams.  But that's ok…I just took it from him when he wasn't looking.

Finally, we got to say our good byes and choose a sticker.  Most of the kids chose to put their sticky smily faces on their arm, shirt or hand.  I decided I wanted mine right on my belly.  So I lifted my shirt and made the teacher stick with me with it.

Overall, a great day.  I cannot wait for tomorrow!